Adventures In Mixology: The Sidecar

The Sidecar is my favorite drink. It is a drink surrounded in mystey, as we do not know where it originated from, nor do we know the original recipe. There is reason to believe that the drink originated at either the Ritz in Paris or Harry’s New York Bar, also in Paris. There is however, one origin story that is agreed upon.

Sometime after the 1st World War there was an American Army captain who would frequent the bar of a rather nice hotel of the day. The captain would always ride up to the bar in the sidecar of his motorcycle. Now, on one rather cold night, the captain comes to the bar and asks for something to warm him up. The bartender knows that Cognac or Brandy could take out the chill. However, those were traditionally after dinner drinks and the captain was asking for an apperitife. The bartender then had a brilliant idea, he would give the captain a drink that would warm him up and would also be a socially acceptable pre-dinner drink.

The ingredients and measures though, have been a hotly debated topic. Some say that any brandy is acceptable, while others say that only cognac should be used. There are those who say that Cointreau is the only acceptable liqueur for the drink, although people have pointed out that Cointreau is nothing more than a higher end brand of triple sec. Finally, there is debate over whether orange juice or lemon juice is to be mixed into the drink. The one thing that all of the recipes agree on is that the cocktail glass should be rimmed with sugar. It is acceptable to shake or stir this drink with ice, but not both.

Here are a collection of Sidecar recipes:

The Sidecar (French School, Orange Juice) This is how I drink them.

• 1 Ounce Brandy (or Cognac)
• 1 Ounce Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 1 Ounce Orange Juice
• Splash of Lemon Juice

The Sidecar (French School, Lemon Juice)

• 1 Ounce Brandy (or Cognac)
• 1 Ounce Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 1 Ounce Lemon Juice

The Sidecar (English School, Orange Juice)

• 3/4th Ounce Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 3/4th Ounce Orange Juice
• 1 1/2 Ounce Brandy (or Cognac)
• Splash of Lemon Juice

The Sidecar (English School, Lemon Juice)

• 3/4th Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• 3/4th Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 Brandy (or Cognac)

Preperation for all Sidecar recipes:

Shake or stir with ice, pour the drink into a chilled cocktail glass that has been garnished with sugar.

Bad Music Spotlight: Mr. T and other great hits!

Before we get to our featured artist today, I’d like to direct you to a great link with a bunch of amazingly bad recordings. WFMU’s Beware of the Blog has a great page with two full albums of the worlds’ worst records. Amongst the highlights are Edith Massey’s version of “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, Mrs. Miller’s take on “Downtown” with an amazing whistle solo and the just plain creepy Ogden Edsl song “Kinko the Clown.” And now our featured presentation:

In 1984, Mr. T released a motivation video and album called Be Somebody… or Be Somebody’s Fool. It was directed at children with the intention of giving life lessons. It’s worth noting that a pre-fame Ice-T appeared in the project. This is a classic track from the video in which Mr. T advises kids to “Treat Your Mother Right.”

Joker Arrested!

The Associated Press is reporting that a man in Three Rivers, Michigan was caught stealing Dark Knight posters and other promotional items from an area movie theater. The kicker of course is that he was dressed as the Joker at the time. Maybe it’s just me, but if I were to attempt to steal things from a movie theater,  I wouldn’t dress as a noted super villain.

What happened while I was away?

I’m out of it for a little while and everybodygets delusions of grandeur. Here’s a quick round up of things that happened over the weekend that make me ask “What the hell is happening?”

*The film adaptation of Watchmen looks good. The trailer makes me want to believe that it’s possible to film this thing. However, I’m starting to worry because Zack Snyder has given the okay for My Chemical Romance to record a cover of Bob Dylan’s amazing song “Desolation Row” for use in the film. The original can be picked up on the classic Highway 61 Revisited album. A good band should recognizes its strenghts and weaknesses. MCR’s strenghts are being whiny, releasing over the top concept albums about death and bweing little pricks who compare themselves to Queen. Their weaknesses are everything else including covering Bob Dylan songs that shouldn’t be covered.

*Also from the unnecessary remake department, MTV has decided to remake The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a tv-movie. The plan is to use the original screenplay and possibly add new music.

*Finally, on a lighter note, Sunday’s edition of the comic strip Mary Worth featured a surprise appearance of music from the film Once.Although the singers don’t look a thing like Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, they’re definitely singing ”Falling Slowly.”

Ken Jennings’ Music Trivia Answers

Okay, so nobody commented on the Ken Jennins Music Trivia post, but here’s the answers anyway:

1. Each of these bands has a set of twins as members.

2. Band names are related to films.

3. All have recorded a theme song for a James Bond film.

4. One member of these bands has committed suicide.

5. Eric Clapton was a member of all of these bands.

6. The drummers in these bands are also the vocalist.

7. All of these bands hail from Glasgow, Scotland.

8. These bands all had self titled songs on self titled albums.

9. These bands had to alter their names due to legal reasons.

10. These bands are duos.

11. All have recorded songs where the title is one word repeated three times.

12. These bands take their names from songs by other bands.

13. All have recorded songs about Superman.

14. These names are all complete sentences.

15. These bands have all released albums with one letter titles.

Gone Fishin’ This Weekend

I’ll be in San Francisco this weekend. Yay! However, this means there won’t be any updates on this little blog ’til Monday. Boo! In the mean time here’s Eddie Izzard giving a little travel guide to San Francisco. Also, don’t forget to send in your answers to the Ken Jennings Music Quiz post.

