Drunk Travel Log

[oettinger]

Ha! You were punching someone. I try to picture it

Great trip it`s sounds like

[mistah willies]

New Orleans, Day IV, Part I

...The physical bar was, itself, historic. The story was that it had been disassembled and from a popular New Orleans restaurant while the restaurant was undergoing renovations. It was placed in a warehouse in 2005. And then Katrina hit. The restaurant never reopened and the bar stayed in storage for years. When it was donated to the museum, it was in terrible shape. Not just because of water damage, but because it was in a hundred pieces with no instructions on how to reassemble the thing. But they did a pretty good job because it is gorgeous.

We stayed there for several hours.

Damn fine report there young explorer! Truly, it takes a deep appreciation to booze to delve and wring out every last drop of a drunkard journey such as this, as you do often. Most people don't even know what layers there are to a place they visit.

What was the best-tasting concoction that the hipster bartender made?

[Dear Booze]

New Orleans, Day IV, Part I

...The physical bar was, itself, historic. The story was that it had been disassembled and from a popular New Orleans restaurant while the restaurant was undergoing renovations. It was placed in a warehouse in 2005. And then Katrina hit. The restaurant never reopened and the bar stayed in storage for years. When it was donated to the museum, it was in terrible shape. Not just because of water damage, but because it was in a hundred pieces with no instructions on how to reassemble the thing. But they did a pretty good job because it is gorgeous.

We stayed there for several hours.

Damn fine report there young explorer! Truly, it takes a deep appreciation to booze to delve and wring out every last drop of a drunkard journey such as this, as you do often. Most people don't even know what layers there are to a place they visit.

What was the best-tasting concoction that the hipster bartender made?

By far, the best hipster-made cocktail was the Sazerac. I made a point to order many of these during this trip, and the hipster's wasn't the best one I had. But it was the best thing HE made.

Best drinks of the trip were as follows:

Sazarac at Hotel Monteleone (followed closely by Sazarac at Tujagues)

Vieux Carre at Hotel Monteleone

Brandy Crusta at Jewel of the South

Pimms Cup at Napoleon House

Pontchartrain Pearl Diver at Latatude 29 (It's an iced buttered rum with honey-butter-spice, passion fruit, lime and Jamaican Rum)

While at a place called The Black Penny, the bartender invented a drink based on my "flavor profile preferences". It has no name, but it contains Mount Gay Rum,
Wolfberger Ginger Amer, Cinzano Rosso, Herbsaint, served over ice with an orange peel. Fucking delicious!

Of course, even a beer or a rum and coke tastes better in New Orleans.

[Dear Booze]

New Orleans, Day IV, Part II

We took an uber from the museum to a bar called The Avenue. It sucked. We had one drink each and then walked down the street to Igor's Cocktails and Laundromat. Great place! It's located on St. Charles in the Garden District. It's on the route of the Mardi Gras Parade and there are strings of beads stuck in the power lines and trees and the "Green Line" trolley (Streetcar Named Desire) runs down the middle of the street. this is the neighborhood of Ann Rice and Tulane University.

We had to have about four or five drinks as we killed time, waiting until 7:00PM to arrive.

At 6:50, we were in another Uber, heading to Snake and Jake's Christmas Club Lounge.

We arrived in front of a structure which actually leans a bit to the left. It loiked as if it was built by fourth grade boys and should have a sign posted on the door that says "nO GuRLs alowed". The tin roof was rusted and the wreath above the front door looked like it was made from rotting pine limbs and recycled wrapping paper.

We walked through the door to find thst we were the first patrons of the day; the owner was going through the routine of opening for the night.

It's a small, dark room -- lit by only Christmas lights, with a few scattered tables and a narrow bar extending into the red and green glowing depths of what you'd swear is The Shed.

A our eyes adjusted to the wierd darkness, we realized there were two big mixed breed dogs running around inside the place. They even jumped up on barstools and sat at the bar with us. It was hilarious.

As we made small talk with the owner, he asked where we were from. Turns out, he will be in Fresno in late August/early September. We made plans to get together and tour some of our local dives.

By the time we left, it was getting pretty late, so we called an Uber and headed back to the French Quarter.

We stopped at the Marriott Hotel bar to seek out a bartender named "Catfish" who all the other local bartenders told us we should see. He was nice. And he was flattered that we stopped by. But he didn't do anything impressive as far as drinks were concerned. It seems that he was a hotshot while tending bar at some of the more iconic NOLA drinking establishments but landed a job at the Marriott for better pay and benefits. He sold out. But it's understandable.

[Artful Drunktective]

He left out the part where he was sexually assaulted behind a dumpster at Snake n' Jakes.

[Dear Booze]

New Orleans, Day V

For our final full day of drinking, we felt that we had a lot of catching up to do. Not only were there several bars that were on our original list to visit, we had added to the list several recommendations from the great bartenders we encountered during lur first four days.

