In the third installment of Books Over Drinks, M. Judson had bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews in town to promote her new book, The Homewreckers (St. Martin’s Press, 2022). From the author’s site:
Hattie Cavanaugh went to work helping clean up restored homes for Cavanaugh & Son Restorations at eighteen; married the boss’s son at twenty; and was only twenty-five when her husband, Hank, was killed in a motorcycle accident.
Broken hearted, but determined to continue the business of their dreams, she takes the life insurance money, buys a small house in a gentrifying neighborhood, flips it, then puts the money into her next project. But that house is a disaster and a money-loser, which rocks her confidence for years to come. Then, Hattie gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show called “The Homewreckers,” cast against a male lead who may be a love interest, or may be the ultimate antagonist. It’s a question of who will flip, and who will flop, and will Hattie ever get her happily-ever-after.
Filled with Mary Kay Andrews’s trademark wit, warmth, junking trips, and house porn, The Homewreckers is a summer beach delight.
With that in mind, I wanted something that would match the beach read-i-ness of the book (and all of Andrews’s books, from what I’ve gathered over time). Thus the Savannah Sunrise. It’s simple and light, and can be made lighter by cutting with club soda (or turned into a blended frozen drink on especially hot days).
Note: I’d also garnish with a mint leaf for color, but we were batching 80 cocktails and speed/efficiency was the name of the game.
Savannah Sunrise
- 2 oz Humboldt Distillery vodka
- 3 oz lemonade
- 1 oz peach puree
- .25 oz grenadine
Method: Add all ingredients to shaker with ice except grenadine. Shake well and pour into a Collins glass with ice. Drizzle grenadine on top. Garnish with a mint leaf.