#whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd

[theacademydrinks]

THE MALTING FLOOR. Working backward from my bottling, cask rolling, & kilning posts because why not? After steeping (soaking in water) to trick it into germinating, the barley is spread then grubbed (raked) several times a day as it warms & sprouts to keep its new shoots & roots from matting. At Springbank, the whole process is still done 100% on site by hand. Highland Park, Bowmore, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, the BenRiach, and the Balvenie also malt some of their own barley on site. It’s backbreaking work — at least for someone usually writing 🧐. The repetitive strain injury one can develop working the malting floor is called “monkey shoulder.” Think shoveling snow all day, every day. Even at Springbank, these days the maltmen & women rotate through other production jobs. But it’s still hard work. #theacademydrinksinscotland #theacademydrinksatspringbank #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #whiskygeek #whiskytrivia #floormalting #whiskylove #instawhisky #singlemalt #scotchwhisky #whiskyporn #distilleryporn #whiskylife #whiskylife #singlemaltscotch #scotchwhisky #whisk(e)y (at Springbank Distillers)

[theacademydrinks]

The Sidecar c1919-1922 🍸 “embrace the irresistible silliness of the sugared rim” -Toby Cecchini, Cosmopolitan, 2003 🍸 Things can change so quickly. Many folks ushered in New Years 2020 with Roaring 20’s parties, unaware of what had already dropped. Now here we are in a different world. My last post, only a month ago yet ages back, mentioned how 2 of the most fun drinks guys @cookingissues & @donbert talked to my & @116crown ‘s students about the instructive power of failure. Before class at my co-teacher’s sandwich shop @meatandco we’d discussed how a virus on the other side of the world would affect supply chains in ways people didn’t yet fathom. A view of global connectedness that now seems quaint. My topic after spring break was to have been the birth of escapist drink culture in the ‘30s. I wasn’t going to spend much time on the 20’s & prohibition. Now I am. The era started inauspiciously with the horrific global flu pandemic of 1918 - unfortunately called “Spanish flu” because that neutral country covered the outbreak while countries engaged in WW1 didn’t. Two recessions followed the end of WW1, then the next few years brought rapid growth & profound change — in technology, politics, science, economics & culture. Movies, TV, radio, airplanes, mass produced cars, womens suffrage, birth control, the growth of the NAACP, antibiotics, home electric devices. The list is stunning. In the space of about 8 years everything changed. I shared my work on all this today with @Timmckirdy a thoughtful writer @vinepair whose pieces always go deeper than one expects. Check out his article on it which should be appearing on VinePair next week. Ive been assigning VP’s blog on Covid19’s impact on the industry to my class for the past few weeks. Check it out if you haven’t already. They’ve been on top of things. #sidecar #tobycecchinisrecipe #cosmopolitan #readthebook #historyloops #journalism #vinepair #realreporting #1918pandemic #19202020 #roaring20s #prohibitioncocktails #speakeasy #nothingnewunderthesun #failureinstructs #drinkhistory #drinkculture #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #cocktailculture #learnfromyourmistakes #fallofrome #bartendingunderquarantine (at The Roaring 20s) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-ix9eYFC82/?igshid=g6ma5bnmvbds

[theacademydrinks]

This time of year my mind turns to teaching, lesson plans, lectures notes & book lists. Summer is about family, writing, & travel, but come fall, around the time pumpkin spice starts haunting us, I line up books & make final decisions about spring term course texts. It’s a ritual I’m used to but haven’t been this excited for in years. Last spring @116crown & I debuted an experimental course we developed at Yale University, “Drink History: The Ethics & Business of Cocktails.” Course titles for new courses are always a mixture of hope, fiction & flat-footed description. This title was meant to capture the full range of our disparate backgrounds (Jessica: intellectual historian/philosophy professor, John: bartender/restaurant owner) & how we would use them to unpack the subject of cocktails as a way of addressing some central themes of material culture. And we were going to do it by looking at 5 particular cocktails. Oh, and we would start with the dawn of agriculture & then move through to the cocktail renaissance of the 2000’s. We also thought we’d invite industry professionals (artist, writers, barkeeps) to come meet with the class & participate in outside events. Wow we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The students — not all of whom were even old enough to drink — brought an amazing seriousness of purpose to the course. My co-teacher (who hates that term, saying it sounds like we’re divorced parents, raising a class together) & I battled every week -- then turned to each other at semester’s end & said “Let’s do that again!” So here we are. We could do the exact same syllabus again, perfecting & honing it so the seminar runs smoothly. Or I can swap readings & topics, ensuring uncertainty & keeping my co-teacher & myself off-balance all semester. Hmm.😉 . #womeninbarsafter3pm #womenwhoteachaboutwomeninbarsafter3pm #yaleuniversity #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #drinkculture #drinkhistory #cocktailhistory #yaleuniversity (at Yale University) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3hn0Qpl6Wv/?igshid=iahiocgot025

