I’ve been saving The Long, Hot Summer (Disc/Download) for a week when I absolutely cannot stand the Texas heat another second, and well folks, this is that week. Seasonal affective disorder has set in, and the only cure is Paul Newman’s abs.
Sharing similarities with movies like Picnic and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Long, Hot Summer features Newman in the role of Ben Quick, a falsely accused barn burner and mysterious drifter who lands in a small Mississippi town. He quickly makes an impression on the only daughter of the local bigwig, Clara Varner (played by Newman’s real-life love Joanne Woodward), soon ingratiating himself into her dysfunctional mess of a family. The chemistry between Newman and Woodward is electric, and even when she’s putting on a good show of hating this cocky ne’er-do-well, you can tell she’s also wildly attracted to him. And honestly, who wouldn’t be? The man performs the simple act of eating a watermelon, and I’m a puddle.
In Frenchman’s Bend, Mississippi, people spend most of the day either toiling in the fields or sitting on a veranda with an icy cold beverage in hand. I know where I’d be in this scenario, and I also know what drink I’d be holding. While watching The Long, Hot Summer, get hot and bothered with this Barn Burner cocktail.
Barn Burner
2 oz bourbon
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz hot honey syrup (1:1 ratio Mike’s Hot Honey® to water)
4 oz ginger beer
Dried lemon wheel (garnish)
Combine bourbon, lemon juice, and hot honey syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a tumbler filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger beer and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a dried lemon wheel.
I normally loathe movies where everyone is sweaty, but when it’s Paul Newman standing shirtless outside the town schoolmarm’s bedroom, complimenting her reading glasses and promising to waltz with her under the moon, I don’t mind it one bit. Joanne was smart to lock that down when she did. Cheers!
