During our Christmas vacation in Pensacola Beach, a discussion took place concerning New Year’s Resolutions. Sparky advocated that we should go to a different bar every month. Others thought that was a wonderful idea not understanding that he spoke in jest. We did go to a bar on vacation to have a Bushwacker. My brother in law bought a round for us (all together 10 people and a to go cup for my mother)! I wasn’t interested in it as it tasted too much like coffee and not enough like chocolate. It was a deceptive beverage. After about 4 sips (slowly so you don’t end up with brain freeze), I started feeling very tired and the room got very large or maybe I was shrinking. Anyway I don’t think I’ll sample it again. When I asked about the ingredients I was given the following recipe:
Pensacola Beach Bushwacker
4 ounces coconut cream
2 ounces Kahlua or Tia Maria
1 ounce Bacardi Black rum
1 ounce 151 rum
1 ounce white creme de cacao
1 ounce dark creme de cacao
4 ounces half-and-half
2 cups of ice
1 scoop vanilla ice-cream
Put all the ingredients into a blender. Turn it on medium and blend thoroughly. Pour it into a tall glass. Garnish with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
No wonder I was feeling tired! So back to the resolution – it has become a running joke at our house. When asked where he wants to go for a dinner out, Sparky starts naming bars – O’Rourke’s or The Inferno, maybe the Little Black Dog Tavern, what about the Chevron, Murphy’s, Ski’s Place or the Linebacker? Some of the places he names are decent establishments that actually serve real food. Others are sketchy with a reputation of spontaneous violence, bloodshed, and mayhem! But I know he is joking. I guess I’ve never understood the allure of going to a bar. You pay a premium price for the drinks, it is generally crowded and noisy, and most bars allow smoking so there is a blue haze that you can’t avoid. You go home poorer, reeking of cigarette smoke, and with your ears ringing (especially if there was a live band). I just don’t get it… I asked Son#1 about the reason people would go to a bar. His response is that he doesn’t like to go and usually persuades his friends to head to a restaurant that will serve drinks. I’m still baffled.
A Different Perspective 
When I drink, I feel heavy and sleepy. My vision changes, and I trip around. No fun. I seldom drink. I had a giant glass of beer a year ago, as I like the way it tastes, and the bar tender was asking if I’d need a ride home. I told her I was walking. It might have been 1/8 but it felt forever!
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I like to be in control of myself so this was not something I’d do on a regular basis. I was so sleepy afterward that it was hard to stay awake!
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I am always the dd but seldom am required. If Wrangler drinks he is at home and not driving rest of the day. This is a very seldom occurance that he even drinks.
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Sparky and I don’t drink – me almost never and him on rare occasions. I think he has a couple beers that he might open while watching the super bowl…
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If Wranglers one friend comes they drink. The alcohol in our house is used marinade more than drink
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I have a bottle of wine that I’m using to tenderize a pot roast… The only other is the Fireball whiskey for the once a year Christmas fudge!
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Cool
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Many years ago and I mean many we would head to a bar after a round of goofy golf and some evenings were a night out. Grew out of that real quick when we actually got smart.
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Hehe! Seems some people never get smart!
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The older I get, the less I enjoy the bar scene– having to scream to be heard, a scarcity of seating, expensive food and drinks, ride drunks, etc. And BTW, that drink sounds like trouble in a glass! I would be hammered w that much booze.
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Yep it was pretty strong. Luckily the glass was pretty small… though like all drinks you can get them in the dainty size up to the “bucket of chicken” size!
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Where is the coffee in the recipe ?This looks like an exotic mixing . But be happy you experienced and now you opinion is strong about those bars . 🙂 Sparky helped you to make richer your experience ! 🙂
Love
Michel
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The Tia Maria is a coffee liqueur. It was certainly an experience!! Now I can say that I’ve been there, done that!
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i guess it will depend on the mood i am in, sometimes i just want the loud noise and throng of people to feel the energy, other times it is so tiring to be out. i do enjoy trying new drinks, especially beer and wine but not cocktails, sitting in a noisy bar and chatting with friends can be quite soul satisfying when we need it.
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To each his own. My friends would prefer to sit around the kitchen table and sip hot chocolate while we chat and laugh! I suppose I am in the group that finds the crush of people one that saps the life essence from me instead of re-energizing me…
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I had a “Bushwacker” type experience twenty-odd years ago at a local dive bar. Hubby played pinballs and drank beer while I downed White Russians, petite drinks that taste like chocolate milk. After 6 or so, my brain was swirling, I couldn’t see straight. On the way home, I kept looking at my reflection in the car’s moon roof and saying, “Oooooooh, I can seeeee myself!” Hadn’t been that wasted since my 21st birthday, and never did it again. Bars, for all their faults, are fun when you’re young; when you’re old, home is where it’s at. 🙂
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Amen!! I’d much rather stay home – and have fun there instead of at a bar where I have to worry about all manner of things!
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The best bars are the neighborhood watering hole places where the blue collar workers go on Friday night after work. Happy hour prices won’t put a dent in your weekly entertainment budget. If there’s music, it’s canned (the loud, live music doesn’t start until later). They serve some unhealthy, alcohol-absorbing snacks that make it safe for one to drive home after a drink, or two if you’re big. The secret to enjoying bars at our age is to go “where everybody knows your name”, in other words, go with friends. In California, smoking is not allowed so that irritation is a distant memory. By going early and leaving before the hard core drinkers get soused, all unsavory activity can be avoided. Oh, and avoid the sweet foo foo drinks; they go down like soda pop and contain too many calories. Stick to beer or wine with a water chaser to stay hydrated. Take if from me, after years of practice, I KNOW how to drink…and it’s in moderation.
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Good advice but I’m not a drinker at all! That was the first alcohol I’d had in 40 years… and probably the last for another 40! hehehe!
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I am with you. Haven’t been to a Bar in ages and always had similar experiences. Mostly eent in my twenties with coworkers. It was the thing to do after work in the financial district of San Francisco. However, California banned smoking in bars in the 90’s. Definitely the way to go.
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They banned smoking here but a lot of the bars were “Grandfathered” into allow smoking. Some made a little corner calling it a cigar and whiskey bar so that the whole bar could be considered a “smoking establishment”.
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They sure know how to get around it!!
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Yes. There was quite the uproar when the no smoking ordinance too effect.
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