A Bon Voyage Cocktail: So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodnight!

I realize that this cocktail evokes visions of remote island getaways, surf and sand, and lazy afternoons spent basking in the sun. But the truth is, I'm not much of a beach holiday kind of girl. (Not that I would turn down a free trip!)  I've made this lovely electric blue drink to toast a different sort of trip:  Poppa Trix and I are off to Vienna for two pastry-filled weeks, with a side trip to Budapest. We plan to look at tons of art, visit more palaces than you can shake a stick at, and of course - eat!

Not even the looming British Airways strike and the possibility of being stuck at Heathrow with sweaty hordes of stranded travelers for who-knows-how-long on the return leg can ruin our excitement. (Well, it almost did, but I'll spare you the details of the many nervous breakdowns and panic attacks that have been going on lately at Casa de Trix.) Bottom line - we need to get away, and we need it bad.

And of course I'll be blogging about it all. How could I not? Just check out this crazy banner that Poppa Trix made for my Vienna dispatches:

 Maria Von Trix at your service.

So, back to this drink. It's modeled on the Commander's Palace Martini, or at least I thought it was until I opened up my copy of In the Land of Cocktails to check out the recipe and realized I didn't have half of the ingredients. So I improvised. It's the perfect drink to put you in a holiday state of mind!

The Bon Voyage Martini

1 lemon wedge

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce blue curacao

1/2 ounce dry vermouth

2 T superfine sugar

lemon twist for garnish (optional)

Wet the rim of a martini glass with the lemon wedge. Put the sugar in a shallow dish and dip the rim of the glass to lightly cover. Squeeze the lemon wedge into an ice-filled martini shaker. Combine all the remaining ingredients, including the lemon wedge, in the shaker, give it a good shake, and strain into the glass. Prost!

As well as offering up a fine toast, this drink is serving another purpose: I'm entering it in the "Wear Your Food" contest at KO Rasoi. Sanjana has come up with a fun and clever competition:  Create a food or drink recipe inspired by one of the charms on an adorable charm bracelet she found, and then ... win the bracelet. You can read more about it (and see the prize)  here. 

A million thanks again to Mother-in-Law-Trix for allowing us the use of her apartment in Vienna. Without that, we would never be able to afford this much-needed getaway.  I am now off to pack and study for my midterm(!) and write overly-detailed notes for the pet sitter and a million other things. See you in Vienna!