Happy birthday Judy Blume!  Let’s all celebrate the 83rd birthday of one of my favourite young adult authors by raising a toast with a cocktail known as the  Late Blumer!

Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret was one of my FAVOURITE books growing up.  I must have read it a hundred times!   The issues of boys and bras and periods and feeling confused and anxious all the time spoke to me in a way that no other book at the time did.

I read and reread this edition of the book.  Funnily enough, I rarely reread books nowadays but as a  child? I could finish a book on a Monday and start it again the following day. Having said that, I am currently rereading Are You There God and it is totally transporting me to back then!

I also read all the other Judy Blume books that were available in the Glen Waverley Public Library.  But Are You There God was by far my favourite.

The Late Blumer Cocktail

I found this cocktail on A Beautiful Mess years ago  The link to the cocktail recipe on the site no longer works.  So, I am very glad I printed it when I did.  Thank you so much for the recipe Elsie!.

The Late Blumer is a fruity gin cocktail with some spice from the ginger and some herbiness from basil.  In other words, my kind of cocktail!  I love the combination of gin and ginger so this one was always going to be right up my alley in terms of flavour and it did not disappoint!

Here is my printed recipe:

And here it is a version with the measurements I thought worked best.

The Late Blumer

1 serving

• 30mls Gin
• 1 ripe apricot
• 4 raspberries plus 1 more for garnish
• 2 basil leaves plus more to garnish
• Gingerale to top up your glass – mine was around 150ml.
• Ice cubes

Mudde the apricots, raspberries and basil leaves in the bottom of your cocktail shaker.

Add the gin and let sit for around 5-10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Add some ice cubes to a glass and top with the gin mixture. You can strain this of you do not like bits of fruit in your cocktail.  Fill to the top of the glass with ginger ale.

Garnish with additional basil leaves and raspberries and enjoy!

Here’s to you Judy Blume!  Happy birthday!!!  Your writing has helped shaped the lives of generations of girls.  Because we always knew that if we needed some understanding, some kind words or encouragement, we didn’t even need to ask “Are you there Judy?”  All we had to do was open a book.

“Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.”

 – Judy Blume

Tell me, where you a Judy Blume fan?  What was your favourite?

Have a great weekend!