The Coping Mechanism

It's autumn, which means the holidays will soon be hitting us hard and fast. Lately, things seem to get rolling in late summer, when pharmacies start filling their shelves with Halloween candy in August and department stores start piping Christmas music in September. It doesn’t let up until the new year.

By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I’ve already had more holiday cheer than I can handle, which is a shame, because it’s one of my favorite “X” marks on the calendar.

It’s a once-a-year opportunity to binge eat with one’s extended family and pretend that everything’s just fine—a time to feign delight at meeting your uncle’s new, much younger girlfriend and practice loving patience when your father not-so-quietly comments about your weight as you reach for a second stuffed mushroom.

But once the fragile peace has been shattered by the shrieks of sugar-spiked children and your grandfather’s scotch-fueled tirade regarding “the problem with foreigners,” you may need to retreat to a quiet place for a while with a good, stiff drink. If you have access to a few simple ingredients and a small room with a lock on the door, you can create a temporary, but highly effective, sanctuary/bar.

In my experience, the best cocktail to make in a Thanksgiving safe space is what I call The Coping Mechanism—it’s a take on the Filibuster by famed San Francisco drinks master Erik Adkins, but adjusted to help me cope enough to look as though my holiday spirits are high.

Which they will be, thanks to the three and a half ounces of booze per cocktail.

[tasty-recipe id="10708"]