WEBVTT - 'May I Borrow Your Watch?': William Thompson, America's Original Confidence Man 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:05.840 Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shonda Land Audio in 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:16.720 partnership with I Heart Radio. They're specific, crimes may vary, 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.079 but con artists have this one thing in common, the 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:24.120 power of persuasion, and that power of persuasion allows them 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:28.000 to take advantage of the rest of us. They're charismatic 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:32.120 and intelligent, with good memories and the skills to manipulate others. 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:35.280 They blend in, and they're diligent at appearing to be 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:40.720 professional and successful. But psychologists have identified that successful con 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:49.000 artists exhibit three similar and negative characteristics, one psychopathy to narcissism, 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:55.000 and three machiavellianism. Together, they all share malevolent features like 0:00:55.360 --> 0:01:00.880 entitled self importance, strategic exploitation and deceit, and a general 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:06.320 callousness and cynicism. Experts refer to these socially aversive traits 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.960 as dark personality traits and believe that they are would 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.880 allow con artists to scam people without feeling remorse or 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:18.520 guilt about their actions. According to Psychology Today, to a 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:22.440 person with Machiavellian traits, if you fell for their scam, 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:27.560 you deserved it. Another commonality, ego, the act of the 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:30.839 swindle can make a con artist feel even more confident 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.800 in themselves and their skills, which brings us to how 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:38.480 and why the terms confidence artist and confidence game ever, 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.400 we're coined. So we're going to meet a man named 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:46.400 William Thompson, the man who inspired these expressions. Welcome to Criminalia. 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:52.200 I'm Maria Tremarqui, and I'm Holly Fry. William Thompson certainly 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:54.800 was not the first person involved in the con game. 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:58.080 We can assume that people have been tricking and cheating 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.639 each other, likely since they're were people to trick and cheat. 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:05.640 We know from the historical record that serial counterfeiter and 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:09.840 confidence man William Chaloner was proven guilty by Sir Isaac 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:14.440 Newton in the seventeenth century. According to the posthumous biography 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:17.560 of Challenger, written by Goodsman read A. Vivis and published 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:22.720 in sixte Challenger had quote the best knack at tongue pudding, 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:26.639 and he established himself as a quack doctor and soothsayer 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:32.200 sounds legit. In the eighteenth century, Jean de Valois Saint 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:35.360 Remy was chief conspirator in what became known as the 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:39.080 Affair of the Diamond Necklace and act. Certainly, along with 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:42.760 other factors that contributed to the start of the French Revolution, 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:47.519 But in the eyes of criminal historians and newspaper archives, 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.920 William is the reason that the term confidence man came about. 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:56.560 William Thompson operated in New York City during the eighteen forties. 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:01.280 He often used aliases when introducing himself to his unsuspecting victims, 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:06.680 including the names Samuel Thompson, James Thompson, Samuel Thomas, Samuel Powell, 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:12.720 Samuel Williams, William Evans, Samuel Willis, William Davis, and William Brown. 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.400 He was always smartly dressed, and he was always polite. 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.680 He chose upper class marks and approached them with an 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:25.840 incredibly simple scam. He would strike up conversation with a person, 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:27.920 and after a little bit of chit chat, when he 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:30.799 was sure he had gained their trust, he would ask 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:33.720 if they were confident enough in him to lend him 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.800 their watch just still tomorrow. Yes, he really did ask 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:41.000 strangers to give their watches to him, and many did. 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.320 We read one slight variance in his scam among the 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:49.000 reports of his confidence career. He may or may not 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.920 have pretended to know his mark as he began conversation 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:54.920 with them, catching them off guard and capitalizing on our 0:03:54.960 --> 0:04:00.040 human desire to avoid awkwardness. It was best, especially on 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:02.480 the upper class at the time, to avoid the faux 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:07.160 pall of not remembering someone. We don't know a whole 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:11.000 lot about William's life history. He just pops up in 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:15.440 the historical record when he starts getting noticed, which, as 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:19.080 you might imagine, is not good for business. Right and 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:22.720 William played this same con until he was spotted by 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.520 a previous mark who just happened to pass him on 