Cherry Bounce Party

What are you doing on December 1st?

Give up?

You are going to to the Old Fashioned's 6h annual Cherry Bouncy party at 6pm.

Named after a classic Wisconsin drink of choice, The Old Fashioned not only does Wisconsin, they do the crap out of it, and they do it well.  Until I ate their ring balogne and Mac N' Cheese, I just thought my family was poor and my mom was an eclectic cook. Who knew it's a Wisconsin staple food?

Speaking of all things Wisconsin, Door County has to be one of the most beautiful parts of the state. Hold out your left hand and stare at the back of your hand. Wisconsin is shaped like a hand and Door County is the thumb. And our thumb grows more delicious cherries than your, um, errr, there's really nowhere to go with that analogy, is there?

Anyways, the Old Fashioned purchased a boatload of tart Door County cherries and they've been soaking in booze and sugar for months now and they are ready to get you tipsy.

So stop on over when the Old Fashioned cracks their cherry bounce.

They've doubled the size of their bar with new construction, so make sure you get their on the 1st or you could miss out on their special cherry bounce!

I will be out of town volunteering with high school kids (yup, someone calls me a role model) so please, leave a little for me!

Supply is limited because of the diminished tart cherry crop this year, so you may want to get there early!

Cheers,

Craig

P.S. I just tasted mine last weekend. It was absolutely delicious. It tasted not only delicious, but dangerous!

Everclear is dangerous

It's the day after Thanksgiving and I've learned one very important lesson about myself. Is it:

A) I've got a lot to be thankful for.
B) Giving back to neighbors in need is important
C) I can talk people out of alcohol wherever I go

If you answered C, you win a million dollars and a pony. I mean, after all, I already knew A & B, but damn, does talking people out of alcohol come in handy when you are:

A) Celebrating
B) Having fun
C) Thirsty

Wach out parade goers, I've got a Mic
and I'm not afraid to use it!

Okay, if you guess them all, let's double today's jackpot!

Yesterday's Jacksonport Thanksgiving Day Parade was awesome. "The Little Parade That Could," did... again... for the 16th year in a row. What started as an eclectic parade of townspeople with 7 observers is now an eclectic parade of townspeople (and strangely a lot of folks from Chicago) with hundreds if not more than 1,000 observers. And damn are they generous. Check out pics of the parade and follow us on facebook!

In 7 years, I've been promoted all the way from balloon handler to parade starter and this year, I served as the emcee. Yup, someone gave me a mic. And I used it to announce the "floats" as they went by, raised money for a 14-year-old with a brain tumor and I even talked someone in the audience (read: my best friend) into buying me a gin & tonic!

Yup, yesterday's parade was legendary.

But it gets better.

Every year my adoptive family orders Thanksgiving Dinner from a wonderful little diner in town. The food is delicious and there's so much less stress than cooking yourself. I know, you love your mother/grandmother/own cooking so much. But trust me, this is totally the way to go. Especially if you've got it all figured out like we do.

Each year, because of the parade, we are always the last family to pick up our dinner. And they ALWAYS have pie left over. That's right, each year we end up with free pie. Except this year. We showed up 30 minutes before closing, which made the workers happy. And we were still the last family. Do we get a prize, my best friend asked.

Answer: not unless you want some apple pie drink.

Craig: Only if there's booze in it.

Answer: Of course there is!

Yeah, so that happened... And then I learned apple pie with everclear is a dangerous little treat.

Yes, this is my post-Thanksgiving PSA: Everclear is dangerous!

So, a great big drunken and sleepy tryptophan cheers to you,

Craig

Happy Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving can beat up your Thanksgiving.

No seriously, after the Week of Craig, this is about as good as it gets for me.

Yesterday, I took the day off and traveled to Jacksonport in Door County, Wisconsin to visit my best friend and her parents. For starters, Door County is beautiful, even in this dead season between fall and winter.

Their home is exactly the opposite of mine. For starters, it's beautiful; hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, fancy appliances, a four-season porch with a fireplace in it. I could go on and on. This place is like my own personal bed and breakfast. Exactly the respite a guy needs after all that crime fighting.

And let's not forget the people! My best friend has been there for me through thick and thin. And trust me, my life can get pretty thick and thin! And her parents have been like my second family for over a decade now. In fact, I just call them Mom & Dad.

And this year, we added someone to our tradition. My best friend went out and got herself a boyfriend. He's pretty cool. Shhhh, don't tell him I said that yet. I'm trying to make the new guy sweat a little!

Don't think it could get any better? For about 15 years, "Mom" has been running the only Thanksgiving Day parade in all of Wisconsin. Who needs to watch the Macy's Day Parade on TV when you could go participate in the exact opposite?

My first year, I was a balloon handler. Yup, I walked in the parade and held a turkey balloon on a tiny stick. I've since been promoted to parade starter. Over the years, there've been horses, hoards of dog walkers, old fire trucks, lots and lots of townspeople and even a camel. Each year, it's fun to guess whether the 3-block "Little Parade That Could" will have more people in it or watching.

The best part? Totally reinstalls your faith in humanity. Each year, the parade adopts a family in need. Door County might be beautiful, but it's not immune to personal struggles. In the past, they've adopted families who've lost their jobs, kids with cancer, etc. Each year it's someone new. Each year, they make a difference. And each year, I drive up here and play some sort of role in this fundraiser that helps a struggling family during the holidays. It's fun, and it's the right thing to do.

Are you crying yet? Cuz this year, it all got better. Mom retired from her role as parade organizer and passed the baton (quite literally. She's not only the parade organizer, but also leads the parade by twirling a baton). What's that mean for us? We can crack into my cherry bounce a day early! And thus we did!

So, if the story about helping families in need didn't make you cry, this is totally gonna do the trick; we concocted some new drinks last night. I want to thank Mom & Dad's fully stocked science lab (read: liquor cabinet). I think there's going to be more concocting happening tonight, so as soon I've got some solid drink ideas for you, I'll report back tomorrow.

In the meantime, eat turkey, sit back with your favorite infusion and watch football (or the Macy's Day Parade).

Happy Thanksgiving and, as always, cheers!

Craig

P.S. If you are ever in Door County, drop by J. Jeffrey Taylor's fine jewelry shop, ask for Mom & Dad (the owners) and tell them that Craig sent you. You'll be glad you did!

I'm back

It's been two months since I've posted. But that doesn't mean it's been two months since I've touched a drop of alcohol, or kalcohol as my nephew puts it.

Side note: isn't it cute to hear little kids who can't enunciate?

Double side note: damn, that four year old can really drink. No wonder he's got a lid on his sippy cup. I need to try that! (this is totally a joke. don't go calling social services. everyone knows I'd feed little kids booze and that's exactly why they don't ever put me in charge of them!)

Anyways, two more months of super hero shit. We caught most of the bad guys and reelected the President of our, errr, um... crime fighting team.

Two months of fighting crime and not blogging doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I've got six different infusions that will all make a good base for a Bloody Mary to try out. I also have an entire pantry of candy to infuse. If this morning's binge on gummy bears is any indicator, I'd better get to infusing before there's no candy left.

Wanna follow along? Go get some candy corn. C'mon, Halloween might be over, but that just makes the Halloween candy even cheaper.

Also, go get yourself a box of candy canes and some hot chocolate. Oh, you'll be glad you did!

Stay tuned for some really cool infusions!

Cheers,

Craig