The Whiskey Skin is a variation on a hot toddy. This recipe from David Wondrich's great book, "Imbibe!"
Ingredients:
- Water
- Sugar (White sugar, demerara sugar -- depending on what you like)
- A lemon
- Scotch (Good, scotchy scotch; a single malt, a good peaty one if you can get it, like Ardbeg from Islay)
Preparation:
Start by setting the water to boil. You want a heat proof mug.
Wondrich calls for about a teaspoon of sugar. Rachel likes a little less than that.
Then, you want a looooooong thin piece of lemon peel.
If you're following the recipe properly, you just drop the peel in there. The Rachel Maddow variation is to murder the peel a little bit with a muddler, using the sugar as an abrasive to really work the lemon oil out of the peel.
Add two ounces of scotch to the lemon peel and sugar.
Pour in the boiling water, then just stir once...
Drink... and fall asleep.
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Bah! I won't be buying any Scotch! Not even a scotchy Scotch. Not even a Scottish Scotch with a kilt who is so tight when he winks his kneecap moves.
Peaty Scotch, tho? That sounds a tad boggy to me. Emily Dickinson writes about narrow fellows (in the grass) who like boggy acres-- perhaps peaty ones too. Am I making too much of bogs and peat and innuendos to even THINK about drinking something like that?
Seems like it. If I weren't an anti-Scotch single malt bigot already. Now where did I put that PBR?!
Peat and Repeat were in a boat. Peat fell out. Who was left?
I have to admit the way you really drink Scotch is to just drink the Scotch; neat. No water, no ice, no nothing, no how.
I discovered that as a minor who got in the liquor cabinet and assumed orange juice went with everything.
That was enough to make me give up orange juice I can assure you.
True. Scotch, whiskey, rum, vodka, and white lightening are best sipped neat.
But not often.
Habit forming.
I'll admit scotch on the rocks or dry is good...but you can't knock somethin' till ya try it. Or else you must hand over your liberal card, Chris =P.
That drink sounds delicious AND a sleep aid!
I like rocks with my scotch or bourbon, but agreed… have to be careful with it or might start crying over the debt or taxes or stay in a tanning bed too long.
It's all good, y'all.
Also: hot buttered rum...yum!
lol, Carolinaladywithfan, Rachel declared, at the top of the segment, that hot buttered rum was naaaaasty, and should never happen! I've never had it, but have fond memories of butter rum life savers from childhood......
Me, I like a Mexican Coffee if I'm having a hot evening beverage (rare!), but it has to be decaf coffee, or I'm up all night! Bzzzzzzt! :P
Oh dear...poor Rachel! She's never had hot buttered rum Papa's way, apparently...with dark Puerto Rican, real butter and just a tinch of ground nutmeg. Oh, mon - that is worth a voyage across the sea!
ooooooo, that does sound good! I'd probably bastardize it with a spoonful of molasses, though. Something sweet that would stand up to/mix with to the other flavors?
Sugah cane syrup, mah mon...sugah cane syrup. Or you stir it wid a sugah cane.
O my!
I cannot believe it.
First, I had the privilege of pointing to some NRA conservatives that Rachel "MadCow" was stomping a muddle hole in their asses tonight.
And then Rachel ends with a cocktail with Scotch.
Now that's my kind of "koolaide."
Islay Scotch - crushed lemon peel - minimal demerara sugar - hot water
Imbibe, Indeed
Rachel, you are da woman (muddler, and all)
It is a "Bribe of Lobbyists" or a "Cash of Lobbyists"
Arbeg is the best. Like Grandma's medicine cabinet.
Ok how about the Proud Bird With The Golden Tail:
One Pint of Everclear 90 proof.
One quart of Thunderbird wine.
Shaken not stirred as to not bruise the Thunderbird.
Or a better alternative in a single word Glenmorangie
Thunderbird = Next Morning, Thunder in your Head, and a Dead Bird in your Mouth!
Add Everclear, you may be discussing TWO Mornings Later!
Don't forget Fred Sanford's Cranberry Juice + Ripple = Cripple!
Cheers!
I think you've got it and I have to admit that the Cripple line made me laugh.
Correction: Everclear is 190 proof.
I don't know what would have caused me to miss that 1.
OMG, UncleHomer, do you drink that in one sitting???
Crippled indeed!
Okay, folks, prepare to blot your tongue: Kahlua & Coke!
'Cuz, well, in college you'll drink anything.....we didn't have cream, and heaven forbid we drink our Kahlua neat. Stupid college girls! :P
Too rich for my blood. I keep the Ardbeg under lock and key (the kids haven't learnt to appreciate it yet. One of them might but he can learn on his own dime.) Attractive as this sounds, I shudder at the idea of sugar getting anywhere near my beloved Ardbeg.
