Pass. I’ve seen the Internet cocktails about the pool. None of them read like they’d taste good (and the Fruit-Roll Up one wouldn’t work.) I don’t make visual cocktails; my drinks are meant to be drunk.
Agreed! Not just about the fruit roll-up bit (meant to be seen, not to drink). You came to mind as someone who would make a superior cocktail, shine a light on it in the promo photo, but it would be drinkable and delicious.
I was reading the recipe and trying to make sense of mixing coffee and banana. And then I was remind Kahlua exists and is definitely not bad at all. And we always gave my grandparents a new bottle every Christmas until they went from silently hating us to overtly hating us.
But here's the question: What kind of flavor do the fronds bring? I mean, everything you add brings a flavor--citrus peel, fruit, herbs, olives even. I fear that the fronds would just taste of grass.
The problem with those cocktails is that they’re mostly visual and won’t actually taste good. The Fruit Roll-Up one, for example, won’t dissolve into chunks.
Well, the rest of it, I believe, is pineapple juice and rum. I don't know what that tastes like, since I don't actually drink. But if the Fruit Roll-Up just sits there on the bottom of the glass, presumably some of the flavor would bleed into the rest of the drink--would it be too sweet?
My daughters are visiting and we just made a batch of the margaritas posted a couple of weeks ago. They screwed up the first one and it had twice as much mezcal as called for and twice as much lime to make up for it. It was still delicious.
I buy the gin I use on a leg of lamb at Total Wine. We don't drink here, but I like the jumper flavor for roasting lamb, and I only need an ounce or two.
Banana is a fun flavor that bartenders are playing with a lot these days. A small amount of banana liquor can sweeten a drink without reading like banana.
Oops, pineapple a no no. I do have some Mount Gay rum (and some Goslings!), but I have to hurry back out to the garden with Mrs. Toomush's Extra-Stout Guinness, so, maybe just some ice and lime?...See ya!
I do not at all qualify as a rum guy anything like Hooper does but I’d pick Smith and Cross navy strength.
It’s not what I’d call subtle. But the few cheaper rums I’ve tried I just find a little too sweet. That stuff, I dunno anyone would ever accuse it of that.
Snip points off pineapple fronds! The edges are sharp too.
After 20 years, the spousal unit threw out our pineapple plant. She tired of it biting her leg when she got too close. Damned thing was more than 6’ across and never produced a pineapple.
For the cucumber gimlet from a few weeks ago, I really enjoyed it but found that adding ice cubes both made it more refreshing and tamped down the raw sweetness/acidity. Thoughts?
Thanks for the Gorilla Monsoon explainer. I'm a wrestling fan but not as much of a historian as I would like to be. I always wondered what his deal was.
The recent developments regarding Belarus are noteworthy. First, Lukashenko publicly apologized to Ukraine and President Zelenskyy for Belarus‘ role in Russia’s war of aggression. Then he turns off the repeaters which Russia has been using for drone attacks in Ukraine‘s north.
Two classic episodes of the Smurfs, my favorite cartoon. In the first, Clumsy gets bit by a purple fly and turns angry and purple and bounces around saying "GNU GNU". Papa has to make several concoctions to save them.
The second episode marks the arrival of Baby Smurf, who Papa explains to Brainy (I hate Brainy). In it, the stork who delivered Baby returns with a note saying his delivery was a mistake. Grouchy (my favorite) absconds with Baby before Baby is returned. However, because it's the Smurfs, there's a happy ending. It's a great episode for Grouchy.
Amy Klobuchar refusing to tell an artisanal Al Franken joke, 'When most people think of a cruise that's full of shit, they think of Carnival. But we think of Ted.'
In spite of all his baggage - back in the day when he was running for Senate - my Mom who live in Minnesota worked a phone bank for the campaign. Al's wife Annie had come in and brought cookies she had baked for all the volunteers.
