What's the Buzz?

Side One of a poster for Still (they’re selling carry-out...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:58:57 -0500

Side One of a poster for Still (they’re selling carry-out Thanksgiving side items this year). the back was the menu of items.

"If I wanted to deal with characters I’d go work at Disneyworld."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:53:39 -0500

“If I wanted to deal with characters I’d go work at Disneyworld.” - regarding my job...

A client of mine - Still Worldly Eclectic Tapas - is holding a...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:31:20 -0500

A client of mine - Still Worldly Eclectic Tapas - is holding a party on Dec 4th for the 76th Anniversary of the End of Prohibition. (Now, before you go googling, let me tell you that we KNOW that the actual anniversary is Dec 5. We’ll be toasting at midnight)

They’re pulling out all the stops here. They’re removing their current door and replacing it with an old “speakeasy” door with the sliding bar at eye level, they’ll have “bathtub gin” 20’s music, classic drinks and more.

Which brings me to my point here.

To honor one of the greatest days in American History (and my clients party), I’ll be featuring a classic drink each day on here in the hopes that some of you Hampton Roads locals will get the itch that only a good stiff drink can scratch and stop by Still for the party (here are the party details from Still’s facebook fan page).

Today’s Drink: The Old-Fashioned

Although the image of a martini glass and speared olives has become synonymous with the word “cocktail,” the Old-Fashioned came first. Modern drinkers and bartenders begrudge the relative tedium needed to stir an Old-Fashioned, but invest the time to taste the past and one of the drinks your father drank.

An Old-Fashioned was a man’s drink of pre-depression times and resurged later in the 20th century. In the late ‘60s, tropical drinks with gaudy garnishes swelled at poolside parties and cosmopolitan lounges, ushering in an era that idealized the pop culture of warmer climates. Men were less likely to take part in multicolored drinks served in curvy glasses with pineapple slices, but the Old-Fashioned fell somewhere in between — cherries, oranges and lemons with a nice bourbon base was a perfect compromise.

The old-fashioned (est. 1800) is the Fender Strat of cocktails: It embodies the classic American combination of offhand style, swagger, and micrometer engineering. And it’s simple enough that anyone can make it yet sophisticated enough that you never get tired of it. It can be applied equally well to speed-rail bourbon and Cordon Bleu cognac, taming the one and coddling the other. It sips slow and easy when you need that, and goes down like a fireball when you don’t.

The Recipe Illuminated

The Sugar

It’s less to make the drink sweet than to give back what the melting ice is taking away.

The Glass

The standard rocks glass used by American bars these days is technically a double Old-Fashioned glass. You don’t want that. You want the single Old-Fashioned glass, which won’t make a healthy two ounces of booze look like half a drink.

The Bitters

The pungent, volatile spice of the bitters briefly masks the top notes of the liquor, so we process it as a cocktail, not a glass of whiskey.

The Water

Dissolves the sugar, without diluting the liquor. Which is the ice’s job.

The Ice

Try a little cracked ice for fast dilution and a couple of large, slow-melting cubes to keep it stable as you sip it.

The Whiskey

Let it be American and bonded (i.e., at least four years old, and 100 proof) and not too expensive.

The Twist

This is not a garnish. The dose of lemon or orange oil that you spray on the surface of the drink is the appetizer to the booze’s main course.

dspence-rapman: i had some lymph nodes removed from my neck...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:53:51 -0500

dspence-rapman:

i had some lymph nodes removed from my neck today…

it went well.

Glad to hear it, little nephew of mine. I think you should ask if you can keep the hat. It suits you.

PS - I’m not sure what a lymph node looks like, but it appears they may have taken them from your neck and placed them in your nose.

Love this pseudo-commercial that pops the shiz out of SC...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:52:12 -0500

Love this pseudo-commercial that pops the shiz out of SC Johnson’s Scrubbing Bubbles.

It’ by the Method folks. You know, those cleaning products you’ve seen in Target and BB&B and your grocery store, etc. that you may have even purchased (we love the stuff).

