Tell Me About A Time...
Drinking for the right reasons is important!
I try not to drink to forget, so to speak (though I don’t black out anyway). It’s a dangerous philosophy that can lead down some dark corners, and while I have a healthy relationship with alcohol, it’s important to maintain some boundaries in that regard. So when I’m not in a great place, I like to give it a rest, you know?
Makes sense, it’s a good philosophy to hold onto, and something that has served me well over the years. I woke up to the bad news that I had been laid off last week and I did what may have felt weird, but just went about my day normally. What else could I do in the middle of a vacation? And that night, I still had a couple drinks, but I purposefully made sure I wasn’t doing anything too wild in Vancouver (or Seattle after that). It’s easy to let it slip away, easier still on vacation where I am hopping from bar to bar to check out the scene and get to know a place. Reasons might not always matter, but it helps me to have guardrails.
But here’s the thing. I got all this liquor. I got this Substack. And I got time. However, there’s no reason to up the frequency or anything. Every two weeks is a good pace, and I got plenty enough to work with here, so it’s actually not a terrible use of my time periodically. Supplement with a little citrus and there you go. It’s the very definition of a sunk cost right now. And with that, how about a little mood drink?
I had a fantastic stirred drink in Seattle called Irish Goodbye that was…suspiciously strong. Because it was all liquor lol (Redbreast Cask Strength Whisky, Green Chartreuse, Apple Brandies, White Cacao, Tiki Bitters)
All of this (and well, especially Roquette) reminded me I have not been pulling out my Chartreuse enough. At Rumba, I had a good conversation about how Banane du Brésil is a secret weapon (I don’t have to be told twice). Well, we got some place to start.
You know what I have been using plenty recently because it’s where I’m at right now? Mezcal. Drink more mezcal people.
So I’ve got all that. What else do I need. Rum, of course. Bitters? Blue curaçao? Falernum? Simple? Lime? Sure…this feels like the beginnings of a plan…
1 oz lime
.75 simple
.25 falernum
.25 Banane du Brésil
.5 Yellow Chartreuse
.5 Blue Curaçao
1 oz Plantation 3 Star
1 oz Vida Mezcal
A couple dashes of bitters
Take it, shake it, strain into a snifter. Top it with a lot of crushed ice. No, no, some more. Garnish with a broken tiki umbrella. Go ahead, it is time for Stormy Weather.
Enjoy!
This is Trader Jane’s, a periodic newsletter about drinks (mostly tiki) and other fun writing. Follow me on Substack for something every couple of weeks (a low volume Substack, I swear!), and follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more timely updates on my beverages (and for lots of other things of course!)
And, as with any good drink, feel free to share (responsibly, of course)
Stormy Weather indeed!