My Grandfather drank Rye and Ginger

And he wasn't wrong. Rye. Ever had it? Chances are you've not because it is not a well known entity any longer. I have had it, years ago when my Grandfather turned away and I nipped at his glass. It was jazzy, I tell you. The kind of stuff I imagine they drank in beautiful dance halls where fine people wore lovely, well-tailored clothing and had polished shoes. You know, the kind of thing that went away as casual Fridays loomed in the distance.

To be brief and simplistic: Whiskey is made from grain. Rye whiskey is, just as you suspect, a chief-rye grain spirit which began a long historical journey to this post in Ireland and Scotland (surely the reason it could be found in the hand of my elegant British Grandfather) and would be produced in these great colonies when rye became a plentiful grain and issues with taxation and government interference made it an effective production component on these shores. To make a long, long story short, along came the Prohibition (boo! hiss! boo!) and bam! Rye was a tough go.

But the Canadian's continued producing Canadian whiskey which is a mixed-grain spirit often confused with and substituted for rye (American Rye Whiskey).

These days, rye is either very difficult to find in a good form or far too easy to find in a poor one. Jim Beam is the brand you will find at the occasional package store which stocks rye and if you wanted to try this peppery, bouncy, spicy rye whiskey then, for $15 or whatever little they ask, why not? It is, at the very least, a place to begin.

Of late though, Beam Global means to change the virtually non-existent following of rye with the release of an (oh, how it pains me to utter this unfortunate bit of tasteless nouveau riche declasse branding), "Ultra Premium" rye whiskey which will (even more painfully) go by "(rî)1".
Hard to say if the intended consumer here is a new one to rye (contacting the company for answers yielded no response from the marketing group): Someone imbibing conspicuously vs. an connoisseur of fine spirits or an seasoned Elegantologist? One can only wait and hope my spirits guy tips me off. My husband drinks good whiskey (carefully, respectfully, and gently as well as responsibly) and I have to wonder what he and his whiskey-drinking pals would say of a product named in this fashion and needing to post the "ultra premium" verbage so predominately in the branding launch and labelling. Since Josh is very busy with this Naval business, I hopped over to his bar and looked over all the labels. Just as I suspected, they are all understated, elegant, and appealing in an heirloom-like fashion. It is not looking good for labels full of pretentious wordy-words!

Now that I have called your attention to rye and even Beam's website curiously and confusingly encourages mixing their ultra premium stuff, it is time I move you on to the drink mixtures of note for rye whiskey. In my reading, I crossed several internet recipes which use Canadian whiskey for the Manhattan and still others with bourbon. Heavens, no! And other offenses likely derived from days of rye's complete inaccessibility. Witness. Note. Heed:

"When properly built, the Manhattan is the only cocktail that can slug it out toe-to-toe with the martini. It's bold and fortifying, yet as relaxing as a deep massage. J.P. Morgan used to have one at the close of each trading day. It's that kind of drink.
"When properly built" -- there's the problem. For a real Manhattan, you need rye whiskey. No amount of fiddling with the vermouth and bitters can save this drink if you've got bourbon in the foundations; it's just too sticky-sweet. But with rye, this venerable creation -- its roots stretch back to the old Manhattan Club, in 1874 -- is as close to divine perfection as a cocktail can be. The harmony between the bitters, the sweet vermouth, and the sharp, musky whiskey rivals even that existing between gin and tonic water.
All things change, and immortality is not in the grasp of man or his creations. For many a year, it seemed that the virtual disappearance of rye meant that the real Manhattan had gone the way of the Aztecs. Luckily, that's not the end of the story. The wave of high living that washed us out of the last century has brought with it a renewed interest in fine, funky old things like cigars, big-band jazz, and rye whiskey. Sure, sometimes this gets carried to extremes, but if that means that nobody will ever again pour a bourbon Manhattan, we'll gladly put up with all the dips#%!s in "Make Mine with Rye" T-shirts. "

-The Wondrich Take, Esquire.com

Manhattan
1 cocktail

2 parts American rye whiskey
1 part sweet vermouth
1 dash bitters

Stir.
Garnish with cherry or orange twist.

This discussion would not be complete if to your rye understanding was not added the venerable Sazerac which also properly requires rye whiskey.

