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fatdeko

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Everything posted by fatdeko

  1. My point in a nutshell: That wasn't Schopenhauer, but rather Schopenhauer quoting Alexander Pope's Dunciad. His indictment wasn't against reading books, per se, but bookishness as a substitute for experience. myers
  2. George, I wish that you would get over your supposed (or real) phobia/allergy to (actual) books. When you say: "I found the reference in a book called "Graduate work in the South", by Charles Wooten Pipkin, 1939. " I simply don't believe you. I suspect that you found a citation to said book on an online database. It's not the same thing. I have deep suspicions whether or not the book is fiction or non-fiction or even if its bonafides viz. drink can even be established. It may well be another treatise on the American education system masquerading as a parable, for all we know. Anyone who handles, collects, reads or deals in books of the era can show you that the "Alexander" is a pre-cursor to the "Brandy Alexander". It's even 'nomenclaturaly' apparent. (In a Lineaen sorta way, that is). That the Brandy Alexander is a better tasting drink than it's Gin based fore-father and therefore had to carry the weight of the family name on his shoulders, is neither here nor there. The "Alexander" was a gin based drink and the "Brandy Alexander" came after. "Come on along" and "Come on and Hear" is another Alexander story, but you'll have to Google Broadway and Berlin to get there. That the Alexanders were born in the weird mixological epoch of Prohibition is probably a given. But the story of how the bastard Alexander, the "brandy" Alexander, rose to head the family may be a tale worth telling. I'm not the one to tell it, and certainly not at this hour. I will drop this tidbit, however: The Old Mr. Boston guides considered the "Brandy" Alexander to be of such bastard stock that "Alexander #2" was how he was referred to from 1941 through 1972--and possibly later. (There is a gap between '72 and '84 in my library) Oddly, prior to 1941, Mr. Boston's "Alexander #2" consisted of Cream, Cacao and Apricot Nectar. So not only was the Brandy Alexander a bastard cousin, he was given a hand-me-down name as well. And for what it's worth: Noble Experiments (1930) by Judge Jr lists an Alexander Cocktail but not a Brandy Alexander. Same goes for Here's How(1933) by George Lurie. When my headache goes away, I'll try to find more. myers PS> To see Charles Wooten Pipkin's other contributions to cocktail history, here's an Amazon syllabus: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...Wooten%20Pipkin
  3. E/S is really doing their part to combat global warming, and I jsut wish I could be there more often to help out. I mean, we need to get rid of those methane/co2 belching/farting animals somehow.....
  4. Here's what I have in mine. Make of it what you will. Copyright 1919, 1986, 1996 by Andrew MacElhone and Duncan MacElhone ...... First published 1919 Second edition, with additional material, published 1986 by Souvenir Press Ltd.,43 Great Russel Street London WC1B 3PA and simultaneously in Canada Reprinted 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993 New edition, revised and enlarged, published 196 Reprinted 1998
  5. I could do for one of those Absinthe decoctions right about now, myself, as I seem to be suffering from a little nativity inspired bottle fatigue. It appears to be in an advanced stage because I can't get the melody of "Oh Holy Night" outta my head. While not troubling on the face of it, the accompanying lyrics are "Danny Boy"! The ubiquity of absinthe is indeed a consideration, and not to be taken lightly, but New Orleans strikes me as oddly insular. Not in a bad way, mind you, but kind of like a gastronomic Galapagos; influences tend to get shielded and then mutate unmolested, providing a certain immunity to novelty and faddishness. I'm thinking the addition of absinthe in the Sazerac is more borne from an actual sincere embrace and fondness for the "green fairy" than anything else. Some latent Franc-ishness is probably also at play here. And don't you find it a little strange that "Jerry Thomas" published the Crusta (as a category, no less) and Santina's Pousse Cafe yet neglects to mention the venerable Sazerac? myers, off to get his Nativity on
  6. Eje: Could you share the Clisby Arthur quote? The prevalence of the absinthe rinse is interesting, especially with your idea of the availability of peychauds's bitters. It could be. The Sazerac is just a brandy cocktail after all. Sazerac Brandy Cocktail to be exact. ← "Schiller's brandy cocktails became the drink of the day and his business flourished, surviving even the War Between the States. In 1870 Thomas H. Handy, his bookkeeper, succeeded as proprietor and changed the name to "Sazerac House". An alteration in the mixture also took place. Peychaud's Bitters was still used to add the right fillip, but American rye whiskey was substituted for the cognac to please the tastes of Americans who preferred the "red likker" to any pale-faced brandy. Thus brandy vanished from the Sazerac cocktail to be replaced by whiskey (Handy always used Maryland Club Rye, if you are interested in brand names), and the dash of absinthe was added. Precisely when whiskey replaced brandy are moot questions. The absinthe innovation has been credited to Leon Lamothe who in 1858 was a bartender for Emile Seignouret, Charles Cavaroc & Co,. a wine importing firm located in the old Seignouret mansion still standing at 520 Royal street. More likely it was about 1870, when Lamothe was employed at Pina's restaurant in Burgundy street that he experimented with absinthe and made the Sazerac what it is today." myers, channeling for Stanley Clisby Arthur PS--It doesnt seem likely to me that Absinthe was used as a Peychaud substitute. New Orleans was America's absinthe swilling capital, and a little dash here or there, (maybe a little on your corn flakes, even) wouldn't have been out of place. And while there is pity in my heart for locales that suffer from an unavailability of Peychaud's, I don't think New Orleans ever suffered such a drought. myers, channeling noone in particular, save his own cock-a-mamie self.
