A Rondacker???

     For those of you who have stumbled onto our rambling, and are confused as to what exactly a "Rondacker" might be, let me try and explain.  There are several possible answers to this question, but I'll try and keep it simple.
 
      As far as Debbie and  I are concerned, a "Rondacker" is easily described. It is a summer-time cocktail, only imbibed on those days when it is above 70 degrees.  The ingredients consist of a shot of gin over ice, and lemonade.  Debbie likes to slip in diet lemonade to keep the calorie count to a minimum, and not confuse it with a Tom Collins.  Now, the most discriminating Rondacker prefers to use Bombay Saphire as his gin of choice.

     I was introduced to Bombay Saphire several years ago by my great friend Paul, up on Chateaugay Lake, and he has led me astray on several occasions with this magic elixir over the years.  He prefers tonic with his Bombay, but I believe that's because tonic contains quinine, and we all know quinine was used to treat malaria. And malaria is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito.  And anyone who has visited the Adirondacks knows there are plenty of mosquitoes around in the summer in the Adirondacks.  Debbie and I never believed in Paul's malaria theory, although as of yet, he has not come down with malaria, and adapted the recipe to include lemonade to suit our own taste. Additionally, a true "Rondacker" requires a tiny amount of cherry syrup from a bottle of maraschino cherries to give it a little color, and away you go.  A proper Rondacker needs that special presentation to finish it off, and Debbie was able to make contact with an artisan named Stephanie in Ausable Forks, NY, who created the proper glass tumbler for drinking a Rondacker.

   
 So anyway, that's the long story about how the term "Rondacker" came to be utilized around our camp.  You see, people who live around the Adirondacks in upstate New York are just a little bit different.  They live in a climate where a year is described as "6 months of winter, 4th of July, huntin' season, and 3 months of damn poor sleddin!"  Not much of a summer season up here, which is why we only get into the Rondackers when it's above 70 degrees. When it's 70 or below, our swill of choice is Irish Whiskey in case that question happened to pop into your mind.   Not that many days qualify for Rondackers during July and August in the Adirondacks, and a bottle of Bombay may last more than a week or so.

Above all, don't confuse it with Rachel Ray's "Adirondacker" which is a hamburger recipe she developed to remember her days growing up in the Adirondacks.  There must be a story there somewhere...

If it ever warms up, we'll start getting "Weezy" ready for her trip.  We'll keep you posted.