aquarius is rather like a puppy—usually wagging her cute little tail and willing to play ball. if any sign is man’s best friend, it is the water bearer. few enjoy people, and gatherings, like aquarius. this stereotypically fun-loving, friendly, humanitarian, spontaneous sign would die to have this cocktail served at her birthday bash, in honor of her truly. so if you’re a true friend, screw the mixing glass and bring on the pitcher. that’s one gift aquarius will remember (unless she drinks it all herself).

or perhaps your aquarian friend is of the quiet sort? they do exist, i know several. if that’s the case, definitely bring them a pitcher of freshly mixed booze… this uptight species of water bearer needs to loosen up in the worst way, and if you peer into their puppy dog eyes you’ll see them silently begging to do just that. what better way to loosen up than with 50 proof? in a few sips, those atypically cautious aquarians will be even louder than their stereotypically outgoing counterparts. it must be noted that ALL aquarians are FUN with a capital F. and when one adds gin with a capital G to the equation, well life doesn’t get much better.

this filling cocktail could easily replace aquarius’ birthday cake, it’s like a meal in itself… so skip the cake and go right to the nightcap. happy birthday to the celestial liquor bearer… and to the stereotypically ditzy aquarius, that would be you i’m talking about!

the dark blackberry is technically ruled by venus according to culpepar, but its somber hue has convinced me to assign rulership under saturn. now remember, in the medieval times the outer planet of uranus was not yet discovered, so aquarius was then ruled by saturn. it is not considered co-ruled by saturn and uranus. aaaanyway, in scotland apple season occurs at the same time as bramble season and one of the scot’s fave baked goodies is an apple and bramble pie. for some reason the two flavors blend awesomely together. the bramble gives a nice boost to the apple, both in color and taste. bon appetit.

BRAMBLE APPLETINI:

1 C FRESH LEMON JUICE
20 GRANNY SMITH APPLES FRESHLY JUICED
1 1/2 CUPS BRAMBLE JUICE (FROM ABOUT 4 CUPS BERRIES)
3 CUPS RAW SIMPLE SYRUP
2-3 CUPS GIN DEPENDING ON DESIRED LEVEL OF INTOXICATION

IN PITCHER, STIR THE ABOVE VERY WELL. PLACE IN FRIDGE UNTIL TIME TO SERVE. GARNISH EACH GLASS WITH A TWIST.

*TO JUICE BRAMBLES, SIMPLY “MUSH” THROUGH A STRAINER UNTIL ONLY PULP IS LEFT. NOT AN EASY TASK, BUT WORTH IT FOR THE WATER BEARER.

*SIMPLE SYRUP IS A MIXTURE OF 50% WATER AND 50% SUGAR. STIR MIXTURE UNTIL DISSOVED, THERE IS NO NEED TO HEAT.