My hassle with getting a Sidecar Cocktail

This classic cocktail invented in the jazz age needs to be enjoyed more than it is. A Sidecar is made from three simple ingredients; Brandy, Cointreau and Lemon juice. In my opinion, the Sidecar has not just been forgotten, it has become endangered because of the National Franchise Restaurant Conspiracy Against Traditional Cocktails (N.F.R.C.A.T.C.). Cocktails over indulgent in presentation and non-alcoholic flavor are what these company's million dollar expended polls tell them we want. If traditional mixology and God forbid alcohol content have to be sacrificed then so be it. Your going to get the cocktail on the menu because the company has ordered it so. As an experiment I requested the Sidecar at Applebees, Bennigan’s, Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesday and Max and Erma's. None of the servers knew what I was talking about and all were unwilling to offer me this simple drink. A few of the servers consulted the bartender who was obviously dumb-founded. And to further add insult to injury the bar featured the necessary ingredients but the bartender was too ignorant to put the three ingredients together! Each visit to these restaurants was a disappointment. Protest these national restaurant's ignorance of traditional cocktails by visiting your local independently owned restaurant instead. I finally found a server (unsure but willing) to offer me a Sidecar at an independently owned restaurant. And the drink was worth the hassle I had to endure.

I prefer the "English School" mix: two parts Brandy, one part Cointreau, one part Lemon Juice (even less lemon juice to reduce too much sour taste), glass rimmed with sugar.

Alcoholic adoption

Jan 28: The grocery store bought too much booze for Christmas! Skids of one type of spirit. The skid of fifths of Jagermeister was barely touched. Unlike the skids of Baileys Irish Cream, Jack Daniel's. I felt sorry for the Jagermeister and so bought it with the others. A shot of each told me that the Jagermeister is the worst but has more mixing options. I will have to keep buying things to make what I have already worthwhile.

Bad taste in my mouth

Jan 26: Bought Seagram's Extra Dry Gin because I read that Gin can be an acquired taste. The dryer the gin the less flavor. When I get a spirit I take a shot of it to start. A shot of gin is definitely an acquired taste. For some damn reason the author lists the first two ingredient drink featuring gin as the Alfredo, gin and Campari. Thank goodness for the internet because after reading people's comments about Campari I decide against buying it because of the disgusting taste spoken of. Some people develop a taste however. Every one lists a gin and Campari as a gin and Campari not an Alfredo. If the author did this the first doublet gin cocktail would be Bee's Knees. Gin and honey sounds more appealing. I'm going to give up on gin for a while.

On considering rum

Jan 22: When I think of rum I think of something dark because rum is made from molasses. Bacardi offers; dark rum "Bacardi Select-Smooth and Rich, medium rum "Bacardi Gold-smooth and mellow, light rum "Bacardi Superior-smooth and dry. I bought all three and prefer Superior, Gold, Select in that order. I think Bacardi predicted this. All of them make good Rum and Cokes. You can choose how flavorful your drink is by selecting the varieties more flavor in the dark less flavor in the light every option comes with the alcohol.

Rum has many cocktail recipes and a pleasing taste, it is a good choice when staring this hobby. So I bought John J Poister's book "The New American Bartender's Guide", it has 2,300 recipes and is cheap. If I had one cocktail from this book everyday it would take six years and three and a half months to have them all. I'm sure my liver would be shot by then.

Upon scanning the rum recipes I see that they can be complex and I see that the gin recipes are less complex. Gin is the first chapter in the book. Vodka is the next chapter but I read that it "has no discernible taste, color or odor, sounds boring regardless if it the best selling spirit. I want something with flavor so I choose Gin.

Sort of disappointed that I bought the Seagram's 7 due to it's lack of mixology.

Alcohol Journal

My new hobby is going to be cocktails. This is my journal of my adventures in intoxication.

