Happy Friday - drown out any bad tastes from the week!
Here's the cocktail Rachel made on tonight's show - video will be posted shortly.
Rachel learned about this cocktail from John Gertsen's great bar in Boston, Drink.
It's a very slight variation on a classic martini -- but the variation is important.
The Obituary
2-1/4 ounces gin
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1/4 ounce absinthe
Stir, and strain.
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I am ecstatic. Through the modern miracle of DVR and the random chance that I happened to have gin, vermouth (dry) AND absinthe. I was able to Have A Drink with Rachel!!!!!
I am ecstatic!
Through the modern miracle of DVR I was able to have a drink with my MSNBC girlfriend Rachel Maddow!!!
This time we just happened to have gin, dry vermouth and absinthe so we were able to pause the program and fix our Obituarys with Rachel!!!!
BTW - We went to your personal website and my wife thinks Poppy is cute.
We love you Rachel!!
Sounds like a good martini to have at a death metal show. If you can find a bar both swanky enough to have absinthe and death metal.
You think Lakrisal tastes awful? You should try Surströmming - you won't even get to the tasting stage - it has a righteously intense stank!
ok just a little thing james bond martini is allways shaken not stirred
stirred not shaken just dont sound right now next week you have to redeem your barteding chops ,i got it next with james bond theam music in the background you have to make a JAMES BOND MARTINI
On a historical linguistic note, Maddow's Arrrr appeared first in the 1934 version of Treasure Island with Lionel Barrymore.
-Now with our cannons arrayed smartly and our linguistic decking firm underfoot we shove off to keel haul that lassie Maddow for the bilge water she made ready from perfectly hearty grog.
.
*Never*
*Never*
Allow perfectly good gin to EVER touch ice. Not shaken, Not stirred, Not ever.
.
Simply put the Tanqueray in the deep freeze and keep it there always. It will pour with the consistency of syrup into your martooni glass at which time you add a capful of Vermouth. If you want to add some flavor, administer with an eyedropper.
Here's the cocktail Rachel made on tonight's show - video will be posted shortly.
"You, you Maddow, You didn't make (build) that" "somebody else made that happen" "Somebody else created the glass, the glass bottle for the liquor, someone else created that alcohol in a distillory, that product got to your stage on the backs of (as Ms Warren says) all of you here. Why you didn't even create the recipe, you borrwed it. Heck somoene else made the shot/measuring glasses.
You got popular on your show and it earned you a lot of money. "Good, good for you". "Keep a good chunk of that idea, that money" "But make no mistake about it, you didn't do that on your own." "There were roads built to transport the goods and liqour and bridges and police and fire departments to protect your studio so raging marauding bands wouldn't steal your show" Although some wish they would. It's the infrastructure that created that cocktail, NOT YOU! Someone else built the studio, created the cameras, the lighting the, the technology, the internet, ...oh well you get the point.
That is what YOU are saying when you validate what Liz Warren and President Obama said. Yet Maddow is saying she is responsible for showing you how to build make a cocktail.
You didn't build that. Well, in the case of Rachel Maddow, they are both correct. Point in case, Maddow didn't create the cocktail recipe, Warren nor Obama created the "You didn't build that" theme, like John Gerstin being credited for the cocktail, George Lakoff UC Berkley Professor is the originator of the "You didn't build that".
No, Maddow didn't "make that cocktail on her show" she didn't build that.
"Bottoms Up"
Feel better now?
Of course I do. I am the only one in the room is isn't drunk or a phony like Maddow.
Envy one of the 7 deadly sins. Throw a little pride into the equation , a true obituary.
You Didn’t Build That by Yourself.
What else didn’t we build by ourselves ? How about, the English language, or even democracy. When “ My Cousin Vinny “ won his first court case, he didn’t do it all by himself either. As his girl friend put it, “ You may win case after case. But you will then have to thank someone else for helping you each time. Oh my god, you are useless ! “
The fact that we are all in this together is a problem, isn’t it ?
And though I maybe Shaken, I am not Stirred.
My Cousin Vinny???? My Cousin Vinny is Fiction, they're fictional characters. We didn't watch My Cousin Vinny when I was in school, we read books about history & civics and social studies. This Constituional Democracy we DID build ourselves, Americans Built it.
