Leap years generally occur every four years and add an extra day to the calendar. This extra day is February 29, also known as leap day. Without a leap year, the calendar would become out of sync with the seasonal year due to the Earth not orbiting the sun in exactly 365 days every year. Basically, leap day is added to the calendar in order to keep our calendar synchronized with the astronomical year, and maintain some balance in our lives.
More importantly, only 1 out of every 1,461 people are born on February 29. Some notable leap day babies include Ja Rule, Mark Foster of Foster the People, and Tony Robbins. If your birthday falls on leap day, you can celebrate February 28 or March 1 during the non-leap years years, but this year, you can celebrate on the actual anniversary of your birth.
Lot 15 recently opened in New York City’s Herald Square area and is offering all leaplings a complimentary shareable cocktail, if you can prove your birthday is February 29. The swanky cocktail lounge tapped Bar Specialist Cameron Shaw to create the Planter’s Punch in honor of the day and for leaplings, it will be served with sparklers. Mixed with Mount Gay Eclipse rum and a slew of juices, the drink serves four to six people. Don’t worry, you can enjoy the cocktail if it isn’t your birthday for $120, so you might want to befriend a leapling before the weekend.
Lot 15 in Manhattan
“The cocktail is universally delicious whether you use sugar as the sweetener or you make it with homemade grenadine like we do here at Lot 15. We wanted to celebrate leaplings this year with our shareable Planters Punch for free because every leapling has their own identity, and if that’s not worthy of a celebration, I don’t know what is,” Shaw says of the shareable drink.
Head to Lot 15 this weekend for a sweet and spirited birthday treat, or mix at home with the recipe below.
PLANTERS PUNCH:
12 oz. Mount Gay Eclipse
2 oz. Grenadine
8 oz. Pineapple Juice
4 oz. Orange Juice
4 oz. Lime Juice
Preparation: Fill pitcher with ice. Build in vessel slowly starting with grenadine, then pineapple juice, orange juice, lime juice, and rum. Stir table side and garnish with pineapple wedges, pomegranate seeds, pineapple leaves, mint tops, lime wheels, Amarena cherries and add a sparkler.
