21 September

Today's the International Day of Peace, so by extension, also Paloma Day – the international symbol for peace is a white dove, and the Spanish word for dove is, of course, paloma. Coincidentally, our Managing Director is Paloma Difford and it's her birthday today.

So, we're celebrating a birthday and World Paloma Day with the classic version of the Paloma cocktail. You may prefer the easy-to-make and equally tasty simple Paloma.

We're also celebrating the growing number of riffs on what's become one of the most popular contemporary classic cocktails. including the Amaro Paloma by Filip Filipovic, and the Otoño Paloma by Taylor Isaacson.

And for those misguided folk who've missed the dove link with the International Day of Peace and think World Paloma Day falls on May 22nd, as with the Monarch, it would appear Paloma has an official birthday and an unofficial birthday.

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace is an occasion, according to the UN, to work towards peace in the world when warring parties should put down their weapons – if only. It's also a day for a Day of Ceasefire to make peace in your relationships.

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly and then, two decades later was designated a day of non-violence and cease-fire by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly.

So whatever your war, battle, or mere disagreement, now is the time to take a step forward and make the peace. Peaceable folk also recommend lighting a candle or sitting in silent meditation. We will be meditating on a White Lady, an aptly-named drink, and enjoying the resulting inner peace whilst hoping for a more peaceful world.

Do you remember – The 21st night of September?

The drums and horns set the funk grove for the opening verse, "Do you remember; The 21st night of September?

September, by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as a single on 18 November 1978, reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changin' the minds of pretenders
While chasin' the clouds away
Our hearts were ringin'
In the key that our souls were singin'
As we danced in the night, remember
How the stars stole the night away, oh, yeah
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day

Theories about the significance of the September date abound, but songwriter Maurice White said he chose the 21st due to how it sounded when sung. We're enjoying this song's funk groove and its accompanying 1970s video with a September Morn cocktail from Charlie Conolly's The World Famous Cotton Club: 1939 Book of Mixed Drinks.

The Hobbit's birthday

Nobody, least of all the middle-aged English professor and philologist who wrote it, would have predicted that The Hobbit (or its three-part sequel, Lord of the Rings) would have the impact it did - particularly at the time when it came out, this day in 1937.

Today, Tolkien repeatedly ranks among the all-time greats of English literature in popular surveys and the film has brought The Hobbit to a whole new generation of fans. Tolkien's hobbits enjoyed the finer things in life: beer for everyday occasions, and red wine for special guests, plus fresh berries from the farmland. So in honour of the book's anniversary, we are enjoying a combination of berries and red wine: a Cobbled Raspberry Cocktail.