Column and photos by Dana Rady, Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association
Recently, my uncle and godfather, Dan Stefferud, visited from California. In one of our conversations, we started talking about timeless classic cocktails, the ones we don’t hear ordered very frequently these days.
A retired pilot for Delta Airlines, Uncle Dan told me that Manhattans were a favorite of his father-in-law, my paternal grandfather, and blackberry brandy was my paternal grandmother’s “go to.” (I had known about the blackberry brandy!)
He also told me about a fellow pilot back in the day whose drink of choice was a vodka gimlet. I had heard of a gimlet before but never tried one.
A simple concoction of vodka (or gin) over ice and a splash of Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice is the ingredient list, modest, yet also elegant. “And the lime juice has to be Rose’s brand,” my uncle assured.
So, over a couple games of pool that night in my parents’ basement, I had my first vodka gimlet, and my uncle had his first one in years as we laughed and reminisced.
That’s when I shared memories of my dad coming home from working at his dental office and making himself a dirty gin or vodka martini.
