You Fibber McGee, You

A few years ago, we found a recipe on CocktailDB for a drink called a Fibber McGee, and we tried it. We liked it, so we've been making it every now and then for awhile now. It's a variation on a sweet Martini, with a bit of grapefruit juice. Few people know it, so it seems to be a fairly obscure drink. I'm not sure when it was developed or how it came about - it may have something to do with a certain radio show, but I haven't been able to determine it's origins.

It appears in print in only one book I've found so far, and it was a recent one - 2005. It was also mentioned in a NY Times article back in 1990, and one other blogger friend wrote about it a few years back.

Well, we made it again recently, so I wanted to suggest it to others - it's a nice drink. Herbal, complex and a tad sweet. Especially so if you use a red grapefruit instead of a white grapefruit. Cheers!

Fibber McGee
1½ oz Gin (I use Distiller's Gin No. 11 of course, but any traditional London dry should work well)
½ oz Sweet Vermouth (Carpana Antica)
½ oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Mixology Monday XLVI - All About Absinthe!

This month, I have the privilege and pleasure of hosting Mixology Monday. The amazing Paul Clarke started MxMo in April 2006, and it's been going strong ever since. Each month, cocktail bloggers and writers from around the globe chime in on that month's topic, all on the designated Monday. This month, it's Monday, February 22nd.

The topic for February is Absinthe. That much maligned, misunderstood, mistreated spirit, suddenly plentiful again in the US and other parts of the world. Absinthe played a role, whether large or small, in a variety of great cocktails from the 1800's and early 1900's - the Sazerac, Absinthe Suissesse, Corpse Reviver No. 2... I'm getting thirsty.

So let's celebrate absinthe's history, and it's future, with all manner of cocktails using absinthe.

Here's how to participate:

• Find or concoct a recipe using absinthe as an ingredient.
• Make the drink and write about it. Include the recipe, ideally a photo, and something about how you liked (or didn't like, or tweaked, or...) the drink. If you don't have a blog, you can submit your recipe on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.
• Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both Mixology Monday and Thinking of Drinking. And once the round-up is posted, a link to that summary post would be most appreciated (thanks for that idea, Frederic).
• Post a link to your submission in the comment section here, or send an email to sonjakassebaum (at) gmail (dot) com.

The due date is Monday, February 22nd, which I will interpret as whatever gets submitted before I get to the office on Tuesday the 23rd to start workin' on my wrap up (for those procrastinators in the bunch, I usually show up at 10 am CST). I'll take entries late too, if it gets in before I finish the wrap up. But I might give you a rough time for being late.

And if you want to learn more about the history of absinthe, here are some links.

Cheers and see you on the 22nd!

Joy and Suffering at the Hala Kahiki

Recently, we went to the Hala Kahiki in River Grove, IL (just as an aside, you get a very different website if you leave out the hyphen on the web address).

The Hala Kahiki has long considered the best tiki bar in Illinois, and one of the best vintage tiki bars in the country by some. So it's been on our list of places we needed to visit for a long time. Of course, since it's in River Grove, and keeps somewhat limited hours, we hadn't made it there. Until now.

The Good News
We were amazed by the decor and ambience. Truly a beautiful oasis in the middle of nowhere, will lots of great decor items, down to the small details like the puffer fish lights. It's a really big place, even without the outside patio space. The parking lot was packed, but there were still tables, so we got lucky.

Great ambience, great vibe, good crowd.


The Bad News
The drinks were not good. I know I'm a cocktail snob, and they're trying to hold their prices down in the tough economy, but the drinks were not what we expected based on the decor.

I ordered a Mai Tai (foreground) and Derek ordered a Fog Cutter. Our drinks tasted very similar to each other, with tons of crushed ice. Unfortunately we were not at the bar and did not see how they were made, but mine tasted like vodka with cheap sour mix - no rum flavors whatsoever, no orgeat, no fresh lime. And it seemed like they used lots of foaming bar sugar.

Maybe they were busy and took shortcuts, or maybe it was an off night. I'll probably go one more time and see if I can sit at the bar next time so I can see what's happening. But this was a disappointing introduction to the Hala Kahiki.