Voltron

Koppi. It picks you while it hops you out! Pretty damn tasty. Maybe more coffee flavor will come through as it warms a bit.

Ugh, it's an epidemic of parental health issues. My dad was in the ER for several hours tonight. He has had a blood clot issue in his left leg for years and takes blood thinners, wears some kind of weird sleeve sock, etc. There is a big family camping trip this weekend where most everyone but Claire and I and luckily my niece near my dad's house. She went to visit and he was rubbing his leg and saying it was hurting a bit. When she took a look, his leg was swollen to nearly double its size so they went to the ER. Once there, he admits it had been hurting for 4-5 days, blah blah blah. After a 45 minute ultrasound and other examinations, they cannot determine if he has a new clot or if it is the same old problem. The swelling went down quite a bit, and they let him go home, though, and he is in good spirits and complaining about the Giants' lack of hitting. Maybe that means he's doing well just like Vicki's dad. Ugh anyway.

Nice Guy Jim strikes again! I received a surprise package today with a beautiful bottle of Blackwoods Gin inside and immediately made a couple of G&Ts and sat on the porch and toasted to your good health, my friend. Cheers!

Sorry about your mom being in the hospital, Dusty. Wishing her well.

Gloria Coleman Quartet featuring Pola Roberts -- Soul Sisters It might have been worthwhile to feature Grant Green too, but what the hell. I guess he ain't no soul sister.

Good job with the vittles, Jeff, and with important liquid provisions, Knucks, Dan and Jim!

Seems like the right time for an evening prayer to me. Jealous.

Jack McDuff and Gene Ammons -- Brother Jack Meets The Boss

Ball control.

Awesome news Vicki! I hope your dad is up and around and cursing the Tigers' management for years to come!

Cheers!

Doug would have like this one. The reason Camper English was at Jasper's last night was because they were featuring Negronis on tap, which seems like a wickedly easy way to get snockered.

But do your mid and low regions turn glossy with a thickness, and your low region shut lightly?

That is an awesome run of quoted pictures! I love it!

Beautiful drinks in some lovely glassware Shelly and Jim! I don't remember making the Peralta before and it looks/sounds great. Adding to the list. Marc is right, there were lots of notable features and interesting ingredients at Smuggler's Cove. I can't believe he didn't mention the Hellfire Tincture and the Pine Tree liqueur or whatever that was. Good stuff. Chris, we got the Barbados rum in your honor and I toasted the health of your child in the womb. Glad you know that rum (and even its makers), and kind of figured you would. I really enjoyed it. They say they have 300 rums, some of which are in the vault for special initiates and celebrities only. I got the tasting card with the first 20 needed to join the Rumbustion Society as a Disciple of the Cove, but the St. Nicholas was not on it so it didn't count. Oh well, better go back again sometime.... Jasper's Corner Tap & Kitchen just recently opened in Union Square and is a nice simple layout without a lot of pretension. Their gimmick is good beer and beer cocktails, but they don't take it too seriously, and their cocktail list is nicely put together. We were assisted by the man running the bar, Kevin Diedrich, who just left another hot SF spot, The Burritt Room, and he was helpful and very cool. I started with a Belgian Sucker Punch, which I think was Duvel Green, Plymouth Gin and a bit of lemon/lemon wheel. It tasted like a beer, but the sucker punch is the extra kick from the gin. It was fine but Marc's Weissen Sour -- a whiskey sour with bourbon and then a floater of Hoegarden wheat beer -- was very tasty although it should have come with a stirrer or straw so that Marc would not have slurped off most of the beer in his first sip. Marc said he was interested in trying something with the Gran Classico bitters, so Kevin poured us a taste and then whipped up something with it. I can't recall what it was but it was tasty. I had a rye/applejack/benedictine/yellow chartreuse drink from their menu called a Grand Promenade and it was great. The last feature of our evening was meeting Camper English, a cocktail blogger found at http://www.alcademics.com/. He sat down near us and was chatting with Kevin. His article about Jasper's was where I heard about it and got curious. He was pleasant enough and we chatted about the menu and his impending trip to Poland to check out Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka's distillery. It was fun to rub elbows with the cocktail cognoscenti. Come to town more often, HC cocktailians!

Curtis Fuller Quintet -- Blues-ette

Que? Just listen to it. I know it isn't a Basie and Zoot or anything, but I'm pretty sure you'll dig it anyway.

The Curtis Fuller Jazztet with Benny Golson

I'm of two minds regarding this album... Just kidding, I love it.

Wayne Shorter -- Schizophrenia

What the hell is wrong with you?! How could you post something on topic and mess up the whole mood of the thread, Jim? And you had better get back in that cave, Chris. Don't you know there is a financial crisis going on?!

Thanks Todd! Tapatalk still seems bonked, and I could not get Safari to work on my iPhone for awhile after you announced the update. I signed out and then shut down the phone without any positive effect, but it now seems to be working.

I'm building a bunker.

I went with a Perfect Manhattan and it is quite light and refreshing with the unaged rye. Cheers to Ric and Mel!