Bar Stool Fridays - Sands of Laredo Cocktail

On New Year's Day 2011, my husband and I helped my parents move their belongings and pets from Brownsville to Laredo,  Texas.  We followed the Rio Grande north on US Highway 83 past the edge of Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert and over the infamous Falcon Lake.

While I didn't grow up in South Texas, a number of significant life events for our family have occurred while my parents lived in the Brownsville area.  And we have so many close friends and loved ones that it was bittersweet to help them make the move.  I must admit, I was disappointed when they initially moved to Brownsville, even though I was already living on my own, but I grew to feel at home there.  I'm excited for my parents' new adventure, however, and my husband and I are eager to become more familiar with another part of Texas.  I'm sure we will grow to love it, too.

Driving to Laredo, as it is all along the Rio Grande corridor where Texas and Mexico meet, I could see that the border is just arbitrary.  The history, food, and culture of Texas and Mexico are so intertwined (and the river can run so low) that it is difficult to see the so-called border.  You can't really tell one side from the other or where one begins and the other ends.  Well, except for markers like this...

Or the border fence.  But, that is an entry for another day...

So close to the Chihuahuan Desert, Laredo has a semi-arid climate, and they've been suffering with unusually high temperatures this spring.  Needing a refreshing and thirst-quenching drink for their Easter celebration, my father came up with a cocktail using pomegranate wine.  When he finished composing the drink, it looked rather sandy colored, so he named it the Sands of Laredo.  But, I think the name is also fitting because you can't tell where one ingredient ends and the other begins.  Each ingredient is improved by mixing with the others.  It is a real borderland gem.  Thanks for sharing it, Dad.

Sands of Laredo
Makes 1 drink

Pomegranate wine
sparkling wine/champagne
orange juice

All ingredients should be chilled.  In a tall fluted glass pour about 1 1/2 oz of pomegranate wine.

Top the glass with equal amounts sparkling wine/champagne and orange juice.