Sour Patch Martini

This drink is intended to taste like the "Sour Patch Kids" candy. I never heard of it, either. I've always thought of sweet, sticky cocktails in Jolly Ranchers terms, so I suppose I'm old-school like that.

Still, this is a delicious potable, and I realize that alcohol aficionados will view it as proof-weak, but, trust me... I drank at least four of them until the recipe was tweaked (hic) to perfection.

There are a few versions out there, but I think it needed a vodka base. Too much liqueur could hurt a person. You've got to have something substantial in there, and vodka is the first mixer-alcohol that any bartender worth her salt would reach for, to clear any gaps in "kick" quotient.

Let's start with the Tall Drink version, it's easiest, and it teaches you the gist of the drink so that you can adjust it into a martini. Also, the Tall Drink is more delicious:

• Build on ice, in Tall Glass (pint or decorative)
• 1 oz Vodka
• 1/2 oz Southern Comfort
• 1/2 oz Midori Melon Liqueur
• 1/2 oz Amaretto
• Splash of Sour Mix/Bar Lemon
• Re-ice if necessary
• Shake generously
• Add Cranberry Juice
• Stir for color and presentation
• Garnish with traditional flag (orange and cherry)

Now, if you want to turn this into a martini, served up, you'll have to bring the pours down a notch. Add the sour and cranberry as a slight splash. Garnish with a lemon twist artfully placed inside the cocktail, instead of a flag, when making the martini version.

In fact, if you really want to make it special, and you've got the time, serve it with a sugar rim (spread sugar around a margarita sombrero, or, spread a packet of sugar onto a beverage napkin, squeeze a lemon and twirl around the glass; twist the edge of the martini glass into the sugar until well-coated).

It's amazing, the way SoCo is so malleable, isn't it? It's the root of the "make-alcohol-taste-like-candy" magic. Southern Comfort gets no love. It should.

And, as if you haven't noticed, I've got a hard-on for Midori.

Enjoy, and Cheers!

She turned away, what was she looking at?
She was a sour girl the day that she met me
Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a happy girl the day that she left me

- Stone Temple Pilots, "Sour Girl"