  7. Don't! You'll mess it up. It can't be removed without completely destroying it. Many rum companies deploy the plastic whatchamacallit to prevent tampering and counterfeiting. The framus prevents the bottle from being refilled with inferior product and when intact indicates to the buyer that it's indeed the real McCoy. myers
  8. Johnny-- My 4-ish yrs hear in Portcity have been lacking when it comes to 'licious shramps. I squandered last years bounty and don't want the same thing to happen this year. If Mike at Harbor won't let you demo the Casco Candy, I will surely take you up on the offer to attend a seminar at Casa JohnnyD! Mayhaps we could trick other'n Publicans into the fray (I'm thinking Dale @ Boru, for certain). I've got a few other crazy ideas in mind that the rules say I can't post here, even though they're shrimp related. myers
  9. And once stricken, who was his understudy? None other than Oscar Haimo. myers
  10. And while on the tangential subject of American Ex-pat bars in Paris of the 20's....What ever became of Jimmy Charters? A good part of me wants him to be "Jimmy, Late of Ciro's" since Ciro's in Deauville and Monte Carlo appear in his book--I think he even worked at one of them. Frank Meier is also mentioned a couple of times, but purely in passing. myers
  11. I just checked, and to be fair to Vermiere, he did clean up his "Ward Eight" in later editions, even mentioning that it was born in "Boston (U.S.A), a city divided into eight wards" myers
  12. I'd take Harry off the hook for any presumption. The citation I mentioned above comes from the 1986 edition of Harry's ABC's and the pedigree for the drink was no doubt an addition by the eager Andrew/Duncan MacElhone. In Harry's place on the hook, however, I'd stick old Vermiere. "Henry of Henry's bar fame in Paris" sure sounds a lot like "Harry of Harry's bar fame in Paris". That he also may have flubbed the recipe doesn't surprise either. Turn 2 more pages and you'll find him waxing upon the "Wardate" cocktail and its invention in Chicago to commemorate the American entry into WWI. myers
  13. Hello all, long time no see. It's a long story so I won't go into it except to say that unless you have a really tolerant ISP, don't use an "out of office" mail script to spam spammers with. My guess is that Meier was making the "other" French 75, simply named "the 75 cocktail". From Harry's ABC's we get this: '75 Cocktail 1 teaspoonful of Absinthe 2/3 Calvados 1/3 Gin Shake and Strain (This is the original 1915 recipe of the French '75 cocktail) myers
  14. Umm..."Salvatore at Fifty" refers to the name of the bar, which is "Fifty". Not named for Salvatore's age but rather the street address of the bar: 50 St James Street. myers
  15. Why merely infuse when you can distill? There are several low tech and cheap and rudimentary distilling contraptions that you can cobble together. I've got a picture of mine around here in the archives somewhere--I'll try to find it. But there's a ridiculously low tech version that simply requires a stock pot with a lid, a steamer basket, a bowl and a lot of ice. 1 get your stock pot and put the steamer basket in the bottom. 2 rest your bowl on the basket 3 pour your vodka and herbs in the pot (not in the bowl) 4 cover your pot with the INVERTED lid, so that the lid makes a kind of bowl 5 put the heat on and let simmer 6 fill the lid with ice What'll happen is that the vodka will vaporize at 170 degrees or so, hit the cold lid and condense and drip into the bowl. Ingenious in its simplicity, and that's really all the complexity this operation needs. The heads and tails and non-alcohol stuff has already been removed by your vodka company, so all you have to do is cook and collect. This same contraption can be used to make custom hydrosols, too. myers edited to add these pix of a more "traditional" stove top still: http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/10999385..._1099938999.jpg http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/10999385..._1099938636.jpg
