Think back to a special moment of yours … what made it special?

What makes a moment special is an open statement. Because we are all different but the same, we have different special moments but all can relate to the special moments of others — isn’t that interesting? If we follow that reasoning, that means a common thread runs through all of us, right? That in itself is specialness!

It was in the middle of a Twins game when my phone asked me to answer it. Noting the call was from an old friend of mine, I got ready to have some fun verbal pokes and jabs. The call was from my old German friend — I’m not going to tell you what he calls me! The conversation began by him saying he wanted to hear a friendly voice, and finally had to settle for me. My response was not for public dissemination and we laughed our way through our time together.

Hearing his voice was a special moment for me.

Because of that special phone call, I had to have a sip of Dampfwerk’s Rabbit In The Rye — a German style herbal liqueur made as it’s made in Thuringia, Germany. It’s a wonderful rye based liqueur with some American botanicals thrown in for an extra zesty taste. If you can find it, get it but be ready for some special pokes and jabs!

Last December, our first granddaughter was born in Chicago, and within the last week we finally drove to The Windy City to see her. In the book of special moments, seeing her would be in the first chapter of that book — very special! But, I had done my preparation before leaving home for that special moment.

A couple of months ago I had sent a woolen wall hanging with the words “Dream Big, Little One” on it. I asked for it to be placed over her crib and wrote a note to her asking her to always take it with her throughout life and hang it in her bedroom. She’s my Little One.

Additionally, I had to come up with a cocktail that would be her cocktail — now and forever. After a bit of research, I found one and it’s called The Little Princess.

After the very special moment of holding her for the first time and giving her a little peck on her head, I walked with her and told her how special she is and always will be to me. She a little pack of potential and I always want her to dream big, be good and do good. Then…

I gathered her parents and all of us grandparents together and made The Little Princess to honor her. The drink is made by combining equal parts sweet vermouth and rum and you throw an ice cube in the glass with it. We raised our glasses in what I hope was the first of many Little Princess cocktails to my Little One — a special moment.

During our stay in Chicago, I also had a special wine moment. My son directed me to his wine collection and there among the bottles was a 2016 Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s a lot of important wine history within the Stag’s Leap wine legacy, but let’s just say it beat the best wines France had to offer during a 1976 wine tasting event. That event is known as The Judgment of Paris and revolutionized the wine world — American wines beat every French wine in a blind wine tasting. The Cabernet Sauvignon that beat the French wines was a Stag’s Leap.

I was given the authority to open the 2016 vintage wine and I did so with lots of rapid heart beats. As I pulled the cork, the soft elegant floral aroma greeted me and, upon tasting it, the luscious taste of plum and black cherry invited me to continue tasting it. Its mouth feel is soft and the vanilla flavor reduces the tannins to a plush finish. Absolutely an amazing special moment — not as special as holding Little One for the first time but, well, you know…

Of course, because our daughter-in-law is a Wisconsinite, we had to have a glass of New Glarus Spotted Cow beer. If you can get a six pack of a New Glarus beer, grab it! They make wonderful beers and the Spotted Cow is a beautifully malted and sweet beer. If there’s ever an argument for interstate trade, here’s one — we can’t buy it in Minnesota … ugh!

Finally, I had been reading about a new beer craze this year and it called a Radler — a German type beer by combining a lager with a fruit juice. I had a Stiegli Radler and found the beer quite delicious — it’s a lager combined with grapefruit juice. A bit tart and sweet at the same time — really enjoyed it, and it, again, was a special moment for me.

Yes, we all have special moments and many of them are the same but, they create unique feelings within each of us. Doesn’t that make each of us special?

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!