FlaSoxxJim

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 03:55 PM) I dont donate to either school I went to. Maybe one day in the future Ill donate to both of them, but for the time being the tuitions I paid should be enough. I'm more or less of the same mind as far as the universities at large. With regard to the specific academic departments I was schooled under, I have given to specific funds established in the memory of a couple of deceased former teachers who meant a lot to me. That makes the donation much more personal and meaningful for me, and I plan to contnue those sorts of donations.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 09:21 AM) http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24540...5009760,00.html Giant spider eats.... BIRD?!! I love when invertebrates turn the tables on their would-be vertebrate predators.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 10:50 AM) /going shopping thanks. I'm also picking up the book you see as my avatar. Sounds really interesting and I enjoy eating, and drinking, history. OMG, Beachbum Berry is THE GUY for classic tiki information! You will LOVE that book! Mine is so dogeared and stained with drink ingredients it's not even funny. The book is an outstanding history of Tiki, from Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic to Harry K. Yee (creater of the Tropical itch and the Blue Hawaii - not to mention the first guy to stick a paper parasol into an exotic drink), Ray Biehn of Tiki Ti, etc., etc., . . . Priceless book if you are serious about your tiki. Jeff's two earlier books, Grog Log and Intoxica, are spiral bound self-published books that are harder to find now. More straight up recipe books but still with some great history. Fair warning: When you see some of the classic drinks that require 8, 9, and as many as 11 different ingredients in them, you are going to curse up a storm as you get your home bar stocked. It killed me to shell out $30 for a bottle of Pernod that most drinks require in amounts of around 6-8 drops (!!). But, if you don't include it, your drink just falls flat. When you do the donga punch recipe, take the time to make your own cinnamon syrup with real ceylon cinnamon. I used the Starbucks version for a while but it's just too overpowering. The difference is that the premade syrups all use the hard cinnamon that is not the same as the ceylon cinnamon (aka canella bark, aka white cinnamon, the milder and cheaper stuff Badia sells in the ethnic section of the grocery store). Also, do the Don the Beachcomber Carribean Punch at earliest opportunity. Calling for saraspirilla soda, it sounds odd, but it is outstanding. A`ole pilikia!

QUOTE (Texsox @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 08:52 AM) What is your technique for frozen at home? I just can not get the right consistency. I'm holding off on the $300 margarita machine. And besides the obvious alcohol kick, what flavoring role does the overproofed rum play in recipes? I am always tempted to substitute the 151. Sadly, you can't get the right consistency using most household blenders. I'm in the same boat, but if I use a cup of crushed ice I get pretty close with just a couple larger ice chunks in the mix. The Tiki Bar used regular blenders at first and kept burning them out so they switched to frozen custard machines. Flavor-wise almost all of the overproof rums are awful, hot, medicinal and just way too alcolholic on their own. The two exceptions for me are Cruzans 120 proof (though it's their 151 I use in rumrunners) and the very elusive Lemon Hart Demerara 151. Those both are also meant to be used in mixers or as floats as well, but they habe got some character and balance that the others lack. That said, the Wray and Nephew overproof white rum (around 140 proof I think) is a staple ingrediant in lots of high-octane rum punches. I use it with a novel twist in my "3 of Strong" rum punch. I steep whole dried allspice berries (another Jamaican traditional food and drink ingredient) in my overproof at a rate of 5 berries per ounce of rum for 24 hours. This is my lazy version of a hard-to-find liqueur called pimento dram or pimento liqueur that a lot of classic tiki drinks call for. My ever-evolving 3 of Strong rum punch, as it stands now consists of: 1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice ("1 of Sour") 3/4 oz pineapple juice 3/4 oz orange juice 3/4 oz Jamaican strawberry syrup ("2 of Sweet" - and yes I realize that if you add it up it's 2.25 ounces. It keeps me awake at night, but this is what the drink calls for) 1.5 oz Jamaican amber rum 1/2 oz dark rum (Myers or Coruba if you are going 100% authentic Jamaican, but I've been using Trader Vic's dark rum which is a blend of Jamaican rum and aged Martinique rhum - probably the only TV rum I'd consider using for anything.) 1/2 oz allspice-infused Wray and Nephew overproof ("3 of strong") 4 oz club soda ("4 of week" - If you go online or into the recipe books and look at a bunch of the "1,2,3,4. . " singsong rum punches, many of them just toss in the ice as their "4 of week". Historically, the plantation rums probably just had regular water in them as the week ingredient -- much like historic navy grog --, but going with club soda here giuves the punch some lightness. Not cutting my recipe with some club soda makes it too strong and too sweet) I usually make this by the glass, but it is better by the bowl, with ice and cut fruit in it, and it gets better as it sits and mellows. If you don't want to mess with the overproof, just follow the same recipe with an ounce each of light, amber, and dark rum.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 24, 2008 -> 01:06 AM) I want you... ...r recipes. I am intrigued as hell. It's good to feel wanted. . . The rumrunner is one of those drinks that 10 different places will make 10 different ways. Not as bad as some of the things that pass for mai tais, but close. The original rumrunner was created at the Tiki bar, Holiday Isles on Islamorada in the Florida Keys - a big treehouse kid of hangout that was probably the best bar in the upper Keys (Developers have targeted it for demolition and that may already have happended). It was a drink made specifically to use up excess inventory of banana liqour, blackberry brandy, and 151 rum and became an unintentional sensation and signature drink. It was always served frozen in the original form, but most other places have non-frozen versions as well. Here's the original recipe: ½ oz Bacardi Select Rum ½ oz Barcardi 151 Rum (I usually use Cruzan 151) 7/8 oz Hiram Walker Blackberry Brandy 7/8 oz Hiram Walker Banana Liqueur (I preferr Juacim's or however it is spelled. Stay away from DuKuyper as it is way too overpowering, or cut the amount back if you have to use it). 5/8 oz Grenadine 1 oz Lime Juice Freeze in blender and serve in 12 oz glass. If you're not doing frozen, this recipe is going to be too strong and unbalanced, so a couple of ounces of pineapple and orange juice will be needed to cut it back. A lot of recipes use the Roses wsweetened lime juice but I use fresh in the Tiki bar version. Play with it a little to balance the banana liquour. But DO NOT omit the blackberry brandy and banana liquour or else it isn't a rum runner. Don't forget to have some Red Stripe on hand for the beer drinkers.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 23, 2008 -> 04:40 PM) We are actually going to do Jamaica but I'm definitely bookmarking this thread for future use. I think we're going to make a strong Rum Runner and we'll figure out a nice shot to take. I can give you THE rum runner recipe if you are interested. I can also give you my version of a killer "1 of sour, two of sweet. three of strong, four of weak" authentic Jamaicain rum punch recipe that uses Wray and Nephew overproof to very nice effect. I have a nice tiki shooter called Walk the Plank as well. Lifelong beer guy though I am, I have taken a hardcore diversion into faux tropical/tiki/Caribbean rum drinks this past year. Last night I made some tweaks on an unbalanced Appleton rum and sweet vermouth drink with a couple ounces of passionfruit juice and a couple of dashes of bitters and ended up with a really nice keeper cocktail that I think I'll dub the Passionate Pirate.

