I know everyone is busy, busy, busy. I've been taking stock of 2016 and doing a lot of writing, thinking and planning in addition to the regular activities. One thing I decided was that this coming year, I'm going to share a bit more about myself and my interests outside of interior design. To ease in I'm going to start with another passion of mine -- tequila. I fancy myself a bit of a mixologist, and every season I create a new tequila cocktail. I feel tequila gets short shrift when it comes to seasonal cocktails (other than margaritas in summer), and I'm here to make it right.

I'm starting with my latest creation for the holiday season, which I call "Winter Sunset". Unfortunately winter sunsets seem to be around 4:30 here which is just a bit early to start with a cocktail, but as they say, it's 5:00 somewhere...

Here's what you need:

2 oz. Gold Tequila

2 oz. Aperol

1 oz. Apple Cider

1 tbsp. Apple cider vinegar

two splashes Bitters

1/8 tsp. Ground Cardamom

Orange Peel

Cinnamon stick (optional)

Club Soda (plain or grapefruit)

Combine the first 5 ingredients and add the cardamom. Stir well. Serve over ice with a splash of soda or room temperature. Add the orange peel and cinnamon stick. 

I made a batch of this (4x the recipe) and kept it in the fridge, which worked great. Hope you like it!