Dan Antion

Beer, Bourbon and Memories #SoCS

February’s beers – in honor of Barb

If we were having a beer, you would be questioning my fashion sense.

“You know, I never realized until today how much I appreciate your wearing a denim shirt or a fleece pullover over your otherwise questionable clothing choices.”

“I am wearing a fleece pullover.”

“Yes, but you normally have it zipped farther up.”

“I’m showing support for my brother’s alma mater.”

“In other words, ISU beat the stuffing out of WVU on Tuesday and you lost a bet.”

“You could say that.”

“Oooh, I like it when people lose bets. That usually results in purchases from the top shelf.”

“I lost a bet, Cheryl, but not with this old man.”

“Dang, I was hoping to breathe some life into a slow day.”

“Well, I’ll have a Corona, and I’ll buy him a round of whatever he likes.”

“Cheryl, what’s that Bourbon John Howell recommended?”

“Willet – why is that so hard for you to remember?”

“Because he never buys it for himself. I’ve seen him in the package store, buying wine in a box.”

“Number one, I happen to like that wine. Number two, it’s easy to pour, and number three, I enjoy marking time with good friends, with a glass of good Bourbon.”

“Especially…ah, what the heck. Let’s not ruin this afternoon with an old argument.”

“That’s the spirit. One Corona, frosted glass and a freshly cut lime wedge.”

“And…”

“…I know, your Bourbon ensemble is coming right up.”

“I wasn’t going to complain, but could you toss a couple of cherries in there?”

“Seriously? I mean, yes ma’am.”

“I know, but I like cherries and I don’t often get the chance to have them.”

“Here you go, Willet, with three cherries, a glass of ice and a snifter of seltzer on the side. I’d ask if you wanted to order food, but I’m not sure where I’d put the plate.”

“You’re sweet, Cheryl. Thank you.”

“You guys are my best customers, whatever keeps you coming in that door.”

“I know I’ve asked you before, but why the switch to Corona?”

“I decided to drink Corona in February as a way of remembering my sister-in-law.”

“That’s right. Do you think she’d understand your drinking a beer in her honor?”

“Yes, I do. Barb liked it when people were enjoying themselves and she liked Corona. I think she preferred Rolling Rock, but we can’t get that up here.”

“Rolling Rock. Interesting choice for a girl from Iowa.”

“Well, she was from Pittsburgh originally.”

“So why not Iron City?”

“I think they moved to Iowa before IC Light was invented. Rolling Rock was the milder choice in Pittsburgh in the 70s.”

“In other words, Iron City is awful.”

“It’s not that bad. I grew up on that stuff.”

“What was the drinking age in Pennsylvania?”

“21, but if you went into a bar and ordered a ‘draft’ they would pour you an Iron without much fuss.”

“That probably didn’t matter. It’s not like there were a lot of good beer choices back then.”

“Schlitz, Pabst, Miller and Budweiser.”

“Did you guys have Schaefer?”

“Maybe. I remember the ‘one beer to have when you’re having more than one….’ jingle. We had Duquesne – ‘Have a Duke’ – I still have a coaster from the bar where my father tended bar.”

“Your father tended bar?”

“He did, Cheryl.”

“Is that why you’re so nice to bartenders?”

“Not entirely. He raised us to be nice to everyone. But sitting at a bar does remind me of him.”

“Did that bar serve food?”

“Slim Jims and Pickled Eggs.”

“Eeeww.”

“Actually, it was a bar and grill, but the bar was open much later than the restaurant.”

“Well, your next Corona is on me, for Barb and for your dad.”

“Thanks Cheryl. I’ll take care of the old man’s next Bourbon, and you can toss in an order of wings.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks for the Bourbons. 1970s…had wings made it to Pittsburgh yet?”

“Maybe but you would have needed a bucket of them. You could probably still order chicken in wholes, halves and quarters, back then.”

“With a side of fries?”

“Yes, maybe onion rings, maybe fried mushrooms.”

“But no Bourbon.”

“Well, maybe a shot and a beer.”

I told the voices they had to behave for today’s post. Fortunately, Linda G. Hill gave us a flexible Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Click that link if you want to join in, or just see the other entries:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘in other words.’ Use the phrase at least once in your post. Have fun!”

Also, click here if you want to check in on the latest from Cheryl, the best bartender on the Internet. Some relevant stuff in the gallery, along with the fur kids. If you want to see the captions, click on any to start a slide show.

Extra-Extra – See Cheryl’s response to this prompt. You’ll love it!

