Spring Time and the Drinking is Easy
Text by Heather Palermo & Cory Crawford • Photography by Jesse Martinez
It feels like we should start this article with an introduction. Hi. We are Heather and Cory. Nice to meet you! So, why should you read our all things booze article? What makes us experts? Well, nothing really, except for the fact that we like to travel, eat good food, and try out new beverages that we can bring back to Montana. Sure, some of the stuff we will write about you will have heard of or have had yourself, but we are hoping to bring a little bit of our adventures to you.
So, for our first article, we bring New Orleans to Montana, while also talking about a wine you can get anywhere around here. Sit back, relax, and let us tell you all about some great drinks for Spring.
The first time I (Heather) heard about La Vieille Ferme Rosé was at the Blue Rose when Tracy, the owner, offered me a glass of chicken wine. I did a double take – was she talking about wine to have with chicken, wine made from chickens, or something else? It turns out there are chickens on the label, hence the name chicken wine.
However silly the name may be, it is a very good rosé. Rosés have been gaining in popularity over the past couple of years – I mean I wouldn’t have been caught dead drinking a pink wine not too long ago – and they are great for warm spring days. It is great paired with, you guessed it, chicken, but also salads, fish and anything off the grill. It is a perfect crisp and fruity wine to have on hand for this spring and it’s not expensive! You can find it at Wines by Wednesday and Pizazz and many other places.
Ok, enough about wine, you really want to hear about New Orleans and how to make a delicious Sazerac. Cory . . .
Springtime holidays have got to be my favorites. Irish whiskey day (St. Patty’s), roasted lamb day (Easter), dislike of tequila reminder day (Cinco de Mayo), and of course, the let’s get crazy before Lent day/week/month (Mardi Gras, Shrovetide, or Carnival).
Whenever Lent begins to sneak up on us, I am transported back to that most famous of American Mardi Gras cities, New Orleans—amazing food, excellent music, and very interesting drinks. Few things can rival sitting at a bar on Frenchmen Street, sipping a Sazerac, and listening to a local band.
A Sazerac cocktail is made by muddling a sugar cube with three dashes of Peychaud’s bitters, adding two ounces of either rye whiskey (most popular) or cognac (the original), stirring with ice, and straining into a highball glass that’s been rinsed with Absinthe. The flavor is sublime, with a hint of anise.
So, while you’re out there enjoying freedom from the chains of winter, pick up some absinthe, rye, and bitters, then take a trip to New Orleans from the comfort of your own front porch.
~ Cory and Heather travel the world in search of adventure, delicious food, and amazing drinks. To pay for their adventures, Cory farms full time and Heather is the Director of Lifelong Learning at GFCMSU. They like to host dinner parties at their home in Great Falls, with their dog Maisy.
