Illustration by Ryan Greis
[Sidebar to "Power '08"]
POWER DRINKING
Of the many formidable pleasures associated with maturity, few rival the delight of drinking a well-made cocktail. But be warned: Just as life is often filled with false friends and foppish whimsy, so the bar is fraught with bad drink specials and faddish concoctions. (Kumquat screwdriver, anyone?) What to drink and when? Sounds simple, but choose poorly—a mid-July snifter of cognac, say—and you’ll watch your social power drain like stale beer. Choose well, and your stock will rise like spirits in a heated still. Here, then, is a seasonal guide to the classics of power drinking:
Spring: With winter in retreat, we begin to steer away from the denser, wood-aged liquors—but only after we’ve had a chance to toast the Kentucky Derby with a mint julep. Key limes are bursting forth, making gimlets the season’s martini. Of course, sometimes you want to keep it simple, and nothing says vernal like a smooth draw of sweet vermouth on the rocks—except, perhaps, a few ounces of Lillet Blanc.
Summer: A mixologist’s summertime mantra is simple: ice and fizz. That means no tonic at room temperature. You want your liquor in the freezer and your mixers in the fridge. Now that we’ve discarded with that bit of business, you can cool down with a Latin-inspired caipirinha or mojito. Feeling more traditional? It’s hard to go wrong with a classic gin & tonic, gin sling or the more adventurous Pimm’s Cup.
Fall: At summer’s end comes the serious business of work, school and politics. But the news isn’t all grim. It also means the martini can reclaim its post at the head of the bar. (Vodka? Gin? It’s not important. But do try your cocktail a bit wetter this year. The scourge of the dry martini is so October 1997.) Alternates: old-fashioned, rusty nail.
Winter: What makes the dead of winter bearable? In a word: bourbon. Drunk straight or on the rocks, bourbon is one of America’s great gifts to the world. In a pinch, it can be used to make a Manhattan, also known as January’s martini. (Here, though, it’s key that whoever mans the shaker has a dash of bitters on hand.) The sidecar is another brown beauty that will warm your insides, as will these three French stars: cognac, Armagnac and Calvados.
Bonus: Though quaffable all year long, a white Russian must be drunk only as a nightcap. Unseal this workhorse before the witching hour, and you won’t look like The Dude, you’ll just look like a dud. —M.G.
POWER READING
Power isn’t like a pair of shoes you lace up in the morning and peel off at night. Far from it: Power is the project of a lifetime. Cultivate it well, and you become inseparable from your strength; neglect it, and you’re back jostling among the groundlings. To help speed you along your path to power, we’ve assembled this list of five must-reads for the power seeker. So sit back, peel off those shoes and curl up with a good book:
1) The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. The granddaddy of them all. In Machiavelli’s delicious vision, power—here harnessed for the stability of the state—is the highest moral good. So let the collectivist weaklings fret over petty cruelties and injustice; all is justified so long as power is maintained.
2) The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. An instant classic that hands readers the everyday levers of power, 48 Laws has developed a cadre of powerful devotees (50 Cent, Jay-Z and Kanye West among them) with its cryptic directives like “Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy” and “Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky.”
3) The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Centuries of generals can’t be wrong. This sixth-century tract explores strategy on the evolving battlefield. Originally intended for Tang Dynasty generals, Sun Tzu’s classic remains the definitive guide to avoiding hostile takeovers, be it on the battlefield of the heart, Iraq or
the boardroom.
4) Hustlers and Con Men by Jay Robert Nash. Oh come on! No one really believes the powerful got there by hard work alone, do they? Work is for employees, and the successful know that an honest day’s labor is often trumped by a swiftly pulled fast one. Here, Nash gets up close and personal with some of the best in the business.
5) The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene. What do you do when you’re born low? In the immortal words of the Godfather of Soul: Shake that moneymaker. Borrowing heavily from Baldassare Castiglione’s classic The Book of the Courtier, Greene here empowers us all by tapping into our innate ability to intrigue, mystify and seduce. —M.G.
