VD
Why are you being hustled by street vendors to buy sad and drooping former roses, vegetative matter that missed the cut for bouquets, or were too late to the hospital?
Blame Esther A. Howland (1828 – 1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her guilt is writ large by the Greeting Card Association’s Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary. She imported the concept to the US from Britain to bolster her father’s stationery store in 1847.
Of course, it wasn’t long before the stationers had infiltrated school boards and imposed the now mandatory exchange in the classroom to push the low end product of Asian children and prisoners.
Seeing the success of the card merchants, the confectioners jumped on board to fill the lull between Christmas and Easter with the benefit that the bulk of purchases would be made by desperate men with less sense of taste than a golden retriever. If the box was red, heart-shaped, and said chocolate, a man would buy it.
There were at least three Saint Valentines and all were martyrs, as they should have been for the trouble they’ve caused. None are the reason for the “holiday”, only the excuse. They lived at a time when life and men were short and brutal, so the romantic aura of the holiday is pure piffle. At least one was reportedly part of a draft dodging scheme during the Roman Empire, marrying people so that men with “other priorities” could avoid being deployed to foreign wars, bachelors being preferred for catapult fodder.
It is to be hoped that the individual who first wrote: “Roses are red, violets are blue” was eaten by rabid wolverines, or had hemorrhoids.
8 comments
Remember: VD. Share it with someone you love. :).
Someone will think we aren’t getting into the spirit of the day 😉
Mmmmmmmm… I’d LOVE to get into the spirit!! 😈
Something like… oh, say a 100 yo Cognac, like a Louis XIII Rare Cask 42,6, or maybe a Camus Cuvee 5.150…
But, given that I no longer have the fund’s I once enjoyed, I may have to settle for something a tad less extravagant. Maybe a 10 yo Pierre Ferrand Ambre. Or perhaps a half-decent Scotch. I’d love to taste the 38 yo Chivas Royal Salute Stone Of Destiny again. But I’d settle for the 21 yo Royal Salute as I’m on a budget. 😉
I was reading that someone discovered an extremely rare bottle of a 1789 Courvoisier & Curlier (only one known to exist). It’s estimated to be valued at about $200,000! Mmmmmm. My taste buds are in overload!
How’s that for the spirit of the day? 😛
LOL
That’s wonderful for the ‘spirits’, but doesn’t sound like anything one would be likely to share.
After I stopped making regular flights to Europe I was a bit overwhelmed by sticker shock when I looked at the prices of sundry things I once quaffed with abandon in Europe – they are really obscenely expensive in the US.
Yeah, I know what you mean about sticker shock!
Oh, I don’t mind sharing… with the right person! (ie. Someone I really like and who would appreciate these kinds of spirit’s) 😉 🙂
One of my oldest friends (who has some money) bought an antique corner cabinet several years ago from the 1840’s (I forget the exact date). It was a bit beat up, but in reasonable condition. He’d gotten to know an antique restorer here pretty well over the years. He decided to get the cabinet fixed, and was told it would take at least 6 months (and cost a small fortune). I was visiting my friend a month or so later, when he got a call from the restorer who told him he better get down there right away. So we go…
It seems the old cabinet had a well hidden secret compartment, and inside was ( and I swear on my honor!) an old wooden straw lined box, with a silk wrapped bottle of Cognac Grande Champagne Louis XV 1888! We all started it it in awe and amazement for I don’t know how long! It was in almost perfect condition, with the hand printed paper label. Finally, the restorer asked my friend what he wanted to do with it, and said he knew a vintage wine merchant that could get a really good price for it and it would easily cover the cost of the restoration. My friend looked at me and asked what I thought (as he knew I’d studied as a Sommelier, and I’d helped him stock his cellar). I said it was extremely rare, and worth thousands! He nodded and said he’d take it home and think about it.
We took it home, put it on the coffee table, sat and stared at it. My friend asked if I thought it was genuine. I studied it, said I couldn’t say for certain, and joked that the only way to know was to taste it. 😀 My friend smiled at me and said “yeeees… Let’s!” and proceeded to open it! I grabbed his hand and asked if he was sure, he said “It was free, and I could do with a good drink!” I got a couple of his good Baccarat crystal cognac glasses… and we had a few drinks! Man… It was truly like liquid gold wrapped in velvet! I’ve never tasted anything better, and probably never will. 🙂
A few years ago, out of curiosity, I decided to check online to see if there were any others. I found a French site that had a pic, and I recognized it. It was for sale for 3,600 EU!
My friend an I have very expensive tastes! 😉 We’ve enjoyed some great spirit’s, wines, and Champagnes (such as Bollinger V.V.F. Blanc de Noir & I was very fortunate to find a rare 1970 Bollinger R.D. Année Rare. I still have the velvet lined boxes they came in, he has the (empty) bottles). We even got really lucky one day and found a 1927 Seppelt Para Liqueur Port at a small bottle shop for sale for $270 (a steal! The guy obviously didn’t know what it was)! I remember it was exceptionally smooth, with a long aftertaste and some really good flavors.
He’s actually the guy who wrote the testimonial on my test site BTW. 🙂
*sigh* Good times… 🙂
There is a reason for the price that can be tasted and smelled if you take the time, but most of the world is just interested in the effect of the alcohol. That explains American beer and uncorked wine.
And box wine. Don’t forget box wine. On second thought, please do :).
Umm.., I drew the line at mentioning that, Badtux.