Friday Belt: T & A with Lord Chet

173 Years of Tradition - $19 a case

I first sampled Lord Chesterfield Ale by Yuengling back in 1985. It was introduced to me by a fellow park ranger at Valley Forge and I became a fan before I knew what hops even were. It's hoppy but not like an IPA. Crisp. Drinkable as all get out. I'm having one with Herr's Old Bay Potato Chips right now. Masses of red Old Bay are seeping between the keys of my laptop. Who cares. 'Tis the season...

There was talk of Yuengling from the PA guys when I served time at Ft Bragg -- Home of the Airborne and the cultural arm pit of North Carolina. Beer in NC was about as Wonder Bread as it could get. Bud, Miller, Stroh's. I'm falling asleep just thinking about it. The PA guys had their own language. Most of 'em were from Southeastern PA. "Pottsville, you bet!" Maceko would yell. Mace went on to OCS and was commissioned in the Infantry. A solid guy, Mace.


Like most of the boys from PA, they were who they said they were. One guy came back from a friend's funeral in Lancaster with a '72 red Cadillac convertible that was left to to him by the deceased. He knew it was a piece of shit. Told me it was a piece of shit. But if you told him it was a piece of shit... he'd take your head off, then your arms and he wouldn't stop until he was chewing your heel.


Today, I'm happy to say many of my friends are from Pee A, and I'm even happier I can secure a case of Chet for $19. That's a steal. While the hip suck on PBR, compare their tatts and sigh with resignation that everyone is hopping on their wagon -- Try the hops from Cascade via the Lord -- I don't think the Hip'll make it here for another year or two.


Turnbull & Asser, 50 East 57th Street, NYC

The one place you will not find the Hip is Turnbull & Asser. While working in London 20 years ago, the 20-something fashion plates would turn up their nose at contrasting (white) collars and cuffs. "Old fogey, mate. What are you? 50?" Well, yes. 20 years later. This is home to serious sartorial savvy. No Red Wings here. This is serious ass dressing and unlike Lord Chet, it don't come cheap.


Vintage T&A from the 1940s

But you do get what you pay for. Impeccable tradition, value and quality. Are you paying $150 for an alpha (S,M,L,XL) shirt with unmatched stripes yoke to sleeve and made in some place you can't pronounce? Yes? Then you need to have your head examined. Turnbull & Asser offer custom belts...with one hole. I love that idea. One. Hole. Very understated.


The, "How Much Beer Are You Drinking Belt."

I fell for this belt during my last visit at the new store in New York. I wish this was around when I was 25 with a 30" waist. Not that I could afford it then...or now. I'll tell you this...if I keep drinking Lord Chesterfield I'm never wearing this belt.

A Friday Belt - Bing, Bitters & Braces

Been doing a lot of walking and not much drinking in the last six weeks.  Consequently,  pounds have shed away but that's not why I'm walking and not drinking…so much.  Much of it has to do with health -- the drinking.  Some of it has to do with work -- the walking.  However it happened, I made several discoveries:  Lowa approach boots being the walking bit with Bing being the not-drinking bit.

A can of Bing can keep me going for four hours and five miles.  I kid you not.  It helps to like blackberries - And I love blackberries. At only 40 calories and 8g of carbs,  it's got a bite and a wild tartness that will keep the kids away. Which is good news at roughly $2 a can.  Last week I saw Fee Cranberry bitters and immediately thought of adding it to Bing.  It's amazing.  Four healthy shakes of  Fee, since I'm such a bitter man, and I swear there's vodka in there.  

And since the Friday belt - sans hooch - can't include a belt, I dug out the Reindeer braces. In the seven or so years I've owned them, they've been worn to three Christmas parties where they stayed under a jacket.  No one knew about them  -- but I knew they were there… just like low back pain. If you see a grimace - offer me a drink.

Friday Belt: Pure Value Tartans

Leather Man Pure Wool Tartan Belt

Usquaebach (oos-ke-bah) Pure Highland Malt Scotch Whisky

We've established I like good value. I like to say I'm cheap and while there's some truth to that when it comes to buying toilet paper - - I'll pay a premium for something unique. What I live for is to find something unique and cheap. Here are two belts that fit that bill.

