Once upon a time, a writer was celebrating her 4oth birthday on Venice Beach with her high school BFF. There were no children or husbands, and although the writer and her friend love these people, it was good. Very good. And they were happy. The writer didn’t know it yet, but she was about to write INTO THE FIRE, and when it got a little hairy, and she wanted a drink, she made one of these. (Okay, fine. She made many of these until she got the recipe right.) Because happiness in a glass is a beautiful thing. Cheers to good friends and happy memories!
Makes four tall drinks. (You’ll want two, and it’s good to share with a friend.)
Here is the fancy long version:
1 ½ cups water
½ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon honey
8 ounces lemon juice (I use Minute Maid frozen. Fresh is better, but more work. )
tequila
fresh herbs (optional)
12 blackberries
Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add honey. (At this point you may steep some fresh herbs like oregano, thyme or basil for a minute or two if you want to be super-fancy.) Cool.
Add lemon juice.
Smash three blackberries in the bottom of each glass. Smoosh ‘em up good! Add ice and a shot or two of tequila, then add the lemonade.
Stir. Blur. Jubilate!
(Now…occasionally we’ve been known to whip up a quickie short version of this little bit of heaven in a glass. If you have lemonade on hand, just smash two blackberries in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add ice, a drizzle of honey, and a shot of tequila. Top off the glass with lemonade and viola! A Blackberry Smash Quickie! Less complex, but still satisfying.)
Amanda Usen 