little girl found: It was a Dark and Stormy Night

I wonder when I'll run out of rain-themed post ideas? Hopefully not for a while since I think we're in for some pretty significant thunderboomers (there! another name for a thunderstorm!).

So, if you're keeping up my dear four readers, last night I was considering NOT going to "The Blind Pig" with the hubs to meet some friends because it was POURING outside. Thankfully, the rain abated, I threw on some clothes and we headed over to the general area where we thought this little Speakeasy was located. Now, there have already been some super clever blogs about this place that I couldn't (and wouldn't) attempt to duplicate. If you're interested, you can read more about The Blind Pig here:

Mr. Delicous: The Blind Pig, Makati's Best Poorly Kept Secret

Enroute: Through the Dark and Into Blind Pig Speakeasy Makati

Maraisms: A Night at Blind Pig Speakeasy Salcedo

At least I can say that I am not the only one who has broken one of the cardinal speakeasy rules by letting the world in on this little "secret". It's been done before and heck, is probably being done right now by someone else since one of our companions is a fellow blogger and our husbands caught us taking the same (flashless) photos of the menu and rules. Lame? Maybe. But at least we're not alone in our lameness.

I don't want to turn this into a review but I loved this place. The drinks, while expensive, were worth every penny and I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say husbear's gin and tonics were the best gin and tonics I've EVER tasted. There is a menu you can order from and I think between the 10 or so of us, we managed to try one of everything but, like other bloggers have mentioned, you can also just tell the bartender what you're feeling and he'll throw together something that will knock your socks off. For my first drink, I decided to let him do just that. I wanted strawberries, mint, and vodka -- "not too sweet" I said. Well, alas, they were out of strawberries but offered me a choice of blueberry or raspberry. I chose blueberry. What arrived was nothing short of perfect. She called it a Blueberry Caipirorka and it like a mojito but less sugary sweet and more....well blueberrily bliss like. As great as my drink was, the Gin and Tonic Zach had with a kielbasa-sized chunk of ice was like drinking spring in a glass. Yum!

For my second drink, I ordered off the menu. I thought, given the night we'd had so far, it was more than appropriate to order the Dark and Stormy (dark rum, fresh ginger syrup, and fresh lime juice). It was great but would have been better with some food probably. I don't know what it was exactly but I kept wishing the popcorn we'd ordered hadn't already been demolished. The ginger gave it a nice little kick and left my lips burning just a tad but it was missing some sort of munchie. Maybe I was just getting the midnight snackies?? Who knows.

The Dark and Stormy

The only drawback to our evening? With our group, they should have renamed the joint a "Speakloudly". I love socializing as much as the next person but I think some of the vibe of the place was lost on us. It seems a more appropriate venue for a couple on their third date or perhaps a party of four. Our 10ish colleagues and friends gathered for a farewell party were a bit overpowering in the somewhat diminutive establishment. I wouldn't trade the group OR the conversation; I'm simply saying I'll be back Pig....and I will make it my mission to get my prohibition vibe on.

Dammit! I totally forgot that I was going to make this posting about The Blind Pig different by telling you why the hell they call it that in the first place. A quick search will get you that answer but since I think it's super cool and reminds me of dry county rules in today's day and age, I thought I'd just tell ya instead of making you look it up.

So a Speakeasy was also referred to as a "Blind Pig" or "Blind Tiger" back in the prohibition era. Much like happy hour specials on food that you see in dry counties*, in Speakeasies a customer would pay a fee to see an attraction (like a blind pig or blind tiger) and would then be served a complimentary alcoholic beverage thereby circumventing the law.

[*In some dry counties, happy hours are restricted to food products only. Meaning, the establishment can discount food stuffs as a way to draw customers in but NOT alcohol. It's a wacktastic law in bassackwards bible belt towns. Too many southern euphemisms there? Too bad. :)]

Anyway, I think it's an all around super cool idea and in case you're wondering, it did take us a hot minute to find the joint but when we did, it didn't disappoint.