Foss at Forty

Dear Thirties,
You were so very, very good to me. You will be remembered so very fondly.
Love,
Phillip

If I had the time right now, I might reminisce here.
But I don’t.
Even if there are many good stories to be told… Brazilian authorities, terrorist attacks, jilted spouses, so on and so forth…. But not now.
If there may be one resolution I can make going into my next decade in this game of life, it will be to say that my 40′s should be a more mellow variety of exciting. All in all, I’m bona fide stoked in many facets to how it looks like the 40′s are going to get started, but that’s as far as I’m elaborating on that.

The concept of my 40th birthday party is 3 fold.

1. I’m the guest bartender at Pop’s for Champagne.
2. Since this is the final day of the Jewish holiday of Purim, I thought about a costume party. This in turn opened up the possibility of rubbing shoulders with Chicago’s fine food critics with whom it may be deemed inappropriate to meet under non-costumed pretenses.
3. Finally the idea of pairing my signature drinks with the miracle fruit came into my head. Then I had a mini conversation on Twitter with Homaro Cantu on the subject. Next day I received an email from Charles Lee of mberry,who stated that he wanted to donate some of the product. So here we are.

The party should be able to hold it’s own to Art Smith’s 50th birthday party going on earlier in the evening. If not, I will take back the above resolution and start getting less mature as fast as I can.

Below are the drinks and above is an open invitation for all who may wish to join in the festivities. All guests in costume will receive 4 mberry packs (while supplies last) to take home that evening.

The first 2 drinks were designed with John Kinder of Death’s Door Spirits to pair with the miracle fruit. The other 2 are The Hummer (I take all blame for the name) which was designed with Adam Seeger of Hum Spirits, and the final one is this crazy concoction of cachaça, guarana, cocoa, cinnamon, and condensed milk. I remember (in the vague sense) getting wacky on this on the streets of Bahia during Carnivale.

Ok, maybe time for one story from the Carnivale. I think it was the 3rd day, and I was in the middle of the madness when I had one girl I had just met pulling my arm in one direction. About a minute later 4 more girls saw me and started pulling the other way. A tug of war ensued and the 4 girls easily won and we started dancing. A minute later the single girl jumped back out of the crowd, grabbed me, and we lived happily ever after (for that evening). I don’t foresee anything like this happening to me in my forties.

The Pickled Tongue
Served with Mberry – Death’s Door Gin, Cucumber, Yuzu, Koval Ginger Liqueur, Powdered Pineapple

Berry Balsamic
Served with Mberry – Strawberry & Rare Tea Cellars Pu-erh Infused Death’s Door Vodka, Balsamic Vinegar, Black Pepper

The Hummer
Sparkling Wine, Hum Botanical Spirits, Pomegranate, Aloe Nectar, Wet Kiss

Brazilian Capeta
Cachaça, Guarana, Condensed Milk, Cocoa