[theacademydrinks]

I’ve read some heart-squeezing tributes about people who inspire. I love such posts & am not ashamed of being a big softy whose heart melts at some profiles. But I’m also someone who has met many dear friends by arguing with them about something. And not always something important. 🤼 🤺 🤼‍♂️🗣 That’s how I met my husband of 8 thousand years, way back in the mists of time before slide-rules existed. I’ve met some folk in the drinks world this way too. So I’ve decided to profile people I’ve met this way, since it’s something different & more in keeping with my nature than other sorts of tributes. There will be no regularity to this. People I adore because they’ll argue with me — or at least engage on a real level. One young gent I met while bickering about whisky online will probably be horrified that I’m going to out him as exceedingly kind & gracious. I recently visited @whisky_rover on his home turf. One of several places he took me was @tullibardinewhisky . We went other places as well but I like these photos because neither of us expected this tour — or even asked for it. A really nice—clearly busy — man simply offered to take us around with him as he was getting ready for something. He led us last casks, into an elaborate tasting room, gave us a lightning quick history & disappeared again as abruptly as he had appeared. 🏃🏻🏃🏽‍♂️🏃🏽‍♂️🏃🏽‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️ Sort of like social media friendships for some people, I suppose. But I don’t roll like that. Friendships forged in argument, sealed in person with a dram, are permanent. Cheers JJ! Next time over a cocktail in my town. (Yes, I will put things IN the whisky & stir it all up. 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸 #peoplewhoinspire #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #theacademydrinksinscotland #maltreview #gracioushost #toolingaround #oppositionaldefiantdisorder #oppositionaldefiancedisorder #speysidewhiskyfestival #dram19 (at Tullibardine Whisky Distillery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxF81Q9nSH1/?igshid=361jfisn6zny

[theacademydrinks]

I’m about to head to Scotland again where I’m sure to be drinking lots of yumilicious* whisky. So I’m taking the opportunity to savor some of the other glories of Bacchus (Succellus?) beforehand. 🍇 🧝🏾‍♂️ 🍇 Ok that’s a really obnoxious way of saying “I had a martini & it was good!” 🍸 🎯 🍸 *yumilicious, from ancient Latin, meaning yummy 📜 😋 📜 #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #scotlandbound #theacademydrinksinscotland #nomnomnomnom (at 116 Crown) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwp8hMcHCne/?igshid=fry3dd8mzann

[theacademydrinks]

Author Aaron Goldfarb enjoying a Midday Dragon as we celebrate some ways in which the world has absolutely improved in the past generation.📈 . I’ve covered a range of controversial topics in my career involving all manner of subjects, sometimes graphic, sometimes disturbing. But never have I felt so uncomfortable as discussing the trashy names of silly drinks of the 1980s with the young adults in my Yale class. 🙇🏻‍♀️ Something about the disconnect between the seriousness of a class & the ridiculousness of that time period (which I recall clearly from my 1st time through) made the whole thing weird in a way that simply talking about sex, violence, bodies, art & other difficult topics never has.🙅🏻‍♀️ . I hope Aaron collects his articles on this into a book so everyone else can be as weirded out by the 1980’s as I was. 🧟‍♀️ Writing about topics nobody else is part of a reporter’s job.✍🏽 Looking forward to Robert Simonson coming to talk to the class this week & take us into the next era. It’s no wonder the cocktail revival happened! 🎟 As with all our “Drink History” guests he will will be coming by @116crown to chat after class (tues april 16). Come by if you need a cleansing after even thinking about furry bellybuttons & copulation in the sand while trying to have a nice drink. .🧘🏾‍♂️ (I’m horrified by the hashtags I’m going to append here. But I’m doing it anyway for no other reason than to see what else they hit 😉) #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #eightiesdrinks #bjshot #80sdrinks #fuzzynavel #sexonthebeach🍹 #screamingorgasm ##screamingorgasm #screaming😱 #dingaling #alabamaslammer #longislandicedtea #pournography [yes that’s a real book] #rayfoley #Cocktailrevival #gotmilk #drinkwater #eightglassesaday #callyourmother #andyourfather (at 116 Crown) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwJfmwbFs4B/?igshid=t1qeqg7l1qog

[theacademydrinks]

Meet me at Camera 3 (apologies Jon Stewart): 🎬 I used to sit in coffeeshops to write 👩🏻‍💻 when I couldn’t face my own desk anymore. The book I just finished with @116crown may have obliterated my ability to do that. Just look above at the alternative. #DangerWillRobinson!🤖 #whatImdoingwiththatphilosophyphd ✍🏼🗣🍸🥃🍹 #whatImnotdoingwiththatphilosophyphd 🕸🙇🏻‍♀️🥀 #itsallgood 🧚🏼‍♀️ (at 116 Crown) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUngZCgEms/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12q5pvkcosr3a

[theacademydrinks]

I like my job. . . #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #working https://www.instagram.com/p/BnzllOAgBN0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1szj62flzbr7f