It seems that Karma has roosted in the Fucktater's biggly 250 State Fair. All the ice cream melted and by the accounts that I've read the word used most is "boring". Oh, and the turn out has been HOOGE! And by HOOGE I mean piddling to sparse. Even the red hat idiots aren't coming to his BIGGLY HOOGE BORING party.
Is that a surprise? It's fucking JULY next week. There is always obnoxious heat and humidity in DC in July. I'm 70, and I can remember only ONE Independence Day when it wasn't obnoxiously hot and humid in July, and that was a freak event.
We either get heat and humidity so high you melt, or a ferocious thunderstorm that cancels everything. But that one year in the early 90's it was 75F and sunny but cool and breezy, and lovely. There's a big thing every 4th down at the Gateway Arch grounds in downtown St. Louis, right on the Mississippi riverfront, and it's normally too hot to go, but I went that year and got to see Ringo Starr performing. That was a great day.
With an event like this, held in DC, you need to promote it for some time if you want people from outside the DC area to show up. I imagine the only people there are associated with the state exhibits and their family members and were going to be there anyway.
Oh! You mean the big trucks with all the flags a flyin' and truck nuts a hangin'? Some of those trucks even burn diesel so they can "roll coal"! How much does it cost to fill up one of those bad boyz?
My mom, from the comfort of watching it on Fox News, thinks the state info booths are great, and is looking forward to a record setting fireworks display on the 4th. These things aren't for people to show up to, they're for Fox News viewers to think everything is great.
She illustrates some of the weirder quirks of Trump cultists, though. Yesterday she told me that she was taking a nap while Trump spoke, because it's easy for her to fall asleep when he's talking, because he always says the same things. But, while talking to me, her traitor socialist son, she still felt the need to temper that with how much she loves Trump and what he's doing. A criticism of Trump, however mild, cannot stand on its own. It must be accompanied by praise.
On Thiel's Puppet’s contention that Watergate was no big deal...
"That’s a fuckload of criminality, right there. None of what Nixon pulled was trivial and the entire country was horrified.
That Donny’s doubleplusfuckload of crime makes all of Nixon’s shit seem like a walk in the park is not the flex that Couchfuck McGee thinks it is. It means that something has gone seriously wrong with our country."
I’ll say this about her. I’ve never heard anyone master the art of the scoff like her. The visual contempt, the volume of the utterance, the completely dismissive attitude, it’s impressive to witness.
If she doesn't become a consultant teaching those skills to aspiring business executives she can always teach an elective course on them in the communications department at the local junior college.
I noted earlier that we've heard from family there.
The Venezuelan government has no excavation or rescue equipment on hand because all of it was sold off to enrich Chavista kleptocrats (especially Diosdado Cabello in the Assemblea Nacional to pay off his collectivo thugs). El Salvador (!) has sent some, but the major help is coming from Mexico.
The Guardia Nacional & Caracas police are evacuating people from their homes. And looting them.
The aftershocks are continuing.
The US is nowhere to be found. Thoughts & prayers from L'il Marco while he continues to mind Trump's mess in Iran.
Working questions here.
Mr. Hooper, a challenge: create a drink to make folks think of the current state of the Reflecting Pool!
Pass. I’ve seen the Internet cocktails about the pool. None of them read like they’d taste good (and the Fruit-Roll Up one wouldn’t work.) I don’t make visual cocktails; my drinks are meant to be drunk.
Agreed! Not just about the fruit roll-up bit (meant to be seen, not to drink). You came to mind as someone who would make a superior cocktail, shine a light on it in the promo photo, but it would be drinkable and delicious.
I feel kinda dumb and I have a question, Hooper.
I was reading the recipe and trying to make sense of mixing coffee and banana. And then I was remind Kahlua exists and is definitely not bad at all. And we always gave my grandparents a new bottle every Christmas until they went from silently hating us to overtly hating us.
