Like Molasses 2015-12-30

[oldmanmickey]

Back when I was slinging drinks, during triple crown season, we used the offcial mint julep recipe from Churchill Downs...the Early Times version, which was a Kentucky whiskey, not bourbon.

Having made both, I prefer the freshness of the whiskey to the bourbon, which actually has a more potent kick, due to new casks process versus aged ones. Bourbon is really smooth, and clashes with the sharpness of the spearmint muddle. The whiskey blends with the spearmint, sort of mellowing both out into a refreshing minty smoothness, if that makes sense.

Very important. Muddle not mush. Gently bruise the sprigs. Stir until glass is frosty, not freaking shake. If I see one more wannabe mushing the mint and shaking it, then complaining that they can't understand why it tastes like petrol fumes...grrrrrrr! Sorry, it just irritates me.

why did i not find you back when i was drinking, sigh

[Dave]

Very important. Muddle not mush. Gently bruise the sprigs. Stir until glass is frosty, not freaking shake. If I see one more wannabe mushing the mint and shaking it, then complaining that they can't understand why it tastes like petrol fumes...grrrrrrr! Sorry, it just irritates me.

Indeed. If one wants a spirituous drink that tastes like petrol fumes, there are numerous varieties of 白酒 (baijiu) that taste that way right out of the bottle. There's no need at all to assault an innocent sprig of spearmint!

On the other hand, Luzhou Laojiao (泸州老窖) smells and tastes rather like peaches, but has no fruit at all in its ancestry.

[Sgt. Howard]

Grandpa's three-year-old corn is sorta like drinking a cold cloud... according to the few that remember anything afterwards...

[DinkyInky]

Very important. Muddle not mush. Gently bruise the sprigs. Stir until glass is frosty, not freaking shake. If I see one more wannabe mushing the mint and shaking it, then complaining that they can't understand why it tastes like petrol fumes...grrrrrrr! Sorry, it just irritates me.

Indeed. If one wants a spirituous drink that tastes like petrol fumes, there are numerous varieties of 白酒 (baijiu) that taste that way right out of the bottle. There's no need at all to assault an innocent sprig of spearmint!

On the other hand, Luzhou Laojiao (泸州老窖) smells and tastes rather like peaches, but has no fruit at all in its ancestry.

Yuck. To both. I hate peach anything unless the mix does not taste like peaches after blending.

Gimme Insamju(Ginseng spirits....only mostly medicinal), Soju(usually potato or rice whisky), or Seol Joong Mae(plum liqueur or wine)any day.

But yeah. I just stay home and make my own mint juleps. I about tore a bartenders head off for insisting they were made in a blender with ice like a daiquiri. Right as the razzum frazzum Kentucky Derby pre race show was on, and they were showing the whole gorammin' world how to make it.

[Gyrrakavian]

legal age is 16? that should also mean other legal ages are simular, so they are both considered adults?

It wouldn't be unheard of.
In Japan 17 is legal adulthood with 14 being the age of consent (along with some odd and some sensible rules for the latter). The latter thing being something they have in common with Vatican City.

[Gyrrakavian]

Ah. Maybe it wasn't Germany, then. Of course, that could also have been something that was changed, or just some wild misconception, since the few people I've heard mention it were all Americans. I'd been wondering why anyone would think it was okay to let someone get booze based on height.

"You must be this tall to get sloshed. No platform shoes allowed."

They were Irkens in disguise.

[Gyrrakavian]

Very important. Muddle not mush. Gently bruise the sprigs. Stir until glass is frosty, not freaking shake. If I see one more wannabe mushing the mint and shaking it, then complaining that they can't understand why it tastes like petrol fumes...grrrrrrr! Sorry, it just irritates me.

Indeed. If one wants a spirituous drink that tastes like petrol fumes, there are numerous varieties of 白酒 (baijiu) that taste that way right out of the bottle. There's no need at all to assault an innocent sprig of spearmint!

On the other hand, Luzhou Laojiao (泸州老窖) smells and tastes rather like peaches, but has no fruit at all in its ancestry.

There's also the Heat Sink

[FreeFlier]

It could be that Atsali wasn't sure about what bourbon is (either because of the hangover/drunkeness fuzzing her memory/thinking or because she had just gotten the context of it being alcoholic from her reading) and wanted to be sure before she told Nadette.

This is a bit unrealistic. Almost all teenagers know a little bit about alcohol. From hearing friends, or others talking about it, or parents, or relatives. By the time I was 10 I knew what most of it was simply by my parents laying down the law about that I could not taste or touch what was in that cabinet above the fridge. Kathy is not a non-drinker. The beach has always has a bar there thanks to Tina. So how did these two end up clueless about what Bourbon is? It might be from being hung over but I kinda doubt they would be that hung over. If they were they would be praying to the porcelain goddess.
It is also apparent that Nadette's parents are not non-drinkers. If they were they would not have stocked alcohol based eggnog. I doubt Nadette went out and bought it herself.

I think it's not a case of "clueless about alcohol"... It might be more of a case of "basic knowledge of alcohol and nothing more."

