So I'm at a graduation party last Friday night. They had two drinks: Miller Lite on tap and the "Ami Cooler." I was a little bummed there was no vodka, but the host told me, "My grandfather had a bar in Ionia, Michigan. He would only serve Michigan products, whenever possible. He wanted to sell Vernors ginger ale, so he came up with the Ami Cooler: Eight ounces of Vernors, a shot of gin, and a twist of lime." I tried it, I loved it. It's definitely going into my drinking repetroire, especially as a great summer drink.
I asked him if his grandfather used Mohawk gin in the Ami Cooler. For those not acquainted with Mohawk Liquor Corporation, it was a pretty big distillery located in Detroit. It churned out products one step below low shelf drinks. Absolute swill. I remember hearing on a radio program that the old Mohawk distillery used to crank out huge volumes of a product, then once that product run was over, immediately ran a huge batch of a different product through the same lines, and then when that ran out. Over and over again. I've never verified it, but the dude on that radio program felt comfortable stating it as fact over the air.
Another drink that's making a splash in my town this summer: root beer beer. I haven't tried it, but Marie has. She really liked it (and when it comes to beer, Marie normally hates flavoring). She said it tastes just like root beer, but with a little bite at the end.
