fatdeko

I'm Not gloating, really I'm not. (Which isn't to say that I plan on wiping this day-old grin off my face any time soon) The sad thing though, is that it was indeed poorly listed, (even moreso given that the seller had some idea what it was worth). I stumbled upon it hunting around for Prohibition Party presidential campaign buttons (the Swallow/Carrol ticket particularly). There was no action on the book until, with 8 hrs to go, the opening bid was matched (a pitiful 7.99!) by a fellow who collects Hepburn, John Wayne and Colin Powell biographies and the odd (less than $4.00) cookbook. I made it my personal mission to save it from an uncertain life in some weird-ass limbo-land. I should get a p'rade! But the 6 degree question remains: William Morris Agency to William J Morris to Charles Baker to Kevin Bacon. myers

Was Charles Baker represented by the William Morris agency by any chance? And would that have been William J Morris? If so, you guys are gonna love this little eBay steal. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...MEAFB%3AIT&rd=1 myers

Yes, we have no AP style sheet or Chicago Manual of Style and the rest. As long as the internal structure/style adheres, there ought be no problem. But then again...... When Gary's Orange Bitters hit the market, a lot of the PR focused on "Old Waldorf Bar Days" and the formerly ubiquitous use of Orange Bitters (or, maybe: orange bitters). I grabbed my copy (It's around here somewhere, hopefully, in a box, in a room, and more than likely in this building, I pray. Gawd! I hate moving) and found a recipe that defies all stylistic conventions. A cocktail named simply "Dowd" begins thusly, with the first ingredient. "No bitters" (I'll edit in the rest when I find that damned book!) myers

Somewhere in here, I'm almost sure, is a great discussion. My problem, I guess, is with the position that there are "Prohibition Revival" bars afoot. I've not heard of such a thing, unless you include bars that feature "Swing" dancing, and even then, I'm pretty sure they miss the historical mark. And last I'd heard, they had nearly gone the way of PHISH and were known more for their dancing than drinking; bars were losing their shirts on Swing Night. The great thing about discussing Temperance, Prohibition, WWI, the Depression, etc is that they are all so intertwined at the political level, it's nearly impossible to pull one thread and get at the "THING" It's like that old Carnival/Midway booth where the Carny holds a bundle of strings, each one apparently attached to a prize. Spend a buck, pull the right string, and you go home with a color Television. Or a goldfish. Nearly everyone gets a gold fish, or equally crappy prize, and noone goes home with the Trinitron. There isn't a string attached to the TV, or at least not one offered to the "mark". Prohibition is a lot like that. Pull at an Historical thread, and you'll get the prize next to it. Pull another, you'll get the prize above it. Pull a few more, you'll get all the crappy prizes surrounding it. Go ahead, knock yourself out, keep pulling threads and taking the prizes, but you'll never get at "IT". Prohibition was a weird amalgam of forces and fears and politics and opportunity, innovation, technology and War. It was, essentially, a bad idea whose time had come. Luckily, as in most things, times change. myers

So there I was, thinking--first sign that something bad was about to happen--that while amaretto was born of Almond and Fra'Angelico is son of Hazelnut, How come it was that George Washington Carver never came up with a Peanut Liquor? And how come noone else did after him? So I took my hand to it and came up with something....Good! The second iteration will recieve a little more fine tuning regarding vanilla and sugar, etc, but the base product feels... good. Here's the question(s): I have concerns about the nut oils. Were they expressed in the spirit? and if so, should I keep him in the fridge to protect against rancidity? My suspicion is YES on both counts. In the future, is there a way to keep them from being expressed? Is there a low-tech way to remove them? Right now they serve the same purpose as glycerin etc, so it's not an issue (also since we're only drinking it around the house) I have a couple of (obvious) uses for said spirit, can you think of some others? We have a tentative name for the stuff, including a gratuitously tasteless slogan. FARMER'S DAUGHTER brand PEANUT BRANDY "When you want a Nut Liquor, reach for a FARMER's DAUGHTER" As bad as that joke might seem, we're thinking that a full fledged, honest-to-goodness cocktail made with the stuff should be called--are you ready?--The Travelling Salesman. What can I say? We are crass, crass, crass. myers