I am a complete teetotaler. As such, I didn't have a real inclination to learn about booze and its types and variations and whatnot. All I knew until recently (read: until Dinky) was the following:

Alcohol tastes really bad
Alcohol is bad for me
Alcohol makes people stupid and bad-behaved
Bourbon, Scotch, Beer, wine, champaign, whiskey, and vodka have alcohol in it (and I only knew about bourbon and scotch because of the George Thorogood song)
A screwdriver is vodka and orange juice.

That is seriously all I knew. The girls might not know much about alcohol because they never had a reason to learn... They just weren't interested.

All of which is true for me, though I'd add:
Alcohol can be made from anything with sugar or starch.
I don't like being intoxicated/high.
Alcohol is liquid stupid.
In the more pure forms alcohol burns well and makes a good motor fuel.
The more pure alcohol also makes a good solvent/cleaner.

And I knew about bourbon by 14 or so . . . (from reading and observation, not from experience . . . I still haven't drunk it. Nowadays high-test alcohol might kill me.)

When I was in seventh grade, two of my classmates built a still and made their own boozeahol . . . keeping up the family traditions! (I knew because I worked at the library and helped them with their research . . . They later told me that booze made from green peppers tastes rather odd.)

. . . Indeed. If one wants a spirituous drink that tastes like petrol fumes, there are numerous varieties of 白酒 (baijiu) that taste that way right out of the bottle. . . .

There's a kind of distilled drink that doesn't taste like petrol fumes?

legal age is 16? that should also mean other legal ages are similar, so they are both considered adults?

It wouldn't be unheard of.
In Japan 17 is legal adulthood with 14 being the age of consent (along with some odd and some sensible rules for the latter). The latter thing being something they have in common with Vatican City.

One of my co-workers was sputtering about some country or other changing the age of consent to 12 . . . I knew more and informed the individual that the age of consent had been nine, and ten years ago they hadn't had such a thing at all, so 12 was an improvement . . .

And I'm told that in Alabama the age of lesser legal adulthood is 19, not 18 like the rest (AFAIK) of the US. (Full legal adulthood is 21 everywhere in the US AFAIK, though legal drinking age used to be 18 on US military facilities for members of the services . . . don't know if they're changed that or not.)

I've long been of the opinion that the US should use an incremented drinking age, with beer & wine at 18 (e.g.) and distilled stuff at 21. I suspect it would remove part of the attraction and reduce the underage drinking problems.

--FreeFlier

[oldmanmickey]

One of my co-workers was sputtering about some country or other changing the age of consent to 12 . . . I knew more and informed the individual that the age of consent had been nine, and ten years ago they hadn't had such a thing at all, so 12 was an improvement . . .

And I'm told that in Alabama the age of lesser legal adulthood is 19, not 18 like the rest (AFAIK) of the US. (Full legal adulthood is 21 everywhere in the US AFAIK, though legal drinking age used to be 18 on US military facilities for members of the services . . . don't know if they're changed that or not.)

I've long been of the opinion that the US should use an incremented drinking age, with beer & wine at 18 (e.g.) and distilled stuff at 21. I suspect it would remove part of the attraction and reduce the underage drinking problems.

--FreeFlier

your right about the legal age here in alabama, it is 19.

[Gyrrakavian]

I've long been of the opinion that the US should use an incremented drinking age, with beer & wine at 18 (e.g.) and distilled stuff at 21. I suspect it would remove part of the attraction and reduce the underage drinking problems.

--FreeFlier

Agreed.

As for the matter of alcohol that doesn't taste like petrolk wine tastes rotten fruit,but most fruit derived beers are fine. As is honey lager (depending on the brand). Dekuyper and most other schnapps are also fine. Just let it breathe a bit first. Especially mint schnapps.

[FreeFlier]

I don't like the taste of any alcohol I've ever tried . . . Which given my family's problems with alcohol is a good thing.

I used to know someone whose preferred drink was peppermint schnapps . . . which he described as tasting like mouthwash. Blech.

--FreeFlier

[eee]

I don't like the taste of any alcohol I've ever tried . . . Which given my family's problems with alcohol is a good thing.

I used to know someone whose preferred drink was peppermint schnapps . . . which he described as tasting like mouthwash. Blech.

--FreeFlier

Hear hear. Alcohol to me has a slimy sort of taste that is really unpleasant. Apparently, given that most in my family love wine, beer, and the hard stuff, that's just me.

Interestingly, when alcohol is used in cooking and evaporates off, I find the tastes left behind to be rather appealing. I also have no problem rinsing my wooden cutting board with vodka periodically and letting it dry before using it again. I assume the germs die happy...

[lake_wrangler]

I also have no problem rinsing my wooden cutting board with vodka periodically and letting it dry before using it again. I assume the germs die happy...

You know the saying, right? When you assume, you make an ass of U and me... So don't assume: next time you rinse your cutting board with vodka, make sure to ask the germs if they are happy, as they are dying off one by one...

