ISO Martini

One of my research assignments is “ISO the perfect Martini”.  I’ve done a lot of research – not just drinking, but also asking around and asking people who think about such things.  I have a three page correspondence from an esteemed faculty member of the prestigious Ivey Business School on his own research and thoughts!

While i sit with all that, and consider a book publication, i wonder if the martini is so personal that it’s somehow linked to one’s own DNA/heritage.

If so, I believe I’ve discovered the perfect Swedish Martini all one my own.  Although the Jacobson part of my family that immigrated from Sweden were almost certainly teetotalers, there is something about this recipe that hits to my core.

Swedish Martini recipe

2 parts Vodka

I part Martini glass

One small ice cube [really small]

Whisper the words “pickled herring” and “vermouth” as you drop the ice cube in the martini glass

Garnish with a toast to the Tre Kronor and repeat

 

 

WOWEE – Stoli Gold

One of the funniest Oke family references is … “Before u leave the house, think of the acromyn ‘WOWEE’

Wallet, phOne, Wkeys, Egg, Back up Egg

I don’t even pretend to understand the level of silliness that makes my daughters tick. Actually, I do try to understand, but mostly just nod and laugh at/with them.

This past week my daughter M and i discovered Stolichnaya Gold Vodka. Dang, those Latvians make a fine vodka.  I was also interested in drinking “Stoli” after watching Stranger Things [i won’t spoil anything]. Stoli Gold [as the cool LCBO workers call it] is on sale right now and is delicious served straight at room temperature – it’s equally delicious served out of the freezer with a grapefruit peel. I do love the oily film that the freezer gives my vodka. I also love how pretty it photographs.

Stoli Gold – now the official vodka of pullthecork, so i bought a backup.

Egg, backup egg

Stolichnaya Gold Vodka 750 mL bottle  |   LCBO#:  557827

$31.95 WAS $34.95 SAVE $3.00 Limited Time Offer
Until July 21, 2019

 

 

 

House Whiskey Rules

I love rules.  I love making them up.

I’m crafting a house whiskey rule.  It’s loosely based on the the “dating somebody younger than you” rule [that rule is “half your age + 7, so i’ve been told].

*btw – house whiskey, according to Urban Dictionary.com, is the whiskey that you normally drink and don’t save for a special occasion.

My house whiskey gets more expensive every year so I made up a House Whiskey Rule. “My age – $15” is my new price point.

This allows the younger people to buy up Johnnie Walker Red and Crown Royal whatever it’s called and leaves me with a good selection of choices.

Right now my new rule allows me to drink Jameson Caskmates. Well played Travis. At $39 a bottle one can only guess my age. Dang I look good for $39.

 

Also, I can look forward to growing into more expensive house whiskies. If I live to the age of 315 I can drink Johnnie Walker Blue every day! Happy thought indeed.

Martini and Squash

I’ve decided that i’m going to do a series of misleading titles for my articles. An hommage to “fake news” as it were. So i start with “Martini & Squash”, a combination that works terribly gastronomically, but brilliantly in a photo session.

Also, when i say “martini”, this is really just gin in a cool stemless martini glass with a bit of grapefruit peel.  I know, it’s really deceptive – but today i wore my WWRD* bracelet and i can’t help myself.

So pretty photo huh.  Great little squashes huh. Good use of the word huh, huh?.

*What Would a Republican Do

Cocktail in a Tin

What is it that you love to eat out of a tin? Spam? Herring and spam. Beans, spam, spam,  and spam – that’s not got much spam in it.

Well good news tin lovers. There is a  growing trend of cocktails in a tin and just in time for the long weekend and the royal wedding.

How’s this for a long weekend treat in a tin …  vodka, soda, gin, tonic, lemon, pomelo, and cucumber walk into a bar ….

First, Muskoka’s Docker.  It’s a G&T made with Muskoka’s Legendary Oddity Gin [which i honestly can’t believe i haven’t blogged about] and a little cucumber and lime. This drink is officially declared “divine”. “Sweet baby Bacchus” divine. Available at most LCBO stores, it’s a responsible 4% AVB, and endorsed by every single gin drinker in the world. Rumour has it that Harry and Meghan love it.

SocialLite continues their contribution to the world of tinned cocktails with a new Vodka and soda this summer that kinda makes me mad that i didn’t think of marketing this and getting rich.  Zero sugar and Zero sweetener is their mantra – or at least part of it – i think their real mantra is “why are we making stuff so good to drink”.  This summer’s flavours are Lemon Cucumber Mint and Grapefruit Pomelo. Remember, there’s also Vodka and Soda – a combination as old as creation itself.

