Not a 10

Today is the anniversary of the birth of French composer (one of my favorites) Maurice Ravel. He wrote Bolero, the piece used in the movie 10 with Bo Derek that scandalized my parents. Remember the tune? You hear it over and over and over. In the original piece. It's a French thing: repetition. Actually I was old enough to see the movie when it came out, but I was scandalized enough by Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

Today my calendar had 2 recipes called Boleros. The first was apple brandy, light rum, and a little sweet vermouth. Calvados is impossible to find around here, so I resorted to Applejack. I tasted a little of it first to, uh, get a taste for it. I caught a little of the eau de apple, but I bet Calvados is better. I had Bacardi gold rum sitting out, so I used it. Verdict: a yuck factor of 10. It tastes a bit like drinking rubbing alcohol. Maybe light rum and a better apple brandy would reduce the yuck to 5.

The second recipe is already at a 5; it didn't blow me away but didn't leave my tongue numb either: dark rum, brandy, and a little lime juice, orange juice, and simple syrup. Thank god for the dark rum, but I wouldn't order it on a beach as a tall willowy blonde strides past. Wouldn't want to numb the senses.