The best of wives made homemade lasagna this afternoon. This is important because it is imperative that you understand the difficulties of trying to write through a food induced coma. Dinner was so good, but it doesn’t make you clever, it makes you sleepy. If you can stay awake, please join me now as we stand and make the Little Italy.

This variation on the classic Manhattan comes from Audrey Saunders of the famed Pegu Club as a nod to the Italian American ingredients and the neighborhood where Pegu Club is located. It swaps in that lovely artichoke based Cynar for a slightly less bitter but more complex flavor. Let’s mix one up. 

Grab your mixing pitcher and pop in 2 ounces of rye whiskey, I chose Crater Lake Reserve; 1/2 an ounce of Cynar, 3/4 of an ounce of sweet vermouth and 2-3 drops of 18-21 Havana and Hide bitters. Add some artisanal ice cubes and stir to the beat of Billy Joel’s classic “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant“. It’s got a good mixing beat and it popped up on satellite music roulette while I was trying to decide what to make, so it seems like a good choice. When your drink is well chilled strain into a coupe and garnish with a couple of those amazing Luxardo cherries. 

You could say that this one is booze forward. Frankly, it’s a kick in the face from that high proof Crater Lake Rye. Not that it is a bad thing. I actually quite enjoyed this one, but the all alcohol drink doesn’t hide what it is made of. All that alcohol is right out front. Those cherries make a nice dessert though. 

Hard to complain about the fare this afternoon. A great dinner, followed by a wonderful cocktail. A bottle of red and a bottle of white might have been nice, but I went with water instead because hydration is a thing. Maybe I’ll grab a nice red to have with the leftover lasagna I assume we are eating from now till Thanksgiving. Life could be worse. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.