One for the Cup

On June 7, 2018 the Washington Capitals finally won the Stanley Cup. Hot damn.

They did it!

One for the Road... Fat-Washing

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 physique: fat-washing. 

A couple of years back John wrote about one of my favorite drinks: the Boulevardier. A lesser known but fantastic cousin to the Negroni, where bourbon or rye substitutes for the gin in approximately equal parts, depending on your taste, with Campari and sweet vermouth. 

But this isn't about the Boulevardier, per se. This is about Campari. Nay, this is about fat. Specifically, this is about fat-washing.

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.