We were out of town doing a two-night engagement at the Blue Javelina in Marfa this weekend and so we missed the Austinist interview that came out on Friday. (Marfa is known more for its broad horizons than for its broadband.) Tolly Mosely interviews David (Tex, me) on the subject of winter-appropriate cocktails. Tex debuts the Prefect Cocktail, which spell check keeps trying to make the Perfect Cocktail, which I am neither talented nor cocky enough to claim.

The Prefect
1.5 oz 100 Proof Rye Whiskey
0.75 oz Ruby Port
0.5 oz Averna
Barspoon Creme de Cassis
Dash Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters ( if you have them; if not, use Angostura)
Stir ingredients with ice to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a real maraschino cherry.

There is also a brief discussion of how to employ the ice cream ball in adult holiday entertainment. Proprietarily known as the Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker, the device works by filling one end with ice and rock salt, and the other end with your favorite ice cream recipe. This time of year, when the weather is right and mood is festive, we prefer to fill it with some member of the overly-sweet-and-creamy cocktail canon, of which we are shamelessly fond: a batch of Grasshoppers, Pink Squirrels, Banshees, Golden Sleighs or Brandy Alexanders, for example. Then you roll the ball around and shake it for about ten minutes, at which point you refresh the ice/salt and scrape down the sides of the ice cream canister. Seal it back up and play with it for another 5-10 minutes, and your frozen treasure should be ready. You could, I suppose, do this by yourself but it would not be as fun and your arms might fall off, kind of like if you tried to do a 6-minute Ramos Gin Fizz without shaking assistance. Some Grinchy-ass bastards might point out that you accomplish this in the blender in a fraction of the time, but those haters probably also prefer Slice n' Bake cookies and not mixing the Play Doh colors til they look like poo.