To Greatness – and Beyond!

To infinity – and beyond! Buzz Lightyear

With thanks to Buzz Lightyear, let’s take a look, first, at the astonishing world America created after World War II, and then we’ll watch as that world crumbles and re-forms into the dystopian future we are hurtling toward. read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 15

I sometimes write about investment matters or geopolitical issues, but mostly these essays are pieces of fluff designed to entertain or, I hope, amuse my readers. But this series will end on a sad – even a tragic – note. read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 14

Hot buttered rum

Since temperatures are plunging as I write this series, I cheerfully pass on to you TOCSC’s recipe for hot buttered rum: mix one cup of softened, salted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg. This will keep in the refrigerator for a long time. When your fingers are turning blue from the cold, remove the blend from the fridge, mix 1 teaspoon of it with 2 ounces of dark rum and add hot water to taste. read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 13

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. Benjamin Franklin, supposedly. Except the first recorded use of the word “bacteria” occurred in 1864 and Franklin died in 1790. read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 12

I had so much fun reading The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (TOCSC) that I could continue writing about it for months. But don’t worry, I won’t. read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 11

Tennessee whiskey

Back in 1981 two songwriters, Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, were sitting in the Bluebird Café in Nashville drinking a lot of Tennessee whiskey. Dillon told Hargrove he had an idea for a song about the whiskey and so, at four a.m., they headed off to Hargrove’s place and wrote “Tennessee Whiskey,” a terrific song read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 10

Fern bars

When I first reached legal drinking age most bars were designed to be patronized by men – that is, by people who couldn’t care less what the places looked like. As a result, most bars looked and smelled terrible. (But I quickly got used to it.) read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 9

Vodka

Vodka is unlike other forms of alcohol in that there is no justifiable excuse for drinking it … you might as well inject vodka into your bloodstream. Russian writer Viktor Yerofeyev read more »

The Oxford Companion, Part 7

The classic cocktails (continued)

The Manhattan

This mixture of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, garnished with a maraschino cherry, is believed to be the original “cocktail” in the modern sense of the word. Invented around 1880, the Manhattan became almost instantly popular, with the Boston Herald calling it “as good as anything that can be manufactured.” read more »

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