Jazz Appreciation Month, April Fools and Your Weekend Tiki Cocktail, The Stinger

Duke Ellington's Orchestra
Duke Ellington's Orchestra

Here ye, Here ye, utmost Jazz-appreciating hipsters and hipsterettes; knock your lobes to the groove I’m layin’ down on you, as this is

Jazz Appreciation Month,

The 30 days on the calendar when you can truly appreciate good music.

Huh?

Ok, what we’ve really got here is a month dedicated to all the swingin’ kats, past and present, who’ve taken a tune and bent it into one of America’s true original styles of music. It’s to remind us of some of the great tunes and players we may have forgotten, and to let the younger kids get hip to the swing…because as the Master himself said, It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.

The Stinger
The Stinger

To go along with your appreciation of Jazz, here’s one of the cocktails I find to be perfect to sip tunes by.

The Stinger.

Short and to the point. Not a fancy Tiki cocktail, not a pretentious apple Martini, just..The Stinger.

1 1/2 oz good quality Brandy (I prefer Courvoisier)
1/2 oz White Creme de Menthe

This seems simple but like all true cocktails, it must be built with care. Too much Brandy and it will taste dull and lifeless. Too much Creme de Methe and you’ll have a sickeningly sweet drink that tastes like a candy cane. Don’t use Green Creme de Menthe…that’s for Grasshoppers and ice cream parfaits.

This is the wrong kind of stinger.
This is the wrong kind of stinger.

Add the booze to a shaker with ice and shake. Serve straight up in an old fashioned glass, or on the rocks (I prefer rocks). No garnish. This is the kind of drink you sip when sitting in a basement bar in the Village, listening to some kats wailing on a pipehorn or banging the keys to some smooth, east coast Jazz. Asking for a Courvoisier Stinger in a jazz club like that will get you a lot of respect from the bartender and a real shot at the brunette with the peakaboo haircut and the four inch stilettos (assuming you travel in a time machine back to 1955).

More Jazz

When I first started this B-Lounge I added a Jazz 101 page for kats and kittens who wanted to learn a little more about the greatest music on Earth, but didn’t know where to start. Check it out just for fun here. There’s also a suggested playlist of some of the greatest jazz and swing tunes ever recorded…not a comprehensive list by any means, but a good start for people who want to dig it.

Peter Gunn, 1957
Peter Gunn, 1957

I’ll post a few spotlights on Jazz musicians this month, so stay tuned, kids.

-Tiki “Zoot” Pinto reporting from the sound booth at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar, Florida

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