Procrastination is what brings us together this evening. I had the best of intentions, I really did. There I was busily paving the road to hell,but time has a way of getting away from us, leaving us with broken dreams and rushed cocktail posts. It was a crazy day on the farm and at work and after work and pretty much right up till the moon rose high above stately Monkey Manor. A full October moon and a haggard monkey mean one thing, a super easy to throw together drink and phoned in commentary. So please join me now as we stand and make the Apple Shochu Cocktail. 

I chose this drink because it is so easy that I would not have to look anything up and it definitely has an autumn feel. It is an equal parts drink, so size it to fit your container, I’m using a big cocktail glass so I grabbed a chilled mixing pitcher and added 2 ounces each of apple juice, that lovely Japanese Takara Shochu and seltzer water, in this case I used some aha Apple Ginger, but the plain stuff is lovely as well. Add ice and stir gently to the strains of “Fly Me to the Moon“, go with the Diana Krall Live from Paris version. Don’t stir too hard, you don’t want to lose your bubbles, but you do want it to be mixed and ice cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of exquisitely dehydrated apple. 

Of course, it is lovely. Great clean flavor and a nice bubbly thing elevating it all. Shochu is so underrated. It is a neutral spirit but it is hard to describe just how clean the flavor is. So good. I’m inclined to make this one again and just top it with the seltzer. I worry that some of the brightness is lost in the stirring, no matter how careful you are. 

That’s it. As the bird on the wizard’s head says, “That’s your lot.” What more do you want from me? I did a witty opening leading into the tag line with the drink name. There was a recipe, it was simple but it is there. You got a musical suggestion to mix to. Post drink reaction and analysis. All that’s left is a final paragraph leading to the signature closing line, which I was able to accomplish with this recap and very little effort on my part. It happens sometimes. It is what it is. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.