We found ourselves at home together, on a Monday afternoon, with much decorating left to do. Tim had been traveling, and I’d made some progress, but still there were the windows, the porch, the banister, finishing the tree.

Christmas music! I suggested, something that seemed a little aggressive for a regular old workday. Then for better measure, and a cocktail!  (It was not yet 4:00 and I must admit there was more enthusiasm than I expected as this spur-of-the-moment thought came out of my mouth.) Still I pressed on.

With bourbon! I said.

I have never been a bourbon drinker, I must tell you, but at a writing conference this summer, kind, new friends shared with me a splash of their aged Knob Creek. The taste warmed me nearly as much as the generosity of the offering. (Kristi and Matthew, I’m talking about you.)

Old Fashioneds, I smiled, something we’ve never made, my imagination serving up a vision of the gorgeous copper color, an orange peel curling in the glass. But alas an inspection of our cabinet revealed an absence of Bitters. And so Google brought us this, with just three on-hand ingredients: lemon, honey, and bourbon. The Gold Rush.

Oh my.

So it’s only Monday. Turn up the tunes!

GOLD RUSH
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 lemons, juiced, about 4 tablespoons (2 ounces)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) bourbon

Mix honey and water to make a thin syrup and let it cool. Add this, along with lemon and bourbon, to an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake, shake, shake for 10 seconds or so. Strain over big ice cubes in a rocks glass.

(Can be refrigerated until ready to serve.)

30 Days of Joy