Thurs 2/6 Leap Year special priced cocktails
History of Leap Year
A leap year is any year with 366 days instead of the usual 365 days. This year it falls on Saturday, Feb 29th. So…why the extra day? It was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the calendar year didn’t always match up. That’s because it actually takes the Earth a little longer than a year to travel around the Sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact. Therefore, as hours accumulated over the centuries, an extra day was occasionally added to the calendar, and over time the practice became more or less official. The Romans first designated February 29 as leap day, but a more precise formula (still in use today) was adopted in the 16th century when the Gregorian calendar fine-tuned the calculations to include a leap day in years only divisible by four – 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, etc. Thankfully, all this intricate plotting will continue to keep us in tune with the seasons over the next several thousand years. Leap Year trivia: (1) Greek superstition holds that marrying in a leap year brings bad luck, so many Greek couples avoid planning a weddings in a leap year. (2) The first warrants for arrests in the Salem witchcraft trials were issued on February 29, 1692. (3) Many people born on leap day are known as “leaplings” or “leapers.” (4) Even adding an extra day to February every 4 years does not do the trick which is why scientists sometimes call for “leap second” which is what they did in 2015 on June 30th at 11:59:60 PM. (5) February 30th? This even rarer date occurred in Sweden and Finland in 1712, when they added an extra Leap Day to February to help catch up their outdated Julian calendar with the new Gregorian calendar. There is, however, one race of people who celebrate February 30th every year: Hobbits. The wee folk of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe observe twelve 30-day months every year—including Solmath (translated in the text to February.)
Leap Day Cocktail – Brandy, gin, Cointreau, sweet vermouth, fresh squeezed lemon juice
Brandy Bar Leap Year Cocktail – Douglas Fir brandy, Cointreau, sweet vermouth, lemon juice
Leaptini – Brandy, agave nectar, lemon juice, fresh basil
Lover’s Leap – Brandy, Tawny port, lime juice, grenadine
Leap Year Old Fashioned – Brandy, gin, spiced orange syrup, bitters
Cognac flight (1/2 price)
Sat 2/8 at 7:00 PM The East Flat Rockers return. – With David White on mandolin, Doug Kilgo on guitar and Gene Robeson on guitar the band will perform original music written by David White plus some of those most loved songs from the 1980s. You will want to clap and sing along with them.
Feb 12 – IN THE COMPANY OF WRITERS presents a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. Charlie Wilkinson will be substituting for Mr. Jimmy and you may hear a clip of some of his lectures/music at: https://blindsquirrel.bandcamp.com/album/nene-concertini-parts-1-4 The music welcomes you, continues during intermission and closes the evening. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. This is the third in the series with featured poets Emry Trantham and Andrew Clark. Following their entertaining reading and discussion there will be an open mic for those wishing to share their stories, with sign-ups from 6:30 until 6:50 p.m. This series is co-sponsored by The Brandy Bar + Cocktails and the North Carolina Writers Network. There will also be a sign-up link on The Brandy Bar + Cocktails web-site: https://thebrandybar.com/writers-open-mic/