WVU and ISU are both in the Big-12 now. If WVU loses, I have to wear this to work. if WVU wins, my brother wears a WVU Tee to Beer Club.
Maddie realized that Broccoli still has some stuffing in his head.
“I’m kinda cold. Do you think you guys could build a fire?”
The fire is humming and MiMi has melted.
I think I’m warm enough now, but you can toss another log on the fire.
Pinky is my favorite toy. Maddie brings it to me when she wants me to sit with her but I don’t want to sit. I can’t refuse.
“I got Pinky. Dad always sits with me when I have Pinky”
This is Lucky’s, but it’s about the size of the place my dad worked.
It’s not Willet, and the ice isn’t on the side, but there are no cherries.
Always best in bar bottles.
Have a Duke!
I’ve had this can since I was in college.

76 comments

  2. The best beer I’ve had down here is a creation at Quigleys’ Pint and Plate – peach wheat beer. Absolutely wonderful. I think I need one this weekend. :-) Nice memory of your Dad, good ribbing with your brother, and, of course, great photo of Maddie. I know your team is not playing this weekend so just maybe you could pull for the Patriots?? We’re going to a Super Bowl party here in the building on Sunday, and the Patriots are definitely the least favored. Have a good one, Dan. :-)

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Judy. This game is hard to pick. I may just watch without much interest. Peach wheat beer? Hmmm, I fo like Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. I can imagine that being pretty good. I like the name Quigley’s 🙂

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  3. Your last line reminds me of a bar in Oshkosh that I frequented when very young. It was called Beaner’s Shot and a Beer. They were close to the college campus, so….
    If you ordered a Pabst in a bottle and could rip off the blue ribbon at the top in one piece, the beer was free. We have a WI brewery called Leinenkugel’s that’s been around for a number of years. The name is funny, but it’s a popular brand with many and lemon shandy is a favorite summer brew.

    Throw another log on the fire, Dan. Mimi is cold and so am I. We’re back to the deep freeze for at least a week, just when I thought I could stop wearing the long underwear for a while.

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  4. Oh my goodness! Those beer names remind me of being a girl. Those were THE brands, weren’t they? I can still sing the Mabel, Black Label jingle for Carling beer. Truth be told, I drink Rolling Rock now, even though I could buy about a gazillion other “fancy” beers.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Rolling Rock is a pretty good beer. Fancy doesn’t matter if you have s brand you like. It must be true, because so many people drink Bud Light.

      I almost used the Black Label jingle. That was the other one I remembered.

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  5. Your fashion sense looks much like that of my husband and in winter, he wears fleeces all the time. :-) Slim Jims and picked eggs. Ewwwwwww!!! Thank goodness for better bar food these days and better beer (at least to me.) Had a lovely dark beer with coffee flavor last night. My husband had one, too, and said it was the best coffee he ever had. :-) Happy Saturday, Dan. It’s cold here with snow in the forecast for tonight through some time Monday, so we’ll see how that goes.

    janet

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  7. Sorry but I never even heard of the beer Iron City. I wasn’t much of a beer drinker anyways. As for those pictures of MiMi and Maddie …. just precious. Oh these “kids” have a way of twisting us right around their paws, don’t they? They certainly get what they want. My Cookie has invisible radar when I take my *10 minute power nap* and voila, there she is insisting I stroke her. No matter how many times I say no, not now, she gets her way. LOL Have a good day, Dan!

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  8. Okay, first of all, awwww…thanks. I love tending bar when the customers rock-like you guys. Second, no Old Fashioned is truly great with the drunk cherries. I mean that. Cherries can be good but in most bars they are the cheapest, no flavor chewy little nuggets. But a really good bourbon cherry with fresh orange slice in an Old Fashioned or even just bourbon and soda, is so good! Annnd…I accidentally found a cool thing. I hate wasting citrus peel since I love cooking with it and also there is the bourbon thing…so I usually zest them before eating if I am not using the entire fruit for presentation. Lasr time I had an orange I sliced off the peel in strips and popped in the freezer. It is so great in my drinks, helping to keep it chilled and adding the citrus flavor I love. Win, win! Oh and that tee shirt is awesome. I’l be lifting a bottle of Corona Light to your sis-in-law later. Happy Saturday Dan!

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  9. Cherries in bourbon? I actually had to look it up because I’ve never heard of it. Who knew? It’s a thing!

    … and since I’ve learned to stay away from the topic of beer with this crowd, I think it’s wise that I leave it at that 😉

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  14. Happy Saturday, Dan. “Willet, with three cherries, a glass of ice and a snifter of seltzer on the side” is intriguing, but horsefeathers, hold the pickled eggs…
    Sweet pics of Maddie with Pinkie and “melted” MiMi. Kitties do like the warm.
    Off to visit Cheryl. Hugs all around.

