Honeysuckler offers a taste of joy

Remember when you were a kid and the joy you would have when you ran across a fence full of honeysuckle vines? As far back as I can remember, no one ever consciously planted these delicious little flowers in their backyards, but everyone was excited when they ran across them by chance and the flowers were just yellow enough that you knew they would have a sweet treat inside.

I recently experienced this same “by chance” joy when I was introduced to Cathead Honeysuckle Flavored Vodka. Distilled in Gluckstadt, Miss., Cathead draws its name from a slang term for blues musicians in the Delta region of the South. So it is no surprise that for every bottle sold, they donate $1 to the nonprofit organization Music Maker Relief Foundation.

When I created this week’s cocktail, I wanted to mix up something that would embody the simple joy of honeysuckle and the soul of Southern blues.

So, with that in mind, I give you the Honeysuckler, light enough that you can still taste the delicate honeysuckle flavor, but with almost no nonalcoholic mixers so you can get a nice afternoon buzz and get into enough trouble to write your own blues tune.

The Honeysuckler

1˝ ounces Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka
Splash of Licor 43
˝ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 ounces chilled sparkling moscato wine

Combine first 3 ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a Champagne flute filled with crushed ice. Top with chilled moscato and garnish with honeysuckle flowers or whatever you find blooming wild on the fence in your backyard!