June 2011

How to Drink When You're: In Southern California

Drinking is a subculture. Or rather, it's an indulgence that manages to be a different subculture in every region where it takes place. One would think that global marketing and ease of travel would render regional drinking a thing of the past, but just because it's technically possible to bring any kind of spirit to any place in the modern world doesn't mean that there's a demand for everything everywhere. Regionalism as a larger concept is still going strong (and some would argue it's more pervasive now than ever), so it's difficult to impossible to bring your drinking habits with you when you're in a different place. The things you like, the places in which you enjoy them and even the types of people you expect to meet will be missing or at least out of place. The lush's advice? Don't struggle, just go native. Better to drink like the locals than to try to haul your habit into a place where it doesn't belong. So, today we're going to learn how to drink when you're a stranger in Southern California.

The Lush Chronicles: The First Drunk

One's first time getting drunk is a lot like one's first time having sex. With a combination of luck, education and guidance, it can be a great experience, but that's a fairly rare and sadly unlikely setup, at least in our society. The United States has an abusive relationship with alcohol. We've treated it poorly in the past and it has retaliated by mixing badly with our fat-and-carb-heavy diet and spending several post-Prohibition decades as terrible wine and even worse beer. We're getting better about it but there's still practically no discussion about lowering the drinking age here. I suppose this is because reaching 21 is a rite of passage and alcohol provides a convenient social barrier for nightclubs and music venues where people might not want to mingle with teenagers, but it's still pretty absurd that an American can legally go to war before he or she can legally drink.

Ah, but I've gotten off topic, at least a little. It's no coincidence that sex and alcohol get fairly equal treatment in America. They're both "adult" things that kids get into a lot earlier than anyone is comfortable admitting and so they're both things that do more damage to kids than they really ought to. Because both are illicit for the young, kids will go to great lengths to get them and keep them secret. And so, getting drunk for the first time, like having sex for the first time, is often more messy, confusing and painful than it needs to be.

An Introduction to Brandy

Lately, Americans have been learning to once again embrace classic cocktails and cocktail methodology. I'd say that this isn't an isolated fad, but rather one branch of the gastro revolution that has been going on in this country for the past decade or so. The whole "foodie" thing came on the heels of celebrity chefs who introduced our couch-dwelling civilization to the beauty of truly good cuisine, which of course increased interest in wine as well. Combined with the coming-of-age of several American wine regions (Central California and the more verdant parts of Oregon, for example), America's new love of elevated tastes was excellently timed. Wine snobbery begat the microbew boom, which itself begat the very recent micro-distillery boom and the cocktail culture that goes hand in hand with it. This lasting trend of evolving American palates leads me to believe that we're in a good state to start embracing brandy as a culture. As always, appreciation starts with education. Here's what you need to know about brandy as a neophyte.