January 13: At Folsom Prison
“I just wanted to tell you that this show is being recorded for an album released on Columbia Records, so you can’t say ‘hell’ or ‘shit’ or anything like that.” -Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison
On the morning of January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash went to prison. He left later that afternoon, after recording one of the most iconic concerts of all time.
So, how did Johnny Cash wind up performing at Folsom Prison? Well, it all started back in 1955 when Cash released the song “Folsom Prison Blues.” Unsurprisingly, the song, written from the point of view of a prisoner dreaming of his freedom, became massively popular amongst inmates. In 1957, Cash performed at Huntsville State Prison and over the ensuing years he’d perform at several other prisons. In the mid-1960s, Cash’s career had hit a bit of a skid due to his increased drug addiction. However, by 1967 he was ready for a comeback and proposed a novel idea to his record company: What if Cash recorded one of his prison concerts? Even better; what if he went to Folsom Prison and sang his hit song?
The bosses at Columbia Records realized this was a winning proposition. On January 13, 1968 Cash, June Carter, Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers and the Tennessee Three arrived at Folsom Prison where they performed two concerts for the inmates. Naturally, Cash opened the show with “Folsom Prison Blues,” much to the delight of the audience. His set included several songs about prison, some novelty tunes, a few duets with June Carter and the song “Greystone Chapel” which was written by a Folsom prisoner.
Now, the songs and performances on the ensuing At Folsom Prison record are fantastic, but what makes this record fantastic are the elements of the prison that come into the record: The convict audience hoots and hollers during the prison themed songs a little bit more than a regular crowd. In between songs, there are announcements for prisoners to report to certain locations within the prison. Of course, the record’s best moment comes when the prisoners spontaneously boo when the show’s MC mentions one of Folsom’s guards by name. Although Columbia Records did very little to promote At Folsom Prison, the record proved to be a smash success, spawning an artistic and commercial renaissance for Cash.
It was hard finding a prison themed cocktail that wasn’t too disgusting, but the Extended Prison Sentence will work just well enough. It’s an odd mix of whiskey and tequila, because let’s face it, when you’re in prison you’ll drink what you can get. At least it’s better than prison wine.
Extended Prison Sentence
- 1/2 ounce Whiskey
- 1/2 ounce Southern Comfort
- 1/2 ounce Gold Tequila
- 1 splash pineapple juice
Blend with ice and serve in a highball glass.
Tomorrow: A man with an eponymous rum.
December 28: F. W. Murnau
On this day in 1888, one of history’s first great film directors was born. F. W. Murnau was a leader of the German Expressionist film movement and the creator of many silent masterpieces. Murnau was a versatile film director, and nothing quite exemplifies this like two of his out and out masterpieces: The horror film Nosferatu and the romantic drama Sunrise.
Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu is an all time horror classic. It’s an unofficial adaptation of Dracula that despite the technical limitations of its day, it features some of the creepiest imagery ever committed to film. If you’re like me, the shadowy sequence of Count Orlok creeping up a flight of stairs is enough to make your skin crawl.
On the flipside, Sunrise is a beautiful humanistic fairy tale about a married couple rediscovering their love for each other. Of course, this all happens after the husband considers murdering his wife so he can be with his mistress. As strange as that plot might sound, it’s a beautiful film that again features striking imagery. In fact, at the first Academy Awards, Sunrise won the Oscar for Best Unique and Artistic Production, an award that is the equivalent of the modern Best Picture Oscar.
Tonight, why not enjoy one of these two silent pictures with a nice cocktail? For Nosferatu, the obvious choice is the Vampire Kiss, which we talked about two months ago and for Sunrise, why not mix a Tequila Sunrise? This basic cocktail was created by Gene Sulit, a bartender at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel sometime during the 1930s or 1940s.
Tequila Sunrise
- 1 1/2 ounces Tequila
- 3 ounces orange juice
- 1/2 ounce grenadine
Pour the tequila and orange juice into a highball glass over ice. Then add grenadine and do not stir, let it sink to the bottom. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.
Tomorrow: A motorcycle pioneer.
November 19: Moose And Squirrel
It was on this day in 1959 that America was introduced to Rocket J. Squirrel, his friend Bullwinkle J. Moose and a cavalcade of other assorted goofs when ABC aired the premier episode of a show that at the time was called Rocky & His Friends. During its five years on the air, the program experienced changes in its name, network and time slot; and was never a ratings hit, failing as both a prime time show and a Saturday morning show. However, the program developed a loyal fan base that included many future comedy writers.
