I may be a little late to this but I was in a very dark place the last few weeks, and this is the first day I’ve been able to put pen to tablet and produce something.
But this post isn’t about me - it’s about remembering Rusty. As many of you know, the TumblrPon community lost a dearly loved member recently when @askrustynail fell into a coma, and then last Wednesday, March 22, passed away.
I loved Rusty’s work, loved following his drink blog and his mod blog, loved his writing, loved his drink recipes, loved how much he cared for his friends - like how he helped fund-raise when Wiggles’ kitty got sick. I’m sad that I didn’t get to know him better, we only ever met once in person. But I’m so grateful for that meeting and I will cherish the memory.
We met at Bronycon 2015, and my husband - a fellow mixologist - and I commissioned a drink for his OC Red Zircon, who sometimes appears on my Ask Bliss blog. I would be remiss if I did not share this drink with you all. So, Dear Drinkers - it’s a Red Zircon!
The recipe is residing on my fridge, where it has been proudly displayed for almost 2 years, and will continue to be displayed. For anyone who has trouble reading it, I’ll transcribe it here:
1 Bottle Dry White Wine
3 tbsp Sugar
3 Shots Pear Liqueur
Lemon Peel
Orange Peel
1/2 a Green Apple
10 Strawberries
15 White Grapes
Slice of Red Watermelon
Slice of Pineapple
1.75 g Xanthan Gum
Watermelon, cut into 3mm Gems
Cut fruit as if making Sangria
Mix wine, liqueur, sugar, cut fruit and peel into pitcher
Let it infuse in the fridge for 8 hrs
Pass sangria through sieve
Mix sangria with xanthan gum
Stir and refrigerate
Fill martini glass with sangria, arrange melon through glass
And there you have it! If anyone can read his writing better and corrections are needed, please let me know!
So now anyone can enjoy a Red Zircon, and anyone reading this who hasn’t seen Rusty’s work - his wonderful MLP custom drinks blog is right here.
Neither my husband or I can drink these days due to medical reasons, so I do hope someone out there will raise a Red Zircon to Rusty’s memory. For me, having my characters do so is the best I can manage.
Rusty, if some part of you is out there and can somehow see this - thank you. Thank you for everything you made and all you did, and how happy you made your friends and loved ones. Rest well.