Johnny Appleseed: American Weirdo

Explorer's rare Scotch returned to Antarctic stash

(AP) SCOTTBASE, Antarctica - Talk about whisky on ice: Three bottles of rare, 19th century Scotch found beneath the floor boards of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackelton's [sic] abandoned expedition base were returned to the polar continent Saturday after a distiller flew them to Scotland to recreate the long-lost recipe.
But not even New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who personally returned the stash, got a taste of the contents of the bottles of Mackinlay's whisky, which were rediscovered 102 years after the explorer was forced to leave them behind. Continued

Police arrest five in raid on Catonsville saloon in 1912

 

(Towson Times) Samuel Bloom saloon on Frederick road at Paradise was raided Sunday night at 7 o'clock by Patrolmen Hutson and Phelps, of the Canton Police Station.
The patrolmen, who were dressed in plain clothes, say they entered the saloon and ordered bottle beer which was served to them. They then arrested Samuel Bloom, John Hall, a helper, and two other men as witnesses. All were taken to the Catonsville Police Station and released on a $500 bail. Continued

Temperance and Prohibition

(LoC) On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act providing for enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified nine months earlier. Known as the Prohibition Amendment, it prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" in the United States. Continued

Haussner's film shot in 1961

From the digital tour at the Baltimore Museum of Industry and the DVD, The Port that Built a City a short piece that includes an interview done by Helen Bentley in the stag bar at Haussner's and 16mm film footage of food being prepared and served.

A damaged landmark brought down in Springfield Township

(YDR) It took several tries, but a portion of Foust distillery's 125-foot-tall smokestack - built in the 1940s but never used - was brought down Tuesday in Springfield Township.
Sometimes, it seems, history doesn't want to be forgotten.
Phil Robinson, one of the partners who owns the land where remnants of the distillery remain, deployed a crew manning a crane and another piece of heavy equipment.
The red-brick smokestack had been struck by lightning twice earlier this month, rendering a fissure that runs from its top to bottom
Continued

Yesterday’s Moonshiner, Today’s Microdistiller

PARROTTSVILLE, Tenn. — This is a story about a man named Marvin Sutton and how he proved that the road from criminality to commodity is sometimes shorter than it looks. Until his death in 2009 at the age of 62, Mr. Sutton, known as Popcorn, was a moonshiner. He was not quite the last, as he often claimed, but he was probably the most famous ever to work out of Cocke County, which long had a claim as the nation’s moonshining capital.
It may yet again. As of last Thursday, microdistilleries are legal in Cocke County for the first time. Continued

New Year's Eve 1906

See also: New Year's Eve 1910

Prohibition: A fascinating Ken Burns series about the noble experiment

(Slate) What should a PBS viewer pour himself to enhance his enjoyment of Prohibition (PBS, Sunday through Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET)? In posing the question, I don't mean to suggest that this documentary, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, needs any help to go down easy. But it seems correct to celebrate the freedom to get one's buzz on.
The freedom is, of course, vastly more important than the buzz itself, as Prohibition notes in its closing words. Here, the writer Pete Hamill, one talking head among a distinguished roster, says that he has hasn't had a drink in three decades. But, hypothetically, he'd be proud to touch the stuff again in a public protest against any legislative attempt to deny his fellow citizens that right. Continued

Mrs. Damon Runyon's Serving Suggestion

Somehow, it just never occurred to me that Damon Runyon had a wife. I guess I confused his writing with his life, assuming he spent all his time screwed to a bar stool, drinking rye whisky and pounding out stories about gangsters and the such.

"Boardwalk Empire" State of Drink

(Cigar Aficionado) How do you celebrate the season premiere of a television show centered on the Prohibition era? By taking a drink, of course.
That's the premise behind the promotions for two separate whiskies as HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" starts it second season on Sunday. Canadian Club and Templeton Rye, both of which have historic connections to the dry era that ensued after America's 18th Amendment took effect in 1920, are suggesting a libation may go best with the return of the critically acclaimed cable series. Continued

Photo: Enoch L. ("Nucky") Johnson

Absinthe: Passé Already?

