Author: Bob Westal (Page 47 of 65)

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.

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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

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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

Bond Vehicles, in the Metallic Flesh, at Comic-Con

October 10, 2012 / Bob Westal

Imagine your humble writer as being like James Bond at the beginning of “From Russia With Love,” relaxing with a beverage and a special lady when suddenly the call came in from HQ. I was needed. There would be four vehicles featured in James Bond movies at Comic-Con and, as the guy who’s been working on an upcoming Bond movie series for these here pages at Bullz-Eye, I was just the man for the job.

Of course, this is completely misleading, but I thought I’d pump myself up a bit before we get started. Basically, what this is all about is promotion for the upcoming James Bond Blu-ray set of all 22 extent canonical Bond films (slobber, slobber!). With the help of the good people at the Ian Fleming Foundation, the folks at MGM/Fox were allowing Con-goers to line up for an opportunity to have their pictures taken with these various mean machines.

The only problem was, it’s not like a simple freelancer like me arrives at Comic-Con with a bevy of men’s magazine models and, alas, Bond Booth Babes weren’t in anyone’s budget, it appeared. The thought of forcing innocent readers to view repeated pictures of me in front of four of these machines seemed almost Blofeldian in its wrongness.

Instead, I did the natural thing at Comic-Con. With a little help from my photographin’ pal Rodney Reynaldo, I recruited some of the costumed denizens of the Con to provide the visual pizzazz that I thought I needed. Fortunately, we also have some additional photos.

And so we begin at the beginning….

The Q Boat — This number was featured in the Thames boat chase sequence from 1999’s “The World is Not Enough.” In the film, Bond (as portrayed by Pierce Brosnan) appropriates the boat to give chase to a bad guy who has committed a dastardly murder at a party, though the fact that the event was in honor of good ol’ Q’s retirement adds a slightly ironic note.

I’m not quite sure what kind of note our anime-inspired friends provided, but there they are, along with a shot from the movie, in our gallery. And, yes, you can’t see the front of the vehicle from the shot on the floor of the San Diego Convention Center, but get a load of this shot of the vehicle in action from the movie.

The Ground Parahawk — This snow vehicle also turned up in one of the action sequences in the 1999 Bond opus.

What, you don’t remember Fred and Wilma Flintstone posing in front of it? Well, here’s how it looked in its more natural state.

The Jaguar XKR

The coolness factor went up considerably with the first of two actual cars, this one from 2002’s “Die Another Day.” To be honest, as far as I can find out without having the movie handy, it appears that Mr. Bond never actually drove this car. Instead, he was nearly done in by it, as suave bad guy Zao (Rick Yune) tried his best to deprive 007 of his license to live.

Of course, if Spider-Man and Spider-Girl had been along for the ride, things might have gone a bit differently. Or not.

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante

It would have been way too much to expect the original and greatest James Bond supercar, the Aston Martin DB5 from 1964’s “Goldfinger” (AKA the most famous car in the world). Still, we got close enough for Comic-Con with the amazing Aston Martin V8 from 1977’s “The Living Daylights,” one of two Bond outings starring Timothy Dalton.

It might not have been as famous as the original Bond car with its built-in machine guns and ejector seat but, at least in terms of numbers, it out-gadgetted the original. The Volante in the film came come complete with, among other features, guided missiles, tire-slashing lasers, and a self-destruct capability in case everything went to hell in a hand basket.

It was our determination that only James Bond himself was cool enough to stand in front of an Aston Martin of this caliber. Since we didn’t happen to spot him wandering the convention floor, this one stands alone.

Cars, Entertainment, Movies

Aston Martin DB5 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante Die Another Day From Russia With Love Goldfinger Groud Parahawk Jaguar XKR James Bond James Bond blog James Bond cars Pierce Brosnan Q Boat The Living Daylights The World is Not Enough Timothy Dalton

Drink of the Week: The Kilbeggan Dubliner

October 5, 2012 / Bob Westal

As long as people keep sending me booze, I’ll continue to be open-minded regarding their cocktail suggestions. I have to warn, however, that today’s drink has probably one of the highest calorie counts of any drink I’ve made since last Christmastime. It is, however, also very tasty — probably not a coincidence.

Our beverage comes courtesy of the good folks who are promoting Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, which I would describe as a stouter, less polite version of your basic Bushmills or Jameson. However, I should add that it’s a brand that’s been around since 1757, so while it might be relatively little known here in the States, it’s no newcomer to the field. For those who like their whiskey with a bit of a kick, it’s grand stuff and it does work extremely well in this recipe.

The Kilbeggan Dubliner

1 1/2 ounces Kilbeggan® Irish Whiskey
1 ounce sweet vermouth
3/4 ounce cherry syrup
3/4 ounce unsweetened cranberry juice
Approximately 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup (optional)
1 cherry (garnish)

Combines all the the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. The Kilbeggan folks insist you should then shake vigorously for a full minute; I’m not sure it’s completely necessary to do so for the entire minute, but I followed the instructions as a way of burning a few extra sugar calories.

Pour the now very cold and frothy mixture into a chilled cocktail glass with a your cherry pre-loaded. Make sure it’s either a very large cocktail glass or use smaller proportions as this one yields quite a lot of liquid. Try not to sip it too quickly. This one goes down very easy but is worth a bit of savoring.

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Despite the reliance on very sweet ingredients, this drink can be a bit more tart than you might expect or want if you eschew that optional simple syrup. That’s because unsweetened cranberry juice — not to be confused with the cranberry juice drinks we all know — is incredibly tart stuff.

If the thought of adding even more sugar to a drink that already has quite a bit is too much for you, one very respectable substitution that I tried was to replace the ordinary vermouth with one of my new favorites, Punt e Mes. This vermouth with a subtly bitter kick more than killed whatever excess tartness I was getting from the cranberry juice but was different enough from the original to be another drink entirely. Does “The Kilbeggan Leopold Bloom” sound classic enough for you?

Anyhow, both the original and Punt e Messed versions were some very tasty drinking, even if I sort of feel like I should be doubling my exercise program and time spent brushing my teeth right about now.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

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Drink of the Week: The Billionaire

September 28, 2012 / Bob Westal

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.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

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