  16. E/S is indeed a great place for cocktails and chow. I mean really, what can be better than classic cocktails and housemade chacroute? (Mines a Jack Rose and head cheese/chorizo, BTW) But there's is more to Boston, and in the same vein. A lot of the guys at E/S cut there teeth over in Cambridge at a joint called the B Side Lounge. The digs are less than posh but the menu will astound you. What impresses the most, is that B Side makes cocktailing a classless pasttime. And by classless, I mean, the great old school and boozy cocktails share the menu with Budweiser. There ain't no hierarchical structure, no one feels more or less cool by way of their tipple and Poseurs simply can't be found. Moreover, the prices are fair, and the drinks are well made. (everything is jiggered and the grenadine is concocted on premise) When I get asked "How do we make classical drinking more approachable", I mention the B Side. There is simply no pretension about which drinks are "good" and which are "stupid kiddy drinks". Granted, Stupid Kiddy Drinks are not on the list, but all the drinks on the menu are promoted with an ecumenical, egalitarian and non-normative editorial slant. If anything, Dan Cagle goes out of his way to remind people about how free-wheeling and footloose (responsible) drinking ougtta be. There are jokes on his menu, which I now can't remember. I guess I'll be heading to Boston on Tuesday to fulfill this report. Who wants to join up? myers
  17. 1/2 oz Noilly Pratt dry vermouth
  18. The great thing about a DRINK LIST or MARTINI MENU is that you get to be in your customer's face about it. And all it costs is menu ink. I mean, if you were passionate about foie gras or pork belly or marrow or veal cheeks or what not, you'd have to list them on the menu in such a way so that they would sell. You'd need to train your squeamish staff how to push it, sell it, and present it. Not so with drinks. The ingredients won't go bad, you've likely got them anyway and if you keep putting the idea of cool tipples in peoples faces, they're likely to enjoy them and ask for more. I frankly don't care if no one orders a Vieux Carre. The ingredients exist in my inventory anyway. When someone DOES order one, I make a point of going out to meet them. B-Side Lounge in Cambridge does this to their clientele of collegians, and makes no apologies nor explanations. Budweiser exists on the same list as the LAST WORD and there's no differentiation between the two, they're simply 2 ways to have a drink. A generation later, their former customers are wondering why they can't have a Sazerac every place they go. And they've got a point. myers
  19. From Trader Vic 1948: Raffles Hotel Sling: 1 oz Dry Gin 1 oz Cherry Brandy 1 oz Benedictine Shake with cracked ice; strain into 10 oz glass containing several lumps of ice; fill with chilled club soda and garnish with a spiral peeling of 1 green lime Singapore Sling--1 1 1/2 oz dry gin 1/2 oz cherry brandy 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/2 lime 1 tsp grenadine 1/4 oz sloe gin 1/2 oz creme de cassis Squeeze lime and drop into 12 oz glass with cracked ice; add rest of ingredients and stir well; fill rest of glass with seltzer Singapore Sling--2 Juice 1/2 lemon 1 dash benedictine 3/4 oz cherry brandy 2 oz dry gin Stir in 12 oz glass with cracked ice; decorate with slice of orange and sprig of mint; fill with seltzer and serve with straws Gin Sling 1 1/2 oz dry gin 1 tsp sugar 1 lump ice Dissolve sugar in 8 oz glass with dash of water; add ice and gin and stir and fill with iced water or soda. Note: for a hot drink mix in stem glass; add boiling water and dust with nutmeg From Baker with just an appetizer portion of his entertaining preamble: "But the Raffles drink is best, why we don't know, except that the best Planter's Punch on earth is at the Myrtlebank in Kingston. When our soft footed Malay boy brings the 4th Sling and finds us peering over the window sill at the cobra-handling snake charmers tootling their confounded flutes below, he murmurs "jaga baik-baik Tuan"--"jaga bye bye, too-wan", as it sounds in English--or "Take care master" as it means in English. The Singapore Gin Sling is a delicious, slow-acting, insidious thing. The original formula is 1/3 each of dry gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine; shake it for a moment, or stir in in a barglass, with 2 fairly large lumps of ice to chill. Turn into a small 10 oz highball glass with one lump of ice left in