Cocktail Photomicrography

A lab at Florida State University has been taking photos of cocktails at the microscopic level. In addition to the colorful, crystalline formations, they've included useful recipes and fun facts. The Long Island Iced Tea, for instance, "usually gets us commode-hugging drunk." Sounds like a good party school. See images here:

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cocktails/index.html

You can even buy them as posters!

Cocktail Recipe: The BP

After several failed attempts, I have concocted a drink in honor of the Gulf oil well disaster. This is not a celebratory cocktail, although the flow has currently been stopped. But with massive amounts of oil and dispersants still swirling around out there, this is the kind of drink that you drink because things are really, really bad.

It’s strong and sweet. The egg whites give it a frothy texture, and a faintly off odor. And it leaves a scum behind.

The BP

1 shot gold rum

½ shot Kahlua

White of an egg, or 2 tablespoons pasteurized egg whites

Combine with ice in a shaker. Shake thoroughly, strain, top with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Palomar Pipeline Delayed Indefinitely

When the Bradwood Landing LNG project was cancelled, the folks behind the Palomar Pipeline, which would have linked Bradwood to the existing natural gas pipeline system, claimed to be moving forward. All along, they had insisted that the pipeline and the LNG terminal were two separate projects. But now they are citing Bradwood's bankruptcy as a major reason for putting Palomar on what I am guessing will be a permanent hiatus.

The Palomar Pipeline was an environmental nightmare. Here's hoping competitor Oregon LNG's pipeline follows it into Oregon's fascinating mausoleum of terrible ideas that never saw the light of day.

Photo: Mount Hood, where a new natural gas pipeline will NOT be cutting a swath of destruction.

Reindeer's Tears

The other day I was sitting in a bar with some friends, drinking a vodka and cranberry. One of my friends said, "Oh, you got a reindeer's tears."

No one else had ever heard the drink called that before. She used to live in Alaska- I think that's where she got it.

Looking it up online, I found several variations on the recipe, but none was just a vodka-cran. In fact, a reliable-looking account said the whole thing was a Finnish joke: you pour a shot of vodka, put in a single cranberry, then drink the vodka. The cranberry adds nothing.

At any rate, it always seemed to me that vodka and cranberry should have a name. And I'm sure there are plenty of sad reindeer out there, what with the global warming and all.

Photo: Ironically, it makes a good summer drink.