Get ahead of the #trending curve and bring some tinned cocktails to a cottage or a party near you this summer. All the cool kids are doing it [i.e. Harry and Meghan].

 

Cinco de Mayo edition

This Cinco de Mayo consider the piñata [cinco de mayo loosely translates as “the fifth of May”]. Beautiful, noble beasts that are the life of the party. But there is a dark side so obvious that i’ve missed it before today.

We tell Señor Piñata how beautiful he is, hug him,  stuff him full of candy, make him feel loved, invite some friends over for a piñata party, and then bash the heck out of him with a bat!  What kind of a sick joke is that?

Also, Napoleon sounds like a jerk. Also, i’ve heard he has bad breath.

So get yourself to a cinco de mayo party today. The Guava Saison is selling like Mexican hot cakes at the Muddy York and they have a party today.

Or go out and buy a gateway tequila that may lead to other more expensive tequilae.

Isn’t it fitting that the Mexicans rode humongous chickens while defeating the Spanish? Also, this delicious tequila is under $40.

And the happy ending to this story – besides the Mexicans not being held under Spanish oppression – is that this little guy was rescued by my daughter M and is now safely in a burro sanctuary.

Little Sister

I have an affinity for the scotch whisky Bowmore 12. It is a perfect blend of sweet and salty with hints of peat that speak to me. I’m convinced that I love the taste of the sea and the smell of peat because it’s in my Irish and Scottish DNA. If I was a rich man I would drink it often. However, $65 a bottle runs a little higher than my “daily dram” should.

Well good news everyone  – I found Bowmore 12’s little sister. Té Bheag [pr. che-vek, and say it like a Klingon just for fun] is a delicious $40 blended scotch whisky. It’s not a refined, fine filly of a single malt that nuzzles up to you, but she’s a noble beast in her own right [i tried my hand a poetry there – I’ll stick with blogging maybe].

The collection – and yes that is a ferret guarding the Whiskey cellar

Local Caesars

There are so many local foods that excite me in Guelph.  Soon it’s time to harvest local Fiddleheads! Royal City Brewing Company released a perfectly lovely Berlinner Weisse  this week – “No Sleep Till Berlin” –  and of course the Farmers Market in Guelph gets me and my Coco up every Saturday morning at 6:30 to discover what’s new.

But as i prepare for summer i start thinking about Caesars – Canada’s version of ‘Merica’s Bloody Mary.

Dixon’s Distillery of Guelph makes a clever little vodka designed for the Caesar – their “Flaming Caesar Vodka”.   With hints of celery salt, chili heat, and garlic – it makes a great Caesar.  But hey, a picture says a thousand words – so here are 3.000 more that are easy to read.

 

 

 

How the Irish Saved Civilization

St Patrick’s Day is upon us and i thought it an appropriate time to educate readers on just how the Irish “make the moonshine”.  Heh, that’s a line from our new favourite family show – Moonshiners [and please, if the show is fake, i don’t wanna hear tell about it].  And yes, the title of this blog borders on being unethically misleading – or is it ethically misleading? Did you say ethically misleading?

In all simplicity, whiskey/whisky is moonshine aged in barrels.

In Canada we normally make our moonshine from rye. In Kentucky they use corn, or at least some combination of rye and corn. In Ireland and Scotland the best are usually made from malted barley.  In Scotland peat is sometimes used to dry the barley, resulting in the distinctive peat nose and taste.  In Ireland they don’t peat [except for Connemara] and they ….

You know what – I’m just complicating things.  I find it fascinating, but i don’t want to start sounding like one of those people for whom the minutia of their dream is far more interesting to them than the listener.

So suffice it to say that i added this to my whiskey cellar just in time for March 17th. Also, I’m gonna read some of Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization today.

 

SuperBowl thoughts

Wow!

Also, I saved this since my trip to the US of A this summer. Cracked it open on the kickoff.

But man [or humans as I call them] cannot live on watery beer alone – at least in the winter.

So I went into the whiskey cellar to choose between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey – wait, this is sounding like a George Thorogood and the Destroyers song. Wait again – that couldn’t really have been the name of that band. Wait – Tom Brady did what ?

So in a very real way Bourbon won the SuperBowl.  But good season Yeungling.