From a production standpoint creator Jay Ward’s show about the moose and squirrel is notable for two things: Its crude animation and quick, sometimes subversive wit. The jokes on Rocky & Bullwinkle (as it is popularly known) came fast; full of word play (including knowingly terrible puns) and cultural references both lowbow and highbrow. On top of that, the series didn’t exactly break the fourth wall as it shattered the fourth wall and then destroyed the pieces so that it couldn’t be rebuilt: Rocky, Bullwinkle and the the rest of the show’s cast weren’t just aware that they were characters on a tv show, they would also argue with the unseen narrator and comment on the show’s declining ratings. Rocky & Bullwinkle was also fond of poking fun at the American government. Lest we forget, this was a show produced during the height of the Cold War in which America’s only hope against Eastern European spies was a squirrel and an incredibly dumb moose.
Rocky & Bullwinkle‘s subversive streak even extended into real life. In the fall of 1962, Jay Ward decided to start a campaign for statehood for Moosylvania, a fictional island that appeared in a few episodes of Rocky & Bullwinkle. According to the series, Moosylvania was located in the Lake of the Woods between Canada and the U. S., but neither nation wanted to lay claim to the island. In fact each claimed that it belonged to the other country. So, Ward decided to make Moosylvania a reality. First, he leased a small island in the Lake of the Woods, and then embarked on a cross-country tour in a decorated van to promote Moosylvanian statehood and also Rocky & Bullwinkle. The tour culminated with Ward driving the van up to the White House gates to seek an audience with President Kennedy. However, when he drove up to the White House he was greeted by several armed guards, with guns drawn, telling him to get out of there. As Ward later discovered, he had driven to the White House on the first day of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Moosylvania still hasn’t been recognized as an American state, but until it is we can celebrate Rocky and Bullwinkle’s tv debut with a Flying Squirrel cocktail. It’s a solid tequila cocktail, and after a few of these you might think you can fly. However, let me remind you that just like Bullwinkle’s “pull a rabbit out of my hat” trick, that’s never going to work.
Flying Squirrel
- 1 1/2 ounces White Tequila
- 1 ounce Triple Sec
- 1 dash lime juice
- 1 splash sweet and sour mix
- orange juice
Pour all ingredients into a highball glass half-filled with ice and stir.
Tomorrow: “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.”
October 29: Login
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was a Department of Defense project that served as a precursor to the internet. The early ARPANET began as four small computers, essentially primitive routers, called Interface Message Processors at four western universities: UCLA, Stanford, Utah and UCSB. It was on this day in 1969 that the first ARPANET message was transmitted, thus making today the unofficial birthday of the internet!
So, what was the first message sent out via ARPANET? Well, it’s kind of a funny story. You see, the unofficial birthday of the internet is also the unofficial birthday of the internet error. At 10:30 PM on October 29, 1969, UCLA student programmer Charley Kline attempted to send a simple message to Stanford’s ARPANET station. The message was the word “login.” However, the IMP at UCLA crashed after sending the letter “o,” so the official first message sent over ARPANET was “lo.” An hour later, the computer would reboot and Kline would be able to send out his full message. It wouldn’t be until December 5 that the whole system was connected.
Now, as far as I could tell, there is no cocktail named for the internet and Googling “internet cocktail recipe” only gave me results for cocktail recipe websites. So, since I can’t find an “internet cocktail,” I had to go with the next best thing and find a cocktail honoring the birthplace of the internet. The UCLA Bruins Shot was one of two cocktails created by Ryan Kelley a few years ago to celebrate UCLA and USC’s annual football rivalry match. It’s a sweet little blue and gold shooter that mixes tequila with rum and limoncello.
UCLA Bruins Shot
- 1/8 oz Blue Curacao
- 1/4 oz orgeat syrup
- 1/8 oz White Rum
- 1/8 oz Limoncello
- 1/2 oz Tequila Añejo
Combine the blue curacao, orgeat syrup, and rum in a double shot glass and stir. In a separate glass, stir the tequila and limoncello together. Layer the tequila and limoncello mixture on top of the blue curacao, orgeat syrup, and rum mixture in the double shot glass.
