I’ve been feeling autumnal, and what better way to celebrate than a drink!

The Autumn Fruit Harvest

If I call it a harvest, maybe it will distract from the fact there is only one apple. The cordon is only a couple of years old at this time so not quite at fruiting maturity. All of the year’s energy appears to have been channeled into one piece of fruit. A giant apple. We were watching the development of the mega-pomme closely, then one day noticed it was no longer on the tree. I rushed outside to find it fallen and already, unfortunately, prey for the local wildlife.

I managed to retrieve most of the apple although it had been thoroughly munched on. It was a little while before we got round to trying it, and I suspect the massive size diluted the flavour. Hopefully next year we’ll have a more impressive crop (not singular, at least). On the subject of apples…

Autumn Cocktails

Back in July I picked up a copy of Cocktail Botanica in Grasmere in the Lake District. It’s a book focused on infusions and herbal concoctions, and unlike some cocktail recipes which can be daunting in complexity, the recipes are straightforward using readily available ingredients. The Apple Pie cocktail in the book incorporates an apple and cinnamon whiskey which is easy to make and involves infusing whiskey with sliced apples for three to five days before adding cinnamon sticks and leaving for another three to five days before straining and bottling.

Now for the “Apple Pie” from Cocktail Botanica.

For one serving, combine 1 tbsp caster sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and form a layer on a small plate. Wet the rim of a tall glass with some cider and roll the top of the glass around in the sugar to form a nice rim. Fill the glass with ice then add 40mL of the apple cinnamon whiskey and 20mL vodka. Stir with a bar spoon to mix, then top with cider and add a few slices of apple for garnish.

It’s not the most potent drink in the world, and you have to be careful not to add too much cider to overwhelm the rest of the flavours, but it’s quite a comforting autumn cocktail. I am going to experiment with the infused bourbon and see if there’s a way of better showing off the flavours. I stewed the bourbon-soaked apple slices with some honey and served them with custard for a pleasant improvised dessert.

I have managed to bake a few times in the last couple of weeks, including a DnD-themed birthday cake, and a few batches of chocolate chip cookies. (this is a great user submitted recipe on BBC goodfood)

Travel Planning

In two weeks we will be on our way to Okinawa for an island escape. We’ll be split between the main island and the Kerama islands (Aka and Zamami), and we’re hiring a car for a few days to explore the northern part of the main island. We’re sticking to Okinawa alone for this Japanese excursion as it is easy to pack too much in when visiting, and this way we’ll have some time to relax and enjoy the experience. There will be lots of food, drink, snorkelling, island exploration, and more. We’ll finish off the trip with a stop off in Seoul for a few days and a Korean wedding which should be a unique experience.

Cyberpunk 2077: Reborn

I have played through Cyberpunk 2077 completely once, and started a second playthrough once some more bugs were ironed out. Now the game has been completely overhauled, and ostensibly solved a lot of the issues that plagued the launch. I only encountered a few game breaking bugs during my playthroughs and enjoyed the story quite a lot, but now I’m looking forward to seeing what the game was intended to be at launch. Three years later CD Projekt Red has stuck with the game and made it better. It’s quite heartening to see a developer continue to support a game and pour so much resource into making it better. I mean, they shouldn’t have released it that state to begin with, but I still appreciate the efforts to improve it. Time to get stuck in.

Well, that or I’ll go back to playing Tears of the Kingdom. Now there’s a game that has been exquisite since day one!