I'm An Old-Fashioned Girl

My roots are deeply Polish. When we gather, food and drink are central to the event. My grandmother was one of thirteen first-generation children born on a farm in Northern Wisconsin and that clan scattered throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota. Some of my fondest girlhood memories are family weddings. When we came together for a wedding, my family often times rented a bus and reserved blocks of hotel rooms because, well, we like to party. Everyone was included; everyone was "family" if you happened to be a guest in that hotel or the desk clerk or maid.

Aunt Bernice's Old Fashioned Cocktail recipe would be adapted to serve few or many in the hallway of that block of rooms. The matriarchs of my family would gather in the hallway, open their purses and magically produce bottles of brandy, cherries and orange slices most likely stolen from the reception hall, a bottle of bitters and the vending machine supplied 7Up. They called it "making soup". The vessel, a roasting pan, never seemed to run dry and the singing went on into the wee hours of the night.

Aunt Bernice's Old Fashioned Cocktail
1 shot of Korbel Brandy (apricot flavored is my personal favorite)
A good shake of Bitters
A splash of cherry juice
A few ounces of 7Up
One Maraschino cherry
One orange slice
Cinnamon stick

Good times.