Your Mother Deserves a Good Drink
Hopefully if you are reading this, you are an adult. However, let’s think back to what it was like to be a teenager. Perhaps now you are even the parent of one of those strange, alien, insolent creatures that took over the body of that seemingly sweet child you thought you were raising right, wondering where you are going wrong. I know, because like many teen girls, I was a raging bitch. Any simple request ended in a contumacious standoff. My eyes were actually sore from all the rolling skywards at anything any adult tried to say to me. My friends and music were all I cared about, and I was not very gracious about any of the other things I should have been responsible for. I’m sure it was a lot of stress on my poor mother.
Mom, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it! Hormones and all…
Luckily we made it through those teen years, and as an adult, I love drinking with my mom, which I wrote about last year. She’s in her late 70s now and still works incredibly hard as a physician, clocking in more hours a week than your average hedge fund manager in their 30s, and her job is basically to listen to people kvetch all day.
My mom, like so many of your moms, deserves a good drink on Mother’s Day. Better yet, a gift that will last more than just one drink! Your mom is fine lady. Don’t make the mistake of gifting her with some “skinny” mommy-riffic marketing ploy. She put up with a lot. Buy her something real. After all, you’re probably the reason she drinks in the first place!
My mom really likes a good whisk(e)y (and the apple don’t fall far from the tree!) Brenne is a French single malt, made in the Scotch style, but aged in local limousin casks, which lends soft, floral notes to the robust flavors of malted barley. For something a wee bit stronger, (your mom went through childbirth, she can take it!) Dry Fly Distillery Washington Bourbon, double gold winner in the 2014 Berlin International Spirits Competition, combines full, sophisticated bourbony flavors with a smooth finish impressive for a spirit as young as it is. (Just like you were to her.) For an upscale treat, your mom will simply adore Teeling Vintage Reserve 21 Year Single Malt, which is aged first in bourbon casks and finished in Sauternes casks. A fantastic Irish whiskey that as a gift, might even persuade her to forgive you for not calling her for so long.
If your mother isn’t much of brown spirits fan, perhaps it’s best to head in a different direction. What lady doesn’t like pretty flowers, especially the kind you can drink!? You simply can’t go wrong with Jack From Brooklyn Sorel hibiscus liqueur, silver medal winner in the 2013 NY International Spirits Competition. It’s delicious sipped neat, on the rocks, with a spritz, in cocktails, in food recipes… Better yet. Buy two bottles. Make her Sorel Roasted Pork Belly for dinner, and give her a bottle to keep.
Is it Gin O’Clock? Then mama might be ready to try a new botanical tipple than the one she’s been sipping all these years. Sipsmith London Dry Gin (silver, 2012 NYISC) and Roundhouse Spirits Roundhouse Gin (double gold, BISC) are both hand crafted gins in London Dry style of exceptional quality. Sipsmith is slightly drier, perfected with Martini fans in mind. Roundhouse is a bit more floral, and likes a high quality tonic, such as Fever Tree. For more of a splurge, there’s Citadelle Réserve 2013, which is a gin made with traditional botanicals that is barrel aged in the solera style. (If you clicked the link, you can then impress your mom by explaining what that means.) In a nutshell, it’s aged gin of different ages blended together, resulting in a truly yummy sipping experience. It’s old gin, but not the same old gin.
Then there’s the mother of all spirits - vodka. Sometimes you need to keep it simple. Deep Eddy (silver, 2013 NYISC) from Austin, TX is a ton of fun. The unflavored vodka is great, and, I’m really not much of a fan of flavored vodkas at all, but dangit, they got me. That Ruby Red Grapefruit is mighty tasty, and makes a fine drink with a splash of soda on a hot day. Great vodka need not be crazy expensive, although it can look it. Want something in a cool bottle that still tastes great? Go Purity. Done and done.
Cheers to all the moms out there for all that they do!