The_Grimwitch_Chronicles

This is my husband and I's first Halloween away from our families. It's just the two of us in our current residence - a bungalow amidst fruit trees and colorful blooms. We planned our date: Early morning, we will eat heavy breakfast consisting of rice, sausages and eggs (as scheduled). Then, after we've done our morning rituals, we'll go to a certain salon in the city where we could have our hair cut. Before lunch, we'll meet up with a friend whom my brother-in-law owes a cash gift.In the afternoon, when the malls start opening, we'll go to a competing mall (the West Wing is soooo boring!)to window shop what we'll buy when we receive our 13th month pay this December. We'll definitely buy ingredients for our nightcap, food for the dead (consists of rice cakes and other native delicacies) and loads of candles. We'll definitely go home early because Succubus the Vile and Succubus of the Steely Moon will wreak havoc in the garage when they don't receive their dinner at 7PM.

Now, let's get on with the night cap we're planning. We're actually thinking of having a private cocktail party. I am something of a bartender since my mum made me drink my first punch before I ever had my first menstruation. You might say that I learned through experience.

Cocktails, as the Wikipedia defines it, is any alcoholic mixture that is kinda sweet and kinda bitter (traditionally!). The sweet part is attributed to sugar, fruit syrups or favored soda. Bitters are from spices (the traditional cocktails have them) or citrus rinds dissolved in glycerine or syrup. Recently, I have tasted cocktails that are more on the creamy side (attributed to milk, coconut cream or honey). Before, gin, whiskey and rum are commonly used for traditional street smart Filipino cocktails. Older people still prefer them. Younger generations, however, prefer vodka (odorless!), tequila (kicks in when least expected!) or brandy (health benefits?).

Although I would like to lecture you on how to create your own cocktail, it would take up too much virtual space. Let me share with you instead how a particular traditional cocktail evolves through time and you might just get what I mean.

Basic street smart Pinoy cocktail is RUM COLA. You just need to mix 250 mL of Rum with 750 mL of Cola. Any brand will do as long as you have abundance of ice. But then, the taste gets a little too familiar. So you now add 4 pcs of squeezed calamansi or Philippine lime. It's now called CUBA LIBRE. After a while, you get tired of the tangy taste of lime so you add something a little sweet but tangy fruit. You add 212 mL of Mango Concentrate and it now becomes MANGO SLING. More fruits means more fiber. More fiber means better digestion: so you now add 500 mL of Pineapple Juice concentrate and 250 mL Orange juice (still mixed with lime!). It now evolves as ZOMBIE. It will take a while for you to realize that this concoction might cause a little stomach cramps when there is scarcity of hoers d' oeuvres (namely: pulutan). You need an ingredient that will lessen the acidity in your stomach while the errand boy buys a new set of "pulutan." You remove the calamansi and the orange in the mixture since they lower the pH of the drink. Instead, you add 168 mL of condensed milk (sweetened concentrated milk). Your masterpiece is now the PINYA COLADA. By this time, you might get tired of the expensive pineapple juice. Remove it from the mix, add 500 mL of water and 2 grams of coffee powder and voila! You have the ISLAND CAFE LATTE!

See? It's just a matter of innovation and budget. What you prepare for your crowd depends on those factors and lots and lots of tube ice. Good luck!