I love my liquour cabinet. The front opens out to form a shelf on which to mix a drink. In the same movement, the lid slides up and back to reveal a treasure trove within a mirrored interior. The exterior is mahogany veneer. I'd guess it dates from the early 1960s. I pretend its modernist-inspired, although in reality it has cabriole legs and slightly ornate handles.
What forms the basis of a well-stocked liquor cabinet? Here are a few essentials for preparing classic cocktails and mixed drinks.
- Spirits - a decent gin (e.g. Tanqueray), a white rum, a brandy and a blended whisky.
- Liqueurs - Cointreau is the most useful. I also like maraschino, a clear cherry liqueur that is not too sweet.
- Fortified wines - dry/white vermouth and sweet/red vermouth are essential. I also stock a sherry for drinking neat.
- Bitters - Campari and Angostura bitters are essential. Peychaud's is also a classic. Orange bitters, popular pre-war, are now undergoing a resurgence.
With access to fresh lemon and lime juices, and plenty of ice on hand, preparing a range of classic drinks is possible. Items such as bitters can last a long time, as only small amounts are used. I like the bottles to appear full, so where possible, I top them up from refills kept in the little cupboard under the main compartment. I probably get as much enjoyment from stocking the cabinet as I do from preparing and consuming drinks.
Time to freshen up before dinner. Aperitif, anyone?
While in Auckland recently, I stopped for drink at the retro-styled Hotel DeBrett. The house bar, known as "Housebar", is an elegant den hidden away on the first floor. From the art deco ceiling, to the wood pannelling and 60s-style chairs, it felt like a place where Don Draper might order a whiskey Old Fashioned. It also opens onto an enclosed courtyard. The staff were friendly too.
I'll be back for that Old Fashioned.
Wild life in the Pacific can contain flashes of brillant colour. The flutter of bright feathers. Hibiscus flowers. Schools of iridescent fish in the lagoon. There are also signs of a re-emergence of that most rare and exotic creature, the lesser-spotted speedo boy.
During a recent stay in Fiji, at the Octopus Resort on the island of Waya, a pair of speedos came to roost next to my bure, boldly sunning themselves on the beach. Their sleek form and confidence was inspiring. Previously thought to be endangered, perhaps this signals a return to their natural habitat.
Fiji is its own galaxy of islands. Flying into Nadi on the main island of Viti Levu, its straightforward to 'island hop' out west through the Mamanuca Group and then up into Yasawa chain in the northwest. Coming to rest at the Octopus Resort on the island of Waya, we took a thatched bure right on the shore with a little veranda in front and, at the rear, a shower open to the sky.
It was all golden sands, tropical fruit cocktails, and snorkelling in warm, clear waters. Schools of coloured fish swam among a bewitching coral wonderland of spiky bright blues and purples, and lilly pad-like discs in green and yellow. We were also joined by an old friend, Captain Morgan - a pirate chief and distiller of a fine spiced golden rum. At night, half-asleep under a mosquito net, the sound of the waves lapping on the shore felt close enough as to be virtually on the door step.
Fiji, definitely the way the world should be.
Pizzicato Five were not only Tokyo's coolest combo, but one of the more elegant and style-conscious pop acts anywhere. Their image and music mixed a retro jet-age lounge aesthetic with elements of 1960s French spy-chic, pop art, and a playful tongue-in-cheek wit. The title of this blog is lifted from a Pizzicato Five album - themselves great borrowers of shiny things - and so they're a fitting topic for the first proper entry. But all this carefree style was underpinned by consistently great songs. Their song titles, usually only a loose translation, conveyed a real sense of the spirit of P5.
- Groovy Is My Name
- Let's Be Adult
- Tokyo, Mon Amour
- The Night Is Still Young
- Sophisticated Catchy
- The Audrey Hepburn Complex
- Twiggy vs. James Bond
- Non-Stop to Tokyo
After a string of great albums, such as Bossanova 2001 (1993) and Happy End of the World (1997), Pizzicato Five jetted off into the sunset. But they're certainly not forgotten by the legions of Pizzicato-maniacs. P5, I raise my glass of warmed sake to you.
Welcome to my blog - broadcasting to the world from an island in the South Pacific. I'm hoping it'll be like an online pillow book of interesting things, passing whims and enduring fantasies. It'll likely cover classic films, the South Pacific, tiki-ness, anything Japan-esque, Pizzicato Five albums, modernist delights, jet travel, and old-school cocktails. Oh, and obsessive list making.
