Closing out the year and a visit to Ybor City
Heading into the new year there were three pieces I’d hoped to have finished. As of now I’ve hit one out of three, and if you’re wondering how the other two are going, well I’m currently in a coffee shop updating my Substack instead. Sorry, editors! Hopefully I’ll have them written if not published by the time 2021 runs out.
The one I do have out is about visiting Ybor City, the old Latin Quarter in Tampa, Florida, that was once the world’s center of cigar production. Today there’s just one significant factory remaining, the hybrid hand-and-machine operation from J. C. Newman, but the city as a whole is a throwback pocket of thriving cigar culture, a last holdout against the no-fun Michael Bloombergs of the world. Read about it here.
I’ve admittedly been slacking in the publishing department over the past few months, but I do have a few exciting things coming up in 2022. The big one, of course, is my cocktail book with Brett Adams. We started sketching out the concept before the pandemic and now it’s finally all but finished, with just a few last details to attend to. The early illustrations I’ve seen look fantastic too. We wouldn’t have taken on the book if we didn’t think we had something unique to add to the existing literature and I’m really excited about how it’s turned out. It’s too early to reveal the details, but I can say now that if you enjoy or aspire to making cocktails at home, I think you’ll find it a very useful addition to your library.
I’m also looking forward to contributing a long essay (already completed!) to the debut issue of Free Society, a new quarterly magazine from the Cato Institute. This will come out in print and digital in March, and you can follow the publication on Twitter now. And the third thing is… well, you’ll just have to wait a bit longer on that one.
I want to hear from you though. For the past couple years I’ve asked readers what I should write about in the year ahead and received some good ideas in response. Is there something you think I should cover? Reach out and let me know.
Social distancing
To gift: It’s getting late to shop for physical gifts, but if you’re open to a digital subscription, I’m happy to recommend and write for Arc Digital and Liberal Currents. They’re both consistently thoughtful publications that have also given me opportunities to do some of my best work, and they’re small enough that support from new readers can really make a difference in their growth. You can support Arc Digital on Substack or Liberal Currents on Patreon. Subscriptions would also make great gifts for yourself!
To listen: I’ve had a solid winter of getting back to concerts and a real standout was local Oregon band Joseph. I was a fan before but after seeing them live I’ve had them playing non-stop. Their “Requests Only Tour” is just what it sounds like, with the set list determined by request at each show and the music stripped down to a single guitar, which is more than enough to accompany the sisters’ incredible harmonies. The tour resumes in March, but you can get a feel for it on their excellent Trio Sessions album too.
To drink: Sometimes you come up with the perfect name for a cocktail before you know if the recipe will work. Planning for a holiday cocktail party last weekend, I was looking at both an excess of apple brandy and a dusty old bottle of Zwack that I’ve been trying to use up. Zwack is an obscure but delicious Hungarian herbal liqueur that comes in an annoyingly round bottle that takes up a lot of shelf space. It was time to clear it out. I figured its spice notes could work in a wintry cocktail, maybe something with apple brandy, like a Jack Rose… Oh, of course, a Zwack Rose. Luckily this is one of those drinks that came together on the first try:
1 1/2 oz apple brandy
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Zwack
1/2 of grenadine
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe, optionally garnished with a twist of lemon peel.
A favor
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