It's always five o'clock somewhere

Dropbear said:
Gin, lime, soda, triple sec and grenadine. Does it have a name or did I just invent something?
Click to expand...
Last two ingredients might be the difference. First three is a gimlet - assuming the lime is cordial rather than a slice. Lots of mixing of gin and Cointreau or Grand Marnier too. One of them is a sec, though they taste similar to me.

I inherited an old cocktail book from my pal Gazza (a legend in his own lunchtime) - not the footballer. It is interesting to see some of the ingredients specified. Creme de cacao for example, which I have never seen on a shelf, and old fashioned stuff like Advocaat and Dubonnet (one time favourite of royals).
 
Kingstonian said:
Last two ingredients might be the difference. First three is a gimlet - assuming the lime is cordial rather than a slice. Lots of mixing of gin and Cointreau or Grand Marnier too. One of them is a sec, though they taste similar to me.

I inherited an old cocktail book from my pal Gazza (a legend in his own lunchtime) - not the footballer. It is interesting to see some of the ingredients specified. Creme de cacao for example, which I have never seen on a shelf, and old fashioned stuff like Advocaat and Dubonnet (one time favourite of royals).
Click to expand...

We knew the excitement was bound to begin
When Laura got blind on Dubonnet and gin
And scratched her veneer with a Cartier pin....

Growing up I don't remember any fancy cocktails at any family event or do. Of course people knew how to drink back then. Anything less than two fingers in a heavy tumbler was considered stingy. I don't think anyone was really a connoisseur of fine wines either.
 
‘Growing up I don't remember any fancy cocktails at any family event or do.’ Still the case for me.

I don’t really drinks cocktails when I am out anyway. Maybe on holiday somewhere sunny. Usually have one occasionally at home in Summer. Lockdown increased consumption at the expense of bottled beer.

Not really a connoisseur of fine wine either. I have tasted the good stuff but cannot be bothered to seek it out or pay top dollar. Lidl Californian Merlot will do me. Beer money and beer tastes is a sensible combination.
 
Kingstonian said:
‘Growing up I don't remember any fancy cocktails at any family event or do.’ Still the case for me.

I don’t really drinks cocktails when I am out anyway. Maybe on holiday somewhere sunny. Usually have one occasionally at home in Summer. Lockdown increased consumption at the expense of bottled beer.

Not really a connoisseur of fine wine either. I have tasted the good stuff but cannot be bothered to seek it out or pay top dollar. Lidl Californian Merlot will do me. Beer money and beer tastes is a sensible combination.
Click to expand...

I do like a good claret as it enhances the enjoyment of food. You don't need to spend that much, a reasonable Bordeaux in the €10-20 range, 3-5 years and you're there. The only rule with red wine is avoid those youthful Aussie reds that are already 14.5%.
 
Pimpernel Smith said:
I do like a good claret as it enhances the enjoyment of food. You don't need to spend that much, a reasonable Bordeaux in the €10-20 range, 3-5 years and you're there. The only rule with red wine is avoid those youthful Aussie reds that are already 14.5%.
Click to expand...

Yellow Tail.
 
Fwiffo said:
Yellow Tail.
Click to expand...

Last Christmas we went to my sister's stepdaughter's on Boxing Day, her and her husband are in pharmaceutical sales so on tidy packet. They've done out an Edwardian house and have a proper wine cellar, stocked with utter supermarket shite. Why bother?

Talking about my sister when we went to hers on Christmas Day, she turned around and said, she really likes Yellow Tail and that's all she gets in now. I brought my own wine, I suspected something like this.
 
Jacobs Creek cab-sav is under $5 at the supermarket here. Occasionally I’ll go up to a $10 bottle of 19Crimes.
 
Pimpernel Smith said:
Last Christmas we went to my sister's stepdaughter's on Boxing Day, her and her husband are in pharmaceutical sales so on tidy packet. They've done out an Edwardian house and have a proper wine cellar, stocked with utter supermarket shite. Why bother?

