Month: October 2012 (Page 7 of 11)

Drink of the Week: The Honolulu

October 12, 2012 / Bob Westal

Last month, I was faced with the challenge of coming up with a cocktail to justify those free bottles of Booker’s and Baker’s bourbon that the Jim Beam Small Batch folks so kindly sent my way. This week, I have another — and I think even better — cocktail usage for these justifiably widely praised high-proof and moderately pricey bourbons.

The Beam folks might insist that the best way to enjoy these bourbons is with just a splash of water or an ice cube, but I think they really work well in this week’s drink. It’s a bitters-free variation on the Manhattan (originally featured on BE here) that really comes into its own with a bourbon packed with flavor, and alcohol, than on an ordinary 80-90 proofer. It’s also about as simple as a cocktail gets.

The Honolulu

1 ounce bourbon
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 ounce sweet vermouth
Lemon twist (garnish)

Combine in the bourbon and vermouth in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Depending on your preference, stir or shake (I shake) vigorously. Strain into a highly chilled cocktail glass, add the lemon twist, and drink. You may also ponder what the connection could possibly between this drink and the famed Hawaiian metropolis. I haven’t a clue.

****

At least using Booker’s or Baker’s, this is a very refined drink for people who enjoy a lot of intriguing flavors dancing across the tongue. While using the very high-proof Booker’s resulted in a gentle-yet-tongue tickling beverage with a subtly spicy flavor, I actually leaned towards the version I made with Baker’s. At 107 proof, Baker’s is practically children’s fare compared to the massive 128.5 power of Booker’s, but at least using the Martini vermouths I had on hand, the result was actually more complex and intriguing.

I did try to experiment with this drink by substituting Punt e Mes for the sweet vermouth and adding a Badabing cherry. You know how they say that most experiments fail? Stick with the traditional Honolulu. This is a cocktail that’s interesting enough to entertain the brain while powerful enough to (oh so pleasantly) dull it. No reason to mess with something this good.

Say goodnight, Gracie and Eleanor.

[Writer’s note: I’d like to dedicate this post to my mother, Charlotte Bows Westal, who went on to the great Coconut Grove in the sky at age 84, shortly after this post was put together earlier this week. Mom was never a really a writer, a big drinker, or a connoisseur, but she knew the value of good grammar and a well-stocked bar — even if she wasn’t above pouring the cheap stuff into bottles of the good stuff or reading questionable bestsellers. She would have liked today’s clip, too, I think. Maybe she even saw it on the big screen back in ’39.]

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

Bakers Booker's Bourbon cocktails Drink of the Week dry vermouth Eleanor Powell Gracie Allen Happy Hour high proof bourbon Honolulu Jim Beam Jim Beam Small Batch Punt e Mes sweet vermouth the Honolulu

007 One by One – Dr. No

October 12, 2012 / Bob Westal

The girls, the gadgets, the stylish violence and absurd deeds of derring-do… It’s no wonder that the handsome and ruthlessly heroic James Bond has been an icon of masculine wish fulfillment and feminine desire for 50 years. Harry Potter and “Twilight” films might sell more tickets at the moment, but Bond belongs to an elite group of internationally popular, impossible to kill, long-running heroes.

One thing that distinguishes Bond from your Superman, Batman and Sherlock Holmes types is that, with three quirky exceptions, the Bond character has been exclusively handled by the same small, family-owned production company which has maintained a tight creative grip on the franchise since the very first Bond movie. This has led to a remarkable degree of consistency, which can be a mixed blessing.

Keeping things fresh is surely a concern on the upcoming 23rd entry in the series, which was intelligently rebooted with 2006’s “Casino Royale,” but it’s been an issue since the Bond craze first kicked into overdrive with “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball” in the mid-sixties. In fact, there’s something enjoyably ritualistic about the Bond films, which repeat the same elements with just enough variation to keep fans returning film after film, even as they might grumble that the series hasn’t been the same since Sean Connery stopped playing Bond. Without the Bond girls, the amazing stunts, the pre-credit sequence and elaborate credits, and especially the theme, Bond just wouldn’t be Bond.

And so, we at Bullz-Eye will be looking at 007 film by film, with a special emphasis on those key ingredients in the Bond martini, both familiar and hopefully somewhat surprising, that have kept so many of us devoted to the series, movie after movie after movie, year after year after year. We’ll start at the beginning…

“Dr. No” (1962)

The Plot

James Bond, an MI6 spy with a “double O” designation which means he is both an investigator and an occasional assassin with a “license to kill,” is sent to investigate the murder of British operative and his secretary in Jamaica. The man behind it turns out to be a Chinese-German millionaire with an unhealthy interest in America’s space program and scores of expendable extras on his payroll. 007 gets his man, kills a few others, and makes a few new female friends.

Entertainment, Movies

Beretta Eunice Gayson Felix Leiter femme fatales Honey Ryder Honeychile Ryder Ian Fleming James Bond James Bond 50th anniversary James Bond blog James Bond cars James Bond movies James Bond style license to kill M Miss Moneypenny Miss Taro Moneypenny Monty Norman Rule of 3 Sunbeam Alpine 1961 Series II Sylvia Trench Ursula Andress Walther PPK Zena Marshall

How to get a girlfriend

October 12, 2012 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Some guys want to find a girlfriend, while others want to meet as many women as possible. Regardless of what you’re looking for, you have to approach more women to increase your chances of success.

