So, like any other Friday evening, I head in to see Joe to "research" this week's cocktail. "Hey, Joe," I begin, "I had a great idea for a cocktail recipe. How about..." "No!" He stopped me, abruptly. "We are doing The Salty Dog. I have decided." "Listen! I mix the drinks, you type and make your little pop-ups! I grind this organ, you dance, Monkey!" I felt spanked, (and not in the good way!) Joe then plunked down his latest creation, cast me a dirty look, and said, "Here. Drink it. $6.50, and you better tip well this time!" Okay, I confess. This is NOT what happened at all. (I just thought I would add a little drama to the narrative. After all, we were just presented with a nice, new "Blog Star" award from AddYourBlog.com, so I figgered I'd try punching it up a tad with some conflict, a la"creative writing.") Back to reality... What did happen that evening was that Joe DID tell me, (and quite amicably, too,) that he really wanted to do The Salty Dog and had for some time. He spoke of some "improvement" to the original recipe, (in the form of the Canton Ginger!) And presented me with his version of The Salty Dog for my consideration. The saltiness took me off guard with my initial sippage, but was easy to acclimate to. (Caveat: Use caution in your salting: you can always add more!) And the addition of the ginger really brings this doggy home! |
Joe's Notes: The Salty Dog is basically a Greyhound, (vodka and grapefruit,) with the addition of salt. Most Salty Dog recipes you will see call for a mix of gin and grapefruit, poured into a salt-rimmed glass. I prefer to add the salt directly into the mix. (As some of you may know, I have a bit of a peeve with people salting the glass, then drinking from a straw.)
The other reason is that when drinking from a salt-rimmed glass, (without the straw,) the salt for the first few mouthfuls can be a little overpowering and can leave a sticky residue both on your hands and around your mouth. Adding the salt directly into the drink gives a more uniformed drink from start to finish. I have also added a little Canton Ginger liqueur. I love Gin and Ginger, I hope you do too. But please, try both recipes and choose for yourself.
"What's this?" you may be asking yourself. "Is Joe becoming a little less opinionated? Did I see an actual choice? Are we not to follow his directive to the letter?" Yes, I have mellowed recently. Partly due to an interaction with a customer a couple of weeks ago. This is his story.
While I was setting up the bar one Friday evening a couple of weeks ago, a man hurried into the bar and sat at one of the stools. "Give me a Sapphire Martini straight up and I'll have a shot of Jack while you make it." he said.
I put the shot glass down in front of him and poured his shot. While I was making his Martini I looked him over. I am always suspicious of people who come into the bar and order drinks like that. He looked relatively normal, he was dressed in a business suit, the addition of the baseball cap was a little odd, but hey, each to his own.
"Had a rough day at work" I asked.
"Yeah, something like that"
"Well, if you want my opinion, a couple of stiff drinks and a bite to eat and you will feel much better."
"People's opinions are the last thing I want. Other peoples opinions and advice is what got me into this state in the first place."
Feeling a little reprimanded, I shuffled off and cut a few lemons. "O.K." I said "I'm intrigued. What happened?"
"I had a job interview today. It was for a managerial position in a firm that I really wanted to work for. I had been discussing the upcoming interview with some friends the other night while having a few drinks.
"The general consensus was that although I was qualified for the position, I probably would not get it because of my age. They said firms now are looking for younger men. Somebody my age and with the experience I had demanded to high a salary."
"You're not that old, what went wrong?"
"I got up this morning and thought to myself that my friends where probably right. So I went to the pharmacy and bought some hair dye and hemorrhoid cream."
"Hemorrhoid Cream?" I asked.
"Yeah, I read somewhere that rubbing hemorrhoid cream on your face smooths the skin and makes it look younger. I also dyed my hair."
At this point he took his cap off, exposing a shock of jet black hair .
"So, I'm sitting in the interview and all I can think of is that I have a**hole cream all over my face. I start to sweat and this just makes it worse. I keep hearing my interviewer using words like experienced and maturity. I can feel the sweat running down my face and try to wipe it off with my hand. it comes away like I have dipped my hand in a bucket of lard. The interview thankfully comes to and end and my prospective boss shakes my hand. The look of horror on his face tells me if there was ever any doubt, that I have blown the interview. I stumble to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. The image that stares back at me is a hybrid of
Joan Rivers and Wayne Newton."
"My last piece of advice," I say, "Have another drink."
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