One shot: Why blog about liquor?

I did this for Critical Hit, so I'm doing it here too.

I used to not really give a hoot and holler about drink. I was a sober kid all through high school, but even then I began to develop an appreciation for fine cocktails. My father never drank beer, he didn't like it. He appreciated gin and tonics, amaretto sours and the like. At dinners we'd have cocktails and I'd sip them when I could, developing my palate.

As I grew into college I rarely indulged in the binge drinking so popular with the style of college partying*. I was a cocktail and micro-brew man. Don't get me wrong, I love a good beer but a good cocktail is something special. I didn't like cheap, and I didn't like wasteful amounts of booze in a drink for booze's sake. Which brings me to an important point:

Booze: an alcoholic liquid used in/to excess in order to generate a feeling of drunkenness, and/or to loosen inhibition.

Liquor: an alcoholic liquid either blended with other drinks or liquors, or enjoyed by itself and appreciated for its depths of flavor and ability to please the senses.

I drink liquor. I don't often engage in bacchanalian behavior, but when in the midst I usually stick to my guns. "I don't enjoy being drunk, I don't like what it does to me," to quote Remmington Steele, and I agree.

I drink because there's a certain kind of liquid artistry you can't just get from fruit juices and water. Liquors add levels upon levels of mystery and intrigue. Suddenly having a drink involves a process, a recipe. It asks for care, it asks for respect. Having a drink to me means letting the flavors tell their story, and remembering the world around me while the drink is in my hand. Good times, and sometimes bad ones too.

This blog was created so I could share my opinions on what I drink. I want to see on paper how I view the world I've come to respect as an art form, and I want to open some eyes to new and interesting things. Hopefully what Calvin and I write here will maybe get at least one person to try something new, or to try writing about what they do themselves maybe. I chose booze because besides video games, liquor is one other thing that truly and genuinely interests me. So here it is, a blog about drinking. I don't know how to taste all the intricate flavors or describe all the nuances in the meniscus, but I know what I like and I'll try to share a fair opinion on things as I try these new experiences. A fair deal of them will be new to me, so we can share in them together, yes?

On behalf of Calvin and myself, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy our exploits in this little corner of the internet. Be well, be safe, be happy and most of all...drink well.

-Joe

*Always drink responsibly. That should be a goddamn given by now. Nothing makes me frown harder than a platinum haired co-ed stumbling by holding a red cup filled with straight vodka, asking where the bathroom is. Have a little self-respect, and respect for the drink.

Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum

"Where's the rum gone?" -Captain Jack Sparrow

Rum and me have had a rocky history. I went from loving the spirit as one would love a traveling companion, to considering it 4th or 5th on my choice for a fine drink. There are a plethora of classifications for rum in the rum family tree. Dark, Gold, Silver, Spiced...etc. My roommate, the unflappable John Gosling is related to the brewing family and that is our home's staple rum, thought I admit to only trying a sip or two. It's powerful stuff. I really only drink one kind of rum to date, and that's spiced Rum. Un-spiced light rum is tremendously disgusting to me in most forms. I'm going to concentrate my reflection on a particular spiced rum, and that is the classic staple of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum.

Spiced rum has, quite literally a spicy flavor. "DUH," I hear you cry. Well hear me out. Light rums such as Bacardi silver don't have a whole lot of body to them. They sit more like a vodka once the bite is gone: flying down the throat and working their magic. Spiced rums sit on the palate and dances for you for a while, tickling sweet and hot areas of the tongue while they're there and even for a while after they're gone. Rum is made mostly from molasses, and with the addition of a little spice they suddenly become lovely, golden mystery liquids. I prefer rums on a sunny day, out of doors maybe by water. Rum is great for poolside behavior, or water activities. It is a bit of a stereotypically tropical drink, but for a good reason. That sweet spicy flavor pairs well with hot weather, providing a damn near ethnic kick to keep the mind lucid after or during a particularly hot sunbathing session.

If you're a fan of a quick, easy to make, very sippable and sweet alternative to the cheek-puckering Jack and Coke, give Rum and Coke a shot. 1.5 to 2 oz of spiced rum over ice in a highball glass, Coke to fill. Try it out someday.

Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum is publicly known for its aggressive ad campaign. By this point time it's rare to find someone who hasn't had a little Captain in them. The drink is a mainstay in most collegiate drink cabinets (right next to the Jaeger. read: WOOOOOCOLLEGEOOOO!!!). The first time I had Captain Morgan it was my freshman year of college. I was reading up on mixed drinks and feeling saucy, when I ended up coming across a simple recipe for a drink called Pirate's Tea.

• 1.5oz to 2oz of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
• Coke-Cola to fill
  
• Pulp-free Orange Juice to color
• Garnish with lemon wedge or little-umbrella...or little sword with lemon on it, that's more piratey.

1. Using a highball or collins glass, drop two ice cubes.
2. Add the rum. x1.5 if you're using the collins glass.
   
3. Add the Coke to just below the rim.
4. Use the orange juice to color it a ruddy orange/brown.

The drink turned out to be incredibly delicious and easy to make. My friend Calvin and I spent many evenings drinking amaretto sours and pirate's teas, while playing Karaoke Revolution. The drink was a welcome companion through my 2nd Chicago winter.

Rum can be a very enjoyable, drinkable and affordable beverage. Sticking to the mainstream Bacardi and Captain will save you the green, but give Gosling's a shot the next time a food recipe calls for a dark rum. It's heavy body will add a savory splash of flavor.

Bottom Line: Have it around. People love this stuff, and you probably will too. Main stays: Spiced and Light rums. If you want: Dark and Premium rums. If a bunch of sissies are coming over: Malibu Coconut rum (<-- I can't stand the stuff. Too sweet. "A vice needs to taste like a vice."- Calvin Pohlhammer.)

Dos Equis Amber

I went out to a delicious cocina known as Casa Blanca tonight with my friends Kenny and Clay. We love going to this place for their affordable and well priced Mexican fare. But the one thing that they do well, VERY well, is booze. They make a killer margherita, but I wanted to try something a little less heavy for the evening. I love their ad campaign, they drink it in Achewood...I ordered a tall mug of Dos Equis Amber.

Dos Equis Amber is a smooth beer. I was surprised at first. It's dark color made me expect something with a lot more bite. It was served in a MASSIVE glass mug with a single quarter slice of lime. I squeezed the lime into the mug, wishing I had a 2nd lime. I took a sip, and took another and another. It wasn't quite as zesty as lighter beers (see: Corona w/lime and Miller Chill), but it was damn smooth. The lime slice was welcome, I don't think it would have been nearly as smooth without it, depite the citrus zing.

If you like a little citrus in your beer, you're probably drinking Corona w/lime, Miller Chill, Bud Light Lime or Blue Moon already, but give a mug of Dos Equis Amber a shot. I always prefer beer draught, but if you can only get it in a bottle, insist on a lime.

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do I prefer Dos Equis."

He really is the most interesting man alive.