Quote of the Day

“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”
--Ernest Hemingway

Smokes and Booze: Remember the Alamo (a recipe)

First attempt at this- A Blog repost.

On this day in history...the Alamo falls.

Here's to those brave men that stood for what they believed in.

http://www.thealamo.org/


Smokes and Booze: Remember the Alamo (a recipe): "Below you will find a brief story of the Alamo, beginning with this day in History (Feb 24, 1836). So, to commemorate these brave souls..."

This Day in History–“Scotty” was born

On this day in history, March 3rd 1920, the person to play one of the most memorable characters in Star Trek, James Doohan, was born.

While we all know of his exploits as Scotty, not many also realize that the Irish-Canadian Actor was a also a WW2 Veteran, who got his first combat experience on Juno Beach during D-Day.  During the invasion, he was wounded by friendly fire, being shot 6 times (four in the leg, one in the chest and one hand causing him to lose a finger).  The potentially mortal shot was deflected by a silver cigarette case…..who said smoking would kill you?

Even though he had many other acting roles in his career, of course he will always be remembered as Scotty, the Scottish Engineer aboard the USS Enterprise.  Through this role, he inspired countless young techies (yours truly included) and taught us WHO really ran things behind the scenes. 

He enacted Scotty Principle, that was best defined in the STNG Episode Relics -

"You told him how long it would actually take you? How do you expect to be considered a Miracle worker if you tell them how long it will really take."

This is a principle that I still use to this very day.

James went on to pass away on July 20th 2005 of pneumonia….on the the Anniversary of Apollo 11 lunar landing.  Fitting, if you ask me.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for him (especially since he reminds me of my own father), so please join me in raising a toast on his birthday.

Cheers Scotty……Thanks for making life fun and being an inspiration.

 

<Ed Note- Sorry for the poor quality of the vid, it was the best I could find>

This Day in History

Jan 11 1964

The US Surgeon General warns against smoking for the first time.

Here was my first Blog Post about it

The Worlds most interesting (wo)Man

We’ve all seen the Dos Equis “World’s Most interesting man commercials…..but I think I have found the Worlds most interesting Woman.

Amazing life: Fleeing Bolsheviks, fortunes won and lost, Tommy guns in Thailand and Shanghai romance

She was still a toddler when her father, Col. Pyotr Reksting, roused the family in the middle of the Siberian night. "The Bolsheviks are at the next town. They've shot everyone. You have five minutes to pack."

And so began a journey that ended in Victoria last week when Nathalia Buchan died at 100 years of age.

One of her earliest memories was of crossing frozen Lake Baikal by train. They switched to horse and carriage to cross the Chinese border, coming to rest in Harbin, Manchuria.

In 1929, with Japan muscling up to Manchuria, 19-year-old Nathalia fled again, this time alone, to Shanghai. Nathalia was educated by now, spoke seven languages, had attended the University of Peking. She became manager at DD's, a famed Shanghai nightclub that remains popular today.

One day a young Scot walked into the club. Having run away from school to fly biplanes in the First World War, Bill Buchan had landed in China after Lady Nancy Astor hooked him up with a telephone company undertaking a Far Eastern construction project. He entered DD's in a foul mood, was rude to the staff. "My mother, in the most polite way, put him in his place," says their son, David Buchan.

Bill liked that. Still, it was two years before he contacted Nathalia, sending her two huge opera baskets of flowers, piled taller than a man, when she was sick. It wasn't until Remembrance Day 1941 that they married, reasoning that she would be better with a British passport when the Japanese invaded Shanghai's international settlement, which they did less than a month later, the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. "I will never let you down," he promised her.

Being Russian-born, Nathalia was given the option of freedom, but chose to follow her husband into the Lunghua concentration camp -- the one depicted in the movie Empire Of The Sun. "I will not be parted from the man I love," she said.

They remained in Lunghua until 1946, after the war, their survival due in no small part to the repeated kindness of the camp commandant, Capt. Tomohiko Hayashi. (David Buchan, who remains in contact with Hayashi's son -- a former Japanese cabinet minister -- says the commandant was unfairly portrayed in the film.) On one occasion, Hayashi sent an ailing Nathalia to hospital in Shanghai in his car, giving her enough money for medicine, lunch for herself and her guards, and a cake to bring back to Bill.

Still, she was in rough shape, weighing just 78 pounds, when liberated by American troops at the end of the war.

With Shanghai in chaos and China locked in a communist-nationalist struggle, the Buchans alit in Bangkok. Bill sold newsprint from B.C. before building up a tobacco business.

One day in 1946 they got a knock on the door. There, the story goes, stood two Vietnamese leaders -- Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap -- looking to buy arms with which to fight French occupation. "The Russians said you could help us," they told Bill.

Bill left for Czechoslovakia to broker the deal, but not before stopping at the British embassy to pick up a pistol for Nathalia; he

didn't want to leave her defenceless in lawless Bangkok. The man at the embassy -- described as looking like Peter Lorre -- gave him a Thompson submachine-gun instead. Every evening, Nathalia, still half-blind and emaciated from wartime malnutrition, would hobble onto the veranda on her crutches, place a pillow between the Tommy gun and her shoulder, and rip off a couple of bursts to keep the bandits at bay.

The Buchans built up the tobacco business, but lost everything when it was nationalized by the Thai government. So they started anew, grew another prosperous trading company after moving to Hong Kong in 1952. It was there that David was born -- and that his father died in 1958. Nathalia ran the business alone -- a European speaking Chinese dialect in a man's world -- until she sold it in 1962 after falling ill.

They had tickets to England, but someone convinced her Canada would be a better place to raise her son. They sailed -- David, Nathalia, her mother -- on the P&O liner Arcadia, a

31/2-week voyage. Vancouver was cold and rainy, but the clouds parted when they visited Victoria. "A sign from God. We will settle here," Nathalia said.

