Food for Thought
The Craziest Easter Drink Ever: You've never seen Peeps used like this before (not suitable for children)
We certainly don’t need any April showers after the recent rain we’ve had, but we do need two things for April: Peeps and gin.
Sunday, April 5 is Easter of course. Hence the Peeps, the ubiquitous, spring colored marshmallow treats. But then April 9 is International Gin and Tonic Day, so, gin. OK, maybe you are going to need four things in April: Peeps, gin, tonic water and ice.
The traditional gin and tonic, if you didn’t know, was created by the British East India Company in the early 1800s as a way of getting British officers to drink more quinine water to prevent and treat malaria. Current medical thinking doesn’t buy this is a very effective treatment but who are you to argue with the Brits?
Gin and tonics are still very popular in India, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. It’s become quite popular in Spain as well. In Barcelona they have Gin-Tonic bars where you select your gin preference and specify your garnish of choice. Here’s an article of the best Gin-Tonic (as the drink is called in Spain) bars in Barcelona.
This makes an adorable drink for your April cocktail parties and it’s not as crazy as it sounds.
I have a new bottle of The London No. 1 — it’s triple distilled, small batch gin from England that has a pale blue color with scents of juniper berries and balsamic.
Then I bought some Peeps. I’m not really a fan of the marshmallow Peeps, this may have been the first time I have eaten one in decades. I don’t think they have much taste but apparently I’m almost alone in not liking them. Apparently you can cook with them (be careful microwaving them as they expand) and there are now Peeps flavored milk — in three flavors no less.
But I think the best use of Peeps is The Washington Post’s annual Peeps Diorama Contest. Check out some of the past winners here. Go Peeps diorama makers! Will we see a Birdman Peeps diorama this year?
So, in the interest of pure journalism (and the fact that I clearly could not think of anything else to write about this week) I have discovered a new use for Peeps: (Drum roll, please).
I give you the Peeps Easter Gin and Tonic.
Here is The London No. 1 Gin and Tonic recipe, and how I have modified it for the dual holidays:
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
Gently swirl the ice cubes around the glass to chill it.
Next, add 1 and 1/2 oz of The London No. 1, a little at a time, until you see that the blue of the gin is coloring the glass.
Pour in two measures of tonic water for every measure of gin. Do this slowly to preserve the full strength of the bubbles.
Twist a piece of lime peel over the gin and tonic to perfume it then drop the peel in to allow it to impregnate the drink with citrus aroma.
I used H-E-B’s lime flavored tonic water, so no need for the lime. Instead, as a garnish I chose a yellow duck Peep. I think you could use the pink or blue (would look great with blue gin) bunnies just as well but I liked the idea of a yellow ducky swimming in a bath of gin.
This makes an adorable drink for your April cocktail parties and it’s not as crazy as it sounds. Some of the original British recipes called for adding sugar to the quinine water and gin.
The sugar coated Peep adds a barely discernable hint of sweetness to the cocktail.
And, if you want to eat the Peep when the drink is done, I say a gin-soaked Peep is a tastier Peep.
