Happy Hour Trivia
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bar snacks
Happy Hour Trivia |
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The Mickey Finn
There are two stories about the origin of this "knockout" cocktail. One says that Mickey
was a San Francisco barkeep who drugged his customers and sold them as sailors to
the nearest shipping company; and the second story says that Mickey was a saloon
proprietor in Chicago. Some say that he was merely trying to render unmanageable
customers harmless, while others claim that he knocked them out in order to rob them.
Whatever the truth, the Chicago Finn claimed to have bought the recipe from voodoo
priests in New Orleans, and if we want to make a Mickey Finn these days, I'm afraid
that we'll just have to go Way Down Yonder ourselves--the recipe is lost.
The Gimlet
Like the Daiquiri, the Gimlet was invented as a medicinal potion. Presumably, the gin,
with its supposed diuretic properties, added to the scurvy preventative, lime juice, made
a great deal of sense to Sir T.O. Gimlette, a late-nineteenth-century doctor in the British
Navy.
Since Rose's Lime Juice, created by Lauchlin Rose, was already on board most naval vessels by the time Sir Gimlette concocted his eponymous cocktail, I believe that the drink was not originally made with fresh lime juice, but with Rose's. Gimlette probably just added gin to the lime juice to make the sailors more willing to drink it. |
| HAPPY HOUR PICKS OF THE WEEK |
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Gary's Picks of the Week have included: (compiled by both Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan) SpiritBalvenie 21-year-old PortWood Single Malt Scotch An extremely complex malt that shows its age in the faint brandy-like quality present at the very end of the palate experience. The only sign of port is in the initial sweetness at the very beginning of the nose which is also honeyed with notes of leather, heather, and moss. Other flavors on the palate include tobacco a very healthy shot of black pepper that darts hither and thither on the tongue. The finish is long and warm. Overall, this is a tough whisky with lots of bite and gusto. We recommend adding just a drop of water, although with a healthy dose of water, some of the sweet port-like character present in the nose does seem to become more evident.Paul's Picks of the Week have included: BeerSteenbrugge Tripel Blond (Belgium) Pale gold/straw appearance, whipped cream foam, long lasting head, completely pure; the strange and malodorous nose right after the pour is precisely like dish water yecch subsequent passes expose more correct scents such as hops, dried flowers, herbs, and malt the final aromatic pass ends up being quite pleasant in a hoppy way I was glad to see the soapy quality blow off; in the mouth, this tripel is finely balanced and harmonious as measured tastes of rich malt, dry hops, and bitter fruits meld together at midpalate, providing a genuinely delicicious flavor experience; the finish is polite, elegant, and long in a dry, tongue-on-stone manner; the comeback kid, this one.
Brouwerij de Gouden Boom, Brugge, Belgium Importer: Phoenix Imports, Ltd., Ellicott City, MD Spirit Journal Rating-**** WineLockwood 1996 Estate Grown Chardonnay, Monterey County, California Price: $16.00 This estate grown Chardonnay is crafted in a style which is both complex and subtle, emphasizing the vineyard's high varietal fruit composition. It's a perfect wine for casual entertaining or lightly spiced foods. Shows exceptional richness. Serve only slightly chilled for maximum flavor. |
| Happy Hour Cocktails of the Week |
The Singapore SlingA coaster from Raffles Hotel reads: "I had the original Singapore Sling at Raffles hotel. It was created by Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915 at the Long Bar. It is made with Beefeater gin, Peter Heering, D.O.M., Cointreau, Pineapple and lime juice, Angostura." In The Gentleman's Companion, (Crown Publishers, 1946) Charles H. Baker writes: "Just looking around the terrace porch we've seen Frank Buck, the Sultan of Johore, Aimee Semple, Somerset Maugham, Dick Hallinburton, Doug Fairbanks, Bob Ripley, Ruth Elder and Walter Camp. . .When our soft footed Malay boy brings the 4th Sling and finds us peering over the window sill at the cobra-handling snake charmers tootling their confounding flutes below he murmurs jaga baik-baik Tuan'-- jaga bye-bye too-wan,' as it is in English--or "take care master" as it means in English. The Singapore Sling is a delicious, slow-acting, insidious thing." Gary and Mardee's favorite recipe is:
The Oatmeal CookieFrom New Classic Cocktails by Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan, Macmillan, 1997
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