Friday Night Gin Buzz. Ask me anything.

[Aristus]

Two shots to get the party started. Now a Costa Del Sol; gin, Cointreau, and pear brandy. Yummy!

God, what a week. I was at the clinic today for nearly twelve hours.



Time to relax. I love you all…

[Marthe48]

1. What led you to cocktails?

Are you planning to try recipes alpha to omega? Or find a few perfect mixes to repeat? Or just exercise your bar?

I might have to read a reply tomorrow. Heading to bed. Enjoy the lounge!

[Aristus]

3. Good night.

I used to just be a utilitarian drinker. Beer, wine, whatever. Then, in an attempt to expand my horizons, I started ordering cocktails, to see what all the shouting was about.

My first favorite cocktails: a whiskey sour and an amaretto sour. Then I tried a Manhattan, which is my most favorite cocktail to this day.

So I got a bar book, and decided to try every drink that sounded appealing to me. Voilá! I’m an aficionado of cocktail culture.

[surfered]

2. Why does Trump now love Mandami and hate Marjorie Taylor Greene?

A Dungeness crab cocktail with Mexican street corn preceded and followed by nice Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Cheers 🍷

[Aristus]

5. I'm as mystified as everyone else.

I will say that this puts Trump in a position in which, anything Mamdani succeeds at, Trump will claim it was his idea.

[Trueblue Texan]

4. Ok, I'm sticking with my wimpy sparkling wine with an orange slice and orange juice ice cube...

It’s my comfort drink. It’s a beautiful Friday evening on the patio with Henri Mancini on the Echo. The great thing about this drink beside being cold and refreshing is I can drink a lot of them without getting too sauced.

[Aristus]

7. Sounds wonderful.

There are times when I miss my home state of Texas. Increasingly few times, nowadays. But a few.

[Grim Chieftain]

6. Rough day, rough week

Glad you have something to take the edge off. I have nothing but wine in the house and it is not working to soothe the stress. I need a Jameson or even a Jack Daniels. Interestingly, I never had either one until November of last year. Hmm...wonder why.

Cheers, Aristus! Have a great weekend.

[Aristus]

8. Ever had Lagavulin single malt?

My personal favorite whiskey.

If you were here, I’d bore you to tears with my enthusiasm for Lagavulin. Then you would try it, and see for yourself.

🥃

[Grim Chieftain]

12. Thanks for the suggestion, never had it

I'll be sure to get some tomorrow. Might even try a little day drinking.

:

[Aristus]

13. Day-drinking is a decadent delight.

All those D’s…

When you break the seal on the bottle, take a sniff and tell me it doesn’t smell like a campfire.

[Grim Chieftain]

16. Ha! Will do!

[Aristus]

17. And that's just the beginning of your enjoyment of Lagavulin.

Told you I’d bore you to tears…

[Grim Chieftain]

19. You could never bore me to tears

But give it a try, friend. I'll be here all weekend.

[Aristus]

20. Okay, that's it. I need a glass of Lagavulin.

brb…

[Grim Chieftain]

21. Have one for me

[Aristus]

22. I will!

Lagavulin over chilled whiskey stones. Smokey, peaty, my lips and tongue are tingling…

Cheers!

[niyad]

27. I have to say, the whiskey stones cracked me up the first time I saw them.

The implication of the whole display of all the "manly" accoutrements of refined male drinking was that permanent ice cubes were some brand new thing. I had been using permanent ice cubes since my teens (yes, we had ice cubes back in tthe last millenium!). Granted, the first set I bought was pink elephants, which I used to great effect, so the stones are definitely classier!

[Aristus]

31. They were a gift from my step-daughter.

I get a lot of use out of them.

[niyad]

33. They are a great, and practical, gift.

[Redleg]

38. One of my favorites too

I last had a bottle back in 2002 when I completed my Ph.D. It was somwhat pricey back then. I am afraid I might have sticker shock if I see it in the store.

[Aristus]

41. The prices have been jumping up and down wildly over the last year.

I’ve seen bottles priced as low as $70, and as high as $120.

My current bottle set me back about $75.

[Redleg]

56. $75 is reasonable

I live in Kentucky and have seen the bourbon prices going up every year for the last 15 years or so. Bourbon has exceeded scotch in the global marketplace and the prices show. I still prefer a nice scotch and I like that scotch seems to have more variety. I can get a peaty Islay malt, or a robust highlands malt or a mellower Campbeltown malt depending on my mood.

[TexasTowelie]

9. I'm sticking to a bottle of Purple Haze tonight.

I haven't felt adventurous with my drinking in awhile.

[Aristus]

10. You gotta drink what works for you.

[underpants]

11. What the hell is wrong with you?

I had a guy in my platoon (Cav) who used to lead with that when someone said even the slightest naive uninformed comment. Especially new guys. We’d see the head start to turn and we’d all start cracking up. He was a great insult comic. He had something for everyone- farm boys, hayseeds, city guys, cowboys etc.

