The Girl Next Door shoot we did with Aubrey back in 2002 is still one of the epic Bullz-Eye shoots that gets a ton of attention. Aubrey shows off her all-natural body and assets in this pic as her pink sweater gets unzipped.

Check out her entire shoot!

So, you see, the Jim Beam people have been celebrating the fact that September is National Bourbon Heritage Month (declared by an act of congress!) by sending out free high-end booze to people like me. Which is all well and good — very good, in fact, as far as I’m concerned.

There is a small catch, however.

You see, the company line is that the two slow batch bourbons in questions, Booker’s and Baker’s, are not really intended for cocktails. Sure, at 107 proof for Baker’s and a gobsmacking 128.5 proof on my particular bottle of Booker’s, not a lot of people are going to drink this stuff completely straight, but for most serious bourbon drinkers a bit of water or maybe a single large ice cube will do just fine and be dandy and very nice.

Still, this is a cocktail blog and cocktails are what I like. Also, rules are apparently made to be broken and mixologists have, in fact, been using Baker’s, at least, in cocktails. I found this very nice little recipe, credited to Manhattan bartender Dushan Zaric, that was set up for Baker’s but actually works even better for this boozer with the harder edged Baker’s. Also, given recent political events, I kind of enjoy the name. This one’s for you, Mitt.

The Billionaire

2 ounces very high proof bourbon
1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce grenadine (ideally a brand that has some actual pomegranate juice in it)
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/4 ounce of absinthe or, if you’ve got it, absinthe bitters (I don’t!)
1 thin-sliced lemon wheel (garnish)

Combine bourbon, lemon juice, grenadine, absinthe, and simple syrup (you can probably substitute a tablespoon of superfine sugar) in a cocktail shaker. Add tons of ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a chilled cocktail glass or rocks glass. (I used the latter.) Sip, and try not to spill any on your ascot.

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Though this drink teeters on the edge of my personal sensitivity towards excess tartness, all that grenadine and simple syrup, plus the natural sweetness of bourbon, turn out to be more than sufficient for counteracting the lemon juice in a productive matter. I should add that most (but not all) recipes call strictly for absinthe bitters, not just absinthe and some seem to imply you should use some kind of super-fancy grenadine.

Well, all I can say is that my drink tasted fine using the cheap-ass absinthe and the more-authentic-than-usual grenadine I happened to have on hand. I might actually be a member of the income-tax paying 53% percent, but I sure as hell ain’t no billionaire.

Some guys are looking for a relationship. Some want to just get more hookups, and many guys frankly want both. We’d love to find that one great girl, but we definitely want as many hook-ups as possible along the way.

The first thing to keep in mind is that many women want the same thing. They just go about it in different ways, and every woman is different, so learning observe and listen is critical if you want to have more success.

What I’ve found is that many of the pick-up artists have excellent advice in this area. The key is using a system that works for you, but don’t expect to improve in this area without seeking out helpful advice. Dan Bacon has an excellent strategy that he calls “The Flow” and it’s a simple yet very effective approach that most guys will be able to use.

Of course you can spend your time on adult dating sites, and you’ll find some willing partners after you sift throught the fake profiles, but you’re always better off improving your game so that you can operate in any social setting.

It may not be easy, but it is possible to make a living as a professional gambler. Before making this kind of commitment, however, be sure that you know just what it takes to walk away from a consistent and dependable day job to move out into the world of the unpredictable paycheck. Most professionals save up to ensure that they have at least one year’s worth of living expenses before making the commitment. There is plenty of stress and anxiety surrounding gambling without needing worry about from where the family’s next meal will come.

Advantages of Being a Professional Gambler

Being a professional gambler is a lot like being self-employed. You get to make your own hours, work when you want to work and for the most part you don’t have to answer to a boss. Aside from visions of winning millions of dollars, the independence of the profession is probably what draws people in and makes this career option appealing. This is not a 9 to 5 job that requires a time card. Most of the time, a player is completely independent and has the ability to pick and choose the amount that he or she works. It could be live online blackjack in the morning and something completely different in the evening if you want.

Being a professional gambler also comes with some of the tax benefits that a self-employed person or independent contractor would enjoy. Losses are calculated to detract from tax liability and all expenses related to gambling including travel, food and even networking is often a tax write off. It is important to keep accurate records of all wins, losses and money spent to ensure that when tax season comes around, you have everything you need.

While these benefits are great, there are very few people that have the ability to become a professional poker gambler. People watch TV and see men and women walking away with large sums of money for sitting at a table and playing cards. They have no idea that one win is not enough to make a person a professional. That win may only cover the losses from other games earlier in the month or year. It takes discipline, determination and a considerable savings to get started.

Disadvantages of Being a Professional Gambler

It takes a lot of money to get started in professional gambling. Most players set aside money that will support them throughout the year in case they go through a losing streak. Even with money saved, each time a person joins into a game, he needs to pay some money upfront. The more money the players front, the more money the jackpot is worth. In this case, you need to have money to make money.

This means that you need to have a considerable amount of money before you declare yourself to be a professional. You can use gambling to accumulate your money and get the experience you need to be a professional, but don’t leave behind all of your other options until you are sure that you can sustain yourself.

Stress is often another drawback to the life of a professional gambler. If you spend one night playing live roulette and lose it all, the worries start immediately. If you have had a bad luck streak, there is a chance that you could go an extended amount of time without any type of payoff. Most people expect a regular paycheck and they depend on the consistency. When you are a professional gambler, you could go months with no wins but are still steadily using up your cash reserve.

It is possible to become a professional gambler and leave a desk job with all its benefits to take on cards at a table. It isn’t easy and many people will try and fail, but the opportunity is out there.

Valentina is a lovely model born in Eastern Europe and here she’s posing in some elegant lingerie and thigh high stockings. We photographed her in Los Angeles.