Friday Night Brandy Buzz. Ask me anything.

[Aristus]

Two shots of Suntori whiskey to get the party started. Now a Panama: brandy, white créme de cacao, and cream.

It’s basically a Brandy Alexander, but if you use white créme de cacao instead of brown, you can call it a Panama, and avoid the teasing.

Needed something sweet to celebrate the sweetness of not being with my old employer anymore.

Thank you for being here for me when I wasn’t able to be here for you.

I love you all…

[cachukis]

1. Do you own a Panama hat?

[Aristus]

2. No, unfortunately.

A straw trilby is the closest thing to it.

[cachukis]

7. No doubt stylin'.

[Aristus]

8. It keeps my bald head from getting sunburned.

If it makes me look stylish too, bonus.

[cachukis]

10. Hats take courage, even when they work.

[niyad]

13. You do realize the earworm you stuck me with, yes???

[SarahD]

39. Misheard lyrics

On first hearing, I thought they were singing "Man in love!"

[niyad]

41. "tan shoes, pink shoe laces, and a big panama with a purple hat band."

Dodie Stevens

[SarahD]

42. Forgot about that one

I was thinking of Van Halen.

[Aristus]

44. Me too!

[niyad]

47. I probably never heard whatever he sang.

[redwitch]

3. Hi!

I hope you’re enjoying the new job. Also, that drink sounds delicious!

[Aristus]

5. It IS!

[Diamond_Dog]

4. Hi Aristus,

Happy Holidays!

I’m happy that everything is working out so well for you at your new job

[Aristus]

6. Thank you!

It’s a weight off my chest thirteen years in the making.

[Marthe48]

9. I tried the gin my daughter gave me

I've read so many stories set in Great Britain, of people 'drinking a glass of gin' that it seemed okay to have a shot straight. Hmmm--not bad, but not sure

If I decide to mix it with something, do you have any suggestions? Thanks

Glad things are settling down for you. Happy Friday!

[Aristus]

11. Gin is best with a mixer.

People used to drink gin straight in order to get drunk faster. (Believe me, I get that… )

But the juniper flavoring is usually too overpowering for me to want to drink it neat.

Add tonic water for a gin and tonic. Lime juice for a gimlet. Or dry vermouth for a Martini. My bar book has about fifty gin cocktails. If you need more ideas, let me know. Enjoy!

BTW, what brand of gin? My favorites are Beefeater’s, Sapphire, and Roku (an excellent Japanese brand.)

[Marthe48]

17. Thanks for the reply!

My daughter gave me a bottle of Gilbey's. It's quite fragrant.
I'm taking both daughters to the liquor store a little closer to Christmas, let them each pick a wine they might enjoy. I'll see what the store has in the line of mixers. I found a set of coupe glasses in the basement and learned that they are the best shape for serving gin cocktails. New Year's Eve, here we come!

[Aristus]

18. Sounds like fun!

I’ve never tried Gilbey’s. I’ll have to pick up a bottle sometime. I’ve still got half a bottle of Roku to finish.

[Marthe48]

22. I think the reviews I read were positive

I didn't see rotgut in any of the comments I read about Gilbey's

Have an fine night, I'm off to bed. Nice chatting for a bit

[Aristus]

23. Good night!

[leftieNanner]

27. Consider Freeland Gin

Woman owned company in Portland Oregon. The one in the blue bottle. Actually a sipping gin. Really lovely.

[Aristus]

28. I will!

Any way I can support women-owned businesses, I will do it.

[leftieNanner]

32. It has a bit of cucumber.

I look forward to hearing your opinion.

[grumpyduck]

33. I haven't had a gimlet

for a while. Gotta do that.

[Aristus]

45. Vodka gimlets are also nice.

Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting scurvy. I always feel like an old-timey sailor when I have a gimlet.

[niyad]

48. One of my fIrst ktties LOVED gin, neat, in a lowball glass. But ONLY Tanqueray.

As you can probably tell, none of my cats were spoiled!