We started at the Napoleon House, a very famous 200 year old landmark. The building's first occupant, Nicholas Girod, was mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815. He offered his residence to Napoleon in 1821 as a refuge during his exile. Napoleon never made it, but the name stuck, and since then, the Napoleon House has become one of the most famous bars in the U.S.

We ordered Pimms Cup cocktails. They were beyong good. Words can't even descibe it. What a terrific way to start the day.

We moved on to Bar Tonique. It was located way up on Rampsrt Street, a LGBQ neighborhood in the midst of gentrification.

The bartender was a real pro who made even a simple Gin and Tonic taste like a masterpiece. But we noticed something sad about him: Throughout our entire New Orleans safari, all the bartenders were happy to recommend other bars and other bartenders. They even wrote directions and names on cocktail napkins like some sort of tiny treasure map. They are proud of their cocktail culture and were proud to share it with the world. But not the Bar Tonique guy. He bad mouthed other places and talked shit on other bartenders.

Our next stop was Black Penny. This place was recommended by almost every other bartender in town. The bartender was one if the best I've seen in my life. After two or three drinks, she asked each of us a series of question about our taste preferences. Based on our answers, she invented drinks that were customized for each of us. She was spot on. They were delicious. It was wildly impressive.

We eventually left and visited The Lantern Bar, Cosimo's, Touche's, and others that were forgettable. But the experience at Black Penny was the perfect bow on a perfect gift from Bacchus.

New Orleans is still standing and awaiting our return.

[Rye and Coke]

This seems epic, I'm going to have to catch up

[Artful Drunktective]

Don't let Dear Booze fool you guys with his cool dive bar hopping and brawls. This is what his tropical umbrella drink filled travels is really like, all summed up in his favorite song!

DB on vaycay

[oettinger]

Don't let Dear Booze fool you guys with his cool dive bar hopping and brawls. This is what his tropical umbrella drink filled travels is really like, all summed up in his favorite song!

DB on vaycay

Yeah don`t even ack brah

[Dear Booze]

Mrs Booze and I are in Boston. Neither of us have ever been here, so we thought it might be a good idea to check it out. After a six-hour flight, we tried out four iconic bars, but found that the kids from Harvard, Cornell, MIT, and Emerson fill up the barstools when the sun goes down. We will continue our quest in the morn.

[oettinger]

Mrs Booze and I are in Boston. Neither of us have ever been here, so we thought it might be a good idea to check it out. After a six-hour flight, we tried out four iconic bars, but found that the kids from Harvard, Cornell, MIT, and Emerson fill up the barstools when the sun goes down. We will continue our quest in the morn.

I heard Maine rocks

[Dear Booze]

Boston is a funny place...

Here's a real exchange that just happened:
Me: Can you direct me to a few Irish bars near Fenway Park?
Concierge: Fahk You.

Do you all remember that whole exchange in Donnie Brasco about what "forgetaboutit" means?

"Forget about it" is, like, if you agree with someone, you know, like "Raquel Welch is one great piece of ass. Forget about it!" But then, if you disagree, like "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!". Or sometimes it just means Forget about it."

Well here, "fahk you" means a lot of different things. I this case, it could have meant "Oh my gosh, the choices are endless," "Sorry, I have no idea," or simply "go fuck yourself."

[mistah willies]

^ ^ ^
Ha! That's friggin funny that you asked him that!

Next time you see the same mick, ask him where to get these beans you've been hearing about and see what he says.

Rule of thumb: if no one's getting punched, it's all love and brotherhood. Just don't try to talk like one of those massholes

[Dear Booze]

Well fuck. All of my business travel for the season has been canceled due to the fear of this Coronavirus bullshit. I looked forward because my drinking experiences at my favorite bars were completely funded by my employer. This means no drunken postings from Segovia's in Monterey and a number of bars in Anaheim, San Diego, Sacramento, Oceanside, and Oakland. Very sad.

[mistah willies]

Well fuck. All of my business travel for the season has been canceled due to the fear of this Coronavirus bullshit. I looked forward because my drinking experiences at my favorite bars were completely funded by my employer. This means no drunken postings from Segovia's in Monterey and a number of bars in Anaheim, San Diego, Sacramento, Oceanside, and Oakland. Very sad.

Yup. Same here, as for travel, for my own work. Even the national air quality conference for Injuns is in question, and that's in a few months.
But I keep admonishing my cohorts to continue the planning for it. There will doubtless be some who have become unable to breathe at all, forever. Hey, no harsh on old bastards like me.
The planet appears to have begun the cleansing.

The only protection is form the inside. High proof Ethyl is the only way.

Someday, it will only be us. Covid 19 will not endure.

We just need someone who can drive this planet into the further reaches of the galaxy without friggin crashing into asteroids and stuff.

It's ironic. Or is it ionic?