Caipirinha!

My pal Little Anthony (who's putting me up at the moment.... and quite possibly for the rest of our short, liver-diseased lives) is a much-travelled man, and he generally likes to bring back consumables as souvenirs of his globetrotting, rather than filling his small house with cluttersome tchotchkes. In the past I have found such exotica as moose jerky and bear-paw paté lurking in his cupboards, but on this visit I discover that his most recent import is a more user-friendly and less ethically troubling bottle of cachaça.

In recent years I have become quite a fan of the caipirinha, the 'national drink' of the country of my mother's birth, Brazil. Cachaça, its main ingredient, is one of the most unpretentious, unfussy members of the rum family (fermented from raw sugarcane juice rather than a processed derivative like molasses); at its cheapest, it's sugarcane moonshine. And the caipirinha is a classically simple 'rum' cocktail: just add fresh lime (whole lime wedges, muddled in the bottom of a large tumbler) and a bit of extra sugar (you can use simple syrup, but coarse sugar is actually better here, helping to break down the fruit pieces) to a generous slug of cachaça, top up with lots of crushed ice, stir, and...... let Sunday afternoon slide away from you.

In Oxford, the trouble is finding the limes...

'Mixology' in a nutshell

I haven't researched properly, but I think this is from Punch in the 1920s or 1930s.

This nails the essential principle that fancy-dan cocktail jocks so often overlook.

Seasonal drinking

I thought to myself, there has to be a May Day cocktail out there, doesn't there?

Well, perhaps not. There is a Mayday - that has rather different and altogether more alarming connotations.

This puppy is a vodka martini jazzed up with cinnamon syrup and lemon juice, and garnished with a strawberry. (The recipe isn't clear on whether you're supposed to muddle some strawberry into the drink itself, but from the colour I'm supposing that you do. I'm not a big fan of fruity drinks, but this might be worth a try.)

If you're going to go fruity, I feel that usually works better with rum; and this recipe - same name, completely different drink - is an intriguing amalgam of rum (doesn't specify dark or light - I think I'd go for dark) and apple juice with fresh peaches, passionfruit, strawberries, and ginger. A bit too much bother for home preparation, but I wonder if Paul Mathew could be persuaded to give it a go at Flamme.

If Paul's not game, perhaps we can entice flamboyant Russian mixologist Bek Narzi over to Beijing to whip up some holiday drinks for us... Here he is on the Russian English-language TV station RT (formerly Russia Today) making a May Day drink with bourbon, pomegranate juice, honey, and egg whites.

I think the most tempting option I discovered in a little root around the Internet yesterday morning, though, is Sima - a kind of mildly alcoholic dark lemonade (usually fermented from honey as well as sugar, so technically a type of mead) with which the Finns traditionally celebrate Vappu (the Halloween-like shindig that much of northern Europe indulges in on the eve of St Walpurga's Day, i.e., overnight on the 30th April/1st May). It seems to be relatively easy to make: there are excellent instructions on the homebrew blog She Brews Good Ale.

And perhaps Mayda would be an even better name for a cocktail? Ah, the accidental discoveries one makes on Wikipedia!

Cocktails in the afternoon!

Always a bad idea!!! 

Bad, in a good way... especially if Stephanie Rocard from MaoMaoChong is making them. Stef's taking part in a mixology contest in a couple of days, so she invited a few friends round to the bar on Sunday to practice on. Since I'd already had a mildly boozy lunch with a former colleague, and then a less mildly boozy afternoon watching the Shanghai Grand Prix with a glamorous lady companion, I was probably already close to exceeding the threshold for 'safe' daylight consumption, but... this seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. My stumbling performance in the Titanic Quiz a little later can be partly attributed to this inappropriate warm-up!

Stef has devised another new recipe of her own, which will doubtless put her in with a very good chance of victory (details must remain under wraps until after the competition; she might still be tweaking it a bit, anyway!). However, the contestants are also to be challenged to produce cocktails from a list of 12 'classics' - most of which hail from an earlier cocktail heyday, and are not always so familiar these days.

I'd heard of El Presidente, for example, but never before seen or tried one, as far as I can recall. It seems to be a sort of Manhattan made with rum, the original recipe - allegedly devised in Havana during the years of Prohibition in America - calling for a light rum to be combined with half-measures of dry vermouth and curaçao, and then a generous splash of grenadine as well. Matt Robold of the Rumdood blog aptly points out that these proportions make it excessively sweet, and he recommends dramatically dialling down the curaçao and grenadine while using an aged dark rum. BarSideKick has a version with a similar approach, but using white rum, and adding a dash of lemon juice to further cut the sweetness. However, the prevailing approach these days seems to be to use fresh pineapple juice instead of curaçao, balanced out with lime juice rather than vermouth. Unfortunately, all recipes seem to retain the grenadine, which seems utterly superfluous to me: most rums are plenty sweet enough already for my taste; and - in a dark rum - it isn't adding much to the colour either. I'd be tempted to ditch the grenadine altogether, and restore the dry vermouth of the 'original' and/or add one or two drops of bitters to counteract the sweetness (even unsweetened pineapple is pretty damned sweet). The organisers of the contest seem to be insisting that contestants use Zacapa rum - which again seems a bit daft: Guatemala's finest is much too smooth for a cocktail like this; I think it would work better with something a bit punchier, like Gosling's.

My favourite on this list, though, was the McKinley's Delight (actually listed by the organisers, I think, as McKinley's Favourite; named for the ill-fated 25th US President), which is reminiscent of that old New Orleans favourite, the Sazerac. The contest recipe specifies a bourbon base with cherry brandy for added sweetness and a dash of absinthe or pastis for some extra exoticism in the flavour (ideally just a very small dash, and used to rinse the ice chilling the lowball glass, then thrown away; it has such a strong and distinctive flavour that even a few drops of it can overpower everything else; yet many recipes and many bartenders add it to the drink - horrors!). Older recipes seem to prefer a mix of sweet vermouth and cherry brandy (with emphasis on the vermouth: 2 or 3 to 1) and a little dash of bitters. Both Rye Patriotism and the New Orleans blog Looka! make a convincing case that this drink works much better with a good rye whiskey. I may have to give that a try some time. The unusual combination of peppermintiness and cherry brandy somehow reminded me irresistibly of Christmas cake. I think I'd prefer to reduce those two powerful flavours to a mere hint, and let the whiskey do more of the work - but it did make for a nice hit of nostalgia.

