Things We Love

@Novichok
No, inpatient is the right word here. I'm not angry.

Hey, Iron, where are you... Pawian sends his love...

I loved Crows sense of humor.
I would love for him to resurface here.

Thing we love?

A (very) dry martini. Stirred not shaken. I think I'll mix one now.

And we discovered Johnny Walker with Tonic and ice.

I don't know whether or not my relatives in Scotland would laugh or cry (ice in whisky!!!!!!!) though I might have a go of that instead of a martini.. Try anything once except incest, folk dancing and being sympathetic to r*SSia.

edit

Not bad. Reminds me of something.

When it's over 30° C outside, ice is very useful.

in your wine, too? :):):)

In cheaper rosé wine in hot weather, it's fine. Wine snobs don't always like it, however a poorer quality wine isn't hurt by it and is perhaps even improved.

Some people put ice in dry sherry, though not me.

@jon357
White dry with mineral water and ice in the summer on the terrace is ok.

Doesn't a single ice cube unlock the flavour?

Not really, though there's a bit of that when it melts.

In Scotland and sometimes northern England, very traditional pubs can have a small jug of warm water on the bar. A few drops is all that's needed for that.

Certainly not! If anything you'd take it with a drop of water for that purpose. You might hear older people in the UK ordering a Scotch or an Irish 'and a threat' meaning a tiny squirt of water. Mostly though the Scottish and Irish don't add water, let alone ice. It's drunk neat.

You used to see the little jugs in Yorkshire though nowadays they're mostly used in Scotland.

It does work though IMHO it's better when the drops of warm water are used in cheaper whiskies. I'd be scared to do it with a really good one but I know Scots who do.

In the Mapp and Lucia books by E F Benson, the Major and Captain Puffin meet in the evenings for whiskey and gossip. The Major takes it neat while Puffin keeps a kettle of warm water in the fender and adds a sugar cube and lemon juice.


Yes, you're right. Apparently it helped a rough whiskey to go down more easily. But Irish whiskey is never that rough. Historically it's much smoother than Scotch.

I prefer to take whiskey in a cup of tea, that's very Irish :) Years ago the lady of the house would always ask the male guests 'Will you take a drop of something in that?' meaning whiskey.

I always forget about him. He probably bought the lemons from Twistevant's (if Irene's Lucy hadn't beaten him to it).

The Padre obviously drank Scotch too...


You'll want to bash me but I used to like Jamieson's and soda. It seems to suit soda more than most whiskey's do.


I put it in black coffee sometimes. Electric soup.

Whiskey and soda is perfectly acceptable. A gentleman's drink. Give Bushmills a try if you haven't already. It kills me to say it but it's better than Jamesons. Bushmills is the 'Protestant' whiskey you see :)

Is Black Bush its RC equivalent? I remember someone saying that to me but they weren't from Ireland.

No, that would be Jamesons. Black Bush is actually made by Bushmills.

I've seen "hot whiskeys" served in many pubs in NI, as a remedy for the common cold.


Black Bush is also stronger than the more common Bushmills white label.

My granny used to make that.

On a cold wet day, whisky and ginger (Stones or Crabbies) goes down well. Traditional in South West Scotland.

Ah yes, the old 'hot toddy' :) very popular remedy for a cold in Ireland. I heat the whiskey in a ladle over the gas flame and add it to the hot water. Put a bit of sugar or honey and a few cloves in it too. It's best taken at bedtime.


Sounds lovely - I'd give that a try if I could get decent ginger beer.

Great drink in the mountains, even when not sick. Better than than hot wine the Germans drink, when skiing.

I was thinking of ginger wine, Stones or Crabbies. Made in Scotland to be added to whisky. Not much use for anything else except putting in cakes or perhaps as an alternative to sweet sherry or Marsala.

For a soft alternative, ginger ale is better than ginger beer IMO. Canada Dry though, not the stuff they have at Dealz which is too sweet.

Now I didn't know about ginger wine - how interesting. I think I meant ginger ale, not beer. You see it's not really an Irish thing. Take an Englishman to know the difference :)

It was an English thing once, however most ginger beer there is either very regional (fortunately my region) or in shops with Jamaican products. Canada Dry is seen as a 60s/70s thing and that's a shame since it's a good drink.

Home made ginger beer is the nicest, either the soft or the alcoholic version. The bottles can easily explode though, so store with care!

If you see ginger wine (probably not in Poland) it's worth buying. Stone's is a little nice IMO than Crabbie's however there isn't much difference.

I remember in the Famous Five books they always had ginger beer :) The homemade stuff sounds like a nice idea. I might try that!

Lashings of it.

There's a good recipe from the Farmhouse Kitchen cookbook (from that 70s TV show out of Pebble Mill in Birmingham where farmers' wives used to send in recipes that had often never been written down before) however online, unfortunately some internet bottom-feeders have got hold of it and expect people to pay in dollars for a 'plan' to access them. Fortunately I've got the actual cookbook (if you see a used copy, I really recommend buying it. Mine was 99p and I use it all the time) and here are the relevant pages. They can sue me if they want.

Be careful though, the bottles do sometimes explode...

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Oh, gosh, yes, I'd forgotten the 'lashings' :) Thanks so much for the recipe! And I'll definitely be trying to get a copy of the cookbook.

Reading a good book with a nice cup of tea, summer and light nights, walking for miles without seeing another soul, travelling, art museums, the smell of freshly mown grass, baking cakes, Cirque du Soleil, listening to music, decent coffee with a nice slab of cake. That'll do for starters.