Category Archives: People and Places

Hemingway Days

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Mic Lowther

Ernest Hemingway wrote 16 novels and 49 short stories. Five of his works were made into movies and The Old Man and the Sea earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Hemingway lived what he wrote. He was a Red Cross … Continue reading →

A Night at the Dakota

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Mic Lowther

I’m sitting at the Dakota Jazz Club bar staring at soft, amber lights. My thoughts wander. Soon I’m standing at the end of Jay Gatsby’s dock seeing lights across the water. That green one, that’s on Daisy’s dock. Daisy…she wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Cocktails, People and Places | Tagged a-train martini, al jolson, billy strayhorn, birdland, come to my graden, dakota jazz club, deedee bridgewater, dizzy's club coca-cola, duke ellington, ernest hemingway, f scott fitzgerald, grace jones, jay gatsby, jazz age, minnesota martini, minnie riperton, papa doble, preservation hall, pull up to the bumber, ramsey lewis, satin doll martini, sazerac, straight no chaser, take the a train, the avalon, the great gatsby, the in crowd, thelonious monk, yoshi's | Comments Off

What Writers Write About Booze

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Mic Lowther

“Civilization begins with distillation.” — William Faulkner (best known for The Sound and the Fury) “After one drink it’s very hard not to take another, and after three it is even harder not to take three more.” — James Agee … Continue reading →

Posted in People and Places | Tagged charles bukowski, conrad aiken, edna st vincent millay, h l mencken, hunter s thompson, jack kerouac, jack london, james agee, james baldwin, john cheever, lillian hellman, raymond carver, robert benchley, sherwood anderson, sinclair lewis, tennessee williams, w c fields, william faulkner | Comments Off

The Whiskey Rebellion

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Mic Lowther

THE WHISKEY TAX OF 1791 George Washington’s new Federal Government assumed Revolutionary War debts of the 13 States as part of compromises leading to adoption of the US Constitution in 1789. To help pay the resulting national debt, Congress used … Continue reading →

Posted in People and Places, Whiskey | Tagged braddock's field, george washington, revenuers, using whiskey as currency, whiskey rebellion | Comments Off

It’s About Bubbles

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Mic Lowther

Champagne is the first choice for celebrations. It’s used to toast newlyweds, launch ships, acknowledge achievements and rites of passage, and as a symbol of upward mobility. Why? Partly, it’s the bubbles bursting forth when the bottle is uncorked that … Continue reading →

Posted in Champagne, People and Places | Tagged champagne, champagne bubbles, champagne fermented in the bottle, champagne region, champange bottles exploding, Dom Perignon, Dom Pierre Perignon, how champagne is made, lees, removing the lees | Comments Off

Alcoholics Anonymous

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Mic Lowther

STRUCTURE Alcoholics Anonymous is dedicated to helping men and women quit drinking and stay sober. It has no fees or dues and receives no support other than contributions made by meeting attendees. It is not aligned with any religious or political … Continue reading →

Posted in People and Places | Tagged alcoholics anonymous, twelve-step program | Comments Off

Alcohol in the Movies

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Mic Lowther

Beer, wine, whiskey, and cocktails in movies illustrate everything from people having a boozy, brawling good or bad time, to the affectations of high society, to the ravages of alcoholism. In some cases a particular drink is identified with a certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Cocktails, People and Places, Whiskey | Tagged absinthe, animal house, arthur, beer, blues brothers, boilermaker, bottle shock, casablanca, casino royale, cat ballou, chianti, cognac, cosmopolitan, days of wine and roses, fear and loathing in las vegas, french 75, i'll cry tomorrow, leaving las vegas, lost weekend, manhattan, martini, moulin rouge, my favorite year, orange whip, pinot noir, rye, scotch, sex and the city, sideways, silence of the lambs, singapore sling, some like it hot, the bad news bears, the big lebowski, the thin man, vesper, whiskey, white russian | Comments Off

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Mic Lowther

In historic Bardstown, Kentucky, you’ll find the Old Talbott Tavern, in operation since 1797, the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, a 50-year collection of rare whiskey artifacts from pre-colonial to post-Prohibition days, and a variety of museums of the … Continue reading →

Posted in American Whiskey, Bourbon, People and Places | Tagged Bourbon Heritage Center, Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Kentucky Distillers' Association, Maker's Mark, Old Talbott Tavern, Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve | Comments Off

A Whiskey Festival

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Mic Lowther

“How’d you ever find a room?” the hotel shuttle driver asks. “Springsteen has a concert here tonight, the Steelers are playing, and there are conventions of tattooed people, high school science geeks, and who knows what-all everywhere. Every hotel within … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish Whiskey, People and Places, Scotch Whisky, Whiskey | Tagged Buffalo Trace, Dalmore 12-year, Johnny Walker, Knob Creek Rye, Laphroaig Scotch, Macallan, Michael Collins single malt, Pittsburg Rivers Casino, whiskey tasting, Woodford Reserve | Comments Off

Old Bushmills Distillery

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Mic Lowther

The Old Bushmills Distillery is the oldest licensed distillery in the world. Hugh Anderson officially registered Old Bushmills as a distillery in 1784, but earlier history traces it back to an operation “in the hands of smugglers” in 1743, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Irish Whiskey, People and Places | Tagged black bush, bushmills 10-year, bushmills 12-year, bushmills 16-year, bushmills 1608, bushmills 21-year, bushmills 400th anniversary, bushmills county antrim, bushmills irish honey, bushmills original, diageo, finn mccool, giant's causeway, grain to glass, hugh anderson, old bushmills distillery, oldest licensed distillery | Comments Off