While perusing the dangerously addictive pages of Looka! yesterday, I happened upon another cocktail previously unknown to me - the Purgatory. Neither the name nor the recipe are immediately attractive (Rittenhouse overproof rye with three-quarters of an ounce each of Bénédictine and Green Chartreuse, garnished with a lemon twist), but... I find I'm starting to trust the taste of blog author Chuck Taggart. And it is a very nice picture.

Anyway, that was another very pleasantly wasted couple of afternoons - tasting on Sunday, and researching those recipes yesterday.

Best of luck in the competition, Stephanie!

Postscript (very nearly an epitaph!): Jeff Ji from Mai is taking part in this competition as well. He was 'practising' on me on Tuesday night. We confirmed that Gosling's works pretty well for a dark rum version of the El Presidente... and found that the lingering 'too sweet!' problem is instantly cured by the addition of one or two drops of orange bitters. Good luck to Jeff, too!

By the by, the thing that really finished me off on Sunday was a cocktail called The Iceberg - gimmick of the night at 12 Square Metres to accompany Steven Schwankert's Titanic Quiz. It's just a martini glass of ice-cold vodka 'enlivened' with a splash of Pernod, but... well, after nearly 8 hours of steady drinking, that was the one that put me over the edge. I won one as a spot prize early on in the quiz, and the last vestiges of my mental acuity soon deserted me.


PPS: Congratulations to Stephanie!!  She placed third in the Beijing heats of this global competition (run by Diageo, I gather) on Thursday afternoon, and now goes on to the China Final in Shanghai next week.

A new distraction

Don't ask me how, but... a couple of days ago I serendipitously discovered the Spirits Notebook, kept by Bill Dowd, an American writer on wine, beer, and travel, and author of a history of whisk(e)y called Barrels & Drams.

I can imagine myself spending quite a lot of time on his New York Beer Trails or Drinking New York blogs, but it is the Spirits Notebook that is sure to consume most of my time - with its intriguing news of Bushmills bringing out a new 'honey' blend, or of French cognac producers branching out into whisky-making, or these unusual  "Chinese"-themed cocktail suggestions.

Oh yes, more hours of my life just disappeared down the drain of the Internet!

Just what the doctor ordered!

I hadn't got out to Mai very much since the New Year (well, I haven't got out anywhere very much), but I caught up with owner Jeff there again last week. I was hankering for my favourite of his cocktail offerings, the Penicillin - but the dear chap had a bunch of new stuff he wanted me to try, so I didn't get around to it. The hankering grows stronger. Particularly after my recent dose of 'flu-from-hell.

Penicillin, you see, an invention of celebrated barman Sam Ross, is basically a cold toddy - Scotch whisky with honey, lemon, and ginger. Purists say you should infuse a honey-ginger syrup, but I think Jeff just uses honey and muddled ginger for simplicity. The drink is given an extra layer of sophistication by having a dribble of peaty Laphroaig floated on top (Jeff keeps the price down by using a perfume dispenser to lay a fine mist of the stuff over the top: works magnificently for the aroma, though obviously you're missing a little smokiness in the drink itself).  Served with big rocks of ice and a generous slice of raw ginger (which I quite often find myself eating: I love ginger, especially when it's whisky-infused!), it is heaven in a glass - even if you haven't got a cold.

Froog Solutions (23)

Froog's solution to being thoroughly pissed off with his employers....

Head down to the bar for a tequila slammer (or two, or... and maybe a Long Island Iced Tea as well...).

I first developed a weakness for these in the mid-90s, when I found myself going to a rash of weddings for old university buddies, usually in the company of my Scots drinking buddy The Bookseller (recently reinvented as The Bookbinder), the only other diehard bachelor of our set. Finding the strained jollity and the increasingly ubiquitous happy-coupledom at these events rather oppressive to the soul, we got into a habit of hitting up the pub nearest to the church and downing one or two slammers immediately before the start of the ceremony - to dull the painful sensation of life passing us by.

I now have a deeply ingrained fondness for the ritual - on rare and special occasions. When you really need want to get a buzz on, there's nothing else quite like it.

It's crazy, but it just might work

Last weekend, I was casting around the Internet for some 'Super Bowl Party' ideas (pure fantasy living: there was no prospect that I would be attending such a party, much less throwing one) when I came upon some recipes for a Beer Margarita. [Most of them seem to recommend something called 'frozen limeade concentrate' - which, I gather, is sold by Minute Maid in the States, but is probably unavailable anywhere else - for the lime element. I assume regular lime cordial (also not easy to get hold of in Beijing!) and lemonade will do the job.]

The notion didn't seem too appealing at first, but the more I think about it, the more it grows on me. It might well be a good method for making crappy Mexican beers like Sol somewhere near drinkable. It could be just the thing for a Cinco de Mayo party this year.

Of course, I'll need to do some road testing first...

A rocking anniversary (with its own drink?!)

A year-and-a-bit ago, I posted some Janis Joplin songs in tribute to the 40th anniversary of her untimely death.

Today, I happened upon online drinking bible, Difford's Guide, which informed me that today's notable event was... Janis's birthday. She would have been 69 today, quite the grand old lady. It would have been nice to see how her voice and her style might have matured; many of her contemporaries (Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Janis Ian) are still singing gorgeously.

Difford's recommends a special cocktail for the event - the Southern Tea-Knee. (Knee??!! What's that all about? I don't object to shortening the name to Tini; or even using the jokey Tea-Ni, since it does have tea in it. But Tea-Knee seems ludicrous, jarring.) It's mostly Southern Comfort (a tipple Janis was notoriously fond - somewhat over-fond - of), but throws in half-shots of Bombay Sapphire, Apricot Brandy, and Banana Bols, and then tops up with cold Earl Grey tea to introduce some tannic bitterness. Sounds interesting. I think I'd be inclined to up the Southern Comfort proportion very slightly, to stop the fruit flavours dominating (or, better, to add some straight bourbon, to stop the sweetness getting out of hand).

With or without a drink in hand, let us once again enjoy Janis's finest hour - Me and Bobby McGee.  [I learned just recently that the song was in fact written by Kris Kristofferson, and 'Bobbie', the travelling companion/lover who sang the blues so affectingly was originally a girl. This excellent blog post by Maud Newton, in analysing the lyrical genius of Hank Williams, quotes the country star Roger Miller (a key figure in my childhood!) as being particularly admiring of this song; in fact, he had been the first person to have a hit with it. I am curious to hear what that was like, but also somewhat afraid to go looking for it on YouTube; that song belongs to Janis now - anyone else's interpretation is going to sound like a bit of a travesty.  I should probably add this song to the growing list of nominations on this recent 'Great Lyrics' post on fellow Beijing-ren Bucketoftongues' music blog.]

