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!