I have been experimenting with taking old (pre 1950) original photos I find at flea markets and playing around with them to make them a little happier. Amazing what some color and attitude can do. This one shows a person fishing on a backwater intercoastal waterway around 1950.
In my true form, my lack of any actual floral knowledge allowed me to paint this tree as wacky as I wished 🙂
September is Bourbon Heritage Month which means that I will be partaking in the beverage a little more than usual this month. The national observance was first declared in 2007, and has been celebrated in Kentucky and around the country ever since.
I figured that since it is the start of the month that I would offer a brief history of bourbon to kick off these celebrations.
On a somewhat lazy Sunday in late August I decided to walk around Manhattan looking for a place to continue writing my novel. I luckily stumbled across my favorite Mid Town East French haunt Le Bateau Ivre. Of course, I had to have a drink to better relax and enjoy the fine music being played. I chose a St Julien – Chateau Lalande 2009 – which proved to be the perfect selection for the day. It was amazingly well balanced and showed all of the characteristics of the little town that make it my favorite of Bordeaux. The jazz band that played today was perfectly on queue with both spirit of play with a perfect pick-up attitude and spicey blend for the day. They were as follows : Andy Friedberg on guitar, Steve Doyle on the sublime Bass, and Yuichi Hirkawa on the ever present and truckin drum kit. Read the rest of this entry »
After a 3 month hiatus, the Jameson’s Bar in Midtown (Turtle Bay to be exact) reopened looking like a thoroughbred horse compared to its origins of being a work-horse neighborhood pub. Fantastic metamorphosis!
The night was capped off with an Irish Coffee made with my favorite Irish liquid Powers Whiskey
Everyone, you must check out this place. Fun times are guaranteed to happen in this sophisticated setting.
So I sat in a Houston hotel lobby this week waiting for colleagues to arrive to enjoy a nice steak dinner. While I waited I decided to enjoy a Manhattan made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Like many bourbon drinkers, Woodford has been one of my go to bourbons for a long time now. This is due to a few easy reasons; it is very smooth, full of flavor, and possibly most importantly, it is available in most of the nicer bars around the country. Availability should never be underestimated!
On that note, what I interesting is that while nicer bourbons are fairly common in the United States, they can be very hard to come by in other parts of the world. Bourbon simply doesn’t get the respect it deserves around the globe, especially when compared to Scotch and Vodka. Far too often when I ask for a good bourbon in far away lands I get Jack Daniels. No disrespect to good old Jack, but it simply does not reflect the fantastic bourbons that can and should be offered instead.
I think we should remedy this, what do you think?
I happened to be lucky enough to be in Seattle on the day of the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Victory Parade. While admittedly I am not a Seahawks fan, I have to say it was cool being around so many festive and excited people. Read the rest of this entry »
Even a chain restaurant, using one of the most common bourbons, can make this drink properly. The Southern chain Smokey Bones which I assume is famous for, well.. um.. smokey bones (ribs) can make a basic, but completely satisfying Manhattan. Using just the essential and prescribed ingredients such as Markers Mark, Angostura Bitters and whatever-the-bartender-grabbed-out-of-the-well vermouth hit the spot that night. Sometimes, when everyone else around you is drinking beer from a bucket and slurring their words, a proper drink comes as a perfect break.
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