I got a new phone today, upgrading from a Galaxy S4 to an S6. I decided against the S6 Edge, because I couldn’t think of how I could extract $100 in additional value out of that beveled edge. Oh, you can program in five people with a different color each so if your phone is face down on the table, and one of those five people calls you, you’ll be able to tell from the color showing along the edge which one it is? Wow. Our long national nightmare is finally over.

Anyway, I had forgotten (since it’s been two years) what a pain in the ass it is to switch phones. Even though 90% of my account stuff was in the cloud, and even though Samsung has a nifty app for transferring data from an old phone to a new one, some stuff – including all my ringtones – got left behind, which really sucks. Also, I activated Yahoo’s Aviate launcher, which is nice, but I’d like to turn it off for a while to use a different one… and there seems to be no way to do so. The instructions on Yahoo’s site don’t work.

So I’d say my life is pretty much ruined at this point. On the other hand, it’s almost Friday.

Yesterday was National Cocktail Day or something of that nature, so before midnight, I put together a variant on my variant on an Old Fashioned (which I call a New-Fangled, of course). I didn’t have simple syrup, so I improvised with some candied lemon peel and some of its associated lemony sugar crystals. Not the most successful adaptation.

For those who wish to know how to make a real New-Fangled, here’s the recipe:

• 1-1/2 oz. aquavit
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• a dash or five of Aztec Chocolate Bitters
• serve over rocks, garnish with some variety of citrus peel

Proportions of aquavit and simple syrup may be adjusted to taste. I usually try to tone down the sweetness, seeking that perfect balance with the caraway flavor of the aquavit. (By the way, I am using North Shore Distillery‘s really lovely aquavit. I haven’t ever had the spirit before, so I can’t really compare it to anything, but I really like it.)

The New-Fangled can also be made with honey or ginger syrup instead of the simple syrup. Each variety has a distinct flavor profile, and they’re all excellent (if I do say so myself). My preference is ginger syrup, but I don’t have any of that around.