I'm a big fan of Guinness, but long before I came to love the Guinness, I was hooked on the dragon. Jamaica's Dragon Stout, that is.
Sadly, I've heard that Desnoes and Geddes, which also makes the much more famous Red Stripe, stopped exporting Dragon Stout to the U.S. a number of years ago. Whether that's true or not, I can't find it anywhere in Milwaukee anymore.
So, when St. Patrick's Day rolls around and everyone talks about Guinness more than ever, it reminds me how much I miss the Dragon.
With hints of smoky coffee and chocolate and a dash of a sweet molasses, the Dragon packs a powerful 7.5 percent alcohol and so just a couple, carefully nursed, could help a skint kid enjoy a night of rockers without breaking the bank.
Dragon Stout reminds me of the Caribbean Inn on Walnut -- now gone -- of underground (literally) reggae gigs at the also-defunct C-Club and Sunday evenings listening to Nigel Scott's radio show on WLUM.
So, this St. Patrick's Day, I'll have a Guinness and I'll enjoy it as I always do. But, at least once, my mind will travel back to the 1980s, the sound of Burning Spear and The Meditations in a Downtown basement, the slow sway of the crowd, the smell of herb smoke in the air and the taste of Dragon Stout on my tongue.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