[scantrontb]

And I'm told that in Alabama the age of lesser legal adulthood is 19, not 18 like the rest (AFAIK) of the US. (Full legal adulthood is 21 everywhere in the US AFAIK, though legal drinking age used to be 18 on US military facilities for members of the services . . . don't know if they're changed that or not.) --FreeFlier

**MUCH Snippage**

as far as i know the drinking age was the same as the surrounding area outside the particular base, however... in places like San Diego, where access to Mexico is really easy to go to, they tend to let it slide a bit as long as you are on base... that way there is a bit less temptation to go to Mexico just to get wasted, then possibly thrown in jail there... if you do something stupid on-base and get hauled in by the Shore Patrol/MP's, they can at least keep you around, but if you're in a Mexican jail... poof! you're a loss to your command as far as man-power is concerned, and the Navy doesn't LIKE that, ya know? (among other reasons too)

in other countries, such as P.I. or Thailand, they don't really enforce any drinking age... that is, until you screw up badly enough to warrant going to Captain's Mast... THEN they throw the book at you if you're under 21. it's also pretty much dependent on the personages involved too... you can get a real hard-line CO that is like the death penalty on stuff like that for even the first offense, and other times you get somebody like the Big Lebowski that basically could care less... as long as you do your jobs, and don't make the Navy any trouble... meh, whatever happens, happens...

[FreeFlier]

And I'm told that in Alabama the age of lesser legal adulthood is 19, not 18 like the rest (AFAIK) of the US. (Full legal adulthood is 21 everywhere in the US AFAIK, though legal drinking age used to be 18 on US military facilities for members of the services . . . don't know if they're changed that or not.)

**MUCH Snippage**as far as i know the drinking age was the same as the surrounding area outside the particular base, however... in places like San Diego, where access to Mexico is really easy to go to, they tend to let it slide a bit as long as you are on base... that way there is a bit less temptation to go to Mexico just to get wasted, then possibly thrown in jail there... if you do something stupid on-base and get hauled in by the Shore Patrol/MP's, they can at least keep you around, but if you're in a Mexican jail... poof! you're a loss to your command as far as man-power is concerned, and the Navy doesn't LIKE that, ya know? (among other reasons too)

in other countries, such as P.I. or Thailand, they don't really enforce any drinking age... that is, until you screw up badly enough to warrant going to Captain's Mast... THEN they throw the book at you if you're under 21. it's also pretty much dependent on the personages involved too... you can get a real hard-line CO that is like the death penalty on stuff like that for even the first offense, and other times you get somebody like the Big Lebowski that basically could care less... as long as you do your jobs, and don't make the Navy any trouble... meh, whatever happens, happens...

IIRC in 1984 we were briefed that the drinking age for military personnel on base was 18 because saying you were old enough to die for your country but not old enough to get a beer didn't make any sense. I suppose it could have been the base commander, but I understood it was official.

Of course, getting into trouble was a whole different thing . . . though that would likely be handled informally unless you were stupid enough to insist on formal proceedings.

I didn't drink even then, so it didn't affect me - when they let us out of company area for the first time I collected cash for standing firewatch at the barracks to let the other cadets suck up cheap beer at the O club annex. I wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway, so why not collect some cash.

--FreeFlier

[Opus the Poet]

Left for your enjoyment.

[Catawampus]

All of this is quite true, and I'm sure the girls know about alcohol in general. The thing is, neither of them seem to know what bourbon is. That's the sticky point. Given Atsali's love of reading, I'm a bit unsure how she could have avoided having SOME idea about it.

They might have heard of bourbon, but might not know how it is spelled. Looking at the letters in the word, it's not entirely obvious how to pronounce it. They could be thinking, "bow-urb-on? What's that?" and not connecting it at all with the drink.

I wonder how they're planning on getting home? Is vorping whilst under the influence prohibited?

For that matter, do any of the teenagers in this comic have a car yet? We've always seen them travel by foot, teleportation, rocket, or wings.

[jwhouk]

They're at the Ursa Twins' parental cottage (somewhere in the North Woods of Minnesota, I would reckon). I don't think they'd necessarily need to be home just yet.

I think 'Dette is what you'd call a paranoid drunk. Get her tipsy and she suddenly feels like the world is out of control. Which makes sense, as she's a seer...

[Sgt. Howard]

I don't like the taste of any alcohol I've ever tried . . . Which given my family's problems with alcohol is a good thing.

I used to know someone whose preferred drink was peppermint schnapps . . . which he described as tasting like mouthwash. Blech.

--FreeFlier

Hear hear. Alcohol to me has a slimy sort of taste that is really unpleasant. Apparently, given that most in my family love wine, beer, and the hard stuff, that's just me.

Interestingly, when alcohol is used in cooking and evaporates off, I find the tastes left behind to be rather appealing. I also have no problem rinsing my wooden cutting board with vodka periodically and letting it dry before using it again. I assume the germs die happy...

Alcohol kills germs by dehydrating them. I assume it is not a pleasant experience, but then a creature that has no central nervous system might not really know. I can only say it's probably a quicker death than soap and water...

[Jabberwonky]

For that matter, do any of the teenagers in this comic have a car yet? We've always seen them travel by foot, teleportation, rocket, or wings.

If you can telepoit, fly or perambulate on various and sundry styles of feet, why would you want a car? I can see only the true motorheads wanting one...