And so they did. David is still in Victoria, a manager in the provincial government. Nathalia never remarried. "I loved your father so much that I could never bear the thought of marrying anyone else," she told her son.

Canada gave Nathalia a quiet life, or at least quieter than the one in Asia. (There isn't space to get into the story of how she helped raise the actor Yul Brynner after he befriended her cousin in Shanghai. "He was literally living on the streets and stealing motorcyles, stuff like that," David says.) In Victoria, she was part of a small community of Europeans who drifted here from Asia after the war (Princess Peggy Abkhazi, of Abkhazi Gardens fame, was Nathalia's across-the-road neighbour in the Lunghua internment camp).

Nathalia lived in Glengarry hospital the past couple of years, had dementia at the end. But perhaps you saw her before that when she was still in her mid-nineties, poking down Oak Bay Avenue with her walker. Perhaps you looked right through her, not knowing she was this courageous, pious, compassionate, fiercely intelligent woman inching toward the end of a 100-year journey.

Nathalia Buchan, born in Russia on Aug. 29, 1910, died in Victoria on Dec. 27, 2010. She was to be buried at Ross Bay Cemetery after a service at Saint Sophia Russian Orthodox Church in Fairfield on Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Amazing+life+Fleeing+Bolsheviks+fortunes+lost+Tommy+guns+Thailand+Shanghai+romance/4061620/story.html#ixzz1AC0KxF4V

And in case you missed the Dos Equis commercials -

Remembering the Battle of the Bulge- On Christmas

- Christmas 1944 – 66 years ago -- was a difficult time for U.S. troops holding Bastogne, Belgium.

It came in the midst of the famous Battle of the Bulge, the last-ditch major German offensive in which the German High Command threw thousands of tanks and troops into what was perceived to be the weak point in the Allied lines, deep in the Ardennes region of northeastern France.

It turned out to be one of our finest moments.

Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, in an attempt to hold the critical road intersection at Bastogne, Belgium, had rushed in the famous "Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne Division to reinforce previously ploaced armored units.

The tanks and soldiers of the German Army, however, completely surrounded the U.S. forces in Bastogne and laid siege to the town. It was one of the coldest winters on record.

On Dec. 22, three days before Christmas, the Germans sent a party of four -- a major, a captain and two enlisted men -- up the road to Bastogne carrying a large white flag, bringing a demand from the Nazi commander for the Allied troops to surrender. They were met on the road by U.S. troops, were blindfolded, and taken to one of the U.S. command posts.

The acting U.S. commander, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, replied to the demand with just one word: “Nuts.” 

Two days later, on Christmas Eve, McAuliffe issued this message to his men:

“Headquarters 101st Airborne Division

“Office of the Division Commander

“24 December 1944

“What’s merry about all this, you ask? We’re fighting, it’s cold, we aren’t home. All true, but what has the proud Eagle Division accomplished with its worthy comrades of the 10th Armored Division, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion and all the rest? Just this: We have stopped cold everything that has been thrown at us from the North, East, South and West. We have identifications from four German Panzer Divisions, two German Infantry Divisions and one German Parachute Division. These units, spearheading the last desperate German lunge, were headed straight west for key points when the Eagle Division was hurriedly ordered to stem the advance. How effectively this was done will be written in history; not alone in our Division’s glorious history but in World history. The Germans actually did surround us. Their radios blared our doom. Their Commander demanded our surrender in the following impudent arrogance:

‘December 22nd 1944
To the U.S. A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

‘The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Ourthe near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hombres Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

‘If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A.A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. Troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours term.

‘All the serious civilian losses caused by this Artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.

(signed) ‘The German Commander’

“The German Commander received the following reply:

‘22 December 1944
’To the German Commander:

‘NUTS!

(signed) ‘The American Commander’

McAuliffe continued:

“Allied Troops are counterattacking in force. We continue to hold Bastogne. By holding Bastogne we assure the success of the Allied Armies. We know that our Division Commander, General Taylor, will say: Well Done!

“We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms are truly making for ourselves a Merry Christmas. A.C. McAuliffe”

*  *  *

“The United States Army in World War II,” the official history published by the U.S. Army Center of Military History on the U.S. Army Heritage Web site, reports what happened at Bastogne on Dec. 22 this way: 

“Major Alvin Jones took the terms to General McAuliffe and Lieutenant Colonel Ned D. Moore, who was acting Chief of Staff. The paper called for the surrender of the Bastogne garrison and threatened its complete destruction otherwise.

“It appealed to the ‘Well known American humanity’ to save the people of Bastogne from further suffering. The Americans were to have two hours in which to consider. The two enemy officers would have to be released by 1400 but another hour would pass before the Germans would resume their attack.

“Colonel Harper, commanding the 327th, went with Jones to Division Headquarters. The two German officers were left with Captain Adams. Members of the staff were grouped around General McAuliffe when Harper and Jones arrived. McAuliffe asked someone what the paper contained and was told that it requested a surrender.

“He laughed and said, ‘Aw, nuts!’ It really seemed funny to him at the time. He figured he was giving the Germans ‘one hell of a beating’ and that all of his men knew it. The demand was all out of line with the existing situation.

“But McAuliffe realized that some kind of reply had to be made and he sat down to think it over. Pencil in hand, he sat there pondering for a few minutes and then he remarked, ‘Well, I don't know what to tell them.’ He asked the staff what they thought and Colonel Kinnard, his G-3 [third in command] replied, "That first remark of yours would be hard to beat."