As for serving rye, there was once glass called a Manhattan but since the drink is not in high vogue, the glass is not found in every household. Use a cocktail or martini glass instead. If the whiskey is to be served neat and you have a glassware stocked bar, you could ask your guest if he or she prefers a tumbler or single malt snifter or just default to the snifter: Some believe the nose of the spirit is enhanced by the wide bottom and slimmed neck. Here are two shapes I find alluring from one of my favorite elegant gentlemen's web retailers, onthefly.com:

Ravenswood Tumbler, Set of four, $90


Ravenswood Single Malt Snifter, Set of four, $90

As for ordering a Manhattan or traditional rye mixed drink, be clear: Though a few bartenders may look at you as you had just called them a moron, make no assumptions: Manhattan, American rye, please. Discussions on garnish can evidently cause blood to be shed on some sites when mentioned by fellow mixology bloggers, so I will tell you that there is disagreement on the maraschino cherry and the orange twist. My Grandfather's was always served with a cherry, however. All those who really mix seem to agree that maraschino cherry juice is an absolute no-freaking-no here and the same goes for pre-mixing the cocktail.

As for a Rye and Ginger, there is gratefully less controversy: 1 oz American rye in a tumbler, add good ginger ale. My Grandfather had mastered elegance right down to the tumbler in his palm, as you can see.

Distracting the Hostess

Your Hostess has been busy as a bee with a Bedford bob trying to complete two posts which I considered essential to continuing this whole Hostess thing we have going here and in the process of said sincere pursuit, I was sidetracked by these lovely place settings from Horchow (issues prevent these from being any larger, please proceed to Horchow's link below).



Seasonal Birds, Horchow.com, $320 four piece place setting

One thing the Hostess loves to see in any type of design work at the holidays is when designers and stylists bust our their Pantone color books and look for slightly less likely red and green tones than the traditional Christmas-y bores of both those shades. I love that the green here has gone a bit mossy and the red has turned a bit dark. Against polished woods, this looks new and traditional all at once: As all things belonging a blushing hostess or dashing host should be, in the Hostesses humble estimation.

Tracy Porter Home

Lovely and refreshing tabletop for the fall season from Tracy Porter. The Hostess would love this on a seasonally single-toned jacquard tablecloth. Ochre. Burnished orange or a vibrant blue...

Artesian Road Dinner Plates, $77 set of four

Artesian Road Salad Plates, $67 set of four

Confusion Begets Greatness

Hi, ya, Friends.

Today the Hostess was nosing around over at David Lebovitz's first rate food blog, which is a great read scribed by a brilliant man. I highly recommend you subscribe. Right after you subscribe to the Hostess, naturally.

I digress. The subject of the post today was Mr. Lebovitz's butter dish and the controversy surrounding the vessel among his peers who deemed it a garlic dish. It looks a lot like these below but you can go to the post and see for yourself.

Individual butter dish, Crate and Barrel, $4.95

In fact, he is correct, they are butter dishes when they appear in this shape and are not heatproof. Sometimes, a larger version in many types of non-heatproof materials are employed in French households when the butter is left upon the table or counter, as many places in the world (like the Hostess' Mother's kitchen) do not feel the need to store butter in a fridge constantly (a tale for another day). But sometimes they do toss it into the fridge and use a vessel such as this for cold storage as well. They are made in many sizes from many makers.

It seems the "garlic vote" was confused with the vessel below which is a garlic roaster. These vessels are generally earthenware and heat proof to a very high degree, intended for roasting one head of garlic (in case you wanted a gadget and preferred not to use some tin foil):

Garlic roaster, Sur La Table, $25.

There are still two other animals with which to be confused with in this discussion:

Butter pot, Williams-Sonoma, $32, which serves the same general purpose as the butter dishes above.

Garlic and shallot cellar, Sur la Table, $25, for on-counter storage of same.

With me so far?

In reading the post that started this butter and garlic gallop, why, it seemed to me the little butter dishes would make adorable cloches for a fabulous holiday table setting! Or, would be a lovely way to serve a luxe truffle butter with Christmas Eve dinner, as it was intended and as I have not used mine in forever. Like a great game of blog-related Memory, I remember a recent Mrs. Blanding's post regarding tiny cloches and I was taken with the lovely small-bite offered in the photos toward the bottom of her post. And then I thought: OR, I could make a fabulous small bite to start out a holiday dinner and stow them in a cloche or teeny butter dish.

I was about start preliminary holiday menu posts here and at Blushing Hostess, I was sidetracked by this idea which merits a bit of consideration: A lovely tiny food to start a dinner which fits in 2.75 ounce butter dish above. I will return on this subject, as I have two ideas swirling and naturally they will require a bit of testing.

