The 60’s Yippie, Abbie Hoffman, once noted that history doesn’t repeat itself in circles, but rather in a coil and rarely returns to the exact same spot.  It is my own observation that this coil will return to a spot slightly above or below the previous spot, depending upon whether the spiral is one of growth or one of regression.  It is such coiled cycles that come to mind for this post. 

We were spending a Sunday in early January at our granddaughter’s house.  Oh, our daughter and son-in-law were there, too, but as any newly minted grandparent will tell you, it’s all about that grandchild.  In the midst of our doting on this two-week-old work of perfect beauty, my cell phone rang.  The number displayed was not one I recognized and I was about to ignore it when … wait!  There were too many numbers and the first two were 3-5 … Fritz! 

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“Some nights I go out and play a piece perfectly.  Then, the next night, I play it better.” 
    - Flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal as quoted by Dale Dauten, which inspired his book, Better Than Perfect.  Without the influence of writer, columnist, and all around corporate creativity consultant, Dale Dauten, I might never have pursued my true calling as The Classic Mixer. 


There are several ways a local watering hole can get better with each of them separated by the finest of lines.
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Back in the early 70’s my old friend Charlie and I decided to make our own beer.  We made the first batch “according to the book” – it was a fairly basic pilsner and it was better than any beer we had ever had.  Then we went on a few tangents.  We made a honey brown ale and then a maple-cane “dessert” beer.  We were decades ahead of the creativity and innovation of the craft beer curve. 

Charlie went off to grad school and it just wasn’t as much fun making beer by myself.  But I think we were both left with a longing for something more than the standard corporate brews.  When the microbrew & craft beer revolution hit, I was gladly pulling up a barstool whenever I saw something new, interesting, and/or, most especially, locally produced.  I have a deep passion for classic cocktails, but when there’s a chalkboard filled with intriguing craft brews, no matter what’s on the back bar, I’m drinking beer. 

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On Hiatus 03/06/2012
 
Sorry for the oversight of letting folks know that I’m taking a little break.  All is well.  Home improvements and taxes are taking precedence.  Never fear – I’m still mixing and still drinking.  Especially with the home improvements and taxes!  I am reminded daily of all the things I dislike about painting.  All painters I have known seem to also be avid beer drinkers.  I can relate.   Indeed, I’m prepping the next post as we speak and it will focus on just that -  uhhh ... beer - not painting.

We'll talk again, soon!

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Laurie’s Query 02/03/2012
 
Character’s Pub is tucked back at the intersection of two alleys deep in the heart of downtown Lancaster.  When it opened in 2004, its original owners tried to present it as an “Irish pub”.  The only thing really Irish about it, though, was the Guinness on tap, two or three Irish whiskeys instead of just Jameson’s, and a few lighthearted signs on the wall suggesting Irish humor.  Regardless, it was a comfortable place to go, the food was good when we were looking for an alternative to a finer dining experience, and they did a decent job behind the bar, too. 
                 
Not long ago the place changed hands.  The new owners have made no effort to maintain it as an “Irish Pub”, but they are presenting it as a “gastropub”.   I think that’s just fine, but they have some work to do before they earn the gastronomic credentials that should accompany that characterization.  That doesn’t mean it has been crossed off our list – hardly.  This is still a most comfortable and welcoming place to visit. 

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_ While Part 1 took place at another’s home, this one happened in our own kitchen over the Christmas holidays.  Our liquor cabinet was bulging with brimming bottles clamped close together clamoring to relieve themselves.  But they’ll have to hold it a little longer; historic context makes a difference.  So, we’ll wander back to the late 1890’s, give or take a half a decade. 

In those days when you bought some hooch, you couldn’t be sure what you were really buying. There could be almost anything in there to stretch the contents. Such shenanigans were giving the spirits business a bad name.  To reassure consumers of the day, the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 served to guarantee that what was on the label was, indeed, in the bottle, but only if the label said “Bottled in Bond” or “Bonded”. 

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_ Just to stay close to my weekly schedule, I’ve broken this down into two parts.  Part 2 should be just around the corner … I left it somewhere, here.  Maybe under that pile of books?  Well, anyway, here’s Part 1.  (You know, as I think about it, my homebound Guerrilla experiments could become a regular tangent to my on-the-spot, off-the-cuff, let’s-try-this public escapades. 

There are times when I just feel like something different.  I’ll open our over-stocked liquor cabinet and just stare at it until volunteers step up for a session of exploration and experimentation. 

Now, granted, compared to the mainstream, I have some pretty esoteric ingredients, but I get the same sense of adventure when I open someone else’s liquor cabinet, too.  What new drink is hiding amongst those bottles, waiting, even hoping for discovery? 

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_There’s nothing like a few bars of Auld Lang Syne to stir the image of bubbles rising from the bottom point of a Champagne-filled flute.  It is truly stuff that should be loved by all, but I seem not to have a bubbly itch to scratch.  Even the venerable Mimosa generally leaves my bubbles flat.  Despite what must be a genetic defect, over the past several months I was still able to create three bubbly drinks in Guerrilla Cocktail style.

First, as always, we need a splash of historical context.  Right about smack dab in the middle of the 19th century someone had the idea to tone down the archetypal cocktail by substituting refined and subdued Champagne for the usual high-octane spirit of choice.  The simple process of sugar soaked with bitters gleefully showered by some fine Champagne became all the rage.  To this day, the classic Champagne Cocktail is still made pretty much the same way:  place a ½ teaspoon sugar cube on the bottom of whatever style of glass you prefer (I like a basic wine glass instead of a flute), dowse it with 3 or 4 dashes of Angostura bitters (one report has lauded using Peychaud’s as a change of pace), and fill with chilled Champagne. 

Now we’ll move on to my Guerrilla variants beginning with a drink I created while at a pre-wedding celebration in Vermont over the Labor Day weekend. 

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Helena’s Joy 01/02/2012
 
_A late post is better than no post.  No need to blame the holidays; I have a better excuse.  This past Wednesday I was transformed into a grandfather.

The day began with an early morning call from our son-in-law, Tim.  He and Maggie had gone into the hospital about midnight. All was well; no rush; delivery would be at least a couple hours or more away.  Ann and I rolled over to go back to sleep ... Yeh, right.
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___ No matter which holiday, holiday drinks present certain challenges to the art of mixology.  Most often, they are not driven by normal culinary objectives like taste and balance.  Usually, there are other considerations, like color or certain seasonal ingredients.  I know this because I’ve created or adapted a number of them: a pumpkin pie “martini” for Thanksgiving; a red, white, and blue-layered drink for the Fourth of July; and all the rest.  Don’t get me wrong, these things work because people order them and say, “Yum!”  And let’s not get snooty about it, that’s a valid assessment of a successful concoction.

But my objective is not just yum and done; it’s about classically crafted cocktails using ingredients that happen to be on hand or easily obtainable.  As my Christmas – Hanukah – Winter Solstice gift to Guerrilla Cocktail fans, I’ll provide two recent recipes I put together.  The first one really has nothing to do with a holiday except it was spontaneously created on Thanksgiving Day.

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