0:02 welcome to jigger's place I'm Kevin bemel your host and we're here every other Thursday at 5:00 pm Pacific time to have a cocktail and talk about all those things that make life worth living books ideas relationships everything but the kind of Business and Professional matters we deal with um each uh on each of the other way to Wild shows so today or this
0:37 afternoon uh I I um I promoted the show is I'm gonna um reveal to you the most Jewish TV show of all time now um some of you may be speculating what that show is don't worry about that um you'll see if your answers are right but uh in in honor of this uh I I did some cocktail research and I came up with something called a Jerusalem sour so if you can you can see this uh there
1:12 you go you can see what it looks like or what it's supposed to look like anyway so um excuse me the Jerusalem sour is kind of a riff on a New York sour which is kind of a riff on a whiskey sour and um like the like the traditional whiskey sour it's made with Ry whiskey so in point of fact a lot of whiskey cocktails were actually made with rye whiskey as opposed to other things like bourbon or you know Scotch whiskey those kind of things and I think the reason is because
1:50 when you distill Rye it it gives you kind of a a spiciness not hot spiciness spiciness like you know cinnamon and clove and and those kinds of flavors so for for the Jerusalem sour I'm going to be using old Overholt uh straight rye whiskey this is a rye this is one of the classic classic classic Rye whiskies it's one of the first Rye whiskies I ever had um and it's been distilled here in the United States for over 200 years so it's it's
2:28 really it's really a great one and then in addition to that um I'm going to be using some uh lemon juice I always like to use fresh squeezed there are you can buy you know already squeezed lemon juice it's perfectly fine but you know I was at the store earlier today got some fresh lemons and and squeezed them up and and I like that and then the other ingredient is simple syrup so this happens to be master of mixes simple syrup I you know people I used to make my own frankly all simple syrup is is
3:04 basically syrup I mean sugar that's been dissolved in heated up water is really what it comes down to and this is made with um pure cane sugar which you know is is the best tasting Sugar We're going to have just a little bit of this and then we're GNA we're going to float on it um an Israeli wine um the recipe calls for a WI wi like a Bordeaux so um the wine I'm using is petite Castel um this was this is a uh 208 200
3:40 2018 vintage um from po Judea and um it's it's a mix of Mero 55% Cabernet svon 30% and 15% petite Mero and um this one happens to be unrefined and un filtered this is for those of you who know kosher wine this is not moual um so this is probably about you know as similar to a Bordeaux wine as as as you're going to find and um I was at the the uh kosher food and
4:17 wine event this is I think several years ago now I actually got to pour uh the the domain de Castel wines and uh they they are fantastic okay so we're going to mix this up we're going to start with an ounce and a half of rye whiskey we go okay well got a little bit more than an ounce and a half that's a oops putting into the wrong vessel we're going to make it in a
4:56 Shaker all right that's that's okay it's not going to change that much so oun and a half of dry whiskey and then 3/4 of an ounce make sure I see the right thing here okay there it is yeah 34 of an ounce of lemon juice probably yep that's about right
5:33 yum and then a half an ounce of um of simple syrup that in and then we're going to going to fill this with ice if you were to find the same recipe I have it says fill 3/4 with ice I mean
6:09 you know don't necessarily have to be so precise but um you do want to put up in there that it really chill it down okay got our ice back here and here is the top okay and the thing about Shaker or any mixing of a cocktail is you really want to mix it down uh for a while so you again you would see if you look to the recipes will take it for at least 15 seconds really the idea is you're mixing the
6:44 ingredients but you're also diluting them so water often times opens up flavors especially in whiskey that's why people drink uh you know with uh whiskey and soda or whiskey with a little water in it some times you'll see people if they're really want to take a taste of the whiskey they'll use an eye dropper like this and just put a drop or two sometimes just a drop or two is enough to open up the whiskey and other times you know I I when I have whiskey I usually have a whiskey and soda at a ratio of about uh one part whiskey to
