Thirsty Spending: Bar Gadget Edition #1

I’m not one to spend money on fancy bar gadgets or decor, better to use those hard earned dollars for the wine or beer or whiskey itself. But I couldn’t help but have a little bargeek envy over this fine cocktail (or tea, or whatever) trolley designed by Jorge Zalszupin back in 1950, now available for a lofty $10,950. Gulp. Doesn’t it look just perfect for a few bottles of bourbon and rye, some Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and bitters? Nah, I’ll just stick with the old retired barrel I use as a very effective pouring station.

On the much less expensive end of the spectrum, I also noticed this elegant and futuristic bit of unnecessary wine gadgetry: the Rabbit Wine Chilling Carafe from Metrokane. It features a silicon sleeve that secures a stainless steel ice chamber within a carafe of fine crystal – all that fancy technology designed to chill your wine to a nice, crisp, tongue-numbing, absolute zero on the Kelvin scale, AKA −273.15 °C. OK, I made that last part up. I assume it keeps the wine nice and cold. And simply looks cool, too (despite the eerie resemblance to a urine sample taken at NASA headquarters).

So what are the latest bar gadgets that you’ve had your eye on? Or, like me, do you prefer to save the dough for the good stuff? Either way, cheers.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Dear

Nana lived 96 years, but she never got old. It may sound strange or even preposterous to say that about anyone approaching 100 years of age, but, for dear Nana, it was true. She was 96 years young, still going strong, still living a life that would leave others shaking their heads in admiration and delight. Her life was full of grace and kindness, smiles and dancing. Oh, and bourbon.

I should rephrase that… her life was not full of bourbon, but seeing Nana with a glass of bourbon or Tennessee whiskey in the evening, among friends or family, was a common sight. I am fully of the belief that a whiskey a day can keep the doctor away, and Nana’s life seems strong support for that notion – she was healthier than most people half her age, or even a quarter of her age, for that matter. Amazing. But she wasn’t always a bourbon drinker. She started on Scotch.

Nana married Bert E. Barnett back in 1938. They seemed a perfect pair, but there was one jarring jolt in the harmony of their relationship. Bert drank bourbon; Nana drank Scotch. It may not seem such a problem today, a husband and wife preferring different breeds of whiskey. But back then in Memphis, restaurants required diners to bring their own bottles. Suffice it to say, carting in a bottle of bourbon AND a bottle of Scotch simply wouldn’t do. A compromise would have to be brokered.

Nana never shared exactly what it took for her to stow aside the Scotch and join her husband Bert on the bourbon side of things. I imagine it was really another example of her Southern graciousness, putting aside her own personal preference to bring a bit of joy and harmony to the world around her. But Nana did discover her own joy in her decision – she become a bourbon convert. The brand or the age of the bourbon didn’t much matter, just the bourbon-ness of it. I could go on about how Nana was like a glass of bourbon – a bit strong, a bit sweet – but I think I’ll just stop and offer a toast. To dear Nana.

Here’s a clip from a short documentary made about the life of Nana, on Scotch and the “worst thing you can do” to a glass of bourbon:

Nana: from Thirsty South on Vimeo.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Dear

Low Octane: Session Beers, Suppressor Cocktails, & Low Alcohol Wine

In the worlds of beer, wine AND cocktails, dialing back is the new amping up. Those pumped up, roided out monsters may still have their fans, but it’s amazing to see the similarities striking forth in the worlds of potent (and not quite so potent) potables when it comes to crafting drinks that deliver maximum enjoyment, which can often mean less-than-maximum ABV. In an eerie parallel, even Carrot Top himself is taking up this cause and has committed to a steroid-free life of balance in line with this whole movement. THAT is proof positive that this thing has legs!

Wine? Jon Bonné really pushed the conversation about paying attention to alcohol levels in wine with his piece in the San Francisco Chronicle almost a year ago, and has continued to keep the topic top of mind for readers and drinkers. Overblown 16% syrahs and cabs and zins are out; reeled-in pinots are in like Flynn (so says me). That’s not to say that wimpy or delicate are the end goal, but rather that flavor and balance can and do coexist in wines that are more in line with what wine looked like before the evil influences (and I mean EVIL!) pushed many winemakers to pump, pump, pump things up in the past two decades or so.