“General McAuliffe didn't understand immediately what Kinnard was referring to. Kinnard reminded him, ‘You said 'Nuts!’ That drew applause all around. All members of the staff agreed with much enthusiasm and because of their approval McAuliffe decided to send that message back to the Germans.

“Then he called Colonel Harper in and asked him how he would reply to the message. Harper thought for a minute but before he could compose anything General McAuliffe gave him the paper on which he had written his one-word reply and asked, ‘Will you see that it's delivered?’ ‘I will deliver it myself,’ answered Harper. ‘It will be a lot of fun.’ McAuliffe told him not to go into the German lines.

“Colonel Harper returned to the command post of Company F. The two Germans were standing in the wood blindfolded and under guard. Harper said, ‘I have the American commander's reply.’

“The German captain asked, ‘Is it written or verbal?’

“‘It is written,’ said Harper. And then he said to the German major, ‘I will stick it in your hand.’

“The German captain translated the message. The major then asked, ‘Is the reply negative or affirmative? If it is the latter I will negotiate further.’

“All of this time the Germans were acting in an upstage and patronizing manner. Colonel Harper was beginning to lose his temper. He said, ‘The reply is decidedly not affirmative.’ Then he added, "If you continue this foolish attack your losses will be tremendous." The major nodded his head.

“Harper put the two officers in the jeep and took them back to the main road where the German privates were waiting with the white flag.

“He then removed the blindfold and said to them, speaking through the German captain, ‘If you don't understand what “Nuts” means, in plain English it is the same as “Go to hell.” And I will tell you something else -- if you continue to attack we will kill every goddam German that tries to break into this city.’

“The German major and captain saluted very stiffly. The captain said, ‘We will kill many Americans. This is war.’ It was then 1350.10

“‘On your way, Bud,’ said Colonel Harper, ‘and good luck to you.’

“The four Germans walked on down the road. Harper returned to the house, regretting that his tongue had slipped and that he had wished them good luck.”

Aging Tobacco to an Extreme

2.5m-year-old tobacco found

PALEONTOLOGISTS in Peru have discovered fossilised tobacco in the northern Amazon that dates back to the Pleistocene Era 2.5 million years ago, the scientists said today.

The compact block of tobacco, about 30 square centimetres was found by scientists from the Meyer-Honninger Paleontology Museum earlier this week in the Maranon river basin in northeastern Peru.

"This discovery allows us to establish that the plant dates back to the Pleistocene Era, and confirms that it originated in northern Peru," the museum said.

Tobacco was smoked and chewed by Native Americans long before the arrival of European explorers in the 15th century, the scientists said.

It was also used for therapeutic purposes - in everything from eye drops to enemas - and for rituals, such as blowing smoke into the faces of warriors before battle and on women before intercourse, they said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/m-year-old-tobacco-found/story-e6frfku0-1225957251494#ixzz15q21ZEGe

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/m-year-old-tobacco-found/story-e6frfku0-1225957251494

Happy Hiroshima Day

 

Tonight I raise a B-52 to all the brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines that died in WW2.

The release at 08:15 8/6/1945 (6:15PM on 8/5/1945 ) went as planned, and the gravity bomb known as "Little Boy", a gun-type fission weapon with 60 kilograms (130 lb) of uranium-235, took 57[dubious – discuss] seconds to fall from the aircraft to the predetermined detonation height about 600 meters (2,000 ft) above the city.

While this may seem insensitive, one must also consider the effects of war. It happens and bad things ...happen.
The U.S. side anticipated losing many soldiers in the planned invasion of Japan, although the actual number of expected fatalities and wounded is subject to some debate. U.S. President Truman stated after the war that he had been advised that U.S. casualties could range from 250,000 to one million men. In a study done by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in April 1945, the figures of 7.45 casualties per 1,000 man-days and 1.78 fatalities per 1,000 man-days were developed. This implied that the two planned campaigns to conquer Japan would cost 1.6 million U.S. casualties, including 370,000 dead
In addition, millions of Japanese military and civilian casualties were expected An Air Force Association history says, "Millions of women, old men, and boys and girls had been trained to resist by such means as attacking with bamboo spears and strapping explosives to their bodies and throwing themselves under advancing tanks," and also that "t]he Japanese cabinet had approved a measure extending the draft to include men from ages fifteen to sixty and women from seventeen to forty-five (an additional 28 million people).

Supporters also point to an order given by the Japanese War Ministry on 1 August 1944, ordering the disposal and execution of all Allied prisoners of war, numbering over 100,000, if an invasion of the Japanese mainland took place.

Nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the casualties resulting from the invasion of Japan. To the present date, all the American military casualties of the sixty years following the end of World War II—including the Korean and Vietnam Wars—have not exceeded that number. In 2003, there were still 120,000 of these Purple Heart medals in stock. There are so many in surplus that combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan are able to keep Purple Hearts on-hand for immediate award to wounded soldiers on the field.

Reader Submissions

I know there have been few updates lately.  I have a big meeting coming up next week and I have really been busy prepping for the event (it’s a week long), so something had to give…..and in the case, it was Blog.

So, to open things back up, I have a few reader submissions-

From Chris

Got any suggestions for a non-smoker to start on? Reading these descriptions it sounds like there an aerosolized version of the coffee I roast!

Ed- Chris, I am not a big smoker of the flavored cigars.  One thing I have heard is that the oils for the flavoring can seep into your humidor and either ruin it or leave a lingering scent (tainting your other cigars).  A common practice is using glass humidors for them, and keeping them separated.  All this being said, Randy (from MySideoftheBar) had a recommendation for the cigar his wife likes, the Elevation Flavored Hazelnut Coffee Churchill (found HERE)

 

From Brian -

May want this for your blog...”Worlds Strongest ale” comes in eye-catching dead animal bottles

Ed- WOW.  What is not to like here, aside from the £500 price?  At 55% and stuffed in squirrels, this would definitely be the ultimate Christmas present.  Imagine the excitement when your significant other unwraps this.  Still a little pricey, but next trip to the UK might have me looking for it.

