Old school cocktails endure as great drinks. By old school, I mean pre-war. A memorable name helps, but the receipe is everything. Common features include a small number of simple ingredients, a balancing of the sweet by the sour or the bitter (or both), and a base spirit with character. There's no room for vodka here.
Preparation matters, such as first chilling the glass with ice. I prefer the older style of cocktail glass - smaller with a short stem is easier to handle, not too much to drink, and less time to lose its chill. Any lemon or lime juice should be freshly-squeezed.
Below is a list of my favourites - my 'house' cocktails. Four are gin-based, two use whiskey, and one each in rum and brandy. They're all pre-war in orgin, with the exception of the Jasmine - created by Paul Harrington in the classic style, balancing the sour and the sweet on a spirit base with a hint of something bitter.
- Aviation - gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur
- Daiquiri - rum, lime juice, simple syrup
- Jasmine - gin, lemon juice, Cointreau, Campari
- Manhattan - whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters
- Martini - gin, dry vermouth
- Pegu - gin, lime juice, Cointreau, Angosturas bitters
- Sidecar - brandy, lemon juice, Cointreau
- Ward Eight - whiskey, lemon juice, orange, grenadine
I re-watched Wong Kar Wai's 2046 last night. I remember waiting for this film. Rumours swirled. It would be set in 1960s Hong Kong, as a companion piece to In the Mood for Love. It would be set in the year 2046 and feature robots. It would star Tony Leung and and feature Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, and Carina Lau, and Faye Wong and Zhang Zi Yi. Chang Chen (Taiwan) and Kimura Takuya (Japan) had roles. I wondered how these leading actors would fit into one film, and how their different languages of Cantonese, Mandarin, and Japanese could fit together.
Somehow, it does contain all those elements and more, as it explores key WKW themes of memory, loss, and reflections on failed romance. For me, the look of 2046 is just stunningly beautiful... combining saturated colours, muted lighting, elegant costumes and sexual desire within tight, enclosed interiors. Intriguingly, 2046 references earlier films in which some characters appear, revealing more about their background and motivations. Also intriguing is the way that scenes between actors who speak different languages are integrated - without much apparent difficulty. That use of language, and the fact that it is set in Hong Kong and Singapore, with characters from Japan and Cambodia (including the mysterious 'black widow' gambler Su Lizhen from Phnom Penh) gives it a pan-Asian quality. 2046 is a complex and often puzzling fim, but one that rewards a repeat viewing.
Japan produces some truly great music. I collected a few classic albums when I lived there a few years ago. Here's a selection below. Many are essential for fans of contemporary Japanese music, or J-pop.
- Holiday In Hawaii (1967) - Ishikawa Yujiro. The big man takes a vacation in Hawaii and sings ukulele-backed numbers in Japanese, English and Hawaiian!
- Tropical Dandy (1975) - Hosono Haruomi. In which Harry takes a cruise, mixing exotica and Asia to create something fresh, loose and full of sly humour. The follow-up cruise, Bon Voyage Co (1976), is equally as good.
- Blood Line (1980) - Kina Shoukichi and Champloose. Superb songs blending Okinawan and modern instrumentation and recorded with energy and real feeling.
- Back to the Street (1980) - Sano Motoharu. Exciting debut with a strong set of pop-rock songs displaying some new wave attitude and honesty.
- Japaneska (1990) - The Boom. Exuberant and experimental, mixing elements of ska, pop, and traditional Japanese and Okinawan instruments and melodies.
- Bossanova 2001 (1993) - Pizzicato Five. A Shibuya-kei masterpiece that romps through classic pop styles with wit, sweet melodies and restless energy.
- Kodoku no Taiyo (1994) - Kuwata Keisuke. Big personality and strong vocals over a fine set of songs with slick ear-grabbing arrangements.
- Banzai (1996) - Ulfuls. Energetic guitar-based pop with strong songs, playful humour and real heart. The follow-up, Let's Go (1997), sounds equally fresh and strong.
- Fuzaken Ja Ne (1997) - Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi. Passionate set of songs from a gravel-voiced singer-songwriter over varied and often innovative arrangements.
- May and December (2001) - Great 3. Smooth production and sophisticated textures from a power-pop trio using the studio as an instrument. Not a dud track in sight.