In beer, the term “session” is raging, both as a blowback to the ridiculously powerful craft beers that have dominated the scene for so many years now AND as a recognition that people simply like beers that allow them to have more than one and not be physically impaired for the night. It’s true. The 4% session beer that delivers on flavor and enjoyment seems to be the holy grail du jour, and I’m a seeker. Wild Heaven‘s recently released Let There Be Light is just another example of a craft brewer who had previously focused on beers that topped out at 8-10% ABV now turning towards the lighter end of the spectrum. Let There Be Light clocks in at 4.7% – not quite a “session beer” technically, but darn close, and a whole lot more hangover-friendly than their 10.5% Eschaton.

As for cocktails, Atlanta is ground zero for a movement that is all about lowering the octane level of craft cocktails, and Greg Best from Holeman & Finch is the maestro at the front of the orchestra of bartenders playing along. Starchefs.com just wrote about the movement today (dang, they beat me to it! and nice job, too), but it’s one that has been bubbling up for the past few months and is now picking up steam. If you’re a fan of vermouth or Sherry or Madeira as a base for cocktails rather than the sidekick (and I am), this is something to get excited about. And if you’re simply a fan of carefully considered cocktails, the cause is equally compelling. The suppressor movement is on, and I bet it will take hold in great cocktail bars from New York to Portland and back again. Put a bird on it.

So what does this all mean? What is this crazy convergence in the worlds of wine and beer and cocktails and insane Las Vegas comedians? I have no idea. But I think it is a sign of good things to come. A sign that moderation and the middle ground may yet hold sway in this extremist world we live in. A sign that reason and virtue will prevail over bombast and boastfulness. Or, maybe, it’s just a sign that we can simply enjoy one more drink and feel good about it. Yeah… that.

Thirsty Outtakes

I accumulate a lot of photos over the course of a year, only a small percentage of which end up on Thirsty South. Every once in a while, I’ll look back and see certain shots that trigger a memory, a moment in time. They may not mean much to anyone else from the perspective of the experience captured, but hopefully the images themselves are interesting, compelling, beautiful even. At least I hope so, as much as a photo of a bottle or a drink or a bar can be. So, for anyone who digs photos of such things (and I know you’re out there, in droves on Pinterest and Flickr), I hope you enjoy a few outtakes from the past year and a half of Thirsty South:

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A Balanced, Thirsty Life: Public To Do List

Life is busy. There’s work, of course. More importantly, there’s family. And friends. I like it best when writing for Thirsty South can be an extension of the things that are most important to me. A component of those things, rather than an impediment to those things. Grinding some coffee beans by hand as my kids eat breakfast each morning is a fine thing. Sharing a bottle of wine with friends is equally good. Darting out to a beer event just to stay on top of the scene? Not so much. So, while I hope to be as in the know as possible on “all things drinking well in the South,” the reality is that it’s a fool’s cause to try to actually be completely in the know (unless that is your real full time job). In that light, here is a list of things I’ve failed to do and to write about that should be done and written about in a perfect Thirsty South world (a public To Do List that will hopefully prod me into getting out and exploring and tasting and meeting folks doing cool things, as long as it fits within the rhythm of my life rather than disrupt that rhythm):

Beer:
Go meet David Stein, new brewmaster at Twain’s in Decatur
Go visit the folks at Red Hare Brewing in Marietta, GA
Go visit the cool little home of Jailhouse Brewing in Hampton, GA
Check out the expansion of SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta
Check out the expansion of Hop City‘s Growlertown…
…and The Beer Growler in Avondale Estates
Spend more time at The Brick Store… and The Porter… with friends

Likker:
Check out American Spirit Whiskey, based in Atlanta
Spend more time with Atlanta’s fine bartenders… and friends
Spend more time at H&F Bottle Shop… and making cocktails for friends

Juice:
Revisit Georgia wine country, a few times, there is good stuff going on up there

Coffee:
Get back to my favorites more often – Octane and Steady Hand especially
Keep doing the Clever routine at home with good locally roasted beans

Alas, it won’t be easy, but I’ll do my best to keep on living a happy, thirsty, balanced life. Cheers.