S24 got his room assignment at UMd. Makes it a bit more real for him. It’s tiny of course like the one they used to show on the tour (a comically small room to show prospective students)
Some of the room essentials have arrived. Fan, Kuerig, DampRid, shower caddy, flops, etc. After they had mold issues in ~2019 they started upgrading A/C and even put dehumidifiers in some dorm rooms. We think he has one…
He’s “done” with high school…he made that clear…but slowly getting into college mode. Have to still prompt him to reach out to his roommate about what to bring. Hasn’t ordered anything himself yet.
I am thinking Colorado School of Mines - the kayak park in Clear Creek is RIGHT there, so I could see a student who loves whitewater to be excited for that kind of access!
@NiceUnparticularMan have you gone down the rice-washing rabbit hole yet? I’ve been using sushi rice of late for Negronis, Boulevardiers, even regular martinis. I was skeptical but it definitely yields a smoother, creamier texture, and also removes a degree of ‘edge’ for lack of a better term.
Also been playing with one we call the Clouseau. Equal parts vodka, fresh grapefruit, Lillet blanc, and St Germain.
OK, amazing guess you are RIGHT he is going to Mines and he is a whitewater instructor after school and during summers BUT we are nowhere near driving distance! We live many states away. No kayak, not even the so-called mini play boat one (a ridiculous safety hazard IMO), is going with him to school. But he has yet to accept that reality…
Shopping for college stuff has begun, courtesy of Prime Day. D24 is slowly getting ready, making lists. She’s busy with her lifeguarding job but that ends in two weeks so we’re putting off most prep until she has more time to devote to it. We fly out 4 weeks from today and she moves in the following Monday. We’ve received lots of supportive info from her college, including links to Zoom info sessions for students and families -covering every topic from advising, housing to student health and wellness. She has her roommate (chosen after becoming friends in the Instagram group) and their room assignment (fairly large double with bathroom down the hall), and soon will receive her course schedule. It’s happening fast now.
S24 got his roommate for the early up/early down and sub-free. He likes to mess with me and told me he texted him at 2:30am. It was true, but he was visiting another country and it was afternoon there. Seems he’s on rowing team and also likes to go to the gym early. I guess they did about as well as you could there, in a dorm that shares bathroom with one other double.
Then signed us up for new family welcome in London at Rose & Crown Pub for youngest. Still can’t believe we’re doing this! Having a family member ship all the clothes to hotel after we leave and then strategizing a Target pickup order on arrival. Not quite what he had planned originally, but making it work. He’s happy for a couple weeks in London before starting.
No, but I have been meaning to try it. I am somewhat concerned it may actually undermine some of what I like about cocktails, but I am always game for experimentation and I do wonder if I should revisit some cocktails I didn’t much like.
Oh, speaking of which, it is after noon here so I feel comfortable sharing my first suggestion!
For background, this is a variation on a cocktail I believe I had in a bar once (there are a lot of cocktail memories with that sort of imprecision, funny enough) called a Kiss the Boys Goodbye, which supposedly was a WWII-era invention (hence the name).
For what I am tentatively calling a Kiss Your College-Bound Kid Goodbye, I played around with ratios and tried to make it easier to pull together with different ingredients people might have, including substitution suggestions. And without further ado . . . .
.75 oz London Dry gin
.75 oz Lemon juice
.5 oz Bombay Bramble gin (can substitute sloe gin or try other “pink” gins)
.5 Cognac (or any barrel-aged brandy)
.25 oz Orgeat (or maple syrup, or simple syrup)
1 dropper of bitters (I used my Ginger bitters, but Angostura or similar is fine)
Optional: one egg white
Directions: If using the egg white, combine all ingredients except bitters in a shaker without ice, and “dry shake” for 15-20 seconds or so. Then add ice to shaker and shake another 10-15 seconds. Strain into a coupe (or lowball glass, or that Flintstones Movie mug you got from McDonalds, or whatever). When the foam sets up, garnish with the bitters. You can try to make it look like a heart. I got something that, in a strange coincidence, looked like Fred Flintstone’s hair.
If not using the egg white, just combine all ingredients in the shaker with ice, shake for 20 seconds, and strain.
