I Have Seen The Future And It's American Straight Whiskey: How many things do you know that get not only better but more numerous with every passing year? You could call it
Bourbon, of course, it you wished to exclude the superb Tennessee products of Jack Daniel's and George Dickel (just because they charcoal-filter their otherwise equally impeccable straight whiskey), but you should know that this is only the result of
a strictly commercial rivalry between the two main producers: Brown-Forman (who own Jack Daniel's in Tennessee) and Jim Beam (who make only Kentucky straight whiskies, i.e. Bourbons). Call it
American straight whiskey and be proud! [
More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Mar 13, 2004 -
31 comments
Could This Be The Renaissance Of The Three-Martini Lunch? Do business and alcohol mix? Do business and pleasure? Must we be all be utterly sober when we do deals? Or work? Is a little lubrication slowly replacing mineral water and political correctness? Surely it's not only writers who gain from the odd whisky and soda or gin and tonic? Have
you ever done any worthwhile work while under the influence? Please feel free to choose your drug of choice. Tobacco, amphetamines and benzodiazepines included. [
Via eGullet's recent thread, started by Beans.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jan 11, 2004 -
32 comments
Hangover Heaven By The Sea: In 1969, Canadian Montenegran
Walter Chell invented the
Caesar Cocktail as the perfect reflection of (and introduction to) Italian food, by mixing tomato juice, clam juice and oregano with Brazilian lime juice and Russian vodka. Canada, Montenegro, Italy, Russia, Brazil, California: is this the perfect multi-ethnic hangover-buster or what? [
More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jan 1, 2004 -
27 comments
Poor, Much-Maligned Alcohol Gets A Good Word: It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place/Except you and me,/So set 'em' up Joe, I got a little story/ I think you should know... And the story is something, if you're a drinker, you probably already know. (
I was so surprised by this article I wondered if it was sponsored by the booze industry. But then I mixed myself another drink; read the wonderfully-named, probably Guinness - and poteen-fuelled - Dublin Principles and drank its health anyway!)
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Nov 3, 2003 -
16 comments
The Spirits Of The Times: Whatever's Next? In an unstable marketplace, good old spirits have been undergoing an extraordinary renaissance since 1988, with 2003 the best year yet. And growing. With summer over and
thoughts turning to the more warming libations, I wonder what the next big drinking craze will be. My bets are on the wonderful, underrated
fruit brandies, distilled directly from fruit juices with nothing else added:
kirsch,
framboise,
mirabelle. Mmmm... The best
eaux-de-vie, in my experience, are those from
G. E. Massenez and above all (though they're quite expensive and alcoholic) from the Swiss
Paul Morand distillery. (
Flash req.) An ice-cold
Williamine, served in a shot glass surrounded by an old-fashioned tumbler full of shaved ice: oh what bliss on an autumn night, after a late dinner with old friends!
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Sep 27, 2003 -
12 comments
You've Come A Long Way, Baby: Unfortunately, you picked the wrong one, dear old
Old-Fashioned, dean of cocktails.
Robert Hess's definitive essay on the ever-changing ways of making one shows just how contentious a
cocktail recipe can be. It also bears sad testimony to how the great classics are being fruited up, iced up, fizzed up, shaken till obliteration and generally girlied, dumbed and boozed down. So how do you stand on the cherry, the pineapple and the orange? And don't even bother commenting if you're a seltzer fan! ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso
on May 21, 2003 -
51 comments
The Amazon.com Of Spirits is getting closer and closer, with California's
BevMo now giving
Internet Wines and
Sam's a good run for their money. If you cunningly use
Wine Enthusiast and the
Chicago Institute for your tasting notes (
I don't much like the gushing, amateurish drivel on Epinions, but some reviews are surprisingly good) you're away and ready to say: "Wake up Mr. Bezos - your time may be almost up. What are you waiting for, kind sir?" [
I linked to vodka selections for comparison purposes, but here are the main links to BevMo , Internet Wines and Sam's. Unfortunately, I failed to find a good price comparison guide to complete the package. As for European online spirits retailers, I found none with the kind of range a discerning drinker will countenance.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Mar 2, 2003 -
10 comments
Try Saying Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Tea And Mint Julep Without Smiling: it can't be done. Coz June is busting out all over in Bourbon country and the mint is as high as an elephant's eye. For this we all rejoice. But - wait - did you know that, for that most perfect Summer drink, the thirst-quenching
nec plus ultra they call the
Julep, "
the most important ingredient is a T-shirt for the mint juice extraction"? Oh yes! The time has come. Here comes the sun. Mmmm...
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jun 5, 2002 -
23 comments
For Lent, I'm Giving Up Not Drinking Cocktails - What About You? I collect cocktail books but there are two web sites* that are just as good as the best bartender's bible. The first is
Dale DeGroff's. The second, sadly discontinued but still invaluable, is
Paul Harrington's. Both are very personal and reveal a deep knowledge and love of this quintessentially American and civilized art form.
Cocktails may very well be the only truly democratic and universally accessible pastime. They can be made at home quite cheaply by anyone and be just as delicious as the very best served in the very best bar to the richest imbiber in the world. Not to mention their incredible
Valentine's Day potential... so what's it to be, pal? *
Webtender, Drinkboy and Esquire's cocktail guides pale by comparison
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Feb 13, 2002 -
53 comments
So When Can The Boy Start Drinking Then? From February 1 you'll have to be 16 to order an alcoholic drink in Portugal. We Portuguese were the last bastion in Europe - with no age limit at all - but have finally given in the to pressures from the European Union. Yet young people here enjoy drinking but rarely get drunk.
Age limits
vary wildly all over the world and the debate on
the ideal drinking age rages on. The U.S. is still the strictest country of all. And yet public displays(and tacit approval)of drunkenness seem to be far more prevalent in the stricter countries than in those who have more liberal legislation. So what should be the
minimum drinking age? [
The main link, in Portuguese, refers to the political battles that preceded the new law. Interestingly, it reports the Portuguese government resisted EU pressure to limit 16-year-olds to beer and wine, more or less saying "alcohol is alcohol - you can get drunk on anything - so it would be silly to limit young people's choices." ]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jan 25, 2002 -
40 comments
Are you drinking too much? Daniel Lieberman is a psychiatrist at George Washington University who has posted a clinically-tested questionnaire which measures personal relationships with the demon drink. Unlike the usual amateur "are you an alcoholic?" tests on the Net it seems methodologically sound and non-judgemental. I don't know about scientific - but it may actually be useful in a Socratic, "know yourself" sort of way.
It does take about 10 minutes to fill out - enough for half a gin and tonic - but it's free, well set out, and will probably leave you feeling slightly less guilty about your drinking habits than before.
So...chin-chin!
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Sep 11, 2001 -
9 comments