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.600 the street. It's a little early, but before we talk 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:30.760 about that fateful day, we're going to take a break 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.000 for a word from our sponsor, and when we come back, 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:36.080 we'll tell you all about how William's scam caught up 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:54.240 to him. Welcome back to Criminalia. Allow us to introduce 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:58.320 you to Thomas McDonald, the man who outed William Thompson's 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:04.200 confidence game. Williams New York City con game came to 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:06.760 a halt when he was spotted by a previous mark, 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:11.839 a Mr. Thomas McDonald of to seventy Madison Street. William 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:16.160 had on May twelve nine run his con on McDonald, 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:18.919 taking from him a gold lover watch said to be 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:22.240 valued at a hundred and ten dollars, and today that's 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:26.599 equivalent to about four thousand dollars. As luck would have it. 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.520 About two months later, McDonald, while walking along Liberty Street, 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:34.000 passed by this very same man who had stolen his watch, 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:38.560 our William Thompson. As reported in the local city papers, 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.920 McDonald alerted the police and officers Swazie of the City 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:46.320 Police was nearby at the time. William was taken into custody, 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:50.159 but not easily. He first refused, then put up what 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.920 was reported in newspapers as a quote desperate fight before 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.600 being cuffed. When The New York Herald published a brief 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:03.880 article about William's arrest the police Intelligence section on July nine, 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:08.599 the headline read quote arrest of the confidence Man. And 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.960 it's this report that is generally considered the first time 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:16.160 that wording had ever been used. Later, it went on 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.520 to become the catch all term con man, and today, 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:23.359 along with confidence artist or con artist, it continues to 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:27.320 be used to describe fraudsters. The New York Herald's article 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:31.320 described William and his con as so quote for the 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.880 last few months, a man has been traveling about the 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:37.320 city known as the confidence man. That is, he would 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.719 go up to a perfect stranger in the street, and, 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:44.160 being a man of genteel appearance, would easily command an interview. 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:48.360 Upon this interview, he would say, after some little conversation, 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:51.440 have you confidence in me to trust me with your 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:56.720 watch until tomorrow. The stranger at this novel request, supposing 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.560 him to be some old acquaintance, not at the moment 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.360 record did, allows him to take the watch, thus placing 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:07.880 confidence in the honesty of the stranger who walks off laughing, 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.280 and the other, supposing it to be a joke, allows 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:15.920 him so to do. In this way, many have been duped. 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:21.640 Many con artists face legal consequences on charges of fraud, 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:26.560 but sometimes it's theft. The difference can be subtle. Fraud 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:30.480 is when one party knowingly misrepresents the truth or knowingly 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:34.000 conceals material facts in order to deprive someone of a 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:39.560 possession or right, whereas theft would be outright taking something 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.880 from that person. It can be difficult to prosecute con 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:46.040 artists criminally because they tow the line between what is 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:50.920 unethical and what is actually illegal. A good con artist 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:53.520 can make just about anything sound reasonable, at least in 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:58.400 the moment. William was seen before a Justice McGrath, who 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:03.560 local papers reported recognized him as a prior offender. One 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:07.560 story claimed that William had spent time incarcerated at Sing Sing, 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:11.160 but we're unable to verify that as a fact. Justice 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.560 McGrath committed William to prison until a further hearing could 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:17.400 be held, and the New York Herald called on anyone 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.480 who had been taken advantage of or defrauded by him 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:25.000 to come forward and testify against him. He was sentenced 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:29.960 for theft to prison time in the Tombs, officially named 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:34.079 the Manhattan Detention Complex. The first incarnation of the Tombs, 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:38.200 which opened in eighteen forty in Lower Manhattan at one 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.720 White Street, was called the Halls of Justice, and it 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:45.320 was and it was constructed in the image of an 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:49.880 ancient Egyptian mausolea. About five months after it was built, 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.560 and we should clarify, built on a pond that had 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:58.160 been filled in with wood pilings, it began, unsurprisingly to 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:02.120 sink when will It was incarcerated there. It was wet, 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:06.840 dark and dank. That building was demolished in and it 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:10.000 was replaced with a new City jail complex. But there 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.320 continues to be historical debate over whether the Tomb's got 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:17.480 its nickname because it resembled an ancient burial chamber or 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.120 because just being there felt like being in a tumbe. 