There's also a nice live version here, though, unfortunately, with jarringly mismatched video; and this enchanting rarity, supposedly her first-ever recording of the song.

HBH 236

Stopped time taunts our thirst;

The longest minutes of all, 

Waiting for cocktails.

Cocktails, I have decided, are for those who prize the anticipation of a pleasure above its realisation. They are not the order for a thirsty man (or woman). Particularly not in Beijing, where a twenty-storey office block can usually be constructed in less time than it takes many barpersons to assemble an Old-Fashioned or a Mint Julep. Sigh.

Return of 'The Nominator'

Despite roundly trashing the shambolic organisation of the poll last year, I have once again been invited to contribute suggestions in the nominations phase of this year's The Beijinger Bar & Club Awards.

As last year, it seems they're using this preliminary stage to run a few potential new categories up the flagpole. They are again contemplating a Best Cheap Drinks award, for example (an oxymoronic concept in my view; Best Value Drinks would be a better idea for an award), and Best Background Music (which Amilal ought to win hands-down, of course); I don't recall if they included these categories in the readers' poll last time - I think not. 

This year, they're also considering a Best Bar Outside of Sanlitun (which is a sorry indication of the predominance of Eastsiders in the readership these days; are there actually any good bars in Sanlitun???) and Best Hutong Bar category. This is, I suppose, a commendable effort to spread the goodies around a little more, to give some recognition to bars that receive a significant amount of support but are unable to generate the volume of business of Fubar or Paddy O'Shea's or The Den. However, the latter in particular gives rise to all kinds of definitional problems; I don't think anything on Nanluoguxiang or Wudaoying or Houhai should be eligible, since they are now developed into trendy tourism centres and are hutongs in name only. I reckon the concept of a 'hutong bar' ought to imply being based in a siheyuan property, and relatively hidden away on a quiet street - not in an established bar strip. If those criteria were to be strictly applied, there'd probably only be half a dozen eligible bars - which perhaps isn't quite enough to justify an award. (And if they do introduce this category, you can bet there will be a fair number of twats who will vote for one of those godawful places on Lotus Lane!)

There might also be a Worst Bar Award (that could actually be the most hotly contested category of all; though I imagine the dismal Danger Doyle's would surely win - however, it seems ungallant to kick a lame dog; and there is something of a problem here in that, since presumably no-one frequents bad bars, people would be voting on the basis of hearsay, or of one or two unhappy experiences of their own... not the most reliable grounds for deciding such a thing) and a Most Over-hyped Bar (a rather politically sensitive notion for The Beijinger, surely, since it is expat rags like them which are the principal conduits of such hype). I suspect that neither of these will make it into the final poll.

Also mooted is a 'Charlie Sheen' Award for the bar with the rowdiest crowd of regulars. I don't like the ephemeral gimmickry of attaching Charlie's name to it, but if there is to be recognition for a good crowd, I'd think this ought to be the niche where Shuangjing's The Brick could nip in for a prize. Their bar food deserves a mention as well.

Alack and alas - the dreaded Sexiest Bar Staff category appears once more; something which strikes me above all else as pointless (not to mention, of course, being puerile and offensive; although they're trying to insulate themselves against the deserved allegations of sexism this year by dividing it into two awards, for female and male staff).

The one positive development is that this year - in the wake of last year's furore about Paddy O'Shea's Karl Long winning the Best Barman gong, despite, as he himself admitted, not being able "to pour a pint of water" - a Bar Personality of the Year is to be introduced for Karl and Chad Lager to contest (although I nominated El Nido's Xiao Shuai for this), leaving the Best Barman category for people who actually mix and serve drinks. 


There's also to be a Hall of Fame award for a bar that's made a major impact on the scene for a number of years (I figure The Den will have to win that first time out; love it or hate it, it's the only major city centre bar to have survived more than a decade in the same location... Maggie's, The Tree, and The Bookworm should follow over the next few years).

If they have a Best Hutong Bar, it should be Amilal - although I suspect El Nido might pip it this year (but, frankly, I hope neither of them win anything, because they've got too much custom for my comfort already!). Perhaps Sand Pebbles might get a nod as well, although it's not - to my mind - a classic 'hutong' bar (and Wudaoying doesn't count!). I gave it a nom for its bar food; but I doubt if it yet has enough of a following to force its way into the nominations.

As last year, they've got a rather daft cut-off point for Best New Bar (but at least this time it's opening after the middle of 2010, instead of since the end of the year): if that were to be strictly applied, most of the likely nominees wouldn't in fact be eligible - including El Nido, which I predict is going to win. There isn't much competition: there haven't been that many new openings, apart from 1st Floor which is very so-so, and The Stumble Inn which is SHITE; Grinders and The Loop, I think, are too new, and too limited in their exposure way down there in Shuangjing. George's might be up there, I suppose; but it doesn't seem to have made many waves since its first few months; and I don't like including cocktail lounges in the 'bar' categories, anyway.

I think MaoMaoChong's got a very good chance in the Hidden Gem category this year - although I'd like to see bars like Fu and Tree House and Tao Yao and Zui Yuefang get nominated, just to make it a proper competition. I suppose the Great Leap Brewery might be in the running here as well - although from what I've heard, it's not exactly a 'gem', and it's so well hidden that not many people have been able to find it yet (I certainly haven't).

Best Music Bar, I say, has to be Jianghu on last year's showing. Yugong Yishan and MAO Livehouse both had very disappointing years; and the usually excellent 2 Kolegas was arguably even worse - mainly thanks to those ridiculous 6-foot-high speaker stacks they installed, which almost completely destroyed the view of their tiny stage (they have at last - after more than a year - got rid of the bloody things, I'm happy to say). Newcomer VA Bar was in contention for its music, but is fairly unlovely as a bar.

Best Cocktails I would give to Flamme and Paul Mathew - who should, logically, scoop Best Barman as well. I suppose he might get a nomination for Bar Personality too, although he's quite a dry fellow, not so flamboyant as the rambunctious Chad and Karl.