Like tossing a sugar cube into your champagne. *shudder*!
Cool.
Thank you Rachel.
Would be nice (but somewhat inflammatory) to do the following the next time you have to do the "Man Cave" thing for a conservative politician.
Pour vodka, lime juice, and grenadine into shot glass. Then layer 151 proof rum on top from the back of a spoon. Light the 151 and shoot it while lit if you dare. If you are worried about shooting a lit drink, just blow out the flame and then shoot the drink.
I can't have any wheat or citrus, so I modify it slightly.
It's called the Flaming Jesus.
The following would also be nice after a loud angry outburst by a politician hits the news wires.
Layer in this order: grenadine, creme de menthe, banana liqueur, white rum. Ignite rum before serving. Server with a straw.
I can't say the name of this drink because my post will be deleted.
In my younger daze I used creme de menthe and 151 rum. Light it; keep it lit; shoot it. We called it a blue blazer obviously for the nice blue flame of the 151 rum. It is one very tasty shot.
Dang, Actually folks we used peppermint schnapps and 151 rum. Big difference. Sorry 'bout that. I told y'all it was in my younger daze... It really tasted good...until it didn't matter how it tasted...it was then that we knew we were wasted.
Just a passing thought. It seems liberals and conservatives, believers and atheists, intellectuals and fools.
It didn't matter they apparently all loved getting drunk with Christopher Hitchens.
Just a passing thought in passing.
But personally I think you gotta love a guy like that.
And The Young Tamatures could learn a thing or 5,000 from Rachel. :)
I just took a nap and Christopher Hitchens visited me in my sleep, he said "God sure works in strange ways." Here is what he was referring to:
Just a week ago I visited my doctor, mostly to get a six-month supply of Ambien refills. My Doc said fine, but to get it I had to sit through a finger-waggin lecture on my poor sleep habits. He said I had to promise to start "good sleeping practices" as an alternative to popping an Ambien every night. As we all do, I promised "absolutely doc."
Seven days and Ambiens later I was half paying attention to Rachel's Friday night wind-up (mainly because I knew soon tattooed murderers and rapists would be talking about their "back door boogie" shower techniques). Suddenly I heard Rachel say something about a "scotch whiskey Ambien;" she had my FULL ATTENTION.
Long story long, I noted the recipe and shopping for the ingredients tonight (I already have Walker Blue Label, Crown Royal Reserve and other elixirs of the corrupt, so I don't need to buy the liquor).
Anyway, who would think that last week my Doc was lecturing me on practicing quality sleep techniques and cutting back on taking Ambien. And then a few days later Dr. Maddow is providing me an alternative to Ambien.
I can hardly contain my excitement. On Monday morning I will send my doctor an e-mail telling him about this Christmas miracle, Dr. Maddow's USDA Grade A, 100% Prime, Santa Approved Ambien Workaround.
I just know Hitchens is in heaven saying "Yes Michael, God is great."
And as my con artist neighbor would say: "Fleeced Navidad everyone!"
P.S. Pardon any spelling and/or grammar errors. I took an Ambien and am in the hallucination phase.
Listen I know the feeling well and I do mean precisely.
I've tried to make it point not to take anything to help me sleep if I don't have to but that means about 4 hours of sleep a night.
I'm willing to try anything that might help that.
And count your blessings. Out here where I'm at in order to get pain medications you have to take a piss test first.
Hmmm, perhaps I should try this to recover from final exams...?
If Boehner and his crew were smart, they would lower taxes on booze and drugs, keep us all drunk and high so we don't notice how they are sacrificing the future of our children and grandchildren at the alter of profit.
Rachel, Rachel, Rachel;
You don't "murder the peel a little bit with a muddler", you 'Firmly & Thoroughly MASSAGE the Flavor from the Peel with a Muddler'!
[edit: actually, don't you 'Muddle' the peel with a 'Muddler'? Hmm... ]
Then again, I'm one of those 'Purists' who believes that adding Water or Ice to GREAT 'Top-Shelf' Irish or Scotch is Sacrilegious, and only a step short of Murder! I only use Good 'Second Tier' alcohol for Mixers!
Also, I'd suggest All Members of Congress have at least 2 Good Drinks (or 'Herbal Alternative') before EVERY Vote - Much More Progress!
Hugz!
Heck, I think they ARE drinking during 'working hours'. Yeah, perhaps some herb would help. They might not get much done, but they'd have a great time of it....
I have a well stocked liquor locker and an appreciation for obscure drinks, so I do enjoy this Friday segment. But this thread is going a direction for some people that could be very dark. I have both insomniacs and alcoholics in my family so reading some of these responses, I have to say something- like be careful out there folks.