From Jeremy C. – Worlds oldest Champagne found

Ed- While amazing that the Champagne survived this long at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, what I love about this story is that the diver said screw history and opened one and drank it when they returned to the surface.  While this could have cost him an estimated $70K, it didn’t matter…he did what any self respecting Boozer would have.  My hat is off to you sir.

Also from Jeremy C.- A Facebook Link to McMillan’s Irish Pub, where they sell Guinness and Bass to you right at the table.

Finally, from Gary – 6 Most surprising ways that alcohol is good for you

Thanks to everyone that submitted, keep them coming.  Also, it shows you guys read this and miss me when I actually have to do work :P

Until next week.  Cheers.

Winston Churchill

 

Sir Winston has been in the news a bit lately.

First was the Auction in London of one his Cigars, fetching $3,126.  A funny side story of which was whether or not UK Customs was going to let it in (without a tax band) the country when it was being brought to auction.

The next mention was in an ESPN Article re: the great John Wooden being in Hospital (and later passing).

“In what might end up being one of his final sit-down interviews, Wooden, at the December 2009 Wooden Classic, answered Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers when asked how he has managed to live such a long life:

But how does one live so long, he's asked, and he points to the whiskey Winston Churchill drank, the cigars George Burns had, and says, "How long did they live?
"There's no answer," he says, "but if I had to give one, I'd say life needs balance. And love." “

Neither of these compare to the latest story breaking in the UK though.

It appears that “Someone” has airbrushed and removed the cigar from one of Sir Winston’s most famous pictures, and then used said picture for the banner at the “Winston Churchill's Britain At War Experience” Museum.

Not only is this taking political correctness to the nth degree….but it also rewrites history in one of the most iconic figures in History.

HERE is the article and I post the pictures below for your perusal

I go to London at least once a year, I now know that I will not be visiting a museum that supports the altering of facts. 

Please join me in emailing the museum to show your displeasure   info@britainatwar.org.uk and if you want to see a great Winston Churchill museum, then visit the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library in Fulton MO.  There they do not sugar coat history and cigars are prominently displayed on his desk and throughout.

Sausage King….Dead :(

Of late, we have had quite a few leave us to pass over to the other side, but few have had the impact of Jimmy Dean.

Not to be confused with James Dean (hated his movies…but loved his car), Jimmy Dean was more than just the Sausage King.

One wonders where to start in his great career, but since this blog is about Smokes and Booze….why not here….

Jimmy Dean got start in the music business as an accordionist at a tavern near Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., where he was stationed in the 1940s.

In the early 1950s, Dean's band had its first national hit in "Bummin' Around", but it was his next hit that set him apart in the music industry….”Big Bad John”, a song that won him a Grammy.

He later went on to play Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and  became the first country star on the Vegas Strip. He was also the first guest host on "The Tonight Show," and an actor in Diamonds Are Forever.

Most people would be happy with that type of career, but Jimmy also founded Jimmy Dean Sausage…..and for that….he earns our eternal thanks.

RIP Jimmy

The Doolittle Raid

I recently saw the below video and it brought me back to my youth.  You see, my father was a big airplane buff.  He grew up during WWII and as a child, he would watch the airplanes training and then flying off to war.  He grew up loving (and instilling in me a love for) history, and I don’t think there was an Air show within 200 miles of us in Indiana we ever missed.  At least once a year, we would go over to the Wright Patterson Air force Museum to see what they added….and this story in particular brings back further memories.

Anyone who even remotely pays attention to US History in High School knows of this raid (if not, read HERE), but what started me searching was seeing those 17 B-25s on the tarmac.  I wanted to know how that compared to the actual raid itself.

 

 

The video is of the recent 68th Reunion of the Doolittle Raiders and consisted of 17 B-25’s, and to my surprise….this was actually one MORE than participated in the raid itself (15 designated and one added at the last minute).  That is just amazing.

I’m sure many of you are wondering why this is on a blog called Smokes and Booze?  I retort….it’s my blog and WHY NOT?

But there is an additional part to the story.

 

In honor of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, the citizens of Tucson, Arizona presented a set of 80 sterling goblets to the Raiders following WW II. In turn, they were presented to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs by General Doolittle on behalf of the surviving members of the Raiders for safekeeping and display between reunions.  On 19 April 2006, the memorabilia were transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

The silver goblets themselves are housed in a special glass-enclosed trophy case.  Each of the goblets has the Airman’s name printed twice, one right side up and the other is upside down, this allows a the names to be read even if the goblet is symbolically turned down at the death of one of the team.  Currently there are only 8 surviving men from the raid. 

The case also contains a bottle of 1896 Hennessy Brandy (the date selected to represent the year of Jimmy Doolittle’s Birth) to be used by the last two remaining Raiders at the last reunion to toast their departed comrades.

These men went through “IT” together….and what a beautiful tribute as they slowly fly off into the sunset.

I know this would have made a great Memorial Day post, but then again….perhaps it isn’t right to only remember our Veterans a few times a year.  I think we should be thinking of them every time we see the flag, hug our children….or in the case of Doolittle’s Raiders, when a plane passes overhead.  These men are true heroes….and I pray that that bottle of brandy stays unopened for many more years.

Raise a glass tonight and think about how 16 Aircraft changed the world, I know I will.

Cheers.

Yesterday in History

 

Ok, I admit I was lazy and therefore missed the very important day in history Yesterday.

On May 31st, 1910, Glenmorangie distilleries received what is believed to be the first order of Single Malt for the US, an order destined for the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver.