Best Bar, for me, would have to be Salud again. Yes, there are many bars that I like better (12 Square Metres, Amilal, El Nido, The Pool Bar), but Salud has broader appeal, has been around much longer, and has the space to accommodate fair-sized crowds. I imagine Fubar will win, again. And that wouldn't be wildly out of order.  But Salud's failure even to get a nomination last year was just scandalous; I hope that oversight is not going to be repeated.  And if the top prize has to go to a Sanlitun bar (and I suppose it does), I think The Tree probably deserves it (though I'm certainly not a big fan of the place myself, I have to acknowledge that it does a lot of things right, and consistently pleases a lot of customers - something which it's really not possible to say for very many other bars in this town).

Well, those are my prognostications. I wonder what bizarre picks 'the voters' will come up with this year??

The Froog Bar Awards - 2010

Ah, the end of the year is upon us once again, and so it's time for my fourth annual review of the best and worst of Beijing's bar scene.

There might be one or two new categories here and there, headlined in RED. For the most part, though, I'll follow the pattern of previous years.

And, as always  -  I aim to provoke (and sometimes, godammit, yes, to offend) as well as to enlighten, so please feel free to pitch in in the comments if you disagree with any of these opinions.

Best Live Music Venue

Winner:  Jianghu

Runner-up: Er, no runners-up this year, I don't think.  It has overall been a very disappointing year on the music front.

Yugong Yishan continues to disappoint almost every single time I go, with its lousy acoustics and posey, chattersome crowds; MAO Live House has been in the doldrums too, having apparently pretty much given up on trying to run its bar or provide any air-conditioning; upscale newcomers Mako Live and The One have their merits, but they're much too far away - and they're clearly geared towards being special event venues for corporate parties and major one-off shows rather than regular gig places.  And, alas and alack, 2 Kolegas - a regular front-runner in previous years - has disastrously shot itself in the foot by installing towering speaker stacks that completely ruin the view of its tiny stage.  I still like Jiangjinjiu, but it's as lousy as ever at advertising its programme, and without regular residencies from bands like Panjir or The Redbucks this year, it hasn't often attracted me in.  And I think I've managed a completely Wudaokou-less year: not one trip to Club 13 or D-22 - and I don't feel as though I've missed out on anything.  No, with only a handful of exceptions, the best shows I saw this year were ALL at Jianghu.


Most Promising New Live Music Venue

Winner:  VA Bar 

Runner-up:  Hot Cat Club

I don't much like the ambience of VA: it's more naff - and slightly overpriced - Chinese coffee shop than shadowy, smoky music club.  And the staff have this infuriating habit of trying to bump you out of your seats if a larger group comes in (We were here FIRST!).  However, it's got a great sound system, and - ALONE amongst the year's new music bar openings!! - it has rapidly established a full and varied schedule of gigs (and a well attended, rather fun 'open mike' night on Wednesdays).  Hot Cat is more my kind of place - cheap, basic, grungy - but.... the music programme thus far has been intermittent and of very patchy quality (and their 'open mike' on Thursdays just hasn't taken off at all).  I'd really like to see Zui Yuefang, a quaint little hutong joint on the North 2nd Ringroad, make something of itself too; it's a charming space, but again its programme seems to be very erratic and poorly advertised thus far (and they do this bizarre thing of serving their 'draft beer' in kai shui thermoses  - what the fuck is that all about?).  Mako Live and The One are potentially very good venues, but they don't really seem to put on a regular gig programme.  And the most local of my 'locals', Gulou 121, continues to be a great mystery: a potentially GREAT little music bar that never seems to put on any music.


Worst Live Music Venue

Winner:  Yugong Yishan

Runner-up:  MAO Live House

I'll give D-22 a break this year, since I haven't actually visited in person to confirm how horrible it is.  And in fact, the last few times I've been, I found it much improved as a bar... and at least slightly improved as a music venue (the horrendous problems with the sound system which plagued their first year or two of operation appeared to have been solved).  I will probably always remain averse to it because of the preciousness of its owner Michael Pettis, the poor quality of most of its regular acts, and the obnoxiousness of many of its punters (I have found its crowd to be almost exclusively laowai, almost exclusively Mandarin students).... but I think it probably doesn't completely suck balls like it used to any more.  MAO, though, has taken a spectacular nosedive over the last year or two: the prices keep getting higher, but the lineups seldom justify it; the dismally understocked bar has become a complete irrelevance, and the failure (removal??) of the air-conditioning makes it insufferably hot in there, even on a cool night with a small crowd.  It's a great pity, because it has much the best sound system - and the best space, I say - of any of our music clubs; but there are some serious problems it needs to fix if it wants to get off my 'shit list'.  2 Kolegas was very lucky not to make it on to this list this year; it probably only escapes because I'd built up so much affection for the place during its early years that I now give it endless 'second chances' - but THOSE SPEAKER STACKS HAVE GOT TO GO!!!

Best Gig of the Year

Winner:  Well, from what my friends tell me, I'm fairly certain it must have been the Shonen Knife show at MAO back in the early summer (someone had promised to buy me a ticket, but 'forgot', so.... I was clearly fated not to go).  Amongst the big shows I saw myself, I guess The Raveonettes at Yugong Yishan were the pick of the year (although there were the typical problems there with the over-large, exclusively foreigner crowd; and the support was dire; and the main band, though they were very good, barely played for an hour - so, not a mind-blowing show, overall).

Even better - though a very intimate gig - was the one-off show at Jiangjinjiu in October where Jean-Sebastian experimented with playing some of his Zhang Si'an folky material (usually performed with just acoustic guitar and hand drum) with a full rock band lineup: that was a jaw-dropping experience.  I think he's subsequently decided that this treatment doesn't fit what he wants for these songs; so, the sense that it was an only-chance-to-see event has added even further to the magic.

On the festival stages, I think veteran British punks Sham 69 at Midi were the pick of the (fairly thin!) crop.  But the revelation of this year for me was Omnipotent Youth Society (awful name, fabulous band!) - particularly stunning at the Ditan Park Festival in August.

Runner(s)-up: The acoustic set by The Verve at Jianghu on the eve of this year's Midi Festival probably gets the nod, although through the course of the year I've also seen a number of great sets from (China Battle of the Bands champions) The Amazing Insurance Salesmen, fine Hendrix tribute band Purple Smog, and Des McGarry's Irish folk outfit Blackwater.  I also really enjoyed Mongolian folkster Gangzi at Jianghu a month or two back.  And I was particularly fortunate to stumble upon a cosy Redbucks gig (entirely unadvertised?) at Zui Yuefang back in the spring (when it was only fairly recently opened): that was probably the only occasion in the past year or more when the crowd was small enough for you to see and hear this band well enough to enjoy them (The Bucks, alas, had developed far too much of a frat boy following - and every other show I tried to catch of theirs this year was heaved out, usually to the point of the band being almost entirely inaudible).