Trader's book is kinda special. It was the first cocktail book I ever bought and the one I cherish the most, despite it's seeming ubiquity on eBay. I was a freshman in college and a couple of us wandered into town for some "Daquiri Factory" and discovered a used book shop around the corner. While they hemmed and/or hawed over Rimbaud and Barthes, I more or less reached at the first book I saw, announcing "I'm getting this!" I doubt I have anything else from that point in my life, aside from those Judas Priest records I can't explain, but I've always managed to keep that book. There's something charming, puckish and Damn-I-wanna-buy-that-Rascal-a-beer about the prose and a lot of the preliminary essays are still great lessons for anyone about to get behind the stick. Lessons, I'm afraid and sorry to say, no longer taught. Like discretion. And how to answer the phone. Myers

While down in New Orleans, Doc had Chris at the Ritz whip up a Widow's Kiss. I'ts my new favorite last-one-of-the-night and right-before-bed cocktail 2 parts Calvados (get a good and sturdy one) 1 part Benedictine 1 part Chartreuse couple a dashes of Angostura Haunting and familiar all at the same time. It's a little like finding out your Grandfather had a mistress. At his funeral. And she's kinda, I dunno, cute in a way and you're happy for the horny old goat. And there's no way I'm telling you about all the Chatreuse me and Chris drank one night. Only because my memory ain't all that good at that hour. Myers

At work, I go through a goodly amount of vermouth, so I don't much think about it. (Now that I think about it, though, the folks at Noilly Prat owe me at least a T-shirt) But at home, I don't go through nearly enough. The key is to buy the smallest bottle available and keep it in the 'fridge. Even with the botanicals and boosted alcohol, vermouth is still a wine and will turn on you given the chance. 1 month, 2 months of shelf life--your mileage may vary. And even then, the glide path of deterioration is gentle, subtle and pretty uneventful. What you'll notice is a gradual lack of definition and liveliness. The good news is that Vermouth is just so damn cheap and so easy to replace. When you think about the cheeses and meats or dairy products that you throw away in a month, a bottle of vermouth is a great investment. And it's well worth the extra buck or two to buy GOOD vermouth instead of crap. But if you tend to be the stingy or miserly sort, the other good news is that there's lots a cocktails out there that use vermouth that are worth exploring. Heck, a decent vermouth on the rox with a twist of something is pretty good too! And cooking. Lots of places to use up your vermouth(s) in cooking. Myers

That and naps, if Sam's avatar is any guide. Soiling one's self, I guess, started out as a birthright but is only done with panache after practice. There are times when drinking too much is appropriate--weddings and their subsequent divorces come to mind--and there are times when a few 'belts' or shots are the only thing that should be on the menu. You get fired, promoted, strike oil, win the World Series after 86 years, that sorta thing. Flavor's not the only reason we drink, nor even the best reason sometimes. I'd hate to savor the flavor of asparin, pennicillin, Metamucil or even Viagra. (Make your own joke with that one. Go ahead, it's easy) Sinatra said something like: I feel sorry for the folks who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, they know that's as good as they're going to feel all day. Joey Wino would add: If I wake up at all, I know that that's the WORST I'm gonna feel all day. Myers

The Collins products are simply NAS-T! When I tasted the Orange bitters, I swore it was one of the worst things I'd ever had in my mouth. And that's saying something. But here's my per-dick-a-mint: I've finally collated enough bitters recipes that I'm finally gonna do something about it. (Heck, if you're gonna have 1 New Years Resolution, it might as well be that) Towit: Dried Orange Peel. Is there a significant difference between what you'd buy vs. what you could make? I know, I know, Seville Oranges are differenct from Florida Navels and from Curacao-ian etc, etc. Don't even get me started on Tangerines and Tsatsumas and stuff. But is the difference significant? Fresh juicers that we are, I thought it was a shame/waste to wring the juice from a dozen or so oranges per day, just to throw the skin/peel/rind away. Lately I've taken to taking a carrot peeler to liberate the peels. I start at the bud end, executing a near perfect Horses Head, and peel it off in a single long spiral. I take the Horse Head end and hook it on a wire hangar--Joan Crawford be damned--and wait for it to dry, about 4 days. Everybody at work is already convinced I'm weird, so when they saw me erecting Anita Bryant's tie rack, I only got a few, albeit guarded, questions. BUT: is this approach gooder, better or simply cheaper than buying commercial? Myers