An alternative to chemical depressants is something really interesting and but so tedious that your already fatigued mind loses its grip. Philosophy books generally do this for me, like say, Kant, but I think it is different for everyone because if the book won't hold your attention then it is no good.
I'm not so sure about that.
I went through a period where I couldn't sleep for about two years and the only way I could was to read Nietzsche until I fell asleep, and then read some more when I woke up until I went back to sleep.
Drifting in and out of consciousness reading Nietzsche might have altered my mind.
Well, I agree with that, and found that reading him before bed is like taking several hits of hallucinogens. Well, not anymore because I guess I got used to him- but during University days that was certainly true. Not that I ever did that many drug, I just looked that way.
The key is that it has to hold your attention but be so tedious that linear thinking decides to lay down and take a nap. Some of my longer posts might fit that description. Nietzche's later writings might also fit that category, but something like Birth of Tragedy or Gay Science do not.
Anyway, as far as Holiday Hot drinks go- Try putting a shot of Southern Comfort 100 into your mug of Raspberry (or Red) Zinger tea.
Yeah, I vote for John's method, reading philosophy texts. Or just about any academic journal (but you'll get more from the philosophy).
And I do love my Zinger herbal infusions (that's what they call them on the box now. Somebody at Celestial Seasonings has been reading their Orwell guide to tea, now that the right-wing apologist Christopher Hitchens is gone).
But, as someone who has nursed a stubborn insomnia since I was 11 years old (and have been obsessively reading in bed with flashlights or whatever since about that long), I've tried just about everything (non-chemical, save stinky Valarian). It took working overnights at CNN to finally force me to find a way to fall asleep, or at least enjoy the time with my eyes closed, not sleeping.
Nothing like having to go to work at 2am to start reading in and writing for the perky early morning shows to mess up your sleep patterns. If I wasn't in bed by 4 pm, I was in trouble.
But I love audiobooks. On cross-country drives, they keep me awake just fine (I don't get sleepy when driving), but one audiobook series in particular-- one reader in particular, has been putting me to sleep since 2001 (and imagine trying to fall asleep during daylight coming off covering an anthrax attack presser live!).
I even got to tell him once that I "go to bed with you every night," which is NOT the sort of thing Jim Dale usually hears from his fans.
I have turned a few other friends on to it. Granted, they are as odd as I am. Yup, it's Harry Potter. The whole series. Screw the movies, you'll never want to watch them again except as avatars with the sound off. Get the whole Jim Dale unabridged set, from Year One to the Deathly Hallows. Start at the beginning, use the sleep timer on the iPod-- I set it for 90 minutes. I'm usually out before the end of that, although some days when I'm stewing, I gotta double it.
The next night, I just advance it a couple of chapters, start another 90, and pick up where I last drifted off. Get to the end of Deathly Hallows, just loop back around to Sorcerer's Stone.
And yes, I now know every nuance and phrasing pattern of JK Rowling by heart. Quintillian says we can learn great literature by imitation, but I really have no desire to force myself through great works of literature by audio osmosis. But a kids' story that really isn't just a kids' story? With amazing voicing by an amazing performer (when most audiobook readers really suck, you know)-- it is one of the goofiest comforting tuck-ins of my insomnia-riddled life! ;-)
Kudos, Rachel, for pronouncing Islay correctly! The Ardbeg distillery is about 6 miles from where my great-grandfather was born on that beautiful Hebridean island. The Bowmore distillery is in the center of the largest village (Bowmore) on the island, and during certain phases of distilling the air in the town is quite literally intoxicating! My personal choice is Laphroaig.
I'm in total agreement with Rachel's assessment on the "hot buttered rum." That's a double yuck for me.
After two full days of jury service, this drink did the trick. I need to try the Ardbeg.
You guys really ought to try making your own wine. It's really fun. I made a batch of blueberry wine in August and I plan on having a bottle for Christmas dinner. It's amazing what fruit juice, sugar, and yeast can do. :)
My doctor wants to talk to Dr. Maddow and her "whiskey Ambien." He seemed perturbed. (OK, not really. I did not rat out Dr. Maddow to my Doc. But it adds some drama to my otherwise boring posts.)
Seriously, if this is going to turn into the Maddow Sleep Blog, my problem is that as a combat vet I lost the ability to sleep except in short naps. I need an Ambien to get me to sleep 4 to 5 hours.
Contrary to what some doctors recommend, I now lay in bed ready to sleep. I crack open one of three to four non-fiction books laying around. (For example, The Folly of Fools - Trivers). About 45 minutes into whatever I am out.
I also use a red pen and mark up the text as if studying for an exam. For some reason that puts me out, reliving college days when I would struggle to stay awake and get through the material .