Día de las Velitas, La Quema del Diablo, Fire has many Uses, and The Saints and Sinners Cocktail

Today in Columbia, South America they will celebrate Día de las Velitas or Day of the Little Candles. The tradition first started on December 8, 1854, when Catholics, while waiting upon a decision by Pope Pius IX whether to define as dogma the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary - lit candles and paper lanterns to show their support and belief in this idea.

In Columbia the tradition continues to this day, but now it is celebrated on December 7th, the eve of the Catholic holiday the Immaculate Conception, and marks the height of decorating in preparation of  Christmas.

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Today in Guatemala, South America they will celebrate La Quema del Diablo or The Burning of the Devil. In anticipation of the holiday season, houses are cleaned out of dust, old newspapers and assorted rubbish that tends to gather (and makes a great hiding place for the Devil) and brought out into the yard and set fire to. Effigies of the Devil himself are burned as well to cleanse the household of evil.

Tonight, if viewed from space, the entire country of Guatemala will appear as if it is on fire.

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Every Saint has a Past,

and Every Sinner has a Future

Oscar Wilde

The Historical Inebriant: Saints and Sinners* Cocktail

http://www.kindredcocktails.com/cocktail/saints-and-sinners

Ingredients:

1 1⁄2 oz Demerara Rum,  El Dorado 5
1⁄2 oz Cognac,  Camus VS
1⁄2 oz Don's Mix**,  B.G. Reynolds
3⁄4 oz Grapefruit juice
2 ds Grapefruit bitters,  Bittermen's Hopped Grapefruit

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Grapefruit twist garnish.

*A more popular drink is the Sinners and Saints cocktail which we featured on our
February 10th post (funny post if you care to read) The St. Scholastica Day Riots.

**Don's Mix is a blend of two parts grapefruit juice and one part cinnamon infused simple syrup, invented in 1934 in Donn Beach, a.k.a. Don the Beachcomber for use in his Zombie Punch.

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 No matter which side you are on tonight, stay thirsty my friends.

As always, have a great and safe weekend!

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Bulleit's Bourbon, Blood, and the Marijuana Tax Act

Per Wiki:

1789 – Whiskey distilled from maize is first produced by American clergyman the Rev Elijah Craig. It is named Bourbon because Rev Craig lived in Bourbon County, Kentucky.

It seems there are as many stories surrounding the birth of Bourbon as there are different brands of it, which makes it great for sippn' and storytelling!  Much more to come on Bourbon in future posts, but for now...

If you're new to Bourbon, start with any one of several that have been mentioned on the blog in a rocks glass, neat.  Add ice cubes to taste.  If that doesn't work for you, add ginger ale or (see our Jan 27th post) Bacon!

The Historical Inebriant:  Bulleit Bourbon           

http://www.bulleitbourbon.com/recipes/default.aspx

As a side note:

The two counties in Kentucky that are famous for their Bourbon production are Fayette and Bourbon.  The former is named for the Marquis de Lafayette, who came to America from France to aid the English colonies in the American Revolutionary War.  The latter is named for the royal House of Bourbon who sat on the French throne at that time.

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June 14th is World Blood Donor Day - Every blood donor is a hero

http://www.who.int/worldblooddonorday/en/

On 23 February 2012, the Republic of Korea being the host of the global event of the World Blood Donor Day 2012, created the largest human blood drop to win Guinness World Record, breaking all previous records.

We can all be heroes, at least for one day


Give Blood!

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On this day in 1937, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the Marihuana Tax Act. You can read about it here but it's basically a sin tax levied against anyone who bought or sold marijuana. In 1969, parts of the act were ruled unconstitutional (Leary v. United States) since anyone applying for the tax stamp would have to incriminate themselves.

Who comes up with this Sh*t!