Cocktail Night: The Negroni
Last school year my husband and I started something that has become a beloved Thursday night tradition: Cocktail Night.
The long and short of the inception of Cocktail Night came after a few weeks (months?) of quarantine in 2020. Since “staying in” was the new normal, we decided to designate one specific night (as opposed to four) each week as "cocktail night." We picked Thursday because our kids are done with school by Thursday afternoon. Thursday night felt like a Friday night. We treat Cocktail Night similarly to going out for a date: kids to bed by 8PM, we dress nicely, and sip a cocktail (or two) while listening to a record. (As I write this I realize this makes us sound like an old married couple. Perhaps? But, truthfully, I don't care, and I'm here for it.)
Cocktail Night started with the goal of enjoying one kind of cocktail per month. Each month we wanted to learn to make one cocktail exceptionally well. We figured that by the end of the year we’d have learned how to make twelve good cocktails and we would eventually have plenty of options to offer when entertaining friends.
The plan was working great until April. January, February, and March each and its own (new to us) cocktail. We enjoyed them every Thursday night. But in April we realized we had found a favorite already in January: the Negroni.
The Negroni is a classic Italian cocktail and the perfect balance of bitter and sweet. It's a great cocktail for the end of summer or early fall. (But also for winter, spring or the beginning of summer.) Give it a try on your next cocktail night. Cheers!
Note: before I share this recipe with you, I am going to call out the elephant in the room. This recipe requires gin. Some people say they don't like gin.That’s probably because either they had cheap gin (which I agree is not good) or because they have never had a Negroni. No matter how much your vodka martini heart says you should, do not substitute vodka for gin in this recipe. I have many a friend who say they do not like gin, but have tried a Negroni (which is now the Cocktail of the Year) and have fallen in love with it.
- 1 ounce gin (Bombay Sapphire is our go-to)
- 1 ounce Campari
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- Garnish: orange peel
Method Add the gin, Campari and sweet vermouth to a mixing glass filled with ice, and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with large ice cubes. Garnish with an orange peel. Sip on your own Cocktail Night!
A simple tip for using your essential oils
So many times I chat with people and realize that they aren't using their oils on a daily basis. This tip is incredibly simple, but one that even seasoned oilers forget from time to time:
Put your oils out where you can see them.
If you find yourself thinking, “Oils are great... but I just don’t use them," then try setting them out around your house where you think you will be most likely to use them regularly. My favorite way to "corral" oils and keep things tidy is to use a tray. I have trays in every room that has a diffuser (or a countertop) where I store my most frequently used oils.
It sounds simplistic, but I've found that if I have my oils stored up and away from everything, that is where they stay. When they are out of sight they are out of mind and the chances are much lower that I will walk myself to my closet, dig out the box from under the pair of jeans from 2015 and dig out my Lavender when I need to use it. If you were to come to my house, you would see little "stations" of oils in many different rooms. I have some oils on my kitchen countertop, my favorite seasonal oils for diffusing next to each diffuser, a selection of oils in the bathroom to use when I get ready each morning, oils I use for cleaning in the laundry room, sleep oils by my bedside, and an "everyday use" collection easily accessible on the counter in the upstairs hallway.
Give it a try! Shop your house to see what you already have. Find a small tray or dish and put it in a high traffic area. Place some of your favorite oils on your tray. Ta-da! A handy little oils station!
I bet just having oils out where you can see them will prompt you to reach for them more often.
Snippets of my week
Lined up for Tacos on Taco Tuesday.
The kids have been on an Uno kick this week. Can’t remember who won this round!
This Saturday’s hike. The sunrises that are hazy with fog burning off already at 6AM mean it will be a hot one!
Thanks for reading! Do you have a favorite cocktail that we should add to our Cocktail Night menu? I’d love to hear about it! Just hit reply if you’d like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.