I called in an order to Leather Man Belts for some tartan ribbon belts. I'd been admiring them over a year and they're unique. I knew I could customise the webbing but didn't know I could request an odd numbered length instead of even. So I did. I asked the fella taking the order if he could do something unique for me that nobody else can get. He wants to know why and I tell him about the Friday Belt.

He says, "I'm working on something new. Let me send you a sample and I'll see if we can't find something - - You know- - Understated." I like this guy a lot and he tells me his name is Cecil and thanks me for the order. The day after the tartans arrive I get this belt up there with a nice letter from Cecil who turns out to be the owner. This is a wool tartan, understated and in an odd length. You just don't see belts like this everyday. And you sure as hell don't get a letter from the owner of a company everyday.

Usquaebach is an off the radar pure malt (as opposed to single) blend that was sold to me as a single malt but according to the bottle is a blend and I can't find out anything about it. It was cheap for a single malt (but not for a blend) and reminds me of the crazily expensive Midleton Irish Whiskey which is a blend. Very honey like mouth feel with the roundness that comes from a blend but a tiny bit of fire in the after taste. For some odd reason room temp Volvic water is my must-have bloomer for neat whisky and it's required here.

Usquaebach was sold to me by a straight arrow salesman. A no nonsense gentleman who suggested I give it a try when I wanted something almost double the price. Maybe the current economy has everyone looking for good value. Whether you're selling or buying...we can all sympathize.

Cutty Sark - Not Just for the Big Girl's Blouse

Cutty Sark by F.M. Tinseth, oil on canvas, 1976

Cutty Sark in Flagler College dorm room, 1983

Cutty Sark in September Esquire, 1961

Rare Cutty Sark tie on even rarer yellow university stripe oxford, 2020

Cutty Sark by A. J. Tinseth, 2020

My old man was very proud of his Cutty Sark.  His painting...not the Scotch. He was a gin martini  man through and through and Beefeater gin was his go to.  I don't ever remember him drinking anything else except beer, of which he gave no brand his loyalty, or the occasional glass of wine, which, if he knew anything, he learned from me.

His Cutty Sark painting was about an image - he knew - was instantly recognizable...at least by himself and his peers in the officer's clubs he frequented. My connection to Cutty Sark is through Berry Brothers and Rudd.  A wine merchant in the Pall Mall area of London, I was first introduced to the 300 year old merchant via their catalogs a London friend, Vodka Ronnie, kept by his toilet.  Not the most glorious of beginnings but Vodka Ronnie had very good taste in wine.

Barry & Rudd, as it's more commonly known, came up with the idea for a light blended Scotch as they were wine merchants and I assume didn't want to blow their customer's palettes outta the water with a double barrel Islay. Their target customer were Septics (Septic Tank- Yank) who were about to get back into Rub a Dubs (Rub a Dub- Pub) as Prohibition was coming to an end. With the Septic in mind, a 20 single malt blend was used with mostly Big Girl's Blouse Speyside (Glenrothes) being the predominant malt.

"Whis-KAY" as it's pronounced over there also sounds a lot like "Cut-TAY."  When I hear one, I think of the other.  I'm not sure why.  It's a Lemmon-NAY Whis-KAY.  Light and dry and being that it's not too dear, I think it's best to be mixed, which I did, with a $20 bottle. I  tried it with Polar Bitter Lemon (find it - far better than Canada Dry) and it wasn't bad. I mixed it with lemon flavored seltzer and thought it completely changed the Cutty with the soda giving it a rounder and fuller taste of a scotch double the price. Impressive for those like me who are mean when it comes to their Whis-KAY.

I used it to make a Side Car replacing the brandy with Cutty -- A favorite of the tasting and something I look forward to ordering in a Rub a Dub, "Make mine a Cut-TAY side car, To-NAY." If you're thinking a Manhattan -- I wouldn't -- Although I did.  There's just not enough backbone to the Cutty. Having said that, if you're a beginning Scotch drinker, this is the tricycle for you, in much the way Barry & Rudd always intended it to be, even if you are a big girl's blouse; I wear a 14.

