January 27, 2015
I’ve talked a pretty fair amount about my love of the writer Chester Himes, and pretty much everything he’s written. And have had a number of quotes from books of his featuring the Harlem detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. But I’ve never had a quote from the book All Shot Up? That seems almost unbelievable. But I’m here to rectify that (and might have more quotes from this book in the future, cause it is awesome) with the below from the very first page of the book.
His eyes popped. He knew he was sober. He hadn’t been drinking any whisky and he hadn’t been smoking any weed. But he didn’t believe what he saw. It was a mirage; but this was not the desert and he was not dying of thirst. In fact he was cold enough for his guts to freeze; and the only thing he wanted to drink was a hot rum and lemon.
He saw a Cadillac pass, the likes of which he had never seen. And his business was cars.
This Cadillac looked as though it were made of solid gold.
–Chester Himes, All Shot Up
January 23, 2015
I’m a strong proponent of the non-violent approach. So don’t think this drink is in honor of using the back of your hand in some attempt at masculinity or femininity through smacking folks around (unless it’s like Hydra, or the Nazis, or something). Oh no. This drink is in honor of the actual backside of the hand – a space on your body that you should always take care of, since it’s what shows when you’re holding a drink. This drink has a bit of a beachy lean, too, featuring 3 Howls Navy Strength rum, as well as pineapple and lime, and on the beach every single inch of skin is important, and seen. And, as people tend to gaze at your hand most (even if it’s a beach, right? Right?), especially when you’re holding said drink, that hand backside becomes very important. So important that I thought it needed a drink named after it. This is that drink!
The Back of the Hand
Ice cubes
2 ounces 3 Howls Navy Strength rum
3/4 ounces pineapple simple syrup (see Note)
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
3 ounces club soda
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, pineapple simple syrup, and lime juice. Shake well.
2. Fill a highball or comparable glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the above mix over the ice. Top with club soda. Stir well. If you feel this needs a garnish, try a lime wedge.
A Note: To make pineapple simple syrup, add three cups fresh chopped pineapple, 3 cups sugar, and 2 -1/2 cups water to a medium-sized saucepan. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a boil over a medium-high heat. Lower the heat a bit, keeping the mixture at a low boil for five 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the syrup cool completely cool in the pan. Strain and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
January 20, 2015
Moonshine has made a huge comeback onto legal liquor store shelves lately, and much of it is pretty darn swell, dropping the burns-you-all-the-way-down personality for one of tasty-but-strong. And guess what? Washington State has some of the finest ‘shine around. Learn more in a moonshine article I recently wrote for Seattle magazine.
*Read Washington Moonshines to Drink Now
January 16, 2015
This international (of sorts) country hopper is another that has a bit of a holiday-overload-reviving quality. It even has double bitters, and the slightly bitter vermouth Punt ‘e Mes, making it good anytime you’ve had a filling meal. It’s all underlined by the fine Irish Whiskey, Teeling, which I hope you can find in your neighborhood.
Let It Fly
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces Teeling Irish Whiskey
1 ounce Kronan Swedish Punsch
1/2 ounce Punt ‘e Mes vermouth
2 dashes Scrappy’s orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything, and stir.
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass.
Tags: Angostura bitters, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Kronan Swedish Punsch, Let It Fly, Punt ‘e Mes vermouth, Scrappy’s orange bitters, Teeling Irish Whiskey, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
January 13, 2015
Not long ago, I had a Cocktail Talk post talking about Edmund Crispin’s The Case of the Gilded Fly, and how I hadn’t read anything by him, an honest post I must say (sometimes it’s hard to admit things). Since then, I’ve read a second book by Mr. Crispin, another starring his literary (but action-oriented) sleuth Gervase Ven, a book called The Moving Toyshop. I liked it even more! It’s fairly madcap in a way, but still has a good mystery along under the motion, and the below fun drinky quote.
‘My dear Anthony, how delightful to see you,” said Mr. Barnaby with pleasure. ‘I’m sorry there are all these frightful gymnasts about, but they simply invited themselves. What will you have to drink?’
‘What is that that Charles is drinking?’
‘Oh ether and milk, or some terrible chemical affair of that sort. But you know Charles. The poor dear cannot be made to realize that the romantic decadence is over. He still writes verses about affreuses juices and things. How about some Madeira?’
–Edmund Crispin, The Moving Toyshop
January 9, 2015
A classic cure for gastronomical distress, I’ve featured this favorite on the Spiked Punch blog before. But as it’s such a fine remedy for curing your post-holiday internal ills, and as one or two of you may have missed the earlier post, here it is again, starting your new year off in a fine, tasty, gut-happy way.
The Stomach Reviver
Ice cubes
1 1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce kümmel
1/2 ounce Fernet Branca
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything, and stir well.
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass. Think less full thoughts.
Tags: Brandy, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Kummel, Peychaud's bitters, The Stomach Reviver, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
January 6, 2015
I’m not always in the mood for an anthology, but sometimes it’s fun to bounce from author to author fairly rapidly instead of settling in with one person. While I don’t know (though I haven’t checked this assertion) that there are less anthology type books today, it feels like there are, and the difference between last century and now seems almost completely to come from the lack of Alfred Hitchcock collections. There used to be tons of these, all fairly reliable, and all with fun names and covers. The below sherry quote comes from one called Stories My Mother Never Told Me, specifically from a story by Gerald Kersh, who must have enjoyed sherry quite a bit.
‘Hold hard, my friend,’ I said in Spanish. But he only bowed low and made a graceful gesture toward the glass. I believe that that sherry was in the hogshead before Napoleon came to handgrips with the Duke of Willington at Badajoz. Sherry is the worst thing in the world for rheumatism, and I meant to take no more than one sip. But that one sip filled me so full of sunlight that I felt myself responding to it as if to Spanish music, and my appetite came roaring back.
–Gerald Kersh, The Secret of the Bottle
December 26, 2014
This bubble number is ideal for taking your New Year’s Eve celebrations from mundane to insane (in the good way), from dull to dandy, and from so-so to go-go. Not only does it take the spotlight drink into another realm of awesome, but as it’s also a drink that inducing dancing, it’s sure to add the hop to your New Year’s Eve step. It does take a little bit of prior planning, cause you have to make lavender simple syrup. But that’s not tough at all. Just add 1/4-cup fresh lavender, 2 cups sugar, and 1-1/2 cups water to a medium-sized saucepan. Raise the heat to medium high, and heat until it reaches a low boil, stirring regularly. Once it reaches that low boil, reduce the heat to medium low and keep the syrup at a simmer, still stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Then strain it, and start singing Auld Lang Syne.
The Lavanda, from Champagne Cocktails
Ice cubes
2 fresh lavender sprigs
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce lavender simple syrup (see note)
Chilled Prosecco
1. Add the flowers from the top of one lavender sprig, gin, and lavender simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or wooden spoon, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Shake like dancer.
2. Strain into a flute. Top with chilled Prosecco, and garnish with the second lavender sprig.
Tags: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Champagne Cocktail, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Gin, lavander simple syrup, New Year's Eve cocktail, Prosecco, The Lavanda, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
