A California Cafe is attempting to break a Guinness world record for largest Irish Coffee, 15 Gallons in total.
Who cares? Not sure, I began to tire over cheap publicity stunts to get in Guinness years ago. Remember the TV show? Terrible, that was the dawn of reality TV.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Irish Coffee/Pub Stunt Update
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Toast of the Day
When called upon thus suddenly
For sentiments or toasts
The few ideas that I possess,
Flit instantly -- like ghosts.
The only thing I think of now --
That seems at all worth saying
Is -- Here's to you! May you soon receive
The gifts for which you're praying!
-Charles Frederic Goss
Beefeater Update
Just got word back from the fine folks at Beefeater about the launch date of Beefeater 24 here in North America. According to the email I received, the launch date is March 9th but "I’m sure a few bottles will make it over before, so keep an eye out".
Word.
FCC V. 'shit'
Steven Pinker, a Harvard linguist writes an article for the Atlantic Monthly about the upcoming FCC case to the Supreme Court and about swearing in general. Read on for a snippet.People believe, contrary to logic, that certain words can corrupt the moral order—that piss and Shit! and fucking are dangerous in a way that pee and Shoot! and freakin’ are not. This quirk in our psychology lies in the ability of taboo words to activate primitive emotional circuits in the brain.
The FCC was right that I think linguistic taboos aren’t always a bad thing. Fuck-peppered speech gets tedious, and malicious epithets can express condemnable attitudes. But in a free society, these annoyances are naturally regulated in the marketplace of people’s reactions—as Don Imus, Michael Richards, and Ann Coulter recently learned the hard way. It’s not clear why swearing on the airwaves should be the government’s business.
As a fine cocktail lover, I must agree with Pinker on this issue, I say let the recipient decide when profanity is too much, not the government. I wonder how this conservative court will rule.
Although, I must admit, it is truly grating being at a party or bar with people whom after a couple drinks replace all their 'um' and 'hmms' with four letter words.
Gin and Tonic at Lunch: Science Says No.
In my ongoing research of Gin and Tonic, I stumbled upon a couple scientific studies on G&T that make a connection between G&T and Reactive Hypoglycemia. The interesting thing is that consuming them on their own doesn't lead to the condition but only when they are combined. Check out the quote from a 1977 study
Alcohol-mediated reactive hypoglycemia may contribute significantly to motor-car accidents in the late afternoon at a time when blood-alcohol levels have fallen below the legal limit.
Read on for the dirty details.
As I am not a scientist, I shall not attempt to interpret the findings, here's some bullet points:
- 8 Healthy individuals, drank 3 large G&T or 3 Large Gin & Slim-line Tonic, and 3 Tonic only.
- After Consumption of G&T the low-point of the blood glucose was lower compared to that with Tonic alone and the Gin& Slim-line tonic
- The Studies conclusion: In otherwise healthy individuals a combination of gin and regular tonic can induce reactive hypoglycemia. Acute ingestion of alcohol impairs the epinephrine response and markedly suppresses the release of GH in response to a fall in blood glucose levels.
The Two Studies:
Gin and Tonic and Reactive Hypoglycemia: What Is Important–the Gin, the Tonic, or Both?1
Lunchtime gin and tonic a cause of reactive hypoglycaemia.
If you know more about on this subject or science in general or see an error somewhere, email the kitten and let me know.
Old Tom Gin Update
Just got an email from the US distributor of Hayman's Old Tom Gin and according to him it is very available in the US. If you're in the city then head down to the Warehouse on Broadway and Astor Place.
If you don't and want to find out if it's available in your area, send an email to distributor,Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz LLC, eseed@alpenz.com.
Read on for their Ramos Gin Fizz Recipe.
Henry Ramos, 1888, New Orleans
* 2 measures Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
* 1 measure lemon juice and lime juice
* 1 measure orange flower water
* 1 measure single cream
* A dash of egg white
* Soda water
Shake all (except soda) well over ice. Strain into a thin goblet and top off with chilled soda to taste
- one note, it is advisable to shake ingredients before adding ice and then again with ice.
- Orange flower water is hard to find if your city doesn't have mid-east or Greek/Turkish ethnic grocery stores. It's available online.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Old Tom Gin
In order to produce a proper Ramos Gin Fizz one must procure Old Tom Gin. Ah, there is the problem, it is almost impossible to find. I have scoured the city and have had no luck finding this old fashioned distilled gin. This is about to change soon though, UK company Hayman is producing a legitimate Old Tom Gin and it has now been released. According to it's official site, this Gin beat out Tanqueray and Beefeater for the Master Award for Premium Distilleries in August.
Like Beefeater 24, I'm waiting for this to hit Astor Place and then it'll be time to test.
Beefeater Update
Beefeater, my muse, is updating the brand and releasing a new, high quality version of their classic London Dry called Beefeater 24.
It's not clear when this fine Gin will be released to us Americans but rest assured, when it is you'll hear about right here. Read on for the video explaining the process.
Blog Update
If you haven't noticed I added a feature so I could start Post Summaries. The change retroactively added "Read More" to all the posts, so some of them don't actually have more to read, for that I apolgise for misleading you all.
