Posts from the Past

I was looking through my draft posts and realized I have some great things that need to be shared. Today I have fragments of two posts I wrote in May and June of last year.

In the post from May, there was a recipe for a margarita. It is nothing revolutionary, but you can try it.

Margarita

1 1/2 oz tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
dash lime juice
3 oz sour mix

If you want to make a margarita presidente, just add a dash of brandy to the above.

One advantage of posting this recipe a year later is that I have since shared my recipe for sour mix.

Now a draft from 6/28/11:

Last week I went on a trip to Berkeley and the Bay Area. Over the trip I saw many of my regular and semi-regular readers. Every idea, comment, story, and future plan of mine I would blog about was heard by at least one person. In fact, I told some of the same stories multiple times.

While I was in San Francisco, I went bar hopping with Linda and my Associate. One of the places we ended up at was The Buena Vista. They are known for creating the first Irish Coffee in the United States. Making it is simple, pour coffee, stir in two sugar cubes, add a jigger (1.5 oz) of Irish whiskey, and top with whipping cream. It is something like this.

Irish Coffee

1.5 oz Irish Whiskey (rumor online is The Buena Vista uses Tullamore Dew)
4 oz Hot Coffee, or a little more or less depending on size of your glass
2 Sugar Cubes
Lightly Whipped Whipping Cream

Take a glass and preheat it. Do this by pouring hot water into the glass and letting it sit. After 20-30 seconds, dump out the water. Add the hot coffee and stir in two sugar cubes. After they are dissolved, add the Irish whiskey and top with the whipped cream. The idea is to layer the cream on top, so be gentle and consider pouring the cream onto the back of a spoon just over the coffee.

My favorite part of the Irish coffee story is how the creators were having a problem getting the cream to layer. They asked the mayor of San Francisco, who was a dairy farmer, for help. He suggested using cream that was aged for 48 hours and frothed up to the right consistency. This worked perfectly and the drink became a success. Those were the good old days, when elected officials knew useful things. Now too many people holding public office are career politicians.

The most striking feature of the day was the heat. When I was getting on BART at 11 that night it was still warm enough out I did not need a jacket. My conclusion is I bring the heat when I travel. When I visited Washington D.C. four months earlier it was over 70 degrees in February.

Since my last trip there, the Bear's Lair closed. However, I spent some time at Jupiter's, which is becoming my official post-graduation Berkeley hang out. While there I enjoyed beers such as a Red Spot, Quasar, Frances Drake, Prohibition, and another Francis Drake.

EDITOR'S NOTE: With my vantage point a year later, I am glad to say the Bear's Lair reopened. However, I also know Raleigh's burned down.