Peachy Keen Mixology

Barely able to contain her excitement, Taffy was bounding and skipping along the sidewalk on her way to the Rabbit Hole. Today was the day that it was getting drink-mixing lessons from Hops! It couldn’t quite remember how it managed to get lessons; all it knew was that one day it woke up with a hangover, missing carats from its bank account, and a confirmation text noting the time and date. Regardless, Taffy was ecstatic!

Before long, Taffy arrived. It stopped its bouncing in front of the door to the bar and stepped inside. Hops was setting various drink-mixing equipment on the tending side of the bar. No one else was there. Taffy checked the time on its phone.

“Oh, am I too early? I can wait outside if you want!”

Hops looked up from what she was doing and smiled. “No, no, it’s okay! Come behind the bar with me! I’m just setting up. Once I’m all done, we can start!”

Taffy nodded and stood next to Hops. “Wow… are we going to be using all of this stuff?”

“Probably not, I was just getting everything out so we’d be ready for whatever drink you wanna learn how to make!”

“I get to pick?” Taffy asks, pointing towards itself and cocking its head.

 “Mhm! You can choose one of my specialties here!” Hops set a specialty drink menu on the counter in front of Taffy. “Pick one you think you’d like to make for yourself sometimes! Just promise you’ll still buy drinks from me, okay?”

“Of course! I would never switch to just making my own all the time! No one does it better than you! Now let’s see…” Taffy scanned the menu for anything that approached its insanely sweet tastes. “I think I remember liking the Dracquiri you made me that one time, but I think a Peach Hellini may be easier. Let’s go with that!”

Hops smiled and began setting aside the necessary ingredients and equipment. “Alrighty! Yeah, that one’s pretty simple. I think it’d be good for a beginner!” Hops placed a winged wine glass in front of Taffy. “There’s three major ingredients that make a Peach Hellini: Champagne, peach juice, and peach slices. The ratio of peach juice to champagne can be up to preference, but I serve it one-fourth of the way with peach juice and fill the rest of the glass with champagne. The peach slices are garnish, and you can get a pretty good buzz off of them if you eat them after you’re finished with the drink!”

Despite Taffy’s nodding, it was very clear that most of Hops' words were going over its head. “Huh… okay… so, how do I start…?”

“First, fill about one-fourth of the glass with peach juice! If you don’t wanna eyeball it, you can measure 2 fluid ounces and then pour that in.”

Taffy decided to just go for it and poured the peach juice into the glass directly. It was pretty sure it overshot it a bit, but overdoing the sweet element of the drink was hardly a bad thing to Taffy.

Hops bent down to where her eyes were level with the surface of the juice. “That’s about right! Great job!” The bartender gave a smile as she straightened back up. “Now, you pour in the champagne until the glass is almost full. Be sure to leave a little bit of room for when we put in the peach slices. You don’t want it to overflow!”

Taffy nodded and poured in the sparkling white wine, a satisfying fizzing sound rising from the glass as it did so. It stopped pouring right before it thought it would be full enough to serve.

Hops clapped excitedly. “Yes! Perfect! Now,” a quick sneaky glance to the left and right before she continued, “before we add in the peach slices, we have to add my secret ingredient!”

“You have a secret ingredient?!” Taffy responded, eyes wide. “What is it?!”

The bartender grinned and waggled her index finger back and forth. “Now, I can’t tell you that, but you can use it! I’ll even let you take a pouch of it home!”

Taffy’s eyes were glittering. “Amaziiiiing…!”

Hops plucked a tiny pouch from a drawer in the counter and handed it to Taffy. “Just add a bit of this to the drink and mix! This is what makes my specialty drinks… special!”

Following her directions, Taffy sprinkled the secret ingredient into the drink and mixed it gently. It was difficult to describe, but there was a certain change to the… je ne sais quoi of the drink. Utterly dazzled, Taffy turned to Hops excitedly. “Just gotta add the peach slices and it’s done, right?!”

“Yep! Be sure to put them in real gently, okay? I also like to put a couple on the side sometimes for presentation. It’s not required, though!”

Not wanting to ruin the enticing drink, Taffy placed the peach slices with surgical precision. The bubbles from the champagne danced around the slices inside the drink like it was a welcoming ceremony. Taffy was completely transfixed. It took a gentle shake from Hops to snap it out of the trance.

“There you have it, Taffy! You mixed up a very stylish Peach Hellini! Now, you’re free to drink it!” Hops gingerly set the drink on the bartop, careful not to disturb Taffy’s work. “Sit and enjoy!”

At a pace a bit unsafe for behind a bar, Taffy rushed to the barstool and began sipping. It tasted much more subtle and sophisticated than what Taffy would order on its own, but it was good! Taffy was sure Hops would have been able to make it at a much higher quality, but there was a sense of satisfaction in its flaws. It was evidence that Taffy was the one to mix it.

Hops set a pouch of her secret ingredient on the bartop next to Taffy’s drink. “Here you go! I hope you’ll get some good use out of this… but again, not too much!” She gave a wink. “I still wanna see you around here!”

Taffy smiled and held the pouch in its hand. “Absolutely! This is still one of my favorite places in Burrowgatory! This is for when I’m stuck at home only, I promise!”

The two then chatted until late into the night, with Taffy ordering her usual non-specialty drinks after finishing her first Peach Hellini.