
Spring is almost here! Persephone returning from Hades, squints her eyes, offers a shy smile and asks for a drink: "Anything without pomegranate." Apropos of nothing, here are some boozy topics (that were) on my mind in the last days of winter. Edited to reflect the reality of the current calendar.
Booze South of Burnside: The Reckoning
Here’s something interesting: all of the Liquor Licenses south of Burnside are up for renewal on July 1st 2009.
Word just reached me from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement that they are currently seeking folks who’d like to comment on problem liquor spots. The idea is that the City of Portland can make licensing recommendations to the OLCC, and the process is much easier if they are informed by folks living next to these establishments. Informing: the job of an informant, known is some circles as a snitch, or stool pigeon.
Okay, maybe that’s harsh. I just hope that the City actually does some work to follow up on these public comments. I can understand that if a majority of people living within a one block radius of a bar complain, there might be a problem with the establishment. But I also know there are plenty of grumpy NIMBY types in Portland who’d rather not see anyone have a good time.
At any rate, whether NIMBY neighbor or not, you can contact the Office of Neighborhood Involvement regarding your favorite neighborhood bar to hate by May 11th. E-mail Theresa Marchetti with your venom.
"Mad Dog" and Hindsight Are 20/20
When I was just a twenty-something pup, I spent a terrible summer trying to drink my way through a catastrophe, with the help of multiple bottles of MD 20/20. I ought not to imbue those days with any kind of romance, but they were integral to my development as a human being, and as such, are tinted by the weird hues of destruction, pain and transformation. I remember one evening in particular that found me in a rail yard in Ashland, OR., watching a freak summer Aurora Borealis spread its white ribbons over Grizzly Peak, barely able to stand, talking to long dead heroes, and finally puking my guts out after throwing my empty bottle of Mad Dog at someone’s quiet, early morning home.
That phase of my life was over fairly quickly and the taste of mad Dog faded from my memory. But recently the subject of MD 20/20 came up in conversation (with folks from the Mercury art department, natch). I was surprised to learn that MD 20/20 was still being sold. Not only that, but it was being sold close to my home.
So the other evening, after a few drinks at the Victory, I wandered in to the market across the street from the Egyptian Club on Division and bought a bottle of orange Mad Dog to enjoy at my leisure.
I forgot how much it tasted and smelled like vomit.
Not able to drink it straight, and not able to throw it out, I began wondering what I should do with it. The answer was simple: use it in a cocktail. Because my recipe is still under development (it has an absinthe rinse and orange bitters so far) I tried to find a MD 20/20 cocktail recipe for this post. Unfortunately, I could not find a single recipe that I’d be willing to give discerning Blogtownies. Instead, I found the closest thing: this awesome video/commercial/recipe for the Night Train Thunderbird Shake ‘Em Up.
Do you have any MD 20/20 related drink recipes? Post them in the comments section. "Now you get some!"
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