Enjoyed: Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Listed on the menu: No, but the bar promotes its “prohibition style handcrafted cocktails” so the bartender was comfortable with my request.

Ingredients: H & H bourbon, house-made demerara syrup, angostura bitters, orange bitters

The occasion: Husband and I chose Baltimore and Annapolis for this year’s pre-holiday get-away, our tradition since 2015. We booked a room overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and this unique bar was just a few blocks away. We needed to punch in a code (clues were provided online) to gain access to the sixth floor, which was fun. The clocks hanging all around us were a tribute to the jewelry and watch repair business which once occupied the space.

My rating: *** out of 5. I was not familiar with the “H & H”, and I should have asked for more details. A later internet search showed a few options–did I have the Canadian whiskey, or the one made in Asheville, NC, or a type of Heaven Hill? Regardless, the drink was satisfying and just sweet enough, and the predictable notes of vanilla and caramel were indeed there, but not much else.

Final thoughts: Later that chilly evening, we shopped and ate at the nearby German-style Christmas market. We ended the day by traveling to the Hampden neighborhood to see “Miracle on 34th Street”–each and every row house on the block was decorated from top to bottom with holiday lights. Apparently this was the 77th year of the event, and wow! The nostalgia! Baltimore was a blast, but we had even more fun the next evening in historic downtown Annapolis: seafood for supper, a concert by Los Lobos, and shopping until 11:30 PM, since the stores were open extra-late. Bring on Christmas! We are in the mood!

1. Vases. I don’t anticipate receiving armloads of flowers from a secret admirer anytime in the near future, and Husband has been trained to get bouquets that fit into my favorite blue vase.
2. Dishtowels. I am still using ones left over from my mom and my mother-in-law, since I like the quality linen of long ago. You are allowed to provide fresh dishtowels, I suppose, if you come over and wash the entirety of the stemware, cookie sheets, vintage plates, and pots and pans that I will use over the holidays.
3. Serving trays. I got the gamut, from Dollar Tree ones to old silver ones that my kids will never want for their respective households.
4. Magnets. We tend to buy them during our travels, and now we have enough to adequately cover both refrigerators. I can just hear my mom saying that it’s so tacky.
5. Coasters. If we aren’t buying magnets during our travels, we are buying coasters. I have enough to protect every square inch of every tabletop in the house, and then some.
6. Lotion. I am super-picky about the scents I like, so please don’t even try to please me.
7. Stemware. Much like dishtowels, I inherited glassware from both moms. And I usually come home from IKEA with just-the-cutest set of goblets. I have sets for red wine, white wine, and champagne. I have shot glasses, high ball glasses, low ball glasses, cordial glasses, pilsner glasses, Nick and Nora glasses, coupes, and brandy snifters. And if I see a vintage stem at a thrift shop, I have to get it. Really, I have let this get out of hand. I guess I need to make more cocktails.
8. Earrings and bracelets and necklaces. I am retired, and some days I wear no jewelry and –gasp!–no makeup.
9. Cloth napkins, placemats, and tablecloths. I love them all, but unless it’s a special occasion, I am too old and cranky to deal with ironing.
10. Decorative pillows. Husband has threatened to leave me if I bring any more pillows into the house. Men just don’t get it.
11. Mugs. I have a few favorites, and the rest just sit there on the shelf in the cabinet. Unless I open a bed and breakfast, I don’t need any more.
12. Kitchen gadgets. I have duplicates and even triplicates of basics like veggie peelers and whisks. And I even have the esoteric, used-once-a year ones like a nutmeg grinder and a cherry pitter. I am out of storage space.
13. Scarves. I have wool and silk and rayon and cotton. I have every color of the rainbow. I have florals and plaids and stripes and polka dots. And they never wear out, so I can’t ever justify throwing any of them away.
14. Photo frames. I have accumulated so many over the decades, but I will make exceptions for new frames if they contain our children’s wedding photos. (Note to my kids: see how I didn’t say “grandchildren” here even though I could have? Stop rolling your eyes at me.)

Enjoyed: Thursday, October 24, 2024

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “The Classic Old Fashioned”

Ingredients: Old Forester bourbon, angostura bitters, orange bitters, hummingbird bitters, cherry bitters

The occasion: For the penultimate leg of our “Deep South” road trip, we drove the Natchez Trace Parkway –gorgeous fall colors, by the way–from Mississippi into Alabama. We detoured to Florence to tour Rosenbaum House, the only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the state. Then we headed on to our primary goal: a decades-overdue visit with my childhood friends who now live in Huntsville. We were treated to a marvelous dinner at The Cotton Club in the historic downtown district, and then on to a fun speakeasy in a dark basement.

My rating: *** out of 5. My drink was well-made and beautifully presented, but lost a star because the service was too slow. I prefer sipping and enjoying the full flavors of the bourbon and the bitters on a fresh palate and empty stomach, which means I want my cocktail served before the food is. Admittedly, I was pleasantly distracted by the delightful company, and by my tasty entree, so I forgot to ask about why so many bitters were used. I had never before heard of hummingbird bitters!

Final thoughts: Reunions are a wonderful thing. Yes, we talked about our kids, our careers, our travels, and our hobbies, but we also easily segued into memories of the past (such as our Polish moms’ cooking and watching the Chicago Cubs). Husband and I have re-connected with several other “old” friends these past few years, and we decided that we need to re-connect with even more people now that we are retired. What does that song say? “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.” Cheers to our golden friends in Alabama!