Bards of the Bluegrass Featured Cocktail: August 6th
Each week, Ars Poetica hosts an intersectional open mic for open conversation and art in support of the campaign to remove Mitch McConnell from the US Senate. Our friend and wine/spirits expert Jordan Zimmerman provides us with a cocktail for each edition of the Bards of the Bluegrass show. Join us this week, from anywhere in the world. This week’s beverage is…
The Democrat
INGREDIENTS:
2 oz Old Forester Bourbon
0.75 oz Lemon Juice
0.5 oz Peach Liqueur
(AKA Peach Schnapps or Creme de Peche--here’s an affordable option available in Louisville)
0.5 oz Honey Syrup
(or Rich Simple Syrup--see recipes below)
Garnish: Lemon Wheel & mint sprig
INSTRUCTIONS:
Add all ingredients to a tall glass and fill halfway with ice (a fancy cocktail bar would use crushed ice, but you can use whatever you have at home). Stir until the glass is very cold, and top with more ice until the glass is full. Garnish with a lemon wheel, a mint spring, and a metal or biodegradable straw.
SYRUP OPTIONS:
Simple syrup just means you’ve dissolved 1 part sugar into one part water. “Rich” simple syrup means you’ve dissolved two parts sugar into one part water. Honey Syrup means you’ve combined one part honey with one part water. All three types of syrup can be made in a large quantity and stored, covered, in your fridge for future use.
LOW- OR NO-PROOF SWAP:
Replace the Bourbon with richly steeped black or barley tea. For a Low-proof swap, retain the additional ingredients as listed. For a no-proof swap, either remove the peach schnapps or swap for a tablespoon of peach preserves.
THE “WHY”
In American history, the term “Southern Democrat” didn’t just refer to a Southerner who sided with the Democratic party--at least not in the sense that we understand the term “Democrat” today. In fact, a “Southern Democrat” in the 19th century referred to a pro-slavery, anti-abolitionist who opposed equal opportunities for Black people, non-black People of Color, and women. It was only during the presidency of pro-Civil Rights, Pro-governmental healthcare, pro-human Harry Truman--who himself won the presidency as the Democratic nominee--that these “Southern Democrats” began to abandon a party that they felt no longer served their white, capitalist interests and that the Democratic party began to be defined by the more egalitarian ideals we understand it to hold today. It was the legacy of Harry Truman and his Missouri roots that inspired celebrated modern bartender Jon Santer of San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch to create The Democrat cocktail.
The cocktail combines what most consider a traditionally “Southern ingredients” in Bourbon with a title many consider to describe a higher proportion of those not living in the South. Read that previous sentence again: It is full of assumptions, conjecture, and adherence to outdated ideology. There is no reason a Democrat cannot win in a traditionally red state. There is no reason a woman cannot unseat a white, male incumbent. In fact, when we consider what the change could do for the people who live in the state of Kentucky and this country as a whole, we have an obligation to seek out what others may deem impossible.
Cheers to change.
Cocktail and Commentary by Friend of Ars Poetica, Jordan Zimmerman.