10 February
2020
9 February
2020
From the bartender’s corner: Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique
I have to admit there are not too many weirder cocktail names I have seen compared to this. I had no idea what this name meant. Studied it up and learnt that in the movie “Kill Bill” (which I have never seen), there was apparently a type of “Touch of Death” (look this one up in Wikipedia) where a person is hit in five different pressure points in the body. Then, when the person moves, after five steps, his/her heart explodes. Presumably leading to death.
Even after that explanation, I have no clue what connection this cocktail has to it. But something must have inspired Erick Castro – the mixologist at Polite Provisions in San Diego to come up with this name.
This has mezcal, sweet vermouth, coffee liqueur and chocolate bitters.
Fairly desultory to the nose and the palate.
9 February
2020
From the bartender’s corner – Fire and Ice
A few days back, a colleague of mine – Denise Piatt – talked about a cocktail she had at Mockingbird Cafe in Dundee, IL. It is a bourbon based drink but she liked the kick of the jalapenos and cinnamon in it.
Last night I tried a variation of it. Instead of jalapenos, I muddled in some Ahi Chileno that we had brought from Chile. Instead of muddling cinnamon, I went with the Goldschlager cinnamon liqueur.
Additionally, this has maple and bourbon.
Was a great cocktail for the snowed in evening in Atlanta. And to go with the theme of Fire and Ice, I had it while sitting in 102 degrees water out in the snow!!
9 February
2020
Sunday morning puzzle.
(well, evening, if you are on the other side of the world).
Start by getting six identical coins. Arrange them in the pattern “A” as shown in the picture. (An equilateral triangle).
The goal is to eventually land up with the pattern “B” – again, as shown in the picture. (A straight line).
Here are the rules…
1. You cannot lift a coin – merely slide from its current position to the new position.
2. You move one coin at a time.
3. When you move a coin, no other coin changes position.
4. IMPORTANT: When you move a coin to a new position, in that new position, it MUST touch TWO other coins at least.
Finally, this is not a trick question – nor is there any sleight of the hand involved.
I am sure there are many ways of doing it but the one I got needed me 7 moves. (Not sure if that is the shortest way though)
8 February
2020
Snow Day in Atlanta
8 February
2020
National Flag Colors!
8 February
2020
Out in the snow
2 February
2020
From the bartender’s corner : Naked and Famous
Created by Joaquin Simo when he was the mixologist at Death and Co (in New York City), this has equal parts mezcal, aperol, chartreuse and lime juice. I went with a trifle lower portion of lime juice (I do not like strong citrus feel in the tongue). This was first published in Ron Cooper’s book “Finding Mezcal”.
The chartreuse and aperol are fairly strong to the palate and the nose respectively. The earthiness of the the mezcal shows up only at the other end of the length. Especially, if you hold the drink for a while in your mouth!!
1 February
2020
Apparently, I had 27 standing hours in a 24 hour day
Apple Watch tracks how much time you spend sitting versus standing. The current thought process is that sitting – especially for extended periods of time – is not good for your physical health. The watch tracks if you have stood up at least once in an hour and moved around. The goal it sets is 12 such hours. Every hour, if you have not stood up and moved, it beeps you with a stern message – a la my primary school teachers – “Stand up”.
That watch thinks that I have achieved 27 such hours yesterday. (Of course, it got fooled by the fact that I was traveling against the spin of the earth and therefore “gained” extra hours in a “day”)
28 January
2020