Manhattan MILF

Erudite. Spohisticated.  Long legs in Chanel suit.  Bobbed hair and pearls. Strolling up 5th at 62nd. 

2Oz Hine Cognac
1Oz Carpano Antica Vermouth
Regan's Orange Bitters
Schweppes Soda (Optional)
Garnish with a heart shaped cherry

Stir and serve on ice. Sweet but fleeting.  Don't fall in love because she'll break your heart.

The Friday Belt: Mille Miglia

Don't need to be rich to drink this wine...

although it would help to own this car

Banging 12 on my aesthetic meter - Lancia Aurelia Coupe

This lanyard is screaming to be made into a belt

Mille Miglia cook book (good luck finding it)

Banjo steering wheel

I wanna marry her

Cabbage, percorino cheese and milk? Is anyone in Umbria lactose intolerant?

I love that 1952 Lancia Aurelia Coupe. Red like the color of the Propriera Sperino Rose.

Can anything nail all the aesthetic senses like the Mille Miglia? It's Italian. It's a race (sort of). Lots of beautiful cars. And bars. And restaurants. And Italian food. And Italian girls. Even a beautiful Italian cook book. It's an over saturation of style and fun. But they don't have a belt. Gotta have a belt. That lanyard would make a beautiful ribbon number with black leather bridle and red canvas backing ala The Leather Man. Maybe needlepoint?

When I'm thinking about the Mille Miglia it helps to have a chilled Italian Rose. This stuff is on sale ($16) at Moore Brothers (NJ, DE, NYC) and it's a lot like the Castello di Ama Rose...A big wine unlike a lot of rose that reminds me of Bud Lite. It'll stand up to a grilled steak and works great with an Italian glazed chicken.

So take the Brioni off and put the Puccini on. Crumble off a hunk of parmesan reggiano. A little crusty bread, olive oil and some prosciutto. I take a cold sip of Rose and dream of driving the Mille Miglia in a Lancia. Maybe change my name to Tony. Just to hear an Italian woman say, "Ciao, Tony! Buena fortuna!"

For Tessa : The Friday Belt Returns

Schweppes Slimline Indian Tonic Water


The Strategy

When Tessa Scoffs tells me she wants something - - I jump. So, for Tessa, the Friday Belt returns.

Except for one or two falls off the Conestoga -- the Lent sacrifice went well while 15 pounds disappeared. I know that weight can come back in a heart beat so the focus is on sugarless drinks. It's a helluva motivator to look at the scale in the morning and watch it tick down. I want to take that and use it as an incentive before I have to give all my medium sized shirts to ADG.

Schweppes "Slimline Indian" Tonic is off the boat from the UK. Much better than their diet tonic in the states and with half a squeezed lime it makes a pretty darned good G&T. I don't where the hell you're gonna find Slimline Indian but I get mine at Myer's of Keswick (they also have Schweppes Bitter Lemon) in the West Village. It seems to me a perfect time for the G&T. The idea of drinking brown Scotch or a Bordeaux just seems wrong.

And so does wearing my brown Sling Belt. I stick pretty close to the rules when it comes to white bucks and seersucker but who says you can't break out a Madras belt before Labor Day? I ordered this one for spit last Winter. Earlier this week, ADG and I were shooting the crap with Jay Kos and we all agreed that when J Crew is offering tons of patch madras it's time to look for alternatives. But the Madras patch belt is a subtle little flash of 1965 college wear. And subtle, as Tessa will tell you, is key.

Friday Belt: Green & Orange Sidecar

Hands down my favorite Leather Man tartan belt. The Buchnan pretty much goes with any color because every color is in it. The orange cords are Italian, washable and they'll get you a free coffee at ING Cafe on Friday. The Golf Foxtrot threw them in the dryer and now they're very hi - water. And that's ok. They're perfect for slushing through NY winters in LL Bean Boots.

