I’ve made a lot of questionable decisions in my life. I’m not proud of a lot of them, but I’ve survived them so far. I am ashamed about a few, most of them I just view with a sort of bemused indifference and some; some I look at with a twinge of regret, tempered by nostalgia and even a bit of longing, if I am honest. We do lots of dumb stuff when we don’t know any better. Some would argue that the only way we ever learn better is by making dumb mistakes. I do believe that would should work hard to never make the same mistake twice, that we should learn from them, but I also understand that they are inevitable. As the sign by my office door says, “Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow.” So, with a backward glance at the mistakes of yesteryear, won’t you please join me as we stand and make, Coffee & Cigarettes.
We’ve made it to the last day of summer 2020. The year that just keeps on giving, or is it taking away? Some times it is hard to tell. They say you should make hay while the sun is shining. I guess that means you should take advantage of good times to store up things for the bad times to come. In my experience, actually making hay, usually involves a lot of looking to the horizon, watching for the storm clouds which seem to come, inevitably, once you get the hay on the ground. Well, I don’t have hay, but I do have lavender, so I guess I’ll make soothing beverages while the lavender is plenty. Won’t you join me now as we stand and make the aptly named, Aromatherapy.
Today we celebrated my wife’s 40th birthday, so something sweet and complex was in order. I know a little bit about sweet and complex things, since she and I have been married for nearly 18 years. This one is super simple to make but, oh so interesting. So, please join me now as we stand and make the Dude, Sweet Chocolate Martini.
It is Saturday again, which means yet another farmer’s market inspired cocktail. It seems like a good day for everyone to just step back, maybe take a breather and prepare to reap any whirlwinds you choose to sow during “these unprecedented times”. So crank up your diffusers and pop some essential oils behind your ears as we stand and make the Eau de Lavender.
I don’t feel like doing this tonight. I’m as positive as the next guy, assuming the next guy is a dyed in the wool pragmatist who covers his bases before looking home, but I’m not feeling good about things. My faith in humanity is wearing a little thin, so I suppose a drink is in order. Something that rips off the veneer of civilized society and shows is for what we are. Please join me now as we climb up from the muck and make the Sophisticated Savage.
Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” That may be true, he was a clever fellow who said lots of witty but true things, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Experience is also about managing expectations. Sure, we all want to experiment and try new things, but we use our experiences to guide that exploration. For good or for ill, the things we have done help decide what we will do next. That’s a big part of why we learn or, more accurately, why we keep learning. One of the most interesting things about these last few months of daily cocktails, is how much I have learned along the way. Sometimes, it is a new technique or flavor or tool that I discover. There has been a cumulative effect that is way cooler than any eureka moment. My approach to drink making has evolved as I have learned more. I choose different tools now, as I upgrade from my basic kit, to things that fit me and my style better. Which couldn’t happen early on, because I did not have a style. I have noticed that my shaking style now is far different than it was when I started taking classes at Corsair, my pours are different, my attention to detail much more clear. This did not happen overnight and I am still learning and continuing to evolve, but I can see a real difference. That difference is experience and as we learned way back at the beginning of the paragraph, we get experience by making mistakes and I have made a lot of them. I am going to continue making mistakes, that is important. My grandpa always said that the only people who don’t make any mistakes are the ones who don’t do anything, so in that spirit I ask that you, please, join me once again as we stand and make the Donna Maria.
The world used to be a bigger place. There were lots of corners to hide in. Remember the days of regional delicacies? Stuff you could only get if you went to a particular area or place. Hatch Green Chiles in New Mexico, cheese curds in Wisconsin, scrapple in Pennsylvania or Jersey’s Taylor Ham. You could live a couple of hours away and have never heard of a loose burger, fry bread or chislic. I kind of miss those days of culinary exploration, even when it wasn’t remotely fancy. Twenty years ago, we always stopped at Culver’s when we were in Wisconsin, Five Guys when near DC or Jack in the Box in L.A. Today, we can visit any of those within a mile of each other in Franklin, Tennessee. We have more choices, but as these local flavors expand across the country, even in these standardized ways, we are getting a bit more homogenized, a bit more boring. So, in honor of a shrinking world, please join me now as we stand and make my version of a Texas classic, Smoke on the Ranch Water
This week at the farmer’s market we had a conversation with friends about cocktail alternatives, mostly looking for things that would be lower carb or keto friendly, which honestly, includes most pure spirits. Of course, there are lots of cocktails using spirits and bitters, maybe a bit of soda that would fall into that category. It’s really not that tricky, as long as you avoid syrups, colas and fruit juices, there is nothing wrong with a vodka tonic and a twist of lime. The discussion did remind me of a spirit that I don’t use often enough. It is pretty tasty and may introduce you to something new. So, join me now as we stand and make, the Shochu-Jito.
We are going back to the basics today. There is a reason classics are classics. It is like a blue blazer, oxford cloth shirt and khakis, it is never the height of fashion, but it is never really out of style. It is easy to overlook them. I know I am guilty of that. I see something shiny and suddenly I am down a rabbit hole of liqueurs I had never heard of a year ago and bitters crafted my monks atop a mystical mountain using techniques whispered to them by the raven when the world was young. Not today though, today I am making one that your grandpa might have ordered as he bellied up to the bar in his seersucker suit and straw boater. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Amaretto Sour.
Like it or not, we are all products of our environment. A big part of that comes from family. As I sip this drink from my mom’s China, I am reminded of all the things handed down from previous generations. The good and the bad, our strengths and our weaknesses all start at home. We carry them with us and, if we are not careful, we pass them along to the next generation. So with an eye to the future, please join me now as we stand and make, the Mad Hatter.
