July 18, 2012
This is sorta obvious, but New York City’s a helluva place. I could start a list of great things there with bars, history, museums, eateries, comic book stores, and keep listing things out until the list trotted off the page like a pony. And I still wouldn’t cover it all. But with all that said, in my mind the best of the best of New York is found in an apt in Brooklyn: Chris, Shannon, and Josephine. I can’t tell you the exact location (cause they get enough rock star paparazzi already), but can say that Christ and Josephine were out the other day and wandered into a bourtique pharmacy called City Chemist and saw a wonderful summer-y display with Party Drinks right in the middle! How sweet is that? Sweet I tell you. Party Drinks doesn’t get as much mention as it should on this blog, as it kicked off the whole drink-writing thing for me, more or less. And while I may make a few of the drinks in it in a different manner today, I can still affirm that if you follow every recipe in it to the letter, you’ll end up with 50 delcicious drinks. Yeah, I’m modest. Anyway, Chris and Josephine (Shan wasn’t there, but she’s swell, too) are so awesome that they took a pic of the cute tableau and sent it my way. Now, here it is:
PS: Chris does a million things, once of which is write web comic called Productivity Zero. Go read it.
July 13, 2012
First, happy Friday the 13th. Live it up, walk under ladders, toss salt. And then go read some Doc Savage. Or some of Honey In His Mouth. Both of which were written by a guy named Lester Dent. The latter, which I’ll be quoting from once I stop rambling around, features a protagonist that’s nowhere near a superhuman scientist and adventurer. But, said protagonist does look identical to an almost-deposed South American dictator. And so a book is born (the book in this case of course called Honey In His Mouth). In the book, there’s a lady with the pulpy name of Vera Sue. She’s just what you’d think, except that she has a jones for Benedictine. Which leads to this awesome quote:
‘Kiss me honey.’
She kissed him and he discovered her mouth tasted of eight-dollar-a-bottle Benedictine. So she had gotten her hands on more than just what it took to buy the new dress and the new hat. The Benedictine was a giveaway, because on special occasions she would buy a bottle and carry it around in her purse and nip at it. He suspected that someone had told her Benedictine was the liqueur of quality folks, but had neglected to tell her it was supposed to be sipped out of thimble-sized glasses after dinner.
–Lester Dent, Honey In His Mouth
July 10, 2012
So, I don’t just write about cocktails, drinks, distilleries, beer, booze, drinkers, drunks, and all that. Not that I don’t like to write about all of the above (and more!), but I like a little balance, too. Which means I have a day job (where I fight zombies, among other things). Which you might think isn’t fun, but let me clear your befuddled mind. See, I work with folks in the daytime who may not make drinks for a living, but who make damn fine drinks–and then sometimes take damn fine pictures of said drinks. Exhibits A and B are below. The first was made and taken by pal and co-worker Emi, and is a Raspberry Gin Fizz:
The next is a Mai Tai with lovely float of dark rum, with the drink made and photographed by pal and co-worker Lorie:
Now, those are some talented home-bartenders I get to work with from the 9 to 5. And yeah, you should be jealous.
July 6, 2012
So, there’s love. And that’s a good thing. But even when in love, there sometimes has to be a line of what you just won’t do, even for someone who you love (and I’m talking the love gamut here, from friend to significant other and all). And I think that old drinker-now-gone Richard Burton says it best (in a very specifically Spiked Punch kind of way) in the below quote, from the 1966 movie version of the Albee play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf:
Now, I will hold your hand when it’s dark and you’re afraid of the boogeyman and I will tote your gin bottles out after midnight so no one can see but I will not light your cigarette. And that, as they say, is that.
–Richard Burton (as George), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf
July 5, 2012
Editor’s Note: Beer-o-matic man Drew is back with another edition of Drew’s Brews, where he sings the beer fantastic.
It is no secret that a phenomenon of disastrous proportions looms over a certain grouping of true believers out there, who seem to believe that the Mayan calendar points to the end of the world or that some grandiose cataclysmic event will unfold when we reach December 21st of 2012—thus reaching the end date of the 5,125 year cycle Mesoamerican calendar system. Whether you are devoted to the numerological and astronomical events that must align for this impending apocalypse or a person who enjoys the camp value of bad Armageddon blockbuster films and marketing to your specific fears, I have a beer for you. The good people at the Elysian Brewing Company are just as excited and/or apprehensive and celebrate and/or reject with you. Perhaps they are exploiting fears and capitalizing on what many refer to as pseudoscience, but it gives them just the excuse they need to countdown with 12 session beers of the apocalypse. Every month as we approach 12/12, Elysian Brewery releases a new beer in the series paired with some inspired artwork. So, here’s what I’m drinking currently as I prepared for the end: “The Rapture” a 7.65% beer with high country heather tips in the mash that are then added again at the end of the boil. It was the second release of the series. The Rapture pours a deep golden color and has a smooth nose and taste with floral honey and piney herbal scents. There is a nice balanced flavor combining sweet fruit and honey with bitter flavors and hops. A nice session series but getting harder to find, as it is a limited release. And although I enjoyed my trip to the Elysian Brewery on Capitol Hill in researching the apocalypse and the beers around it, I much prefer the wild game day atmosphere of the Elysian fields public house or Tangletown’s cozy neighborhood vibe to the actual brewery.
