It's been a busy few months here at the Seven Days food desk. In addition to writing our regular weekly features and food news, senior food writer Alice Levitt and I filed updates on more than 1,000 Vermont restaurants as we prepared our annual 7Nights dining guide for print. And, in tandem with our marketing and sales teams, we helped organize the sixth annual Vermont Restaurant Week — coordinating a record 115 menus with as many chefs — and put together a half dozen crave-worthy events.

With 7Nights hitting newsstands later today and Restaurant Week scheduled for takeoff this Friday, I, for one, am ready for a cocktail. 

Embracing the spirit of the season (and a bit of shameless self-promotion), I'm making that cocktail a Vermont Mule. 

For the unacquainted, that's a Vermonty spin on the classic Moscow Mule and it is the official signature cocktail of — wait for it — Vermont Restaurant Week!

Using whey vodka from Quechee-based Vermont Spirits Distilling Company, ginger beer and lime, it's a cool, refreshing sipper that gracefully straddles the moody flavors of winter and the fizzier notes of spring and summer. 

It's super easy to make at home, but if you're craving one while you're out and about, it's available at more than a dozen local restaurants from April 24 to May 3. 

Vermont Mule
One cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Vermont White Vodka
  
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  
• 5 ounces Ginger Beer
  
• Ice
  
• Fresh marjoram, lemongrass or lemon thyme (optional)

Preparation

Fill a Collins glass (or copper mug, if available) with crushed ice. Add vodka. Top with ginger beer and the juice of half a lime. Garnish with a lime wedge and/or fresh herbs.