Mistress Mix

April 21 is Record Store Day! And 2012 is the fifth anniversary of a day dedicated to the unique joy and treasures that can only be found at a bona fide record store. Head out to your local record store and spend time browsing through the bins. Oh come on, you know there's a record, cd or some bit of musical nostalgia from your childhood you'd love to find. Go on, get out there and support record stores. 

I've been trying to sort out the "best" drinks for Record Store Day. Lots of types of music are sold in record stores, but spending an afternoon riffling through record bins = rock and roll a la High Fidelity. In my mind, rock and roll drinks are straight up, well, rock and roll. Jack Daniels, maybe a Jack and Coke. Vodka and/or tequila shots. Jägermeister. Everclear. Absynthe for the Hendrixesque crowd. And the staple of dingy live clubs around the world: really crappy, cheap beer. In plastic cups.

The softer, gentler side of Keith Moon.

I find it difficult to imagine the Keiths (Richards and Moon) drinking anything other than straight, hard liquor. I'm guessing in his day Keith Moon would drink anything, but, somehow I struggle to conjure an image of him sipping a mint julep.

Sadly, rock and roll is closely associated with overindulgence. As much as much as I love trying all the interesting spirits of the world, as a conscientious human being and bartender, I do not condone drinking to the point of loss of motor skills. It's a rock and roll way to go, but, truly, there's nothing cool about drowning in a pool of vomit.

*I ❤ you, Kurt.*

Sometimes I am conflicted about alcohol. It can ruin lives. That point can be argued with, "Alcohol doesn't ruin lives, people make choices that ruin their lives." And I agree with that. I am certainly not in favor of prohibition. We are all responsible for ourselves and our choices. But. Still. Do I want to be the one to aid and abet someone who is demonized by or abusing alcohol? Not really. I don't think about this very often, but when I do it's usually when the subject of a dead rocker is being discussed. Because alcohol is a factor in a lot of rockers' deaths. I am a huge Nirvana fan. It saddens me that alcohol played a role in Kurt Cobain's death. The spirits I find infinitely interesting to explore for their taste have a sinister underbelly when exploring tastes in libations turns into seeking emotional solace in a bottle. But that's a blog for another day. The reality is that if I could time travel back to pre-1994 and be a bartender and were Kurt Cobain to sit down at my bar, I would serve him whatever he wanted and offer to mix him up something special, too.

I'm throwing a little soiré for Record Store Day. After hitting a few favorite local music emporiums there's a small group convening at my place to share the joy of the musical treasures we find. I'm not big on over-the-top theme decor, but a few thematic touches here and there do add to the festive air of any party or bar. There are some "cute" arts and crafts projects you can make from old records. Coasters made from 45s seem to be a popular staple with the etsy crowd. But to me that's tantamount to wearing a sweater made from baby seal fur. (There's a visual lesson on YouTube *shudder* I can't bear to watch.) For those of us who worship at the altar of rock and roll, records are venerated objects. (Okay, the Grand Funk wrist cuffs are kinda funny/cool.) No matter how crappy the band or song, all records matter. Somewhere out there is fan or collector who's looking for a good condition The Night Chicago Died 45. We're not here to judge, we're here to share in our love and passion for music, unified in our steadfast belief that there's salvation in music and that record stores hallowed sanctuaries.

Right, so, back to the task at hand, what to serve my guests on Record Store Day? Rock and roll themed drinks? Well, there are a few.

Purple Haze 
This is a fairly common drink, but the recipes vary.  Most variations contain Chambord®.

The easiest Purple Haze recipe is a shot/shooter:
1 1/4 oz. Vodka
3/4 oz. Chambord
Splash of 7-Up or Sprite 
Ice

How you'll build it:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Martini shake. Strain into a shot glass.  

The next variation is from the Long Island Iced Tea drink genre
What you'll need:

1/2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Rum
1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Chambord®
1 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix

7-Up or Sprite

Ice

Lemon or orange twist or cherry for garnish

Collins glass

How you'll build it:

Fill glass with ice. Add liquors to an ice-filled Collins glass. Add sour mix, top with 7-up, garnish.


Songs about drinking
Supersuckers: Good Night for My Drinkin'
Replacements: Here Comes a Regular & Beer for Breakfast
Social Distortion: Ball and Chain
John Lee Hooker's version of: One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
Wilco: Passenger Side
Dean Martin: Little Ol' Wine Drinker, (Me)
The Champs: Tequila
Pretenders: Tequila
Tom Waits: The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
Violent Femmes: Don't Get Me Started on the Liquor
Pogues: Streams of Whiskey
UB40: Red, Red Wine
Eagles: Tequila Sunrise
The Kinks: Alcohol
George Thorogood: I Drink Alone


Drinking Shots

TCB. I'm guessing that's a Gimlet. With mutton chop chaser.

Texas blues. Southern Comfort.

Let it be(er). What a sad looking bar. What a sad looking John Lennon.

Where have all the good times gone?

BYOB, apparently. Keith Richards. Tina Turner. David Bowie.

 Nancy and Sid. Pretty. Vacant.

Boy.

I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight. 

Wow. Who knew? This whole "photos of Bono drinking" thing is kind of fun! He looks like a James Bond villain.

Bonus Bono: Huh. Without glasses Bono looks uncannily like Robin Williams. 

Now my body is starting to quiver
And the palms of my hands getting wet
I've got no reason to doubt you baby,
It's all a terrible mess. Easy, there, Jimmy,

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Blah, blah, blah. Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Iggy Pop.

Colt 45? Ain't talkin' 'bout love.

You gotta fight for your right to party, or whatever this is.

Whiskey in a jar...beer in a bottle.

Backstage Clash. Beer and Pepsi.

Replacement men. All I wanna do is drink beer for breakfast.

Don't get me started on the liquor.

Kim Deal no longer drinks alcohol (respect) but back in the day...

Give me Novocaine. Or beer.

Oh demon alcohol,
Sad memories I cannot recall,
Who thought I would say,
Damn it all and blow it all,
Oh demon alcohol,
Memories I cannot recall,
Who thought I would fall a slave to demon alcohol.
-Kinks