He may not like Kahlua.
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Then all you need to do is substitute the rum for ouzo.
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Rum? I have absolutely zero against alternative lifestyles, but shouldn’t that be rump?
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I know folks aren’t fans of Robert Bork around here. His letter to the editor of the WSJ in 2003 is nevertheless perfect:
Martini’s Founding Fathers: Original Intent Debatable
Eric Felten’s essay on the dry martini is itself near-perfect (Don’t Forget the Vermouth – WSJ Leisure & Arts, Pursuits, Dec. 10). His allusion to constitutional jurisprudence is faulty, however, since neither in law nor martinis can we know the subjective “original intent” of the Founding Fathers. As to martinis, the intent may have been to ease man’s passage through this vale of tears or, less admirably, to employ the tactic of “candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.”
What counts in mixology is the “original understanding” of the martini’s essence by those who first consumed it. The essence remains unaltered but allows proportions to evolve as circumstances change. Mr. Felten’s “near-perfect martini” is the same in principle as the “original-understanding martini” and therefore its legitimate descendant. Such latter-day travesties as the chocolate martini and the raspberry martini, on the other hand, are the work of activist bartenders.
Mr. Felten lapses into heresy only once. He prefers the olive to the lemon peel because the former is a “snack.” Dropping a snack into a classic drink is like garnishing filet mignon with ketchup. The correct response when offered an olive is, “When I want a salad, I’ll ask for it.”
Robert H. Bork
The Hudson Institute
Washington
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Ouzo’s good too. But less giffy.
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Sounds interesting.
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Hot day. Tall glass of crushed ice. Fill with Ouzo. Wait til fingers freeze to the glass, then drink. Yes.
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Not for light drinkers, but then, he wasn’t one.
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He was not a light drinker. He was a dark drinker. I totally sympathize.
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Lips that touch gin never will win.
Lips that touch wine will never touch mine.
Lips that touch whiskey… okay, let’s get frisky.
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Wholeheartedly this ^
(the bartenders are not really to blame, their [expletive redacted] customers demand such abominations.)
In opposition to my politics, I’m conservative like Bork when it comes to drinking. The only cocktail I care for is gin and tonic (Tanqueray, please) with a lot of lime, and that is reserved for hot weather. Otherwise, vodka is kept in the freezer for shots, and scotch is for sipping at room temperature, perhaps with a bit of room temperature water. That’s it.
The overwhelming demand for making alcohol no longer taste like alcohol with all manner of additives–particularly by making it taste cloyingly sweet–completely baffles me.
Hemingway’s cocktail seems like it may be complimentary, though, given the extreme amount of gin involved. When gin season rolls around again, I may try it just to say that I have, though I’m skeptical that it can make the cut for regular consumption.
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I can’t get past the picture.
That’s dark considering everything.
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Well, he did like it dark. Another libation of his: Death in the Afternoon. It’s champagne and absinthe.
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Yesterday’s tall glass (in terms of bar ware) was much smaller than todays typical tall glass. You’re not talking about a 16 or 20 oz tumbler. More likely a 10.5oz high ball, which is a pretty standard old school/classic size. Then you’re filling it with crushed ice which takes up a fuck ton of space. You’ll probably get around 4oz to 6 oz of gin in there. Not sure as I have not actually tried my 10.5oz highballs from work with crushed ice. And depending on how much juice you get out of that lime. Usually around an ounce.
That’s no more alcohol than your typical martini these days. In Hemingway’s time a typical martini was two ounces. As it was in the hey day of the three martini lunch. Standard size today is made with ~ 4oz of gin/vodka and dilution from stirring/shaking and additions like vermouth rounding it out to around 5 to 6oz. But martini glasses over 10 oz aren’t uncommon these days.
Point being. Hemingway’s tall glass of gin over crushed ice likely wasn’t anymore hooch than you get with a martini at your average bars these days. Which is indeed a lot of alcohol, just not uniquely so.
Oh and Holland Gin here probably refers to Jenever which is vastly different to typical London Dry gins. And there really isn’t a substitution, though from what I understand of the history and Old Tom gin is gonna be closer than most other styles.
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That must be one dangerous turd. I shudder to think what he must have eaten.
Hemingway wasn’t a light weight.
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You had me at “drink.”
But to be realistic, mixed drinks are too much work when you can just open a bottle and take a pull.
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“Darkness warshed over the country…”
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