The Boys Consider Trends in Boozing / And Photos From Richard's Thanksgiving Break!

If you've ever noticed Chip's ever-present flask of Malibu Rum in his boot or Richard sipping a "Hollywood Martini" at the Eldridge on Thursday evenings, you already know about their fondess for rum. Apparently, they are on the leading edge of a major rum-revival, according to a piece in yesterday's NY-Times: "The boom coincides with a dawning recognition that midcentury tropical drinks, many of them based on rum, constitute a rich and nearly untapped vein of American mixology."

The piece focuses on a Los Angeles bar called The Tar Pit whose drink menu is largely centered around rum and whose "ambassador" is a concoction called The Night Marcher, which consists of "a large, grimacing tiki mug; bondage gear; store-bought Cholula hot sauce; a sense of humor that is hard to distinguish from weirdness; rum."

Chip: "I can't wait till this drink makes it to Larryville bars. It sends the message that (a) I enjoy rum and (b) I want to tie you up and spank you."

The piece goes on to point out that the "rum rebellion" also "takes advantage of a growing sentiment that the bartending scene has gotten a bit full of itself. Nothing can deflate a pretentious cocktail faster than a sharp poke with a paper umbrella."

Chip: "Amen. So many people these days care too much about the taste of their 'microbrews' and their fancy martinis, forgetting that the purpose of drinking should be simply to get hammered, get laid, and pass out. "

The article also singles out the bar in an arepa restaurant in hipster-central Williamsburg, Brooklyn called "Roneria Caracas" which features 30 rums and "unexpected ingredients like bay leaves, blueberries and coconut bitters."

Richard: "I'll bet Adam is drinking there right now!"

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On his recent trip down South, Richard stopped at a restaurant in Collins, Missouri, that comes highly recommended by Chip. He dined on a delicious meal of fried chicken livers, beans with ham, potatoes and gravy, and a hunk of cornbread as thick as wedding cake, and on the way in he spotted this sign, which reminds us of something that we too often forget: liberal Larryville is indeed a small, hipster-filled oasis surrounded by the rough and rugged frontier.