What's the Best Whiskey Chaser?

WHO INVENTED THE JAMESON PICKLEBACK SHOT?
Guest blog by Kanna Smith

My mom and I may not have gotten along when I was younger, but boy do things change. After an exhausting December day filled with obligations, we decided to grab a drink.

I’d never done shots with my mom before, and she was long past her shot days, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer.

After all, “Jameson and good decisions” was my life motto.

I might be less than classy after six or seven shots, but I’m the best version of myself with a little Irish in me. So we were off to the Hermosa Saloon.

Little did I know that it would end with me giving this tiny woman a piggyback ride on our trek home.

Like everyone’s favorite party-harty man-whore, Jameson is everywhere —loved by many and despised by those he fucked over (the weak). And those people are easily coaxed back to Jame-o with a simple pickleback.

If you're going to be an asshole who orders a chaser, try pickle juice. The judgmental stare of a bartender seems to soften when you request a pickleback.

Though she was hesitant, my mom is a drinking champion. It was pretty impressive to watch a 5’3” 105 pound woman toss back shots the way she did. I finally knew where I got it from. One shot turned to two, two shots turned to three, and three shots turned into forcing the bartender to join in our fun.

Like most nights that end in mornings hunched over toilets regretting every life-choice ever
made, we’d had no intention of getting so wrecked.

Between the shots, we mended a once-broken relationship. Picklebacks helped.

Who knew that brine would cut the burn of alcohol and the past? A goddamned genius.

Piggybacks after Picklebacks

---

Legend has it an old lady with gold teeth walked into the Bushwick Country Club one night and asked for multiple shots and chasers of brine. The bartender liked it so much, he coined the term "pickleback" back in 2006.

Mostly people in NYC shot pickle brine behind Old Crow Bourbon. Salt changes the PH and seems to lessen the burn of ethanol. Alcohol burn whilst doing many shots can lead to sore throats and worse hangovers.

I like to think it's Las Vegas's obsession with Jameson Irish Whiskey is what propelled the pickleback to international notoriety.

Meditation vs Napping for Wellness

Napping and Meditating are both about making time for your mental wellness. Here's how to do it.

Meditate for pees

Here's an experiment: Close your left eye for 30 seconds. Now, if you close your eyes alternately, you'll find that your left is seeing colors much more brightly than your right.

I kind of think that's what meditation's about. You ever hear people talk about meditation, and they're telling you how clearly they're able to see the world after their meditation session?

"Everything seems fresher and clearer."
"You rested your eyes in the middle of the day. Grandpa does that. The cats do that."
It's called napping.

I lived two minutes away from my last job and when the hours stretched into abusive territory, I would skate home and put my head down for 15 minutes. When I woke up, I would feel energized and ready to go back to work. Like a brand new man, I strutted back through those restaurant doors and staff members would remark on how well-rested I looked, and I would remark on how everything looked fresher and clearer.

Fact: Napping makes you sexier

I don't know if you've heard, but restaurants will take all your hours if you let them. A restaurant coworker told me he wanted his wife to take a job managing an Applebee's. I yelled at him "Do you hate your wife? You'll never see her again!"

When I couldn't nap, I'd just cower in a dark room and turn on white noise and pretend to sleep (meditate) and I achieved the same results. I didn't sneak out every day, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have found a way. 

A while back I saw a report about cracking skulls open to put electrodes in the brains of people suffering clinical depression. All sewn up, they'd say they saw colors more brightly and the world in a brighter light.

Just close your eyes and breathe for a little bit!

Here's what we should do as Americans since every American thinks every other American is lazy:

• Say you're going to your car/office/house to "meditate."
• Get dark. Put something on your face if you can't turn out the lights.
• Set a timer on your phone. Find tons of apps for this, but your phone has a clock, right?
• Try to nap but don't stress if you can't. Rest is rest.
• Think about your breathing or the clouds passing through the sky.

Most people won't judge you for meditating. If they do, switch it up. Say you're going for a nap; it's pretty much the same thing. If that doesn't work, tell your coworkers you need to smoke or call your nagging wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend; tell whatever lie it takes to disappear for 15 minutes.

Using your lunch break is for suckers.

It's for your wellness!