Tomorrow: “Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News.”
October 12: 42
Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy series started as a radio drama for the BBC, but it soon took on a life of its own, and it was on this day in 1979 that Adams’ comic science fiction tale was released as the first of the five books that make up the grossly inaccurately named Hitchhiker’s Guide Trilogy.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide tells the goofy tale of Arthur Dent, an Englishman who wakes up one morning to discover a bulldozer sitting outside, prepared to knock over his house to make room for a highway bypass. His friend Ford Prefect then arrives on the scene and explains to Arthur not to worry, because some aliens are about to blow up the Earth to make room for hyperspace bypass. Conveniently, Ford is able to transport the two of them off the planet just before it’s destroyed and the rest is a wonderfully goofy adventure involving a paranoid android, a man with two heads and three arms, super-intellegent mice and “42, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything!
The Hitchhiker’s Guide series happens to feature one of my all time favorite fictional drinks; the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Invented by former President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is described as “like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.” Now conveniently, Adams provided a recipe for this drink in Hitchhiker’s Guide:
- Take the juice from one bottle of that Ol’ Janx Spirit.
- Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V (Oh, that Santragian seawater! Oh, those Santragian fish!)
- Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzene is lost).
- Allow four litres of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it, in honor of all those happy hikers who have died of pleasure in the Marshes of Fallia.
- Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qalactin Hypermint extract, redolent of all the heavy odors of the dark Qalactin Zones, subtle, sweet, and mystic.
- Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger. Watch it dissolve, spreading the fires of the Algolian Suns deep into the heart of the drink.
- Sprinkle Zamphuor.
- Add an olive.
- Drink . . . but . . . very carefully.
Now, unfortunately, most of these ingredients aren’t available on Earth. In fact, in an interview Adams once said that “Unfortunately there are a number of environmental and weapons treaties and laws of physics which prevent one being mixed on Earth.” However, some enterprising souls have created a version using Earth ingredients. It’s a seriously potent drink. How potent? Well, its chief ingredient is highly flammable 151 proof rum. That sounds about right for a drink described in the book as “”the alcoholic equivalent of a mugging – expensive and bad for the head.” If you decide to make this, good luck!
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (Earth Version)
- 1 1/2 ounce 151 Proof Rum
- 1/4 ounce Tequila
- 1/4 ounce Gin
- 2/3 ounce Triple Sec
- 1 ounce Blue Curaçao
- 1 dash Bitters
- 1 dash grenadine
Pour into a highball glass with ice and garnish with a lemon zest and an olive. Drink . . . but . . . very carefully.
Tomorrow: Work begins on the White House.
August 28: All Hail King Kirby
Who was the most influential pop artist of the 20th Century? Most art history scholars would point to names like Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns or that plagiarist hack Roy Lichtenstein. As great as two of those artists are, their influence pales in comparison to Jack Kirby, who was born on this day in 1917. Kirby helped shape the look of the modern superhero, inspired generations of artists who grew up with his work and to top it all off, his creations still play a vital role in contemporary culture.
Kirby got his start drawing all manner of adventure comics in the 1930s: sci-fi, western, pirates, etc. However, Kirby made his first big mark on comics in March 1941 when he and Joe Simon created Captain America. The first issue of Captain America Comics is one of the greatest images ever sketched, depicting our star-spangled hero punching Adolph Hitler in the face and presumably breaking the Fuhrer’s jaw. Oh, and may I remind you, this was a full nine months before the United States entered World War II! Kirby would continue working on comics until he was drafted into the Army.
After the war, Kirby would go back to comics art, working in a variety of pulp fiction styles, and even helping to create the “romance comics” genre. However, that achievement would pale in comparison to Kirby’s next trick, creating a universe. In November 1961, Kirby and collaborator Stan Lee released the first issue of The Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four represented a new approach to superheroes, different from the heroes made popular during the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age. While many of the superheroes of the past were born with their powers, the Fantastic Four gained their powers in an accident and while the average superhero saw their powers as a gift, FF member Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) rightly viewed his incurable transformation into a humanoid rock monster as a curse. On top of all that, the Fantastic Four were a family who (for the first few issues at least) didn’t wear costumes, instead they fought crime in contemporary fashions.