But here's the question: What kind of flavor do the fronds bring? I mean, everything you add brings a flavor--citrus peel, fruit, herbs, olives even. I fear that the fronds would just taste of grass.
The fronds are completely decorative and don’t add flavor.
I was hoping that you'd put your own spin on the Reflecting Pool Cocktail.
You have probably seen a few. There's one on Facebook with a blue Fruit Roll-Up at the bottom--absolutely hilarious.
I'd like to see what your creative mind could come up with.
The problem with those cocktails is that they’re mostly visual and won’t actually taste good. The Fruit Roll-Up one, for example, won’t dissolve into chunks.
Early 2000's ads taught us all that Fruit Roll-Ups weren't for eating: https://youtu.be/lFec91eA1DY?is=J7ERnFQ1RCQ-rGG1
They look like a sort of jolly field dressing.
Well, the rest of it, I believe, is pineapple juice and rum. I don't know what that tastes like, since I don't actually drink. But if the Fruit Roll-Up just sits there on the bottom of the glass, presumably some of the flavor would bleed into the rest of the drink--would it be too sweet?
A quick Google tells me that Fruit Roll Ups are mostly sugar, corn syrup, and pear purée, so… yeah.
My daughters are visiting and we just made a batch of the margaritas posted a couple of weeks ago. They screwed up the first one and it had twice as much mezcal as called for and twice as much lime to make up for it. It was still delicious.
Dont drive after drinking that. Avoid swallowing the worm!
Aye, mis amigos. It's lick, shoot and suck.
Salt, tequila and lime.
Isn't that just a double?
No. It had tequila in it, too. We got the proportions all wrong.
That IS the curse of Tequila.
*dances*
I mean, it would work for me.
In fact, it may become the forever recipe.
🙃🙃🙃
"One of my fellow bartenders comes into Hemingways on Tuesdays just to squeeze limes for the week"
How long does it take to squeeze limes for the week?
How long does it take to squeeze a day's worth of limes?
I am slow, but I want to make sure I'm using fresh -- so I'm just trying to do a time gauge
😊
(thank you for your attention to this matter 🤭)
For us, it takes an hour or so using a commercial juicer. For you, the relevant question is: how much lime juice do you intend to use?
Depends on if you're hand squeezing or using a citrus juicer.
I have a new hand juicer that I hope will take less time than the lemon reamer
(where I also still have to fish out the seeds)
I tried for a lemon reamer joke, but I'm tired, boss.
It's been a loooooong week
* hands you a drink *
I'll put it next to the drink I'm havin' right now. :)
I didn't even know banana liquor existed.
But that is why I come here.
I larn me sumptin' new every dern day!
If it exists, human beings have tried to ferment it to help open the doors of advanced mental ineptitude.
these things litter the ground everywhere in San Antonio.
https://www.totalwine.com/liqueurs-cordials-schnapps/fruit/99-bananas-liqueur-50ml/p/94762050-1?glia=true&src=plia:Shopping+US+None+ENG+SPART:::google&s=503
I buy the gin I use on a leg of lamb at Total Wine. We don't drink here, but I like the jumper flavor for roasting lamb, and I only need an ounce or two.
👍👍👍👍 People are particular about their tequila
This is the first time I've ever been interested in banana liquor. I'm going to find some of the recommended stuff!
Banana is a fun flavor that bartenders are playing with a lot these days. A small amount of banana liquor can sweeten a drink without reading like banana.
Do you find the glass with the angry face results in more better tipping for your fellow slingers?
That's another buck from me.
Certainly.
I mean that in the kindest way. I slang for a decade.
Oops, pineapple a no no. I do have some Mount Gay rum (and some Goslings!), but I have to hurry back out to the garden with Mrs. Toomush's Extra-Stout Guinness, so, maybe just some ice and lime?...See ya!
"Extra-Stout Guinness..." Over cornflakes.
I just said yesterday that the Extra is the only way to go.
I never realized how low Guinness is on the ABV.
