-Second in a series-
By Oliver B. Pollak
RICHMOND, California — A drink helps to unwind, relieve stress, chill. Social drinking with friends, in moderation, is ok. My companions are happy, not morose or angry drinkers. We share tastes and mutually expand our knowledge of spirits.
I learned about scotch from my Glasgow born mentor, sangria and strawberries in a trash can in summer school from a Chilean economist, sherry and port from the University of Zimbabwe Junior Commons Room, and much from fellow graduate students, professorial and legal colleagues, and cruise directors.
We credit Karen and Dan, whose employment took them to Oregon, Illinois, Nebraska, California, and Washington, for reintroducing us to Aquavit or Akavit. They gave me a silver engraved hip flask, almost an heirloom, which I fear no heir will want. Chuck and Lupe home brewed beer in Nebraska and now Texas. They were stationed in the Air Force in Italy and passed on their affection for grappa, double espresso, and biscotti. We went to their daughter’s wedding in Mexico, and studied Tequila and Mescal. My law partner Dave and I kept a bottle of Blanton’s Bourbon in the office. We called it ‘horsey’ because of the horse in motion bottle stoppers. Dave and Chris provided nightly gin and tonic on a 3,400-mile round trip from Omaha to Richmond.
Linda and Bill gave us three recipes. Sugar Tit (a Southern baby pacifier), which starts with Jim Beam, various ingredients, stir, sit back and enjoy. Bill took a different position drinking iced Polish vodka on the floor. Third, their superb political intellect intellect. Twenty years ago I met Joanie in the English department. I sensed a landsman. 1½ hours later four of us were eating sushi at a converted IHOP. Karen and Joanie attended minyan together. Her intuitive gifts include Alcoholica Esoterica (2005) by Ian Lendler and Imbibing (2007) by David Wondrich.
Norman Geske held his 90th birthday party at Lincoln, Nebraska’s Sheldon Museum of Art, which he directed from 1956 to 1993. He served his favorite drink, the Negroni, equal parts Campari, gin, vermouth; it became a favorite. After the Mexico trip I interchange gin with mescal. Like bad boy Warren Zevon’s song, “Looking for the next best thing” (1982), new concoctions have the appeal of novelty, old drinks, like the Americano, dating from the 1860s, are revived.
Another David provided endless Bloody Mary’s in his front yard at 10 am every July 4th, until they downsized and moved. Shane, his wife, had parents who owned the Wine Cellar in Rock Island. They demonstrated the restorative powers of studying and loving what they sold. I’ve tasted absinthe in Bentonville, Arkansas, Czech Becherovka, Italian Fernat-Branca, and Belgian, Duchesse de Bourgogne sour beer. Few people want to share their curious tastes. Arak has eluded me.
Berkeley’s 2.2 acre Urban Adamah campus, “integrates the practices of Jewish tradition, sustainable agriculture, mindfulness, and social action.” It is across 6th Street from Covenant wines whose labels include Landsman, The Tribe, Mensch, Neshama, Cuvée Chabad, and Zahav. Hagafen Cellars, a kosher winery in Napa, is on my bucket list. Synagogue’s sponsor kosher wine tasting. Faith and spirits meet at Kiddush.
Grocery shopping at Berkeley Bowl, Trader Joe’s, Grocery Outlet, Whole Foods, and Costco usually adds a spontaneous bottle or two to the cart. Email arrives daily from independent CostcoWineBlog reviewing America’s largest liquor retailer. Their wine stewards have much to teach. Lemons, limes, oranges, bitters, simple syrup, grapefruit juice, tonic, soda water, and jars of cocktail olives and cherries are at the ready. Visits to Kermit Lynch, Ledgers, and Odd Lots are like spin the bottle. There is more to explore.
As a scholar of imperialism I’ve drunk at the Strand Hotel in Rangoon, The Raffles in Singapore, where I had my most expensive cocktail ever anywhere, a $31.00 Singapore Sling. I somehow missed the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang. Perhaps someday I’ll get to Cairo’s Shepheard’s Hotel, a famous colonial watering hole featured in The English Patient, though it is not on my bucket list.
We acquire more wine than we drink. Thomas Jefferson, stated “good wine is a necessity of life,” still bought French cases at the age of 83. Are we waiting for a wedding, birthday, anniversary, house guests, or donation to a charity auction.
My son and grandson use needle nose pliers to turn the wire cage on bubblies, cava, moscato d’asti, prosecco, or champagne into miniature chairs occasionally offered at craft fairs.
Remember the admonitions. Some things have been known to cause cancer, and, ”Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Friends teach friends how to drink responsibly. Don’t let the message on our doormat, “If you forgot the wine, go home,” keep you away.
My friend Julie sees a darker side: “I’ve observed that my friends who discover they are addicted to alcohol and it is ruining their lives have found new friendships and fulfilling activities through their recovery efforts.” I responded, “I have been to two funerals where the decedent had been dry for decades. They had turned their lives around. It was a major part of the eulogy.” Julie replied, “Yes….it’s a struggle. I’ve watched a number of people try to deal with it.”
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Pollak, an attorney and professor emeritus of history at the University of Nebraska Omaha, is a SDJW correspondent now based in Richmond, California. He may be contacted via oliver.pollak@sdjewishworld.com