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.240 The New York Herald continued to cover Williams story and 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.439 continued to use the new nickname they had coined for him. 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:30.520 A write up that appeared shortly after his arrest notice 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:34.240 read quote, during the last week or ten days, the 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.680 public have been entertained by the police reporters with several 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:41.559 amusing descriptions of the transactions of a certain financial genius 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:45.640 who rejoices in the sobriquet of the Confidence Man. It 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:49.480 appears that the personage who has earned this euphonious and 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.880 winning designation has been in the habit of exercising his 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:56.680 powers and moral suasion to an extent almost equal to 0:09:56.720 --> 0:10:00.680 that attained by Father Matthew himself. The Father Matthew in 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.520 that quote was a well known temperance preacher in the 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:09.720 mid nineteenth century, dark and dank accommodations aside. Newly crowned 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:14.320 as the Confidence Man, William really enjoyed his celebrity, and 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.240 he would schedule interviews with the press from his cell 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:21.880 inside the tombs. One reporter later described his visit as 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:25.280 so he was led to William cell by quote to 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:29.160 country looking individuals. When they arrived at the landing in 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:32.560 the second tier, they were accosted by our hero, who 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:36.840 sat in the keeper's chair. In this way, gentlemen, have 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:40.760 either of you a cigar? I am the confidence Man. 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.040 We're going to take a break for a word from 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:47.320 our sponsor, and when we return, we will talk about 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:51.200 the old saying you can't cheat an honest man, and 0:10:51.320 --> 0:11:07.800 how that's actually probably not true at all. Welcome back 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:12.320 to criminalia. Not all cons are equal, and William Thompson 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.160 was really just small time. Let's talk about different types 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:20.880 of cons and who you can and can't trust. Karen 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:24.239 halton In, professor of History and American Studies and Ethnicity 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:27.320 at the University of Southern California and the author of 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.160 the book Confidence Men and Painted Women, a Study of 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:34.760 middle class culture in America eighteen eighteen seventy, notes that 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.480 New York City at the time William was active, was 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:41.640 a growing urban society, and there was an increase in wealth, 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.640 especially what she calls movable wealth such as paper, currency 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:49.480 or jewelry. Those kinds of conditions made scams easier for 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:53.880 opportunistic con artists like William. In fact, according to Halton, 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:57.240 in New York police estimated during the eighteen sixties, so 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.160 just a decade or so after William was arrested and 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.760 sentenced to the Tombs, that one out of ten professional 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.559 criminals in the city was a confidence man, and they 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:12.080 didn't all resemble William. James Gordon Bennett, considered the William 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:15.600 Randolph Hurst of the Antebellum era in America, was the 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:17.760 publisher of the New York Herald at the time of 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:22.400 William's arrest. In his position, Bennett editorialized about the people 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:26.480 he considered to be society's true confidence men. And it 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:30.760 was not William or even people like William. William he 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:34.480 called a petty swindler. It was, he wrote, quote, those 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:38.439 palazzos of the rich. Quote, with all their costly furniture 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:41.480 and all their splendid equipages, have been the product of 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:45.160 the same genius in their proprietors, which made the confidence 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:49.520 man immortal and a prisoner at the Tombs. His genius 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.959 has been employed on a small scale. There's has been 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:57.040 employed in Wall Street long life to the real confidence man, 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.560 the confidence man of Wall Street, the Confident Man of 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:07.400 the Palace Uptown. And yes, Williams scams were small cons. 