Talking about my sister when we went to hers on Christmas Day, she turned around and said, she really likes Yellow Tail and that's all she gets in now. I brought my own wine, I suspected something like this.
Click to expand...
I have a pal that goes to all the tastings and is big on wine. Another spends far too much on wine but likes to do comparative tastes. So he opens a lot of bottles at a time. Great for my freeloader pal who lives close by. The wife often comes down in the morning to find them comatose on the sofa. Same happens when there is a big weekend away - except the numbers are larger. I avoid those events. They never do anything. I would have a round of golf in before most of them wake up.

I have been to John Lewis tastings with them. Again the stuff is often OK - but I just cannot be bothered.Lidl were knocking out Spanish cava at ridiculously low prices. I buy it when it is full price anyway. A decent white wine for fish is more difficult. Usually get something from New Zealand.
 
Welp, guess I’ve got plans for next week:

negroniweek.com

Negroni Week: Sept 18-24, 2023

Join us this September as bars and restaurants around the world mix classic Negronis and Negroni variations in support of the global Slow Food movement.
negroniweek.com negroniweek.com
 
Dropbear said:
Welp, guess I’ve got plans for next week:
Click to expand...

Yes, 'Welp' Is a Real Word
'Welp' is over 70 years old

“Though we have presented quite a bit of informal and recent use, our earliest written use of welp goes back over 70 years. It shows up in a scholarly article on two of welp's linguistic cousins: yep and nope. Well gained that final -p as part of a normal process of articular: the lips come together to stop the sound of welland prepare for the next sound, and some hear that stoppage as a -p. This means it is very common in speech. “ Merriam Webster

I hope it does not spread over here though.
 
Dropbear said:
Welp, guess I’ve got plans for next week:

negroniweek.com

Negroni Week: Sept 18-24, 2023

Join us this September as bars and restaurants around the world mix classic Negronis and Negroni variations in support of the global Slow Food movement.
negroniweek.com negroniweek.com
Click to expand...
I recently drank with a former barkeeper turned Campari salesman. He said that July was their best Aperol month ever, despite the slow business in bars and restaurants. Quite embarrassing that Campari doesn’t just give the first million.
 
You don't have to pay a lot for good wine. This was demonstrated a few years ago much to the dismay of the French.
 
formby002 said:
You don't have to pay a lot for good wine. This was demonstrated a few years ago much to the dismay of the French.
Click to expand...

The wine fraud of Rudy Kurniawan has help keep the speculators out of the wine market which is a good thing. The keeping away from wine and sticking to whisky. So good quality and rare wines can be sourced cost effectively for regular drinking.
 
Pimpernel Smith said:
The wine fraud of Rudy Kurniawan has help keep the speculators out of the wine market which is a good thing. The keeping away from wine and sticking to whisky. So good quality and rare wines can be sourced cost effectively for regular drinking.
Click to expand...

The whisky market is every bit as bad, multiple bottlings, multiple agings...its a con and, its destroyed it for genuine lovers of whisky like me...

Same with watches...

Once the investors move in...
 
Had a mooch around Tooting yesterday. I have driven through it often enough but never stopped. The traffic is worse now and there are big blue bicycle lanes and bollards blocking access to many side streets.

I thought I would have a look in the market, now full of foodie places and check the Indian restaurants on the Main Street. Neither seemed suitable for a long leisurely lunch. A market is not a nice place to linger. There is no comfort in cramped premises and bench seating. Novelty seems to be thing. Mauritian halal food? Etc

Then I found a small Wetherspoon directly opposite Tooting Broadway tube station. ‘Power to the People!’ as Wolfie Smith used to say.



It was busy for a Monday but after registering I got a table. A queue soon formed afterwards.

I recognised the barman who used to work in a couple of Kingston spoons. I asked him what he thought of the Tooting establishment but got a non commital answer. He said he dreamed of being back in the Kingston one. Not the best selection of ales, so I stuck to Guinness. It was one of the most proletarian spoons I have been in. Not threatening in any way but full of older white people who had grown up in the school of hard knocks and did not have much to show for it.

The chap on the next table had three Tesco shopping bags and two pints in front of him. In the course of me finishing several pints he only downed an inch or so of his beer and kept nodding off. Eventually staff spoke to him offered him water to wake up and told him he needed to drink faster.

Interesting snippets of conversation on the other side ‘Where’s - ?’ Dunno. He’s disappeared. He owes so many people money’.

