The Bitter Truth

My son has joined the Army. He reports to Basic Training on Tuesday. He currently resides in Georgia, will drive to some Fort in Alabama to report for duty and then get sent to Fort Jackson SC. The distances in his part of the world seem smaller than around here.

He lives in Trenton Georgia, which is in the extreme northwest corner of Georgia. The closest city of any size is Chattanooga Tennessee. Many of his co-workers and customers (he's been working as an assistant manager at McDonalds) live in Alabama.
I've got mixed feelings about him joining the Army. Career wise it's probably a good move. He scrapes by on his wages, but the long term outlook is not bright in a small, four franchise company. He's risen about as far as he can go anytime soon in his corporate world. So, he's enlisted in the Army for a six year stint.

He tested well and got his choice of schools. His choice is Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) - oh boy, my baby (soon to be 26) is going to play with bombs! He'll undoubtedly get an all expenses paid trip to Afganistan and/or Iraq. I've been reassured by a friend that more Marines die on motorcycles than in combat. Whew, that makes me feel better, but at least at this point he doesn't own a motorcycle.

Upon successful completion of the EOD course he'll be entitled to wear the EOC Crab patch - this is apparently a big deal, as it one of the only or the only specialty that gets it's own patch. It also means he's made it this far without blowing his ass to kingdom come.

He flew into town on Monday for a final visit with friends and family before reporting. He stayed at my house last night so that I could have him at the airport at 0430. I picked him up at the car rental place at about noon. I asked him what he wanted to do and he quickly recited a list; he wanted a giant salad made by me, he wanted to veg out and watch movies, he wanted to see a decent liquor store and he wanted Thai food. All of this was fairly easy to accomplish.

We hit Movie Madness and picked up an assortment of videos. Hit the grocery store and got a bunch of salad fixings and headed for the house. I put him to work repairing one of my computers while made a salad. He packed away about 10 pounds of salad, so I guess it met his approval.

After watching a movie we headed to the Thai Restaurant and Rose City Liquor. We ordered up an assortment of food at ChaBa Thai - Angel Wings, Pad King Sod, Pad Thai and Green Curry.

He thought the liquor store was a big improvement over what he's used to - he said the selection was about four times what he was used to. The down side - he gets a 10% discount at his store with his newly minted Army ID and we don't get that here - didn't matter though, I was paying.

I'd needed to make a trip to the liquor store anyway, so of course he didn't have to twist my arm to get me to stop. I picked up a bottle of the usual Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth. I was getting low on bitters and was delighted to see that in addition to the usual Angostura and Peychaud Bitters; they were now carrying Fee Brother's Bitters! I also grabbed some more Angostura Bitters and a bottle of the Fee's Old Fashion Bitters.

Thai Food, Movies and Manhattans with Junior at home! - Living the good life!

Fee Brother's Manhattan
Ingredients:
1 Dash Fee's Old Fashion Bitters
1 Oz Sweet Vermouth
1 1/2 Oz Whiskey
Directions:
Stir with ice. Strain into a 3 oz cocktail glass.
Garnish: Cherry

This was a good starting point - but these folks are in business to sell bitters! Use some bitters dammit! And garnish with a cherry? That will not lead to anything good. Accept no less than homemade!

These bitters have a much different flavor profile than Angostura Bitters. They have a big hit of cinnamon, hints of allspice and a big bitter taste on the palate from gentian. I really like the bitterness of the gentian in a Manhattan. I'm a bit on the fence about the cinnamon, but I really like the allspice. Not necessarilly a better Manhattan, but a nice change from the usual.

Improved Fee Brother's Manhattan
Ingredients:
3 Dashes Fee's Old Fashion Bitters
1 Oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Sweet Vermouth
1 1/2 Oz Wild Turkey Rye
1 barspoon juice from homemade maraschino cherries (1 1/2 teaspoons)
Directions:
Stir with ice. Strain into a 3 oz cocktail glass.
Garnish: 2 homemade cherries