Sweet, acidic, owning a unique flavor, capable and easily lending it’s blood to nay cause, the common raspberry is so often overlooked because of it’s penchant for always hanging around like an unwanted houseguest. It is it’s own fault for being so reliable and steadfast, always available and I’m guessing easy to grow, that its consistency overshadows its positive qualities. The raspberry is the friend you call last but who is the most loyal.

In diversity terms of overall usage, the raz falls to the strawberry, but it packs more acidic punch and there’s less variations, it seems, between farms whereas the strawberry veers wildly at times. Adding fresh raspberries and, ulp, muddling, into a cocktail adds another level of complexity especially alongside and to complement other fruits. Using fresh instead of syrup also does this. Here’s an example from one of my favorite classic cocktails:

Clover Club

1.5 oz. London Dry Gin

.75 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz. Simple Syrup

.5 oz. Dry Vermouth

4 Muddled Raspberries

White of One Egg

The typical Clover Club operates with raspberry syrup but it’s so much better with freshly muddled.

If you’re out there experimenting, manzanilla sherry and raspberry are the two kids in class that should be separated because they have too much fun together.

Goddam, what a day. A couple of people in the building had faulty clickers and had problems opening the garage gate. Mine worked just fine. What can I say? I went to the water place on Western…There was a strange green algae growing in my water jugs…Yeah, this may sound totally insane to anyone not from L.A. but I don’t drink tap or filtered water. For one, the filters don’t work for shit. Although I don’t believe fluoride is some kind of weird mind control device, I do believe it’s not good for you to drink old shit and piss water with who knows how many chemicals in it. It ain’t mumbo jumbo…And I don’t think the Earth is flat in case you’re wondering…

7 Side Effects of Consuming Fluoride You Should Know About

• Tooth Discoloration. Consumption of too much of fluoride leads to yellowed or browned teeth. …
• Tooth Decay. High intake fluoridated water can lead to the weakening of enamel. …
• Skeletal Weakness. …
• Neurological Problems. …
• High Blood Pressure. …
• Acne. …
• Seizures.

Here you go…Because the Googs told me so…This isn’t just a cocktail blog it’s also for your well being.

So, I went up there and of course they chisel the shit out of you to clean the glass jugs…$5 a pop…And as I’m unloading the water jugs which are unwieldly and heavy, there’s a guy in the garage that I don’t want to see because he’s being evicted and I know he’s going to give me an earful of shit about it even though I have nothing to do with it. The guy and his parents have been here for 19 goddam years. Crazy. Hey brother, I don’t know what to tell ya…

…Back to the razzies. They make great syrup, we already went over the muddling aspect…The only thing they lack is to be infusion worthy which is where the strawberry is vastly superior. I made lacto fermented raspberries the other day, dehydrated them, buzzed them, and used the salty little bastards for a fantastic raspberry tajin.