For whatever reasons, perhaps because his insights have the ring of truth and experience, or perhaps his Prose is as good as the hangover inducer itself, I just can't get enough of Kingsley Amis on the subject. Medically, physiologically etc, there's little doubt in my mind that his theories don't hold water--but they nevertheless have returned a Drinking Man to his feet, or at least to work. But drink what he spills. Dehydration is a fact. (In fact, drink water whenever you can, even when you're not drinking the good stuff. There's lots of good reasons. You'll thank me some day.) But I'm trying to stay on point: Antacids: This way Danger lies. Beware the seduction of Alkaseltzer and the other de-acidizing agents. On this, Amis makes a bit of counter-intuitive sense: You're stomach is full of acid and is desperately trying to muster the resources to neutralize it. Alkalinizing the stomach will cause it to respond by Re-acidification. Now you're worse than when you started. Amis suggests a light breakfast of un-sweetened grapefruit or fruit juice to induce and inspire the Rear-guard of the stomach's alkaline resources. "If you find this unconvincing, take heed of what happened one morning when, with a kingly hangover, I took bicarbonate with a vodka chaser. My companion said 'Let's see what's happening in your stomach,' and poured the remnant of the vodka into the remnant of the bicarbonate solution. The mixture turned black and gave off smoke." Amis also--even primarily--suggests a bit of.....exercise. But even this is loaded down with caveat. I'll let him tell it, it's priceless: "If your wife or partner is beside you, and (of course) is willing, perform the sexual act as vigorously as you can. The exercise will do you good and--on the assumption that you enjoy sex--you will feel toned up emotionally, thus delivering a hit-and-run raid on your metaphysical hangover before you formally declare war on it. Warnings: If you are in bed with somebody you should not be in bed with, and have in the least degree a bad conscience about this, abstain. Guilt and shame are prominent constituents of the Metaphysical Hangover and will certainly be sharpened by indulgence on such an occasion. For the same generic reason, do not take the matter into your own hands if you awake by yourself." Myers

Dang that cross-pollenizational habit! To all: Have a Happy, Merry, Joyous Whatzit Myers

But for a down right perfectly awful Cement Mixer, you need Bailey's and ROSES lime juice. (Rose's is certainly no substitue for Fresh Lime, but that sword cuts both ways: For some thing's, Fresh just ain't got what Rose's got) Bourbon won't curdle milk, but the acidity of citrus juice will really mess with Bailey's. They use a secret proprietary method to keep the cream and spirit homogenized and citrus will really play with that. Moreover, there's something about the viscosity of Rose's vs. fresh that really makes the cement mixer a textural.... sensation. Myers

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. The Rumfustian (one word) is definitely historical and f'real. How for real? Jerry Thomas lists it in his '62 edition thusly: This is the singular name bestowed upon a drink very much in vogue with English sportsmen, after their return from a day's shooting, and is concocted thus: The yolks of a dozen eggs are well whisked up, and put into a quart of strong beer; to this is added a pint of gin; a bottle of sherry is put into a saucepan, with a stick of cinnamon, a nutmeg grated, a dozen large lumps of sugar, and the rind of a lemon peeled very thin; when the wine boils, it is pouredd upon the gin and beer, and the whole drunk hot. Yep, No Rum. How come is that, you ask? The etymology of the word "rum" is confused, as are most things in the booze realm. Some adhere to the ancient "saccharum"--connoting rum's sugary ancestory--as the word's parentage, while others (myself included) look to mayhem as the inspiration. Rum = RUMpus. A "RUMbustion" was a rip-roaring, hide-tearing, chair-breakin' event, usually fueled by some sort of strong drink. In the Americas, it was regularly a sugar/molasses based spirit --then un-named--rather than whisk(e)y or gin. The words conflated, hence, our referent: rum. Methinks the name Rumfustian is simply a play on the word Rumbustion. It's a strange drink, to be sure, but I'd be hard put to hang it in the Nog department. There's no cow juice, whether skim, cream, 1/2 n 1/2, Vitamin D. Initially I thought of this as an elaborate Tom and Jerry until I actually thought about it. I've got no idea how to classify him. It's Gin. It's Beer. It's a mulled fortified wine. It gots eggs. Simply.... Rumfustian Myers

