Smorgasbord #27

Bobby, Gibberish, Bevvy & Corazón

Hello friends! This is Smorgasbord, a self-service buffet of ideas—the bottomless mimosas of newsletters.

A lot happened this week over here at Châtelet Cantú. For once, our two-year-old is now our three-year-old, and I’m lamenting that my baby is now a big boy. He’ll always be my baby, but my goodness, time is passing extra fast. Our six-year-old had a 24-hour stomach bug that (knock on wood) has spared the rest of the crew. Lastly, if you could say a prayer for my oldest son, who is receiving his first reconciliation today, we would greatly appreciate it. He’s a bit nervous about forgetting part of the act of contrition or the order of things, but I’m sure he’ll be alright.

Alright, let’s get into it.

---

Bobby

Company is a musical from the 1970s with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. Furth had eleven one-act plays, which eventually made it to Sondheim’s desk, who, asking a friend for his opinion on the material, told him it could be a musical about New York with a central character involved in all the stories. And so, Company was born.

There have been several revivals of the musical both on Broadway and the West End, and recently, I introduced Diana to the 2006 revival. Company is the story of Robert, a 35-year-old bachelor who sees how all of his married friends are unhappily married or getting divorced while he wrestles with the idea of settling down. Even though it is a rather sad story, there are some things I love about this revival.

The leading man, Raúl Esparza, is probably my favorite Bobby (better than Neil Patrick Harris, in my opinion)—the minimalistic production, with three stools that are rearranged to create different spaces. The cast also doubles as the band. Thirteen humans were cast based on their abilities to sing, act, and play instruments.

As I said, even though it’s a sad (in my opinion) musical, mainly because of its portrayal of marriage (my personal experience has been completely different), I still think that having this sense of awe to see humans act, sing, and play an instrument in a show that someone wrote dialogue, music, and lyrics for is amazing.

You can watch the 2006 revival of Company here. If you do, let me know what you think in the comments.

---

Read/Write

I’ve been really bad at reading lately, both on Substack and in books. However, here's what I read this week that I think you may like.

• I read a couple of the stories from the Gibberish Writing Competition. I read

  Hyun Woo Kim
  ‘s story “Howling,” and
  E.B. Howard
  ‘s story “The Dead Zone.” If you want to keep up with the competition, click here.

• My beautiful bride (

  Diana Cantu
  ) wrote “Bring Your Loaves and Fishes,” where she talks about saying yes to God and giving him what little we have.

• I wrote a bit microfiction, Surrender, Threat, and Cigarrillo, the last one in Spanish.

---

Good company, good cocktails

It’s been a while since I've included a cocktail recipe, and this week, I’m giving you two. Both of these are referenced in songs from the musical Company. First up, we have the Sazerac Sling. In “Have I Got a Girl for You,” all of Bobby’s married friends are trying to set him up. Larry tells Bobby he knows a girl “with a weakness for Sazerac slings.”

A sling is a long drink that usually has spirit, sugar, citrus or fruit juice, bitters, and soda water. One of the most popular is the Singapore Sling. But in this case, a Sazerac Sling would be a regular Sazerac served on a high ball with ice and soda water.

Ingredients

• Absinthe (to rinse)

• One (1) sugar cube

• 1/2 tsp cold water

• Four (4) dashes of Peychaud’s bitters

• 2 1/2 oz of Rye Whiskey

• Soda water

Steps

1. Rinse a high-ball glass with absinthe, discarding any excess, add ice to the glass and set aside.

2. In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar cube, water, and Peychaud’s bitters.

3. Add the rye whiskey, fill the mixing glass with ice and stir 15­–20 seconds, until well-chilled.

4. Strain into the high-ball glass and top with soda water.

In “Ladies Who Lunch,” Joanne discusses how Vodka Stingers are the drink of choice of New York’s high class. Originally, the Stinger was a cognac and crème de menthe drink served after dinner as a digestif or a nightcap. It is believed that the mint flavor was used to mask the low-quality taste of some spirits before Prohibition. It even appeared in the 1956 movie “High Society” starring Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, and James Bond drinks one in the 1956 novel “Diamonds Are Forever.”

The Stinger evolved and became passé around the 1970s, which is when Company is set in. I’ve never had one of these, but if mint is your thing, you may want to make this one.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Vodka

• 1 oz Crème de Menthe

Steps

1. Add the ingredients to a shaking tin filled with ice.

2. Shake for about 10-20 seconds.

3. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

---

Spanish Lesson

This week’s Spanish lesson is “Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente”

Literal translation: Eyes that don’t see, heart that doesn’t feel.

Meaning: The absence of something or someone helps forget that which you love or experience less negative feelings when experiencing misfortune.

Example: “I’ve decided to stop reading the news. Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente.”

---

Peregrino is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

---

Sobremesa

1. Do you like musicals? What’s your favorite one?

2. Which one sounds better to you? The Sazerac Sling or the Vodka Stinger?

3. Is there an equivalent saying for “Ojos que no ven…” in English?