7th Wedding Anniversary: Copper

The Hubs & I just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary!  Still feels like hardly any time at all.  The grandparents took Lil' Man for the weekend so that we could have a romantic getaway to Missouri's Wine Country, Hermann, MO.   Hermann was colonized in the early 1800's by German settlers, who were drawn to the area because it reminded them of Bavaria and the Rhineland back home (so much so that the next town over is named Rhineland).  Early government encouraged settlers to grow their own grapes by giving landowners money for "grape lots", and thus spawned a massive wine boom in the area.  It's still home to some of the most well known Missouri wineries, like Stone Hill , Hermannof, and Adam Puchta.

We found a super-cute apartment right downtown via AirBNB, took some historic walking tours, did some wine tasting, tried some new beers, and ate some AMAZING food.  We even did a little geocaching!

Filet with Norton wine & rosemary sauce, over spaetzle with goat cheese. YUM.

And on our way home, we decided to stop in Jefferson City and knock something off our bucket list--visiting the now-abandoned Missouri State Penitentiary!   I know...super-romantic, right?  But it was really interesting--it's the oldest prison in the U.S. and was in use until 2004. I'd like to go back and to the night-time ghost tour in the future. 

As you may know, we like to do traditional wedding gifts.  And the traditional gifts for the 7th year are copper or wool.  Since we got married in July, the idea of anything wool right now makes me hot and itchy. But copper...we can run with that!

David gifted me with a copper-plated birch leaf necklace that I love and have worn nearly every day since I got it:

And then while we were in Hermann, The Hubs noticed that the railroad was really active:

Found one.

So he wanted to smash a penny on the tracks.  So we left one on the tracks, went to go try some wines, and then when we came back....ta-da!

Originally I thought about just framing it, but then I saw this photo album that had a frame in the front, so I decided to go with that instead!

I originally wanted to find a copper-themed beer, but didn't have much luck. But then I remembered that we have our very own Copper Run Distillery just a few miles down the road.  So I picked up a bottle of golden rum and a few other necessities for making us some tasty cocktails.

7-Up for Seven years of good luck! :)

To check out the previous years' gifts, use the links below!

• Year 1 - Paper
• Year 2 - Cotton 
• Year 3 - Leather & Glass
• Year 4 - Fruit 'n Flowers
• Year 5 - Wood
• Year 6 - Iron

Thirsty Thursday: Jumping the Shark (Ginger, Lime & Spiced Rum Cocktail)

Have you heard of the show "Bar Rescue"?  It's on Spike, and it's one of those shows that tends to marathon at random times and makes a decent background noise--even though I'm relatively sure the host is part of the mob and has a voice that really grates the nerves after a while.

"I amuse you? I make you laugh? Funny how?"

You can probably figure out the premise--there's a bar, they're in debt and losing business, due to bad management/poor employees/bad service, whathaveyou.  Mob Boss swoops in, yells at them for a while, gives the owner/manager a pep talk, while his assistants revamp the menu, teach them some new signature drinks--and oh yeah, usually completely change the decor and the name of the bar.  Lingerie bar in Detroit?  Boom--now it's car themed.  Irish bar in the Midwest? BAM--now you're an ol' western saloon.  Tavern in Tampa?  Guess what?  Now you're a tiki bar.  

Sure, it's schticky, but if nothing else, we at least learn a few new cocktail recipes.  This is from the one that ended up as a tiki bar, but we've put a Cajun spin on it, using some Bayou Rum from Lacassine, LA.

INGREDIENTS:
2 oz Bayou Spiced Rum
1/2 oz Agave syrup
1 oz lime juice
4-6 oz ginger ale

DIRECTIONS:
Fill a pint glass with ice and add the rum, syrup, and lime juice, then cover and shake.  Pour into a glass with ice and top with the ginger ale.  Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: Wishful Drinking

Man...this no "real" Thirsty Thursday thing can really get a woman down!  So, let's do some "virtual drinking" together, shall we?  I'll put up the Abita umbrella on the back patio, make sure the comfy chair cushions are nice & clean, put the dog out in the yard, and then whip up a few of these perfect summertime cocktails... (and if those cocktails just happen to feature some of my favorite Missouri and Louisiana spirits, all the better!)