Most stouts are. A lot of the malt stays uneaten by the yeast.
This is the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.
*buurrrrrppphhhhfffff*
*hic*
Wwha?
😉
If you have to have one bottle of rum on hand what is it?
Really tough question. I’ve made multiple custom rum blends over the years; maybe one of those bottles.
I do not at all qualify as a rum guy anything like Hooper does but I’d pick Smith and Cross navy strength.
It’s not what I’d call subtle. But the few cheaper rums I’ve tried I just find a little too sweet. That stuff, I dunno anyone would ever accuse it of that.
Bicarrdi is cheap; Don Q 151 is pretty potent; Captain Morgan spiced rum is…bizarre.
Snip points off pineapple fronds! The edges are sharp too.
After 20 years, the spousal unit threw out our pineapple plant. She tired of it biting her leg when she got too close. Damned thing was more than 6’ across and never produced a pineapple.
We had Spanish bayonets at the end of our driveway in NC, you could put out an eye with those things.
Keeps the home invaders and door-to-door siding salesmen away.
A lot of Bromeliads are health hazards that way.
For the cucumber gimlet from a few weeks ago, I really enjoyed it but found that adding ice cubes both made it more refreshing and tamped down the raw sweetness/acidity. Thoughts?
Shake it harder to dilute more instead of icing it down.
WHERE DE WHITE WOMEN AT?
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh boys, lookie what I got hyah!
Thanks for the Gorilla Monsoon explainer. I'm a wrestling fan but not as much of a historian as I would like to be. I always wondered what his deal was.
A swordsman no less.
da man.
Oh, by the way, I didn't miss the pro wrestling connection, I just wasn't sure if James Marella took his nickname from this cocktail or not.
New post up.
w00t!
More handwriting on the wall, Vlad ... https://bsky.app/profile/tendar.bsky.social/post/3mpbmtutej22f
The recent developments regarding Belarus are noteworthy. First, Lukashenko publicly apologized to Ukraine and President Zelenskyy for Belarus‘ role in Russia’s war of aggression. Then he turns off the repeaters which Russia has been using for drone attacks in Ukraine‘s north.
Zelenskyy told him to take them out or “we’ll do it”, they’ve been aiding in attacks on civilians.
Two classic episodes of the Smurfs, my favorite cartoon. In the first, Clumsy gets bit by a purple fly and turns angry and purple and bounces around saying "GNU GNU". Papa has to make several concoctions to save them.
The second episode marks the arrival of Baby Smurf, who Papa explains to Brainy (I hate Brainy). In it, the stork who delivered Baby returns with a note saying his delivery was a mistake. Grouchy (my favorite) absconds with Baby before Baby is returned. However, because it's the Smurfs, there's a happy ending. It's a great episode for Grouchy.
all glasses no brains is like all hat no cattle.
https://substack.com/profile/156000689-anarchy-pony/note/c-283704822
A production of the RNC.
Spot on.
Amy Klobuchar refusing to tell an artisanal Al Franken joke, 'When most people think of a cruise that's full of shit, they think of Carnival. But we think of Ted.'
Spot on.
TV's Frank has it pretty much nailed there
When has tv's Frank ever been wrong?
I absolutely ADORE that man.
In spite of all his baggage - back in the day when he was running for Senate - my Mom who live in Minnesota worked a phone bank for the campaign. Al's wife Annie had come in and brought cookies she had baked for all the volunteers.
Al and Frannie are great people. FU forever Kirsten Gillebrand.
Are you mixing and matching TV's Frank with Al Franken?
responding to "Old Man Yells at Cloud" above - my bad
It seems that Karma has roosted in the Fucktater's biggly 250 State Fair. All the ice cream melted and by the accounts that I've read the word used most is "boring". Oh, and the turn out has been HOOGE! And by HOOGE I mean piddling to sparse. Even the red hat idiots aren't coming to his BIGGLY HOOGE BORING party.