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:09.840 He was a small time criminal, or what was called 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.520 a peanut grifter, but he became notorious around New York City, 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:17.439 and eventually his story was told across the country. William 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:19.880 and his case, it said, we're likely to have been 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.240 the inspiration for the protagonist in Herman Melville's novel The 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:26.640 Confidence Man His Masquerade, which was published on April Fool's 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.480 Day in eighteen fifty seven. The story takes place on 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:34.080 a Mississippi riverboat called the Fidel, and the premise centers 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:37.800 around a con artist who, using a variety of disguises 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.160 and fake identities, attempts to scam a diverse group of 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:45.319 steamboat passengers. One theme in the novel is the relationship 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:48.000 between the con artists and their mark, and that the 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.520 confidence game needs both the greed of the con artist 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.520 and the vanity of the mark for the swindle to work. 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:59.040 Melville also wonders in his writing, aside from opportunism and 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:03.160 the chance to make some quick cash, what actually motivates 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:06.240 a swindler. As the narrator in the novel shares with 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:09.320 us quote was the man a trickster. It must be 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:13.760 more for love than for lucre two or three dirty 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:17.319 dollars the motive to so many whiles. So was it 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:19.560 the act of the con or the stolen goods that 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.720 really motivated those in the game, or was it both? 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.560 Some argue the old adage quote you can't cheat an 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.480 honest man. They argue that con artists should be compared 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:35.160 to the familiar Robin Hood character, turning a con into 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.320 sort of a noble grift, cheating the greedy out of 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.840 their money, as only those who are greedy would be 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.400 willing to skirt the law for the promise of something 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:47.760 like money, power, you name it. The types of confidence 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.080 tricks are limitless, but there are two primary categories that 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:55.960 they fall into, short cons and long cons. Three card Monty, 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.200 for instance, is a well known street hustle, and it's 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.120 a short con. It's success us is dependent on the 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.200 mark wanting to win a little quick cash on a gamble, 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:08.600 but a long con refers to a more complex, planned con, 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:12.040 such as in a Ponzi or a pyramid scheme. In 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.400 real life, it's Charles Ponzi who's considered the best and 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:19.280 biggest of the convent in Hollywood. We all know Robert 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:23.000 Redford and Paul Newman's characters in The Sting, Michael Caine 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:26.200 and Steve Martin, and dirty rotten scoundrels Kevin Spacey in 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:30.560 The Usual Suspects. The fictional and nonfictional lists of swindlers 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.480 are long, and in today's news we tend to hear 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.160 the stories of the long cons, not those quick watch 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:39.800 thefts with modern con artists like would be socialite and 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.840 a Delvi whose real name is Amasaurkin, Elizabeth Holmes and 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.880 her fake theorised blood testing machine, and Simone Leviev. The 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:52.160 tinder swindler Bernie made Off is a familiar name. Sylvia Brown, 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.000 Robert Hendy, Freegard. Whether we talk about them in a 0:15:56.080 --> 0:16:00.600 sympathetic light or not, their antics always fascinating and grab 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:05.840 our attention. An introduction to her book Confident Women, Swindlers, 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.720 Grifters and shape Shifters of the Feminine Persuasion, author Tory 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:13.840 Telford writes, quote, the fact that we like con artists 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:17.560 so much is probably the greatest con of all time. 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:21.200 They prey on us all, yet we're still fascinated by 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.960 their exploits. Experts believe it's the cleverness of a con 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.560 artist that often makes them appear sympathetic to the rest 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:31.280 of us even after the deceit has been revealed. How 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.040 many people fell for the scam, We wonder how exactly 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.640 did they pull it off? What happens when they get caught, 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.600 what happens if they don't get caught. Their stories carry 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:44.400 a natural drama that we just can't resist. Maria Knakova, 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.600 author of The Confidence Game, The Psychology of the Con 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.880 and Why We Fall for It every Time, said in 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.120 an interview with BBC Culture that though humans have had 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:58.000 a long fascination with con artists, quote, the explosion of 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:02.440 social media has made conning easier. We are better targets 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:06.080 and con artists can craft better stories and has given 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:10.720 cons increased visibility. She continued, quote, It's