Delinquent Martini

The Tale of the Delinquent Martini

Have you ever wanted to go out and just play? How nice would it be to simply pick up and leave your life for a few days? What if you could go some place where no one knew you? A place where you could become anyone you wanted to be, without any restrictions? Would you do it? What would happen if you took a much needed break and reverted to being a bit of a teenage delinquent?

The “Delinquent” is a martini that can be busted out when you need a well deserved break. It is the alcoholic substitute for the old Calgon bath products. You know the television commercials where the harried, female model says: “Calgon, take me away!”  The model was probably drinking a martini in the bathtub during those commercials, because no bath bubbles can make you feel that relaxed. Check it out on YouTube to see for yourself! Calgon bath commercial.

The Delinquent is a fun and exciting combination of blackberries and mint, muddled with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Chambord, and lime. It is light, refreshing, and easy to sip, which is why it is the perfect martini for my tooty fruity girlfriend, who desperately needed to play and become a bit of a delinquent. It was also the perfect martini to spark an evening of spontaneous fun that would last the whole night through!

A few days ago, while my girlfriend and I were on a “girl’s only, mental health slash I want to strangle my husband slash surf trip”, we experienced the most amazing random encounter with two men who could have been our long lost brothers. We met the boys while changing in the parking lot after a late afternoon surf session. There is nothing like being half naked in front of strangers to make you feel at ease. From the moment we started chatting, we all clicked. It was as if we were long lost friends, and before we knew it, we were hanging out having cocktails out of the surf van. The conversation flowed easily and was totally hilarious. The topics ranged from surfing to careers, families to sex, and everything in between. There were weird synchronicities, like we had all been best friends for sixteen years; we knew people in the same circles and shared similar life experiences. Cocktails led to martinis and then to dinner around the campfire. This is when the Delinquent Martini was born; it was basically a blend of what was leftover in the fridge and my martini kit.  I always pack a martini kit on my trips, and it includes the essentials – gin, lime, and selected liquors.

Well, the Delinquent Martini was a huge hit – perhaps too huge of a hit! The martinis went down really well, the music went up, and the hula hoops came out. The shits and giggles were non-stop. We were having so much fun and for some reason we brought out the little kid in each other. Our private party of four danced, laughed, cuddled, and told stories until the sun came up. Yup, there we were at five a.m., four grown adults all curled up around the beach fire still laughing our asses off. It was unbelievable!  I had not pulled an all-nighter (expect for work purposes) in at least ten years and my girlfriend had never pulled one off. How does this happen? How do four people who have only just met end up influencing each other so much that they all wind up acting like teenage delinquents? Well, I’ll tell you how it happened…

“Leave it to my married girlfriend to pick up the only gay surf guys in a one hundred mile radius!”

Earlier in the evening, when my girlfriend had stepped away for a moment, the boys had confessed to being gay lovers. “It figures!” I had thought to myself. This new piece of information once again proved what I had always believed. Never let a married woman set up, pick up, or give advice to a single woman; they are totally out of touch. On the other hand, I did find this new “intel” about the boys to be incredibly amusing, as I watched my girlfriend continue in her efforts to set me up with one of the boys. She was totally convinced that he was perfect and completely into me. Eventually, a few hours later, I confessed to her that they were actually gay. At first she was stunned and in denial, but I believe she was more bummed out about the fact that her “Operation Set-up Marjie” had been aborted. Why does every married person think that everyone else should be hitched? Is it because they want everyone around them to be as frustrated and miserable with their partner as they are? Trust me, the fact that we were on this trip because she was pissed with her husband made marital bliss look even more unappealing to me (the consistently happy single girl!) Anyways, with my girlfriend finally convinced that I wasn’t going to get any action, we continued on with our evening of entertainment with the gay boys. Was it the fact that they were gay that made the night so fun and turned us into delinquents?  Yes, but it was more than that.

It was the simple and honest to goodness truth that they just wanted to hang out with us because we were cool and fun to be around. There were no hidden sexual agendas and no concerns about jeopardizing any marriage boundaries. We had created a totally safe, non sexual environment. This atmosphere allowed us to completely let loose and be ourselves. It didn’t matter what we did or said because we weren’t trying to impress or judge each other. We were living in the moment, with no concerns for the future. We bickered, teased, and giggled like little kids, for the sheer pleasure of it. It seemed as if we had known each other forever and we didn’t give a second thought to sitting up all night laughing and amusing ourselves.  Even when we started to get sleepy, none of us really wanted to leave, and so we didn’t. The best part of the entire evening was that we could be delinquents and party indefinitely. We knew for certain that we would not be grounded in the morning!

Later that same morning, my girlfriend and I kissed the boys goodbye and drove away without any sleep. As I attempted to focus on the road through my red and bleary eyes,  I sipped my coffee and realized that I would need many more cups to get me through the day.  I would truly miss the boys. They were such a delight and I hoped to meet them again for another evening of total delinquency.  I also concluded that it was an amazing gift for all of us, particularly for my girlfriend, to be reminded that even though we were adults with responsibilities we were still kids at heart.

Delinquent Martini is a refreshing blend of blackberries and mint. It goes down smooth and releases your inhibitions, so that you can simply play and have fun. The Delinquent’s combination of flavours, and a hint of Gin, is reminiscent of   finding your long lost friend. When all the ingredients are mixed together and given a good shake, they just fit.  And when something fits, it feels so good that all you want to do is continue sipping and laughing. The key to this martini is that there is no holding back; you must seize the opportunity to have fun and play, because every once in awhile it is necessary for our grown-up souls to be a bit delinquent.

Intuitive thoughts by Marjie Martini