Well, they can go reflect on their shame by the Reflecting Pool. Oh, wait ...
Perfection! That's what that is right there.
And we have big, obnoxious heat and humidity coming next week.
So the folks that will be there are gonna be all sweaty and stinky? Sounds amazing.
Is that a surprise? It's fucking JULY next week. There is always obnoxious heat and humidity in DC in July. I'm 70, and I can remember only ONE Independence Day when it wasn't obnoxiously hot and humid in July, and that was a freak event.
It was surprisingly nice at the People's Bicentennial celebration in 1976- mid 80s. Plus much, much bigger crowd and great music.
Not so surprising, no. We’ve been getting several storms on the fourth for years now, too.
We either get heat and humidity so high you melt, or a ferocious thunderstorm that cancels everything. But that one year in the early 90's it was 75F and sunny but cool and breezy, and lovely. There's a big thing every 4th down at the Gateway Arch grounds in downtown St. Louis, right on the Mississippi riverfront, and it's normally too hot to go, but I went that year and got to see Ringo Starr performing. That was a great day.
Hate Fair in an occupied military zone, what fun.
I think we should all carpool it over there and show them what an actual party looks like.
We'd all be in jail within 15 minutes.
How much fun would that be!
More fun than sex.
I'd have to agree
Plans for a "Meet Me in St Louis" style, Judy Garland type musical, starring Kash Patel and his girlfriend, have been put on hold
Even Gallbladder and STEVE wouldn't touch that one. And they booked Fukui vs. Tiny Tim!
Dance the hoochie coochie and be my tootsie wootsie.
I'm so damn glad I didn't have a mouthfull of coffee. TYVM!
And, the cherry on top, some "Uncle Sam" MAGA choad was arrested for jacking off to some circus performers. It doesn't get more Fucktater than that.
That's fucking PRICELESS! Who'd a thunk they'd be perverts. All of us?
With an event like this, held in DC, you need to promote it for some time if you want people from outside the DC area to show up. I imagine the only people there are associated with the state exhibits and their family members and were going to be there anyway.
Well, the North Carolina booth had a confederate flag, so there's that.
FFS - that's it. That's all I got. Flying the confederate flag was the perfect touch for the fucks I must say.
The state said no thanks to the high rates for booths, so some private types came to the "rescue".
Can’t afford to gas up their 4mpg maga trucks im guessing.
Oh! You mean the big trucks with all the flags a flyin' and truck nuts a hangin'? Some of those trucks even burn diesel so they can "roll coal"! How much does it cost to fill up one of those bad boyz?
More than a gross of slim jims and near beer!
It's must be getting close to $100 for one with a big tank by now.
I think they have 30 gallon tanks, diesel is over $5 easy, so $150 worth of fuel.
I've got a 2002 Buick Century with a 16 gallon tank. To fill it it wouldcost me $63.00. That $100 might be a low number.
My mom, from the comfort of watching it on Fox News, thinks the state info booths are great, and is looking forward to a record setting fireworks display on the 4th. These things aren't for people to show up to, they're for Fox News viewers to think everything is great.
I'm very sad for your mom.
She illustrates some of the weirder quirks of Trump cultists, though. Yesterday she told me that she was taking a nap while Trump spoke, because it's easy for her to fall asleep when he's talking, because he always says the same things. But, while talking to me, her traitor socialist son, she still felt the need to temper that with how much she loves Trump and what he's doing. A criticism of Trump, however mild, cannot stand on its own. It must be accompanied by praise.
I'm so sorry MRK. All the ((HUGS))
The only diff is Dick resigned before he could be prosecuted for his crimes.
𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗲𝗲: 𝗙𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳𝗳, 𝗡𝗶𝘅𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀
𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘳𝘰.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-203638533
And it was fucking REPUBLICANS who forced him to resign. Very unlike today's cowards.
Not a single American patriot among them.
Watergate? Hold my beer!
What a dick.
