Dia dos Namorados and a plea to take down that Wall

Today is Dia dos Namorados in Brazil. Named for namorado (boyfriend) and namorada (girlfriend) with the same root as "enamored" it is roughly equivalent to our Valentine's day.  Coming the day before St. Anthony's day (patron saint of matrimony and of finding things) you can bet that many of those that do not receive gifts today will be saying prayers to St. Anthony tomorrow!

The Historical Inebriant:  Quentão           

http://www.novofogo.com/mixology/Recipe/9

(keep in mind, it's winter in Brazil, hence the hot alcohol drink) 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Novo Fogo Barrel-Aged Cachaça
• 0.5 oz ginger syrup
• 6 oz spiced cider (heated)
• cinnamon stick garnish

Stir the ingredients together gently. Serve in glassware that won't burn your fingers and garnish with a cinnamon stick.  You can find ready-made spiced cider at Trader Joe's.


As a side note, a slang name for Cachaça is abre-coração, meaning heart-opener.

As a side, side note, another name for Cachaça is bafo-de-tigre, meaning tiger breath.
Beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder!

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On this day in 1987, Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate and asked Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall".  On November 9th, 1989 the gates of the Berlin Wall
would open.

A wonderful, fully orchestrated, version of Winds of Change!

Roger Waters - The Trial from The Wall - Live in Berlin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_%E2%80%93_Live_in_Berlin

For the walls everywhere in the world - that should come down!

The Historical Inebriant:  The Brick Wall           

http://www.bourbonblog.com/recipes/2010/11/28/brick-wall/

Ingredients:

• 1.5oz apple cider syrup (see below)
• 1.5oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey
• Ginger ale
• Lime wedge
• 1 slice green apple

Combine equal parts syrup and bourbon in an ice-filled glass. Top off glass with a bit of ginger ale. Squeeze in lime. Optional: garnish with apple slice.

Apple cider syrup

Bring 0.25 cup sugar, 5 cracked allspice berries, 4 whole cloves and 0.75 inches of ginger root (peeled and sliced very thin) up to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes. Kill heat and let steep for 90 minutes. Let cool and strain. The recipe here claims to make enough for 10 drinks, but that’s wrong. By my calculation, it makes enough for about 5.5 drinks.

A great blog post from SF Chronical cocktail and spirit writer Camper English on some
adventurous drinking in Berlin:

http://www.alcademics.com/2010/10/berlin-cocktail-snake.html

George Washington, Alben Barkley, and Camarón Day

On this day in 1789, from the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, George Washington takes the oath to officially become the first elected President of the United States.

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On this day in 1956, Kentucky born Former Vice President and Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia. Barkley, who had recently been elected as Kentucky's junior senator after serving as Vice President, collapsed from a heart attack as he had just finished a speech in Virginia proclaiming "I would rather be a servant in the house of the lord than sit in the seats of the mighty."

The Historical Inebriant:  Woodford Reserve Bourbon
                       Straight up and honest 
                              http://woodfordreserve.com/

The best audience is intelligent, well-educated and a little drunk.

~ Alben W. Barkley

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For Benoit

In a situation almost the reverse of Cinco de Mayo, on this day in 1863, a 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fought a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.


Today France and the French Foreign Legion celebrate this day as Camarón Day
It's an interesting story if you want to read about it further.

http://www.flixya.com/video/4572265/Bob-Dylan-One-More-Cup-of-Coffee