On a trip to Europe during the years 1872 to 1873, a 26-year-old colonel from Kentucky, M. Lewis Clark, visited multiple horse racing facilities in England and France. He also met with European horse racing leaders, including Vicompte Darn, French Jockey Club vice president, and Admiral Rous of England. Clark wanted to create a jockey club in Louisville, for horse racing. He returned home and created the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association in 1874.
After selling subscriptions for $100 each to 320 people, he leased 80 acres of land from his uncles, John and Henry Churchill. Clark opened the famous Churchill Downs horse track, along with a grandstand, a porter’s lodge, a clubhouse, and six stables, in 1875. Nearly 20 years later, the Louisville Jockey Club appointed a new president, William F. Schulte, who constructed a grandstand featuring the beautiful twin spires that are the symbols of the Kentucky Derby. In 1903, after 28 years in business, Churchill Downs finally turned a profit.
“Fin de siècle” is French for “end of the century, which means that we’ve all missed our opportunity by 15 years to have a Fin de Siècle at the most appropriate point possible, assuming we were old enough to drink in 2000. Or, if you want to look at it the other way, we’ve all got 85 years to work on preparing the perfect Fin de Siècle in time for 2100.
The truth is, however, that the real roots of this post go back not to Y2K but to last week. My copy of Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails having been destroyed by a backed-up sink…yes, I leave cocktail books on the sink sometimes and, yes, I’m paying the price…I found myself seeing a number of somewhat similar cocktails in Robert Hess’s accurately named The Essential Cocktail Guide. Like last week’s drink, today’s drink contains sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and Torani Amer, substituting for Amer Picon — easily the most commonly called-for modern day cocktail ingredient that you can’t find anywhere in North America.
The main difference, aside from the proportions, is that our base spirit is changed out from whiskey to gin. The result is a bit lighter and drier, but no less tasty and sophisticated.
The Fin de Siècle
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce Torani Amer (or Amer Picon, if live in Europe or own a time machine)
1 dash orange bitters
Combined all ingredients in a cocktail shaker or mixing glass with plenty of ice. Stir vigorously — or shake, gently, if you’re feeling rebellious — and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Toast anything that has come to conclusion or shortly will, including your tasty Fin de Siècle. Nothing lasts forever, after all, least of all a good cocktail.
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I saw a few recipes online for this that mentioned Plymouth Gin, but most people seem to use your more garden variety London Dry style gin. I used premium (but I guess not super premium) Bombay Dry Gin and good ol’ value-priced Gordon’s Gin, both with results that were more than satisfactory.
I actually found that,much more than with the gin, my choice of sweet vermouth made a far more dramatic difference in the flavor. I was very happy with my Fin de Siècle when I used Noilly Pratt — my personal default sweet vermouth in slight preference to Martini or Cinzano. Still, there was no topping the slightly bitter, almost chocolate-like undercurrents of Carpano Antica; sometimes you just can’t argue with the cocktail snobs. If you want a sweeter drink that’s nevertheless not too offensive, I had decent luck replacing Torani Amer with Amaro CioCiara, suggested by some as another Amer Picon substitute.
Finally, yes, you can shake this drink but that’s not my preference this time around. For starters, this is second cousin to a gin martini. (We’ll be getting to it’s first cousin very soon). I really do think there may be something to the idea that shaking can “bruise” gin, i.e., add a slightly unpleasant bitterness. Mainly, though, I don’t think the additional water/ice crystals that shaking generates really flatters the Fin de Siècle. I think this may be a drink that wants to be cool, but not ice cold.
Now, have a great Memorial Day weekend. Maybe it’s a good time to remember what life could be, if only we were all nice enough and smart enough.
Everyone is a beginner at some point in their life, we all have to start from scratch in so many of the things which later come naturally to us. Perhaps the biggest and most important example comes with driving.
It’s entirely natural to feel nervous when you’re a learner and even when you first take to the roads by yourself. Even instructors were beginners once and they probably all had their own nervous starts to their driving career.
Consider these top tips from the pros to help you become a confident road user…
There’s no shame in failing
Many candidates do not pass at the first try, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s always something good you can take away from the experience: you’ll know what to expect next time, and you’ll know which aspects of driving you can practice more on. Your examiner will debrief you at the end of the test and help you understand where you can improve. Some of the best pros failed first time – it’s not a bad thing if you learn and improve.
Protein is a vital part of any diet. It’s the crucial component that helps our bodies to grow and repair – vital for everyone from the elderly to the super-fit bodybuilder.
So how do you get enough of this in your diet?
First things first, you need to know how much protein you actually need to consume. There are various formulas that can help with this but the British Nutrition Foundation states that your recommended intake is about 0.75g per kilogram of body weight per day for adults – that’s typically about 56g a day for men and 45g for women.
Paying for your car is the final step in a long journey that is the process of searching for, negotiating and finally deciding on a new car. Once you’ve located where you are purchasing it from, and websites like Boost Classifieds can help you with that, it’s time to make an offer. However there are several final things you should do before paying out the money for the car. Take a look below.
1. Take the Car for a Test Drive
One of the most important parts of purchasing a car is the test drive. This is the part where you get to test out all the capabilities of the car to ensure that it is exactly what you need. This is also the opportunity for you to check if the car may possibly have any driving faults. Ensure that you check the car in both highway and traffic situations. That way you will be able to see how it handles in both fast and stop start situations. Ideally it would be best to test it in multiple weather conditions as well, but unless you are lucky enough to drive into a storm this is generally not an option. This is your last chance to make sure that your potential new car drives the exact way that you want it you want it to.
“Fin de siècle” is French for “end of the century, which means that we’ve all missed our opportunity by 15 years to have a Fin de Siècle at the most appropriate point possible, assuming we were old enough to drink in 2000. Or, if you want to look at it the other way, we’ve all got 85 years to work on preparing the perfect Fin de Siècle in time for 2100.
