Caustic: sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way.
Bitters: liquor that is flavored with plant extracts, used as an additive in cocktails or as a medicinal substance.
I received an unexplained Google Calendar invite a week or so ago from a good friend. “UMMA + Chill – Group Chat: Caustic & Bitters. 7pm 2/27.” I wasn’t quite sure what I was being invited to, but my weekend evenings have been painfully bare due to COVID, and every UMMA event I’ve ever attended has been well worthwhile, so I texted my friend and let her know I was coming.
I’ll be catching the last of the UMMA + Chill winter events tomorrow evening, a virtual guided museum tour and mini cocktail-making lesson. The tour will be guided by Isabelle Marie Anne Gillet, a UMMA Stenn Fellow in Public and Digital Humanities and Museum Pedagogy, with the theme of humor as an artist’s tool to “undermine the superficial meaning of what is depicted and subvert or even confuse expectations.” I haven’t been on a museum tour, in-person or virtual, in a good while, so I’m very excited to spend the evening with the UMMA collection and some friends from the comfort of my own living room.
Today along with my regular grocery shopping, I picked up ingredients for a cocktail designed by the Bellflower Restaurant, which we will be learning how to mix during the guided tour. The prep email also included the option to purchase pre-made kits directly from the restaurant, and also a non-alcoholic mocktail recipe.
Tomorrow evening, I plan to put on a nice outfit and kick back on my couch to enjoy a virtual guided tour with my friends through Zoom–a sophisticated Saturday night in.