I could tell from the headline that would be JEFF TIEDRICH
He has a gift.
He didn’t have “immunity” from a complicit Supreme Court either.
On Thiel's Puppet’s contention that Watergate was no big deal...
"That’s a fuckload of criminality, right there. None of what Nixon pulled was trivial and the entire country was horrified.
That Donny’s doubleplusfuckload of crime makes all of Nixon’s shit seem like a walk in the park is not the flex that Couchfuck McGee thinks it is. It means that something has gone seriously wrong with our country."
Fox News is even bad at headlines:
"Woman stalked by charging bear." You can't stalk and charge at the same time.
"Bear stocking shelves, overcharges woman" . . .
"Bear charges woman for stockings"
“Woman charged by stalking bear” works.
"Woman charged by stockinged bear" would be scarier.
...unless you're into that sort of thing...
Couple of bears on here and I like those guys, so yeah
Coupla' beers and those bears get stalked.
Maybe she was stalked by a bear previously known as the "Charging Bear" because he stole credit cards, but then we need capitalization.
Good morning! How's work going?
That's a talented bear.
Smarter than the average bear, eh, Boo-Boo?
But totally criminal.
Accurate signpost showing the difference in government organization from 1776 to today.
Well, kind of. “We the People” have never had the top spot. The Myth America Pageant.
https://www.nhgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TOE.jpg
I like how they included Bondi and it is falling off XD
I’ll say this about her. I’ve never heard anyone master the art of the scoff like her. The visual contempt, the volume of the utterance, the completely dismissive attitude, it’s impressive to witness.
If she doesn't become a consultant teaching those skills to aspiring business executives she can always teach an elective course on them in the communications department at the local junior college.
Cat to bear: "GTFO!"
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/brave-cat-chases-bear-out-of-bc-backyard/
You don't mess around with Bastet.
"Locals only!"
Smart bear
"Yeah, no."
~ Bear
That is one sturdy fence.
"This is my hood you ever grown squirrel, scat"
Minute Cryptic - 27 June, 2026
"Recycle threadbare jumper" (4)
🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣
🏆 0 hints – 1 under the community par (30,768 solvers so far).
https://www.minutecryptic.com/?utm_source=share
This one was easy once I asked for the definition; I have a hard time figuring out which part is the definition.
It's almost always what I ask for
The earthquake in Venezuela was horrific. American aid is required immediately.
We broke it; we bought it, but USAID is gone and Rubio's State Dep't. is just sad that it didn't happen to Cuba.
https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/53f4b14/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5460x3640+0+0/resize/2880x1920!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fa9%2Fa2%2F0f8a44943300c902a64b9f7426b5%2F100f63c163444ac8bc75a82916176a98
Jared can bring his surveyor's tape and posts . . .
I was afraid of that. We're not going to send any help, are we. Probably just send speculators and vultures to try and capitalize
They're brown people. We don't help brown people anymore.
I noted earlier that we've heard from family there.
The Venezuelan government has no excavation or rescue equipment on hand because all of it was sold off to enrich Chavista kleptocrats (especially Diosdado Cabello in the Assemblea Nacional to pay off his collectivo thugs). El Salvador (!) has sent some, but the major help is coming from Mexico.
The Guardia Nacional & Caracas police are evacuating people from their homes. And looting them.
The aftershocks are continuing.
The US is nowhere to be found. Thoughts & prayers from L'il Marco while he continues to mind Trump's mess in Iran.
Not good.
I am SO fucking ashamed and enraged.
My inclinations toward actions ban-hammerable increase fiercely and on a daily basis.
All I can do is donate to WCD and MSF ☹️
Oh hell no, we won’t send help.
Ukrainian drone destroys a munitions factory in Moscow.
"This must strike fear into the hearts of anyone working in a military factory in Russia."
https://bsky.app/profile/twmcltd.bsky.social/post/3mpadwlkkws2m
Fly, Flamingos!
Those are plowshares now...