Robert Simonson

The Old-Fashioned,

A Proper Drink,

The Martini Cocktail

Every now and then I stumble upon a niche of history, of people that coexist alongside me but have been largely invisible. This niche has its own stories, it own heroes and villains, virtues and vices, great moments and ideals.

This time I stumbled upon cocktails.  Not craft alcoholic beverages like wine and beer, or mixed drinks like rum & coke, but cocktails. I've always known that cocktails have existed and I've enjoyed them on more than my fair share of occasions. But that idea that they have a story is a bit novel to me.

I'm not going to retell the story here. There are a few themes I'd like to remember.

That martinis, old fashion's & Manhattans are very honest drinks. That may be why they have such staying power. What is an honest drink? Its one that lets you easily tell if the bartender did a bad job, or cut corners.

Take a margarita... I love a good margarita. However, if the bartender used a cheaper tequila, more ice, or more citrus, then I would be hard pressed to notice.  With a martini, Manhattan or old fashioned, its all there in front of your face. The classic glassware lets you clearly see the drink. There is no ice in a martini or Manhattan. A good old-fashioned only has a few  cubes. The extra ingredients can't dilute the drink. You can taste if cheap liquor was used.

There is a cycle in the cocktail world where bartenders invent many fancy cocktails in an attempt to distinguish themselves from the crowd. If one of these new creations catches on (think the cosmopolitan) then cheaper variations appear.  This leads to a backlash where people start asking for the more honest (or old fashioned) cocktails. After a period of honest cocktails, bartenders start inventing new and fancy creations… and the cycle repeats.

The book talks about cocktail thinkers, cocktail memorabilia collectors, cocktail historians, cocktail gurus. All of this sounds like drinking, but with more flourish.

Trekking The North Country Trail

By Nimblewill Nomad.

I respect the Nomad. There are times when I want to do nothing but walk across the country. He puts himself through a lot, frequently (usually?) walking 25 miles in a day.

I'm not sure the details of this book matter unless you are trekking the north country trail.

 

 

 

The Secret Life Of Fat

By Sylvia Tara

Our body fat is so much more than a body organ that stores fat.

I was hoping to learn some easy tips on loosing weight. The book makes me not so optimistic about that. When you loose weight, your body becomes more efficient at processing calories. As you loose weight, it becomes more difficult to keep it off.

As always, exercise regularly, especially high intensity exercise. Intermittent fasting helps too.

I would love to know more behind the stories of people who have biologic defects that affect their fat—either packing it on or keeping it off. Are these people odd balls or common?

As usual, everything helps. Nothing cures.

 

1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed

By Eric H Cline

I don't now how this book got on my reading list. It is a highly recommended book, but it's more like a history textbook collapse of civilization at the late bronze age and the beginning of the iron age.

Why did civilization collapse at the end of the bronze age? Maybe bad luck… a combination of earth quakes, drought and invasions. The invasions are usually attributed to an unknown race called "The Sea People" It possible that the drought and earth quakes displaced many people and caused an up tick in piracy. These displaced people, from our point of view are the sea people. Back then they were just more marauders.

The book has a large amount of scholarly detail. This is not a speculative work.