As a best friend, you have varying responsibilities. Being available to listen, helping when an extra set of hands is needed, remembering the little details that matter. And sometimes you need to create a cocktail for you and your best friends to enjoy while you build the 1,000 piece puzzle that they received as a Christmas gift. Seriously.
Last Saturday we had a date night planned with our friends, OT and Vicki. After dinner at a restaurant we planned to return to their house and work on the thousand piece puzzle OT had received. I asked, jokingly, if we would be having drinks while working on the puzzle. The answer was, “It will be more fun.” With that reply I decided it was time to concoct a cocktail in honor of puzzle making.
Creating this cocktail took a little thinking and shopping. It turns out that “puzzle” isn’t a common drink word. So, rather than using a classic recipe and putting a twist on it, I decided to go with alliteration to make a drink name and recipe. There were a good deal of beverage choices that start with the letter p. Reviewing the shelves in the liquor store, I saw pear, peach, passion fruit, and pineapple infusions of rum and vodka. However, I knew what would be our drink once I saw pomegranate liqueur. Using the liqueur would provide some sweetness and flavor, would require the addition of only two more ingredients, and was a liqueur I hadn’t used previously.
We worked faithfully on the puzzle for 3 hours, enjoying a martini while doing so. Unfortunately, even with four people working, three hours wasn’t enough time. And with midnight chiming on the clock, my husband and I headed home for the night. Our friends were far more dedicated and worked later into the night and again the next morning and afternoon. They did complete the puzzle successfully, except that one piece was missing. All that time and a hole left in the puzzle. A sad end to the puzzle making, but a good 
discovery of a new beverage!
Puzzle Me Pomegranate Martini*
1-1/2 oz. vodka
1 oz. pomegranate liqueur
pomegranate seltzer
Fill a martini shaker with ice and add vodka and liqueur. Shake well, and pour into cocktail glass. Fill with seltzer, and enjoy!
*Can be consumed without puzzle making, if desired.
Tweet This Post 