[theacademydrinks]

July 20 The tyranny of the blank page vs the siren call of my other job. I started writing about spirits/cocktails as a way of avoiding writer’s block in other areas. But it took over. I’m not sure I mind. (I have a feeling many of you know what Im talking about.) #justahunch #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #writersblock #cocktailwriting #writerslife #whiskyporn #scotchwhisky #whiskygram #whiskylover #whiskylife #whiskeyporn #whiskygeek #whiskylove #whiskytime #instawhisky #singlemalt #singlemaltscotch #scotchtasting #whiskytasting #whiskeytasting #instawhiskey #brownliquor #writerslife #littlemill #springbank #realife #reallife #whiskywriter #blankpage

[theacademydrinks]

I did a tasting for some folks recently who told me they’d been drinking Scotch for years but didn’t know what lowlands were. !! Since summer is coming where they are, it’s time for them to learn, because lowland style is perfect for summer. If you’re one of those people who thinks you only like a certain style of Scotch — or some other spirit — you might be surprised. That’s what a good tasting can do. It’s not about being pretentious & learning lingo; it’s about expanding your world & adding to the things that you enjoy. #whiskygeek #whiskytrivia #whiskylove #whiskylover #whiskylife #whiskygram #whiskylove #whiskytime #instawhisky #singlemalt #scotchwhisky #whiskyporn #whiskylife #lowlandscotch #lowlandsinglemalt #singlemaltscotch #scotchwhisky #whisky #whiskey #scotchtasting #whiskytasting #whiskeytasting #theacademydrinks #learningaboutwhisky #learningaboutwhiskey #learningaboutcocktails #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd

[theacademydrinks]

My carpenter warned me not to fill the sliding hinged bitters rack he built me until he could fortify the hinges. I’m having a hard time waiting. (I’m also having a very hard time not making inappropriate jokes about my new rack. Im classy that way.) I’m hesitant to post my own bar pic, even if it’s just a corner because it was a holiday so clearly the place is a hot mess. But so many of you post such lovely personal pix. Besides, it’s the best office I’ve ever had. I just feel like one of those people that says “oh the place isn’t usually such a mess!” For sure my tequila & single malt are usually in their respective areas, shelved in geographical formation. (Those who know my particular kind of nutty know Im not kidding.) #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #whiskylover #whiskygeek #singlemalt #singlemaltwhisky #amarone #winetasting #scotchtasting #whiskeytasting #irishwhiskey #cognac #armagnac #bitters #amaro #bargoals #dreambar #homebar #cocktailbitters

[theacademydrinks]

Bottling a single cask for a special release @springbank1828. The bottling line is such a beautiful place to work. Or in my case, to stand and ask the people actually working lots of questions as they let me push buttons, fill bottles & play w stuff. #singlecaskwhisky #bottlingday #springbankwhisky #theacademydrinksatspringbank #theacademydrinksinscotland #visitscotland #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd (at Springbank Distillers)

[theacademydrinks]

This Place is unreal. Except that is very real. #academydrinksinscotland #academydrinksatspringbank #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd (at Springbank Distillers)

[theacademydrinks]

Mixology,or bartending, class (depending how pretentious I want to sound). #mixologyclass #bartendingclass #tipscertification #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd (at 116 Crown)

[theacademydrinks]

Sampled some amazing bottles at Made in New Zealand wine tasting in NYC. Talked to some great people too. Maybe more sipping, less talking and I would have made it to ALL the tables. Oops. 3 hours went by fast #newzealand #newzealandwines #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd (at NeueHouse)

[theacademydrinks]

Self Starter The Self Starter a lesser known classic cocktail is a martini variation, with apricot, no citrus. It’s sometimes made with apricot brandy but @116crowns version uses apricot liqueur and smuggles in citrus flavor with @CocchiAmricano. The juniper forward London dry style Gin No. 3 also sidles in citrus, making a perfect summertime drink. A bracing absinthe rinse keeps it from getting too precious. Warning: it’s stronger than it looks. I love the way @116crown makes this drink look delicate with that pansy. Its is anything but: Most recipes call for proportions of 1.5- 2oz gin, 1oz vermouth, .5 oz liqueur. Btw, these Rothman & Winter liqueurs by @HausAlpenz are glorious. (Swipe through to my bar pix.) Their creme de violette, apricot & pear liqueurs are delicate, while also intense. Added to a little Prosecco, or anything else, they are so good. Excuse my tacky half-downed bottle pix, but I go through a lot of mine! #notinstagramready #becausetheyrereallymybottles #ihatehashtags #sowhyevenusethem?#howpostmodernofme #whatimdoingwiththatphilosophyphd #classiccocktail #gin #absinthe #kinalillet #revivedclassics #whiskytasting #tastingpro #scotchtasting #whiskeytasting #drscotch #theprofessorisin #scotchphd #apricotliqueur #rothmanandwinter #proseccordrinks #summercocktails