Results tagged “crankycocktail”

Earlier this week The Cranky Cocktail decided to pay a visit to his friendly neighborhood state store and happened upon Navan, the new vanilla-flavoured cognac product from the Grand Marnier folks. It's seen quite a bit of "buzz" lately, and has seen some decent reviews. Navan even hired NYC chef and mixologist Albert Trummer to pimp mix their product at its debut at the MTV Music Awards earlier in the year. So, with hope and curiousity, TCC took a good portion of his monthly scotch budget and instead invested it in a small, $40 dollar bottle of this "bold" new hybrid spirit.

This weekend, Phillyist had the pleasure of attending a two-hour trunk show at Nicole Miller at the Bellevue.

Yes, yes, the column is late again. Get off The Cranky Cocktail's back! He's been laid up with the flu for the last few days, and only his great dedication to you, his faithful reader, is enough to drag him from his sickbed, hacking and wheezing, to his keyboard. But from great suffering comes great inspiration, and thus this latest bout of raging fever and disturbingly wet cough has set The Cranky Cocktail down the trail of traditional alcoholic cold and cough remedies. Before there was Nyquil, what did people use to take the edge off of the suffering and pain?

How'd the first day of the SEPTA strike go? Well, it depends on who you talk to.

This week The Cranky Cocktail will depart slightly from his traditional column formula which you have come to know and, presumably, love, in favour of discussing something slightly more abstract: The aperitif. Now, in a very technical sense, the aperitif is nothing more than a liquid appetizer -- it's something to drink before a meal to whet one's appetite, to cleanse and ready the palate for the feast to come.

With Hallowe'en coming up, The Cranky Cocktail has been racking his brains for appropriately ghoulish cocktails to write about, but while we can all agree that, say, The Pink Drink Book is pretty damn scary, it's not exactly seasonal. TCC was reminded, however, of an eerie party trick that he's fond of, wherein he dims the lights, pours a shot of sambuca into his mouth and then carefully lights the liquor on fire. Blue flames shoot from his mouth and light the room. Men gasp, women swoon, &c &c. It's quite striking.

First things first: Never let it be said that The Cranky Cocktail doesn't pay attention to his readers' comments. Please see, immediately to the right, a little something for the ladies. You're welcome, Babs.

The Cranky Cocktail knows it's been a while since he's had a chance to impart to you some of his choice wisdom. He apologizes. But to make it up to you, here's a picture of a hot model. Specifically, it's International Fetish Model Kiwi, a Philadelphia local -- check her out in the latest issue of Passional, if you haven't seen it already.

Pay attention, faithful readers, because this may very well be the most important column that The Cranky Cocktail ever writes. This is the Martini column, and it's vital that you take all the salient facts contained within to heart. Not since Moses came down off of that mountain has such wisdom been imparted to the masses, so listen up:

The Cranky Cocktail finds it interesting that the recipe of his that has garnered the most attention hasn't been one of his delicious drinks, but rather the offhand reference to his preferred post-debauch breakfast. Indeed, he's recieved several emails and even a (sadly unattributed) nod in the Philadelphia Inquirer's blog because of it. Never being one to ignore his audience, TCC has decided to give you, his devoted readers, a little extra this week with a couple more booze-friendly recipes.

The Laird family own the oldest distillery in the United States, with the first recorded commercial sale of "cyder spirits" dating back to 1780. What they called cyder spirits then we would call applejack today, and it's a crying shame that such a historical and delicious tipple has fallen by the wayside. Laird & Company is still making the stuff today, and it can be found in most PA state stores at a very reasonable price, usually on a shelf near the brandy.

So, Philadelphia is the eighteenth-most liberal city in the United States, eh? Well, it could be worse. Philly might have made the top ten.

Originally this week's column was supposed to be about the martini, but The Cranky Cocktail managed to work himself into such a frothing rage every time he tried to write it that he decided to take a step back and leave it for later. It's better for everyone concerned.

The Cranky Cocktail was out the other night at local watering hole Mad 4 Mex at the behest of a good friend whose main squeeze was out of town, thus allowing for a weekend of dissipation and old-fashioned indulgence. Now Mad 4 Mex has a happy hour special, in which they proudly serve "Big Azz" Margaritas at a discounted price. For those of you that care, that's a 22 oz house margarita, frozen or on the rocks, for only $6. Against his better judgement, The Cranky Cocktail ordered one of these concoctions for himself. Yep, just what he expected. Tastes like something that came out of a slurpee machine. Which, to be fair, it more or less did.

Striped Bass Mixologist Ray Sundo, a cucumber fan, created the Cool as a Cucumber cocktail in homage to this subtle vegetable. The color of the cocktail is soothing and the flavor awakens the palate with its clean, fresh taste. If you are too lazy or hot to visit “the Bass,” you can always try this cocktail at home using Ray’s recipe. Be sure to slice the remaining cucumber and put it over moisturizer-slathered eyes to combine the best of both spa and bar worlds – our suggestion, not Ray’s.

When it comes to avoiding the dreaded hangover, The Cranky Cocktail tries very hard to observe a few simple rules that serve him well: Drink plenty of water, pop a couple of aspirin before going to sleep, be careful of port and other high-sugar reds, and punch anyone who offers you a shot of grappa right in the face.

Welcome to the first installment of The Cranky Cocktail, which will hopefully become a regular feature here at Phillyist.