#239 Sunshine Screwdriver on the Deck

When I got up this morning at 7 am I could see the golden rays of sunlight filtering down through the curtains and over the rug in my bedroom. I didn't want to get up but I was happy looking forward to a bright day with lots of sunshine. It is getting much colder outside, the bright red and yellow leaves are falling, fading away from the trees leaving dark skeletons of branches swaying to and fro in the breeze. Now we'll see fresh green leaves come Spring  2013!!  Sometimes a sunny day like this can lift our spirit and make us smile in the late fall as we prepare for the coming months of winter and snow so let's make the best of it!! 

I'm smiling for another reason - last night we were invited for a 50th wedding anniversary with a couple and their friends. Isn't it amazing how two people live in harmony for 50 years and are celebrating half a century of wedded bliss?  With their children being long married and well settled,  they've been retired and vacationong for the past decade!! I would love to do that for a living but, since R and I are a long way from celebrating half a century of wedded bliss, we're celebrating with screwdrivers on the deck this sunny afternoon:)

Usually I make my screwdrivers with Absolut Vodka and orange juice.  It is refreshing on a hot day but easy to make when you don't feel like whipping up a fancy cocktail. Today I don't have Absolut Vodka so I went for the Citrus Smirnoff and shook up a couple of Grapefruit & Orange Screwdrivers right on the deck for my husband 'R' and I.  Squishing the fresh juicy grapefruit and orange sections with crushed ice and sugary syrup right inside the glass to bring out the essential oils from the clean skin and adding an extra level of the beautiful citrus flavor into the sunshine screwdriver.

Ingredients:
Citrus Smirnoff/ Vodka- 1 1/2 ounce
Freshly squeezed Orange Juice-2 ounces
Freshly squeezed Graprefruit juice-2 ounces
Sugar Syrup- 1 ounce
Crushed Ice
Club Soda- as desired

Shake it Up:
1. In a cocktail shaker, place freshly squeezed juices, ice and sugar syrup and shake well.
2. Mix the Vodka and shake. Pour into glasses. drop a slice of grapefruit and orange.
3. Using a cocktail glass rod crush the fresh fruit in each glass well to get the full flavors.
4. Top with club soda as desired and enjoy.