One of the most jarring things about moving from Washington D.C. to Dallas during a pandemic is how differently the cities approach the virus.
The social norms surrounding physical distancing and mask wearing are very different in Dallas. We’ve actually had neighbors say, “Oh, so you’re mask queens?” In the same condescending tone that you’d use with an anti-vaxxer.
Last week we saw a guy with a flamingo beverage floatie at the pool. It was so campy that we had to buy some (because, adulting.) A quick Amazon search revealed that flamingo floaties are only $15 for a dozen, so the purchase was a no-brainer.
Flamingo cocktails with floaties.
At the iLume pool with our moonshine based cocktails.
Moonshine-based cocktails at the iLume pool.
It’s a great place to relax and socialize with a cocktail during the horribly hot Dallas summers.
However, this summer we had to change our pool strategy.
The demographics of our apartment building changed this spring and now the pool is overrun with children. Our neighbors like to lounge around the pool with booze, whereas children love to run, scream, dive, and splash each other.
It is hard to relax with a mimosa when your pool feels like a Chuck E. Cheese waterpark.
That’s why we fled to iLume – the building across the street. Our complex has the same owner, so they allow us to use the iLume pool for small one-time fee. The awkwardness of walking on Cedar Springs with a bathing suit on is totally worth it.
Cocktails at the iLume Park pool in Oak Lawn, Dallas.
For example, when I visited Whole Foods in Highland Park for the first time, I was surprised to see a woman inspecting the kale selection while nursing a glass of wine.
Apparently all of the Whole Foods stores in Dallas have bars and happy hour at the grocery store is “a thing.” Perhaps alcohol makes the prices easier to swallow?
Many business are getting into booze – you can drink at most fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and Taco Cabana, and even Starbucks offers wine now.
Although I feel incredibly judged while buying Kool-Aid packets at Kroger, my intentions are rather responsible.
I buy Kool-Aid for two reasons:
So I recently started throwing Kool-Aid in my ice sphere molds. (I bought mine at World Market in Oak Lawn, but they are the same price on Amazon.)
During the day, I pop the colored ice spheres into club soda or mineral water. The ice spheres release a light color and flavor which is identical to many of the expensive flavored waters at the store.
In the evenings and weekends, the colored ice spheres can be used as a calorie-free way of spicing up a vodka-soda or mimosa.
That is why we are still experimenting fancy cocktails. The coconut cocktail holders were a hot mess, but I found that watermelon is far easier to handle and more reliable.
Here’s the recipe for a Smirnoff Ruby Watermelon cocktail that we enjoyed this weekend at the pool:
And then serve in a watermelon bowl!
Note that the portions may need to be adjusted for the size of your watermelon bowl and booze tolerance.
Dallas does not handle rain well at all – Oak Lawn floods terribly every time it rains. Potholes turn into ponds, and everything is generally gross and muddy in the gayborhood.
Huge storms also result in power outages, where our bartenders have to serve cocktails by cellphone light.
My favorite bartender serving cocktails by cellphone-light because of a power outage at the Cedar Springs Taphouse.
We aren’t letting the weather get us down however. Michael and I are enjoying the breaks in the rain with a fabulous new cocktail: the Stormy Weather.
This Sunday we had a large grill-out at the iLume Park pool (before the National Showman Pageant) and we got tropical.
Although the go-to tropical drinks are typically rum-based, I decided that it was time to give Smirnoff Coconut a try.
Getting ready to make Smirnoff Coconut Cocktails.
As if the Erika Jayne concert and being selected for the Hotels.com campaign weren’t exciting enough, Michael and I decided to continue the fun at the Stoli Key West Cocktail Classic on Monday night.
Even though we have seen the advertisements for this event for weeks, we did not seriously consider going to it until we bumped into Stoli LGBT ambassadorffat the Erika Jayne show.
Patrik reminded us that the Key West Cocktail Classic was happening and told us to RSVP.
Apparently only Michael got the message – RSVP’s were already closed by the time I got around to the website. However Patrik got me a wristband anyway.
I expected the cocktail classic to look more like a career fair (booths with several sample-sized cocktails.) It turned out to be a full show hosted by Patrik and local gay celebrity Steve Kemble.
Real Housewife LeeAnne Locken was also three as a judge.
The celebrity judges at the Stoli cocktail classic including Steve Kemble and LeeAnne Locken.
The owner of Liquid Zoo was also a participant – she was a stand-in for one of her bartenders who is recovering from cancer.
My building always has an informal pool party on Labor Day. The management company stocks the pool fridge with about 100 pounds of meat and soda, which we can grill throughout the weekend.
Almost everyone also brings cocktails to my apartment building’s pool, but most us don’t put much effort into our drinks.
This weekend it was time to step our cocktail game up.
Boozy chocolate drinks at the iLume pool in Dallas, Texas.
Boozy chocolate drink recipe with Baileys and Captain Morgan White Rum.
Mojitos are my summer drink of choice, but I hate the fuss and calories associated with the traditional recipe. As part this summer’s Svedka kick, I’ve made a vodka-soda mix that takes like a mojito.
Today I created what I’m calling “The Tenochtitlan Cocktail.” It’s is a fruity Svedka-based drink. Creating it is a little complicated (from a dish-washing perspective) because it requires a blender, but the hassle is totally worth it.
And yes, those are reused cups from Lush. Don’t judge me.
Place in a blender with ice, and then pour into a cup with Sprite.
Garnish with lime, lemon, and orange slices.