easy to get 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:13.880 wrapped up in the glamour of the con itself. Can 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.960 you believe she was able to pull that off? We 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.480 begin to tow the line between telling a story of 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:24.960 deception to admiring the person who was responsible. So, while 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:29.200 we may be inclined to think con artists should be untrustworthy, 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.960 their particular talent is actually the ability to gain the 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:37.400 trust of their marks exactly as William Thompson did. They 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:41.480 exploit human desires for money, health, happiness, even the desire 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:43.680 to help others can be exploited, and this is how 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:48.480 William operated. Often these crimes go unreported by victims because 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:53.360 mainly because of two things, One our embarrassment by our 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.960 own complicity in an activity of dubious or criminal nature, 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.560 and two our embarrassment of having fallen for the con 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:05.760 in the first place. The prospect of something for nothing 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:09.160 or very little proves again and again to be so 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:14.960 hard for humans to resist. So who do you trust, Well, Maria, 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:18.880 you can trust me that this week's scamp sauce is delicious. 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:22.439 It's very deserty this time. So if you were hoping 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:25.000 for a citrus whiskey situation, that's not what you're getting. 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:34.720 I lured you and switched it out. So one thing 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.359 I want to talk about, though, is actually a little 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.000 instruction if you don't already know it, and how to 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:43.679 make your own vanilla liqure, because that's going to be 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.920 part of this one. Making your own liqueurs is very 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:50.320 very easy. Usually it's just a combination of whatever your 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:54.399 flavoring is, some sugar, some other alcohol, and then you 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:58.760 let it mix and hang out together. So in this case, 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.119 here's how you make vanilla liqueur, which I know I 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:05.199 have used things like Liqueur forty three in the show before. 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:07.920 I'm going to use a different vanilla liqueur in this one. 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:10.040 But you can make your own. And what's cool is 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:13.440 you can spice them as well and make like your 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:16.160 signature vanilla liquor. And then all your friends will be like, 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.960 I had to drink at Maria's house and it was amazing. 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:21.439 It tasted like vanilla and cardamom, and you'll be like, 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:25.720 mm hmmm. So here is how we're basically gonna make it. 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:29.440 It starts with simple syrup and a vanilla bean. You're 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.119 gonna put a cup of water and two cups of 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:35.480 sugar in a saucepan. Let them warm up, get that 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:39.160 sugar dissolved. In the meantime, you will take a vanilla bean, 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.720 split it in half, and just put it in a 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:46.879 a mason jar. You don't have to scrape it, you 0:19:46.920 --> 0:19:49.479 don't have to do anything with it. Just make your 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.600 simple syrup, and then you're gonna pour that simple syrup 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:56.080 when it's warm. Be careful, obviously, hot things right over 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:58.360 the vanilla bean into the jar, seal it and let 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.879 it sit. I like to let that go for a while. 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.960 I like to let it steep like overnight. Some people 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:08.320 will do six or eight hours. Taste, taste it and 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:10.480 see how it is, and then you're going to strain 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:14.359 off that vanilla bean in any of the little inside 0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:16.199 stuff that's come out. So that's why you don't have 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:19.640 to worry about doing anything particularly fancy with that. You'll 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:23.000 strain that out. And then if you just want vanilla syrup, 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:25.199 you're done. It's amazing and you can use it in 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:29.200 drinks or on ice cream, or just buy the spoonful 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:32.280 to make it liqueur with it. This is when I like. 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:35.560 You can try it with different kinds of spirits to 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:39.040 start with. But a cup of vodka, a cup of brandy, 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:41.600 and then a half cup of vanilla syrup that you've made. 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:45.440 This makes a delicious vanilla liqure. And you can throw 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:47.560 in cinnamon if you want. You could throw in a 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:50.560 little bit of clove. All will be careful. Clove can overwhelm. 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:52.840 You can throw in lavender if you want to flooral 0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:55.360 vanilla licure. You can literally just play with this thing. 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.199 This is a choose your own adventure. Now that you 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:01.199 have your vanilla cure and name, whether you made it yourself, 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.879 where you purchased it, it's time to make tongue pudding. 