A Birthday Party

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My friend and colleague at the Historical Society, Tony (that’s him on the left in the first picture below) recently invited me to his birthday celebration. The event took place in Rini’s an Italian Restaurant in nearby Elmsford, NY. Entertainment was provided by “Butch Barbella’s Streets of the Bronx Band”. Butch is well known, among other things, as the Musical Director of, and composer of the music for the movie “A Bronx Tale“.

We all had a great time! My thanks to Tony for inviting me.

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Pictures taken with a Sony RX100 VII

A Walk Around the Mount Carmel District, Poughkeepsie – Mahoneys

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I was now feeling hungry and thirsty, so I went to Mahoney’s, which is right next to the Poughkeepsie Metro North Station. I figured I could have my meal there and rest comfortably until it was time to get my train.

Opening its doors in 2004, Emmett Mahoney’s is a traditional Irish pub with good food and authentic Irish hospitality. We offer two levels of dining and full-service bars in this historic building, which was once the original Vassar Brewery. A section of the brewery’s grain auger can be seen as a decoration outside the back doors on the lower level. We also have 23 new flat-screen TVs for your enjoyment and free WI-FI.

In 2013, Mahoney’s opened the Vassar Room; in 2019, we opened the Claddagh Room for all social events. We host live bands, DJS, and various events regularly. We have an interactive murder mystery dinner theatre from the Acme Mystery Theater throughout the year. Did you know we have Acoustic Open Mic every Monday, The Poughkeepsie Jazz Project on Tuesdays, Wednesdays is a night of fun with Karaoke, test your knowledge with Trivia on Thursdays, and Laugh it up comedy club on most Friday and Saturday nights? Check our website for all the information.

Fridays and Saturdays are lively evening hours. Of course, our favorite celebration is St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a day to remember with traditional Irish music, bagpipers, Irish Step Dancers, and delicious food and drinks.

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Taken with a Sony A7CII and Sony FE 28-70 f3.5-5.6 OSS

Ginger Beer

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I went for a walk today, and after walking around for some time I’d developed quite a thirst. I was near to one of my favorite places Here Coffee and Beer so I decided to pop in and see what they had. Now normally I would have chosen something from their great selection of craft beer, but I wasn’t in the mood for anything alcoholic, so I went over to the refrigerator to see what they had. What I found was a can of Ginger Beer. I hadn’t had Ginger Beer for quite some time. It was quite common when I was growing up in the UK, but nowadays you tend to see Ginger Ale more often. So, what’s the difference? I wasn’t entire sure, so I decided to look it up.

According to Liquor.com:

What Is Ginger Beer?

For millennia, people made drinks out of ginger, a rhizome renowned for both its flavor and medicinal properties. Ginger beers are believed to have originated in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, and historians have unearthed advertisements for bottled iterations from the early 1800s.

The first ginger beers were bright, bracing brews made effervescent via fermentation, and they typically contained 2–3% alcohol by volume (ABV) as a result. The drink’s popularity in the Caribbean grew in tandem with British colonization and ginger cultivation. According to contemporary analysts, North Americans currently consume the most ginger beer worldwide, drinking up to 35% of a global market worth nearly $5 billion.

Many modern ginger beers combine fresh, finely grated ginger with sugar and citrus; some commercial bottlings are made with artificial dyes and flavors. Certain producers amplify the beers’ spicy flavors by including capsaicin, a component of chili peppers. While you can make ginger beer with forcibly added carbon dioxide, traditional versions get their bubbles from a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), a fermenting agent also used to make kombucha.

Most commercial ginger beers are non-alcoholic, but some contain trace amounts of up to 0.5% alcohol. Others, like Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer, Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer, and Royal Jamaican Alcoholic Ginger beer, have anywhere from 1% to nearly 5% ABV.

Delicious on its own, ginger beer features prominently in cocktails like the Dark and Stormy and Moscow Mule, both of which complement its piquancy with fresh lime juice.

What Is Ginger Ale?

Once synonymous, ginger ale and ginger beer evolved into different drinks during the temperance movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In response to activists that targeted ginger beer for its mild alcohol content, some producers began to position ginger ale as a non-alcoholic alternative that got its bubbles from artificial carbonation rather than fermentation.

In 1904, after years of tinkering, Canadian pharmacist John J. McLaughlin created a not-too-sweet custom ginger beverage, later marketed as Canada Dry Ginger Ale.

As the 20th century progressed, ginger ale became a popular soft drink and, following the 1933 repeal of Prohibition, mixer in whiskey or rye highballs. Ginger ale is typically sweeter and less spicy than ginger beer, and many modern versions contain caramel coloring and other artificial dyes and flavorings. It rarely contains capsaicin, though the peppers aren’t legally prohibited.

Taken with a Sony RX100 VII