I finally got around to seeing Aussie finger-picking guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel this year, at Peking University's Centennial Hall - but it was more of a recital than a gig, a sit-down affair in a huge, atmosphereless theatre (and, at the risk of being burned at the stake for heresy, I was just a tad disappointed in the performance: I felt there was on many occasions more empty showmanship than musicianship in it).  And quirky Finnish choir Semmarit put on a superb show at The One last month - but that was more of an all-around entertainment, a slice of vaudeville, rather than a gig.

Worst Gig of the Year

Winner:  The Buzzcocks at Yugong Yishan in October 

(I walked out after less than half an hour; it was just miserably uninspired and repetitive.)

Runner-up:  The 'Generation Six' show at Yugong Yishan in September
(This really does not bode well for the immediate future of Chinese rock music...)

Best Bar Food

Winner:  Sand Pebbles

Runner-up:  Flamme

I've been going off the Luga's burritos (champs for the last few years) lately; I'm not sure that there's necessarily been any dropping off in quality (although they do quite often come out of the kitchen only lukewarm); perhaps it's more a case of familiarity breeding ennui.  Likewise with The Den - which does, in general, have the most reliable and extensive selection of 'pub food' (possibly the only really decent selection of this kind) in the city - I've grown disenchanted of late.... though more because it sucks in every other way (it's not even a decent sports bar any more) than because of any quibbles about the food.  I keep hearing good things about The Irish Volunteer, but have yet to make it out there.  The Brick's menu had some very good things on it (Ryan's chilli was surely the best in The Jing), but the portion sizes and pricing were all over the place; and since Lee Mitchell's only just taken the place over, it's a bit early to tell how he may shake things up.  Similarly, Tongli newcomer 1st Floor has a few really excellent things (try the steak on 'Half-price Mondays'!), but the quality overall is too variable - and the bar itself too lacking in other positive qualities - to earn a recommendation.  And I'm afraid that - despite the admirable selection of toppings and relishes - the hot dogs at Fubar/Stadium Dog have somehow never got me all that excited.  No, for me the find of the year has been the unassuming Wudaoying Hutong bar Sand Pebbles, which offers some of the best Tex-Mex in town (great jalapeno poppers, wrapped in bacon and served with big slices of grilled tomato; a really huge burrito; refried beans that actually have some taste and texture - rather than the bland and unappealing gloop that you get at Amigo, and most everywhere else; tasty nachos [though a bit of a small portion size]; and a fantastic and great value 'Mexican chicken' - two pieces of breast stuffed with melted cheese and jalapeno slices, wrapped in bacon, with refried beans on the side), as well as some other good stuff like fish'n'chips and bangers'n'mash (made with South African boerewors sausages).  Flamme doesn't offer 'bar snacks' as such, and doesn't - yet (I have hopes for the imminent refurbishment) - have much of a bar to sit at; but the selection of tasty vegetable side dishes, all priced at a beyond-reasonable 18 rmb, is ideal for snacking; and indeed, a few of the items - like the vegetarian chilli - are almost a meal in themselves.

Best Place To Drink While Eating

Winner:  Traktirr

Runner-up:  BiteAPitta

What joy to welcome back these two old favourites!  Traktirr (the original one, around the corner from the Russian Embassy; not its much larger and rather charmless sister establishment on Gui Jie, Traktirr Pushkin) mysteriously re-opened around the middle of this year - in the identical location - after a hiatus of some three years.  And - after a shorter but still worrying period in limbo (the better part of a year?) - Avi Shabtai has finally got his great Israeli diner up and running again in Tongli Studios.  Both of these places offer tasty and filling food and cheap beer - you can come for a snack and then just while away the next three hours or so getting pleasantly toasted...  Sand Pebbles, unfortunately, doesn't quite make it into this category because it lacks draught beer; and also, there's not a lot of 'people watching' fun to be had there, since the place is so small and mostly pretty empty.


Best Place To Go For A Cocktail

Winner:  Flamme

Runner-up:  MaoMaoChong

Twilight has some nice drinks, but lacks ambience and suffers from a dreadful location (Is there a bigger shithole in the whole of Beijing than Jianwai SOHO??  I have one friend who refuses ever to visit the place, even though he works just across the street in Guomao!).  The other swanky new cocktail lounges in the CBD - Cloud Nine, Atmosphere, and Xiu - are probably way over my budget (but I'm never likely to find out, since I so seldom visit the CBD for work, and it's not a 'nightlife' destination).  I never much liked Q (The Winged Serpent, as my buds and I used to call it back when it first opened): it quickly got too busy for its own good, lost the intimacy and the mellow vibe of George and Echo's earlier, smaller ventures.  I hear George's new place in Gongti - the imaginatively named George's - is rather good; but I haven't got around to a visit in the four or five months it's been open, and I'm wondering if I ever will; I just don't get over to that part of town more than a handful of times a year.  Apothecary made a promising early impression during its extended 'soft opening' at the end of last year, but subsequently alienated a substantial portion of its likely clientele with price hikes, niggardly measures, a surreptitious 'service charge', and the owner-managers' apparent indifference to good customer relations (Leon Lee, in particular, usually comes off as arrogant and creepy).  So.... that only leaves two contenders, in my book.  And there's not much to choose between them: MaoMaoChong has the considerable advantages of being a walkable distance from my home, being run by friends of mine, also doing very good pizza, and offering most of its cocktail list (but not all - you have to be careful what you order) for only 25 kuai on Wednesday nights.  However, I think Flamme just shades it: the list cocktail maestro Paul Mathew has created there is mind-blowingly good and fastidiously executed (and also available at a too-good-to-turn-down 100 kuai all-you-can-drink on Mondays!) - it's the only place in town that does a proper Sazerac, for a start!


