New Year Greetings

Happy New Year and may you enjoy many more in the future -

It is going to be a great white Christmas week and New Year this year - at least for those of us sitting in front of the fireplace at the Red Lion Inn, in  the Berkshires Stockbridge, Massachusetts. A train ride to Springfield Massachusetts should present a view with a different splash of color from the Fall 2011 trip. We'll be travelling on Amtrak's Vermonter beside the Connecticut River. There will be no concerts at Tanglewood, - BSO's summer music theater, but my favorite date and I will enjoy some light jazz in the Red Lion Inn's "Tavern", a concert and the play, Victor in Great Barrington.

Speaking of whom, on a recent evening out  with my favorite girl the other day, she mentioned a certain blog by Rex Parker. Curious - I asked "How many times do you visit my blog?". Once or twice was the answer. No telling people's tastes. So I say a special thank you to my visitors.

Holidays are times for entertaining and parties to be with old friends and new. And this is a time to present your special talents in the genre of entertaining. So I am sharing with you two delightful cocktails that I guarantee will be a big hit at your New Year's blast!

So invite some friends over, dress up and serve cocktails and welcome in the New Year.

Happy New Year!

In the meanwhile, I am on a mission for a variety of bitters.

Two special holiday cocktails are -

Cocktail
French 75
1/4 oz of lemon juice
1 teaspoons of powdered sugar or castor sugar
2 oz. of Gin
stir to dissolve sugar
top with Champagne or Sparkling wine (Gruet)
Decorate with a cherry, red or green

Dirty Prosecco or "Sbagliato"
1 oz of Campari
1/2  oz of dry Vermouth
Top with Prosecco
garnish with orange slice

Alternatively, you may substitute Aperol, sans the Vermouth, for the Campari. A rendition of an Aperol Spritzer.

Conversation with a bier meister.

Parental caution; you must be 21 years or older to enter this site.

Conversation with a bier meister. 

The following conversation took place in early November 2012 – a conversation with a bier meister and sometime hop grower.

Herr Robert: I have a problem with the batch that I made and told you about recently …do you recall the 30 bottles of beer I am making?

Constantine: Yes, what’s happening?

Herr Robert: I am not quite certain but my research so far seems to indicate either a combination of insufficient sugar or the amount of yeast.

Constantine: So what happens? How do you know it’s ruined?

Herr Robert; Well it’s not necessarily ruined, it just goes  <<pht!>>, when I uncap the bottle.

Constantine: Have you considered getting in touch with someone at AmBev (Ambev* formally Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (official English translation: "Americas' Beverage Company"). *“Wikipedia”

Herr Robert; Well that might be a little overkill; and their scope of magnitude is greater than 30 bottles.

Sigh!

Constantine: So what now? Do you start over? How does the beer taste?

Herr Robert: I don’t have to start over. I have been doing some research and it appears I may be able to add some additional yeast and or some sugar. But I don’t think it’s the sugar. So my approach is to add more yeast.

The taste is of course flat, somewhat bitter, yet sweet.

Constantine: {thinking to myself, “I don’t understand what he is saying … how can it be described as bitter and then, yet he says sweet?}

I pondered our conversation.

Cocktail
Autumn Bonfire
A Rosie Schaap Jack Rose cocktail alternative
1 oz. apple ciders or juice
1 oz applejack
1 oz smoky Scottish Whiskey
1 scant teaspoon maple syrup
2 dashes bitters Black Mission Fig or Angostura
Stir in ice, pour cocktail glass and garnish with apple fan (slices)