Starting at the Glenmorangie Distillery in northern Scotland, it took several months going by sea from Liverpool to Galveston Texas, and then by train to Denver.

It’s hard to believe how far we have come since those first two 36 gallon kegs set out 100 years ago.  But it is a journey I am glad was made.

Raise a glass tonight and toast this (belated) historic day.

20 Distinguished writers and an odd Email

I get some weird Emails.  Some of them I chalk off immediately as SPAM, while others I like to dig a little into.

I recently received the following., one that piqued my interest because someone at least took the time to find out what my blog was about and targeted content.

fromSamantha Miller <samanthamiller19@gmail.com>
to ME

dateWed, May 19, 2010 at 2:34 AM
subjectSmokes and Booze
mailed-bygmail.com
signed-bygmail.com

hide details 2:34 AM (9 hours ago)

Hi Ed,
I know this email is out of the blue, but I just posted an article on my blog entitled “20 Distinguished Writers and Their Drink of Choice” http://www.universityreviewsonline.com/2005/10/20-distinguished-writers-and-their-drink-of-choice.html . Anyway I figured I’d bring it to your attention in case you thought it interesting enough to drop a quick mention on your site about it as I’m trying to increase readership of my blog.
Either way, sorry for the unsolicited email and hope you have a good week.
Thanks,
Samantha Miller

At first I thought COOL.  Another Booze writer.  When you go to the site however, you immediately see that it is not a blog, and I suspect that “University Reviews Online” is using behind the scenes content to drive traffic to their Commerce Site.  What I particularly liked about the email is that Ms. Miller said that she “just posted”, yet it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to note the directory structure pf her “Blog” indicates October 2005.  Click here for further evidence.

Oh well, since she asked (and I find the content somewhat interesting), I will go ahead and post her article below….giving credit to the site (although the article is not signed) as to being HERE and recommend that you visit it if you are interested in the “BLOG” Content.

Please enjoy….and thanks Sam for today’s Post :)

 

Cheers

20 Distinguished Writers and Their Drink of Choice

Stereotype dictates that brilliant, decorated, well-educated writers take to alcohol with as much – if not more – impassioned enthusiasm as they do their literary craft. While psychology and, of course, history both note a correlation between substance abuse and intelligence, the popular image of an author hacking away at a typewriter (or computer, depending on the era) with one hand while using the other to swipe swigs from a half-empty bottle of booze does not always ring true. Of course, this list has absolutely nothing at all to do with these exceptions! As the veritable Bible for what established members of the literary canon – Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers by Mark Bailey and Edward Hemingway – points out, not only do these ladies and gentlemen love themselves a drink…they oftentimes grow to develop their own alcoholic signature as well. Pour a glass of a beloved brew, faithful ferment, or a mirthful mix (but be responsible!) and settle in to read about what drinks the literati gravitate towards.

1. Ernest Hemingway – Mojito

While Ernest Hemingway wrote of numerous adult beverages – A Moveable Feast occasionally reads as if the iconic author took up residence in Paris solely for the quality wine. However, the highly refreshing mojito actually earned its place as his signature cocktail during his tenure in Havana, Cuba. A regular at the La Bodeguita del Medio, tourists now convene at the small bar to soak up the history and the cool mint, lime, and rum concoctions that the celebrated scribe so enjoyed. Hemingway also grew into connoisseurship of daiquiris as well.

2. Raymond Chandler – Gimlet

Iconic noir detective (and inspiration for “The Dude” in the Coen Brothers classic The Big Lebowski) Philip Marlowe downed gimlet after gimlet with a contemporary in The Long Goodbye. His creator, Raymond Chandler, even outlined the perfect recipe in the novel – which eventually led to the cocktail’s surge in popularity. Inclusion paralleled Chandler’s fondness for gimlets, which he developed while traversing London. Though he also favored martinis and stingers, the writer and his beloved literary creation eventually became more associated with gimlets in the minds of the reading populace.

3. Hunter S. Thompson – Chivas Regal

Though probably better associated with “two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers” (among other substances), Hunter S. Thompson’s favored drinks bounced between Chivas Regal and Wild Turkey on the rocks. Anecdote after anecdote abounds regarding his love of the former, however, and many articles make special note of its presence during conversations. Biographer E. Jean Carroll made particular note of his daily routine, where the gonzo journalist began downing Chivas Regal at 3:05 in the morning and continuously indulged at different intervals throughout the day.

4. William Faulkner – Mint Julep

As one of the quintessential Southern Gothic (not to mention American in general), it comes as little surprise that William Faulkner partook regularly of the mint julep. He also famously kept a bottle of whiskey on hand whenever sitting down at the typewriter to hammer out novels and screenplays as well. Like many creative types, Faulkner frequently skirted the line between heavy drinker and full-bore alcoholic. Benders became the norm after a while, and many times the Nobel Prize winner considered himself incapable of creativity without the assistance of intoxicating beverages.

5. Jack Kerouac – Margarita

Given his fondness for Mexican culture, it is understandable that margaritas became the drink of choice for beat generation poster boy Jack Kerouac. A story from New York City’s White Horse Tavern claims that the bathrooms once sported a message of “Kerouac, go home” above the urinals as an attempt to encourage him to sway him away from the tequila-based concoctions and into bed for some much-needed rest. Such a story remains, of course, entirely anecdotal. Regardless of the veracity regarding the graffiti, however, Kerouac was indeed a patron and still enjoyed throwing back a margarita. Or two, or three, or four…

6. Dorothy Parker – Whiskey Sour

Dorothy Parker enjoyed many a cocktail during her life – and her terse, humorous “I like to have a martini” (alternately, “I wish I could drink like a lady” poem continues to elicit laughter even today. Mixed drinks of all shapes and sizes factor prominently in many of her writings, almost always referenced in a lighthearted and occasionally self-deprecating manner. However, the famously sly, sardonic wit allegedly adored the sweet tang of a whiskey sour above all other alcoholic pleasures. Martinis, of course, also ranked high enough up there to warrant dispute amongst fans and biographers.

