Libations & Explorations

Canal homes in Damrak, Amsterdam (Canon F-1/Kodak Ultramax 400) Lacking any enthusiasm for hard drugs and prostitution, Amsterdam is a city I never imagined I would visit. But, as any well-traveled soul knows, fate and a friend can take you to the farthest corners of the Earth. This was one of those journeys. I took the 6pm American Airlines flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Schiphol (pronounced ‘Ski-pol’, not ‘Ship-al’) Airport just outside of Amsterdam.  No upgrades to be had, but my One-World Airlines status allowed me to get a ‘Main Cabin Extra’ seat free of charge. That got me more legroom and I had no one sitting next to me.  We landed half an hour early and upon exiting the plane I saw my beautiful Travel-Wife, Doina.  She was the instigator of this trip as she had family business in Amsterdam and asked if I wanted to tag along.  She’s a hell of a travel planner, so I knew I was in good hands. First order of business at 8AM Amsterdam time was t...

  At the British Airways Lounge Philadelphia International Airport Most travelers are far too blasé about their luggage.  Yes, the skies have been democratized and all class of people can purchase a plane ticket. But when it comes to travel, if you’re going to do it then do it with style… Generally speaking, I tend to not be like ‘roll-aboard’ luggage (suitcases with wheels).  It just comes off as so lazy to me.  If you can’t carry a bag, well, should you really be traveling?  Having said all of that, there is one brand of wheeled baggage that I truly adore: Rimowa. Founded 125 years ago in Cologne, Germany, Rimowa luggage is the real deal.  The brand is famous for their aluminium luggage with parallel grooves; a design they pioneered in the 1930s.  One thing to keep in mind: there is nothing more unattractive at the airport, other than people wearing pajamas, than pulling along a fake aluminium Rimowa ‘lookalike’.   There are two elements of the ...

Negroni at the Hyatt Regency New Delhi, India When I initiate a fellow drinker into the magnificent world of the 'Negroni', I remind them that this cocktail is an acquired taste.  Like many things in life, the first will be awful, but by the third you will be hooked…and drunk. As a cocktail, the Negroni is disarmingly simple: one part gin, one part vermouth-rosso, and one part Campari.  Stir together with an orange wedge to be used as a garnish in a rocks glass.  Never shake. A very posh Negroni at the Park Hyatt Milan, Italy The Negroni is quintessentially Italian.  The tale goes that a descendent of General Pascal Olivier de Negroni, the count of Negroni, asked the bartender in Caffe Casoni in Florence to liven-up the 'Americano' cocktail by replacing the soda water with gin.  The bartender also replaced the Americano's garnish, a lime, with an orange wedge to differentiate the cocktail.   In early 2023 my good friend Doina and I had Negron...

  I'm ashamed to admit it, but I came to the world of coffee quite late in life. Around the age of 25, when going on nuclear-benders at meaningless nightclubs became boring, I needed a new culture to sink my teeth into.  Being an Englishman, I gravitated to tea...specifically Earl Grey tea.  Although I occasionally enjoyed some of the Starbucks 'ice cream drinks', coffee never really appealed to me.   That all changed in 2023 when I went to Italy.  Like many things, the Italians just do it better.  The first cappuccino I had was from the Italian equivalent of a Tim Horton's at the Milano Centrale train station...and it was delicious.  In fact, every cup of coffee I had in Italy was delicious. When I came home, I started exploring the coffee shops in my village, but none could replicate what I had experienced in Italy...except Adesso Cafe.  Run by a gem of a man named Frank, Adesso has the absolute best coffee I have every had outside of ...

      'Old Fashioned' Via Vecchia Restaurant Portland, Maine If there is one thing I truly enjoy, it’s a well-made cocktail! And there is one cocktail that, for me, stands above all others: the Old Fashioned.  If I was required to write about how many times I was drunk at airport bars on Old Fashioned’s…well, we would need a terabyte (whatever the hell a ‘terabyte’ is). The Old Fashioned is exactly that: an early version of the “cocktail”.  In the early 19th century, a cocktail was any mixture of spirits, bitters, sugar and water.  The Old Fashioned is claimed to have come about in 1890s Kentucky at the Pendennis Club.  Colonel James E. Pepper, a Bourbon distiller of some note, then took the recipe to the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Traditionally, the drink is made by mixing a small lump of sugar with a little water in a rocks glass, adding two dashes of Angostura bitters, and topping off with a measure of whisky.  An orange peal is usually used ...