What I'm Drinking at Home

c. dy godsey

In reality, I will drink just about anything you put in front of me.  As a professional bartender,  I taste everything our distributors bring in for me to try.  I taste drinks as I develop them for publication, for entry in competition and for the bar I work behind. As a fan of cocktails, I constantly ask for a drinks menu when I'm out, so I can taste other people's creations.  I am almost never sorry, always inspired and oftentimes delighted.

You will need a shaker, some ice, Rehorst vodka and a little sake to make this beauty.

My Favorite Martian

2.5 oz. Rehorst Vodka

.5 oz. Yaegaki Sake

Fill shaker halfway with ice, add liquid ingredients.

Shake for 60 seconds on the clock (it will look like the silver lining of a cloud when it's cold enough).

Strain into cocktail glass and carry on....

The drink of choice might look like a Martini, but around the house we call it a Martian, and we're pretty loose about how you like it.  By now, everybody knows the history of the classic cocktail whose elegant glassware popularly bears its name. The Martian has its own history.  Back before I started bartending, my sister made it a New Year's Resolution to try a new cocktail every month. That year we made rickeys and toddies and and all types of things, but the Grey Goose Martini took hold and got re-christened shortly thereafter.  Now it is a tradition when my sisters are all together, and it's a clean, easy go-to in between.


The Kangaroo, or Vodka Martini, can be made with any vodka. Not in this house, but technically it can.   Historically, we made ours with Grey Goose.  I recently discovered how perfectly suited is the Rehorst to my preferred formula (below), and I also like to buy the occasional "surprise" bottle, like Australia's CooranBong.But when I'm clocked out, at home and making a cocktail for myself, my tastes are very simple.  I'm not a Fernet-drinking hipster, nor am I simmering a complicated batch of bitters or syrup. I'm Plain Jane. It has been said that I am so uncomplicated as to be practically a single-celled organism (which I find strangely flattering).