7:20 two or three parts soda it's just it's just enjoyable and you know just way to relax at the end of the day okay so there we go and you see how the cocktail shaker see it's all it's all Frozen all the way around so that's a good sign that it's been mixed well okay and oops that off I'm just take the cap off and we're going to strain this into a cocktail glass I know a lot of people call this a martini glass but it's really a cocktail glass
7:55 okay and the last thing we're going to do is we are going to float a little bit about a half an ounce of this uh wonderful red wine and the way you do that is you take a bar spoon you hold it right over the um the the the cocktail itself let you just on top there you go
8:31 and voila we say oops there you go okay and that is put this pretty tall now you can see the layers right this is a Jerusalem sour take a sip here and that is good all right I'll be with you in just a moment
9:20 uh so here we are relaxing uh we're not at the end of the week of course because it's just Thursday afternoon um but but soon it will be um tomorrow and uh you know what a what a nice thing that'll be so you're probably wondering what is um uh you know what is this all about the you know the most Jewish TV show of of all times and uh it's it's it's it's some it's a conclusion that I
9:56 drew um not not you know simply but just after a lot of thought really so before I tell you what I think the show is um I I want to talk a little you know what makes a show you know a particular culture whether it's a Jewish show whether it's I don't know a black show uh a Chinese show right what what makes it so so I was thinking about this and I in some I think in some cases um
10:35 we we tend to associate shows with a particular group if that group is somewhat stereotyped or caricatured in the particular um show at at hand so um if you think about um oh gosh uh oh so um the uh Charlie Chan movies right for those of you who are familiar Charlie Chan was a a Chinese
11:11 man who lived in Hawaii fictional of course he was and he was a very astute detective now if you read the books the books are really attempting to break through the this idea that you know Chinese people in America can only um you know run laundries and restaurants and this kind of thing that was that was you know a pretty common way of thinking back in the 20s um when when the books when um um Biggers I can't think of his
11:48 first name but the fellow who wrote the book uh his last name was the author's name was Biggers um when he was writing the Charlie Chan books and the idea that a a Chinese man in America would be the foremost detective was really a stereotype busting idea then but when the movies were brought to I mean when the when the stories were brought to the movies Charlie Chan well first of all he wasn't in the in the in in the first
12:23 several iterations he wasn't even portrayed by a Chinese man he was portrayed by a white man who was put in makeup to make him look Chinese and they really sort of exaggerated the the sort of stereotypical um uh behaviors of of Chinese the uh you know honorable one and and worthless one and all that sort of stuff that that again we see as a sort of a caricature of of how Chinese people behaved um here in in the United States a hundred years ago so I I
12:59 wouldn't like if you were asking me well you know what's the most Chinese movie you've ever seen I would not make it you know the Charlie Chan movies because while they you know at least ostensively star a Chinese character the way he's portrayed is is is not particularly authentic I think to um the the Chinese experience um so so that's I think that's one aspect that we tend to look look at another is you know do they have aspects of the culture so you know is it
13:34 something like about uh you know in the case of I'll stick with the Chinese thing the case Chinese food you know are they um it does it take place in Chinatown right so some people I think would argue well that makes it a Chinese movie so so then you know if if a if a movie you know features I don't know cougle and matal SU or you know just a deli in general that would presumably make it a you know a Jewish movie because those are considered to be uh you know sort of you
14:09 know aspects of Jewish culture I have to have another sip of this drink so good all right um another another aspect I think is the people who were um in it or who created it um they are they are Jewish and and because of that everything has a
14:44 kind of underlying jewishness to it now I think that gets closer to um something that might be considered a a truly Jewish show or or movie for that matter so if you look at for example The Big Bang Theory one of my favorite TV shows one of the characters Howard is Jewish he's overtly so and in the beginning of the show he lives with his mother which you know it's meant to be somewhat tongue and cheek like you know the Jewish boy can't let can't let go of of of his mom and the mom who