The other Friday belt is an opportunity to hoist my frugal flag: Brandy. Decaumont has been aged 10 years, it's made in France and can be had for $15 to $20. It's softer than a VSOP cognac at a third of the price. Perfect for mixing. Legend claims the Sidecar cocktail was invented during WW I in Paris by an American army captain who rode in a motorcycle's sidecar to the bar he invented it in . That makes me so proud.

It's classic and like all things classic - it's simple. 2oz of Brandy. 2oz of Cointreau. 1oz of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Tart and sweet with cinnamon undercurrent from the Brandy. It's amazing.

I remember hearing old folks order these at a road house just west of Lake Bluff, IL on 176. That was 1990. Now I'm old folk drinking 'em. In my hi - water orange cords. Life is going by fast and like my father told me...it's just like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end - - the faster it goes.

Friday Belts: Flying Turkeys

The Aviation Cocktail - A Turkey that can fly

2 Oz Gin

1/2 Oz Lemon juice

2 teaspoons Maraschino liqueur

1/4 Oz Creme de Violette

Add Ice and Shake - The drink not you

The Turkey Belt - It can't fly

The Aviation Cocktail is a whole lotta effort for a gin and grapefruit juice. At least that's what it tastes like to me. In short, it never takes off depsite a whole lotta buzz.

There's mucho hype, marketing, puffery, sick, cool and tasty on the web -- I never want you to think I'd hesitate to call something out for what it is. And when it's BS like this cocktail - - You're gonna hear about it here.

I now have two bottles of useless liqueurs. Creme de Violette and Luxardo Maraschino are taking up a lot space on a very small bar. The Italian Luxardo comes in straw and has a super cool label with the 1821 Trademark and all kinds of awards. Folks see this on your bar and they're gonna think, "Hey, this guy knows what he's doing." Of course, they would be wrong but the impression will only cost you $30 - That's not bad for an impression.

The Creme de Violette is an ugly bottle with Art Decco pretensions. Rothman & Winter make this Violet liqueur in Austria. Maybe Hitler had this stuff on his bar up there on Eagle's Nest. It would certainly explain why he didn't drink.

It really does taste like a flower and that ain't good. Not for me. I remember eating some flowers on a dare when I was 12 years old and getting very sick. Creme de Violette took me right back to up chucking in the back seat of the family station wagon while my two sisters laughed at me all the way from Columbia, SC to Charlotte, NC.

Cherry and violette will be on my bar 'til I die most likely. I don't see this stuff getting much use and neither will this Turkey belt from Staffords. It does remind me of the WKRP in Cincinnati episode, Turkeys Away, where the radio station manager, Mr Carlson, drops live turkeys from a helicopter over the Pinewood shopping center. Add, "I Thought Turkeys Could Fly" onto this ribbon belt and you could really have something.

I suspect this belt will be worn once a year. On July 4th for the only reason people will ask why I'm wearing a turkey belt on the 4th. And I'll tell them, "Because turkeys can't fly. Wanna cocktail that can?"

The Friday Belt: A Foggy Day

I had the gin. I always have the gin. I needed lemons and Pernod. I never keep Pernod.

Last night I cracked open Wally Stroby's new novel, Gone 'Til November. I was surprised to see my name in the acknowledgments. Why'd he do that? He also has this annoying habit of putting people's thoughts in italicized font. I finished the book and was struck by how Wally captured Florida and it's people. And the fog.

Am I making any sense? I've never seen fog like the fog I've seen in Florida. Maybe it's the elevation, the humidity, the swamps. I dunno. But it's thick and damned near impossible to drive through. Wally has a scene in the fog that's absolutely terrifying. It's bad enough dealing with mother nature in Florida but throw into the mix some heavily armed thugs from Newark, NJ and a parcel of stoned Haitian drug dealers with Soviet AKs and things get interesting.

