A date which will live in infamy, indeed. I figure y’all keep up with the news so you’re aware that this is the 79th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that killed 2,403 people, when we were caught unawares by Japanese forces. It was a sneak attack that very few people considered possible and almost no one anticipated. Unlike our current situation which has been predicted since well back in the summer when folks were being pretty clear about how masks and social distancing would keep us from hitting the awful benchmark of 100,000 new cases and up to 1,000 deaths per day or roughly half our current counts. If only there was something we could have done. If only there was some way that we could make a difference now. If only there was some way to stop the day after day death rates as high as this infamous date 79 years ago. Maybe drinking will help, it’s not likely too, but it is easy, so please join me as we stand and make the Montenegro Sour. 

This wonderful Amaro Montenegro has been on my mind since we used it in that Devilish Coffee Milk Punch, so I decided to see what would happen if we subbed it into a standard Whiskey Sour. Since, I had the means and a general malaise that made me not care what I made tonight, I figured that we’d take a chance. After all, education is never a waste.

Grab your tins and pop in 2 ounces of Amaro Montenegro, an ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 an ounce of simple syrup, 2-3 stabs of Regan’s Orange Bitters and 3/4 of an ounce of egg white or aquafaba. Close your tins and dry shake to the beat of “Down With the Sickness“ but not the Disturbed original, inexplicably go with the Richard Cheese version. It’s like the original only not as good or as effective for expressing frustration. Choosing that version is kinda like not opting in on buying enough vaccine. It is a choice, not a good one, but a choice nonetheless. While you ponder how we got to a place where a bunch of you are itching at the fingers to defend yet another boneheaded decision, add ice and go for a real shake. Shake it hard like you are mad at institutional ineptness that is accepted by the electorate as somehow ok, just as long as the people making the mistakes go to the right parties. Then double strain into a chilled Nick & Nora and garnish with an expressed lemon peel. 

In spite of the world, this drink is low key lovely. In fact, it is great. It might be a bit sweet, but it works. That Montenegro brings a vanilla thing that comes right through and it’s hint of orange picks up the lemon for a remarkably nice sour. It’s a bit of a treat thing, but you need to try this. So very good. 

I’m glad I made the drink, a little frustrated with the world. No, not the world. A lot of places are actually doing a great job, I’m mad at our country and our seeming inability to look out for each other on a consistent basis. Watching people stand around maskless talking about how this whole thing is not that serious, while at the same time lamenting how sad they are for this family or that one who lost a loved one to this disease. The cognitive dissonance is infuriating sometimes. But, if this is how the group wants to do things, who am I to complain? I’ll just go make a second drink for myself, play some guitar and let it all slip away. Y’all stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.