My first ever Mixology Monday! It's a great idea and a good way to discover some great writers and fantastic booze blogs. Check out the Mixology Monday homepage for all the details.
This month's theme is Flores de Mayo – Floral Cocktails. This month's host is Dave at The Barman Cometh blog.
I thought about going Aviation or Blue Moon so I could use crème de violette, but instead thought I would do something original. I've been toying around with one of my favourite drinks lately: the Crusta. I usually go traditional and use brandy as my base spirit, but my better half Donna has recently fixated on making them with bourbon.
Bourbon Bloom
The bloom in the Bourbon Bloom. Sugared rim is optional.
Preparation
1. Pre-chill your cocktail glass in the freezer.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, or paring knife if you have the skills, peel an entire lemon, keeping the peel in one long piece. If you mess up, two long peels can work also. Avoid too much pith on your peel. It's bitter.
3. Remove your cocktail glass from the freezer and give it a sugar rim (optional). Tightly wind the lemon peel into a spiral. You will see that it has the appearance of a flowering rose. Drop this in the bottom of your cocktail glass and return to the freezer.
The Bourbon Bloom cocktail.
Ingredients
1-1/4 oz bourbon (I used Buffalo Trace)
1/2 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters
In this case I've lowered the amount of bourbon I'd normally use in a Bourbon Crusta. I replaced the missing bourbon with elderflower liqueur, which I realize has become old hat in some circles, but I still love the stuff.
The bloom re-appears as you drink your cocktail.
Be sure to visit The Barman Cometh blog in the following days for a round-up of this month's contributions to Mixology Monday.
If you happen to give my drink a try, please tell me what you think. But be gentle, I'm sensitive 
