What has your "friend" been up to?

What has your "friend" been up to?

Author
Discussion

P5BNij

15,875 posts

108 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
My friend suggests you beg, borrow or purloin by illegal means a Rover P5B Coupe and gaze in utter delight at the pull tool tray that hides behind the gear selector and doubles as a fine place to rest a dry Martini of an evening.

My friend is currently on a train to that London wishing he was still at home in bed nursing a dry Martini.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
Tut! A Martini is NOT a bedtime cocktail. An Old Fashioned can be.

My friend says that a Martini is the ideal first drink, but not the ideal last drink. He has been persuaded by a clever Bostonian that the English habit of having Martinis ultra dry is wrong. There should be a more than homeopathic quantity of vermouth in the drink.

My friend has recently discovered the fun to be had with a classic Hemingway style Daiquiri, made with only Cuban rum, simple syrup, and fresh lime juice. Any drink that was good enough for Hemingway has to be good enough for my friend, he says.

My friend is pleased with himself for converting his friend to the joys of the perfect Manhattan. She mainly drinks Espresso Martinis and Margaritas, but she is broadening her interests.

Bill

53,053 posts

257 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
My friend will probably get scoffed at here, but he does a fine line in rhubarb vodka Martinis with a sliver of stem ginger.

He's also tried to ditch NPE, but it's like a scab...

vaud

50,799 posts

157 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
A good cocktail is sublime.

A badly made cocktail by someone doing it for "the theatre" is often awful.

Bill

53,053 posts

257 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
It depends where you go, they don't have to be showy or sweet. (Expensive is a given.) My friend does struggle with "mixologist" though.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
Bar Tender. That's the term. My fave cocktail guy calls himself a Bar Tender.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Not sweet if you try the grown-up cocktails, such as Martinis, Negronis, Manhattans, and so on. There should be no theatricals in the making of the drink.

BigMon

4,279 posts

131 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
A friend of my friend's friend is, I believe, a barkeep of some repute when it comes to cocktails.

He owns a Victorian themed bar in Exeter called 'Dr Ink's Curiosities' and has, my friend says, won many prizes (which, for some reason, reminds my friend of a ribald limerick about a chap from Devizes).

My friend isn't particularly into cocktails either but he would be willing to sample a good one.


anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Archer is the ONLY reliable influence for lifestyle choices.

PS: That, and Mad Men.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
BigMon said:
...

...My friend isn't particularly into cocktails either but he would be willing to sample a good one.
Try:

Perfect Manhattan: 2 parts rye whisky, 1 part red vermouth, 1 part white vermouth, a dash of bitters. Shake or stir over ice. Serve straight up in a Martini glass or on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass (tumbler). Garnish with orange peel and/or a Maraschino cherry.

Classic Daiquiri ; 3 parts Cuban rum (white or aged), 2 parts fresh lime juice, half to 1 part simple syrup*. Shake over ice and serve straight up in a Martini glass, garnish with fresh lime.

Martini: use a high-end but not over aromatised gin such as Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire. To 2 parts of gin add maybe half a capful of Noilly Prat vermouth, or Martini Secco. Stir slowly over ice. The drink must be VERY cold. Serve straight up in a Martini glass (go figure) with a lemon twist or an olive. If you instead use a tiny pickled onion, the drink is now a Gibson, as favoured by Cary Grant. A dirty Martini adds some of the brine from the olive jar.

OR: use Grey Goose or Belvedere or Absolut vodka instead of the gin.

Old Fashioned: In a tumbler, muddle simple syrup or half a spoon of sugar with plain water. Add 2 parts of rye whisky, or bourbon if you insist. Add several large ice cubes and stir. Add a dash of bitters and garnish with orange peel.

The best place to get a good cocktail is often the bar in a posh hotel.


*sugar dissolved in simmering water .






Justin Case

2,195 posts

136 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
Breadvan72 said:
Archer is the ONLY reliable influence for lifestyle choices.
My friend agrees that an everyday story of country folk is a good influence and as confirmation has from time to time taken his wife to their local for an excellent meal.


anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
If a Manhattan is made with Scotch whisky instead of rye it is a Rob Roy. If a Manhattan is made with Irish whiskey (spelled thus), you might call it a Fairytale of New York.

A Manhattan made with bourbon is called a thing that you pour straight down the drain.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
When he's not destroying expensive mobile phones my friend cautiously admits he likes a decent pornstar Martini.

NewUsername

925 posts

58 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
My friend likes a Negroni or three to start the evening off....

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
When he's not destroying expensive mobile phones my friend cautiously admits he likes a decent pornstar Martini.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
Justin Case said:
My friend agrees that an everyday story of country folk is a good influence and as confirmation has from time to time taken his wife to their local for an excellent meal.
...
There is too much sheep shagging in the Archers for my friend's tastes.

NewUsername

925 posts

58 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
My friend also thinks there is not much better to while away an evening than a proper Bajan rum, unfiltered, from Foursquare, preferably aged 10 years plus and straight, no ice and no water, unless its a very high abv and needs loosening slightly. If it was Whiskey it would be very expensive

Justin Case

2,195 posts

136 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
Breadvan72 said:
Justin Case said:
My friend agrees that an everyday story of country folk is a good influence and as confirmation has from time to time taken his wife to their local for an excellent meal.
...
There is too much sheep shagging in the Archers for my friend's tastes.
My friend thinks that your friend is listening to the wrong programme. Borsetshire is more of an arable county and the only apparent livestock are the pigs that provide the raw material for a sausage factory that continually teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

263 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
My friend says the only gin that should grace a Martini is Plymouth Gin. It is, apparently the gin used in the original. Therefore cannot be improved on. Served wet, with a bit of dirt and an olive of course.

Any dirty scoundrel that suggests posh Gordon's (Tanqueray) or that foul mishmash of chemicals Bombay Sapphire should be flogged.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

56 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
NewUsername said:
My friend also thinks there is not much better to while away an evening than a proper Bajan rum, unfiltered, from Foursquare, preferably aged 10 years plus and straight, no ice and no water, unless its a very high abv and needs loosening slightly. If it was Whiskey it would be very expensive
Has your friend tried Zacapa from Guatamala? Sipped with just one ice cube. As good as a good Armagnac.