If you were not inclined to reduce your first course to a cook's tiny tasting in order to slide a tiny blossom inside the dome along side it (or something-else charming), you can certainly find any number of larger cloches for your table. However, these are definately not butter dishes or garlic roasters/ cellars:

Glass cloches, Sur la Table, $14 -$30 (though, I have seen any variety at Homegoods for less...)

Two bare walls

This is no way to run household. Something needs done. And so, the hunt to advance horse art collection continues, this time on Esty. Only now, we are needing a bit of color and/or black and whites. Hunt scenes being what they are, it seems it is always autumn (This seasonal choice is nostalgic, not accurate. The Hunt is three, if not four seasons a year depending on the location and insurers.), and frankly the burnished tones and deep greens are taking over. I can barely find my houndstooth coat.



Doris Joa. One of my favorite horse portraitists today. It is difficult to score her originals but certainly with the trouble.


The track at Saratoga in Winter. Not horse art, but horsey to me as I knew it the moment I saw it and thought it was a breathtaking rendering of a way we fair-season show folks never see the old track. Visit Parkers site, this does not do it justice. JC Parker Fine Art at Esty.


The blue here is surprising and lovely, almost an ocean-going blue. Another lovely way to remember Saratoga. JC Parker Fine Art at Esty.

Interesting for how unreal it is. Strapless? Bareback? Stop it. Iris Schwartz at Esty.


Racehorse and Jockey Misty Morning, original, Artististique.

I like a monogram. Plenty.

However, there is a time, a limit, and a taste level to this monogramming obsession the whole planet returned to the moment prep came back into vogue. The Hostess never left, she was always right there at Old-School Prep, observing certain but unspoken guidelines. For example:

Monogrammed plastic ice buckets and beverage cups are declasse. But not as terrifying and grotesque as monogrammed toilet paper. Monogrammed melamine plates are lovely for children's parties but the Hostess has not seen them done well for adults, even for cookouts. And finally, initials emblazoned on place mats are also a rough go. It seems a touch more self-concerned and indulgent than the old and lovely tradition of the single family inital on dinner napkins, does it not?

The situation is blinding with overdone ornateness. To quote beachbungalow8 on different but equally galling subject: You can just "smell the stale cigarette smoke and Giorgio perfume," in some of the "tablescapes" where these esteem-less tabletop horrors are often pictured. All this is improving just a tad, thanks to Leontine Linens who has lent the genre their skill with fonts, embroidery, color, and generally - taste:

If you must.

Neiman's: Early Holiday Decor

The Hostess has been whirling around the holiday offerings at Neiman Marcus. Because the competition for the best holiday decor is stiff and starts early. I am just stretching here, getting ready. Normally, I look forward to this day every year. This time I suspected things might be looking a bit bleak. But I was wrong, there was a mix of gorgeous, adorable, and just odd. I chose to leave the odd out for now.


Loving the reindeer rail and candle setting. This would be perfect in my friends Jen's house!










This is my new tree skirt. My Christmas needs a little whimsy and who better to provide it than Mackenzie-Childs?



Woodland dinnerware and place mats. Perfect for Christmas breakfast in the country.









Pyramid tartan trees: A modern nod to Scotland.






This looks beautiful and polished for a grab-me before impromptu holiday meals but, practically speaking, it will not be pleasant to maintain without a staff...


Their cookies are renowned. So is the recipe.


And just one question for the buyers at NM: Why on earth would anyone want to wipe their face with organza? Ick. Ouch. EEEEEEEEEW.






All photos Neiman Marcus.

Point well taken: Flatware due diligence

Design*Sponge: Good point, you cannot just go out and buy new flatware. It is an investment and should last as long as your mattress. Maybe longer: It is metal, after all. Check in with their post today and note the extensive research completed before Grace replaced her flatware. While I am not a modern girl, her point is well taken regardless of what style interests you: What flatware you choose is not a decision to be made lightly or hastily. There are thousands of patterns from hundreds of names and one should seek out as many as possible before deciding, even if you only wish to satisfy yourself you have done due diligence at a price level and care less what you get at a design level (though, The Hostess can hardly imagine that actually happens!)

Poof! You're a centerpiece!

I could not, not, not take another second of tripping over the old French provincial dish rack in the pantry. It was unfair to my ankles and to the dish rack. It clearly needed and deserved an occupation. Witness my addressing this issue:

Dispatch
From: The Blushing Hostess
To: Provincial Dish Rack (PDR)
Re: The Hostess' Decorative "Restructuring" Initiative (aka, Find a Job or Hit the Road).