The Fantastic Four were just the start, as soon Kirby would co-create a whole universe of characters for Marvel Comics. The list of characters and concepts Kirby co-created for Marvel includes dozens of the all-time great comic book heroes and villains (and the subjects of many future hit movies). Here are but a few of the familiar names Kirby created for Marvel: The Mighty Thor, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Galactus, the Black Panther, the Silver Surfer and also an obscure superhero team called the Avengers.
Kirby would leave Marvel in the 1970s due to creative differences, and went to work for rival DC Comics. At DC, Kirby created what is considered by many to be his masterpiece: The Fourth World, a tale of a battle between literal good and evil that combined Greek mythology with techno-futurism. Written and drawn by Kirby, the Fourth World saga detailed the battle between the planets New Genesis and Apokolips, as heroes like the mighty warrior Orion and the master escape artist Mister Miracle sought to stop Darkseid, the lord of Apokolips and living embodiment of all evil, from discovering the “Anti-Life Equation” which would allow him to subjugate all living things and bring an end to that troublesome notion of free will. Kirby didn’t shy away from the obvious allegorical elements of the stories, and in fact embraced the story’s more over the top elements by constantly adding new crazy sci-fi concepts and peppering the narration and dialogue with purple prose and Shakespearean turns of phrase. Somehow, Kirby managed to make all of these mad elements work together and created a gripping tale of the ultimate battle between good and evil.
In addition to his comics work, Kirby’s other projects included designing wonderfully whacked-out costumes for a 1969 production of Julus Caesar at UC Santa Cruz, and the concept art for a unproduced film adaptation of the novel Lord of Light. Although that film would never come about, Kirby’s concept illustrations would later be used by the CIA to help pull of the “Canadian Caper,” as depicted in the 2012 film Argo. So, for those of you keeping score at home, between The Avengers and Argo, that’s two films from last year that Kirby was partially responsible for.
So, raise a glass to the King of Comics and his lasting legacy with a drink named after one of his iconic characters, The Silver Surfer. Although this drink won’t give you the Power Cosmic, it is a nice fizzy blend of lemon-lime flavors and potent clear liquors.
The Silver Surfer
- 1/2 ounce Silver Tequila
- 1/2 ounce White Rum
- 1/2 ounce Vodka
- 3 ounces lemon-lime soda
- A dash of lemon juice
- A dash of lime juice
Pour all the liquors into a highball glass with ice and top with lemon-lime soda, then add the dashes of the juices. Garnish with a lemon slice and a lime slice.
Tomorrow: The last of the Yahi.
August 11: Happy Mayan New Year!
Hey, remember last year when the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar reached the end of the thirteenth baktun, and then Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent descended from the heavens and destroyed the Earth? Yeah, I thought not.
So, you know the calendar’s alleged end date was December 21st, but do you know what the calendar’s start date was? Well, researchers have discovered that the calendar points to a mythical creation date that corresponds with the proleptic Gregorian calendar date of August 11, 3114 BCE. So, if you believe that the Makers, Kukulkán and Tepeu, created humanity out of maize in order to preserve their legacy, then today is the day to celebrate 5127 years of existence!
So, today praise the Makers with a fiery Mayan Calendar cocktail. Now when I say fiery, I mean it is a drink that you literally set on fire! The Mayan Calendar is a strong drink with a nice toasty quality brought about by the flames. Praise be to Itzamna, the Mayan deity who brought early humans the basic building blocks of culture including language and fire! Oh, and be careful when working with flames, of course.
The Mayan Calendar
- 1 ounce Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua)
- 1/2 ounce Tequila Blanco (White or Clear Tequila)
- 1 ounce Vodka
- 1/2 ounce 151 Proof Rum
Pour all ingredients in order into a rocks glass without ice. Ignite the drink and let it burn for no more than five seconds, or else the glass will be too hot to handle and the drink will be ruined. After blowing out the flame, let the drink sit for a moment and insert a long glass or silicone straw and drink the cocktail through it. You’ll want to slowly sip on this drink, as drinking it quickly could cause some serious damage to your throat.
Tomorrow: One actor, five films; all of them Best Picture nominees.
