Not but a few mysterious weeks ago, I had a Cocktail Talk featuring a book called The American Who Watched British Mysteries, a cozy mystery whose title vaguely sounds like me (as I watch and love British television mysteries incessantly). And now, today, I’m having a Cocktail Talk for that book’s follow-up, called Ballgame. In the second American Who Watched British Mysteries book, all those quotes and references to favorite shows again spring up like clues alongside the clues to the mystery itself.
Levelheaded police detective Marlowe is back, summoned to a suspicious death that happened at a kid’s baseball field – while a game was taking place. And it turns out that mystery-television enthusiast John Arthur, who ended up helping Marlowe solve an earlier case, and brindled bouncy dog Ainsley were in the bleachers when it happened.
Marlowe and his partner-in-solving-crime Detective Morven, along with newly promoted Detective Nelson, discover that though the victim, pastor Pat Brown, died in front of a crowd during the game, seemingly no-one saw anything suspicious. Not even John Arthur. But he does have a number of British mystery quotes – and a few from a New Zealand town called Brokenwood – that he assures Marlowe will help.
It’s another fun read, and in it like the first book they spend time in one of my favorite fictional bars, Gary’s. Which is where the below quote comes into play.
“How about a Garibaldi?”
“Remind me?”
“Simple but delicious. And nutritious. Old compadre Campari with fresh OJ over ice. Campari taking the edge off and stimulating the brain, orange juice for vitamins and sweet citrus, ice to chill it out. Named for Giuseppe Garibaldi, the general who was one of those behind the wheel unifying your beloved Italy. National hero. Led his Redshirt army, shirts as red as Campari. Ideal for leaders and for the vitamin C deficient. Horses for courses and all, but you’ll enjoy.”
“I will. Hit me.”
Gary grabbed a glass and a bottle of Campari and started making the drink, saying, “Interestingly, the redshirts kicked off when Garibaldi was helping the Uruguayan civil war. A military leader with national independence and republican ideals, our Giuseppe.” He placed the drink in front of Marlowe with a flourish. “Must dash. Duty calls bartenders too.”
Well, here’s a jolly good mystery read, if I do say so myself (hehe). In The American Who Watched British Mysteries, by the book police Detective Marlowe is investigating the strangulation death of Lucy Dixon, beginning the case by interviewing recent widower John Arthur, who, with his brindled bouncy dog Ainsley (what a wonderful name for a dog!), found the body early on a Saturday morning next to a tree-filled community center. Mysterious, right? The detective soon discovers that John is a massive fan of British mystery television series (hey, I am too), to the point that he keeps going on tangents about the two Detective Barnabys from Midsomer and quoting French – or is it Belgian? – private investigators. As Marlowe and his team begin to dig into the case, John keeps showing up. He knew the victim, calls the neighborhood a village, and arrives at the station with a map of the block she lived on, detailing everyone who was at the party attended the night before her murder. As the officers investigate, John’s TV-driven insights and attention to detail become surprisingly helpful. But Marlowe’s eyebrows keep raising as he wonders if the man, who he starts to think of as a friend, is a curious and lonely television obsessive, or could he actually be involved with the murder? And is it, as John brings up, a one-murder show, a two-murder show, or an even-more-murders show?
It sorta hits all my boxes: British TV mysteries, British mysteries in general, cozy mystery books, good characters, neat references, there’s a dog, it breezes along while still having a good mystery going, and, perhaps most of all, there’s a very good bar featured, Gary’s, with an English bartender named Gary! And, as you might expect from a book here on the ol’ Spiked Punch, there is lots of Cocktail Talking, lots around Italian drinks. Including the below quote.
Marlowe had fallen for the Italian Negroni way back when introduced to it on his first visit to the country, loving the ideal balance between gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari—bitter and sweet and herbal mingling. When he’d first ordered one back home after that long-past Italian trip, the bartender he’d ordered from had no idea what he was talking about. He’d had to walk him through the drink construction step by step. Now, Gary had told him that there’s a whole Negroni week bars around the country take part in. The world, it had gotten smaller.
Before his musing got any further down the global gully, Gary set the drink in front of him with a minor flourish. “Ta-da. One country-trotting Negroni, made with Italian Campari, Spanish vermouth, and British gin. And an orange twist from Florida, I surmise. And local water in the form of ice. Cheers.”
The name of this long-a-Spiked-Punch-favorite drink means, or so I was told, I think of you always. Which is about the sweetest sentiment one could echo, making this a drink ideal for both romance, but also when thinking about and toasting departed loved ones, and also for having when you’re petting a beloved dog. Considering the sweetness of said sentiment, the drink itself can be a tad sweet – if your love is worried about a cavity, then you could omit the simple syrup in the below, or drop it to 1/4 ounce. Actually, I’d try that first, cause I do think the smooth simple helps to make the brandy and world-renowned-now beauty Aperol cuddly together nicely. Add an orange slice and boom, deliciousness. Drink it up, and I’ll be thinking of you.
Ti Penso Sempre
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce Aperol
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Orange slices, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Aperol, and simple syrup. Shake well.
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass, garnish with orange, and think lovely thoughts.
Ah, here we are, 2025. If you can believe it – a new year, and one that would have seemed impossibly futuristic to a young me. Of course, the things that appeared top of the importance list to young me (I am old, I was young, you get it) on a January 3rd at say my tenth year, well, I’d have a hard time remembering them now, outside of whispers, at best. Not to say my memory is horrible, but, you know, time passes, specifics slip. For some reason, the early days of a new year, when so many are making resolutions and looking forward, always has me looking into the past, too. And when doing such, one needs the proper cocktail accompaniment – like this very drink, An Elusive Memory, which is named appropriately, and tastes swell, too. It combines deliciously-proper London-style gin Boodles (a firm favorite of mine for making cocktails and cause the name itself is fun to say) with a few friends that at first may not seem to go together: the exquisite Meletti anisette, the legendary Lillet, and Peychaud’s intriguing Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters. Really, we’re globe-trotting here, and the mixture comes together as smoothly as a flight without turbulence. All these flavors that may appear to be clashing are actually cozy, with various notes surfacing as you sip – in a way, to bring it all together, like memories surfacing as you troll the ol’ brain pan.