PDR - Your service in Newport and Boston highly thought of, much appriciated. Less use for a dish rack of late. Kindly remove thine-self to the table and assume the position of "Centerpiece" tutte suit. Capish, Dish Rack? And on your way suggest you find some festive, seasonally appropriate objects with which to fill yourself. If this works out, I will keep you. And possibly even buy some other, additional seasonal accompaniments to add your collection. Or else be gone. Truly, The Hostess

Trial run #1. I think I might be on to something. Check back later.

Not too sweet, please

Scented candles. Really fine ones. You can find in them in many homes these days as a replacement for some hideous product made by Glade air freshners or Pier 1 - gratefully, I might add. The trouble is, in many candle lines - too many and even the best ones - the scents tend toward the sickeningly sweet or overtly floral. If you were not a person inclined to find an overwhelming dose of stargazer lily appealing, why, you might nearly choke entering the room where such a candle had been placed and then ship yourself off to a short vaca in a hyperbaric chamber when you would much rather be on Turks.

A great scent can have to do with the highs and lows in the nose, combinations that are beautifully suited (I like Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir with a touch of patchouli oil to go along - trust me here, patchouli is like anchovies - given a bad name by bad people who did bad things with it to the level of scent abuse.), and scents you associate with pleasant memories. A particular favorite of mine, owning to my childhood, was Caldrea's Rose and Tobacco, a scent they have discontinued, sadly.

However, I discovered another line of candles which realizes that heavier, more masculine scents can also be perfect in a home: Kobo Candles (web site "under construction"), whose deeply satisfying products are available through Burke Decor. My new favorites: Grapefruit and Tobacco and Leather and Mahogany are perfect if, say, the candle is intended for a gentlemans study or my living room or frankly that of anyone not wishing to pass out on the setee from a Lily of the Valley overdose.

Right now, shipping at Burke Decor for these items is free with a $50 purchase to the lower 48.

Tray adorable

I am loving these new laminate over woven fabric Birdcage trays from Yves Delorme. I was introduced to them by that fab bunch at the Savannah store, Angela and company (912-232-3563) and I am thinking that if I can find two great bases, these are going to be the new (baby proof) cocktail tables in our front sitting area.

Beautiful, thoughtful retail... a tribute

I believe retail should be pleasant, visually appealing and thoughtful at every price point. Having survived endless meetings where we discussed what stores would look like and the customers impressions, experience, and take-aways and sweated the details of every face out and build out, I am constantly left wishing more retailers and their behind the scenes folks would take our money seriously enough to do the same. I have mentioned Paris Market to you before and again now for this reason: People should go to some trouble to be handed money someone else toiled for. They never lose track of that concept, or France, at Paris Market.

So it is once again time to revisit Paris Market and Brocante, my favorite store in the Southeast, hands down. Which happens to be in Savannah, Georgia on shopping rue Broughton. Sort of like the Golden Mile only, shorter and more Southern.

This is what you will see as you sneak up upon Paris Market. The tables on the sidewalk are for enjoying your cafe or sweets (which I wish were a tad more French, frankly. You know: Like a macaroon, croissant, or whathaveyou but anyway...)




You can get your cafe au lait and browse with it. Just take care, there are a lot of design books around and you would not want to spoil (buy) one that has coffee all over it.

I wish you could see the store in person. It is two stories of French everything-fabulous-for-the- home, presented in original Parisian antique displays. It is as though you are transported, removed, ugh, and somewhat relieved (after once again walking around the corner and witnessing the preposterous mayhem involved with getting a table at Paula Deen's place).

Great, right? I love the authentic Metro sign that greets me at the front door.


You could buy a few of cards with which to correspond from Savannah. Yes, people do still write to one another with pens and stuff.


I could spend hours flipping their their unbelievable shelter book selection. The wrapping papers are carefully selected and each one a design gem all on their own. I am pretty sure I need two of these chandeliers...


And I need all this stuff for my new improved master bath/ spa/ Mama's hiding area:




If hiding does not work, there is always this handy absinthe dipenser which could really be used effectively for any number of fun beverages.

There was a time

... when this post would have been received as superfluous information. But that time, ages ago, is gone. Today, it is rare to find calling cards in use, more likely, very occasionally I see their predecessor, the correspondence card.

