Enjoyed: Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Bourbon & Spice,” one of the seasonal cocktails.

Ingredients: Bulleit bourbon, Montenegro, Roth & Winter Orchard Pear, orange bitters, spicy bitters, with cinnamon stick and star anise as garnish.

The occasion: For the past several New Year’s Eves, we have gone out to dine with our dear friends. This time we selected Zocalo, on Charlottesville’s downtown mall. The menu looked interesting, and the cocktails looked intriguing. Our food and drinks mostly lived up to expectations. And as always, conversation flowed and good vibes abounded.

My rating: *** out of 5. The drink was full of flavor, but I was hoping it would taste more “winter-y” since cinnamon and star anise are often used in Christmas recipes. I was looking for pear and orange flavors, too, but the dominant tone was set by the bourbon. I wondered if the bartender simply made a traditional Old Fashioned and then merely tossed in the advertised garnishes.

Final thoughts: Being with long-time friends is fun and very comforting, too. We all agreed that 2025 wasn’t the best year–and we agreed to approach 2026 with hope and optimism. Fingers crossed.

1. Studies have shown that children raised in bilingual environments excel in reasoning, memory, and problem-solving skills.
2. I seemed to have an easier time getting good grades in my high school and college foreign languages classes (in my case, French and Russian).
3. During my college days in central Indiana, I greatly enjoyed astounding fellow students who would hear me speaking on the phone with my parents. Several friends admitted to me that I was the first person they ever met who was raised in a bilingual household.
4. For a brief period of time (during my university studies), I was able to call myself a polyglot.
5. My sister and I can simply chat in Polish when we need to convey secrets or nasty gossip.
6. I have been able to unwittingly eavesdrop on private conversations in international airports, big-city department stores, and the like. And some of these conversations have been hilarious.
7. I can watch Polish movies without having to turn on pesky subtitles.
8. I can read all the incredible recipes my mom passed on to me. And I think in Polish when I cook, or sew, or crochet, since my mom taught me these skills.
9. I can communicate easily with each one of my cousins, both in the USA and Poland.
10. Traveling (especially in Slavic-language speaking countries) is easier, since I can readily pick up the key phrases. (On our most recent trip to Croatia, I suspect that my attempts to speak a few words in Croatian resulted in complimentary drinks and desserts. Can’t complain about that.)
11. I can dream in both languages!
12. I know twice as many Christmas carols as most people.
13. I enjoy feeling (relatively) unique.
14. There are few things as beautiful as reading poetry in the actual language it was written in.
15. Sometimes a profanity in Polish (or even Russian) is much more fitting in a situation, and therefore much more satisfying to use.
16. I believe that my bilingual upbringing (thanks, dear parents!) has molded me into a person with a deeper empathy and respect for other cultures.

Enjoyed: Thursday, December 4, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Audubon Old Fashioned”

Ingredients: Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Angostura Bitters, Luxardo Cherry, Orange, Simple Syrup

The occasion: Husband and I have been treating ourselves to pre-Christmas get-away weekends since 2015. We find that such adventures help put us in the holiday mood. Staying at the Homestead in December has been a dream of mine for years, and indeed, the resort met all my expectations. The holiday decorations were extraordinarily pretty, the historic hot-springs baths were relaxing, the food was yummy, and the customer service was top-notch. To top it off, a few inches of snow fell overnight on our final night, creating a true Winter Wonderland of mountain scenery.

My rating: **** out of 5. The staff member who took our drink order told me that the Old Fashioned is one of his favorite drinks to mix, and that he would do a wonderful job for me. He did. The drink was exactly what I wanted, since the ingredients were indeed classic. (I am finding that I am awarding 5 stars to more “creative” Old Fashioneds than this one was.)

Final thoughts: The American Audubon Dining Room was exquisite–colonial, yes, but mostly white with gorgeous chandeliers. A grand piano stood in the center, and the pianist played a soft mixture of holiday tunes. The dress code is no longer super-formal, yet we did put on some fancier clothes, and let the atmosphere transport us back in time a bit. What a lovely evening!

1. I am retired so I should have the time, even though these dishes are ridiculously labor-intensive.
2. If my great-grandmothers could make all this and still have time to milk the cows, darn the socks, feed the chickens, and so on, I should be able to handle this in my 21st century kitchen.
3. I need something to keep me busy as I wait impatiently for my offspring to arrive for the holidays.
4. I am bonding with countless generations of strong, resilient East European women.
5. I suppose this is one way to make myself invaluable to the offspring and to the husband, because they do appreciate all the effort I put into this. I think.
6. If I don’t make all these traditional dishes, my mother’s ghost will no doubt come to haunt me. (It’s still complicated, you know, all the Polish mother guilt I carry.)
7. Some of these dishes are good for our health, right? I mean, sauerkraut is pickled and good for gut health, and all the fish has great omega-3 fatty acids. And the sour cream has calcium. And the beets help fight inflammation. And the poppy seeds are rich in antioxidants. Right?
8. The days-long lingering smell of cooked cabbage reminds me of my childhood, and nostalgia is a necessary part of the holiday season.
9. At least the vodka is easy to obtain.
10. I want to pass on the beautiful Polish Christmas legacy to my kids and their partners. (And if they let the traditions die, I suppose I could always come back and haunt them.)