and fill up to individual taste with chilled club soda. Garnish with the spiral peel of 1 green lime. In other ports in the Orient drinkers often use C & C ginger ale instead of soda, or even stone bottle ginger beer. Our own final improved formula calls for 2 parts dry or Tom gin, to 1 part cherry brandy and 1 part Benedictine. This is dryer, not too sweet. We also use a trifle more ice in the glass than the Raffles technique. One lump melts too quickly where we live among the coconut palms!" Ted also does a fairly comprehensive review of the Singapore Sling's history and evolution in "MIXOLOGIST Vol 1", suggesting that the "Cherry Brandy" portion of printed recipes might refer to cherry eau de vie rather than a sweetened liqeur like Heering. Cancel your subscription to Newspaperarchives.com and get you some books, man! ;-) myers
  20. If you're going to buy one book that'll suit your needs for recipes, but satisfy your yen for why and how, pick up Gary Regan's "Joy of Mixology" or Dale DeGroff's "Craft of the Cocktail". Better yet, get 'em both. myers
  21. And the Crusta, in its earliest iterations did not include Maraschino. Jerry Thomas' recipe (1862) describes the recipe as the same as a Fancy cocktail with a little lemon juice added and the Crusta's trimmings, (ie sugared rim and lemon peel) In the 1887 edition of Thomas' book, the Fancy Cocktail family was terminated and the "Improved" family of cocktails added. An "Improved" version of a cocktail included Maraschino, yet in this edition, Thomas (or his editor) includes a full description of a Crusta recipe without Maraschino. Further confusing things, the 1862 edition prefaces the cocktail and Crusta chapter with the observation that the Crusta is an "improvement" on the Cocktail, so with a little creative anochronism, one could read the 1862 preface and an 1887 cocktail recipe and voila! Crusta con Maraschino. Full exceptance of maraschino in Crustas doesn't seem to occur until the turn of the century, and then, not universally. "Wehman's Bartender's Guide" of 1912 includes Crustas without Maraschino (with the exception of the St Croix Crusta), while "Drinks as they are Made" in 1904 universally adds Maraschino to their Crustas. Bitters is also an optional component that subtly distinguishes the Crusta from the rest of the New Orleans Sour family. Put it in, Leave it out--dealer's choice, it's not the defining ingredient. As Thomas first describes it, it's just a "Fancy" cocktail with added presentational trimmings, so it's the crust of sugar that gives the Crusta it's "ness". So I say "Crust-uh" (With Maraschino) myers edited for clarity
  22. ....You don't hesitate to use single malt scotch in your Rusty Nail AND That dusty bottle of Smirnoff is the only vodka in the house. myers
  23. Yeah, I inadvertently left the lemon juice out of the recipe post, but quickly posted again to include it. I prolly should have edited rather than post again/more. SAM: Did you ever receive the book? I got side tracked (hospitalized, actually) right about when I shoulda mailed it, but later (much later) realized my untimeliness. I happened to be in NYC for something MOTAC-y and dropped it off at Pegu one night, apparently missing you by 10-15 minutes. myers
  24. And at Eastern Standard, they do all their own charcroute. Nothing makes an impact on 12 year olds like raw meat or head cheese. myers
  25. The Sampler @ Norm's East end. Pig, Chicken, and more pig and the slow, comforting onset of a food coma all for 17 bucks. I eat the sausage last for true decadence. A milkshake and the Special at Duckfat Potato Gnochi at Front Room--Hollandaise, spinach, poached eggs and chunky chewy lardons. A lot like Eggs Benedict but in a fork-only format; leaves one hand free to read the paper or flip the pages of a magazine. A tumbler of Laphroaig and a cup of coffee at the Top of the East watching Portland as the fog rolls in. A couple of pints and shots of Grand Marnier over a round of Golf at Gritty's. And just when you thought I wasn't eatin' my greens: "Harmonious Chaos" at Silly's--Spinach, Bacon, Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Pureed avocado, Blue cheese and I can't remember what else. myers
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