“I saw her for the first time that afternoon. It was too hot to do much but sit in an air-conditioned apartment. I’d spent the morning waking up and writing checks to creditors, and in another hour it would be four o’clock and I could add brandy to my coffee without feeling guilty about it. [...]

The bartender came over. It looked like the wrong bar for cognac but that’s all I drink. I asked for Courvoisier. “You want the Three-Star or the VSOP?” Life is filled with surprises. — Lawrence Block, The Naked and the Deadly

Small wonder one finds oneself drinking more and more at home, given governments’ general hostility toward the constituents of a proper boozer. The Colony Room will soon be shuttered. ‘I see it as my living room, and my only real goal is to send people away happier than when they came in. The drink helps. [...]

Biologists report that the walrus, while possessing a highly developed sense of humor, suffers from an insufficiently evolved palate. DEWAR’S 18-YEAR-OLD FOUNDERS RESERVE, BLENDED All right, guys, keep in mind that I’m new to this. I taste… fruit. Berries, maybe — or grapes. Oh, and it’s also sort of peppery, but then there’s this sweet [...]