And this morning I thought of the Foggy Day. An ounce and half of gin. A quarter ounce of Pernod. An ounce of water and a quarter ounce of lemon juice. Stir and throw in a slice of lemon. It's foggy to look at and if you have more than one -- I suggest you stay far away from I-95 between Jacksonville and St Augustine on a foggy morning. You never know what you'll run into.

The Friday Belt: A Lighthouse

I'm sitting here...
Having one of these...

Thinking about how to do this...

and this...

for the Friday Belt.

But I had no idea what to do for a drink. A cocktail is needed. But what'll go with a lighthouse belt? I was stumped. Until this morning. But I'm out of the key ingredients. So, if you don't mind...I'll be back in about an hour.

Friday Belt: A Sucker for Color

Sure it's busy but so am I hence the MTM gingham (part 3)

The pattern matching is off on that belt loop

A 6 pack that belongs in MOMA

In Jungle Expert School we tried to lure spider monkeys from the trees with shiny c- ration can tops in the hope of fresh meat. If I were a spider monkey in Panama I would have been dead a long time ago. I like bright and shiny.

Friday's belt is a tartan from Leather Man. They're a surcingle belt and cheap as all get out. Less than 30 bucks and you're still getting something very original. You pick out the ribbon and the backing from plenty of options. That's a Dress Stewart ribbon on red cotton webbing.

We went into Colon and I was introduced to legalized prostitution and nasty Panamanian hooch. One outta two ain't bad. There was a local whiskey that tasted like tea and their beer was horrible. You could say the same for Schmidt but is that can a work of art or what?

It has a sour/tart after taste but it's crisp and drinks well when it's really cold. Take one out of the fridge and pop it into the freezer for five minutes. I would imagine pee tastes good that cold but I'd prefer to imagine. $14 a case. I hear you can find it for $11 a case in some places. And sitting among today's most boring packaging, beer bottles and cans, it really stands out with a nostalgia I like.

Cheap beer and cheap belts. You couldn't ask for more. Except maybe cheap prostitution which takes us back to Panama.

Friday Belts: Montsant & Coogan's Bluff

Don't ask for it by name...

Ask for it by region

Clint Eastood's Belt

Spain has always had a cowboy image for me. Maybe it started with Sergio Leone and the Clint Eastwood westerns which, while Italian, were shot in Spain. I also like that Spain is regional with blonde, blue eyed bag pipe players in the north and the more standard Spainard in the south. I've never been to Spain but when I go -- This is where I'm going...

Montsant. Remember that. It's an area of northern Spain that wraps around the Priorat region. Five years ago my NYC foodie buddy and client introduced me to Priorat wines. Big mothers that were unique and cheap and perfect for smoked meat tapas. Word got out about Priorat and prices have soared. You find a bargain. Word gets out. The old distributor gets fired. The wine disappears for a year and a new distributor brings it back at four times what you were paying for it.

Montsant is still a secret. Most people who work in wine don't know it but be assured they will. My NYC foodie buddy turned me onto these wines last Summer. Fantastic reds for $15 to $25. Big and earthy and easy to drink. I don't even decant. Like the Priorats, these are bang on with meat. Big steaks, winter stews, smoked meats, bean soups and anything else that lacks subtlety like BBQ ribs and rack of lamb. I recommend calling wine stores and asking for anything from Montsant. Anything! If they know it and have it --you're in luck and not in Ft Wayne.

Basket weave belts always remind me of the Sam Browne rig I had as a deputy sheriff. But basket weave in this tan reminds me of the American west, Justin boots, a gas station in Amarillo with nothing but pancake flat around it. Clint Eastwood's character wore this belt when he stepped off the helicopter on top of the Pan Am building in Coogan's Bluff. If he didn't he should have. $30 for a suede lined belt made by Triple K in San Diego. You can't beat that with a stick.

It's regional to be sure. At home out west or in the south east and just like Coogan it's refreshing to see it here in NYC. Something out of place but telling in it's simplicity and charm. Nothing Gucci 'G' or Hermes 'H' screaming from a man's crotch. Just a simple and quiet, "Yes, ma'am."

