A Celebration of The Dude... by three dudes

March 6 is a special day of the year for the guys here at A&T. For it was on this day (or thereabouts), twenty years and a few acid flashbacks ago, that the world first met The Dude. Or El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing. As with most great works of art, the film in question was not appreciated immediately upon release (perhaps a source of subconscious inspiration for the drinks that follow). Over time, however, it has evolved from a late-night, dorm room classic to a national treasure. No, seriously - in 2014 the Library of Congress selected it to be added to the National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance. While that's just, like, their opinion, man, we get it. So today, on the Day of the Dude, we honor The Big Lebowski.

One for the Road... Now they call me Mr. Bitterness

In "One for the Road", one of the guys takes a quick run at a topic for your reading pleasure. Themes will vary, from classic drinks to hand-crafted ingredients and creations of their own, or whatever suits them at the moment. This go around, Pablo delves into a topic befitting his personality: bitters. 

A few years ago Gabriella Mlynarczyk said (not to me, in an interview) that “technically, in the classic cocktail world, a cocktail is not a cocktail unless it contains bitters. If you don’t add bitters, you can taste something missing. They add this final kind of balance that brings everything together–like the glue.”

For Repeal Day, a celebration of creation... sorta. Introducing the Graveyard of Empires

The subject of today's post is irony.

Specifically, the irony of a cocktail with the nickname of a place where you can't buy alcohol. The irony of a cocktail--image of refinement and the subtle interplay of flavors--named after a country at war.

Specifically, the Graveyard of Empires.

Before anyone starts heating up the righteous indignation, I should point out that this isn't an Afghanistan joke, it's a colonialism joke.

The actual origin of "graveyard of empires" as a nickname for Afghanistan is obscure, but it's not something the Afghans themselves invented--rather it was applied by one colonial power or another in bitter recognition that they had joined the roster of centuries' worth of invaders who had tried and failed to hold on to the country. Most recently the roster has included the British, Soviets and--dare we say it--Americans, but the succession of attempts goes back at least as far as Alexander the Great, long before there was a nation on the map with the name "Afghanistan." Regardless, the political accuracy of the term isn't at issue;

Saffron is.

One for the Road... Batched Drinks.

In "One for the Road", one of the guys takes a quick run at a topic for your reading pleasure. Themes will vary, from classic drinks to hand-crafted ingredients and creations of their own, or whatever suits them at the moment. This go around, John discusses batched drinks and a new A&T original: The Margarita O' Love.

Background 
Over the past couple of years I've been experimenting more and more with pre-made drinks batched at varying scales. This has included traditional punches - as documented on this very blog back in 2014 - batched cocktails served from dispensers (a quasi-punch), and pre-bottled cocktails. Having a few tried and true recipes in your repertoire can be super useful when you don't want to spend your entire evening behind the bar, or if you're working a large event and want guests to have easy access to a drink without having to wait in line for one that is made to order.

One for the Road... What the Fernet?

In "One for the Road", one of the guys takes a quick run at a topic for your reading pleasure. Themes will vary, from classic drinks to hand-crafted ingredients and creations of their own, or whatever suits them at the moment. For his first go around on the blog, A&T's newest contributor Pablo delves into an ingredient as incorrigible as he is: Fernet Branca.

Introductions
In case you haven't noticed, David and John have been a touch delinquent with their posting around here of late. Just because they aren't writing about it doesn't mean they aren't still mixing drinks and talking about it behind the scenes on a regular basis. In fact, there's been an addition to those ongoing discussions (we have the What's App group to prove it), and he's ready to jump into the fray and shake this blog out of its doldrums. So without further ado, we welcome the shiny new addition to A&T: Pablo. 

Two Guys and a Drink: Once Upon a Cape

In "Two Guys and a Drink", Dave and John focus on a single drink and experiment with multiple recipes and ingredients as they search for their own "perfect" recipe. Of course, the "perfect" recipe is purely subjective; as with life, the cocktail is a journey, not a destination, and you should find your own. For this post, they are taking on a travel-inspired original: Once Upon a Cape

Check, check... is this thing on? What do you know, it is. 
So, you may have noticed we've been MIA on the blog for a while. But that doesn't mean we haven't been documenting our drinking endeavors. Keep an eye out for our more regular online activities on Facebook here and Instagram here and here.

Background

Enjoying the view... or contemplating
ratios for a new A&T Original?

It's rare the two halves of A&T are in the same time zone, let alone in the same room long enough to share a drink together in person. For a few blissful weeks in October, though, David and John managed to squeeze in a much needed reunion in beautiful South Africa. From Faerie Glen to Maboneng, Hout Bay to Franschhoek, Pilanesberg to... some very off-the-beaten-path destination in Limpopo, the A&T crew rode again. And wouldn't you know, they came up with a drink to commemorate the whole thing. 

One for the Road... the Old Diplomat

In "One for the Road", one of the guys takes a quick run at a topic for your reading pleasure. Themes will vary, from classic drinks to hand-crafted ingredients and creations of their own, or whatever suits them at the moment. This go around, John presents an original: the Old Diplomat.

Background 
Back in June our friends over at Cait+Tiff presented me with a small but thoughtful gift: a bottle of Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters. Never having worked with chocolate bitters before, I immediately started researching and testing recipes, including a variation of the Sparrow, a distant cousin of the Boulevardier. The great thing about new ingredients, of course, is that it sparks the imagination.

A few weeks later in July, I did a shoot with Tiff at Samai, a local rum distillery here in Phnom Penh. In between takes, our host Daniel let me try some of the high end rums Samai keeps on hand for inspiration. Being something of a rum novice, it was an eye opening experience. There was one bottle in particular, Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, that I just could not get out of my head.