The 2-Ingredient Cocktail I Turn to After a Long Day

I don’t want to write about white port. I don’t want to explain how it’s made or how it’s different from its ruby and tawny counterparts. I don’t want to engage with the performative exercise of a tasting note, boring myself with thoughts about a lemony nose this or a bitter finish that.I simply want to pop open a bottle and pour it over some fresh ice cubes in a hefty rocks glass, with a bit of tonic, or Orangina, or even flavored seltzer. Maybe go wild and mix the drink with my finger—why not, it’s just me, myself, and I on this lazy afternoon. I want to sit in my favorite chair, next to my cat who is basking in the sun, and read that sci-fi book that’s been languishing on my bedside table for months. I want to pass the afternoon slowly sipping the drink in my hand, without an ounce of worry or regret that I didn’t follow a recipe, that I’m simply vibing, as the kids say.No, I don’t want to write about white port. I want to sing about it, how it feels like releasing one’s shoulders when reading a particularly good poem, like Ross Gay’s “Thank You.” I want to take in “the garden’s dormant splendor” and enjoy how summer gives way to autumn. I want to invite my best friends over and mix up a pitcher of white port martinis—gin is much too high-octane for our aging metabolisms. As we gossip and giggle, our barks filling the air, I commit to memory the unphotographed snapshot of the once-heaving pitcher, the drained bottle, and lip-stained glassware, joyous evidence of our scheming.I want that very much.White port is easy-going, fresh, and relatively light-bodied. In cocktails calling for clear spirits, it can be swapped in for flavor and lower alcohol-by-volume. Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Prop Styling by Linden Elstran, Food Styling by Kaitlin WayneThree White Ports to TryBaronesa de Vilar White Port Tasting of candied orange, a bit of almond bitterness, and golden caramel syrup, it is sunset in liquid form.Quinta de la Rosa Extra Dry White Port Perfumed with a note of pear, this offering is a great lower-alcohol substitute for gin or vodka in most cocktails but equally quaffable when splashed with tonic or seltzer.Fonseca Porto Siroco Extra Dry White Port Crisp as a new dollar bill with delicate floral and bitter notes, this bottling takes its name from the Mediterranean wind that originates in North Africa.