POWER POINTS
No Microsoft Office needed—we’re talking about how you present yourself, not your quarterly numbers (which aren’t that great, anyway). First, ditch the BlackBerry and pick up an iPhone (starting at $199; area Apple Stores). Don’t worry—it’s just as addictive as your regular smartphone, and you can coolly level the playing field with that just-out-of-Wharton young’un down the hall. Just please resist the urge to make “Slow Ride” your ringtone. (Use, instead, an actual ringtone.) The more devious among you can hop on eBay or Craigslist to find a first-generation iPhone—not the new 3G—which sends the message that you’re an early adopter and can spot necessary greatness a mile away (note: that’s also how long the line was when you supposedly bought it new).
Go from new school to old school—really old school. Pimping out your desk with the Hourglass from Design Within Reach ($55; 44 Maryland Plaza) reminds everyone of this fact: Your time is valuable. Start your next meeting by flipping over this sleek number—black sand slipping slowly through hand-blown glass—and letting gravity work its magic. When the 45 minutes are up, so is your colleague’s presentation.
It’s really, in the end, about the details. For the men, a sure way to supersize your sophistication is with a pair of Dunhill Cufflinks. The London outfit has been making “jewelry for the discerning gentleman” since the 1930s, and its designs range from staid to slightly showy. If you’re feeling the latter, we suggest the Blue Enamel Bulldog Cufflinks ($415; dunhill.com), a rhodium-plated sterling-silver pair that presents the head of a pooch, slightly wrinkled but not to be messed with. Sound familiar?
For the women: There may be a Jiffy Lube pen at the bottom of your purse—the yanked-off chain is a classy touch—but there’s a better way to make your signing statement. Go for a serious upgrade, and invest in Montblanc’s Bohème Jewels Black Shark writing instrument ($970 ballpoint, $1,840 fountain; Montblanc, Plaza Frontenac). Your fingers rest on premium sharkskin (of an unendangered variety) with decorative, platinum-coated stitching. The cap is also platinum-plated—showing that subtle Montblanc logo—and the clip is set with dark mother-of-pearl. Try writing even a Post-it that doesn’t scream Authority. —S.S.
POWER PLACES
Want to rub elbows with the powerful? Since the steam room at the MAC requires a pricey membership, here are three public spots that will get you closer to the action. Let’s start with Beffa’s (2700 Olive), which clocked in at number 88 on our May issue’s “101 Things Every St. Louisan Must Do.” A kind of insiders’ cafeteria, Beffa’s has no sign out front but plenty of character inside. McBride High School class pictures are framed above a large fish tank that rests beside an old jukebox. At Beffa’s, regular servers serve regular specials—corned beef, Polish sausage, chicken à la king. But the eaters? Far from regular: A range of area deciders, from politicians to DAs to developers (pushed together, Beffa’s tables are big enough for blueprints).
If you’re the eat-at-home type, spend an after-work evening or Saturday morning prowling the aisles of Straub’s in the Central West End (302 N. Kingshighway). The hand reaching for that container of chicken salad has likely signed a wing-creating check, or thrown a curveball to a Cub, or may soon pen a law against … stalking people in grocery stores. So close to so many fine residences—the Chase, 4545 Lindell—the CWE Straub’s is where the doers do their shopping—at least until The Market at Busch’s Grove opens.
We know it’s off-season, but here’s something to start planning for next year: taking in a Redbirds game in The Cardinals Club. Just behind home plate, the “green seats,” as they’re known, go for about $175 apiece, which includes parking, a special entrance and free food and drinks before and during the game (delivered to your seat by wait staff). The bad news on this—the tickets are usually presold to corporations and high rollers—is also the good news, as a small number of them resell their tickets to regular Joes, allowing arrivistes to sample the good life amid a sea of more recognizable faces. This past season, we looked up from our jumbo dog to spot the two Teds in a single view. (That’s Koplar and Drewes, if you have to ask.) —S.S.
By Malcolm Gay and Stephen Schenkenberg