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight by Genesis. The real Genesis - not the post-Gabriel drek that called itself Genesis.

I was usually more likely to go with THC enhancers and not alcohol before class, but that was pretty infrequently. Damn, looking back, I think I wasted too much time studying and making grades and not enough time wasting time.

I am a good friend. A buddy managed to score 4 tickets to WS Game 2 for tonight - he and I were going to go and we'd move the other two tickets. Instead, I called another buddy who's kids are hardcore Philies fans and the three of them are going to go with my other buddy and I'm staying home. I got to take the family out to the ALCS Game 2 slugfest and I thought it would be cool for my buddy's kids to go. Now Philly Dad is father of the Year. Someone owes me a beer.

Ireland: Guinness and Jamesons Japan: Sake and Sapporo England: Bass or London Pride and cider Belgium: The Disneyland of Beer

Normal Scotch Tape emits measurable X-Rays when pulled from the roll in a vacuum: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?gui...081022564813686 Wild.

Scientists have discovered a food that decreases female sex drive by 90%. It's called wedding cake. Congratulations anyway.

Spin up some Christy Moore or Altan and restore your faith.

Make it a good one!

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Oct 18, 2008 -> 06:09 AM) Can I assume you accidentally typed in high school instead of grade school? I actually remember the first date I entered the world of binge drinking -- July 4th, 1999. I remember thinking to myself "this feeling of being drunk is awesome, now I know why people drink!" And what did you say to yourself on the morning of July 5th, 1999.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 04:46 PM) Lisa needs braces. Oh no! I'll be socially unpopular. Moreso.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 02:01 PM) Lisa Needs Braces. Dental Plan

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 12:10 PM) First experience getting drunk: Heineken Brewery, Amsterdam. Beat that Drinking Michelobs in a crappy Oak Lawn motel watching porn with a bunch of dudes I didn't even know because my friend had passed out and stranded me there.

Here's hoping the wives and girlfriends don't see this report. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=6034244&page=1

T-Bone

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 02:55 PM) Thats a song made up for use in the Ireland Rugby Matches. The Irish rugby teams use players from the north as well as the south. The North doesn't want to listen to Amhrán na bhFiann and the Republic doesnt want to listen to "God save the Queen". It was created to avoid the sectarian issues that we have seen before. Three of the five Celtic Thunder vocalists are Ulstermen which I didn't know. That explains the lack of any good Republic nationalist songs in their set list I guess. Also one of the vocalists is Scottish. Wikipedia knows all.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 11:27 AM) lol, so at the 1:35 mark there's like a 12 year old kid that has the voice of a 45 year old. I take it someone was missing in this performance? No, he's 16, and that is his voice. Damian McGinty is like the Rick Astley of Irish music. We've all been McGintyRolled.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Oct 15, 2008 -> 12:06 PM) Good thing you weren't wearing that Sox cap or you may still be laying there. Nice Rays cap you started wearing btw. I haven't traded in my Sox cap yet - but I did shake the hell out of one of those blasted cowbells at Saturday's ALCS game.

Yep, she picked me up and then she did fireman's carry.

My wife picked me up in a bar. ^^^ True. To be fair, we had known each other as fellow grad students prior to that. But our getting together started with a series of random, improbable events including my car breaking down in the rain, causing me to arrive late to meet the girl I was supposed to be seeing that night, and the Future Mrs. FlaSoxx seeing me drinking a beer alone and dripping wet at the bar and, for hitherto unexplained reasons, deciding I was worth making a move on. Damn, my marriage is actually just one long pity date.