Jet Cannon

Olympic Medal Fitness

Endorphins, Fitness, Trending / By

Jagger Eaton’s bronze medal in the street skateboarding event at the Tokyo Olympics inspired us to take up skateboarding again; learn new tricks, slide down steep rails, and do spin moves over concrete stairs.  What a great way to stay in shape!  Gym is closed.  Weather is good.  Enjoy the outdoors.  Perfect for Baby Boomers.  All except for the skateboard part.  

More appropriate for Boomers is walking or biking.  If there’s a park nearby, throw in some bench push-ups and rail pull-ups (beware of skateboarders sliding down the rail).  Stairs?  Take a few careful trips up and down.  Access to a pool?  Swimming engages the whole body and is low-impact.  Access to a body of water?  Kayaking or canoeing works the upper body.  

Fitness for Baby Boomers is perhaps more important than it is for the younger set.  That said, we need to select sports that make sense.   Save the BMX biking and skateboarding for those whose bones mend quickly.

Olympic couch-surfing is great for inspiration but remember to get out there and stay fit! 

– Jet Cannon 

Photo courtesy of Arizonasports.com

yoga, exercise, sport-1434787.jpg

Gin to Win

Food and Drink / By

Buzzed Boomer’s Tasting Team recently took up the challenge to compare Hendrick’s Gin with the much less expensive Trader Joe’s Gin.  An acquaintance had suggested that the two gins were very comparable so the Team set up a blind tasting.  First, it should be noted that the Tasting Team’s qualifications are sketchy at best.  But they mean well.  Second, the Team had already had few adult beverages before the tasting took place.  

The tasting results were unanimous.  Everyone correctly identified the Hendrick’s.  It was more complex and flavorful.  That said, the Trader Joe’s was considered “smooth” and would be just fine for a mixed drink.  For a dry Martini, the Hendrick’s would be preferred as just more interesting but for the money, you can’t go wrong with Trader Joe’s.  

– Jet Cannon

Photo Courtesy of Offbrandguy.com

gold Garnish

1 Comment / Food and Drink / By

Martini and Manhattan connoisseur Mike of Crescent Bar recently offered an update/correction to a recent BB post that noted he stuffed his Martini olives with blue cheese.  He does this himself as opposed to buying off-the-shelf stuffed olives. Definitely a nice touch but it gets better. His update notes that his true specialty is using Cougar Gold cheese to stuff the Martini olives.  For those who are not familiar with Cougar Gold, it is a product of Washington State University’s Creamery.  Their mascot is a Cougar.  

Cougar Gold is a white, sharp cheddar that is aged at least one year. It has a nutty flavor somewhat resembling Swiss or Gouda.  Per Wikipedia, approximately 250,000 cans of Cougar Cheese are produced annually, with around 80% of it being Cougar Gold.  WSU started making cheese in cans in the 1940s when the US government and American Can Company funded WSU’s research to find a way to successfully keep the cheese in tins. Cougar Gold was developed during this time and was named after Dr. Norman S. Golding, one of the men involved in its production. Cougar Gold Cheese is not made with cougar milk.In 1993, the American Cheese Society awarded Cougar Gold with a blue ribbon, and in 1995, the cheese earned the United States Cheese Champion silver medal. Cougar Gold later received a silver medal at the 2000 World Cheese Awards and a gold medal at the 2006 World Cheese Awards.

WSU Cougars like Mike are fanatically proud of their University at its cheeses.  They enjoy noting that rival University of Washington has no such distinguished product.  No Husky Hot Dawgs.  No Washington Apple Cider.  Only a better football team.  

Anyway, credit Mike with taking a Martini garnish to the next level of specialization and excellence as no one will argue about the quality of Cougar Gold.  Cougars, please note that Cougar Gold makes an excellent Christmas or birthday gift for those annoying Huskies on your list. 

Cheers!

