Blame it on Matisyahu, or Connecticut Cigar Company, or The Mad Things ...no post today

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Ok, that was this morning.

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Some blood flow has returned to my brain (though this is the worst I've felt since the May 4th post "Rum, rum...got drunk on Rum, or, Why was there no post this morning") and as some of the occurrences of last night are returning to me, I thought I might as well put them on paper.

I blame it on Matisyahu, even though I like him. I enjoy an artists that writes songs about things other than body parts and/or various movements of body parts. I enjoy songs about the spirit of humanity. He put on a great show last night (even if the sound had a little too much bass for my taste, it was still enjoyable). But the drinking started way before that...

I blame The Connecticut Cigar Lounge, where I am currently writing this. Happy Birthday Peter! It was a great party last night that I thoroughly enjoyed!  Thank Jonas for the Margaritas and Paulina for...well, just being Paulina! But the drinking started way before that...

The Action Outside

Inside - Everything is better with bellydancers

The Action Inside

Keith and Paulina

I blame it on The Mad Things and how they seem to get better each and every time I see them.  Last night's performance was excellent and they played many songs I had never heard them do before.  Great Pink Floyd covers.  I think Joey was inspired by having seen Roger Waters over the weekend. But the drinking had started way before that...

There is a reason the blog is titled The Historical Inebriant.

Leaving for Liechtenstein, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and the Traffic Light Shot

On this day in 1806, the country of Liechtenstein was given full sovereignty after its accession to the Confederation of the Rhine - a formation of 16 German states formed by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. While the Confederation only lasted from 1806 to 1813, the 1814 Treaty of Paris made the German states independent.

Okay, enough history. Let's talk about Liechtenstein, the country of just over 160 square kilometers (by comparison Washington, DC is 176 sq km) and an estimated population of 35,000 now. Granted, the low population is one of the reasons for its low unemployment rate (1.5%), and its high gross domestic product per person (2nd in the world).

Liechtenstein has almost no natural resources, but it also boasts almost no debt, and the fact it has more registered companies than citizens. With a maximum corporate tax rate of 20% the country has both a highly industrialized free-enterprise economy and a large financial service sector.

The personal maximum income tax rate about 29%, even with the costs of generous social programs. One of the reasons they can do that is - Liechtenstein does not have an army - none, no one, nada. In lieu of an army, Liechtenstein's National Police, (125 members - all equipped with small arms ) is responsible for keeping order within the country and repelling any invasion from neighboring Austria or Swizerland.

View of Liechtenstein's Border

By the way, Liechtenstein has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. A reason for this perhaps may be the 1.5% employment rate... or maybe it's the 100% literacy rate!

Sound too good to be true, do you wish to move to Liechtenstein?  I would suggest you rent out  the country before you move there...its only $70,000 per night and if you really like it, you may be able to negotiate a favorable purchase price.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/liechtenstein-hire-rental-scheme


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On this day in 1983, Traffic’s saxophone player Chris Wood dies of pneumonia at 39 years old.

The Historical Inebriant:  Traffic Light Shot

http://www.in-the-spirit.co.uk/cocktails/view_cocktail.php?id=261

Ingredients:

half measure Midori

half measure Disaronno Amaretto

full measure De Kuyper Cranberry Liqueur

Layer the ingredients into a shot glass in the order listed.

One Day...

For those who live in and around Stamford, Matisyahu will be performing at Alive at Five

this Thursday July 12th.

See our 5/25 post to find out more about him, his music and to listen to his song "One Day"

Hope to see you there!

They can't take that away...and The Summer Breeze Cocktail

On this day in 1937, the American composer George Gershwin passed away from complications of a brain tumor.

At only 17 years of age Gershwin published his first song titled "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em." It earned him $5.00.

He scored his first big hit in 1919 with his song "Swanee" on which he collaborated with Irving Caesar. Al Jolson recorded in 1920 and made it one of the biggest songs of the year.
In 1924, Gershwin would switch gears and produce a classical work, Rhapsody in Blue and follow it up with another orchestral work An American in Paris in 1928. Both are classical standards now.

