A J Press tartan strap and Bushmills White Label See the damage done to that bottle over last winter? Not too bad. I'm good with Bushmills. I tend to sip it. With a little ice. It's clean, crisp and dry (and cheap). A nice diversion from a smokey Scotch or Rye. The distillery has been around since 1608. Pairs well with cold roast beef and horseradish on a Sunday afternoon. Jameson Irish Whiskey (ahem) is another story. I do not keep it in the house because of the evil it can do. Especially when combined with Guinness. For me, Bushmills is like drinking with a very attractive nun...I'm enjoying myself but there's not a lotta trouble I can get into.
Ken Bruen, the Irish crime writer, has a cautionary tale of an ex-cop turned private detective in Galway. 'The Guards' is a stumbling haze of Jameson chased with Guinness and a lotta punches. It's a ragged hangover crime noir that is best read with the Saw Doctors playing in the background.
Like a lot of Mr Bruen's books...that tartan strap is a mystery. There's a J Press label on the back and a logo stamp as well but no country of manufacture. I found it a year ago at the Daffy's on East 57th street for ten bucks. I never saw this belt at Press or in their catalogs so I assume it's dead stock - - But what's J Press doing at Daffy's? Where was it made? And who cut the Daffy's deal? I think there's a helluva story here. A story about a retail private eye.
DEAD STOCK by Tintin
It was hot. Too damned hot for the cordovan loafers he was wearing but too damned late to think about it now as he rounded Madison and headed north for the sit with the Japanese at Press. He pulled at his oxford cloth collar and cursed at himself for tying the madras bow too tight. 'They're gonna think it's a crummy pre-tied' he thought as the hammers banged around his head. He had one too many Bushmills at the King Cole last night with that hottie buyer from Ralph Lauren. 'What kind'a parents name a kid, Bunny?' he thought. 'Well...at least it suits her.'
Clan MacFartland Ancient Hunting in a 10 oz. tropical worsted 100's Botany wool (Outback Steakhouse Sheep Station Pty Ltd, Nicolekidman, Australia) reverse-twill kiltcloth woven by the Craig & Ferguson Mill (UK) LTD of Kirk Cameron, Midlothian, Fyfe circa 2002. Unfortunately C&F is defunct (LL acquired the salvage). Originally belted of Argentine calf and sand cast Spanish brass by Trafalgar Ltd (nee Marley Hodgson, Ltd) in Norwalk, Conn. The current buckle appears to be 14K gold filled 93.7 sterling. Hope this assists.
ReplyDelete(It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was a dark and stormy night. I was working vice on the grave yard shift out of Central. Partner's Myyour "Links" Wolfsheim. My name's Frye Deigh. I'm a cop. Yada, yada, yada....)
So, your online edition is available on the eve of publication date!
Tater
One night my junior year I dreamt a plaid belt. Green, kind of black watchy. Found it probably five years later at a banana republic. Outgrew it five years after that, around the time that its leather point began to fray. It's on ice now, next to Scott Fitzgerald's brain, waiting for the technology to catch up.
ReplyDeleteTater- Amazing. Who is LL and why would the boys at Press put their name on it and then kick it to a discounter? I know you know.
ReplyDeleteBen- Was it a strap? When did you buy it. Here's a $20 to help your memory.
god bless you for bringing out the irish!! i have visited the bushmills distillery in northern ireland, and they were able to explain to me why bourbon is the unrefined beverage of bumpkins, and why the irish whiskey tastes like heaven in a glass. although, i do enjoy a glass of kentucky every now then...
ReplyDeleteas a side note, beware to whom you reveal your whiskey preferences; bushmills or jamesons. bushmills is in protestant territory and jamesons is in catholic. i'm partial to jamesons, but what do i know, i like kentucky sipping whiskey, too.
Tintin....brilliant post. Tater...Man Up and start a blog. I wish I had the chops to try and campaign this noir-gumshoe thang. I don't.
ReplyDeleteNice belt. Don't ever mention Daffys on your blog again.
Skorp- No politics when it comes to whiskey - - besides, I love them both. One just does more damage than the other. Have you tried Midlton Very Rare yet?