– Jet Cannon

Photos courtesy of recipespes.com and WSU

Double Chocolate Trouble

Food and Drink, Good Clean Fun, Travel / By

If Catching a Buzz while maintaining a healthy lifestyle is of interest to you, read no further.  As if tasty summer cocktails weren’t enough of a temptation, mixing alcohol and ice cream should be illegal.  Alcohol and mega-sugar doses?  Paging Dr. Diabetes.  

That said, the Buzzed Boomer Research Department has been sampling some summer beverages to go with our cheeseburgers and fries.  Go Puff  shares recipes, with tantalizing pictures, of concoctions that should be, but thankfully aren’t, banned.  Boozy Chocolate Frozen Mudslide, Strawberry Shortcake Drink, Boozy S’Mores Shake, Irish Coffee Milkshake with Whiskey Caramel, Boozy Peach Milkshake, Samoa’s Cookies and Cream Coconut Milkshake, Hot Fudge Bourbon Milkshakes.  You get the idea. Yum. Don’t want to make your own?  Mental Floss  lists some restaurants around the country with spiked shakes.  Or fire up Google for double trouble near you.

– Jet Cannon

Food and Drink, Recipes / By

Ernest Hemingway Daiquiri

 

National Daiquiri Day was July 19.  July 21 is Legal Drinking Age Day and also Ernest Hemingway’s birthday.  Per a brief history of the Hemingway Daiquiri in Wine Enthusiast magazine, the recipe below was probably an attempt to make a cocktail a little friendlier than what was likely Hemingway’s actual favorite.  That would have consisted of 4 ounces of rum and a splash of lime juice.  So instead we have the following:

Hemingway Daiquiri Ingredients

  • 2 ounces white rum
  • ¾ ounce lime juice
  • ½ ounce Maraschino liqueur
  • ½ ounce ruby red grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed, if possible)
  • Lime wedge (for garnish)

Legal Drinking Age Day not only celebrates our first legal drink but also reminds young and old to respect alcohol and drinking responsibly.  That would not favor Hemingway’s purported favorite.  

Daiquiri Photo by Matthew Dimas

Hemingway Photo courtesy of literariness.org

Garnishing Greatness

Food and Drink / By

Buzzed Boomers are universally known for garnishing their cocktails in a manner fit for the classy Baby Boomers that we are.  Besides offering tantalizing taste, it’s nice to drop the fact that your garnishes go up to eleven.  Past posts have noted martini connoisseur Mike of Crescent Bar who stuffs his own olives with blue cheese, despite the fact that blue cheese stuffed olives are available on grocery shelves.  Those…. just….. are….. not as good.  

John Selby suggested that only Luxardo Cherries, the “Original Maraschino Cherries” are suitable for his “World’s Best Old Fashioned”.  I’m a convert.  

Tantri Wija, outstanding Seattle food writer, recently suggested pickling ones own onions to drop into a Gibson.  She makes a compelling argument for tailoring the pickle juice to a person’s specific likes.  Garlic, mustard, pepper, allspice or ??  (Follow Tantri in The Seattle Times for a wealth of cool cocktails and other beverage surprises.). 

Google “pickling Gibson onions” for recipes from Martha, New York Times, Liquor.com and others then tailor to your tastes.  Tantri notes that you may have to settle for frozen onions but keep looking for the fresh ones.  Farmer’s markets?

Time permitting, garnish for greatness.  We like the idea of taking longer to achieve cocktail excellence and then savoring responsibly. 

– Jet Cannon

Photos courtesy of Liquor.com and Tastykitchen.com 

Belle Meade

1 Comment / Food and Drink, Travel / By

 

My son, Laser Cannon, recently gave me a bottle of Belle Meade Sour Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey direct from Nashville. Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery has a great history including resurrecting after being shut down during Prohibition. Green Brier history.

I enjoy making cocktails with Bourbon but I am not a connoisseur by any means.  There are sites like The Whiskey Jug that do reviews.  But it did remind me to remind you how enjoyable taking a tour of the growing number of small distilleries popping up across the country can be.  Last time we were in Nashville, we toured Corsair, especially noted for their Ryemageddon American Rye Whiskey.  It’s fun to see the distilling process and the pride in which these folks take in their product.  The tasting room is a bonus. 

