Thursday, 6/20 – one-half price special on selected “animal themed cocktails + one flight. In the world of drinks, there have been some pretty weird and wacky names. Perhaps unremarkable is a drink named after a famous person or a popular place. Then there are a lot of drinks with sexually explicit names, Sex on the Beach, etc. But we have chosen 5 named after our animal friends because some days it is a toss-up as to which we like more, our animal friends or our human friends. But that’s another story. Some drinks, like the Barking Spider, bring a smile with the first sip; others, like the Moscow Mule are now classics and have become a part of the standard bar menu. Some 70’s sippers include the Greyhound and its gin counterpart the Salty Dog. The Horse’s Neck is a long drink that dates back to the colonial period (its signature comes from the long lemon curl that hangs over the lip of the glass). So here goes, things may get a bit hairy as we take a boozy cocktail tour of the animal kingdom at The Brandy Bar + Cocktails. We recommend that while sipping, you think of one of your favorite movies the drink might remind you of or inspire your selection.
Barking Spider – Basically a modified Margarita — brandy, blue curaçao, and sour mix are kicked up with rum and orange juice for extra sweetness. There isn’t much real history here because this is a modern drink. However, there is in fact a real “barking” or whistling spider in Australia that rubs its front mating organs against its jaw to make the sound. You may even bark when you drink this concoction.
Bee’s Knees – A honey-based brandy sour – Brandy, gin, honey syrup, fresh lemon juice. In the late 18th century, the “bee’s knees” meant something unimportant. By the 1920s, it became slang for something or someone really cool. History suggests that the drink itself appeared during the Prohibition era, most likely as an excuse to cover up the nasty flavor of bathtub gin with citrus and honey. Without bees, we have no honey. Without honey, we have no Bee’s Knees. On a more serious note, bees are a crucial link in the earth’s ecosystem. With bee colonies dying out around the world, we need to step back and examine what needs to be done to slow or stop the crisis. Think about some documentaries on bees, i.e. “Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?”, “More Than Honey,” or “Vanishing of the Bees.”
The Crow – Another sour in disguise. Well not really. A sour is simply spirit, citrus, and sweetener. Here, the grenadine stands in for the simple syrup and transforms an ordinary whiskey sour into something altogether more complex. The Crow’s provenance is murky, but it shows up in both The Savoy Cocktail Book and Boothby’s World Drinks, each book offering different proportions.
The Grasshopper – Green, green, is green they say? A minty milkshake with a shot of booze. What’s not to like? Go back to the early 1900s in New Orleans and you are likely to find a Grasshopper on offer at Tujague’s, which has been around since 1856. It was Philibert Guichet, whose family bought the spot in the early part of the 20th century, who apparently created it for a New York cocktail competition. The name most likely is derived The Grasshopper – Green, green, is green they say? A minty milkshake with a shot of booze. What’s not to like? Go back to the early 1900s in New Orleans and you are likely to find a Grasshopper on offer at Tujague’s, which has been around since 1856. It was Philibert Guichet, whose family bought the spot in the early part of the 20th century, who apparently created it for a New York cocktail competition. The name most likely is derived from the drink’s distinct green color.
The Monkey Gland – Orange flavors and absinthe are long time bedfellows. Pair them with fir brandy and the herbal quality of the absinthe shines, its anise character balanced by the sweetness of the grenadine. This drink showed up in Harry McElhone’s 1927 Barflies and Cocktails, and was a definitive ex patriot snub at Prohibition in America. The name offers us a glance into the weirdness of our medical past whereby gentlemen with virility issues would get a transplant of monkey testicles. Let’s toast Viagra and modern medicine. Planet of the Apes?
Fruit Flight (select 4 from 14)
Friday -6/21/19 6 -9 PM – Opening reception for “Secret Hendersonville,” an exhibition of photographs by Rimas Zailskas (closes July 31st). The project began as a personal exploration by Zailskas, an inveterate walker, as he navigated the streets and below-grade infrastructure of Hendersonville in search of what he calls “lost places.” Drawn to neglected vine-covered buildings, weather-beaten structures and over-grown winding paths, he encountered both friends and strangers. They also became part of the series. Zailskas used his iPhone for the majority of the images. “I always have one with me,” he says. Influenced by German Expressionist filmmaker Fritz Lang in both subject matter and style, Zailskas’ enthusiasm for noir and strange films informs the work. His arresting images, in high-contract black and white, reveal a less manicured, sometimes gritty side to the city. Some of his highly charged portraits you might even recognize.