ginger ale

Two days ago, October 26th, was a special day. It came and it went, as Wednesdays do, and I gave it little thought. I had a ridiculously long day at work, and all I cared about was coming home, taking Miss Bella for a walk, eating something moderately nourishing, and going to bed. I have not been getting enough sleep lately. But for good reason – I’m living life, meeting new people, trying new things. And while I might feel exhausted during the day, I seem to always get a second wind, right around the time I should be turning out the lights.

It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized that just as October 26th had come and gone, so had my first blogiversary! October 26th marked the one year anniversary of this little blog of mine. Happy Blogiversary, Once Upon A Recipe! You have been such a wonderful and creative outlet for me, and you have lead me to new friends and all sorts of new fun.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again, but it really is amazing how much can change in a year. People come and go, discoveries are made, good things and bad things happen (and everything in between). But I know that I’ve grown in the past year, in countless ways, and that I will continue growing…and continue having lots of fun…and continue discovering delicious things, like these and these and this.

Every celebration requires a celebratory beverage. This year, I choose to raise a glass of this Ginger Apple Bourbon, and to toast you all, for joining me here in the blogosphere, learning and tasting with me. Because without you reading my rants and humoring me by occasionally leaving me a sweet comment, there really would be no reason for this here blog! So thank you, old readers and new, for sticking with my crazy self. And to show my appreciation, I will be having a lil’ giveaway here in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

Now, back to the important stuff – the booze! Bourbon is a new adventure for me. I’ve drank bourbon only a handful of times. But then I made these. I needed only one tablespoon of bourbon to make those delicious morsels, but while perusing the aisles in the liquor store, I somehow convinced myself that buying a 26 of bourbon was the most appropriate choice. Obviously. Raise your hand if you’re still with me.

Now, I can’t drink bourbon straight up. I tried it, and my tongue just didn’t like it. So I knew that mixing the bourbon with some things that my tongue does like would be important in consuming this bottle and preventing it from being overcome with cobwebs in my liquor cabinet, like that bottle of Ryan’s Cream (yes, it’s actually called Ryan’s Cream, and no, it is not a proper substitute for Bailey’s Irish Cream)! I came across a recipe for an Apple Ginger Bourbon in my daily blog perusings and decided it would be worth a shot. I made a few changes to suit my tastes, and came up with a bit of a reversal – a Ginger Apple Bourbon. You can change up the ratio of ginger ale to apple cider to bourbon, but the recipe below is the one I enjoyed most. It’s best if you use unsweetened apple cider, and really good ginger ale (I used Real Brew’s Outrageous Ginger Ale, from Planet Organic). I also plan on playing around with this recipe, so be prepared for another version in the near future! Cheers!