"Boat Shoes" - recipe created by Missouri Spirits

"Moonshine Mule" - recipe featuring Copper Run Distillery , made in Walnut Shade, Missouri

(several other good recipes from Copper Run behind that link)

"Bayou Berry Lemonade" - recipe featuring Bayou Rum, made in Lacassine, Louisiana

Blackberry-Lemon Gin Fizz (aka the "Berry Manilow") - recipe featuring Oryza Gin made in Thibodaux, Louisiana

Slainte, folks! (And please...somebody out there have a few for me? Please???)

Thirsty Thursday: Stormy Bayou

During my last trip down South, I picked up a bottle of Bayou Distillery’s Spiced Rum. Bayou started up out in Lacassine (between Lake Charles & Lafayette, my old digs) last year.  And I mean, you know how much I love all things local—even if “local” means “someplace near where I USED to live”.  Rum, made from sugarcane, has always been closely associated with Louisiana; Kansas has their amber waves of grain, Louisiana has emerald tidal surges of sugarcane, which contribute $2 billion annually to the State’s economy. The Jesuits began making rum in Louisiana back in 1751 and it’s been a strong tradition since that time.

I love spiced rum for fall drinks, but on this particular day I was craving something a little lighter, since it hasn’t really cooled off here much.  Our leaves have only just started to change, and it’s 70 degrees right now.

Our neighborhood market was running a sale on Jamaican style ginger beer, so this of course made me think of one of my favorites: the Dark ‘n Stormy.  Of course, a true Dark & Stormy has to be made with Gosling’s Black Seal rum & ginger beer…but this is our Bayou version…with a bit of a minty twist (because I planted mint this summer, and I have a RIDONKULOUS amount of it to use up.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz Bayou spiced rum

4 oz ginger beer

juice of 1 lime

4-5 mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Muddle mint with the ice at the bottom of a glass.  Add rum & ginger beer.  Garnish with a lime wedge.

Thirsty Thursday Halloween Cocktail: The Dark & Stormy

T’was a dark & stormy night, the Wednesday before Halloween…quite literally, indeed. I almost lost my umbrella.  The St. Louis Cardinals were on the verge of losing the World Series, and we were sitting at one of our favorite watering holes, Ophelia’s Wine Bar.  As I studied the menu, I thought, “what drink could best signify this evening?  What cocktail most lends itself to Halloween?  And of course, what is actually going to taste good?”

And there it was on the menu, staring back at me… “The Dark & Stormy”. Served in a copper tankard typically reserved for Moscow Mules, it seemed somehow appropriate for this brooding sort of night.  Though you can’t brood over the taste at all.  This is possibly one of my new favorites.  Lauded as the “official drink of Bermuda”, this delicious combination of black rum & ginger beer feels as though it should be served in a hurricane glass with an umbrella rather than a traditional tankard, but I’m not complaining. 

If you’re the type of person who WANTS to like ginger, but can’t seem to get past that “I just sprayed Pledge in my mouth” aftertaste, then this is the drink for you.  All the refreshing spiciness of ginger without the burn.

Recipe:

2 oz Goslings Black Seal Rum

6-8 oz Barritt’s Ginger Beer

1 lime wedge (it’s inside the tankard, I promise you…drowning it’s little limey sorrows)

 

Directions: Combine rum & ginger beer over ice.  Add lime.  Voila.

 

Happy Halloween, friends!  Oh, and if you’re in the Springfield area, be sure to stop by The Inside Scoop this weekend!  It’s our last weekend of the season before we close down for winter.  And if you bring the kiddos or pup by in costume, they can get a free treat!