My Cousin Vinny? You must be kidding. Go microwave another bag of popcorn, grab another cocktail and watch movies, maybe Dirty Dancing or Avatar, those are two great movies explaining civilization and or social studies.
There is such a thing as American Exceptionalism and there are many people both living & dead who singularly contributed to the making and sustaining of this great country outside of "You didn't build that." PERIOD
The fact that the principle being discussed comes from a marxist professor from UC Berkley George Lakoff. He is the author of "You didn't build that." That IS a problem.
My Cousin Vinny, thats the most sound and fundemtally accurate discription of what Obama and Warren meant. Thank You. Now I get it.
Irish, you are a troll, a self righteous one at that.
I am not sure to what you are refering when you say American Exceptionalism, but the United States Constitution is not something we built ourselves. Our founding fathers borrowed form many historical documents to create it.
The only thing exceptional about America is the image it has of itself.
It is not surprising for Scandinavians to like Lakrisal, these are the people who invented Lutefisk!
I have operated for many years on the premise that there are people that like licorice and those that don't. I think they are the same groups that like artichokes and don't like artichokes. I like both. Will be trying this drink soon!!
Rachel introduced me to the Sazarac....best drink ever. If you ever come back to Lawrence, Ks, skip the brewery and cross the street to 715 and order a great version of that classic drink!!
Lakrisal and salt liquorice in general is an acquired taste. Lots of various degrees of saltiness exists. for the novice in salt liquorice i suggest you start tasting some of the very mild versions.
A lot of well stocked candy stores should have some soft Finnish salt liquorice that is just having a hint of saltiness.
Lakrisal is like going for the concentrated version like drinking syrup of something you havnt ever tried in the mild version. It is having a very strong flavor and it is not liquorice per se :) Give them a try, they are not as strong in flavor as Rachel's attempt with Lakrisal.
One word: lutefisk.
lutefisk, yes, an acquired taste just like Lakrisol.
But then there's durion, a melon enjoyed in places like the Philippines and other tropical areas e g Borneo or Malaysia, etc. It's a melon that has the odor of rotting flesh. It is vile, vile, vile.
Yes, the smell is rotting garlic mixed with gasoline but if you can get past the smell, durian makes a great creamy milkshake. I kid you not.
Durian is not a melon. Also not vile (but that part's opinion). I think it smells like a cross between onion, creamsicles and something more animal, like sweat or feet (sort of how some stinky cheeses do)--but even when over-ripe or rotten, it assuredly does not smell like rotting flesh.
I am an American expat living in Sweden. My Swedish wife loves Lakrisal, I can't get it anywhere near my mouth, and I am a licorice lover. However, when I was doing my globetrotting courting, My Dentist's receptionist would practically beg me to bring back Lakrisal for her. I guess its an acquired taste.
By the way, good choice on the Absinthe! St. George's is located on the old Navy base where the Mythbusters play, and they do drop in sometimes after filming. They are located in the hanger where my squadron was housed. When I mentioned this at a tour and tasting, I was comped the price of my tasting. Very good spirits are now distilled where I used to work late into the night fixing airplanes.
Replying to my own post, there is another Swedish candy that is in the same catagory, called Djungelvrål, translated as "Jungle Howler." It is a hard candy, semi sweet licorice coated with the ammonium chloride. you get this really bitter flavor as you put it in your mouth, but then it mellows a bit.
There is one more variant of the salt licorice (salmiak) that Rachel should try, called Turkish Peber. Made in Finland, a hard sweet licorice candy, hollow, coated inside and out with salmiak powder. They come in varying degrees of nastiness, but they are great dropped into a shot of vodka and allowed to dissolve a bit.
Scandinavia is the home of Aquavit, a herb infused distilled liquor that frequently has a licorice flavor.
They do like their licorice here...
So how do you Swedes feel about stuff ?
I recently rode in a European AirBus A319 work-horse air frame hopping Denver to Detroit. Yes it was fast and all, and flew quite flat and stabile. But I felt more like a sardine than a paying customer. So my question to you is, what is more important ? Getting there, or going in comfort ? Wait a minute, I may have answered my own question. Never mind. . .
Is there any aircraft, that once you leave first class, you don't feel like a sardine?
Let me know when you find one.