7. Oscar Wilde – Absinthe

Beloved Irish wordsmith Oscar Wilde counted iced champagne amongst his favorite intoxicating indulgences, but when it comes to alcohol his name remains forever entwined with the green fairy herself. He grew to love the potent beverage while living abroad in Paris, eventually penning a famously hallucinogenic account of its effects. Most people, however, accept that Wilde took more than a few liberties when it came to absinthe’s true properties – chalking up the exaggeration as intended purely for delirious entertainment value.

8. Carson McCullers – Sonnie Boy

There appears to be some dispute between whether or not Carson McCullers referred to her comforting blend of hot tea and sherry a “sonnie boy,” a “sonny boy,” or a “sunny boy.” But regardless, she almost always worked with a cup of it at her side while firing off novels and short stories. McCullers also nurtured a love of Long Island iced tea as well, but the sonnie boy holds more of an impact over her life story. Preferring to imbibe in secret, she would claim that the steaming mugs on her desk contained only the hot tea half of the equation.

9. Charles Bukowski – Boilermaker

Poet laureate of potables, Charles Bukowski wrote frequently of the role booze played in the lives of the down-and-out of America with brutal, blunt honesty. As with many hard-drinking writers, he downed many cocktails of cocktails during his life – enough to make it difficult to truly nail down which held the honor of his absolute favorite. Boilermakers, comprised of a whiskey shot accompanied by a beer (usually lager) and downed in the drinkers’ preferred style, appear to rank up there.

10. F. Scott Fitzgerald – Gin Rickey

Ernest Hemingway and other contemporaries famously taunted F. Scott Fitzgerald for his surprisingly low alcohol tolerance – but that never stopped The Great Gatsby scribe from hitting the Owl Bar and other establishments for a few rounds of gin rickeys. A very fitting choice, many claim, as the drinks enjoyed their peak in the 1920s through the 1930s when Fitzgerald thrived creatively and grew to become the era’s undeniable literary figurehead. More than anyone, he captured the empty materialism and lackadaisical attitude towards life that characterized the Roaring Twenties.

11. Tennessee Williams – Ramos Fizz

Iconic Southern playwright Tennessee Williams favored the creamy, eggy Ramos Fizz enough to immortalize it in many of his works. One of the signature drinks of New Orleans, his fans toast the shaken beverage – which contains the aforementioned egg and cream, plus lime juice, sugar, gin, and a small spray of orange flower water and soda – in his honor even today. Many residents also recommend it as an excellent, boozy way of ushering in the annual Mardi Gras festivities.

12. Dylan Thomas – Whiskey

Unfortunately, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’s favored beverage, straight whiskey, eventually proved his undoing in 1953. After 18 shots in a row, he passed away after a night at the very same White Horse Tavern that Jack Kerouac and other literary and creative giants frequented. A room dedicated to his writing prowess memorializes the extremely tragic event, though he died later that fateful evening in his room at the Chelsea Hotel. Today, his name is unfortunately as synonymous with whiskey and substance abuse as with innovative modernist poetry.

13. Anne Sexton – Martini

Anne Sexton and her fellow writer Sylvia Plath met in a poetry class, and the pair would skip off to the Ritz-Carlton afterwards for a few rounds of apparently dry martinis. They welcomed other students and patrons into their fold as well, one of whom later became Sexton’s illicit lover behind her husband’s back. She apparently loved throwing caution to the wind by illegally parking in the hotel’s loading zone before pumping her system full of booze.

14. Eugene O’Neill – Gibson

Nobel laureate playwright Eugene O’Neill grappled against personal and filial demons his entire life, slipping in and out of heavy drinking periods (apparently involving gibsons) following the alcohol-related death of his beloved brother Jamie. Unlike many writers on this list, O’Neill never felt as if alcohol actually stimulated his writing in any way – quite the opposite, really, as it almost entirely halted his ability to get much of anything produced. He dipped in and out of sobriety and psychotherapy, drawing from these conflicts during lucid periods to pen some of theatre’s most emotionally evocative and highly respectable dramatic works.

15. Raymond Carver – Bloody Mary

Associated more with bored housewives from the upper crust enjoying elegant brunches than brooding, intense writers emphasizing the plight of blue-collar workers and households, the bloody Mary nevertheless held the title of Raymond Carver’s favorite alcoholic beverage. Like his father before him, the eloquent chronicler of the down-and-dirty corners of society struggled against violent alcoholism. His close friendship with contemporary John Cheever only facilitated the issue further – though a 1977 stint in Alcoholics Anonymous helped him kick the destructive habit altogether.

16. Anthony Burgess – Hangman’s Blood

Rather than indulging in the ultraviolence, writer and prolific polymath Anthony Burgess blew off steam with a brew known by the eerie moniker of “hangman’s blood.” Though not credited with its creation – the first mention of the cocktail came in 1929 from Richard Hughes’s novel A High Wind in Jamaica – many attribute the finalized, definitive recipe to Burgess himself. Blending doubles of gin, brandy, port, rum, and whiskey, a bottle of stout, and a topping of champagne, how the drink’s name originally popped into existence leaves very little to the imagination.

17. William S. Burroughs – Vodka and Coke

William S. Burroughs’s life mixed Hunter S. Thompson’s affinity for all manner of intoxicants with Jack Kerouac’s beat sensibilities, wanderlust, and love of Mexico. Several different interviews make mention of an ever-present glass of equal parts vodka and coke, which he apparently clung to even after the ability to write any more abandoned his fail, ravaged body left him to whittle away the last remaining stretch of his lifespan in the company of his friends and cats.