ReplyDeleteADG- Daffy's is insufferable everywhere but NYC where I've found some unique things and the best Italian made kid's clothes anywhere. Still, I can dig where you're coming from.
Tintin, Amazing belt. I never find belts like that. I usually come across something like macrame, circa 1972.
ReplyDeleteTop Notch (ahem)
ReplyDeleteMy I suggest Clontarf as well. There must be something about Irish Whiskey that brings out the fighting poet in everyone.
bushmills is serious breakfast whiskey... smooth as butter. friday belt wins again. great stuff.
ReplyDeleteNice belt strap. I would love to find a similar one in blackwatch plaid -- that would be a real find.
ReplyDeleteIMO, the concern raised by Skorpeo is a valid and one that I have heard before...Bushmills is Northern Irish/Protestant whiskey. In any case, it's a decent choice, along with its sibling "Black Bush."
Ron
Heavy Tweed- NYC makes it easy. Hope all is well with you, sir. Heading back to Chgo soon. Any pics you want please order now.
ReplyDeleteJP George- Ahem, will try yours but may have to give it some time due to recent purchase of Midlton- mind blowing.
James- thank you!
Ron_A - Stand by for next week's Belt. It was a find.
Author recommendation is well met. Anything described as 'Hibernian Noir' goes on my list. Immediately. I love to order Jameson's on ice. I just can't look a bartender in the eye and order anything that starts with 'Bush' without blushing.
ReplyDeleteTintin, Maybe gratuitous photo of a hot sizzling Lou Malnati's. Or, the sky - "The Big Country" as the Talking Heads once sang. Chicago has a big sky. Sorry to disappoint, but that's all I can think of.
ReplyDeleteAnother tremendous Friday Belt! I agree [as usual] with Mrs. Scoffs about "Hibernian Noir". What a blog/novel/album name!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the whiskey, I didn't know all the political background but I like all the Irish I have tried, Bushmills, Jameson, Powers. But then as my friend Gerry at PJ's says "you tend to drink whats put in front of you don't you now?"
I think the hard boiled detective is due for a MAJOR revival. You are ahead of the curve my friend...
I haven't read Bruen but I'm going to find one of his books right away.
ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com
Confidential to Tintin: I just saw your Old Yarn post on Ivy Style. I loved that movie. Now I absolutely must go back and study it. What should I drink whilst watching?
ReplyDeleteBeen waiting for a Mother's Day essay...
ReplyDeletealas, i fear i may have unintentionally started a row regarding the politics of whiskey, two things that should NEVER be mixed. while i am partial to jamesons, i have no reservations whatsoever about raising a glass of bushmills. i bought a bottle of the 12 year old while visiting in 2001, and enjoyed a glass or three on my wedding day in 2007; there aren't enough "o's" in smoooooth to describe it.
ReplyDeleteI once got slapped for ordering "two fingers of Black Bush". True story.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about Jamesons - trouble only ensues. Delicious trouble mind you but trouble.
ReplyDeleteAs for Midleton - even more trouble. Expensive trouble. It's so good one, even two glasses won't do.
Tess- It's ok. A lot of detail was left out in that and consequently I'll be posting my un-edited and long winded version here.
ReplyDeleteAnon- Sorry to disappoint. Away for the weekend with limited bloging tools which makes me the tool.
Skorpeo- The Midlton Very Rare must be what "smooth" means when God drinks whiskey.
Tony- I can't wait to test that one out.
Anon- It amazes me and yet it scares me. It could easily turn me in the kinda guy who says, "Hey, buddy. Can you spare a hundred bucks for a drink?"
I love Midleton but it offends me to know that I'm paying more for that stupid wooden box.
ReplyDeleteP.S. For anyone who might know: Does its corporate connection to Jameson make it a Catholic whiskey, or is it merely "a post-Troubles trouble whiskey"?
You're going to think I'm joking but "Bunny" just happens to be one of the names we have tucked away as a possible contender for a baby girl. I kid ye not...it's actually a family name on Babe's side.
ReplyDelete