November 4, 2014
There are far too many detectabulous fictional detectives to begin to name even my favorites here (just scroll through the Cocktail Talk posts and you’ll see many of them). But one that I haven’t been too closely acquainted with is literary mystery-unraveler Gervase Fen, created by English writer Edmund Crispin. It’s not surprising in a way, because Crispin was a cat person, and I’m a dog person. But I overlooked that when reading The Case of the Gilded Fly lately – which was the first of I believe nine Gervase Fen books. And I think I’ll read more, even if the dogs look at me sidewise when I’m reading them. Mr. Fen is an Oxford don, and I tend to like Oxford, and pretty witty besides, and the murder was nicely raveled and then unraveled. Not to mention that the book contained the below quote, ideal for Cocktail Talking.
There followed the ceremony of mumblings, apologies, and recognitions which always occurs when a group of people only partially acquainted are brought together, and a great and complicated maneuvering of chairs. Nigel, about to go off once again to the bar, was forestalled by Nicolas, who as he ordered pink gins contemplated with unconcealed glee the extremely uncomfortable relationships which were likely to be established within the next few minutes.
—The Case of the Gilded Fly, Edmund Crispin
October 21, 2014
Hello, is it articles and blog post by me on Seattle magazine that you’re looking for? I can see it in your eyes, I can see it in your smile, I can see it in your empty glasses . . . wait, what? Sorry, I got all Lionel’d for a sec. Anyway, in case you missed them, some recent (fun – I wouldn’t post the un-fun ones) pieces by me that you may have missed on or in Seattle magazine.
• Drink Recipes & Party Sounds on Starbucks’ New CD ‘The Cocktail Hour
• Sexism in the Distillery Industry & Why Cherry Bounce is so Good
• 27 Things You Should Never Say to a Bartender
• 4 Drinks to Celebrate the Beginning of School
• It’s Tailgating Season–Are You Ready?
*See all Seattle magazine articles by me
October 14, 2014
Hey bar lovers, genial drinkers, lounge lizards, speakeasy devotees, dive dwellers, and rathskeller revelers. It’s time to trot yourselves again through my recent Seattle Magazine Bar Hop columns, which highlight select bars in the Seattle area. Get off the couch, yo, and visit:
• Elysian Bar
• Revolver
• Le Zinc
* See all Seattle Magazine articles by me
Tags: Bar Hop, Bars, Cocktail News, Elysian Bar, Le Zinc, Revolver, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine, Seattle Magazine Bar-Hopping
Posted in: Bar Hop, Bars, Seattle Magazine
July 29, 2014
Hello Seattle and surroundings drinkers! Here’s little round up just for you, of bars in the area I’ve recently reviewed for the swell Seattle Magazine (just in case you missed them). Drink up at:
• BarCode
• The Hollywood Tavern
• Triumph Bar
* See all Seattle magazine articles by me
Tags: Bar Code, Bar Hop, Bars, Bellevue bars, Cocktail News, Hollywood Tavern, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine, Triumph
Posted in: Bars, Cocktail News, Seattle Magazine
July 22, 2014
Hello – it’s summertime, which means it’s the perfect time to sit on down with the old computer in one hand and a drink in the other and spend some time browsing some of my recent Seattle magazine posts you might have missed. Heck, you wouldn’t want to miss any of the below, right?
• 4 Drinks That Pair Perfectly with Summertime Books
• New Local Spirits and Liqueurs to Try this Summer
• 4 Drinks for Golfing
• 4 Drinks to Have While Missing the Sonics
• Seattle Happy Hours: A.J. Rathbun Picks Four of His Favorites
*See all Seattle magazine articles by me
May 20, 2014
Part two of my re-reading and Cocktail Talk-ing from Chester Himes books continues (part 1 here) continues with a quote from the awesome book, The Crazy Kill. I talk about it more in the first Crazy Kill Cocktail Talk (see it when you look at all Chester Himes Cocktail Talks), but as a quick refresher, it starts at a wake where a man is found dead in a bread basket. And goes from there. Actually, I’m going to be put in two quotes, but the first one is really short – and so perfect if you know a bunch of bartenders. Like I do (luckily). The second is an overview of the wake, and is a dandy party quote (even if a wake isn’t, I suppose, always a party).
‘I ain’t interested in that whiskey jockey,’ Doll Baby said.
The table, sink, sidestands and most of the available floor space were strewn with empty and half-filled bottles – gin, whiskey and rum bottles, pop bottles, condiment bottles; pots, pans and platters of food, a dishpan containing leftover potato salad, deep iron pots with soggy pieces of friend chicken, fried fish, fried pork chops; baking pans with mashed and mangled biscuits, pie pans with single slices of runny pies; a washtub containing bits of ice floating about in trashy water; slices of cake and spongy white-bread sandwiches, half eaten, lying everywhere – on the table, sink and floor.
— Chester Himes, The Crazy Kill
May 13, 2014
I’ve been re-reading some of my favorite Chester Himes books lately (if you haven’t read Chester Himes at all – then get to it, cause he’s one of the real greats – if you have read some of his books, then let me say, re-reading them is well worth it), and realized that when Cocktail Talk-ing them earlier on this blog, I overlooked some choice quotes. Including the below from the book The Heat is On, which stars (of course) the finest Harlem detectives – and best named detectives – Grave Digger Jones and Cotton Ed Johnson, as well as an albino called Pinky.
Mamie Louise was sick and the other all-night greasy spoons and barbecue joints had no appeal. They decided to eat in the Great Man nightclub on 125th Street.
‘I like a joint where you can smell the girls’ sweat,’ Coffin Ed said.
It had a bar fronting on the street with a cabaret in back where a two-dollar membership fee was charged to get in.When the two detectives flashed their buzzers they were made members for free . . .
‘You want stink, you got it,’ Grave Digger said.
‘And everything that goes with it,’ Coffin Ed amended.
Some joker was shouting in a loud belligerent voice, ‘I ain’t gonna pay for but two whiskeys; dat’s all I drunk. Somebody musta stole the other three ‘cause I ain’t seen ‘em.’
— The Heat is On, Chester Himes
It’s time for all those cocktail-lovers far and wide and wide and far who may have missed one of my recent cocktails, spirit, and bar blogs for the sweet Seattle magazine to make up for their missings. So, check out the below y’all:
