It's the weekend. Have a drink.


After a week somehow stolen from mid-July, Spring has come to its senses and things are getting a bit nippy out there again. There's nothing as soul killing as packing away all of your sweaters in foolish exuberance, only to have to pull them all out again. And now all of my beloved daffodils are going to wilt and die from the frost, and be left forlorn and limp, as future reminders against misplaced optimism.

Clearly we're going to need a drink. Let's counteract the chill in the air with the fruitiest, bubbliest, spiciest, most uplifting and optimistic drink you'll ever taste. Even the name is delightfully silly and sweet - The Floradora. It makes me want to sing a little song and do some little Charleston-style dance steps.

Originally it was christened the Florodora - created and named for a beloved musical stage comedy from 1900 - it was apparently a huge hit, inspiring all sorts of trends and media frenzy (think Edwardian Hunger Games) and luckily for us, a fabulous drink as well. Over the
years it's been corrupted into the Floradora by many, which I think sounds even more wonderfully silly.

The heady mix of gin, lime juice and raspberry cordial is topped off with a fizzy hit of ginger ale - creating something cool and pale pink, equal parts sweet, tart and spicy. It's a completely unexpected but wonderfully refreshing mix, with as much charm and sweetness as its name.

So I think I'll have one tomorrow evening, and pretend I'm sitting at a garden party in an Edwardian garden, as the warm summer evening fades into dusky night, and a gramophone plays the Florodora chorus line. That should get me though this cold snap rather nicely....

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