“Forbidden fruit is any object of desire whose appeal is a direct result of knowledge that cannot or should not be obtained or something that someone may want but is forbidden to have.

In Western Europe, the fruit was often depicted as an apple…The larynx in the human throat, noticeably more prominent in males, was consequently called an Adam’s apple, from a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking from Adam’s throat as he swallowed.” — From Wikipedia entry for Forbidden Fruit

Adam’s Apple (The Forbidden Fruit)
1 1/2oz Jim Beam Devil’s Cut
1oz Thatcher’s Apple Spice Ginger Liqueur
1/2oz triple sec or premium orange curacao
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Sliver of Granny Smith apple for garnish

With hope in your heart for redemption, add all ingredients to mixing glass over ice. Stir briskly, aiming for atonement. Place julep strainer firmly within mixing glass and pour contents into a cocktail glass, chilled with the breath of the saints. Brandish your saber and cut a heavenly sliver of the Granny Smith apple and float on top of the cocktail. Raise to your nose and inhale for knowledge, seeking to obtain the mash content of the Devil’s Cut, the spice combination in the liqueur, and the age of dear Grandmother Smith. Take a sip and repent. Then, with renewed heart, clear mind, and sound body, repeat.

Steve Jobs changed the world through his company, Apple. Many effects have been mentioned over the last couple of days, especially in the worlds of technology, product design, and music. HP has the claim of making the computer “personal”, but Apple probably made it “friendly”, establishing higher levels of kinship and interaction between people and devices than everything but the car and the toaster — well, maybe they’re a step above the toaster.

What about their influence in the spirits world? Not so much directly, although there was talk about a program called “Cocktail” that would have been a collaborative project between Apple and major record labels to offer more iTunes information that traditionally came in the form of the album insert — photos, lyrics, etc. No idea why it was codenamed “Cocktail”, but the connection still remains. The most tangible connection is through technology, as the proliferation of the smartphone and its apps has allowed budding cocktail newbies and lifelong imbibers to discover new ingredients, find new places, and share information. How many seminars have you attended where the presentation is on an iPad? When was the last time you consulted your iPhone about drinking hotspots in a certain part of town? If Jerry Thomas had a Mac or an iPhone, his recipes wouldn’t have needed rediscovering — they would have been all over the world for generations!

So one last cheers to Steve Jobs for really changing the way we communicate today. This article came up with a lovely Laird’s cocktail for when he stepped down as CEO, and renewed it for when Jobs passed the other day. Maybe you can quaff one this weekend while you’re enjoying The Congenial Hour on your i(fill in the blank). Make it congenial!