Cocktail of the Week by SugarFree – The South Side

The sublime South Side is as easy drinkin’ as it gets and a crowd-pleaser; interesting enough for the fussy mixologist and tasty enough for the “but I don’t like gin” twits. I prefer Hayman’s Old Tom gin for this application, but any gin will do. Or vodka for the sorority girl in you.

South Side

2 oz gin
.75 oz lemon juice
.75 oz lime juice
1 oz mint simple syrup
1 oz club soda
1 mint leaf

Lightly bruise the mint with a muddler, mix everything together and serve over ice. Or omit the soda water and shake with ice and serve up.

Mint Simple Syrup: 

Small batch: combine 7 grams of mint leaves, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil and then strain when cooled. Yields 3 oz of syrup.

Large batch: combine 42 grams mint leaves, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 water, bring to a boil and then strain when cooled. Yields 18 oz syrup.

I include the large batch of the syrup because the real magic of the South Side its ease of scalability. For large parties where you need to not be chained to the bar mixing drinks or small parties where you are looking to get everyone extra hammered, the South Side is well-suited for mason jar cocktails.

South Side – Mason Jar

One 1/5 of gin
9 oz lemon juice
9 oz lime juice
12 oz mint simple syrup
10 oz club soda
10 mint leaves
10 8oz Mason jars

Mix and split between the mason jars, placing a mint leaf in each. Store in a cooler with clean ice and encourage guests to top off the jar they take with ice.

 

Spot the Not by Derpetologist – Quirky Sci-Fi Writers

1. He never brushed his teeth, and they were literally green. Deeply embarrassed by this, he developed the habit of holding his hand in front of his mouth when speaking.

2. He was gaunt with dark eyes set in a very pale face (he rarely went out before nightfall). For five years after leaving school, he lived an isolated existence with his mother, writing primarily poetry without seeking employment or new social contacts.

3. He wrote over 117 novels and over 2000 short stories, but his works were used only as filler material in pornographic magazines. He committed suicide by drinking Drano.

4. He hated flying and only flew twice in his life. He rarely traveled long distances.

5. His mother was warm but changeable of character and had an identical twin who visited them often and who disliked him. He was unable to tell them apart and was frequently coldly rebuffed by the person he took to be his mother.

6. He has a reputation for being abrasive and argumentative. He has generally agreed with this assessment, and a dust jacket from one of his books described him as “possibly the most contentious person on Earth”. He has filed grievances and attempted lawsuits; as part of a dispute about fulfillment of a contract, he once sent 213 bricks to a publisher postage due, followed by a dead gopher via fourth-class mail.