In his article about how to get a girlfriend, Dan Bacon points out an interesting fact:

We have surveyed more than 6,000 women during the last 7 years and 73% say that men don’t approach women enough anymore. Women also complain that a lot of modern men have become too wimpy and take too long to make something happen.

This isn’t surprising, as many men have trouble with this. They get nervous or intimidated, and so they avoid the possibility of rejection.

So you need to learn to change your attitude. Just as important, however, is learning how to approach women. There are all sorts of great pickup artists who can help with that. Their approaches vary so you need to do research and find one that fits your personality, yet at the same time you have to be willing to challenge yourself, otherwise you won’t get better at this. Check out our pickup artist web guide for examples.

Dan Bacon’s article has some easy advice on approaching women in coffee shops. Other stress learning how to talk to women and not hitting on them as soon as you approach them. Read up and you’ll see right away many ways you can improve.

Dating, Lifestyle

approach more women approach strategies approaching women approaching women in coffee shops best pick-up artists best PUAs Dan Bacon dating advice for guys dating advice for men dating articles for guys dating articles for men dating blog for guys dating blog for men dating for guys dating for men dating ideas for guys dating ideas for men dating tips for guys dating tips for men find a girlfriend hitting on women how to approach women how to get a girlfriend improve your game with women learn to approach women men don’t approach women enough pick-up artist ideas pick-up artist strategies pick-up artist tips pick-up artists PUA advice PUA approach strategies PUA ideas PUA strategies PUA tips PUAs The Modern Man when to approach women

Handmade Bars Made in Less than 8 Hours

October 11, 2012 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Last weekend, the world’s largest BBQ competition took place in Kansas City, Missouri as more than 600 chefs and 100,000+ attendees descended on the American Royal World Series of BBQ.

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky hosted their Raising the Bar competition at the event to celebrate the beauty behind the handcrafted hard work that goes into this mecca of meat. The rules were simple: six teams of three craftsmen had eight hours to build a badass bar from scratch. They could weld, saw and hammer to their heart’s delight, but they couldn’t leave the set, and at day’s end, the bar had to be capable of pouring a shot of George Dickel.

Check out the results below.

Why It’s Awesome: The robotic arm in the right hand side of the photo pours your shot at the push of a button no matter which bar stool you’re seated at. This whole technology thing could work out after all…

Why It’s Awesome: Let’s face it. Drinking whisky anywhere is a good thing. But drinking whisky served by pulling the trigger on an electric screwdriver while seated in stools made from actual George Dickel whisky casks is a VERY good thing.

Why It’s Awesome: Because nothing tastes better than a stiff drink after a day in the garage. Just remember, put the power tools down before picking the whisky glass up!

Why It’s Awesome: A) Because if you build a bar like this, former Cincinnati reds pitcher Rob Dibble (left) might just show up to party with you! B) You’re sitting on a full-fledged whisky barrel C) A suspended pulley triggers a shot of George Dickel. It’s like the Wild West, but better.

Beer, Vices

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky handcrafted bars handmade bars

Weekly Web Series Review: China Illinois

October 11, 2012 / Ezra Stead

It is time once again to return to the twisted, hilarious and wildly original world of Brad Neely‘s “China Illinois,” home of the Professor Brothers and Baby Cakes. This time, let’s take a look at the four-part miniseries named after the fictional town, which brings the characters from those other two series together for one continuous storyline, a first for Neely which in turn spawned a full-length, actually animated series on Adult Swim.

“China Illinois” begins with gentle giant Mark “Baby” Cakes in his usual mode, telling stories to his diary in his customarily idiosyncratic way. “Dear diary,” he says, “today me and Dad tried to clean our insides out, with plant hairs, tree ejaculates, and leafy-weafs.” “Tree ejaculates” are, of course, Baby Cakes’ unique way of saying “fruit,” just one of many phrases this character has coined that should obviously become part of the standard English lexicon immediately, for the sake of a more interesting future. When the unsatisfying meal is done, Baby Cakes comes upon “a lonely little pursey, with a pink diary hanging out,” completely failing to notice the bloody car accident adjacent to the lost purse.

The plot thickens when it is revealed that the owner of the purse was a professor at the local community college Baby Cakes attends, and that she was in an unhappy relationship with the self-absorbed Professor Frank, who romantically proclaimed to her, “You’ll never want to be anything more than the thing I am in.” Like his forbidden romance with his Dad’s girlfriend in “Baby Cakes Diary #4,” Baby Cakes becomes furious with Frank’s poor treatment of his newfound beloved, only to ultimately reconcile his feelings in a typically strange way by the end of the series.

Both Baby Cakes and Professor Frank are prone to expressing themselves through song, which, along with Baby Cakes’ poetic wordplay, brings an odd poignancy to an otherwise silly and very funny series. It’s surprising that an animatic cartoon that refers to Helen Keller as “history’s most famous little caca-faced animal kid” can strike deeper chords about the meaning of life, but that is a special ability Neely shares with fellow crude animation genius Don Hertzfeldt, and it is what makes “China Illinois” such an enduring creation.