It’s nearly the 31st of October, or Warlockoween, the day (or/and the weekend before depending on what day of the week the 31st falls on) when everyone follows along with the below video, drinking their Warlock (the mystical mix of brandy, Strega, limoncello, orange juice, and Peychaud’s bitters that has been favored by magicians, sorcerers, conjurors, witches, and the like for thousands of years) and then turning into zombie spell-casters. Fun! Watch and learn and fall under its spell. A spell also good on something called Halloween, which hasn’t taken off yet like Warlockoween, but hey, it could.
You know, you can’t have desserts every day. Well, maybe you can! But for me, that’s a waistline-bursting situation. So, on those dessert skipping days, I try to just have a nice dessert drink (haha). Of course, my first choice is the king of the smooth, creamy, sweet cocktails drinks the Alexander, which people have been adoring since 1916 (not me, I’m old but not that old). Crafted of gin, crème de cacao, and cream, it’s of course a dream. But sometimes dreams can change! Today, my sweet-tooth sweeties, that change is coming via Dumante Verdenoce pistachio liqueur. As you might guess by the title accent, it’s crafted in Italy using Sicilian pistachios, and delivers a lush, nutty flavor, which subs in easily here for the crème de cacao, allowing us to keep the original’s smooth velvety-ness, with the gin accents and add some nuttiness nutty. Tasty. Enough that you could skip dessert.
I remember when Punt e’ Mes wasn’t readily available stateside (I am very old, but not so old as to remember even earlier, when it probably was more available, before the more recent availability rebound, and if that all made sense, you probably haven’t had as many Punt e’ Mes Highballs as me, or you’ve had more and can now see and understand all thing), and during that time calling at the bar for the Punt e’ Mes Highball would garner strange looks. However! Even though this delicious sweet vermouth – though with it’s sweetness, hints o citrus, trailing into a smidge of bitterness nature, it shades amaro, too – is now on more bar shelves, if you order a Punt e’ Mes Highball, you still might garner some strange and curious looks. I wonder if bartenders might not know what a highball is today? I kid, I kid! I think it’s just because not many in the U.S. really think, unless they see it on a menu, to order something so simple, so classic in a way that’s not often highlighted, so easy going? Perhaps. But you, yes you, can help, by ordering one of these yourself this summer. Trust me, it’s delicious: light, bit citrus, bit spicy, bit bubbly, bit sweet, bit bitter, all refreshing, ideal for the sunshine-y months. If you and I both start ordering them, maybe I’ll stop getting those strange looks. And, as a bonus, we’ll both be super happy when sipping, too.
1. Fill a smallish highball glass or a big rocks glass three-quarter-ish up with ice cubes. Add the Punt e’ Mes.
2. Top with the ginger ale. Stir. Be happy.
A Note: Go for a good gingery ginger ale here, not one that’s too sweet. If you’re in Italy, hey, lucky you! Also, in every Italian grocery store you can find these little bottles of ginger ale, and they go perfectly here. If you’re not in Italy, you might even want to go ginger beer, as the ginger ales over here sadly can descend into sugary messes. There are some dandy, non-massively-corporate ones, too, I should say. Ginger beers, too. Rachel’s Ginger Beer would be amazing in here, as an example!
It is, according to my calendar, the last day of May. Which means tomorrow (for those who are calendarly challenged) is the first day of June. And while the first day of June isn’t the official start of summer, it is the official (I’m making this up as I type btw) first day of Planning for Summer Drinking season. Though perhaps that should be like April. But let’s make it June 1! I’m all for it, and with that in place now and carved into stone like commandments or famous last words, let me present to you a drink for your summer, the Summertivo.
You may be able to guess that this is specifically a summer pre-dinner drink, a warm weather aperitivo as it may be. And it is! But it is also a drink that you can have with summertime brunches or breakfasts, in the mid-afternoon when you need something just a smidge stronger than tea, or after dinner, when the summer romances are blooming and you don’t want to be weighed down by your sipping. It starts with Galliano L’Aperitivo, lovely drink solo, or mixed as it is here. It’s bitter, but not too bitter, made from a host of delicious ingredients, starting with regular oranges, bergamot oranges, and bitter oranges, as well as citrus pals chinotto, tangerines, and grapefruits, and then spices such as anise, juniper, cardamom, sandalwood, sage, lavender, peppermint, cinnamon, and vanilla, with a bit of the regular (delicious, also) Galliano, too. Altogether, it delivers this fresh, citrusy, herbally, taste, very flavorful, very balanced. And very perfect with Italian sparkling wine prosecco, which is our second ingredient here. The third is a simple lemon twist, to add a hint of high-end tang. As with all good summer drinks, no sweat to make, too. One note: you might try a dash of Scrappy’s legendary Black Lemon Bitters in here. I don’t have it listed below, but it’s worth a gander. Call it Summertivo 2.0 to be all modern.
1. Add the L’Aperitivo to a flute or comparable glass. Top with the prosecco.
2. Carefully stir in a manner that brings everything together without being wacky. If your prosecco isn’t really chilled, or if it’s hot out, add an ice cube.
3. Garnish with the twist. Give a toast to the sun, and to Italy.