Friday Belts I Can't Own or Make: The Blue Blazer & Alan Flusser

Gary can't get The Blue Blazer going until 7:37 in but it's worth the wait

Alan Flusser's Custom Shop sits off 5th Avenue on 48th Street next to the old Scribner's book store and it is a very dangerous place. When Thomas Wolfe was paid for 'Look Homeward, Angel' he stepped out of Scribner's with the check in hand and walked north in a daze. He wasn't aware of where he was until 125th Street. Had Flusser been in business then I suspect he would have only had to walk around the block into 3 E. 48th and take the elevator to four.

I adore this place. The richness of just about everything here is overwhelming. It's like a museum and ADG at Maxminimus got me in with a warm introduction before he knew I was Joe Shit the Ragman. Everywhere you look there's perfection. The socks are perfect. The shoes are perfect. Even the belts are perfect.

Alligator tab surcingles in three patterns of perfect Spring and Summer haberdashery. But the warning bells were ringing. I didn't want to know how much they were. I was that scared. I've learned in NYC to take a guess at what something costs and then multiply it by four. These are too rich for my blood and my self preservation kicked in and got me out of there alive. Although I never wanted to leave.

Michael Batterberry is someone who belongs in Flusser's shop. This erudite editor of Food Arts Magazine was last seen on The Trad dining at Le Veau d'Or with Anthony Bourdain. Batterberry and his wife Ariane co-authored this book on NYC restaurant history going back to the American Revolution. If you love history and restaurants this book will blow you outta the water - - bottled or tap.

The book really starts to move around the late 19th century but I found the slower 18th and early 19th centuries to be most enjoyable. Amazing characters, rich food and bizarre appetites for alcohol. Above is an 18th century recipe for a cocktail called the Blue Blazer. Sounds simple enough. Whiskey and hot water. Light it and pour it back and forth between two cups. I don't mind a little risk but I'll be honest...I'm a klutz. I was told in the army I could fuck up an anvil with a rotten banana. And as much as I wanted to give this a try...I know myself too well. But that doesn't mean you can't give it a go. Fire is good. And fire can kill. I feel the same way about Flusser.

The Friday Belt: Black Bottled Winter

Let Us Unite


Cameron Hunting Tartan


Black Bottle Islay Blended Scotch

It's always nice to come back to the Friday Belt. Whenever I meet someone who's familiar with The Trad -- it's usually the first thing they comment on. I write it Thursday night while trying on content and trying to figure out a different way to photograph a belt and a bottle. It ain't easy, and it isn't always successful but that's what I like about it. Geez, I feel like Andy Rooney... Anyway, here's another tartan belt by Leather Man in Essex, CT

Cecil, the owner and a helluva nice guy, calls this a Cameron tartan (located here). For $30 bucks, that's a lotta belt. Most anything you get from Leather Man usually is. I did some digging around and this tartan appears to be the Cameron 'Hunting' tart designed in 1956. That doesn't do much for dusting off the history books, but I almost always prefer the darker Hunting tartans.

Pairs well with thick Winter cords and moleskins. I have a shirt of the same tartan. Love to pair it with this belt. Freaks people out, "Hey, is that the same...?" "What?" "Your belt. It's the same as your..." "What are you talking about?" I feel like Carson Kressley.

Dark Winter nights do not favor the sun kissed Gin & Tonic or Dark & Stormy. When it's cold and black out (or in), I need something that'll burn bright going down.

Black Bottle reminds me of a dangerous shore at night. A night we would describe as, "darker than the inside of a goat" at Ft Bragg. It's peaty - 7 different Islay single malts - and, I kid you not, you can smell and taste the sea. Maybe that's the Laphroaig coming through. Maybe not. No one knows what the single malts are but at $22 a bottle -- Who cares.

That's two Black Bottles for one green Laphroaig. I love Laphroaig, but $22 cuts a lot of Islay family ties, mate. You can slip this past your single malt drinkers friends -- they'll never know it's a blend. Serve two ounces neat with just a bloom of water and no one's the wiser... but ignore all questions pertaining to your belt and shirt.