Here are some techniques for brewing your hotel room cup of coffee better. News to me is the tip on filling it with water the night before.
A twenty-degree difference between newly drawn tap water and room temperature will result in nearly a twenty degree increase in brewing temperature.
What I usually do is “double brew”. This means I brew a pot, then pour the brewed pot as if I’m starting from the beginning.
Combine all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Stir with a bar spoon, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve.
I think I’d substitute bourbon for vodka, but I present to you Mr. Stinky Pants. And, it’s worth pointing out that pickle juice is the “must have bar ingredient” of 2010. In fact, I have some pickle pops in the freezer I’m going to be adding to a Bloody Mary in the very near future.
The Lost Boys Cocktail was developed for a Georgetown men’s shop, Lost Boys, using scotch and chocolate bitters. Sounds like a winning combination. And, one I will be trying.
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile and Half Acre Brewery have teamed up to make the hotel it’s own beer, Rooftop Honey Wheat. Best part is that they are using the roof of the Marriott to farm bees to produce the honey used in the beer.
Sometimes, the powers I have to spot a trend are ridiculous. Right now it’s the pickleback. Back in October (2009) I threw out there that I think pickle juice will be my chaser of 2010. Now I’m reading in a pickle blog (yes, I read a pickle blog) that the pickleback goes well with whiskey. Two of my favorites. Sign. Me. Up.
Slashfood pointed to a couple options on the history of how cocktails came to be called cocktails. Naturally, I tured to Wikipedia for some further reading, and there were close to a dozen other variations. I think this is my favorite since it says cocktails are meant for the morning.
Cocktails were originally a morning beverage, and the cocktail was the name given as metaphor for the rooster (cocktail) heralding morning light of day.
Who can gain access to three of these for me? Notcot points us to the Muji Ice Ball Maker ($~12). MOMA has something as well, but I think the Muji one seems more reliable. Sometimes the cheaper version will do and in this case, unless Macallan gives me one, I’m keeping the extra money in my pocket.
