22. May 2005 · Comments Off on Mulled Wine (in verse) · Categories: Cocktails · Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Recipe #123: Mulled Wine (in verse)

First, my dear madam, you must take
Nine eggs, which carefully you’ll break–
Into a bowl you’ll drop the white,
The yolks into another by it.
Let Betsy beat the whites with switch,
Till they appear quite frothed and rich–
Another hand the yolks must beat
With sugar, which will make them sweet;
Three or four spoonfuls may be’ll do,
Though some, perhaps, would take but two.
Into a skillet next you’ll pour
A bottle of good wine, or more–
Put half a pint of water, too,
Or it may prove too strong for you;
And while the eggs (by two) are beating,
The wine and water may be heating;
But, when it comes to boiling heat,
The yolks and whites together beat
With half a pint of water more–
Mixing them well, then gently pour
Into the skillet with the wine,
And stir it briskly all the time.
Then pour it off into a pitcher;
Grate nutmeg in to make it richer.
Then drink it hot, for he’s a fool,
Who lets such precious liquor cool.

Summer has yet to begin in earnest, and I am already looking forward to winter.

22. May 2005 · Comments Off on Scotch Whiskey Punch · Categories: Cocktails · Tags: , , , , , ,

So I recently purchased a copy of “The Bartender’s Guide” by Jerry Thomas, aka “The Professor”, aka the guy who decided to organize and write down how to be a bartender, from mixing drinks to manufacturing liquors. The book is made up of two smaller books. The first is “How To Mix Drinks or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion” and was published in 1862.

Recipe #8: Scotch Whiskey Punch

Steep the thin yellow shavings of lemon peel in the whiskey, which should be Glenlivet or Islay, of the best quality; the sugar should be dissolved in boiling water. As it requires genius to make whiskey punch, it would be impertinent to give proportions.

13. May 2005 · Comments Off on State of the First Amendment · Categories: Linky

State of the First Amendment

An annual publication using the results of polls to show how the American public views their first amendment rights. The results are interesting, with 2002 being disheartening but the trend grows somewhat more hopeful after. These are produced by the First Amendment Center.

13. May 2005 · Comments Off on Overview of Changes to Legal Rights · Categories: Linky

Overview of Changes to Legal Rights

On September 5th, 2002 the Associated Press put out an article that lists the changes in our legal rights since September 11th, 2001.

13. May 2005 · Comments Off on Ohio wants my DNA · Categories: Linky

Database keeps DNA from cleared suspects

Moving this from my links page into here where it’s a little more appropriate. Old Cincinnati Enquirer article about how Ohio likes to keep DNA profiles of suspects who have been cleared of crimes.

Luis Buñuel’s martini recipe:

“For those who are still with me, let me give you my personal recipe, the fruit of long experimentation and guaranteed to produce perfect results. The day before your guests arrive, put all the ingredients – glasses, gin, and shaker – in the refrigerator. Use a thermometer to make sure the ice is about twenty degrees below zero (centigrade). Don’t take anything out until your friends arrive; then pour a few drops of Noilly Prat and half a demitasse spoon of Angostura bitters over the ice. Shake it, then pour it out, leaving only the ice, which retains a faint taste of both. Then pour straight gin over the ice, shake it again, and serve.”
My Last Sign (1983)

07. May 2005 · Comments Off on Rob Roy · Categories: Cocktails · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Rob Roy
as made by Julian Gualdoni

  • Two shots of Lagavulin 12 year
  • One shot of sweet vermouth
  • One shot of dry vermouth

Stir over ice with a few drops of angostura bitters.

19. March 2005 · Comments Off on Strindberg + helium · Categories: Linky

Strindberg + helium

I somehow missed this when boingboing originally posted a link. Thankfully Emily pointed it out to me. To quote boingboing, “August Strindberg was a 19th Century depressive Swedish playwright who now stars in a series of convulsively funny Flash movies called Strindberg and Helium. In Strindberg and Helium, Strindberg has a little pink floaty balloon chum called Helium, who wheedles out happy messages.”

Only four videos up as I post this, all of them short. Worth a visit.