Probably most know for his (as Gershwin would describe it - folk opera) musical Porgy and Bess which featured what are by now his most performed songs; "Summertime", "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" It also featured his most complex and sophisticated music. Unfortunately, when the work was first performed in 1935, the critics had a hard time classifying it. Was it a new genre as Gershwin descibed, was it opera, a broadway musical. Whatever the classification, Porgy and Bess failed at the box office.

Amazingly, with such an incredible body of work behind him, Gershwin received his only Academy Award nomination, at the 1937 Oscars, for "They Can't Take That Away from Me" co-written with his brother Ira, but the nomination was given posthumously, as Gerswin passed away in July.

The Historical Inebriant:  Summer Breeze Cocktail

http://cocktails.about.com/od/whiskeyrecipes/r/summer-breeze-cocktail.htm

Ingredients:

• 1 part Maker’s Mark
• 1 part Ginger ale
• A splash of Cointreau
• 1 orange slice

1. Muddle an orange slice in an old-fashioned glass with a splash of Cointreau.
2. Add in equal parts Maker's Mark Bourbon and ginger ale.
3. Stir gently.
4. Top off with ice and serve

Summertime


Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

Silence Day

On this day in 1925, the Indian mystic Meher Baba began maintaining a silence that would not break until his death in 1965.

"Man’s inability to live God’s words makes the Avatar’s teaching a mockery. Instead of practicing the compassion he taught, man has waged wars in his name. Instead of living the humility, purity, and truth of his words, man has given way to hatred, greed, and violence. Because man has been deaf to the principles and precepts laid down by God in the past, in this present Avataric form, I observe silence."


His followers commemorate Baba's 44 years of quiet on this day, Silence Day.

The Historical Inebriant:         *

*Any drink you can get in a bar without saying a word


Two musical notes:


The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (Teenage Wasteland) written by Pete Townshend credits the song's philosophical and musical influences, Meher Baba and Terry Riley

Bobby McFerrin's Grammy Award-winning song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was inspired by a popular quote of Baba's seen on inspirational cards circulated after his death in 1965.

For A little less History, and little more Rock n' Roll...& bars  Remember to check in to the updated BB&B page as well.

A Call to Battle, Drink Local - act Global, and the American Caipiroska drink

I know that we had a post last week covering the 4th of July, but I attended a party at a local bar this weekend that was part birthday party / part deployment party for a young woman going to Afganistan.

When I saw this entry on Wiki for today, I truly felt compelled to write about it.

1776 – George Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army in New York City for the first time.


I have never served. I have never been called upon, at a dark hour, to shoulder my unspoken but expected responsibility as a citizen of this Republic. I have never left my family and friends with short notice, asking only that they pray for my safe return. I have never stood shoulder to shoulder with strangers of different races and ages and sexes, all sharing but one common goal - the defense of our nation. I have never had to clean a weapon on the eve of battle, knowing the fate that could befall me, knowing the damage I would be asked to inflict on a fellow human, wondering "can I do this - can I do all that will be asked of me?". But - were I asked to serve in the defense of this country - I can think of no words better than those to give purpose to my actions and to steady my heart and my hands.

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On this day in 1811, Explorer David Thompson erects a sign at the joining of the Columbia and Snake Rivers in what is now Washington state - claiming the land for the United Kingdom. It would not be until 1846 that the land became part of the United States.

The Historical Inebriant:  American Caipiroska*

http://americanharvestspirit.com/drinks/11

Ingredients:

2 parts American Harvest**
2 lime wedges
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon raw or turbinado sugar
Crushed ice

In a cocktail glass squeeze the juice of one lime wedge and add the other whole lime wedge, add sugars and muddle. Pour in American Harvest and stir well until sugar is dissolved. Add crushed ice and garnish with a lime wheel.

*a form of Caipirinha prepared with vodka instead of the usual cachaça.

**The American Harvest bottle features the wording "Snake River USA"


For an interesting review of American Harvest:
http://www.drinkspirits.com/vodka/american-harvest-organic-spirit-review/

I have tried the American Harvest and it was a Featured Inebriant on this blog a few weeks ago.
For the price point, I think it's a great value. (In my humble and unpaid opinion. Although
if they want to send me a case, I would not refuse)