Lo-Fi Lush Hour no. 75 marks the end, alas, of the Lush Hour. When I started this, on March 14, we has 60 U.S. dead from Covid 19.
We washed our hands
We stayed inside;
Our president
Just lied and lied.
We mixed our drinks
And talked, and sighed;
A hundred thousand
People died.
We washed our hands
We stayed inside;
Our president
Just lied and lied.
We mixed our drinks
And talked, and sighed;
A hundred thousand
People died.
Having worked our way through more drinks than any normal person needs to know, from the Tasmanian Blow My Skull to the kümmel-Vodka-and-Tabasco Epsom, let’s make Today’s Toast the elegant original version of the Negroni, as printed in 1947. Dunque, lavatevi i mani!
Yinz know what goes inta this one well as I do. It’s gin—I’ve always liked Tanqueray in mine, but you do you—an’...
...Campari, a course (an’ really, there ain’t no substitute fer this one), an’...
...red vermouth; yinz’ll want somethin’ nice an’ Italian here. I’m udon’ th’ Cinzano 1757 ‘cause it’s both, an’ cause I could use th’ extra space in th’ fridge.
An’ th’ rest a the stuff. Any soarklin’ water’ll do, but it seems respeckful ta use somethin’ Italian.
Gli implementi. This one’s gettin’ mixed right in th’ glass. The 1847 book said to use a “bicchiere da acqua”—a water glass. The measure if a half-centilitre, or a little more than an ounce an’ a half.
So. Measure a gin. I’m pourin these a little short so as not t’overpower th’ glass, so ta speak.
An a measure a Campari.
An’ a measure a vermouth. So just so’s yinz ain’t mission’ nuttin’, that’s a ounce an’ a half’ve each.
Now let’s get some ice cubes in there. I hadda run upstairs fer this infernal machine, but Italian bartenders don’t use their hands. They ain’t animals like our guys are.
Now a splash a th’ bubbly water. Don’t drownd the thing.
Quick stir. Quick.
Arrange that orange twist in a elegant manner.
Deploy yer chips an’ olives whatcha call decorously an’ there stands the glass. T’me, this’s one a th’ pinnacles a civilization, and got-damn necessary. Salute, tutti!
And on a personal note, dropping the old-timey and the playing around, I’d like to thank my regulars, who have stuck with this rather eccentric ramble through the world of classic cocktails and such and provided excellent company throughout, and also the occasional visitors...
...who do so much to brighten up a bar and, really, anyone who dropped in to make a comment. With our bars closed, it feels like we’ve been fighting these times with both hands tied behind our backs. For me, the Lush Hour has been like having one hand free again. Bless you all.
Damn—I meant to add a shout-out to mio fratello Luca Picchi, Head barman at Café Gilli, Firenze, and the modern master of the Negroni. Grazie Luca!
