In the late 16th century, English soldiers in Holland discovered Genever after witnessing its effect on their allies. Nicknamed ‘Dutch Courage’, they brought it back to England. Genever ultimately became gin for convenience. In 1689, William of Orange banned all spirit imports from France which resulted in the restrictive Distillers Charter being lifted. This gave British citizens the right to make their own gin and increased the spirit’s popularity.

--10815--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

By the beginning of the 18th century, gin had become the national drink of England. Between 1600 and 1730, the annual production of gin rose from half a million to five million gallons. An official commission in 1750 reported that one fifth of London houses were gin shops. By this point, taxes on the spirit were so low that a pint of gin was in fact cheaper than a pint of beer. England was then producing 20 million gallons of gin a year.

--10816--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

The classic Gin and Tonic was developed by middle class British civil servants in the 19th century who were sent off to serve the Empire in exotic and mosquito-ridden places.

--10817--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

Quinine in the tonic helped ward off malaria, while gin made the drink more palatable.


--10818--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

Ironically, Prohibition gave the greatest possible stimulus to the social acceptance of gin. In the 1920’s, although illegal, gin experienced a renaissance among the jazz listening, pleasure-seeking inhabitants ofthe booming cities in the United States. Gin became "respectable" in 1933 with the passing of the 21st Amendment that ended Prohibition. Once again, England’s superior gins graced bars all across America.

--10819--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

This ties beer into gin.... about the style of beer called "Porter"

Porter was born in the early 1700's, the world's first mass-produced beer, developed in London during the Industrial Revolution, in which England led the world. Developed to accommodate the consumers taste for hoppier beers imported from other cities in England, and to combat the gin-drinking problem in the working class. The idea was to mass-produce a beer so it could be sold as cheaply as gin, and yet it would not be as 'dangerous' as gin. Only the bigger brewers in London were able to brew porter because it required a large capital investment, most notably the fact that it had to be aged for at least 6 months. Porter died out for a while, all present-day porters are mere revivals, not exact representations of what porter actually was, because no one really knows. The consensus amongst present-day brewers is that porters are dark (but not black), medium-bodied, well-hopped, well-aged, and fairly strong.

--10820--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

finally, my favorite Gin drink... an extra dry Martini...

Extra Dry Martini Recipe
* 2 1/4 oz. Gin
* 1/4 oz. dry Vermouth
* Olive or Zest

1. Chill stemmed glass by filling it with ice. Set aside.

2. Fill mixing glass 1/4 with ice.

3. Pour base first, then liquor into mixing glass.

4. Holding mixing glass with fingers closed at base, and stir. Hold the barspoon by helix, and roll it back and forth between and index fingers for about 3 to 4 seconds. Gently remove barspoon.

5. Remove ice from chilled glass.

6. Using spring strainer over the mouth of mixing glass, strain into glass.

7. Garnish

--10821--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

As of late I have noted a disturbing trend of putting a martini (either vodka or gin) over rocks at the bars...

No matter what anybody says... that is NOT a Martini and they should be promptly consumed and "proper" drink ordered.

--10822--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

Oh... and anything that is called something like a "chocolate martini" or the like is just an excuse for ruining a perfectly good drink by those with no taste

--10823--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

OK... time to go, I need to get some sleep

--10824--

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

oh, before I go.... stats for the thread...

--10825--

PIXIES "ONE MILLION THREAD END CALCULATOR
-Toast

start time: 5/9/03 9:59 PM
reply goal: 1,000,000
current time: 7/25/03 11:19 PM
reply count: 10,825

still needed: 989,175 replies
elapsed time: 77 days 1 hours 20.0 minutes

reply rate: 140.5 replies/day
OR 5.85 replies/hour
OR 0.098 replies/minute

time to goal: 10,139,386 minutes
OR 168,990 hours
OR 7,041 days
OR 19.3 years

est. achievement date: 11/4/22 5:05 AM

__________________
-Toast-
"It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit - but none to be offended by them." -- Johnny Hart ("BC", cartoonist, 2000)
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog: Nobody really enjoys it and the frog generally dies as a result." -- E. B. White

GO Milktoast!!!

Let's speed it up Pixies...

10,826 (hit the hyperdrive button NOW)

__________________
Life is too short not to love and be loved....preferably multiple times in one night.

I think men talk to women so they can sleep with them and women sleep with men so they can talk to them. ~ Jay McInerney

10,827
Hey All! I'm back for some smurfin...no Muppets tonight MT sorry.

__________________
"Only the united beat of sex and heart together can create ecstasy" ~Anaïs Nin


"The full moon is calling, the fever is high.
And the wicked wind whispers and moans.
You got your demons, you got desires
Well, I got a few of my own"
~The Eagles

10,828

Ok..more intro to make....

COOK SMURF

You can’t miss him with his tall white hat and apron. And his house is always the source of the delicious smell of hot bread, muffins, pies and sweets. Needles to say, he is a “cordon bleu”


Baker

__________________
"Only the united beat of sex and heart together can create ecstasy" ~Anaïs Nin


"The full moon is calling, the fever is high.
And the wicked wind whispers and moans.
You got your demons, you got desires
Well, I got a few of my own"
~The Eagles

10,829


GREEDY
Eat, eat, eat. Everything is tasty: sarsaparilla, soup, cheese, fruit. But what he really prefers are the goodies he often steals from Cook Smurf. His motto: “One should live to smurf, and not smurf to live”


Greedy

__________________
"Only the united beat of sex and heart together can create ecstasy" ~Anaïs Nin


"The full moon is calling, the fever is high.
And the wicked wind whispers and moans.
You got your demons, you got desires
Well, I got a few of my own"
~The Eagles