Page 19 of Shameless
“Nope.” He winked in my direction. “Already have a drink in mind.”
8
Blake
In all myyears as a bartender, I’d never entered a cocktail contest. My time behind the bar, I’d made a lot of common drinks like Cosmopolitans, rum & Cokes, and Long Island Iced Teas. Still, every so often someone would say, “Surprise me” or “I don’t know. Make me something delicious.” When that happened, I’d come up with some shit they’d never heard of before, like a Crazy Banana, made of 99 Bananas schnapps, coconut rum, and pineapple juice. Or I would make them a Flaming Dr. Pepper. Customers got a kick out of watching me fill a shot glass with amaretto and float a layer of overproof rum on top before lighting it on fire and carefully dropping it into a pint glass filled halfway with beer.
But this wasn’t like any time I was behind the bar. This was an opportunity to impress a woman. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to, either. After we left Mexico, we wouldn’t run into each other and start dating. No, Sarah would go home to Vegas, while I went home to Houston.
Yet, I wanted to make Sarah smile. Make her laugh, make her squeal, and more than anything, make her moan.
I wasn’t about to revert to my old ways, where I slept with any woman I wanted. It was too soon. And yet, the more time I spent with Sarah, the more I wanted to have a brief fling with her. A fling was all it could be because of the miles between us.
Tequila wasn’t my go-to liquor, but since arriving in Mexico, I had drank more tequila than I had in my twenty-eight years prior, so at least I kind of knew what would taste cool with the Dos Lobos Mezcal, and I had an idea in mind if the organizers had all the ingredients I needed.
“You can use any ingredient here, but the only rule is the cocktails must use Dos Lobos Mezcal,” some guy who seemed like the coordinator stated as he led the nine entrants over to the lobby bar.
Scanning the selection of items, I spotted everything I needed. One by one, the contestants made their cocktails and then took their drinks to the judges’ table. I was too far away to see what they were making as I stood off to the side with Sarah and her friends while I waited my turn.
“What are you going to make?” Sarah whispered.
“It’s a secret.”
“Why?” Her brow furrowed.
“You’ll see.”
When it was my turn, I walked behind the bar and grabbed the Dos Lobos Reposado, a lemon, a bottle of agave, a stick of cinnamon, and apple juice. I was elated I could make something that highlighted the connection between me and Sarah, and it seemed the event stocked items you wouldn’t normally see behind a bar.
After filling a cocktail shaker with ice, I then added all the ingredients except the cinnamon and shook it for several seconds. I grabbed a straw, dipped it into the mixture, and gave it a taste. The drink needed something more, and I wasn’t sure what would make it better. Scanning the selection of items again, I spotted a bottle of walnut bitters amongst the various other bitters available, and I knew it would give the apple and Mezcal cocktail a nutty and woody flavor. I put a few dashes of the hundred-proof liquor into the shaker and shook the concoction again before grabbing three rocks glasses and adding a scoop of ice to each one. I strained the mixture over the ice and grated the fresh cinnamon on top. Since most alcoholic beverages had a garnish, I cut three round slices of an apple and cut a slit in each before hooking them to the rims of the glasses. Then I took the drinks over to be judged.
“And your name for the cocktail?” one of the female judges inquired.
Glancing over my shoulder to where Sarah was standing, a name came to me and I rattled it off, the judge jotting it down. They each took sips and made some indication on cards and then moved on to the next person.
When I returned to the group to wait, Sarah looked up at me and asked, “Now, will you tell me what you made?”
Draping my arm across her shoulders, I replied, “The Reacquainted Apple.”
Even though my time at the apple farm had been mostly spent with Sarah’s aunt, it was how and where Sarah and I had met.
“Aw, I love it.” She beamed. “You’re going to have to make it for me.”
“Even if it doesn’t win?”
“Of course. I want to try it.”
“I can do that.” I smiled.
“I want to try it too,” Amanda stated.
“Me too,” Josie and Taylor said in unison.
“Then maybe I’ll get the hotel to send up the stuff I need and we can have a party in y’all’s room,” I suggested. It was an all-inclusive resort and we could order room service, so I could order all the ingredients, right?
We watched the last of the contestants prepare their drinks. After everyone finished, the three judges tallied their scoring cards.
“Are you nervous?” Taylor asked.
