Our buddy Eric H., Laguna Madre fly fishing friend and occasional business consultant down in the Rio Grand Valley of Texas, had the temerity to email this week and complain about how warm it had been of late.
I reminded him that much of the country has spent at least part of the past week or two shoveling snow or commuting in cold spring rains, though that didn’t seem to engender a great deal of sympathy.
EH then offered that it had been so warm he’s had to break out a late spring / early summer staple – his Backyard Bourbon Slush.
He shared a long story about learning the recipe from a ‘winter Texan’ (winter tourist spending all or part of the late fall – winter – early spring in almost tropical South Texas) in his parent’s RV park years ago. The old codger who taught him this deceptively simple yet potent concoction was from Kentucky and insisted this was part of the local’s standard fare around Derby Day.
EH was careful to note he was told to make this exactly as written, and not to “get too damned fancy” and try and sub in freshly squeezed lemon and orange juices. He also warned these are deceptively smooth, almost like a frosty dessert, and can come back and bite you if you’re not mindful about it.
EH says it’s hot enough in South Texas to keep a batch of this in the freezer “just in case” from now until around the end of October.
2 cups water
3 black tea bags
2 cups sugar12 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate
6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups bourbon
7 cups water2 liters good ginger ale, chilled
Brew up some sweet tea. Bring the first 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat, add the teabags and steep for 10 minutes (then discard the tea). Now stir in the sugar until dissolved.
Mix the rest. Now combine the sweet tea (really more like a tea syrup), lemon and orange juice concentrates, bourbon and the 7 cups water.
Slush it. Pour into the container of your choice and freeze overnight (at least 6 hours) until the mass is slushy solid through and through.
Now savor it. Scoop the slush mixture into a glass, top with the chilled ginger ale and serve.
Enjoy.
