Drink What You Desire: The Stonewall Baby

Welcome back to Drink What You Desire, the monthly column where we explore the art and science of mixing drinks via the lens of innate human desires. Last month we dove into independence to celebrate Juicy Pink Box’s launch. This month we’re celebrating Pride Month by exploring our desire for acceptance.

I’ve known I was queer for as long as I could remember. But while I grew up in a generally progressive and loving household where my parents nurtured my interests and taught me to be open minded towards people who were different than myself, it still took a long time for me to feel fully accepted in my family.

Photo: Ece AK via Pexels

Mixed Messages

As a kid, the messages I got about queerness weren’t particularly positive.  When my family found ourselves out to dinner in a restaurant filled with female diners, I cracked a joke to my brother about it being “lesbian night” at the restaurant. My brother and I chuckled, but my dad turned to me and said, gravely, “Don’t joke about those sick people. They need help.” 

There was no judgment in his voice, only concern for a group of people he felt deserved pity. But the implication was still clear: being gay wasn’t good.

The Reality of Coming Out

Needless to say, it took another decade for me to feel comfortable coming out to my parents. And even then, it was only out of necessity: I was taking a trip with a boyfriend, and had to tell my mother that I was going to miss Mother’s Day that year because I was traveling with someone who I was dating… named Michael. After all those years of anxiety my coming out was almost a non-issue: my parents lovingly—if perhaps slightly hesitantly at first—welcomed Michael into our family.

A few years later, Michael rented out PDT, the cocktail bar I was working at for his 40^th birthday. To celebrate the occasion, I created The Stonewall Baby — so called because Michael was born on the exact day of the Stonewall uprising. 

Stonewall Riots via History

Popping the Question with the Stonewall Baby

At that party, in front of all of our friends and family, Michael asked me to marry him. It was in that moment, among my loved ones, that I felt true acceptance.

As a cocktail, this drink is a straightforward riff on a whiskey sour. In a traditional whiskey sour, a basic sugar syrup is used. Here we swap most of it out for blueberry preserves, which provide a lush fruitiness that’s tempered by the lemon juice and whiskey. Peychaud’s bitters is a Creole concoction that offers a hit of gentian bitterness that augments the drink’s structure while adding some anise and cherry notes.

Stonewall Baby: The Cocktail Recipe

Makes one drink.

Combine all Stonewall Baby drink ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. With the skin of the lemon peel facing the drink, pinch the lemon peel over the surface of the drink to express the oils and then discard the peel.

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer. Remove heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one month, or in the freezer for up to three months.