Not the best pub I have ever visited but better than paying ten pound for a cocktail in anodyne surroundings. There was always the people watching to fall back on and it was as cheap beer drinking as you can get.
 
This is rather splendid with a tuna and tomato salad:

5CD65736-DD75-4425-AB61-E05C5C7DECF9.jpeg
 
Apparently I went to the gay village that one fateful night but no one trusted me with going home so they gave me a cab home.
 
Closing time now 10pm.

Table service only in Wetherspoon. I was in after noon (as I was in the vicinity anyway).

Masks on moving around the pub. No going to the bar. You can order on the Wetherspoon app which never appealed to me. I now find it does not work on my old phone anyway.

Difficult to get the barmaids attention. She could not remember all the ales anyway. Had Oakham Attila which is excellent but very strong. Then went to the bar and clocked Oakham Black Hole Porter which she had not remembered so I had a pint of that.

Usual suspects but on different tables. Including a bloke that wears a Terry Pratchett hat indoors and his hat wearing mates (trilbies etc.)

There was also an older chap listening to music on headphones and playing air guitar and imaginary drums. I always find that strange. I never had a Walkman and don’t really listen to music outside the home unless it is at a concert. Car trips are usually too short to bother with CDs.

Not sure this will work well on a busy evening.
 
Kingstonian said:
Closing time now 10pm.

Table service only in Wetherspoon. I was in after noon (as I was in the vicinity anyway).

Masks on moving around the pub. No going to the bar. You can order on the Wetherspoon app which never appealed to me. I now find it does not work on my old phone anyway.

Difficult to get the barmaids attention. She could not remember all the ales anyway. Had Oakham Attila which is excellent but very strong. Then went to the bar and clocked Oakham Black Hole Porter which she had not remembered so I had a pint of that.

Not sure this will work well on a busy evening.
Click to expand...

I don't know mate. I was about to say welcome to the rest of the world but maybe it's only in Canada. The majority of places don't handle cash now. Many ask you to scan a code to bring up a menu. The worse are the ones that force you to immediately check out online and it's useless for spirits as you can't ask for variations in your cocktail or choose your own. I liken it to what they did with airport bars here where you tap on a tablet and immediately cash out.

Masks were mandatory indoors even when we were only permitting outdoor dining. You have to wear one to get to the toilet.

There are some restaurants or bars who have their bar open but they are also the same ones cramming people in seats and booths to maximize the sales without respect for distance. Apparently if you are 30cm back to back it is safe. They also tend not to wipe down places consistently after patrons depart.

Most pubs here keep tabs open so it's not like Britain where it's transactional walking up to the bar.

At least your bar maid drinks. I've had one who made me a cocktail and then confessed she's teetotal.
 
I was out last Friday, two bars outside on the canal then went to a steak restaurant in the center of The Hague. It was pretty good, most people not really social distancing. It was last of the good weather though, now it's pouring with rain and down to about 11C. Nobody is going to be drinking outside tonight.
 
Fwiffo said:
I don't know mate. I was about to say welcome to the rest of the world but maybe it's only in Canada. The majority of places don't handle cash now. Many ask you to scan a code to bring up a menu. The worse are the ones that force you to immediately check out online and it's useless for spirits as you can't ask for variations in your cocktail or choose your own. I liken it to what they did with airport bars here where you tap on a tablet and immediately cash out.

Masks were mandatory indoors even when we were only permitting outdoor dining. You have to wear one to get to the toilet.

There are some restaurants or bars who have their bar open but they are also the same ones cramming people in seats and booths to maximize the sales without respect for distance. Apparently if you are 30cm back to back it is safe. They also tend not to wipe down places consistently after patrons depart.

Most pubs here keep tabs open so it's not like Britain where it's transactional walking up to the bar.

At least your bar maid drinks. I've had one who made me a cocktail and then confessed she's teetotal.
Click to expand...
I paid for the first pint on a card. Then I had to go to the bar anyway to swipe the card!

I paid for the second pint and some grub in cash. She went away and brought my change back. She made a mistake but in my favour.
 
Kingstonian said:
I paid for the first pint on a card. Then I had to go to the bar anyway to swipe the card!