Once, before phones were in regular use and a person could be expected to have a conversation with another person face to face, people carried calling cards to leave at the house or business to advise the person upon whom they called that they had missed them but had indeed come by looking to converse. They are the generations-past equivalent of a voicemail message.

According to the revised Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette, the calling card was traditionally left on the small sterling silver tray near the front door of the home where she called. She left her card underneath that of her husband's. "Only on certain occasions, such as calls of condolence or congratulations, or calls on the sick, would a man make an appearance and leave his own card."

I tend to agree with the book's assertion that in these times, you see true calling cards only in very formal diplomatic and military circles. I do still see them, in fact two this year, both from wives of military officers. Whenever I come across them, tucked in a book sent to me by Karrie Ann gently handed to me in order to be able to locate a lovely lady Mary again, or in a big silver bowl after a Junior League meeting, I have to smile. I am very attached to these lovely little cards.

These days, the house, household, and couple can all have cards of their own now more frequently used as gift enclosures and occasionally, and not really correctly, as business cards (limit the information to your name traditionally, or more modernly, add an address. But, this is not an appropriate place for phone numbers or email addresses). The calling or correspondence card is as follows:

Kathleen Ann Daly
Miss Kathleen Ann Daly
Ms. Kathleen Ann Daly
Mrs. Anthony Farley Briggs

Mr. Anthony F. Briggs or Captain Anthony F. Briggs
Mr. Anthony Farley Briggs or Captain Anthony Farley Briggs

For the house: Merryvale, The Briggs Family
For the household: The Briggs Family
For the couple: Mr. and Mrs. Anthony F. Briggs or Captain and Mrs. Anthony F. Briggs

You can, and certainly should, pen a brief message on your card. They can be useful in this way:
- When sending flowers locally, take your card with your note to the florist to be included with the arrangement, rather than use the stock florist card.
- When sending or bringing a gift, use your calling card as the gift enclosure.
- When responding to an informal written invitation, respond on your calling card.

Tips for purchasing calling or correspondence cards:
-These cards should be small, not folded, and suitable only for a couple of lines of handwriting. They should not, however, any longer, be as small as business cards if they are ever to go through the mail. There are minimum size requirements for the postal service now and to be safe, the smallest side should be no smaller than four inches.
- Traditionally, these cards were engraved. However, all manner of card is used now and tastefulness is more dependent on choosing a card, color scheme, and font which creates a card as elegant as the gesture the card attends.
- Keep in mind when selecting stationary that while whimsical themes are lovely, you may find them inappropriate when needing a calling or correspondence card to deal with serious issues: Sickness or death. Choose appropriately for all potential needs.

I recently found a few lovely example which are available from many commercial stationary dealers both brick and mortar and on the internet:


Whitney English at Lemontree Paperie (my current fave)

Pacific Blue at Lemontree Paperie (great for a guy)
Stacy Clair Boyd at Lemontree Paperie (for a lovely old school prep girly thing)

An entrance to remember

I happened to be having lunch with my Mom and my tiny girl yesterday as the club was being gussied up for a wedding. Opening the great doors to the main hall, I was greeted with these arrangements. Aren't they lovely? They remind me of these long, towering arrangements they were forever doing at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong. In high rooms that mandate drama, this sort of thing is a refreshing option to the towering candelabra with flowers or the ever-popular overwhelming 6 foot in all directions tangle of all manner of flower in the center of a circular table. No?

Prized pillows

During a bright fall afternoon visit to shop at Yves Delorme, I began to shamelessly covet their new line of pillows. It may look like needlepoint, but it is a far more modern and magnificent woven in fact. The coloration's are fresh in tonality and painstakingly considered against endless Pantone cards, it seems. The yarns have brilliant, sparkling luster. And reasonable! I dare say, for pillows of this quality, they are something of a singular lovely in their market at around $135.
You can order these directly from the remarkable group at Yves Delorme, Savannah, reaching them at 912-232-3563 or, even better, see the store in person, at 134 Whitaker Street. Speak for Angela or Jim. Or, if you really must completely forgo the human aspects of mutually admiring a quality piece of linen work, you could, I suppose, retreat to a dark, anti-social corner and order them anonymously from their website.

I am afraid these photos not do them justice so you will have to go by a store and see them for yourself.

And consider this a photo of my Christmas wishlist (I thought of *Visual* Vamps* recent post on animals in decor and smiled):

And! Fabulous laminate trays to go with the birdcages but I am keeping those in my pocket for another day!