15:20 can't let go of her Jewish boy and she treats him like a prince and that that whole sort of you know Gestalt about about Jews and such and and and in in in fairness it's it's it's very very funny um and you know the other characters oftentimes skewer him for his sort of you know overtly um Jewish things that he does um even though from from a a traditional observance standpoint of course the character is is not traditionally observant but he's very culturally Jewish right and and so and
15:55 so it's funny you know I I I mean I I'm not suggesting the way that the Big Bang Theory is a Jewish show um but one could could certainly make the argument that um there's a a sense of jewishness to the show um because of the character Howard on the other hand they do the same thing with the character of Raj who is originally from India I was relating to a friend of mine earlier today uh What uh a scene from the from one of the shows where Raj's parents are doing a zoom call with their daughter who's in
16:30 the United States and I mean the parents are just H the actor and actress who play the parents they're just hilarious and it's so you know um I mean now now you know we're we're here in the you know 21 century when that show was made and so I you know I don't I now that I think about it I'm not sure if the actor who plays Raj is is Indian but but his the the actor and actress who play his parents they they look Indian they may not they for that they could be Persian or something like that um but um um you know they're not sort of you know white
17:06 people dressed up or made up to you know to look Indian um so so you know I I think that's getting to it but again I mean what they're doing what they do in that show is they somewhat Lampoon the stereotypes while at the same time um you know the the the the characters sort of play those off one another so I think that's another way of looking at it so what what what I would argue though is a show that is truly reflective of a group is getting down
17:46 to how that group approaches life and and and in particular if it's a comedy how they approach human RoR and so when I was thinking about this show that I was considering as the most Jewish show that's where I eventually came down now by the way it's it's not in the plot of the show that the that the way Jews look at
18:21 life is evident in fact I don't I I've watched every episode of this show multiple times I'm not sure that they ever mention anything Jewish in it there is nothing overt or in many ways even covert in the show that's Jewish and and because of that that's and because of the time in which the show was produced it really was reflective of how Jews lived during that time so I'm going
18:58 to I'm gonna give you some TV shows that I that you might have been guessing oh he's got to be thinking of this show um and and this this has to be uh the most Jewish show so you might have thought for example that the The Marvelous Mrs mael I'm sorry masil was the most Jewish show because set in the 1950s when Jews in the this country were sort of broadly coming into their own postor War II and the the the lead
19:35 character is a a Jewish housewife who you know decides to become a comedian comedian and again I think it has some of the cultural stuff and all of that but but I don't I don't consider that to be the you know ultimate Jewish show so another one another show was show from the 80s called The Goldbergs which I'm pretty sure was a TV adaptation of what was originally a radio show so just the name the Goldbergs like the gogs the go you know I mean it says it
20:12 says it all there and again to a certain extent The Goldbergs was playing on how a lot of people sort of looked at at at Jews um some of the stereotypes and by the way some of the stereotypes you know um they they have you know at least some basis um in fact I mean if you were to if you go in a Jewish deli people are talking loud they just are right um whereas if you were you know you go into a a restaurant that's all sort of you know uh Anglo Saxon Protestants
20:48 everybody's speaking quietly those those are just you know cultural differences between the two um another show you might have thought of is is Larry David's great show Curb Your enthusiast now um I was fortunate enough to see um to to see and hear Larry David speak at the um uh one of the uh shoot what is it called uh oh gosh there's a a Jewish Institute um over um as you go over over from Los Angeles in San Fernando Valley the scur ball there you go at the scur ball he was he was at at that time he
21:24 was still involved doing another show um but but David is I mean he's like the sort of quintal image of a ketting Jewish guy and and and the show was very much you know in the in Larry David's own image so you know it certainly it's a contender um but it's not the show that I picked next is the nanny right Fran dresser dressers show now this was I think the most well-known thing that