(NYTimes) - "You could say that absinthe is a kindred spirit of so many falsely subversive things: ear piercing for men, tattoos on women, those cigar bars, pole-dancing-aerobics classes, mind erasers, blogging about one’s bikini grooming, naming one’s bong after a cartoon character."

Oh well, it still tastes good, most of it.

Absinthe’s mind-altering mystery solved

(MSNBC) - An analysis of century-old bottles of absinthe — the kind once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh and Picasso to enhance their creativity — may end the controversy over what ingredient caused the green liqueur's supposed mind-altering effects. The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick.
... Laboratory tests found no other compound that could explain absinthe's effects. The scientists are set to detail their findings in the May 14 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Link

In related news, Albert Hofmann may or may not be dead. Was he ever here at all?

Image: inabsinthia

Kübling away the green hour: Absinthe Part 3

It's been a month or so since I last wrote about absinthe; since then the "Green Fairy" has been busy, you can now find absinthe in many liquor stores in the Maryland area. And in that same time, I have made my peace with Lucid. I drink it several times a week now. It remains an interesting experience and I find it goes well with cogitation. It goes well with pork rinds too (but don't tell the connoisseurs I said so).
The other day, I found a bottle of Kübler Absinthe Superieure at Midway Liquors (another great Route 40 institution; if you can't find it at Midway, you won't find it anywhere else 'round here.) Kübler is manufactured in Switzerland by a company that made it way back before Absinthe was banned, in one of the first great episodes of drug hysteria of the 20th century. It is a blanche absinthe meaning that, according to the Wikipedia, it "is bottled directly following distillation and is unaltered. It is a clear liquid which contains the distilled oils of the herbs used in its production." (Lucid is a verte absinthe meaning that, according to the Wikipedia, it "begins as a blanche. The distillate is altered by the 'coloring step' whereby a new mixture of herbs remain in contact with the clear distillate. This process greatly alters the color and flavor, imparting an emerald green hue and a heavier, more intense flavor.")
My first glass of Kübler was mixed in my usual 1:3.5 ratio of absinthe to water, even though the bottle recommends 1:5. "I could drink this all day," was my first thought. It was my second thought too. My third thought was that while Lucid invokes the dark mysteries of the Belle Époque, Kübler evokes a more pleasant occasion. One can easily picture a happy group whiling away a sunny afternoon drinking Kübler.
After all, Belle Époque translates as "the beautiful era," not the murderous rampage era; equating that time with Jean Lanfray is like thinking the 60's was all about Charles Manson. By 1913 France was consuming 60 liters of absinthe per inhabitant a year, it wasn't 'til after the ban that we all started slaughtering one another - the era we call World War One, not to mention the rest of that psychotic century. (Perhaps our own Beautiful Era has already come and gone, that short breather between the Cold War and the War On Terror? Hope you had fun - I did.)
My second glass was prepared in the recommended 1:5 ratio and was surprisingly good. I say surprising because Lucid, to me, tastes best at a 1:3.5 ratio, no more and no less; it is an exacting substance. The Kübler has a bit more of an anise flavor than Lucid, but much less than the Absente brand. Kübler also seems to lack the peppery aftertaste of both, which is unfortunate, but not unexpected as it is not a verte. Is Kübler my new favorite? I'm not sure. While Lucid is by far the most interesting drink of the three, I don't always want my drinks to be interesting. Nor do I want all my drinks to be unrelentingly pleasant. Absente, probably best classified as a pastis (but who really cares?), still beckons me with its rich licorice flavor. I think I will keep all three on hand to fit my mood - at least for now.

Illustrations courtesy of The Virtual Absinthe Museum and Wikipedia.