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  16. This was such a nice read, Dan. How is it I remember the beer jungles, but not too much about yesterday? I have two words for Sunday’s Super Bowl: Dilly Dilly! 🍺And of course, Go Pats! 🏈

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  18. Reading your bar conversations is like having a conversation with old, comfortable friends, Dan. Enough of the dialogue is the same so you feel secure and at ease; and enough is new that there are surprises and giggles. Great fun.

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  19. Iron City beer is new to me. I suppose it’s regional, given the context. I am thinking back to the beers adults had around me as a kid, and I do remember PBR and Coors, but it seems like there were also beers in silver cans with mountains on them. I also remember the tops were pull tabs, not like today.
    I’m glad I don’t have to wear sports clothes. Sometimes Indy goes blue and I’m like, “What? Oh, no thank you. Horses scare me.”

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  20. The drinking age in NJ was 21, so we’d go across state line to Staten Island NY, where it as only 18. Yay, us! I have never been a beer drinker but growing up I remember Reingold (sp??) having a beauty contest. They would print the contestants photos in the Sunday Parade section of the newspaper and you mailed in your ballot to select Miss Reingold. So weird the things you remember. Mimi and Maddie are so adorable, especially Mimi melted. Too cute!

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    • MiMi says thanks Lois. The drinking age in West Virginia was 18 but they only had 3.2 beer. It is funny the things we remember.

      My first job after college was in Piscataway, NJ. I lived in Queens. Belt Pkw-Verazono-accross Staten Island-Outerbridge into NJ. 51 miles each way 🙁

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  21. I am so out of the loop here I feel like a huge bump on the log. I don’t drink, but when I did, it was port wine. But for the beer drinkers in our home it was Rheingold and Schaefer. Not sure what the attraction was to Schaefer, but The Miss Rheingold Contests certainly worked their charm! And sold a lot of Sunday papers so you could get the ballot to cast your vote.

    Maddie and MiMi are adorable as always. I love those shots of Maddie with Pinky, and the one of her and Pinky “and the gang” all piled up looks like something you’d find in this house. MiMi in her bed (more like a padded, non-swinging hammock), ruling the roost and barking (ummm, meowing?) out orders, is too funny. Who wouldn’t love these guys!!

    Keep the home fires burning Dan…..lots of cold weather to come and we wouldn’t want MiMi to get a chill! Lol. •••Ginger •••

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    • You can always join us at the bar, Ginger. Cheryl can always pour you a seltzer. Schaefer was a hard beer to like. I just learned about the Miss Rheingold Contests from Lois in the comment before yours. That was an awful beer, but I guess it’s all about the image.

      MiMi is warm. Maddie was chasing her today so we’re not too happy with her.

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  23. Back in the late 80’s when were visiting He-Man’s parents he bought a 6 pack of Rolling Rock and brought home. We couldn’t get here back then. He never drank it. For all I know it’s still sitting in the cupboard in the garage where he put it all those years ago.

    Cheers to your Sister-in-Law’s memory, and I hope your team wins. That’s actually a neat little bet you and your brother have.

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    • Thanks Deborah. The bet makes it fun without any real stress. Bragging rights and a side of embarrassment. I’m not sure what the life expectancy of Rolling Rock is, but I’m guessing it was “best drank” about 30 years ago.

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  24. Cheers to your brother’s wife, Barb and another to your Dad! There were ways he and you found common ground which makes the memories sweeter.
    I’ve been drinking Bourbons like Manhattens and Rob Roy’s off and on since I was a a kid. Just a sip back then of my Mom or Dad’s. Extra cherries in my Dad’s and less ice and no cherry in my Mom’s. 😛
    My brother Randy saved beer cans which he opened from the bottom. . . Many! I put them in our finished basement in my last house I lived in, on a long shelf. When we moved I should have asked him, but I sold them all for ten dollars! Yikes, he was a little upset about it. So, I am continuing to be the “hoarder” of memorabilia, big sis that I am. 😊

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  25. Maddie with Pinky was adorable! Her collection is also a favorite photo, plus in addition, Mimi in melted, relaxed state. The bar your Dad worked at seemed like a friendly neighborhood bar. I thought he may have worked a bar at the bowling alley (?) too. Take care, almost asleep now. I’ll be back!

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    • Thanks for staying up. The bowling alley didn’t have s bar, but the same crew patronized both. So when he started tending bar part time, he had the same customers. He didn’t drink, so it was a good fit.

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