This story starts a few weeks ago when we had some friends over for a cocktail-makin-party. We provided the spirits, they provided the mixers, and together we made the beautiful (and delicious!) cocktails gracing our blog here. We had a lot of fun, a lot of laughs, and a lot of inspiration! One of the cocktails we came up with paired our Pend Oreille River Light Rum with pineapple juice, ginger ale, triple sec, and honey. It was so good! The perfect summertime libation for sipping in the sun. Just looking at the pictures makes me want to put my sun glasses on and find a beach chair. I’m sharing it again below, so you don’t have to hunt around for it (you’re welcome!) The only problem with this delightful little drink is that we didn’t know what to call it. It seemed a little silly to call it “that yellow pine-appl-ie thing,” or even worse, “that one drink with the rum and stuff.”
In order to fix this terrible oversight, we decided to have a little contest and put the vote to our Facebook fans. During our last tasting, held at Trinity at City Beach (they are amazing by the way. Food, drink, service and an incredible view!) our wonderful fans put their most creative drink names in the hat, we posted the list and our Facebook fans decided. The contest came down to two names and was ultimately decided by a coin toss. And the winner is…(drumroll please!)…the Mill Town Summer Solstice!
We love it! It’s the perfect name for our sunny, rummy, fruity cocktail. We knew our awesome fans wouldn’t let us down. But, as much as we loved it, we didn’t understand the complete picture until we presented the prize, a basket of all the ingredients for the drink. That is when we met Solstice, the drink’s namesake. Solstice is the adorable little Dachshund in the middle of the picture and she is just as sweet as she looks! You can meet her for yourself at The Image Maker, in downtown Sandpoint. She’ll be there with her people, Mike, Randi, and Michaella. Mike, incidentally, is the actual winner of the cocktail basket and the owner of The Image Maker, a very cool photo and video processing shop. It’s a Sandpoint icon that has been in business since 1978. Definitely worth a stop!
So if you need photo services, start here and when you are looking for a new drink to try, start right here! It’s comes together easy and all of the ingredients are readily available. We would recommend drizzling the honey last, over the ice, or making up a simple syrup with the honey if you prefer it to mix more thoroughly. And don’t forget your sunglasses.
Mill Town Summer Solstice
2 oz. Mill Town Light Rum
4 oz. pineapple juice
3 oz. ginger Ale
½ oz. Triple Sec
1 tsp. honey
Combine all and pour over ice. Garnish with a cherry and orange slice. Also delicious blended.