If you deconstruct the Blood and Sand as a modified Rusty Nail, rather than as a modified Rob Roy, the scotch + OJ part of the equation doesn't seem so bizarre. Basically the Heering and OJ replace the Drambuie and then the Vermouth becomes the odd-man-out. Myers

Audrey, Robert, Dale, ready?--on "3" 1...2... CAFE BRULOT! And the great thing is, it doesn't have to be a big pain-in-the-ass production either. While Pyrotechnics are always cool, after hosting a big-ish, boozy-ish meal, the last thing I want to do (besides clean up) is start playing with fire (indoors). Luckily Cafe Brulot can be done behind the scenes and pretty easily. Done this way, most of the prep can be done the day before and even makes it taste a little better. That said, assemble the following, for 10 people (@ 4-6 oz portions): 1 1/2cup Brandy (Rum can be used, Cognac is better) 4-6 Tbsp sugar (or to taste. Brown sugar, Turbinado, Movado etc can also be used. Just be mindful of the differences. I kind of like Movado, but I dial it way down near the 3 Tbsp mark) 3oz (6 Tbsp) Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec (Taste and Adjust) 10-15 whole cloves 5 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces Zest of 1/2 an orange, preferably prepared with a vegetable peeler, or 1 orange Microplaned or grated Put all of the above into a sauce pan and stir under med high heat. As soon as you see steam or some bubbles, turn off the heat and pour into another container and cover with Saran wrap. Leave it on the counter and let it steep. When it's time to serve, toss some hot water into your coffee cups and place in a slow (200-250F) oven. Make a strong pot (3-5 cups) of coffee. While that's brewing, put your brandy mixture back on the stove under high heat. Stir till it boils, then cut the heat to low. When the coffee is ready, pour on top of the Brandy mixture, 1 pint at a time, tasting as you go. Adjust, Adjust, Adjust. BUT: if the coffee is sufficiently hot and the brandy mix is too, turn off the heat. Applying more heat will make it bitter. Take the heated cups out of the oven, add 1 dash of Angostura to each and ladle out the Cafu Brulot. Garnish if you must with either a twist of orange or a stick of cinnamon. Myers

I'd go with Hurricanes for a couple of reasons: It satisfies your preference for Rum and it utilizes that passion fruit puree that you've already got. You can dial down the sweetness/punch up the tartness pretty easily. Gary and Dale both have good/authentic recipes in their books (neither of which I have in front of me at the mo') Other options could be any of the many, many Planter's Punch recipes out there, many of which will suit your taste. Again, they're rum based and use citrus juices other than orange, and their sweet:tart ratio can be easily adjusted. A dash of Peychaud's (as called for in some recipes) ties up this drink's New Orleans affiliation with a neat little bow. Myers

I almost forgot: Matt, there's some precious as well as informative stuff about Appalachian Moonshinin' and Bootlegging in one of the Foxfire books, I believe it's # 4. Some great first person accounts of beating the 'revenuer' as well as some pretty good recipes for still making, mashing etc. There may even be an account from an old timer telling how they used to use car radiators as condensers until some folks went blind--either from the lead, rust or residual anti-freeze. It's been a long time since I've seen that one, so my recollection may be hazy. It also has instructions for making your own Banjo. Go figure. Myers