One disadvantage of touring small distilleries around the country is that you won’t always find their product in your local liquor store. For example, I haven’t been able to obtain or even order Corsair Gin. Yet you probably have some good distilleries to tour near you and that way you can continue to enjoy their products if they hit the mark.

– Jet Cannon

When You Need a Professional. Bartender

Food and Drink, Travel / By

Portland, Oregon.  Walking around downtown and across the river to East Portland.  Thirsty.  We pulled into Produce Row Cafe for an adult beverage.  Mike was behind the bar, soon to be joined by Bryce.  Friendly.  Knowledgeable.  Professional.  What a treat!  So often these days, and especially post-Covid (almost), bartenders don’t know a Rusty Nail from, well, a rusty nail.  Not so at Produce Row.  It’s one of those places you don’t really want to leave because it just feels right and the drinks are perfect.  

– Jet Cannon, Hunter S., Old Man Wrong, and Moge Star

Sugar High

Endorphins, Food and Drink, Travel / By

We queued up in big line to sample the sugar at Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon. Lots of choices and all of them were tasty. We noticed lots of tourists checking out the enormous Powell Books carrying their pink box of doughnuts. Meanwhile, we’re still sugar Buzzed.

  • Jet Cannon

Classic Burgers

Burgers, Food and Drink, Travel / By

Since 1950, Frisko Freeze has served up delicious burgers, fries and shakes in Tacoma, Washington.  It was added to the Tacoma Register of Historic Places in 2008.  While it did not make it into George Motz’s Hamburger America, which describes 200 great burger joints…. Seattle’s Dick’s Drive-In made the list…. it is on par with Dick’s from a classic burger standpoint.  However, don’t expect fast service.  It’s not.  While they’ve replaced the little white order pads with a computer, the grill is the same size as it was back in 1950.  But it’s worth the wait. When in Tacoma, check it out.  

– Jet Cannon and Hunter S.

Happy Place

Food and Drink, Good Clean Fun, Music, Travel / By

Our visit to Baby Boomers Mike and Karin’s Happy Place began with a mini live rock and roll concert in their neighbor Dave’s man cave.  Dave’s a musical entertainment czar and he’s got the photos and rock posters in his cave to prove it.  Welcome to Crescent Bar!  

Mike and Karin’s condo overlooks the mighty Columbia River and surfing behind their Centurian Surf boat is a popular activity. And so is golf.  And so is ripping around the community in golf carts to visit with other happy folks enjoying the summer.  Whether behind the wheel of the boat, his cart, his truck or just sipping from his WSU Cougar coffee cup, Mike was in the zone.  Karin will surf your doors off and is the reigning community midnight golf champion. Mike is the reigning champion mixer of the perfect Manhattan cocktail and he insists on making his own Bloody Mary’s, not trusting his inexperienced guests to do it properly.  That last part is not entirely true.

Visiting on July Fourth meant being able to enjoy a golf cart parade in the morning and spectacular fireworks in the evening.  Crescent Bar is hopping!

We were fortunate to partake in the summertime fun in a truly Happy Place with such great hosts.  There are vacation rentals available and a limited number of RV spots.  Google “Crescent Bar rentals” for various options.

– Jet Cannon and Hunter S.

Gimme a Whiskey

Food and Drink, Travel / By

At the Branding Iron Saloon in Twisp, Washington the signature cocktail is…. beer. As it should be. Twisp is a quiet little town on the Methow and Twisp Rivers originally inhabited by miners, ranchers and the small businesses supporting them. Things haven’t changed all that much since it was settled in 1897, although fires and floods have required rebuilding over the years. It’s still a small, quiet little town.

Pursuant to Buzzed Boomer’s interest in signature cocktails, I asked the nice waitress in the Branding Iron, besides beer, what do the locals drink? Whiskey and water was the reply. Pendleton is a favorite.

So there you go. Beer and whiskey in a western town. It feels right and tastes good too.

  • Jet Cannon