I can assure you that the Swedish feel pretty much the same about things as anyone else, the difference being, they are much happier in life than Americans. There is a cultural concept called "lagom" that has no direct translation, but in essence it means "enough" or "balance." It is a concept most Americans would be wise to learn.
Otherwise, they are quite happy with their universal health care. I am 59 years old and have various issues that come about with age. I am fully enrolled in the health system and will not pay more than $165 for medical care in any year long period. I will not pay more than $330 for my drugs for the same time period. The medical system is efficient, i will see the Doctor on the day I call for an appointment, or maybe the day after. Like any system, it pays to be proactive.
I've never tried Lakrisal, but if it's anything like Dutch "Dubbel Zout" licorice (http://www.bad-candy.com/old/bc2/doublezout/doublezout.html), it must be good. I've been eating the stuff since I was a little kid.
Of course, my favorite was always "Zoute Zwart Wit" ("Salty Black/White") Licorice Powder ... strangely addictive.
I think it's the ammonium chloride that adds the je ne sais quoi to the salmiak licorice variant (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salty_liquorice), because I don't like Twizzlers ...
Twizzlers is awful licorice.
I grew up on American Licorice Co licorice, now doing business as Red Vines. (There is no such thing as red licorice)
I do like the sweeter licorices, but i can appreciate the salt. they are best when mixed in a way that the mouth is soothed by the sweet after being assaulted by the salt.
Venco Dutch licorice is the best...
Maddow sure does promote drinking.
Alcohol is not good for you, why do you think being drunk it's called, "Intoxicated".
I am in AA. And she is the only one on TV that convinces me not to just give up and drink, so do not blame her.
American jokes that are not funny:
I just got back from visiting my kin in Tennessee. While the family was all in Memphis, I managed to remaind them that the country of Egypt has had a city of the same exact name for many thousands of years. And then my uncle said, “ Those bastards !! They stole Our Name !!!
Let's get Rachel a Debate Gig
http://www.change.org/petitions/commission-on-presidential-debates-name-msnbc-rachel-maddow-to-host-a-2012-presidential-debate
Regarding Lakrisal, ammonium chloride and goats, goats don't find ammonium chloride tasty or eat it voluntarily. Male goats (bucks or wethers) are made to eat it as a preventative measure against urinary calculi. It's fairly common for bucks to get bladder stones and they can die from it without surgery (most vets won't work on goats). Well bred bucks are expensive, so daily feeding of the ammonium chloride is a cheap and easy way to ensure that he continues to be able to work (sire kids!). I don't think they would eat it plain; it has to be mixed into their grain.
Now I'm left wondering if men who drink Lakrisal have a lower incidence of bladder stones? Haha...
Best Cocktail Moment thus far ... by far!
Nice cocktail recipe, but have to take issue with Rachel's opinion on shaking vs. stirring. Absolutely can you shake a martini - adds a different finish. The shaking with the ice 'bruises' the alcohol, and tiny pieces of ice get shattered into the drink, making for a 'thicker' mouth feel - and a generally colder drink. That's the whole reason you specify your taste when ordering. BTW, the "James Bond' martini was shaken for this reason (the bruising etc.), but isn't strictly a martini - its a mixture of gin and vodka and Lillet Gold - which in Casino Royale Bond names a "Vesper" - so it was Bond's own recipe. And, specifically, shaken. Remember, these books were written by Ian Fleming, who as a) an old-fashioned Englishman and b) ex-MI5, probably knew how to mix a drink.......
Regarding Romney's "tell", please look at the way he laughs 1st when asked about his taxes, or any other difficult issues. This is called a "Hanged Man's Laugh". Please look into this, it would make a great segment.
Shake it hard, I like some ice chips floating in the glass. No gin please, a good potato vodka gives it a more glycerin type finish. Soak your olives (2 please) in dry vermouth, that way you can't accidentally add too much.
Cheerio. A drink! A draft! A dram! A swig! A buzz. A whirl. An urge to hurl.
Mourning the morning after.Regretting the begetting.Rueing the doing.
Hair of the dog!Falling off the log!All hail this grog!
Sorrow drowned. Fools crowned. Judgement unsound
Cheerio. Til the yeast farts and bellows to the fellows, My work is done! Let us have fun!
Let's all help Rachel get a 2012 debate gig- http://signon.org/sign/rachel-maddow-to-host