Enjoyed: Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Esplanade 1925 Old Fashioned (1960s era).”

Ingredients: Michter’s bourbon, Kilchoman Sanaig Islay Single Malt Scotch, African fruit pepper, orange peel.

The occasion: This was our final night in Zagreb, and our first night of the “official” excursion with our tour agency, who booked us into the most elegant and historic hotel in the city, The Esplanade. Since the restaurant (decorated in shades of pink!) holds a “green” Michelin star, we had to experience it. The meal was superb! What a lovely way to bid goodbye to this charming capital city.

My rating: ***** out of 5. From the start, this drink was out to impress, with “Esplanade 1925”–the name of the Old Fashioned and of the bar!–burned into the accompanying orange peel. Fancy! I am not familiar with “African fruit pepper,” but I assume that it’s an herbal bitter. I am familiar with Kentucky’s Michter bourbon, one of my favorites. The main note of the drink was the smokiness from the scotch, which blended well with the sweet and spicy notes from the other ingredients. The menu stated: “Just like a time machine, it (the cocktail) will take you back to the original experience of New York brokers in the 1960s.” I complimented the bartenders upon departure, and they were eager to show me the bottle of scotch they used. Delicious.

Final thoughts: The hotel website says it better than I can: “Opened in 1925 as a refuge for passengers from the Orient Express, the über-stylish Esplanade Zagreb Hotel is an architectural gem. Located within easy reach of key attractions, the city’s most iconic hotel combines art deco glamour with every contemporary convenience. Long-established as a haven for A-List movie stars, politicians, singers and artists, the hotel’s fairytale exterior and gracious guest accommodation make it easily the most prestigious hotel in Zagreb.” We would happily return!

Enjoyed: Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, simply as “Old Fashioned.”

Ingredients: Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Muscovado, and Angostura Bitters.

The occasion: This was our first evening in Croatia! We left Venice in the morning, spent the afternoon in lush Motovun, on the gorgeous Istrian Peninsula. For the next two days, our plans were to further explore Istria, and especially the seaside town of Rovinj. Our inn was only a few blocks away from this waterside bar, and we so enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching the sun set over the Adriatic Sea.

My rating: **** out of 5. The muscovado sugar gave the drink a rich, brown sugar sweetness. Woodford is always a good idea, and this cocktail lived up to expectations. I appreciated the orange oil around the edge, which showed me that the young bartender was knowledgeable about this “American” cocktail.

Final thoughts: We wanted to have cocktails in this incredibly-situated bar–it appeared to just hang into the sea–and we will never forget this evening. However, we soon discovered for ourselves that Croatians make delicious and complex wines, so we focused on wines for the next week and a half of our stay. And also, we learned that Croatians will not sit on hard, cold surfaces, for fear of catching a variety of ailments, so every bar provided patrons with ample cushions and lap blankets.