Best Cocktail

Winner:  The Passionate Englishman (Flamme)

Runners-up:  Saigon Mistress (Twilight), French Toast (MaoMaoChong)

Many contenders here: hard to pick just a few.  At Flamme, Paul's Beijing Sidecar is an inspired piece of local colour, the Sazerac is done properly, and that thing with the flambéed fruit is also a knockout; however, while I'm not usually a fan of fruity drinks, his jokingly named Passionate Englishman (nicknamed by some of us The Oxymoron) is a revelation, an irresistible concoction of fresh passionfruit juice and gin.  Twilight, Daisuke's new venture down in the CBD, merits an honourable mention, even though I'm unlikely to go there more than  two or three times a year: the deliciously refreshing Saigon Mistress is a deserved favourite on the menu there.  And there are several of Stephen Rocard's inventive recipes at MMC that have taken my fancy over the year, notably his Walk The Plank with its Rooibus-tea infused vodka, his kaffir lime-flavoured Lady Boy or the marriage of chilli and honey vodkas in his Tail of the Dragon; but the cream of the crop is the French Toast from his winter menu, with its glorious homemade advocaat added to hot milk.


Best Place For Sitting Outside

No award (yet again) this year.

The city's never completely recovered from the ridiculous pre-Olympic crackdown on streetside restaurants; around my way, anyway, most of the small neighbourhood eateries are still discouraged from colonising the sidewalks - so the most charming way of frittering away an afternoon or an evening in the open air is still largely denied us.  I believe that there are quite a few pleasant bar/restaurant terraces in the city these days - if a bit too pricey for me and mostly in the dreaded Sanlitun area - but I didn't get around to trying any of them out.  We had a wretchedly cold 'spring' this year - that dragged on right through April and into May.  During June and the beginning of July I was entirely devoted to the World Cup.  Then, in July I was ill (and indisposed with a bad back) for a couple of weeks or so.  And in August I took a month off from drinking.  Sooo - the summer (at least for open air drinking purposes) almost entirely passed me by this year.  Sorry.

Worst New Bar

Winner:  The Stumble Inn

Runner-up:  Hmm, can't think of any other new bars of any note this year.  None that I tried, anyway...

Amazing that a bar with such 'experienced' people behind it manages to get just about everything so dumbfoundingly WRONG.  Being upstairs in a mall pretty much dooms it for me from the outset.  It seems to be doing quite well at lunchtimes on the weekend, but I can't imagine how it's going to get much trade at any other time.  A new top tip for The Dead Pool.


Most Pointless New Bar

Winner:   La Fite English Exotic Bar
Or whatever the hell it's called... my local spy tells me that it may be 'British' rather than 'English' and 'La Fete' rather than 'La Fite' (?!), and may even have added the superfluous word 'Pizza' in there now somewhere.  It does seem to be one of those bars that is quietly determined never to attract any custom at all.  Probably another candidate for The Dead Pool.

Most Surprising Survival

Winners: Drei Kronen/Danger Doyle's

Runners-up: Wiggly Jiggly's (aka Log-In Pub), Lucky Man

No change, really, from last year.  DK and DD seem to almost share a space, and possibly have some sort of common ownership; they certainly seem to share similarly inept branding and unrealistic pricing levels.  And yet - despite their unappealing location in the 'kiss of death' China View mall - they are limping on into their third years.  I would be curious to know how much money they've lost now (and under what circumstances - if any - the owners would actually pull the plug).  Probably not Dead Pool candidates, because they seem to be operating outside of the normal laws of economics.  Wiggly's, however, after heroic efforts in managing to continue to be Nanluoguxiang's least populous bar for four straight years (despite numerous redecorations and rebrandings), and in managing to fail to find anyone to buy out the lease (despite numerous attempts by the current tenant to escape the moneypit he's created for himself).... should be set to close fairly shortly: I believe the original lease expires around the middle of next year, and there are rumours the place might get chai'd before that anyway.  Lucky Man, the oddball Taiwanese whisky bar buried in the hutongs, has decided to 'decloak' - abandoning some of its 'speakeasy' affectation and word-of-mouth only approach to marketing this spring, after around a year of money-haemorrhaging obscurity.  It's still not doing much of a trade, and - if economic realities count for anything - I wouldn't expect it to remain open much longer.


Bar Which Has Deteriorated Most This Year

Winner:  Luga's Villa

Runner-up: 2 Kolegas

I used to have a big soft spot for this place, but.... Luga just can't figure out his target market.  And, in trying everything - half-heartedly, intermittently - he's gradually alienating just about every possible market segment.  He's got the Stella back, at least; and I gather he is occasionally pulling in quite big crowds with his cheap booze promotions and parties.  But my main interest in the place was as a sports bar, and he's been particularly inept, unreliable in developing that side of the business - the last half dozen times I've dropped in hoping to catch an English Premiership game, I've found nothing being shown; after that many disappointments, you just give up on a place.  For Kolegas, see above, under Best (and Worst) Live Music Venue: THOSE SPEAKER STACKS HAVE GOT TO GO!!!


Worst Bar

No award this year.

I've stopped going to bad bars!  Although the Most Overrated and Most Disappointing categories below - whilst not terrible - are better avoided.  And there's always....


Award in Perpetuity for Consistent Vileness

Centro

Just to open up the Worst Bar category for other contenders! I find Centro's inadequacies, year after year, across the board, in every aspect of its operation (bad layout, bad decor, bad acoustics, bad service, weak drinks, exorbitant prices) to be just flabbergasting. I don't understand how a place can be so bad for so long - and still have any customers. I assume it only attracts businessmen staying at the Kerry Hotel of which it is part, newbies who don't know any better, and well-to-do idiots who are so wedded to familiar home comforts that they want to spend all their time in a Western hotel bar even though it's a very poor Western hotel bar.


Most Overrated Bar

Winner:  Saddle Cantina

Runners-up:  Mesh, Q

Not much change here, either - except that I reinstate Q Bar (see comments under Best Cocktail Bar, above) to the ranks of the unaccountably popular.  I still don't get the deal with the Cantina at all: I find it overpriced, hellishly noisy, and utterly charmless - but it packs the young people in.  And I don't get the deal with Mesh at all. Apparently, lots of folks - Chinese yuppies especially - adore it for an after-work drink. I gave up on it because it was impossible to read the menu; for me, everything associated with The Opposite House is tainted with insufferable pretension.


