Thirsty Thursdays: Pinstripe Edition

Perhaps you were expecting some sort of red, white and blue beverage this week in honor of the holiday weekend? If so, I'm sorry to disappoint ... I don't do blue drinks. Blueberries notwithstanding, of course.

Since I'll be spending at least one day of the weekend in Yankee Stadium, this classic cocktail came to mind.

The Bronx Cocktail:

• 2 shots of gin
• 1 shot of freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 shot of sweet vermouth
• 1/2 shot of dry vermouth

Fill a martini shaker with ice and over it pour the gin, oj, and vermouth. Cover and shake well until the shaker frosts. Strain into an ice filled tumbler and garnish with an orange slice, peel or twist. Serve and enjoy, repeat as necessary!

Alternately, you can omit the ice and serve the drink straight up as a martini. The choice is yours. Now that we're finally being treated to some summery weather, I find I prefer the iced version rather than the martini. Nothing says summer refresher like the clink of ice against glass.

This is a classic cocktail and there are as many recipes for it, with varying ratios of gin/oj/vermouth, as you can count. The drink I've posted here is based on a version from Holiday Cocktails: A Connoisseur's Guide to Seasonal Drinks by Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen. Its a charming little book, chock full of potent potables that are sure to please.

The Bronx Cocktail is basically another "gin and juice" variation. I must insist that you use fresh squeezed oj ... at least if you're making one for me. Not a fan of the stuff in a carton. The fresh juice lends the right kind of sweetness and will offset the astringent edge of the gin and vermouth.

Whatever you're up to this weekend, stay safe, have a wonderful time and throw an extra burger on the grill for me.

Cheers!