David Trinh

I’ve been meaning to write about this Weekly Standard piece entitled “The Cocktail Renaissance” for quite a while.  Unfortunately, I don’t have anything clever to say about it other than it is most excellent and is highly deserving of your attention.

Oh, and there’s this quote:

An Old-Fashioned is a sugar cube wetted down with two to three large dashes of Angostura bitters and crushed until no trace of the crystals remains. Add some water–not much, the amount depends on the quality of your brown–two ounces of excellent rye whiskey (or bourbon, of course), and three cubes of ice. Stir and let it sit for a moment while you slice a nice stripe of lemon peel–all peel, none of the white pith–to squeeze over. (You’ll see the slick of citrus oil as you raise the glass for your first sip.) It’s perfection incarnate. Yet if you order one in that random bar, the likelihood is that you’ll be brought something involving simple syrup, club soda, maraschino cherries, orange slices, too much ice, and good god knows what else.

Right.  Although, I might add as the contrarian that maraschino cherry juice (but never an actually maraschino cherry) is a good addition to a well-made Old-Fashioned.  While your mileage may vary, I’ve found that using just a smidgen—no more than a thimble full—in place of some of an Old-Fashioned’s sugar does remarkable things.  The cherry adds a bit of a floral nose to the drink and offers some complexity to what would otherwise be the flavor of raw sugar.  Finally, I second the criticism of the average Old-Fashioned produced in a random bar: I’ve had Old-Fashioneds in the past spoiled by clueless bartenders who’ve used brandy instead of bourbon, and tonic water(!) instead of club soda.  Frightening, I know.

Okay, now go on and enjoy—it’s a brilliant piece.

I’m currently en route to Vancouver BC on one of my famously long road trips.  Last December I did a long haul and drove from Minnesota to Seattle in a rather harrowing drive (which included 26.5 hours of continuous driving, three snowstorms and one avalanche); this time I’m taking things a little slower so I have time to take in the West—it’s awfully hard to appreciate the scenery in the absence of sunlight and sleep.

I love long road trips.  If done with others, they’re an amazing opportunity to make new friends or deepen existing relationships; if done by yourself, they offer an unparalleled chance for contemplation and self-reflection.   I am by myself on this trip and, in addition to all the thinking I’ve been doing, I’m also listening to backdated This American Life episodes.  Really backdated.  As in these episodes are from 1995, they’re live and the show is called “Radio Playhouse” instead of “This American Life.”  Good stuff.

Vancouver will give me a chance to cross the Canadian border for the first time (a shame that it has taken me this long I know) and an opportunity to let my inner-foodie run wild.  After that I’ll be heading to Portland for a night where I’ll hopefully have a chance to visit the Carlyle which is where one of my favorite bloggers, Jacob Grier, bartends.  Following that I will (likely) be spending a few days in Seattle before making a one day dash back to Minnesota.

All this is to say that posting here will be light over the next week.  I do have some prewritten content ready to go though, and I’m planning on having some downtime when I may manage to write a few pieces—so keep stopping by!  Enjoy the beginning of your lazy August days.

–DT

What Atrios said:

[I]t’s weird that mostly responsible drinking behavior by British teens is more disturbing to some than the blowout party binge drinking scenes one generally sees in US teen comedies. Even though the binge parties are portrayed as “fun” in some sense, there’s also the underlying message that somehow drinking is irresponsible behavior. When the adults show up the party’s over! Portray 16-18 year olds drinking without adults freaking out and suddenly it’s an issue.

I think things would be a lot better if we acknowledged that whatever valid risks and concerns exist, people drink and party and kiss and have sex because they want to and because it’s fun. People generally start doing these things long before society officially approves (sex) and before it’s legal (drinking), and only portraying these behaviors as irresponsible might make the official tut-tutters feel better about themselves, but it doesn’t actually encourage healthy behavior in these areas.