Day 66: Belly of the Beast
The shark's body loomed beneath the water, eventually raising it's head out from beneath the murky deep. Frozen, Chief Brody walked backward, heading into the cabin. "You're gonna need a bigger boat," he said, letting the world hear those iconic words for the first time. There was no turning back though. They were right in the middle of the fight now, right in the belly of the beast.
Welcome back to our daily shaking of spirits my friends. Those feelings of summer are beginning to creep up on us again, and as some states begin reopening businesses, many of us are still holding back, choosing to live on the safer side of caution. Unfortunately, like with everything, there are always people out there, who are going to ruin it for the rest of us. Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, my thirsty readers, here come's the denial of science at every turn! This sure sounds familiar.
Over the past couple months, we've had a lot of fun making a new drink every day. Along the way, I've mentioned a lot of iconic films I was inspired by, while making said drinks. I really don't think any movie out there has me watching with my jaw-wide-open during our current crisis quite like 1975's Jaws. The similarities are just... well, too much, to say the least.
I would imagine most of you have seen the film, as it's pretty much the most iconic summer-themed thriller ever made. In case you haven't, here's the run-down. Shark attacks ravage the small beach town of Amity Island. With Fourth of July festivities coming up, the Mayor decides to keep the beaches open, despite the recommendations of the experts. Sound familiar yet? Of course, the shark continues to ravage the beaches, devouring more and more beach-goers, until proper action is finally taken.
"Do whatever you have to, to make it safe, but those beaches will be open this weekend." Those were among the many ridiculous words spoken by Amity Island's Mayor Vaughn. If this catastrophic blunder of epic proportions wasn't bad enough, then we have the sequel. In Jaws 2, taking place just three years later in the Amity timeline, Mayor Vaughn is still the Mayor! Not only, did the citizens of Amity Island not hold him accountable for his reckless actions, but they more than likely re-elected the idiot. They cast themselves right back into the belly of the beast. I don't think you need to be a political analyst to see the parallels.
Belly of the Beast
2oz Aged Puerto Rican Rum
1oz Overproof Jamaican Rum
1oz Aperol
1oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1oz Lime Juice
1oz Orange Juice
1oz Grapefruit Juice
4 dashes Angostura Bitters
Large Tiki vessel
Whip shake and pour unstrained.
Top with crushed ice.
Garnish with mint sprigs, flower, citrus ship, and smoldering cinnamon stick.
*Feel free to scale this down to a single drink by just cutting everything in half.*
Now what did we learn form this story? I think, in our current situation, the importance of voting is more crucial than ever before. If we let the disaster happening around us go unchecked, then we are no better than the folks on Amity Island. Change can never be made by sitting at home just complaining about things. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. "What do I know? I'm just a tiki bartender." Stay safe out there everyone, and keep shaking.
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