18. Sherwood Anderson – Old Fashioned

William Faulker and Ernest Hemingway, among others, looked up to Sherwood Anderson as a literary role model – perhaps incidentally, perhaps not, they also took up his fondness for spirits as well. He apparently enjoyed an old fashioned or two as his personal poison, though his exact preference remains unknown – after all, there seem to be almost as many interpretations of the beverage as there are people who wish to drink them. Anderson passed after swallowing a toothpick at a cocktail party that eventually caused a fatal infection in his stomach.

19. James Gould Cozzens – Black and Tan/Half-and-Half

According to the definitive tome on writers and their favorite alcoholic beverages, Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers, Pulitzer Prize winner and notorious denier of publicity James Gould Cozzens particularly adored black and tans. Alternately known as the half-and-half, this drink involves equal parts lager and stout to create an attractive (and delicious!) concoction juxtaposing light and dark tones. The drink name comes from the nickname Irish citizens bestowed on British soldiers who occupied their nation following World War I sporting black and tan uniforms.

20. James Jones – Singapore Sling

When frequenting P.J. Clarke’s in New York City, James Jones was known to throw back a Singapore sling after nurturing a taste for them during a tour of duty in the South Pacific. Fruity and fun, he also enjoyed these sweet cocktails with fellow writers and Bacchanalian revelers James Baldwin and William Styron (both of whom exist as viable contenders for inclusion on this list) on many a Parisian night. Many of these benders would extend well into the next morning – even the afternoon!

Please keep in mind that not all brilliant people drink excessively, nor does drinking excessively indicate that said imbiber stands as particularly brilliant, either. Political correctness and disclaimers aside, though, many a highly intelligent, influential writer has indulged his or her preference for at least one (if not more) alcoholic beverage to the point it becomes almost a personal trademark. History and psychology both support this phenomenon, as depression and intelligence sometimes directly correlate with substance abuse. More examples beyond these exist, of course, but that is up to the reader to go explore.

This day in History – May 5th 1961

 

I know a lot of you are going to think, OK…..here goes a Cinco de Mayo posting…but I am an American and want to draw everyone’s attention to another great event in history, one that took place May 5th 1961.

On that day Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space, with a fifteen minute suborbital flight.

Think about that for a minute and let it sink in.  49 Years ago, America put it’s first man into space (barely edged out by Russia). 

How cool is that.

                                             (Picture Taken from THIS LIFE Article)

But when you look at Alan Shepard, you realize…..his life is full of cool.

Before he became an Astronaut, he was a test pilot for the US Navy, logging  over 8,000 hours flying time (3,700 hours in jet aircraft).  WOW.

In 1959, Shepard was one of 110 military test pilots to go through initial testing to become an Astronaut for the newly formed NASA, eventually being selected as a member of the Mercury 7 Team, and subsequently in January of 1961….He was chosen for the first American manned mission into space, Freedom 7.

On May 5th 1961, Shepard had probably the 2nd or 3rd most famous quote in space history. 

Just before the launch, Shepard said to himself: "Don't fuck up, Shepard..." ^, although this is quoted as "Dear Lord, please don't let me fuck up" in GREAT movie The Right Stuff (Post 1979 Randy). Due though to the media exposure,  the misquoted latter is has since become known among aviators as "Shepard's Prayer."

Another funny quote to come out of this mission, and relevant to me because it is referenced in the movie Armageddon comes from Gene Kranz in his book Failure Is Not an Option:

When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder.

Later, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 Freedom 7-II, three day extended duration mission in October 1963. The MA-10 mission was cancelled on June 13, 1963. He was the back-up pilot for Gordon "Gordo" Cooper for the MA-9 mission.

Yet Shepard was still destined to return to space.

Originally slotted to pilot Gemini 3, he lost his flight status due to a problem with his inner ear.  After having it surgically corrected, Shepard was then selected to Command the ill-fated Apollo 13 Mission, only to drop out because he felt he needed more training.

Alan Shepard did finally make it to the moon in Apolo 14, where at  age 47, and the oldest astronaut in the program, he commanded America's third successful lunar landing mission.

Shepard piloted his Lunar Module Antares to the most accurate landing of the entire Apollo program.

Ever the jokester, Shepard added another distinction to his long list of records while on the mission, becoming the 1st man to golf on moon.  Using a modified Wilson six-iron head attached to a lunar sample scoop handle, he hit two golf balls one-handed,  driving the second, as he jokingly put it, "miles and miles and miles."

Following Apollo 14, Shepard returned to his position as Chief of the Astronaut Office in June, 1971. He was promoted to Rear Admiral before finally retiring both from the Navy and NASA on August 1, 1974.

While all of these things are great accomplishments, fitting to appear on any website, history book or Blog……I know you guys are asking: “Why is this on Smokes and Booze”?

Well, after ALL OF THAT……Alan Shepard went on to become a local beer distributor for Coors.

And now you know…….the rest of the Story.

Cheers to you Alan, and God’s Speed.

 

Cinco de Mayo is coming

It’s that time of year again, Cinco de Mayo (5th of May).  A time where Americans look for any excuse to drink.  Much like St. Patrick’s Day, New Years and the 4th…this is a holiday primarily for adults, and a themed reason to drink tequila….yet there is so much more to the date.

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a holiday celebrated in the United States and primarily limited to the state of Puebla in Mexico. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.

Cinco de Mayo is not "an obligatory federal holiday" in Mexico, but rather a holiday that can be observed voluntarily. While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States (also voluntarily) and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.  Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

In America, this translates to a trip to the local Chi-Chi’s or Mexican Restaurant and another Amateur Night where people who don’t normally drink consume mass amounts of Cheap Tequila (Jose Quervo). 

