Way way back where here on this here blog, I posted some (though no one, I hope, would say too much) about the fine, fine collection Everyday Drinking by Kingsley Amis. If you’re interested in writing about drinking, or drinking, or reading, or any of those things jumbled up as in a blender in some way, then I strongly suggest you read said collection. But also check out Mr. Amis’ novels and such, cause they’re darn fine as well. And sometimes have amazing Cocktail Talk-ing going on, like in the below.
Shorty recovered himself, no mean feat after the MacKelvie-provided shot of green Chartreuse, and the Fishwicke-provided shot of Bénédictine he had thrown down on top of everything else.
One of my favorite old-timey books of cocktails and drinks is called Crosby Gaige’s Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion. It’s by Crosby Gaige (hah!), who was a bon vivant about town in the early-to-mid part of last century. The book is a gas, as well as having bunches of good recipes. Recently, I tapped into it when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to imbibe, and found a fine recipe called Ants in the Pants, in The Old Gin Mill section – which makes sense, cause I wanted some gin. There was one wrinkle, however. The recipe called for Grand Marnier, which I was somehow out of (quick, Grand Marnier people, send me a bottle. Oops, too slow). Which led to me subbing in Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao, which yeah, I know is different, but it’s so so so good. And you know what? The drink ended up delicious, and I think Mr. Gaige himself would have approved. Oh, the change did make me alter the title, as you can see if you can read, and why would you be here if you couldn’t? Because where I come from, drinks have individual names, like people. And individual gins, which here should be Alpinist Gin, from the Seattle Distilling Company, if you can find it. It’s got the juniper hopping, but also has some other herbally and botanical goodness that adds a lot to the drink.
I am not, as stated in other places, a medical doctor. Neither am I Doctor Johnny Fever. I do know that according to many many old wives, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, however. I am not trying to sew discord between old wives and doctors, either, but am saying that even if a true doctor wouldn’t prescribe this drink, the fact that it contains apple cider means that it does, according to old wives, have some medicinal properties. Oh, it has rum, too, which many folks once thought was healthy, unless it was being forced on you by pirates. If that wasn’t enough for you to realize the healing factor of this drink, let me add that its third ingredient is Sidetrack Distillery Nocino, the finest Nocino made outside of Italy. Nocino, if you need to know, is a green-walnut liqueur, well and famous in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. And everyone knows that walnuts are healthy. Maybe doctors really would order this, after all. At least Doctor Fever would.
It’s late June, a sleepy sort of summertime, full of days where waking up early and going to work seems downright silly. Though maybe you have these feelings all the time? Anyway, a good suggestion* for overcoming that feeling is starting things off right with a London Fog – this very drink. For celebrity endorsement, Burgess Meredith used to swear by this concoction as a morning pick-you-up. And Norton Pratt, who edited the Boston Telegram once up a time, says this will cure you when you feel “like a basket of busted bungholes.” I can’t think of anything to say that would top that, so just go make the drink whydontcha?
2 ounces gin (something London-y, of course, like Voyager)
1/2 ounce Pernod
1. Add about a cup of cracked ice to a mixing glass or cocktail shaker. Add the gin and Pernod.
2. Stir well (so well that it seems you’re frappe-ing the mix). Pour everything into an Old Fashioned glass. Drink quickly, before the body realizes what’s going on.
*The actual validity of the “good” here varies depending on the job naturally. I’m sure not suggesting you drink before operating heavy machinery. But if you’re just heading to the cubicle farm? Why not?
This classic (and unburied treasure if there ever was one) owes its 21st century emergence to the legendary Seattle bartender Murray Stenson, who brought it back after tracking it down in an old bar book, and put it on the menu at the Zig Zag Café, where its lore started a new chapter, one that’s still expanding.
The Last Word
Ice cubes
3/4 ounce gin
3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
3/4 ounce green Chartreuse
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, maraschino, Chartreuse, and lime juice. Shake well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and drink without another syllable spoken.
I’ve had some Cocktail Talk from Cornell Woolrich here on this blog already, and sung his praises. Which are deserved, cause he created the whole genre of “noir” as much as anyone, and was a pulp-a-teer of the first rate. His book Black Alibi fits as noir, too, though it’s different in a way, as it takes place in South America, has a killer jaguar (or does it?), and is told from a number of perspectives, including the victims in the book. It took me a bit to get in to, but once I did, I was hooked. There’s also lots of drinks and bar talk, including the following, which is part of one character’s musings about the bar scene throughout an evening.
Midnight to about two was the zenith. Meridian of her “day.” That was when the shows let out. They let out late in Ciudad Real. The Casino Bleu, the Madrid out in the park (she never went out there, though; too far to walk back in case you didn’t connect), the Jockey Club, the Tabain, the Select. Those were the places to seek out then. This was the cream of the night life, swarming with the sports, the swells, the heavy spenders. Most of them had cabaret entertainment; if not, tango bands and dancing at the very least. Benedictine, then. Crème de menthe. Sometimes even Champagne.
It’s a proud day in Spiked Punch land – our pal Ed Skoog has a new book out and ready for reading. It’s his latest poetry collection (he is a poetic genius, as well as being a dandy drink maker, bonny bar companion, general good egg, and cute) and it’s called Rough Day, and you should get it today! Then, after getting it, come back and watch Ed make his world famous Ellipse in the below Cocktail to Cocktail Hour episode, which we’re resurfacing from way back in season 2 in honor of his new book.
My absolutely favorite thing in the world at this moment (well, outside of my dogs) is Meletti Anisette. I wrote about my trip to the Meletti Café (which was lovely), and having some of Meletti Anisette while there, and how great and perfect it was – but on some level, I always wondered if a little of that sentiment was due to being Italy. How to tell? Try some of the same here in the old U.S. So, I picked up a bottle, and you know what? It’s exactly as good here. It’s the tops, it’s the coliseum (as the song goes). Just by itself, with an ice cube or two, it makes me very happy. However, because I’m a tinkerer (not that I drive a wagon around fixing up pots and pans, but that I tinker with liquids), I’ve been wondering if it would also be great with things. And you know what (again, do you know what, or what)? It is! I kept my mixing really, really simple, cause simplicity is awesome and why mess around much, just adding some of the Meletti to another favorite, Woodinville Whiskey Company bourbon, in a classic 5-to-1 combo. Oh my! It’s delicious. I’m calling it (for obvious reasons) The West Coast of the Le Marche. Have one instantly. Or quicker. You can thank me later.
1: Filled a cocktails shaker or mixing glass with cracked ice. Add the bourbon and the anisette. Stir well.
2. Fill an old fashioned or comparable glass (preferably a commemorative Nutella jar from Italy) with a couple fat ice cubes. Strain the mix over the ice. Relish the loveliness.
Way way back where here on this here blog, I posted some (though no one, I hope, would say too much) about the fine, fine collection Everyday Drinking by Kingsley Amis. If you’re interested in writing about drinking, or drinking, or reading, or any of those things jumbled up as in a blender in some way, then I strongly suggest you read said collection. But also check out Mr. Amis’ novels and such, cause they’re darn fine as well. And sometimes have amazing Cocktail Talk-ing going on, like in the below.
