Pop Quiz: What’s your drink of choice?

Happy Monday everyone! I was feeling kind of lousy and took most of today off, but never fear! I still have a question for you, inspired by Julia’s fabulous new series on wine.

If you’re anything like me there have probably been occasions in your teaching career when you’ve required a drink or two to get through a pile of fifty totally depressing essays or assignments. Not so much as to impede proper evaluation, of course, but just enough to make things seem just a bit less bleak and power through to the end.

I like a lot of drinks, honestly, but I’ve noticed my habits and tastes have changed a bit over the last several years, especially by becoming more sensitive to changes in season. When I was but a fresh-faced youth used to drink mainly gin, but now I’ll only have a Tom Collins on a hot summer day, reserving browner stuff for colder weather. In fact my new favourite cocktail is the Rusty Nail, which I decided to try out a couple of weeks ago after seeing it on a list of wintry libations. Drambuie is really a magical thing.

I’ve always wanted to try home brewing, too, because SCIENCE!!! The equipment and storage space issues in my apartment have always been a bit of an impediment, though. The best I’ve done is make cider from a gallon of unpasteurized apple juice by leaving it in a cupboard for a month, which actually turns out way better than it sounds. What I really want to make, though, is real old-fashioned alcoholic ginger beer. Unfortunately the one time I did attempt it I used bread yeast and the result was not particularly palatable.

So what do you like to drink (alcoholic or non)? Is a scotch-and-soda really a “professorial” drink, as someone once remarked to me? Have you ever tried home-brewing or winemaking?

The Pop Quiz is a question posed to you, the Scholars of Doubt. Look for it to appear Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday afternoons (ET).

Featured image: Christian “VisualBeo” Horvat