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:09.280 That was just there's no way that wasn't going to 0:21:09.359 --> 0:21:11.560 be the drink, and so I was, of course thinking 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:17.000 of drinks that would be creamy, and also I wanted 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:19.760 it to ideally have a little bit of a golden color, 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:22.960 which is to reference the gold Watch situation, which is 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:25.480 why we're doing vanilla liquor. Mine came out kind of 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:28.119 more big, I'll be honest. This is also a flip. 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:30.280 So if you're one of those people that doesn't like 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:33.800 the egg drinks, I'm sorry. But if you are, get ready, 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:39.080 because this business is okay. So one whole egg into 0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:42.600 your tin, and then it's super easy because it's a 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:45.320 three part one ounce of each of these, one ounce 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:49.080 of gin, like a good, very neutral gin. I like 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:52.520 to have a gin that's not too piny, one ounce 0:21:52.720 --> 0:21:56.679 of your vanilla liquor, and one ounce of Irish cream. 0:21:57.320 --> 0:22:00.600 Throw in a dash of bitters with that eye shake 0:22:00.680 --> 0:22:02.560 it so that means you're not putting ice in your tin. 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:04.959 Initially you are dry shaking it to get that egg 0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:09.439 super frothy, super blended with everything else you want it 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:12.760 basically to be a super smooth situation. And then throw 0:22:12.800 --> 0:22:15.040 your ice in there and shake it up. Then you 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:18.200 will strain it double strain it, meaning you use your 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:21.320 hawthorn strainer or whatever you normally use, pour it through 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:24.760 a mesh strainer as you're doing it into your ideally 0:22:24.920 --> 0:22:27.560 pre chilled glass. I like a Nick and Nora or 0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:30.800 a coope for this one. You can also add bitters 0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:34.679 to it before you do that second shake. Delicious, and 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:38.080 then you have a thing that's a little bit eggnoggy 0:22:38.119 --> 0:22:41.719 but also has that Irish cream flavor which has some 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:46.280 whiskey notes to it, the vanilla flavor. It's delicious. It's 0:22:46.320 --> 0:22:50.360 tongue putting to make the mocktail. There's more recipe doings 0:22:50.359 --> 0:22:56.200 to do Irish cream. You can buy Irish cream flavored syrup, 0:22:57.600 --> 0:23:00.680 add that to some cream and you're ready to roll. 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:03.000 You can just use that in your thing. But if 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:06.120 you want to make homemade Irish cream, and I will 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:08.720 also tell you how to make your own homemade alcoholic 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:11.320 Irish cream if you want. But this base recipe is 0:23:11.359 --> 0:23:15.040 just to make a non alcoholic one delicious. So you're 0:23:15.040 --> 0:23:18.320 gonna take a can of condensed milk, a cup of 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:22.800 heavy cream, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a teaspoon of 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:27.280 almond extract, one and a half tablespoons of chocolate syrup, 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:32.160 and anywhere between a pinch and a teaspoon of instant 0:23:32.160 --> 0:23:35.600 coffee ground can be so good. It's so easy too, 0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:37.959 because you don't have to do any stovetop anything. You 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:40.680 throw that business in a blender, you go to town 0:23:40.800 --> 0:23:43.119 and you have Irish cream. If you want to make 0:23:43.160 --> 0:23:45.840 the alcoholic version, throw in a cup and a half 0:23:45.920 --> 0:23:48.439 of Irish whiskey, and that's essentially what Irish cream is. 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:50.440 I don't know if people are always clocking when you 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:52.760 drink Irish cream there's a chocolate note in it, but 0:23:52.880 --> 0:23:55.840 there is, so that's why there's That's why there's that 0:23:55.920 --> 0:23:58.520 chocolate in there. But like with the vanilla and the almond, 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:01.399 it just tastes like this uni beautiful little like a 0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:05.680 cookie in a cream and alcohol or not. Like I said, 0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:08.320 use it without the whiskey. You can keep that in 0:24:08.320 --> 0:24:10.240 your fridge for like a couple of weeks. Usually once 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:13.360 you blended all of that together. Depending keep an eye 0:24:13.800 --> 0:24:16.600 your milk products obviously, So there you have your fake 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:20.720 Irish cream. For your mock tail, I would use a 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:24.680 thin out version of the vanilla syrup, just so it's 0:24:24.680 --> 0:24:26.840 not quite as thick and heavy. Like literally, you can 0:24:26.880 --> 0:24:29.160 add a little bit of water to it, and then 0:24:29.280 --> 0:24:33.720 in lieu of the gin, I would do a camrameal 0:24:33.840 --> 0:24:38.280 tea and that makes a really really beautiful Oh this 0:24:38.359 --> 0:24:41.440 mocktail feels like a hug. There's something lovely about it. 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:44.400 The thing is, when you start making things like liqueor 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:47.280 on your own, you realize, oh, the sky's the limit. 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:50.880 I could make a vanilla watermelon liqueur. I can make 0:24:51.000 --> 0:24:55.719 apple cinnamon liqueur or some sort of like coffee and 0:24:55.800 --> 0:24:59.200 other fruit. Oh, a banana coffee liqueur sounds really good. 0:24:59.240 --> 0:25:02.680 I might have to get a that. Um Maria made 0:25:02.720 --> 0:25:05.280 a face that said, no, it would not be gooding bananas. 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:08.320 Oh that's right, I forget. I was like, what have 0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:13.600 you done to that's listen? I want banana and everything 0:25:13.680 --> 0:25:17.160