[niyad]

12. And we love you back. So glad you can celebrate this wonderful new chapter.

I love Brandy A's, will definutely have to try this version!

[Aristus]

15. It's definitely not what we tankers drank to impress each other.

But I’m too old to bother trying to out-macho anyone these days.

Just let me have my bathrobe, a yummy drink, and a peaceful evening, and I’m happy.

[niyad]

19. Fortunately, I have never had to give a thought to macho. It makes things

so much easier!

I used to have bartenders who happily made any drink I could come up with, including all the cream ones. People would look at the bar and wonder about a line of people all drinking the same unusual cocktail. Let them wonder!

[Aristus]

20. Well, I didn't smoke or watch porn, so drinking was my way

of showing my fellow tankers I had what it took to tame the steel beast.

Stupid shit.

There’s a reason this kind of thing is done by teenagers and twenty-somethings.

[niyad]

24. It has never ceased to amaze me the crazy things we are conditioned to

think we need to do to "prove" ourselves in so many situations. I have been very fortunate to be quite oblivious to so much of it, starting at a very early age (I never did get the memo about girls not being smart.)

[Aristus]

25. Well, I didn't let it change me too much.

I still listened to my classical music and read my Shakespeare. I even found out who in my unit was a classical music fan besides me.

If nothing else, I earned my patriotic credentials to show all the right-wing armchair warriors out there who say liberals ‘hate America.’

[niyad]

26. I can just see you (not like Maj. Winchester, but happily engrossed).

And isn't it hysterically sad that most of the reichwingers are the ones who never served a day!!

[Aristus]

29. One of the sergeants in my unit was named Brandenburg.

He came by my barracks room one time while I was listening to Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. I told him the name of the piece. He didn’t believe me. Thought I was shining him on.

[niyad]

30. I can just see that. Did you have to show him the album cover?

[Aristus]

35. Yep.

It was just a coincidence that he happened to stop by while that piece was playing. Bach wrote so many compositions that the sergeant could have been named something else, and still had a Bach piece to go with it.

[2naSalit]

14. You answered my question.

I was going to ask how you feel after a little time at your new employer!

Glad to hear it, everything is a little brighter when a big downer is no longer in the picture.

[Aristus]

16. I miss my homeless patients so dreadfully.

But I know sooner or later, they’ll find out where I’ve gone, and show up on my schedule again. That would be icing on the cake.

[2naSalit]

21. Yes...

That would be nice. It's good to see old familiar faces.

[Mr.Bill]

31. I'm having some hot egg nog with brandy.

Can't drink too much tonight because I have to do some driving early tomorrow.

Glad to hear the new job is going well.

[Aristus]

36. That sounds good!

I usually spike my egg nog with Irish Cream. But brandy sounds delicious.

[Mr.Bill]

38. Bourbon also works well,

as does Rum or Rye Whiskey. I learned this from my grandfather, who made his own egg nog with all four. The Irish Cream sounds good, too. I'll have to try that.

[LudwigPastorius]

34. Do you have to wear a smoking jacket when sipping brandy?

[Aristus]

37. Nope.

I’m wearing a ratty (but clean) terrycloth bathrobe to sip my brandy in.

I’ve got a Hugh Hefner-style silk pajamas and bathrobe set upstairs. But I haven’t worn it in quite a while. Don’t get the right kind of company for it anymore.

[LudwigPastorius]

40. Smoking jackets don't get the kind of respect they did once.

[zanana1]

43. I have a question for non alcoholics.

Why do you drink if not to get drunk? I've always wondered about that. If I'm in a restaurant and see someone abandoning a drink, I think "what a shame".

[Aristus]

46. I rarely drink to get drunk.

Just until I have a pleasant, relaxing buzz, hence the title of the thread.

Mrs. Aristus disapproves of drunkenness, so I moderate my drinking very carefully.

Sometimes, when one or the other of us is out of town, I’ll have more than usual in order to achieve an altered mental status. But that’s pretty rare.

[zanana1]

49. Thanks.

I'm an alcoholic, so I've always wondered.