I paid for the second pint and some grub in cash. She went away and brought my change back. She made a mistake but in my favour.
Click to expand...

I prefer to go pinless and cash free these days. But you need a bank account for pocket money, less some major monthly bill comes out just when you’re going to settle your meal and after dinner drinks. You need more than a cheque account and higher rate.

I’ve always liked to have some readies on me just in case, but it is rather archaic for comfort. If all systems fail you’ll have to pay the next day.

I’ve gone over to a new internet/app bank for pocket money and it’s ideal.
 
Pimpernel Smith said:
I prefer to go pinless and cash free these days. But you need a bank account for pocket money, less some major monthly bill comes out just when you’re going to settle your meal and after dinner drinks. You need more than a cheque account and higher rate.

I’ve always liked to have some readies on me just in case, but it is rather archaic for comfort. If all systems fail you’ll have to pay the next day.

I’ve gone over to a new internet/app bank for pocket money and it’s ideal.
Click to expand...
It feels wrong paying for small items on a card or buying drinks in a pub. It’s the sort of thing only impoverished students used to do.
 
Kingstonian said:
It feels wrong paying for small items on a card or buying drinks in a pub. It’s the sort of thing only impoverished students used to do.
Click to expand...

Opposite here: A lot of businesses were refusing to deal with cash even before this year. Only a few students, undocumented migrant workers and the homeless buy don’t pay with cards.
 
You can also tell someone works in hospitality service here if they pay with cash. Generally bartenders and wait staff. They also tip generously to pay it forward.

Nowadays I don't know.
 
The new lockdown. In a local non-Wetherspoon. Table booked. Still doing 50% off food Monday to Wednesday. Table service - but much easier than a crowded Spoons.

Bell at 9:15. Bell at 9:30 (service ends). 9:50 Barmaid advises closing in 10 minutes.

Back home, when many would be heading out.
 
Agreed to go to a Wetherspoon in Raynes Park between Wimbledon and Kingston. Have drunk in here before mostly during the day. I feared the worst and was prepared to turn round and head home if it was grim. However it was not bad at all. Plenty of tables. We got served easily too. Beers not as good as my preferred Spoon but OK - Woodfordes Admiral and Truman’s Swift.

If things get really bad make your own. Even cheaper than Spoons

Woodfordes Admiral Reserve Real Ale Brewing Kit 3k g | Wilko

Shop for Woodfordes Admiral Reserve Real Ale Brewing Kit 3k g at wilko - where we offer a range of home and leisure goods at great prices.
www.wilko.com www.wilko.com
 
Last edited:
Trip round the British museum. Bookings only. Ground floor only. Egypt, Rosetta Stone, sarcophagi etc, Assyrians, Greeks, Minoans, Mycenaeans. Also some African stuff in the basement that I did not bother with(I have seen it the last time I went).

Then a swift drink in Ye Olde Mitre. Fullers vintage ale on draught 8.5%. I had a half and a pint of Hophead. Went local in the evening - nice little session but all out by 10pm.
 
Kingstonian said:
Trip round the British museum. Bookings only. Ground floor only. Egypt, Rosetta Stone, sarcophagi etc, Assyrians, Greeks, Minoans, Mycenaeans. Also some African stuff in the basement that I did not bother with(I have seen it the last time I went).

Then a swift drink in Ye Olde Mitre. Fullers vintage ale on draught 8.5%. I had a half and a pint of Hophead. Went local in the evening - nice little session but all out by 10pm.
Click to expand...

I haven't been in ages but the last time I went was with an Afrikaner girl from the office who kept remarking how everything there was stolen from their native countries.
Lot of tourist traps around there if I remember correctly.
 
IMG_20201016_2140268~2.jpg


Clubs, bars and indoor restaurants closed? No problem I will sit out at night in 7c weather with an unlined raincoat and suit drinking Johnnie Walker black with a rock. Technically it was cold enough I didn't need the ice.
 
Fwiffo said:
I haven't been in ages but the last time I went was with an Afrikaner girl from the office who kept remarking how everything there was stolen from their native countries.
Lot of tourist traps around there if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...
Mostly discovered by Victorian archaeologists with permission of the local authorities at the time.

Finders keepers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Back
Top Bottom