Method supports the Household Product Labeling Acts which, when compared to the aforementioned Scrubbing Bubbles, would make them look more like the Bubbles of Doom when compared to Method’s more natural approach and ingredients.

ianhilbert: (via mikeledford)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:41:04 -0500

ianhilbert:

(via mikeledford)

Working with Still’s chef/owner Mike Farrell and his...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:38:05 -0500

Working with Still’s chef/owner Mike Farrell and his submission for the next season of “Top Chef.” Storyboarding the video application tomorrow and shooting next week!

It Ain’t Thanksgiving Nor’Easter All in all, we...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:31:00 -0500

It Ain’t Thanksgiving Nor’Easter

All in all, we fared pretty well, considering alot of our Olde Towne neighbors were trapped in their houses with anywhere from 4 - 10 feet of water around them!

We had a couple of close calls, though. This tree blew over directly across from us and the roof of the building on the left was shorn off (100+ year old tin was flying around like crazy, which we later learned could be sold for $.30 a pound. Thanks for that info, crazy-yet-entrepreneurial-homeless-guy-on-a-bike!)

I spent three hours pumping water out of the basement yesterday. That was definitely not good times.

Just finished the shoot for “What Not to Wear” at...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:05:33 -0500

Just finished the shoot for “What Not to Wear” at Still. Always amazes how much footage they shoot for what will amount to about 30 seconds of show…

TLC's "What Not to Wear" is taping at Still in Olde Towne! Wanna Come?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:19:48 -0500

TLC's "What Not to Wear" is taping at Still in Olde Towne! Wanna Come?: Still (awesome restaurant...

WINNER WINNER...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:03:34 -0500

dspence-rapman: couple the Packers embarrassing loss to the Bucs today with the Jags win over the...

philoconn: anyone looking for a mortgage? mom found this and...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:00:17 -0500

philoconn:

anyone looking for a mortgage?

mom found this and sent it my way with the title, “Phil makes it big”

I hope this isn’t the pinnacle of my professional career

You think Jeff noticed the Zapfino in the masthead?

"You don’t tell me what kind of pizza to like, Jack! (I’m currently enjoying cold pizza..."

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:47:00 -0500

“You don’t tell me what kind of pizza to like, Jack! (I’m currently enjoying cold...

Nazgul is my neighbor. I just found out that my neighbor did the...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:27 -0500

Nazgul is my neighbor.

I just found out that my neighbor did the voice of the guy you hear in this game. Regardless of whether or not you dig on this kind of uber-nerd kind of stuff (which I do, btw), it’s pretty cool, no? I feel like I know a celebrity now. I totally can’t wait until I see Guy That Knows the Step in Time Guy again.

I may get my new pal to do the answering machine message for our company.

"There’s a penalty for excessive celebration?! They should give extra points for it!"

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:59:33 -0500

“There’s a penalty for excessive celebration?! They should give extra points for...

Bad News = Good News

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:38 -0400

Bad News: My tumblarity is 0. Good News: I’ve been too busy with work to post anything for...

Stecher Marketing Services “Choose My Ad Contest” I...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:16:37 -0400

#4

#3

#2

#1

Stecher Marketing Services “Choose My Ad Contest”

I was asked to submit an ad for the Virginia Youth Symphony Orchestra’s program today. The ad’s due by tomorrow morning by 9AM.

I came up with these real quick. Which one do y’all like? I’ll run the one y’all vote for.

Thanks!

jeffrock: I’m a sucker for clever packaging. Even when it’s for...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:28:49 -0400

jeffrock:

I’m a sucker for clever packaging. Even when it’s for yarn.

Vie The Dieline.

Nice. The folks that make golf club covers should steal this idea.

Athiests Advertise Underground

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:10:50 -0400

Athiests Advertise Underground: Regardless of where your beliefs lie, you have to admit that this is...

Upset Sunday

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:59:52 -0400

dspence-rapman: + + = 3 left in the Survivor Pool. I’m one of the three… There can...