Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: The Fix is In

Thankfully Friday is upon us once again. This has been the longest short week (for me at least). The family came back from a trip to northern Vermont to be in the path of totality for the eclipse, which was awesome and well worth it. However a long weekend with family, bookended with 5+ hour drives and traffic coming back kinda saps the energy from you. Thankfully, Frank Caifa from the Waldorf Astoria Bar Book came to my rescue this week with an easy drink called the Fix. This is a drink that dates back to the mid 19th century and it can’t be any easier to make. Base spirit of choice, simple syrup, and lemon juice. That’s it. There’s beauty in simplicity and this is perfect after an exhausting week:

Fix

2 oz. Spirit of choice (I used rye)

.25 oz. Simple syrup

.3 oz. Fresh lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Shake well and strain into a rocks glass or a tumbler filled with crushed ice or pellet ice. Garnish with citrus peel and/or seasonal fruit

A lot of the rye comes through here. It’s a powerful smelling spirit, so no surprise here, especially since it’s only competing with lemon as far as aromas go, and there is no way a third of an ounce of lemon is overpowering two ounces of rye.

The drink is cold, crisp and refreshing. A  sweet lemon flavor leads the way to start. Honestly, it kind of reminds me of some boozy lemonade, which I’m on the fence about. Not that this is bad, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. I was hoping for more rye flavor to come through. It does, somewhat. It’s very mild, which is surprising to me since whiskey, especially rye is such a potent ingredient, it gets completely overtaken by the simple syrup and the lemon juice. For some, that is a good thing. For me? Not so much. Next time, I might try an extra half ounce to an ounce of whiskey.

That’s basically it for the Fix. It’s simple, and decently good. But not my favorite, which I’m kind of sad and disappointed with. Maybe I need to up the base like I mentioned before, Or perhaps try a completely different base. Though I don’t think that’ll do it. Because if the ratio can overpower whiskey, I don’t really think rum stands much of a chance and vodka would get run over like a pedestrian not paying attention to a don’t walk sign. Maybe gin or tequila would shine through more, but I question how well they would work with the other two ingredients. I’ll probably experiment with other bases going forward, when I’m looking for something quick and different.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)