While I could care less about Mexican Politics (Remember the Alamo), I always love a good reason to drink…so let’s examine some recipes you can use at home.

In the article “Tequila, a Cinco de Mayo must” , there are several good recipies to try:

Margarita

1-2 ounces of tequila

• 1 ounce of Cointreau or triple sec (orange-flavored liquor)

• Almost an ounce of fresh-squeezed lime juice

• Top off with sour mix or soda water

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with margarita salt.

The Rockin' Paloma

Mixologist Alex Straus designed this fresh cocktail for Cabo Wabo tequila.

• 2 ounces Cabo Wabo Reposado

• 1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice

• 6 ounces grapefruit-flavored soda

• splash of grenadine

• 1 cucumber

Muddle three cucumber slices with tequila and lime juice. Shake with ice, then add soda and shake more. Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass with a salted rim. Drop a splash of grenadine on top (don't stir it in) and garnish with a cucumber slice.

Blazin' Shooter

This shot could also be called "the mistake."

• 1 1/2 ounce of blanco tequila

• A few dashes of hot sauce

Add a few dashes of hot sauce to the bottom of a shot glass. Add tequila and garnish with a lime wedge.

 

Of course, if Tequila is not your forte….there are several Mexican Beers as well, just stay away from the Corona….it doesn’t get more cliche than that.

Pusser’s Rum – Give me some Nelson’s Blood

In an attempt at full disclosure, I have been a fan of Pusser’s Rum for many years.  I was first introduced to it in the British Virgin Islands and found it to be an excellent stand alone drink.

However, you don’t run across if very often here in Missouri, although I have seen it available at the Tinderbox a few times.  In fact, I tried to special order a unique decanter (now available online) for a Trafalgar Day Party I wanted to have.  To be honest, I think the distributor thought the order way to small to handle and didn’t wish to ship.

Their loss.

Anyway, it appears that Pusser’s is now making a resurgence here in MO (although the bottle I have came from Michigan) and hopefully more people will give this one a try.

To begin with, here a is a quick video on the History of Pusser’s Rum and it’s usage in the British Navy.

Ahhh Yes, those great days when you would get a twice daily issue of 1/2 a pint of rum. 

As a fan of Naval History and Literature (Hornblower rules) you can see why I would gravitate to trying “The Official Rum” of the British Navy.

Like many of my drinks, I normally drink this neat…..although adding water brings out the honey in the flavor and reminds me quite a bit of a heavy mead.

I also wanted to add before I give my notes, that there are varying alcohol levels based on the country that purchase;  Canadian version is 42% ABV, (the lowest alcohol rum that Pusser’s offers), the US version is 48% ABV and the German version is 54%.  So next time I am overseas, I will try and pick up a German Version :)

Appearance-  This rum looks more like a bourbon than a rum.  The deep amber/orange plays the light well and the drink has great legs on the glass.

Nose- Excellent nose with heavy rum and oak tones.  I was also reminded of sorghum or molasses with a hint of sweetness.

Taste- The oaky smoothness goes down with almost no “Burn”.  Heavy vanilla and honey (even more so if cut with water) work the palette.  There is a slight peppery aftertaste and I wonder if that comes from the use of wooden pot stills.

In the end, this is probably my favorite high end rum….even more-so than Pyrite.  The unique flavors are definitely a man’s man drink and something that pairs well with cigars (I was doing NUB Cameroon's when tasting) or could even be a good aperitif.

If you want to try something different, this is the way to go…..I truly believe the website’s mantra….it is the Single Malt of Rum.

I give this a 5 out of 5.

Cuban cigar legend dies aged 91

From the BBC

Cuba's most famous cigar maker, Alejandro Robaina, has died aged 91.

Mr Robaina, the only grower to have a brand of Cuban cigars named after him, had been a roving ambassador for the country's state-run cigar industry.

But more typically, he could be found on his small farm in the Vuelta Abajo region of western Cuba, tending his beloved tobacco plants.

He was famous for their quality and always told visitors: you have to love the land and care for it.

If Cuba's hugely profitable state-run cigar industry had a face in recent years, it was that of Don Alejandro Robaina, says the BBC's Danny Aeberhard.

Veils of cotton

And what a face this venerable gentleman had - bronzed and deeply wrinkled, like one of his prized, dried tobacco leaves, he adds.

Although he met kings and celebrities, this modest man was perhaps more comfortable greeting visitors to his smallholding in Vuelta Abajo.

There he would show people how to nurture the plants, protecting them from the fierce glare of the Cuban sun with veils of cotton cloth.

Their quality was legendary. When the tobacco grows, he said, it talks to you, telling you what it needs - and you must listen.

A toast on a sad anniversary

Please join me tonight in raising a toast in memory the 50th anniversary of Britain’s worst peacetime fire disaster, the Cheapside Street blaze.

Why is that here on Smokes and Booze?  Because 19 men were killed when a city centre whisky warehouse exploded.

It really drives home that those men and women who protect our daily interests are heroes, and they deserve our respect.

So, to all those firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice…thank you, and Cheers.

Drunks through the ages

 

HERE is a fantastic article pertaining to the extremes the police used to go to in Birmingham UK. 

The information was compiled by the Watch Committee of the City of Birmingham, which was set up by the police to enforce the Licensing Act of 1902 as an attempt to use legislation to arrest anyone found drunk in public place and unable to take care of themselves.

The pictures and bios are great….and I even think I spot a few people I know……

Wolverine?

Bob Hope?

I don’t know who she is, but man she looks mean.

A Skinny Nate?

Nice hat Tori :)

And finally….is that you Jeff W.?