Biggest Disappointment of the Year

Winner:  The 2 Kolegas 5th birthday party

Runners-up:  1st Floor, The Box, Gulou 121

The big bash at Kolegas was still a party of sorts - a lot of people, young people especially, had a good time there - but compared to the level of expectation generated for the event, and compared to the awesome shows they managed to put on for their four previous anniversaries, it was really a damp squib.  They tried to spread themselves too thin, stretching the celebrations out over the whole weekend rather than having just one big night; apparently, despite the cold and drizzly weather, the Friday night went off pretty well, evolving into an extended jam session with all the Ningxia regulars; unfortunately, by Saturday, everyone was exhausted, and the bill was attenuated to just two live bands; a DJ on the lawn does NOT a Kolegas birthday party make!  I commented in detail on my runners-up here last week; they're not absolutely awful, but they encouraged hopes of them being better - hopes which they have rather dismally failed to realise.


Redemption of the Year

Winner:  Paddy O'Shea's

Now, there are a lot of things I still can't stand about the place (oh my god, the food.... just feckin' horrendous!!).  And it may seem amazing that I will cut the place any slack at all, after three years of slagging it off with my every waking breath.  But.... much as I deplore manager Karl Long's quizmastering abilities, I have to acknowledge he does a decent job helming a bar.  And most of the things I reviled about the place when it first opened - the lousy pool table, the excessive light from the big windows at the front, the pointless upstairs space, the silly feckin' leprechaun waistcoats for the staff.... even the unfortunate preponderance of IELTS examiners amongst the clientele - have been progressively eradicated.  The prices aren't too outrageous (at least by the inflated standards we are sadly forced to becoming used to over the past few years).  And they have some very decent staff now (at least on the night shift; during the day, not so much).  And they benefit from the unaccountable demise of the sports bar scene in Beijing (The Den has decided it would rather play hideous music all evening than let you listen to a commentary, the Goose & Duck has moved 'out of town', Rickshaw has closed, The Pavilion has closed, Luga's Villa appears to have given up even trying, the new Stumble Inn is a chaotic non-event - WTF is happening??):  Paddy's - little as I like it - is now THE ONLY PLACE TO WATCH SPORTS in central Beijing.  And, for that purpose, it doesn't suck too badly.  [But, oh my god, it would be nice to have some alternatives.  Someone, please???]

Most Sadly Missed Departures of the Year

Winner:  Everyone I namechecked here a week ago (it's been a crazy year for people leaving) - but especially Big Nige and JK, the two stalwarts of 12 Square Metres (I hope we are going to see them both back again one day, but it could be some months....)

Runner-up:  Tryst
Space Cadet Shaun's quirky novelty bar in the old Nali mall was a cosy little hangout during the cold early months of the year.  The antique typewriter and the stolen policemen's cap were a stimulating juxtaposition, two of the most appealing ornaments I've ever seen in a bar.  And Shaun's Old Fashioned - made with burnt orange peel rather than a cherry - was my favourite in the city.  I think we always knew it couldn't last....

Additional Runner-up:  The Beijing draught at 12 Square Metres
Another one of the huge boosts in the appeal of 12 Square Metres for me this year was the addition of draught beer.  I much prefer draught to bottles; and most of their imported bottled beer is a mite too strong for me these days, while the local stuff is a bit overpriced.  Hence, much as I love the ambience of the place, I was tending to spurn it in favour of other venues quite often because there was really nothing much there for me to drink.  The draught Kronenbourg they have there now is usually very nice - but a bit too pricey to drink all night (I rather think JK introduced the 25-kuai 'happy hour' tariff on it just for me: I encounter severe price resistance if asked to pay more than 30 kuai for a beer, any beer - and I probably would have started taking my custom elsewhere again if 35-kuai Kronie was all they could offer me there).  While I appreciate JK's feeling that he doesn't have quite enough trade to justify keeping TWO beers on draught, I wonder about the commercial soundness of his decision; there's probably a much better margin on Beijing draught, and people would drink more of it.  Kronie is unquestionably a far superior product, but.... sometimes you just want something CHEAP and thirst-quenching.  I miss the local draught.  This is why I'll quite often slope off to Salud after 8pm....


Party of the Year

Winner:  Amilal's first birthday bash

Runner-up:  My birthday bash at 12 Square Metres

Alus, the amiable Mongolian proprietor of trendy hutong hideaway Amilal, decided a year ago, somewhat arbitrarily, that he would celebrate the anniversary of the launch of his quaint new bar on New Year's Day.  It's hard to pin down an exact opening date, since he'd been fitting the place out and going through a sort of 'soft opening' phase with some of his established customers from the old Sandglass days since about mid-November 2008, but didn't really seem to be formally open until around Spring Festival time.  Perhaps bars, like racehorses, are automatically deemed to have been born on January 1st?  Anyway, it had slipped my mind, what with all the inevitable excess of New Year's Eve the day before, but.... I was summoned to attend mid-evening.  And the dear chap was insisting that everything was FREE all evening for the regulars.  Even the single malts.  I was doing my best not to abuse this excessive hospitality, but he remembers which ones I've tasted and which I haven't, and was adamant that I should use this opportunity to try them all.  I have absolutely no recollection of the latter stages of the night, but Dr Manhattan assures me that we staggered away to get some chuanr at The Muslim around 2am or 3am - and I fell asleep in there, leaning against the wall.  Oh dear.  A great, great night.  My own birthday was a very distant second; but I found it particularly pleasant this year because it was a small, fairly impromptu gathering rather than a large-scale, planned event - with many charming surprises, such as the reappearance for the first time in several months of Mafan, the delightful little dog my favourite bar owners adopted this time last year.

Find of the Year

Winner:  Sand Pebbles

Runners-up:  Zui Yuefang, Thong, Orange Tree

I didn't want to think of this as a 'Hidden Gems' category,  but the notion of a find inevitably requires that the place should be relatively little known and not so easy to happen upon.  These four places all share that combination of being serendipitous discoveries and still rather below the radar for most expats.  A cosy, off-the-beaten-track music bar, a hutong café with a knicker fetish, and an 'English' bistro just round the corner from Houhai - such is the variety of unexpected delights that Beijing has to offer!  However, my No. 1 discovery of this year is definitely Sand Pebbles, the bar food heaven on Wudaoying.