July 25: Murrieta Está Muerto
As the only maxim says heroes die, but legends live forever. It was on this day in 1853 that the California outlaw Joaquin Murrieta was killed, and became a legend. Murrieta’s story sounds like something from a pulp novel or action movie. He was either a Chilean or Mexican who came to California during the Gold Rush and actually discovered a very rich mining claim. However, jealous Anglos came to steal his claim and proceeded to rape his wife, kill his brother and finally horsewhipped Murrieta. Murrieta would then seek vengeance against the Anglos responsible for these heinous crimes and the government that let him down.
Murrieta would form a gang and commit murders and robberies throughout California, but also giving some of the stolen treasures to the poor, earning him the nickname “the Mexican Robin Hood.” Murietta’s gang was viewed as such a threat, that the Governor and state legislature of California organized the California Rangers for the specific purpose of capturing Murrieta and his gang. 160 years ago today, Murietta’s gang of outlaws engaged in a final showdown with the California Rangers. In the showdown, three of the gang members were killed including Murietta, but the story doesn’t end there.
The Rangers’ leader, Captain Harry Love would have Murietta’s corpse beheaded and preserved in a jar of alcohol to prove that the outlaw had been killed. After the preserved head was presented to the governor, it was taken on tour to Mariposa County, Stockton, and San Francisco where visitors could pay a dollar to see the head of the feared bandit. Despite the seventeen signed affidavits that attested that this was indeed the head of Joaquin Murrieta, there were claims that he still lived: A San Francisco newspaper received an anonymous letter claiming that Love had actually killed an innocent Mexican rancher. Reported sightings of an older Murietta surfaced from time to time. On top of all this, every so often people would claim to have discovered some of Murietta’s hidden treasures. In an appropriately mythic fashion, Murietta’s head would disappear during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Today, Murietta’s legend still lives, as writer Johnston McCulley likely based the pulp hero Zorro on the legends associated with Murietta.
At the Berkeley, California restaurant Comal, bartender Scott Baird has whipped up a drink in honor of Murietta. The Joaquin Murrieta is a tough tequila drink that Baird says is “definitely for the more — I’d say, experienced drinker.” Not a bad way to honor a legendary outlaw.
Joaquin Murrieta
- 1 ounce Tres Agaves Tequila Reposado
- 1 ounce Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
- 1 ounce Amaro Montenegro
Stir with ice in a beaker, strain in to a small cocktail coupe and garnish with a lemon twist.
Tomorrow: The “Love”liest voice in rock and roll.
July 11: 7/11
Hey you, you like free stuff, don’t you? And you also like frozen sugar water, right? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you’ll be pleased to hear that today is Free Slurpee Day at participating 7-Elevens nation wide. Yes, just walk in to the nearest green and orange striped numerically named convenience store and you’ll get 12 ounces of frigid fructose for the low low price of $0.00!
The Slurpee can trace its origins back to the late 1950s, when Kansas soda shop owner Omar Knedlik began selling semi-frozen sodas. These slushy drinks became quite popular, and soon Knedlik would team up with a Dallas based company to build machines that would mix these slushy soft drinks that were quickly dubbed ICEEs. By the mid-1960s, the ICEE was experiencing nationwide popularity, so the 7-Eleven company came a-calling to ask permission to sell the drink. ICEE agreed, but only if the convenience chain called the product something other than ICEE. After a bit of brainstorming, a 7-Eleven executive came up with then name Slurpee, after the sound you make when you drink one. Today, 7-Eleven claims to sell 13-million Slurpees a month. Amusingly, for the last fourteen years the Canadian province of Maintoba has claimed the dubious honor of “Slurpee Capital of the World” with its capital city Winnipeg selling 188,833 Slurpee per month alone.
Now, I have one little problem with the Slurpee: There’s not enough liquor in it! So, to correct that problem, we’ve got a cocktail named for an ailment many a slurper has experienced: The dreaded Brainfreeze. I’ve made a few small adjustments to an old Brainfreeze recipe to make it look and taste more like a Slurpee, but I’ve kept its strong kick of tequila. This recipe is meant to be shared, as it does contain no less than eight shots of alcohol.
Brainfreeze
- 2 cups Tequila
- 6 cups cracked ice
- 5 cups grenadine syrup
Place all ingredients in to a blender and blend until sufficiently slushy, add powdered sugar if for some reason you want to make it sweeter, serve in highball glasses or Slurpee cups.
Tomorrow: What helps keep Keith Richards look so young?
The Cocktail Calendar 