Cheers,

Michael

Music Trivia Time with Ken Jennings!

Legendary Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings has a trivia almanac out consisting of a couple of quizes per day. The entry for June 1st presents the reader with 15 groupings of four bands and a simple question: What do these sets of bands have in common? Take a guess, write your answers in the comments section and I’ll post the correct responses on Monday.

What Do These Sets Of Bands Have In Common?

1. The Bee Gees, The Breeders, Nelson, The Proclaimers

2. Alphaville, Bad Company, Fine Young Cannibals, 10,000 Maniacs

3. a-ha, Duran Duran, Garbage, Paul McCartney & Wings

4. Badfinger, The Band, Joy Division, Nirvana

5. Blind Faith, Cream, Derek & The Dominoes, The Yardbirds

6. The Carpenters, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Genesis, Rare Earth

7. Belle & Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, Simple Minds, Travis

8. Bad Company, Iron Maiden, Kool & the Gang, New Kids On The Block, Train

9. The Charlatans, Dinosaur Jr., Green Jelly, Suede

10. Air Supply, Steely Dan, T-Rex, The White Stripes

11. The Byrds, Destiny’s Child, ‘N Sync, The Ohio Express

12. Death Cab For Cutie, Judas Priest, Radiohead, Shakespear’s Sister

13. Five For Fighting, The Flaming Lips, The Kinks, R.E.M.

14. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, It’s A Beautiful Day, They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo

15. INXS, Jethro Tull, Magnetic Fields, My Morning Jacket

Well, At Least She Wasn’t Named Beef Supreme

New Zeland family court judge Rob Murfitt has had enough of parents giving their children stupid names. In a ruling released Tuesday, he ordered that a nine year old girl named* Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii be made a ward of the court and renamed. The girl was involved in a custody battle. Judge Murfitt cited the very poor judgement the parents showed in giving her this name. In his ruling, the judge included a list of names that had been rejected by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. These names included Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit. He also noted that unfortunately, the Registrar okayed the names Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence.

*God, I wish I was making this up.

Adventures in Mixology: The Vesper Martini or Why James Bond is an Idiot

President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet: Can I tell you what’s messed up about James Bond?

Charlie Young: Nothing.

President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet: Shaken, not stirred, will get you cold water with a dash of gin and dry vermouth. The reason you stir it with a special spoon is so not to chip the ice.  James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it.

-“Stirred” The West Wing.

In Casino Royale, Bond goes to the bar and orders a martini, but not just any martini. He gives the barman the following recipe: “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.” Bond soon explains the basis of his drink to American agent Felix Leiter.

“When I’m…er…concentrating,” he explained, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I can think of a good name.”

By the end of the novel, Bond names the drink after his lost love, the double agent Vesper Lynd. Despite the mystique that has surrounded getting a martini “shaken, not stirred,” there are those like President Bartlet and American mixologist David Wondrich that maintain that 007 is an idiot as far as drink mixing is concerned. According to Wondrich, Bond only checks off half of the requirements he set up for the drink he desires. It is certainly large and strong, but drinks are colder stirred than shaken. It is debatable as to wheter or not it is a very well made drink, as the vodka and Lillet do little to cut the sharpness of the gin and leaves the drinker with a very dry drink. It is worth noting that Ian Fleming never wrote about Bond ordering another Vesper.

As for ingredients, since the 1960s, the recipe for Gordon’s has changed. In Bond’s day, it was about 94 proof and has since dropped to below 80 proof. It has been suggested that Tanqueray should be used in place of Gordon’s, as it is still 94 proof. Additionally, Kina Lillet is no longer produced and many now use Lillet Blanc in its place.

The Vesper

• 3 Ounce London dry gin
• 1 Ounce vodka
• 1/2 Ounce Lillet Blanc

Adventures In Mixology: The Picasso Martini

• Pablo Picasso was probably one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. So, what better way is there to pay tribute to him then to name a martini after him? Now, the martini should never be messed with, one should stick to gin and vermouth. OK, you could make a vodka martini if gin’s not your thing. So, how do you create a truly special martini in tribute to a great Cubist artist? It’s simple, just think cube.

Colin Peter Field invented this cocktail in 2000 when he was bartender at the Ritz in Paris. In this recipe, the vermouth is added to the gin via an ice cube made from distilled water and dry vermouth.

The Picasso Martini

• 2 and a half ounces chilled gin.
• 1 cube dry vermouth

Pour the gin into a cocktail glass. Lightly drop the vermoth ice cube into the glass.