Here in San Diego, we have a section of town called Old Town. Not because it’s particularly old, but because it’s old to us. See, here in San Diego, any structure more than 50 years or so is old. So whenever I get to travel to the east coast, I love getting a chance to see all the old(er) architecture. I think it’s something people from the east coast see so often, they forget just how beautiful it can be. During my time in Montreal, I loved walking around and taking pictures of the buildings built right around 1800 or so. My favorite parts of these buildings were almost always the gargoyles and grotesques 1 lurking at the corners. I passed by Montreal’s Christ Church Cathedral on my first walk to work and was able to snap a picture of these guys.
It was to my surprise and delight then that on my first trip to Washington D.C. I would discover that our nation’s capital was home to a collection of these little guys as part of the National Cathedral. Read the rest of this entry »
Having just read my fellow Gent Dr. Lee Dunteman’s post concerning rum, and being recently afflicted with a mild case of La Grippe, I decided that a Hot Buttered Rum – the classic LGA cold & flu treatment – was just the thing for it. And Gents, I can tell you that, while it may not necessarily help me recover faster, it certainly makes the day more enjoyable.
The recipe I used was as follows:
Rum is a wonderful spirit, whether mixed in cocktails or slowly sipped. Unfortunately, many people are only familiar with it as a rum and coke, overly sweet girly cocktails or as the dangerous rum punches found at summer parties. In order to increase drinkers’ awareness of this delightful dram, The LGA presents a list of Eleven Great Things About Rum!
As those who listened to our first podcast of the New Year may remember, my resolution this year was to drink more. Not just in quantity mind you, but in quality. In that regard (and as Chairman of the League of Gentlemen Adventurers Historical Society), I have sought out a book written in 1939 by a man who I am convinced was a League member in his day. His name was Charles H. Baker, Jr. and he was one of the true cocktail connoisseurs. His book, Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask, is the chronicle of a trip through exotic locales via cocktail recipes. Perhaps it is because it was written so soon after The Noble Experiment, but every page of this book conveys a love and appreciation for the cocktail. So it is with great pleasure that I announce that I have finally secured a copy for the LGA Curios Cabinet.
So what makes this book different from other cocktail recipe books out there? Quotes like this one from the Foreword:
“One comfortable fact gleaned from travel in far countries was that regardless of race, creed or inner metabolisms, mankind has always created varying forms of stimulant liquid – each after his own kind. Prohibitions and nations and kings depart, but origin of such pleasant fluid finds constant source.”