Pastis and a G-string: Absinthe part 2, Lucid (updated)

Absinthe became notorious for two reasons: it was popular with artists and it was thought to cause insanity. If you would like to be a crazy artist, here's two things to consider about absinthe.

1. Artists drank absinthe because it was the cheapest thing on the menu.

2. Absinthe won't make you crazier than any other alcoholic beverage will.

In part 1, we tried Absente and Green Moon, two drinks that may or may not be Absinthe, but we couldn't get our hands on "the real thing," that is, Lucid or Kübler. But that has changed as we found a store in NYC, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, that ships. And ships quickly, they must cater to the most demanding of alcoholics; our delivery got here, safe & sound, in 30 hours.
How is it? The good news is, just as reported, Lucid has less of a licorice taste than Absente. And, like Absente, it has a pleasant peppery aftertaste. The bad news is that it has a pronounced chemical taste, almost gassy in flavor, like a robot fart. I tried diluting it, but that just made it watery. For the second glass I doubled up on the sugar, and that helped a little, but I still wasn't loving it. I have yet to try a third glass.
It occurs to me that perhaps we don't have the same tastes as those who have come before us. Absinthe comes from a time when fruitcake and horehound candies were considered yummy. Another thought: while the makers of Lucid may have gotten it chromatographically correct, perhaps they should have given their concoction a little more soul, or at the very least, a bit more flavor. Having said that, I think I'll go have another. Next up, when I can afford it, Kübler - or maybe St. George Absinthe Verte.

Update: 3 cubes to the wind

Maybe I was a bit hasty with my first impressions. I tried Lucid with 3 sugar cubes; it made all the difference in the world. It's good, real good, and the chemical taste all but disappeared. Here's my recipe:

• 1 part Lucid absinthe
• 3 - 4 parts cold water
• 3 lumps sugar (1.5 tsp)
  

"The Absinthe Glass Show," Dita Von Teese (A different sort of historical reenactor than most.)

Go to Kübling away the green hour: Absinthe Part 3

Louching towards the Belle Époque: Part 1

I'm sure you have heard the news: Absinthe, that most demonized of all drinks, is back. Not only has it returned, it appears to be all the rage. We will spare you the usual blather and cut to the most important question: Should you buy a bottle?
For starters, you probably won't be able to find a bottle of the two most heralded brands in this area just yet, at least we couldn't. But we did find two brands worth considering.

The first "Absente" has all the ingredients, and is made in the same way, as traditional absinthe, except that the grande wormwood has been replaced with southern wormwood. The importer claims that it is still a true absinthe and Falmanac is inclined to agree.
The Second, Green Moon, is a "French vodka with Absinthe essence."
We found both in a gift box complete with a glass and a slotted spoon. The spoon is for preparing Absinthe in the traditional way. One places a shot of the stuff in the bottom of the glass, and then slowly pours cold water over a sugar cube, placed on the spoon, to taste. The cold water causes the mixture to "louche," which simply means it will turn color as the various ingredients come out of solution. (Contrary to urban myth, traditional preparation does not involve fire.)
And how does it taste? Like licorice mostly. There are other ingredients floating around in there, and your palette will find them in due time, but if you don't like licorice (anise actually), don't bother.
I found Absente to be an interesting concoction, simultaneously repellent and compelling - a lot like life in general. And I kept drinking.
Green Moon wasn't to my liking at all, though I think it would agree with those who enjoy the taste of flavored vodkas.
My testing partner, who doesn't like licorice, didn't care for either and quickly switched to Wild Turkey. "But it was fun," she said, "the little ritual with the spoon and all."
And I think that's the answer: Yes, buy a bottle, it's fun to try, but keep a backup drink on hand. What better way to spend a long winter's evening with friends, Pictionary? Bah.
We will write part 2 of the story when the two "authentic" absinthes available in the U.S., Lucid & Kübler, reach the local market.

Continue to Part 2