It’s definitely worth the experimentation, and agreed it’s not “all good” across the board. What’s interesting is that it’s added another dimension for me when choosing what to have. Sometimes I’ll want a washed Negroni, sometimes not. Kind of like rocks vs up, substituting one ingredient for another, that sort of thing.
Ha! My guess was because my sister lives there, so I am pretty familiar with the area- she actually has a tenant that is there specifically for creek access and the unit has kayak storage. She’s right at downtown so Mines is on her dog walking route.
ETA I wonder if Mines has an equipment rental option (and if not, I’m sure he can find a way to kayak while there!)
Strangely enough, it also works the other way around–make lots of cocktails at home, lots of exciting shopping trips!
Anyway I tried making sure people would not mind having a bottle of any of that stuff lying around. Bombay Bramble is a little esoteric although actually a nice summer bottle since you can just add some to lemonade (which is an instant Bramble cocktail, hence the name), or of course tonic (best with a bit of lemon or lime too in my view).
Orgeat is also a little off the beaten path but it is my favorite sweetener. Also works well for coffee and such. But I did try this with maple syrup as an alternative and it was quite good too. In fact, maple sort of evokes a hint of the approaching fall, so maybe that should actually be the primary suggestion . . . .
I’m glad that my personal mixologist, aka GothamDad, is not on CC. He would definitely do this for his beloved Negronis and then save the rice until he had enough to attempt to make sushi. I do not dream of GothamDad’s !
Would you share your Clouseau recipe? It sounds delicious.
It’d be some very boozy sushi! Of course now I may try that.
The good news is that the Clouseau is very simple in that the 4 ingredients are equal parts.
-vodka of your choice
-Lillet Blanc
-St Germain (elderflower)
-grapefruit juice (fresh if you can find it)
1oz of each keeps it simple, if large
I usually shake over ice then drink it up in a pre-frozen martini glass or coupe, though of late I’ve added the rice-washing process.
Basically, when the 4 ingredients are in your shaker but before you add ice, stir 2 tsps of sushi rice in vigorously for about a minute, then strain out the rice. Then add ice, shake, and pour.
He can also prop his door open. This is a typical practice to allow kids to poke their head in, chat, etc. I assume there is a common area in dorm for gathering as well.
We have encouraged our son to socialize within the dorm and clubs and then left room selection to him as well. To our surprise, he was excited about a double and a random selection of dorm mate.
Inspired by the suggestion, I found this article and I thought it did a really nice job explaining what is happening when you rice wash:
Key passages:
Why Does Rice-Washing Smooth Out a Cocktail?
These effects are all due to the rice’s starch, which captures volatile compounds such as methanol and propanol, which give alcohol its boozy taste, as well as aromatic esters and aldehydes. “Removing” these compounds from the equation allows us to notice other aromas and flavors in the cocktail, similar to the way a couple of drops of water in a glass of neat whiskey “opens it up”.
The rice starch also lends body and haze because the starch molecules floating in the drink disrupt how light passes through the cocktail.
And for the record, I just spent $1 extra (a WHOLE dollar!) for the sushi rice that came in a resealable container and not a bag, thinking that would be a better thing to keep in my bar.
It’s sort of interesting. To my palate it does two things:
A) Gives the drink a creamier mouth feel or texture
B) Removes a degree of edge from the flavor profile
‘A’ would seem to indicate that the rice is leaving something behind. Some starch I’d guess? And the drink certainly look a touch cloudier than otherwise.
‘B’ would seem to indicate that the rice it taking something away. And indeed if rice washing a large enough batch you can actually measure the volume left behind (in a 4oz drink it might only be say .1oz?)
Google has all sorts of opinions on what exactly is being taken away. Some people say a degree of bitterness though it’s not quite precisely that IMO. But something like that, hence my use of the word ‘edge.’ Articles point to various specific chemicals/compounds of what it is that’s being captured/removed.
And per my comment to NUM it’s not always something I prefer, even in the same drink. More like just another thing I get to choose.
Also, I’ve gotten increasingly into “the process” I kind of like doing it because it’s simple/mindless and adds to the zen of it all
you are RIGHT he is going to Mines and he is a whitewater instructor after school and during summers BUT we are nowhere near driving distance! We live many states away. No kayak, not even the so-called mini play boat one (a ridiculous safety hazard IMO), is going with him to school. But he has yet to accept that reality…
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