22:00 Fran dresser ever did right she's playing this Jewish girl who's a nanny in this very sort of straight La you know wasby house right and and and it's a culture Clash right look lots of shows like that fresh prince of Belair very funny as you know one set of of cultural behaviors and values sort of you know clashes with another but and and not but and the thing about those show shows and the thing about the nanny is they're very sort of overtly Jewish in that sense but I don't
22:36 think we're really learning anything about sort of how how Jewish people navigate the world and and and and and and you know something about the sort of inner soul of Jewish people so this is the show I assume if if you know for those of you who are thinking it's got to be this show this this is probably thought of as the most Jewish show that's ever been on television it is of course a brilliantly funny show by the way it's not my pick so um my pick
23:13 did not show up I I I will tell you candidly I you know got on chat GPT and I said what are the you know most Jewish shows that have ever been on TV and they gave me a list and some of them were like I've never heard of this show before right um but the number one show on the list was are are you able to guess it Seinfeld right again brilliantly funny Jerry Seinfeld um and and and the and the whole um you know team they have there um um I'm going up on the people's names
23:50 but the actress who played Elaine and Kramer and George um I mean and and and all the supporting care George parent parents the guy who used to play J Peterman U you know ela's on again off again even though many of the characters were not Jewish somehow the whole show was kind of infused with a a jewishness about them the the sign of kind of ketching nature of the characters especially George but just just the way they talked the way they interacted all that kind of stuff
24:26 and and and also so the the idea that like like when Jerry would deal with his uncle um was it Uncle Louie I forget the guy the car you know Uncle Louie was like so overthe toop Jewish and and it was a little bit embarrassing for for for for Jerry and if you remember the episode where uh uh Jerry goes to see his dentist and his dentist has converted to Judaism and Jerry is convinced that he converted for the jokes right so he can tell Jewish jokes right so look the
25:01 again the show is brilliantly funny and it would be my runner up for the most Jewish show on television but it's not the winner um even though I think it starts to get at the heart of who Jews are and how they behave but it doesn't quite get there another sip so here we go drum roll pleasa drum roll please right what is the most Jewish
25:38 show it is Hogan's Heroes the most Jewish show that has ever appeared on television now you're saying what Hogan's Heroes [Music] right the Bob Crane right plays Colonel Robert Hogan and uh Richard Dawson plays uh uh shoot I can't think of the
26:13 Englishman character's name right so why do I consider this show so Jewish so here's what I think and I I didn't by the way I always have loved that show it is one of my I can watch it over and over and over again have since I was a kid I was old enough that I saw I think the last season or two of it in its original release because I last season or two I think was like 6768 so at that point I was old enough my my parents
26:49 would let me watch it why do I think it's so Jewish I didn't know this at the time it's only recently that I realized the most hilarious part of that show is all the main German and Nazi characters are played by Jewish actors so verer clamper who plays Colonel clink is was Jewish and by the way I I never got to
27:24 meet him unfortunately uh he he lived out his life in Santa Monica California um not too far from where I live and he was a very very charitable man I I I know someone who knew him quite well because uh he was a big donor to her organization and she said he was the dearest most wonderful man you you would ever want to meet now you wouldn't necessarily know that by you know the character he played on Heroes that he
27:59 was such a sweet sweet guy but it's it's it's it's hilarious that the commandant of the prison camp is being played by a Jew okay but not just him believe it or not John Banner who plays Sergeant Schulz right I know nothing I see nothing I hear nothing thing John Banner is also Jewish right so the the the the sort you
28:37 know Sergeant Schulz may be the best character in the show because on the one hand he just he just wants everybody to get along he's he's just this sort of big teddy bear of a guy right but on the other hand sometimes he has to be like a real German almost come Nazi sort of guy right because he is the garden of prison camp on the other hand he really doesn't want to get any of the prisoners in trouble he doesn't want to get in trouble himself right he's just he's so brilliantly funny in the show and the