1. She was born in the USA on November 12, 1925, and named “Helen” after her paternal grandmother, even though her mother was not pleased with that choice.
2. She had no middle name, but perhaps that was more common a century ago. However, she chose “Constance” as her confirmation name, which was the name of her maternal grandmother, so placating her mother.
3. She had two First Communions, about two years apart. Her first one was in Claremont, New Hampshire, when she was six years old. The next year, her parents moved the whole family to Poland. The parish priest insisted Helen was too young to receive Communion, so she had to wait a few years until she was allowed to join her peers for another First Communion. (Insert an eye roll here, or a discussion on theology. I won’t be offended.)
4. In 1942, Helen’s beloved father was taken away in the middle of the night by Bolshevik sympathizers, during the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland, during which time hundreds of thousands of Polish nationals were also “arrested” or killed. He was taken to a prison camp in Siberia, and Helen never saw him again.
5. At the end of World War II, Helen, her mother, and her little brother had to abandon the family farm in far eastern Poland and move to newly-acquired, former German land near the Oder River, since borders were re-drawn. They traveled for ten days by rail, in a boxcar, with other displaced families and probably some animals.
6. Helen had incredible sewing skills, which she learned from an aunt, she told me, but I suspect she learned these skills out of necessity. She once showed me how the frayed collar of a men’s shirt could be swapped with the underside of the collar, so prolonging the life of the shirt.
7. After the war, Helen worked as the assistant to a notary in the Gorzow office of the Ministry of Justice. Her family assumed she would remain a “career woman” since she did not want to get married. However, Helen’s goal was to return to the USA, and she knew a marriage would make that goal highly unlikely.
8. Beginning in the early 1950s, Helen started making plans to leave Poland. However, with Stalin as the ruler of the Soviet Bloc and with the American distrust of Iron Curtain citizens, emigration to the West became nearly impossible. Helen was in possession of a Polish passport, but she never officially became a citizen, since she was just a child when the family returned. This technicality eventually helped to sway officials at the US Embassy in Warsaw, who promised to help her leave. In 1957, Helen was finally able to obtain permission–from the Communist government– to leave Poland for a few weeks, so she could visit her brother in Vermont. Once she got off the plane in Amsterdam, she was escorted to a room where she took a pledge of loyalty to USA and was handed a brand-new US passport. She never returned to Poland.
9. During the subsequent years in New England, she was often asked if she was Irish, likely because of her auburn hair and freckles. (I suspect her reply–“No, I am Polish”–was delivered in an icy tone.)
10. Soon after her return to the US, Helen moved to Hartford, Connecticut, and enrolled in English-language classes. She met a dashing Peruvian in class, and she told me they dated for a bit, but she broke it off because of cultural differences. I cannot imagine how different my life as “Monica” would have been if that gentleman had ended up as my father.
11. Helen obviously preferred Polish men. She and several other single Polish friends were invited to an Easter gathering in Hartford. My dad had travelled from Indiana to visit his war-time buddy, the party’s host, and was obviously out to impress the ladies by volunteering for cooking duty–and he sang as he worked. He was successful! He and Helen started exchanging letters, and they were married the very next January.
12. Although she tsk’ed at my father for drinking and smoking (during my early childhood), I do have a few memories of her sneaking a sip and a drag when she thought I wasn’t watching.
13. Helen was a big fan of herbal teas and homemade liqueurs, all used for medicinal reasons. (Feeling “nervous”? Have some Valerian root tea. Upset tummy? Let’s brew some chamomile. Bad cough? Here’s a shot of raspberry brandy.)
14. Unlike most native Polish speakers, Helen could make the “th” sound–which does not exist in Slavic languages–probably because she learned English as a child in New Hampshire. Even though Helen forgot almost all her English and ended up speaking it with an accent, she liked to tease my dad about how her pronunciation was better than his.
15. And speaking of languages: Helen had to study Russian in order to earn her high school diploma, and my dad remembered some from his time as a prisoner of war, so sometimes they would use “broken” Russian (versus Polish) with each other to convey a secret or to swear in frustration. I had no idea what they were saying until years later.
16. At the age of 50, Helen decided she wanted to try something new, so she started taking lessons in oil painting from a local artist/friend of the family. She painted dozens of canvases over the next few decades. Several hang in my home, and they bring me joy.

Enjoyed: Friday, September 5, 2025

Listed on the menu: No, but the bartender told us he had been mixing drinks professionally for decades, and he had fine-tuned his recipe.

Ingredients: Wood Duck High Rye Bourbon, sprinkle of turbinado sugar, Amarena cherry, muddled orange

The occasion: The day was warm and sunny, so Husband and I decided we needed one last summer swim at Sherando Lake, beautifully situated just a short way from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Devil’s Backbone Basecamp was on the way home, so we stopped in for food and drink. The Shanty was closed when we were there earlier in the summer, so this time we took advantage of sampling the company’s bourbon. The bartender was chatty yet grumpy and served as the entertainment.

My rating: **** out of 5. The cocktail was barely sweet, with definite notes of cherry, caramel, and vanilla. I was surprised that the sugar dissolved so well, and I would have preferred a little less of the orange flavor, even though this is a very traditional way to prepare this drink.

Final thoughts: Devil’s Backbone is perhaps the most successful of our local breweries, since the product is distributed nationwide and the company is now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The Basecamp is impressive, a multi-building campus dedicated to alcohol and food. Happily, our meals were well-prepared, the beer is delicious, the endeavor helps the local economy, and the scenery is pretty, so we felt a little less bad about leaving our money with this huge corporation.

Enjoyed: Thursday, August 14, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Strawberry Rhubarb Old Fashioned”

Ingredients: Dawson’s Reserve Bourbon, Strawberry, Campari, Rhubarb Bitters

The occasion: We were in the mood for a drive down Virginia’s pretty roads, so we headed north toward Sperryville. We last visited this distillery probably ten years ago, so we were curious to see any changes. Indeed, the selection of products has expanded, and now there is outdoor seating, in a pretty garden overlooking the Thornton River. We each tried a flight and then a cocktail. Sperryville is a charming town, so we explored a bit afterwards and found a lovely spot for lunch.

My rating: **** out of 5. The first flavors I tasted were the sweet and spicy notes of the bourbon, followed then by the strawberry’s juices. I would guess only a few drops of Campari were added, maybe mostly for color. I have only eaten rhubarb baked along with strawberries, so the use of rhubarb bitters made sense. The cocktail was a bit more nuanced due to these additions, I suspect, but the strawberry lingered longer than the other flavors.

Final thoughts: Cute little towns like Sperryville are popular weekend destinations for the Washington-area crowd, especially since Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive are so close. We yet again are happy to be retired, so we can experience these places on weekdays, at a gentle pace.