That’s right, The Cocktail Diaries is back after a long, unintentional hiatus (of a few weeks). First, I was traveling a lot, and second, I was out of bourbon and couldn’t get this cocktail idea out of my head. I think it was blocking any other new ones from arriving until I actually got to try it (thankfully it turned out great).

Today I went to an awesome blogger meetup hosted by Portland Bloggers that inspired me in so many ways. First, a conversation encouraged me to get back on the Cocktail Diaries train, and I’m so glad I did. But second, it was so great to just talk shop with other bloggers, to share our frustrations, our joys and our tips and tricks. That is something I feel I should do more often.

Hopefully I can take what I learned (and relearned) today and put it to work now that my travel schedule is slowing down a little. So let’s start this week off on a good foot: this cocktail is a great way to begin it.

You’ll notice that this cocktail involves crushed ice. I do not have one of those fancy pants fridges where the door will give you crushed or cubed ice – and I imagine many of you do not as well! In that case, get yourself some cubes and put them in a zip top bag. Wrap the bag in a towel and use the non-spiked side of a meat tenderizer to pound the ice into small pieces. Or, you can add this to your Christmas list: a linen ice bag!

so you can crush like a pro at home.

Here’s what you need:

3/4 oz. rhubarb syrup (directions below)
2 oz. bourbon
2 dashes orange bitters
1/2 small or 1/4 large lemon, cut in half again
hunk of lemon for garnish

To make rhubarb syrup, add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup rhubarb to a saucepan and simmer for ten minutes. Strain the rhubarb out and cool to room temperature.

To make the cocktail, muddle the lemon pieces in the bottom of a shaker. Add ice, syrup, bourbon and bitters. Shake until the shaker is so cold, it’s hard to hold on to.

Fill a rocks glass most of the way with crushed ice and double strain the cocktail on top of it. Garnish with lemon.