Terrible Poetry
Let's have a fine time on this Wednsday evening with another classic McGonagall poem. OH! beautiful Oban with your lovely bay, And on a calm evening, behind the village let him climb the hill, And on a sunny morning 'tis delightful to saunter up the Dunstaffnage road, And when you reach the little gate on the right hand, And your mind with wonder it must fill Then go and see the waters of Loch Etive leaping and thundering Then there's Ganevan with its sparkling bay, Then take a sail across to Kerrera some day, Then wander up Glen Crootyen, past the old village churchyard, And as you return by the side of the merry little stream, Then on some pleasant evening walk up the Glen Shellach road, And Loch Avoulyen lies like a silver sea with its forests green, And this is beautiful Oban, where the tourist seldom stays above a night, Oh! beautiful Oban, with your silvery bay,
Today's, I say
With a heart in play
Is none other than
Ye Gem Oban:
Your surroundings are magnificent on a fine summer-day;
There the lover of the picturesque can behold,
As the sun goes down, the scenery glittering like gold.
And as he watches the sun go down, with delight his heart will fill
As he beholds the sun casting a golden track across the sea,
Clothing the dark mountains of Mull with crimson brilliancy.
Where the green trees spread out their branches so broad;
And as you pass the Lovers' Loan your spirits feel gay
As you see the leaflet float lightly on the sunny pathway.
Then turn and feast your eyes on the scene most grand,
And there you will see the top of Balloch-an-Righ to your right,
Until at last you will exclaim, Oh! what a beautiful sight!
As you follow the road a couple of miles further, till
You can see Bennefure Loch on the left hand,
And the Castle of Dunstaffnage most ancient and grand.
And flashing o'er the reef, splashing and dundering,
Just as they did when Ossian and Fingal watched them from the shore,
And, no doubt, they have felt delighted by the rapids' thundering roar.
And its crescent of silver sand glittering in the sun's bright array,
And Dunolly's quiet shores where sea crabs abide,
And its beautiful little pools left behind by the tide.
And see Gylen Castle with its wild-strewn shore and bay,
With its gigantic walls and towers of rocks
Shivered into ghastly shapes by the big waves' thundering shocks.
And as you pass, for the dead have some regard;
For it is the road we've all to go,
Sooner or later, both the high and the low!
That comes trotting down the glen most charming to be seen,
Sometimes wimpling along between heather banks,
And slipping coyly away to hide itself in its merry pranks.
Where numberless sheep the green hillside often have trod,
And there's a little farmhouse nestling amongst the trees,
And its hazel woods climbing up the brae, shaking in the breeze.
With its fields of rushes and headlands most enchanting to be seen,
And on the water, like a barge anchored by some dreamland shore,
There wild fowls sit, mirrored, by the score.
A place that fills the lover of the picturesque with delight;
And let all the people that to Oban go
View it in its native loveliness, and it will drive away all woe.
'Tis amongst your Highland scenery I'd like to stray
During the livelong summer-day,
And feast my eyes on your beautiful scenery, enchanting and gay.
The G&T
What is the oldest commercial cocktail?
Well of course it is the classic Gin and Tonic which is now the ripe age of 150 years old. The UK's Daily Examiner, which touts itself as "The World's Greatest Newspaper", does a little piece on it, though not enough to do this fine drink justice. I smell a kitten feature coming...
Presidential Cocktails
Every four years mixologists tend to be patriotic and create some presidential themed cocktails. Jim Hewes down in DC created his own list of cocktails, based on their each personal favorite cocktails. For example, William McKinley had a penchant for the Gin Rickey, Clinton's Tanqueray and Tonic, and Bush II Cola with lime.
FDR and I would've gotten along great, Plymouth Gin Martini.
Wasted Liquor Update
Only in New Orleans. A semi-truck carrying cases upon cases of Taaka Vodka flew off a ramp, crashing and spilling all the vodka inside.
What a shame and what a waste, while this may be odd news for us not from Orleans but I hear it's a common occurrence down there, video on the news site.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Prohibition Repeal/Dale DeGroff Update
Here at the Kitten of the Keys blog, we take the upcoming 75th Anniversery of the repeal of prohibition seriously. One guy who takes it even more serious: Dale DeGroff, the King himself. He's giving a series of lectures down in New Orleans, home of the Ramos Gin Fizz, which are already sold out. I wish he made it uptown to NYC sometime but until then, I'll read one of his many books on the subject.
If you were wondering, The Craft of the Cocktail, is required reading if you want to be a serious cocktail lover.
Also, if you're looking for a great cocktail book Imbibe! is possibly the greatest book ever written on the subject, by David Wondrich.
Cocktail Legistlation Update
Unlike most countries Brazil not only has an official National Cocktail, The Caipirinha (pronounced with a hard 'K'), but also has recently made a legally binding recipe for it. The official Caipirinha is a cocktail that contains exactly 1 3/4 oz. of Cachaça, a sugar liquor that will run you about $30 for a liter, exactly 1% crushed lime, and 2 tsp. of real sugar.
I'm not sure what the 1% lime means but in general terms, the Caipirinha has half of a crushed lime.
It's a good thing to check out Cachaça. It is a peculiar liquor that, in short, tastes a bit like tequila at first sip but really feels like more of a rum.
Cheers to the AP for covering this notable event.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Cocktail Hour
Toronto writer, Linda Barnard, citing the collapse of the world markets has an excellent way of coping, happy hour cocktails. I couldn't agree more, and of course they push the prohibition era frame:
I enjoyed the Penny Pincher cockatail, indeed."Consumption rose considerably during the Depression," says Laura Panter of the Martini Club, who, with partner Michelle Hunt creates new cocktails, provides beverage research and puts together some of Toronto's hottest parties, including the annual Drinks Show.
Prohibition was in force from 1920 to 1933, encompassing the first four years of the Great Depression, which began in 1929. Officially, people weren't supposed to drink at all. Of course, they did and the era saw the birth of the cocktail movement in America, says Panter.
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