Guinesso

Herein lies the brilliance of the Guinnesso¹ (or less cordially, the Guinea).

People who drink one cup of coffee a day are 20 per cent less likely to suffer alcoholic cirrhosis than those who drink none.

But here's the frustrating part of the article

And the protective effect increases with the more coffee you have: those who drink two or three cups a day are 40 per cent less likely to suffer cirrhosis, while people who drink four or more cups are 80 per cent less likely to get the disease.

And at the fifth cup? I suppose you're either invincible or dead. It's a coin toss.


¹So I'm driving home from work and I'm thinking "I'd like a Guinness with a shot of espresso in it." I can't recall ever having this craving or this drink before, but somehow it seems so right. And it just sounds like a drink that's been made before, right? So, I go to Broad Street Cafe and order a Guinness, an espresso, and a cup. I don't know what else to call it. And the baristo says, "That's a drink isn't it?"

I say, "It sounds like one."

He says to the other guy there who may be working or maybe just getting off work or maybe just there too much, "Isn't that a drink?"

"What?"

"Guinness and espresso, what is that called?"

"It's called something. I can't remember what. I'm sure it has a lot of names." He tries to think of one. He doesn't. "You know how drinks are."

I'm thinking, Like That Drink That Sounds Like It Should Be A Drink But Doesn't Have A Name Because Everybody Thinks Everything Has Already Been Invented Before So It Doesn't Matter? But I don't say that.

There's some discussion as to whether the espresso is to be counted as a $.50 espresso shot or a $1.65 espresso drink. The former just seems right. Then I take my some assembly required parts to a table. I pour the espresso first. The effervescence of the Guiness will disperse it through the drink, I'm thinking. I take a sip. It is perfect.

I don't know if I have (or anyone else has) ever had it anywhere outside of my imagination driving home that evening, but it was exactly what I was looking for.