Homemade Gin.

Now we are talking.

Or swearing.

In the mood for swearing? If you missed the 200th Toadcast, aptly named The Cusscast, listen here for an earful. Funny as hell.

Let’s have a drink.

Homemade Gin

Ingredients:

1 (750ml) bottle of inexpensive vodka
2 Tbsp juniper berries
3/4 tsp coriander seed
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp fennel seed
3 green cardamom pods
2 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf, torn into pieces
1 (3-inch) sprig fresh rosemary
1 (2-inch-long) fresh lemon or lime peel
1 (1-inch) sprig fresh lavender (I used dried as that was all I could get)

Directions:

1. Infuse juniper in the vodka overnight.

2. Add remaining spices and herbs the next day and allow to infuse for 8 to 12 hours longer.

3. Decant into a decorative (or not) bottle.

Recipe from Ian Knauer

How about a Gin & Tonic?

With so much music out there, you know something is pretty special when it gets played in my kitchen every day.

The album ‘Cold Seeds’ is pretty special.

I got my copy of ‘Cold Seeds’ by Animal Magic Tricks/ King Creosote/ Meursault/ Cold Seeds over 3 months ago and I still cannot listen to it enough. It is a 2010 musical collaboration/project of Kenny Anderson from King Creosote, Frances Donnelly (Animal Magic Tricks), and Neil Pennycook and Peter Harvey of Meursault.

What is fascinating about this collection of songs is how very different each one is and how much is going on in the music.

I swear (oops! that’s the gin) that I hear all sorts of shit (ooh…sorry) going on in the background. Under the layers of music there seems to be hints of television or radio, white noise, static. And Floyd, the very missed Toad cat, even makes a vocal contribution in the song Leave Me To Lie Alone In The Ground.

I love the unpolished quality of much of ‘Cold Seeds’. Without overproduction you can hear the gorgeous vocals and appreciate how the voices intertwine with the instruments. Each singer is so distinctive as their voices hover over each other. Unbelievably good.

When I asked Matthew, of Song, By Toad Records, what the band might like me to make for them he wasn’t sure but replied that “Pete (cellist) pours the most fearsome Gin & Tonics that I’ve ever had.”

Wow! I want Pete to make me a Fearsome G & T.

What makes it fearsome?

This?

Gin up to here?

Maybe up here?

In the bleachers?

Maybe Pete has a special ingredient. I’ll have to get his recipe.

Time to listen.

Choosing a song to play was really hard. I love every single one so much.

Beauty won out in the end. Beautiful melody, beautiful lyrics, beautifully played instruments. I never know whether to smile or cry.
Animal Magic Tricks/King Creosote/Meursault/Cold Seeds-Bubble

You can check out the band on their Website, Myspace and on Facebook.

If you’re going to buy just one cd this month, I highly recommend ‘Cold Seeds’. Get the music on their Website or at Song, By Toad Records.

Cheers!