Coming to a cup near you

“Is it just me, or was this, like, the worst week ever?” You may ask yourself this question every week, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t earned your Thursday night cocktail. In this edition of Drinking with Bwog, learn to celebrate the season with the Kentucky Fried Turkey. CBA bartender and Thanksgiving enthusiast Lauren Alpert promises it doesn’t taste anything like it sounds like. 

Ah, the good old days, when mid-November was spent decorating hand-shaped construction paper turkeys and reveling in idyllic myths of pilgrim-Native American camaraderie! Though those carefree autumn days have long been replaced with exams, problem sets, and disillusionment regarding race relations in colonial America, even the most jaded college student can still get into the holiday spirit with this seasonal, all-American cocktail. I present the Kentucky Fried Turkey, named in honor of its base liquor’s birthplace (Bourbon County, Kentucky) and inspired by my vision of an authentic southern Thankgiving. It’s a hit at holiday parties and pairs well with dishes both sweet and savory.

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Wild Turkey Kentucky Bourbon (other brands are fine, but this one is especially apropos)
3 oz apple cider
Splash of ginger ale
Thin apple slice for garnish

Directions:

• Add ice to a shaker until it’s roughly 2/3 full.
• Pour in the bourbon and apple cider (adjusting the ratio if you’d like a stronger or mellower drink), and shake well.
• Strain into a glass, either over ice or straight-up (martini-style, that is).
• Top with ginger ale to taste.
• Cut a slit in the apple slice to slide it onto the rim of the glass.

Relax and enjoy!

Variations:

• Rim the glass with cinnamon sugar: Before preparing the cocktail, mix granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and any other autumnal spices you have on hand (e.g. nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger, even a pumpkin-pie spice blend) in a shallow dish with a diameter larger than the rim of your glass. Take a lemon wedge and run the fleshy part along the rim to moisten. Then turn the glass over to dip the rim into the sugar mix, twisting the glass to coat all around with sweet, spicy goodness. This is a really simple technique that adds plenty of flavor with each sip and earns you some major presentation points.
• Deep Fried: On chilly November nights, this cocktail makes a great hot toddy, especially if you use mulled cider (I’ll let Bobby Flay teach you how to prepare that). I don’t recommend shaking hot liquids. Instead, you can just add the ingredients to a mug and stir to mix well. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, if you so desire.