Grade "A" Fancy

12/21/2024

You asked for it and here it is. Our Fool's Paradise Rex-wfmu Fool’s Paradise Holiday Cocktail of 2024, as mixed in WFMU today.

𝐓𝐨𝐲𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥

Makes two small elf portions or one big Santa goblet.

1.5 Armagnac (we’re using Marie Duffau)
1 oz Suze aperitif liqueur
1 oz Nocello walnut liqueur (Toschi brand)
Dash Angostura bitters
4 cranberries
For garnish: grapefruit peel

1. Prepare the garnish; set aside.

2. In a mixing glass, muddle cranberries. (If they’re still frozen, a few drops of water help.)

3. Add ice, boozes and bitters. Stir until frosty, strain into a cocktail glass.

3. Pinch the grapefruit peel over glass to express citrus oils; rub peel on rim of glass, and finally drop it into the drink garnish.

Cheers yez all!

12/20/2024

Everyone's favorite holiday tradition is the return of the Radio Bartender to the Fool's Paradise airwaves! This Saturday is the day, 1 to 3 pm EST on WFMU, join Fool's Paradise Rex-wfmu and the whole kooky office party gang for Xmas novelty records, radio sight gags, and a brand new Grade "A" Fancy holiday cocktail. If you want to mix along at home here is what you'll need: Armagnac, Suze aperitif liqueur, Nocino walnut liqueur, Angostura bitters, grapefruit peel, and a few fresh cranberries.

Listen to WFMU at 91.1 fm in Jersey City, or streaming worldwide at WFMU.org

10/09/2024

🤩🤩🤩

09/01/2024

Color us curious, Mister Lester.

Remembering this old favourite which is currently out of print, prompting the question: where’s Mister Lester going next?
Text
Design & illustration

08/17/2024

A busy week got in the way of posting. Here’s to a relaxing weekend! 🍔🥤🌞

07/12/2024

Our new baby!

07/12/2024

Welcome to New York! Fresh from the London HQ of Herb Lester Assoc. comes our new map guide,
How to Find Old New York—Yesterday’s City Today.

05/29/2024

Herb Lester featuring Grade "A" Fancy-penned guides in the NYT.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/gifts/best-gifts-for-travelers/

04/21/2024

As Ripley fever grips the nation, don't forget to boost your Highsmith super fandom with this informative guide

In The World Of Patricia Highsmith we detail 54 locations associated with the author and her work, from long-gone bars in Manhattan and her last home in the Swiss mountains, to scenes from The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers On A Train. Each location is carefully described and plotted on a map – ...

12/21/2023

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 "𝗔" 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 - 𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗔𝗬!

That year just plodded by, didn’t it? But it's almost over, so rejoice! It is holiday time, and as tradition dictates, we join your host of hosts, Rex, to celebrate the American Novelty Songbook in peerless Fool's Paradise fashion, spinning more zany holiday-themed novelty records than anyone might think is prudent, all at 45 rounds per minute. Speaking of rounds, have one with us! 𝗢𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 "𝗔" 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆'𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗺𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀! This feature we like to call "Bartender of the Airwaves" is truly a milestone in broadcasting history.

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟’𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑏𝑒? 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭 𝘁𝗼 𝟯𝗽𝗺 𝗘𝗧 when the name and recipe will be revealed. In the tri-state area, listen on the mighty WFMU 91.1 FM Jersey City and NYC, and 90.1 and 91.9 in the Hudson Valley. If you find yourself stranded somewhere in the Yukon, or behind a skyscraper, listen in real time at WFMU.org via the miracle of the internet. If you insist on spending the day with family the show will be archived so you'll be able to enjoy the radio hi-jinx at your leisure for years to come.

Wanna play the home game?

𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 (𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑐𝑒):

· Flor de Caña 4 Extra Seco Rum (dry rum from Nicaragua)
· Cocchi Americano Aperitif
· Verino Antica Mastiha liqueur (available at Astor in NYC or your local Greek boozatorium)
· Cava (we’re using Campo Viejo Brut)
· One red apple

𝑇𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒:
· Mixing tin or glass
· Barspoon
· Strainer
· Small cocktail glass
· Knife

𝐴𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝:
· Pop some cocktail glasses in the freezer, if you like.
· Wash your apple

Make a tray of ice, chill your glasses, and we'll see you Saturday. Well, you'll hear us. You know what we mean, listen in. And check this space after the show for the official recipe.

12/13/2023

An unbuttoned oasis in an otherwise buttoned-up downtown, Hotel Harrington ends a 109-year run.

12/13/2023

Home of Harry's Bar. “It’s like a scene out of a Toulouse-Lautrec painting,” Kimberly Ashworth, 71, said, referring to the French painter who immortalized 19th-century Parisian nightlife, as she sipped white wine at Harry’s before it closed and rhapsodized about its legacy. “I’ve never seen a place where the highbrow, lowbrow and no brow come. Law enforcement, attorneys, lobbyists, government people, hookers, drug dealers — it’s always something.”

A television station — then known as W3XWT and now WTTG-Channel 5 — opened a studio at the hotel in the 1940s, where it later broadcast “The Milt Grant Show,” a local version of “American Bandstand.”

An unbuttoned oasis in an otherwise buttoned-up downtown, Hotel Harrington ends a 109-year run.