It all started with a Napoleon. And a desire for a cocktail after dinner. The Napoleon, uneaten, and so taken away in a box from a late lunch at Petit Trois was the itch, scratching my brain. It’s eggy vanilla aroma permeates the car on the way home and a bottle of newly purchased Bulleit Rye clinks next to me. I get the vision of a vanilla driven rye cocktail sipped along with that Napoleon.
Ludo’s Napoleons aren’t delicate fine things with a slick of sweet white icing across the top. No, they’re robust and sturdy finished off with a perfect shard of bruléed confectioner’s sugar. They are so thick that I’ve never eaten one by cutting down a bite with my fork. Instead I pluck off the top layer of crunchy puff paste and the clinging pastry cream, which leaves another layer of the same to munch later open-face sandwich style. This is the life of the food obsessed. Upon googling rye and vanilla I found Brandon at Kitchen Konfidence and a recipe for an Old-Fashioned made with vanilla sugar. I always keep a jar of sugar studded with vanilla beans in the pantry, so his recipe was quick to put together. Here’s my version. I’m making some vanilla syrup to keep in the fridge for the next one.
I love old timey things. I even love the term old timey. Whenever I
hear it, everything turns into sepia tone and rag time music starts
playing. Then my iPhone rings and I realize I need to update my blog
and twitter. I'm happy I wasn't born in the 30's but I enjoy many
things about it. Mainly the influx of bars that seem to embrace that
old timey feel. Did Mad Men have something to do with this? Probably.
I'll be the first to admit prior to watching Don Draper I never had an
Old Fashioned. I now love Old Fashioneds. I even make a really good Old
Fashioned. 
What could be better than to customize the label on your soda? Well, yeah, world peace, but in the meantime, Jones Soda, which my daughter Lena turned me on to, has done that. Right from the beginning. In fact, they’ve gotten awards for their unique packaging and constantly changing labels, which are generated and submitted by their customers. Their attitude is clearly expressed by other product lines such as their energy drink: WhoopAss. This season you can give the gift of Holiday Collectors Packs. Be “thankful” Thanksgiving is over. They had Turkey and Gravy Flavor. Look out Bernie Botts. 
They say the eyes are the window to a person's soul, but I disagree. I'm pretty sure it's the hair. Seriously.
There are three types of people in this world: those that like cherries, those that like cherry-flavored, and those that like neither (or both, which makes this category 4 I suppose). I’m wedged into the latter but have slowly learned to appreciate the seasonal gift of fresh cherries.