29:15 other thing is I don't think most people think that Jews are like that big right because like he's a big big guy but he's also Jewish who else is Jewish Leon Asin and he Leon Askin who plays General B Burkhalter right so the you know the general who is a personal favorite of her Hitler right is being played by a Jewish
29:50 actor okay now here's here's a a real surprise one leau right the French prisoner of war he's he's not he was not only Jewish he was a concentration camp Survivor in World War II right and then the the sort of P de resistance and I you know I've got to find uh oh shoot I I meant to look up
30:26 his his name uh hold on one second one second I got to get the actor's name I meant to look it up and I see bad me I didn't do it hold on one more second bear with me I'm gonna have another sip of the drink
31:04 the internet is not being my friend uh oh okay here we go okay yeah Kane Howard Kane who plays the Gestapo m major hawkstead was Jewish so the guy playing the ultimate Nazi in the
31:40 show was being played by a Jew now why do I think this is so Jewish and the reason is because this is Jews in America at this time felt strongly they needed to fit in with the larger culture if you think about the 50s and 60s it was a very conformist time now we talk about the 60s and and all of the Revolution that happened in the 60s that
32:17 was not most of the 60s that was already the late 60s on into 6869 but for most of the 60s the attitudes from the 1950 s prevailed and it was a very conformist time and in general Jews wanted to fit in so they didn't want to necessarily be identified as being Jewish and so the fact of the matter is you have all these Jewish actors in this show and yet there's no way of knowing that they're Jewish unless you happen to look them up or you
32:52 happen to know that's number one number two if you look at all of those characters Colonel clink Sergeant Schulz General Burkhalter and um uh major hoser all the German characters right all of them in one way or another are are caricatures not of Jews but of Jews enemies the Nazis the the the German in
33:28 power at the at that time in Germany and it's it's such a Lampoon and that is really the essence if if you talk about the the essence of jewishness it's it's it's actually not the frontal assault that we see so often today it's it's the coming around and getting them and they don't even re realize their being gotten in a way right because I don't imagine the vast majority of people especially
34:05 you know former Nazis or you know people in Germany who saw that show had any idea that the actors who were playing these ridiculously bumbling Germans were Jewish now I don't know this for a fact but I'd be willing to bet that the creators of the show knew and certainly I would be absolutely willing to bet that uh that uh verer clamper John Banner Leon Askin um Howard Kane
34:40 all were purposely lampooning their former enemies now you say well well what about the laau character so if you look at leau what does he do first of all he cooks so quintes Jewish although he does it in a French mode right and of the characters he's the one that's the most sort of yisha Mama right so he's he's taking an essential
35:16 stereotype of jewishness and turning it on turning it on its head because the man is the yisha mama and again that is an expression of Jewish humor that I think it it's hard to understand uh unless you've been somewhat immersed in Jewish culture so I I can't encourage you enough go and watch a few episodes of Hogan's Heroes it's it's one of the few shows um I think that it actually got
35:51 better as the show was on longer the earlier uh uh seasons of the show while they're funny they're especially the first season it's it's much more almost slapstick is not quite but it's the the humor is much broader as the show went on it really sort of matured it it's it was like you know making a stew it cooked better and every all the ingredients came together it is brilliantly funny and the funniest part is the inside joke that makes it the most Jewish TV show of all time that the
36:28 the actors playing the German roles and lampooning their former enemies were all Jewish so there you have it this is Kevin bemel your host from jigger's place and I want to wish you a wonderful rest of the week an absolutely restorative weekend and looking forward to seeing you on Monday at 10:00 a.m. for the next wa a wow show trust and Estates weekly thanks so much for tuning in I hope you enjoyed a nice Jerusalem
37:06 sour uh if if you if you liked it but you you weren't quite able to follow along um I will post the recipe in the show notes try one out it's it it was absolutely delicious I wouldn't believe me if the cocktail wasn't good I would tell you so thanks again for joining me and looking forward to seeing you again soon signing off as I always do Marie darling you are my bell courage