Most Promising New Bar

Winner:  El Nido

Runner-up:  Fubar

I feel a little awkward about naming Fubar in this category for a second successive year (and relegating it to second place this time), but it hasn't quite yet made it up into contention for the 'best of the best' prizes (and I suspect it never quite will; though there are many things about it I like, it's just not really my kind of place).  However, I like it a whole lot more since the refurbishment this summer (it looks like they finally took a lot of my 'advice' in that original review, reducing the lighting level, putting more stuff on the walls, putting in a mezzanine balcony [I'd been sceptical about that, but it works beautifully], and - crucially - getting rid of that stupid armpit-high bar); it wasn't just a tweak but a radical reboot - it really does feel like a whole different bar since, so I'm restarting the clock.... and wondering if it might be able to win me over as a 'Best Bar' candidate next year.  I don't think there's any argument about the top spot, though: El Nido has been the event of the year - a little pot of gold in the hutongs, a dive bar with class.


Barperson of the Year

Winner:  Nigel Murphy, of 12 Square Metres

I like Justin at Salud (and he likes me!), but I don't think anyone can really compare to our Nigel - he's one of a kind.  His 'Special Mondays' running 12 Square Metres provided most of the high points of my year.

Bar Owner of the Year

Winner:  Joseph Kornides ('Zef') of 12 Square Metres

Runner-up:  Chad of Fubar

Yes, I miss him now he's gone!  JK is probably a bit miffed at me that I've passed him over for this until now.  But this year he's really earned the top accolade: remodelling his bar to greatly expand its space and its clientele, overcoming the myriad failings of Chinese plumbing to get an inside loo installed and operational (a process that involved months of grief), and running a very entertaining pub quiz through the second half of the year - whilst also dealing with becoming the owner of the world's most hyperactive puppy and getting married.  Chad also deserves a nod for the major improvements he's worked at Fubar this year, and more generally for being about the only person in the trade I can think of who's achieved significant success everywhere he's been (even starting out with a not especially promising situation at Rickshaw and a graveyard at Tun!).



Bar of the Year

Winner:  12 Square Metres

Runner-up:  El Nido

12 SqM has been my principal 'second home' for nearly two-and-a-half years now, but I hadn't previously wanted to nominate it in this category - partly because it was too darned small to bear the burden of such an award, and partly just because I wanted to try and keep it my secret.  I said above that Fubar's summer makeover was a radical reboot, but it was as nothing to the transformation 12 SqM underwent at the start of this year - opening up a second room, and more than trebling its effective space.  I'd had my misgivings about it at first (and I still prefer to hang in the original space, the front bar), but the distinctive cosy and friendly ambience of the place is - thank heavens! - undiminished, while its potential profitability is much enhanced.  Even more than before, the bar has been central to my life throughout this year (I've rarely gone more than a few days without at least looking in; and I was camped there more or less permanently during the World Cup).  We've had a great gang of regulars there this year (many of whom have now, sadly, passed on; but I imagine they'll be replaced in time), encompassing not just Aussies and Chinese (the nationalities of the proprietors) but Kiwis, Japanese, a couple of Germans and a Hungarian and.... who knows what else.  I am very much the token Brit in this cosmopolitan mix!

El Nido, though - for an upstart newcomer! - is making a very strong case for itself.  As I said a couple of weeks ago, Xiao Shuai's little hutong dive is an inspired amalgam of the best features of the old Huxley's (the cramped intimacy), Salud (the cosy atmosphere and the novelty house-infused spirits), and Amilal (the arty vibe and the superb, unexpected music selection). It also boasts some excellent bar snacks (sandwiches made with real bread and real pancetta!), an astonishingly broad selection of affordable wines and premium imported beers.... and ridiculously low prices (hello, 10-kuai Hapi, I think I love you!). Oh, and it's only a 19-minute walk home (Well, OK, it's a 19-minute walk there. It's more like a 22-minute walk back. You know how that goes.).  I do hope it will still be around next year to vie for the top spot - but I've got a nasty feeling it might prove to be an ephemeral phenomenon.  Let's enjoy it while we can.

So, there we go. Any comments, queries, abuse??

A taste of Xinjiang, in a glass

The last time I was in MaoMaoChong overindulging on one of their extremely generous '25 kuai Wednesdays' ("selected drinks" - which seems to mean just about all their current cocktail menu - just 25 kuai each on this night each week), I got into an experimental mode for a while.

They gave me something with a hefty garnish of coriander in it (their Mao Collins, I think it must have been). I was caught off guard for a moment, had been thinking it must be mint, and struggled at first to place this unexpected flavour - powerful, yet very appealing.

Once the penny dropped, I began wondering how best one might try to recreate the refreshing flavours of the classic Xinjiang salad lao hu cai in a cocktail.

Lao hu cai, the 'Old Tiger Dish', is an essential accompaniment to rou chuanr (mini mutton kebabs - an almost nightly snack for the Beijing drinker throughout the winter months), and, I think, one of the great litmus tests for a Xinjiang restaurant. It's delightfully simple, and brilliantly refreshing if done right; but so many places manage to find ways of screwing it up. It's just julienned cucumber mixed with a few strips of fiery green chilli, finished in a very light dressing (which is probably no more than heavily diluted vinegar) and garnished with handfuls of fresh coriander. When you get the proportions just so, the heat of the chillies is perfectly offset by the coolness of the cucumber, and there is no better palate cleanser for clearing the fattiness of the mutton-sticks (and the powdered chilli which encrusts them) out of your mouth. However..... well, sometimes a restaurant will apparently not have chilli, and will seek to substitute regular green bell peppers (or even just onions!) instead; that doesn't work. Sometimes, they'll have chillies that are far too hot, or use far too much of them; that, too, is a no-no. Occasionally, I've even known places to be out of cucumber, and try to serve the dish with just chilli (and maybe a bit of onion, for light relief). As I said, the ways of screwing something up in this country are legion. But when it's done right..... oh my!

Can we get that same impact in a glass? Well, the coriander is no problem: that clearly does work well in light, refreshing summer drinks. Soda water would seem to be the best fit for providing the mouth-cleansing, refreshing sensation of the dish. And the distinctive cucumberiness can be added by muddling some in the bottom of the glass (big lumps or fat slices will do, I think; no need to worry about producing the fine shreds of the dish itself). MMC proprietor Stephen Rocard infuses his own house spirits, so we thought his self-made chilli vodka (I love it in his Moscow Mule variation, the Stubborn Mule) seemed to be the ideal way to get the heat in the drink. However, I think his approach to the spicier infusions is perhaps a bit conservative; or maybe that particular bottle was somehow a bit weaker than usual - for me, it just didn't have quite the kick I was looking for. We 'fixed' it by adding a dribble of Tabasco as well.

And that, my friends, is Froog's Tiger Drink. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

I'm an ideas man, you see. I'm thinking I should add that as a category on here....