O.K. (Deep Breath) I may be about to get into some trouble here, as well as elsewhere, but...Homemade hootch ain't really all that hard. In fact, it's really dumbass simple. A little background: I used to make my own beer, back when you couldn't buy good beer and then I quit 'cuz, all of a sudden, you could buy good beer. So I started making my own cider because.......well, you can guess the rest. So let's just say that I know a little about fermentables. So on a whim, I moved up to Maine and found 7 gallons of (Bottled) 2 year old cider in the basement of my new house. It just had to be gawdawful, right? So we fermented it out. It was STILL gawdawful. What to do, what to do? Vinegar seemed like a lot of trouble, seeing as we'd already gone to a lot of trouble making gawdawful cider. Thinking Cap time. So I'm unpacking some of my boxes and what lands in my hands? Annie Proulx's Cider book. (I can't lay hands on it now, but I'm pretty sure her husband had a hand in its production too.) Towards the back of it are instructions for building a stove-top still, with all the legal disclaimers about how illegal the project is, but it's included for, ahem, educational purposes only. Amazingly simple, even though it might take you 2 hours to construct. Ingredients: Copper pipe (1/8 inch will do) Pressure cooker 5 gallon pickle bucket Some fittings A funnel, if you wanna get fancy. You'll need a calculator too, if you wanna keep it drinkable. So we distilled this horrible cider into something that kept us warm that winter. When the fire in the stove died down, we'd fortify our inner man with a couple of shots, rush out and grab a few more logs for tossin' on. We were living in a part of Kennebunkport known as "The Landing", so we called our little product, "The Lift-off". Gots me some pics, too. http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/10999385..._1099938999.jpg http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/10999385..._1099938636.jpg http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/10999385..._1099938636.jpg Myers

It seems to me that making fruit brandy has gotta be one of the hardest tests for the distiller. You've got to distill at low enough proof to get the awesome, intense fruit expression that great eux de vie has, but also at high enough proof that you leave behind the nasty congeners. Sure, dropping the heads and tails helps, but you've still got that razor's edge: Too high=clean but flat, Too low=full flavor but filthy. That's why the great ones are so awesome and the fair to middlin' ones have people yelling Rocket Fuel. Myers

Rule # 1918.2004 Just like in Baseball, where the tie goes to the runner, dividends go to the drinker. (How 'bout them Sox?) Myers

Gibson? Soda? Do tell......

You bet! The Sazerac is the first thing that comes to mind when Peychaud's bitters shows up but.......don't stop there. Heck, don't even start there. Here are some ways to get to know the wonders and versatility of Peychaud's bitters: Take yourself a pint glass and fill it with ice and soda water. Give to that 6 or 7 splashes of Peychaud's. (A splash is almost the same as a squirt--shoot the dang thing at your glass, and everytime something comes out, count 1. Then 2 and so on.) Give a twist to some lemon or some orange and you're on your way. Now do the same with just plain old water. Next, you should try some Sprite or 7-Up. Iced tea is also good, though you may wanna add a little Angostura too. Pretty soon you'll be adding it to "Fun Drinks" like Gin. Or Whisk(e)y. Add it to food--a little dash in the local boring chowder is pretty good. Substitute it for Tabasco, next time your at brunch, on your eggs benedict. Onion soup. Add it to Onion Soup. Biscotti! Next time you make Biscotti, add a little dash. Sure it'll make things a little pink, but on the other hand, it makes things a little pink, too. Make 2 manhattans, 2 rob roys and 2 Rusty Nails. In one, you put Peychaud and in the other you put Angostura. Enjoy all 6 drinks. Take the rest of the day off. Myers

Unfortunately, you're right. But it's still blasphemy, sacrilege and heresy. But it's like I've said: I see a lot of people tending bar, but damn few Bartenders. This thread has caused me to remember a girl I worked with last summer. She was a waitress but had taken a Bartending Seminar while in College (Brown) so the GM put her on the bar with me a couple of nights a week. Apparently for his amusement. She clung to her little bartending workbook like dear life itself. She couldn't make eye contact with customers. Wouldn't talk to them, not even to ask if they wanted another round. She tried to hide from them. No, really. She was absolutley terrified when it came to counting the drawer. She didn't drink, except for the occasional port. She couldn't even tell a Knock-Knock joke. She wouldn't read the newspaper because it "made her sad." Same goes with TV. She liked reading Rimbaud. In French. Finally I had to ask her: "What is it that attracted you to bartending?" "I like to make drinks", she said "But your lousy at it." "I know." She taught me this, though. Of all the things that make up a good bartender, fixing drinks is pretty far down the list. A great bartender, however.....

Ok. So I'm flipping through the Sept. State Liquour book and Pitu can't be found but something called Pirasununga "51" cachaca can now be had. It's cheaper than Pitu was/is. Anyone know how bad it are?