Vodka with lemonade and a few splashes of Cholula

[Aristus]

14. What the hell is wrong with me?

God, where to start?…

[underpants]

25. That's correct....start with God

[Chicagogrl1]

15. Drinking a Filthy Martini

Cheers 🍸

[Aristus]

18. Filthy, huh?

Dirtier than a dirty Martini?

[niyad]

23. And we love you back. huggggs. deeeeeep breaths. You have the

weekend off, do something fun or relaxing. I am cheating. . Kirkland liqueur eggnog, a splash of brandy in my coffee. It is a damp, chilly night.

[Aristus]

24. Oh , that sounds wonderful!

Egg nog on a cold, blustery night. Makes you glad to be alive. Nowadays, we need anything that does.

[niyad]

28. This is so very true!

[Captain Zero]

26. Ever had a Dark & Stormy?

They are pretty good when mixed correctly.
Most bartenders have no clue. Some bars here don't even have dark rum.

So I'm mixing my own for the holidays.

[Easterncedar]

29. Good ginger beer is a must for that.

It’s a good drink

[niyad]

30. If you think they can't do a Dark & Stormy, watch them screw up a pousse cafe.

[Marthe48]

37. What a coincidence

Just this morning, someone asked Miss Manners how to drink a pousse-cafe. I knew there were layered drinks but what they were called.

I was going to ask Aristus if they ever made a pousse-cafe, and here is a post mentioning them.

For the record, Miss Manners suggested that you enjoy each layer and the ingredients will mix as you drink. And she was going to go try one

[niyad]

51. They are interesting, and a pain in the ass to make. One needs a very steady

hand to pour each ingredient carefully and slowly enough so that they layer, not mix. When I was in Houston, I was friends with one of the hotel bartenders in our mall. He was making a French 125 for me, and we were discussing difficult drinks. He was telling me about a woman, very pretentious*, who ordered a 7-layer pousse cafe. It took him two tries to get it perfectly layered. When he served it to her, she stirred it up, and gulped it down in one go. He refused to make her another one.

*My personal favourite pretentious bar patron was also in Houston. I was sitting at a bar, waiting for a friend, and reading. A guy came in, all bluster, sat just a couple of seats down from me, and ordered a Perrier and water. Perrier had just become available in this country. I looked at the bartender over my book, we both grinned, and I bent into the book so that I wouldn't actually laugh.

[CTyankee]

47. what is a "pousse cafe"?

[niyad]

48. It's a layered drink, poured very carefully so that it stays in layers.

The ingredients are added in a specific order, densest to lightest. A Tequila Sunrise is one type, but not as specifically layered. Trust me when I tell you it is not a bartender's favourite drink to pour! There are actually specialty pousse cafe glases, but a champagne flute will work. There are a number of variations, but you can look up the recipes.

[CTyankee]

49. Oh. Not sure I would want to drink a layered drink. I will have to think about it....

[niyad]

52. It can be a bit intimidating, at first. But remember, a White Russian is

also a layered drink, as is a Tootsie Roll, and they are easy. As is a Kir Royale!

[CTyankee]

53. Hmm, I don't ever drink those but I might find them very interesting!

I'm down to one glass of white wine per day, with my evening meal.

[niyad]

55. They are very good. If you do decide to try them, let me know what

you think.

I am guessing that you would have to go out to a restaurant with a decent bar to try them. Guessing your retirement village does not have a well-stocked happy hour bar?

[Aristus]

32. Yeah!

I mix a pretty good one!

[CTyankee]

50. Tell me why a layered drink is so good. I'd like to know, at my advanced age...

[Aristus]

42. Yeah. I love it.

Just what I need when I need it.

[Wolf Frankula]

34. Had two things I haven't had in years.

Stormbreaker Winter Coat. A dark winter strong ale. And I was given a Cafe Pied Noir. It's a cup of strong French coffee with a shot of anisette.

[Aristus]

43. Sounds great!

There’s nothing better than a good strong winter ale.

A number of years ago, I was in an Irish-style pub in Ocean Shores, Washington on a cold winter night. The wind was howling outside, but inside, it was snug and warm, and I was fortifying myself with a rich, dark ale, and a bowl of Guinness beef and potato stew. That was a magical night. Like something out of a dream.

[electric_blue68]

35. I wish I could drink (meds)... I liked to get buzzed once in awhile.

[Aristus]

44. I would say I will drink one for you.

But I don’t know if it would come across as supportive or mocking.

BTW: It would be supportive…

[electric_blue68]

45. Ah, I'd take it as supportive.

🙂👍

[moniss]

36. How much

wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

[CTyankee]

39. The best I can do at my retirement village is a glass of Pinot Grigio (forgot how to spell it) tonight.

It's my go-to glass of wine in the dining room. Very nice.

[Aristus]

40. Perfect!

Dry, slightly astringent, with pear and woody notes. Can’t go wrong with a good Pinot Grigio.

[Dulcinea]

46. This has been a long day.

8 hrs round trip in the car picking the college kid up for Thanksgiving break. Unwinding with a beer & Penn State beating Nebraska! Unseasonably warm here in the ATL...almost 80 degrees...shorts in November!

[True Dough]

54. Keep this around for your next rough spell, Aristus