While we play on the darker side I wanted to share a sad note (well, at least sad in the beer-scheme-of-thing). My good friend and local home brewer saved the last bottle of his last session pale ale just to give me for my birthday. He held on to it for nearly 4 months waiting to see me. He gave it to me last weekend and I was delighted. Unfortunately it punched through a damp paper grocery bag on the trip home and shattered at my feet. I stared at it for several minutes as the flip top rolled in a circle among the corpse of broken glass—what a foamy shame. In memory of this fine beer I never had, please, everyone reading this, enjoy your favorite Pale Ale and share a comment of what you had. It’ll be a virtual toast to Luke D. and those lost beers that slip through the cracks.
July 2, 2012
In case you might have missed it (and I’m sorry for you if you did), I recently wrote up a little post for Seattle Magazine on the healing powers of beer cocktails and the awesome new book by Howard and Ashley Stelzer, Beer Cocktails: 50 Superbly Crafted Cocktails That Liven Up Your Lagers and Ales. If you did miss said post, go read it now (it has four recipes from the book and one from around this here Seattle). If you read it, and still haven’t ordered the beer cocktails book, then let me tell you a bit more about it, in bulleted fashion. It has:
• A great starter section called Beer Basics
• Four swell chapters full of recipes: Lager Than Life, Abbey Road, Beyond the Shadow of a Stout, The Dark at the End of the Tunnel
• A jolly personality that leads to lines like: “But don’t lose your head—it just takes practice,” in their Sleepy Hollow recipe (which is a bit different from the Good Spirits one, but just as tasty. Or, almost)
• Drinks titled with wit and creativity, such as: Joe Pêche, KnickerTwister, The Bishop’s Wife, Phil Collins
• A bubbly ton of beer information, which’ll be handy for newbies and hardened beer-o-philes alike
• Quotes! Such as: “It is a fair wind that blew men to the ale”—Washington Irving
Now, that’s a book, friends, that will make your summer tastier, your weekends more weekendy, and your life fuller.
June 25, 2012
Barchester Towers (which has had a Cocktail Talk entry already) is of course the best known book by Anthony Trollope. Well, at least I believe it is. You can disagree if you’d like–I won’t hoot about it if you have a different favorite or think another of his remarkable novels has more reknown. If you don’t know who Anthony Trollope is, then, well, I don’t think you’re human. Heck, I’ve written a whole slew of Anthony Trollope posts, so you should at least know him through this here blog (and if you don’t, well, I’m not going to hoot, but I am going to wonder what it is, exactly, that’s wrong with you). But that’s as much as I’m gonna stew about it, cause instead I want to get to this little quote that I love so well, cause it is a quote from one of the greatest authors containing a shout out to another great author (if you don’t know who the second is after reading the below quote, then really, go back to watching bad TV). Many authors (like many people in general–outside of rap stars, who give shout outs to tons of contemporaries, often) are afraid of this type of behavior. Not my man Trollope, though. So, check this out, and think about how giving props to those who may, actually, be in the same game as you isn’t a bad thing.
The bishop did it, and a very pleasant day indeed he spent at Ullathorne. And when he got home, he had a glass of hot Negus in his wife’s sitting-room and read the last number of the Little Dorritt of the day with great inward satisfaction.
–Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers
June 22, 2012
This is another summer favorite featured in Wine Cocktails (following up the Cactus Berry below), a continental number that’ll go down in a lovely manner while you sit outside under the bright bright sun. It’s also a drink that can be enjoyed year round and is a standard (many would say the standard) in the pre-dinner hour, the apertivo hour, the time when Italians gather at the bar for snacks and a little imbibing. It has been known to cause some disagreement (not too heated mind you, but friendly disagreement) due to the garnish. Depending on where you’re at, you might get a green olive, an orange slice or twist, or something else altogether. I go for the orange slice, but am friends with many who go other routes. There’s no need for tempers during the hot months. In the spirit of this friendliness, this recipe is for two.
Serves 2
3 or 4 ice cubes
3 ounces Aperol
6 ounces chilled prosecco
2 orange slices for garnish
1. Add 1 or 2 ice cubes to two flute glasses (skip this if your Prosecco is super chilly). Add the Aperol.
2. Fill the glasses with the prosecco and stir gently. Garnish with the orange slice.
Tags: Aperol, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Italian Cocktails, Italian spritz, Prosecco, What I'm Drinking, Wine Cocktails
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Italy, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Wine Cocktails