Jan 19: Very cold and dark all the time. Think about drinking cocktails in warm rooms with a fireplace and tropical holidays. Can't have either locations but I can have the cocktail. Thank goodness for portable pleasure, vacation in a bottle-alcohol. Bought Seagram's 7 to go with the 7-up available. Only drink I could think that sounds easy to make. Then I discovered online that Seagram's 7 doesn't appear in many (any?) cocktails besides 7 & 7. Need to look for some other drink maybe Rum and Coke.

Jan 22: When I think of rum I think of something dark because rum is made from molasses. Bacardi offers; dark rum "Bacardi Select-Smooth and Rich, medium rum "Bacardi Gold-smooth and mellow, light rum "Bacardi Superior-smooth and dry. I bought all three and prefer Superior, Gold, Select in that order. I think Bacardi predicted this. All of them make good Rum and Cokes. You can choose how flavorful your drink is by selecting the varieties more flavor in the dark less flavor in the light every option comes with the alcohol.

Rum has many cocktail recipes and a pleasing taste, it is a good choice when staring this hobby. So I bought John J Poister's book "The New American Bartender's Guide", it has 2,300 recipes and is cheap. If I had one cocktail from this book everyday it would take six years and three and a half months to have them all. I'm sure my liver would be shot by then.

Upon scanning the rum recipes I see that they can be complex and I see that the gin recipes are less complex. Gin is the first chapter in the book. Vodka is the next chapter but I read that it "has no discernible taste, color or odor, sounds boring regardless if it the best selling spirit. I want something with flavor so I choose Gin.

Sort of disappointed that I bought the Seagram's 7 due to it's lack of mixology.

Jan 26: Bought Seagram's Extra Dry Gin because I read that Gin can be an acquired taste. The dryer the gin the less flavor. When I get a spirit I take a shot of it to start. A shot of gin is definitely an acquired taste. For some damn reason the author lists the first two ingredient drink featuring gin as the Alfredo, gin and Campari. Thank goodness for the internet because after reading people's comments about Campari I decide against buying it because of the disgusting taste spoken of. Some people develop a taste however. Every one lists a gin and Campari as a gin and Campari not an Alfredo. If the author did this the first doublet gin cocktail would be Bee's Knees. Gin and honey sounds more appealing. I'm going to give up on gin for a while.

Jan 28: The grocery store bought too much booze for Christmas! Skids of one type of spirit. The skid of fifths of Jagermeister was barely touched. Unlike the skids of Baileys Irish Cream, Jack Daniel's. I felt sorry for the Jagermeister and so bought it with the others. A shot of each told me that the Jagermeister is the worst but has more mixing options. I will have to keep buying things to make what I have already worthwhile.

Deep Freeze Relief

My new hobby is going to be cocktails. This is my journal of my adventures in intoxication.

Very cold and dark all the time. I think about drinking cocktails in warm rooms with a fireplace or on a tropical holiday. Can't have either location but I can have the cocktail. Thank goodness for portable pleasure, vacation in a bottle-alcohol. Bought Seagram's 7 to go with the 7-up available. First drink I could think of that sounds easy to make. Had it at weddings.

I grabbed a pint of Seagram's 7, 7-UP, a glass and ice. Filled the glass with ice and wondered if the 7-UP should be placed first or the Seagram's. Had one glass with Seagram's inserted first, it sat on the bottom and I didn't taste it until I got down there. Inserted the Seagram's on top of the 7-UP and it slowly sank to the bottom, a little better idea. Then I remembered that at weddings the drink gets both ingredients added at the same time, this idea worked even better. I wondered if those cocktail shakers would improve the mix even more but I don't have a shaker. Well three glasses of 7 & 7 made the evening more interesting.

This impulsive idea got me thinking about cocktails and wondering if I would enjoy the winter more if I dabbled in making them. I would need real bar glasses, a book, bar tools and different spirits. Well this idea calls for more investigation on the internet. I discovered online that Seagram's 7 doesn't appear in many (any?) cocktails besides 7 & 7. Need to look for some other drink to make maybe Rum and Coke. A little disappointed that the Seagram's didn't develop into further exploration of cocktails. Rum sounds promising.