Various Shades of Alcohol

Fruit juices, fermented grains & honey have been used to make ethyl alcohol or ethanol for the past thousands of years. Evidence suggests that early Egyptian civilization consumed fermented alcoholic beverages. Then there is enough evidence to prove that alcoholic drinks were in use in China as early as 7000 BC. An alcoholic beverage called ‘Sura’ which was distilled from rice existed in India between 3000 & 2000 BC.

Many native, American civilizations developed & consumed alcoholic beverages during pre-Columbian period. A fermented alcoholic beverage called ‘Chicha’ produced from grape, corn or apple was extensively consumed in the Andes region of South America. Babylonians are known to have worshiped a wine goddess way back in 2700 BC. One of the first alcoholic beverages gaining popularity in Greece was ‘Mead’ made from honey & water.

The Alcohol Story

During the 16^th century alcohol often called ‘spirit’ was mainly used for medicinal purposes. The British parliament passed a law in the beginning of the 18^th century encouraging the use of grains in production of alcohol. Reaching a climax in mid-18^th century the markets were flooded with cheap spirits. Gin consumption subsequently touched 18 million gallons thereby alcoholism became widespread.

Alcohol in the 19^th & 20^th Century

The 19^th century brought some respite by changing attitudes alongside the temperance movement. Moderate use of alcohol became the mantra ultimately leading to a push for total prohibition. US passed a law in 1920 banning the manufacture, sale, export & import of alcoholic beverages.

This triggered illegal alcohol trade as a result that prohibition of alcohol was lifted in 1933. As of now about 15 million Americans from alcoholism & almost 40% of road accidents are related to alcohol consumption.

Historic Vodka Blends from Poland

Quite a few Polish vodka blends have survived the centuries. Most notable amongst these include Żubrówka, & aged Starka vodka from the 16th century, & Goldwasser from the early 17^th century. The nobility of Poland (Szlachta) was even granted monopoly on production & sale of vodka in their territories during the mid-17^th century which was a rich source of substantial profits.

As part of the involvement of the aristocracy another one of the famous distilleries in Poland was established by Princes Lubomirska, & which was later operated by Count Alfred Wojciech Potocki, her grandson. Located in the park of Potocki country estate is the Vodka Industry Museum displaying an original document attesting the distillery existed in 1784. This distillery is operating today as Polmos Łańcut.

Famous French Cognac Labels

Even though there are more than 200 cognac producers in France, almost 90% of the spirit coming into the US markets, come from just four of them. Hennessy which is owned by LVMH, Courvoisier which is owned by Beam Inc, Rémy Martin owned by Rémy Cointreau & Martell which is owned by Pernod Ricard are the leading suppliers.

Other brands supplying cognac into US include Braastad, Camus, Meukow, Bache-Gabrielsen/Dupuy, La Fontaine de La Pouvade, Cognac Croizet, Chateau Fontpinot, Pierre Ferrand, Delamain, Frapin Hine, Movet, Marcel Ragnaud, Otard & Three Barrels.

After Dinner Brandy Wine

In most western countries it is a tradition to drink wine brandy neat at room temperature from a wine glass, a tulip glass or a sniffer. In many parts of Asia, Brandy is taken ‘on the rocks’, poured over ice cubes. By holding glasses in cupped palms Brandy is usually gently warmed when drunk at normal room temperature.

Excessive heating causes alcohol vapors to become too strong in Brandy where the aroma tends to be overpowering. Drinkers who like their Brandy warm generally ask for glasses to be heated before the spirit is poured. Brandy plays an excellent part in the making of several popular cocktails like the Brandy Daisy, the Brandy Sour, Brandy Alexander, the Sidecar & the Brandy Old Fashioned.

Cocktails – Mix & Match

Cocktails generally mean any beverage containing two or more ingredients. In this context at least one of them should be containing alcohol. History of cocktail’s suggest, that they traditionally were a mixture of water, sugar, spirits & bitters. However, somewhere around 1860s they frequently started including a liqueur as well.

Some of the popular cocktails today include gin, whiskey & vodka as primary ingredient. Martini, Bloody Mary & the Blue Lagoon are some of the most famous cocktails invented by man. Other popular cocktails include the Manhattan cocktail, the Sazerac cocktail & the Old Fashioned whiskey cocktail.

Martini – ‘The Elixir of Quietude’

Made with gin & vermouth, Martini is generally garnished with olive or a lemon twist. One of the most popular & best known cocktails, Martini is American in origin. A traditional preparation of Martini is pouring gin & dry vermouth in a mixing glass containing ice cubes. Strain this alcoholic beverage mix into a chilled cocktail grass only to be garnished with green olive or lemon twist.

The gin to vermouth ratio has steadily increased ever since the cocktail was originally created. So much so that, some Martinis were prepared with a cocktail glass full of gin only to be rubbed by a finger of vermouth along the rim. Then there are others who advocate complete elimination of vermouth.

There are plenty of variations over the traditional Martini. Vodka Martinis which the fictional spy James Bond preferred to be shaken & not stirred; however, proper name for shaken Martini is Bradford. Others, like Somerset Maugham preferred Martini to be stirred & not shaken, so that the molecules lay sensuously on top of each other.

Martinis are also delightfully served on rocks, which means, the mixed ingredients are poured over ice cubes & served in Old-Fashioned glasses. Dirty Martinis contain a splash of olive juice or olive brine typically garnished with olive. Use equal amounts of sweet & dry vermouth for a perfect sensuous Martini.

Bloody Mary – Popular Cocktail

Containing tomato juice & vodka along with other spices & flavorings including Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Piri-Piri sauce, horseradish, bouillon, celery, black pepper, cayenne pepper, olives, lemon juice & salts, Bloody Mary is one of the most popular yet complex cocktails in the world. Erroneously reputed to cure hangovers due to a heavy vegetable base combination, the alcohol in Bloody Mary in fact simply numbs discomfort.

Traditionally served on rocks in a highball tall glass, alongside the two critical ingredients & spices, common Bloody Mary garnishes include celery stalk, olives, lemon wedges & shrimp. Coming with massive garnishes considerable amounts of variations are available in Bloody Mary’s construction & presentation.

Intentionally designed to be a meal as well a drink these garnishes include ribs, mini hamburger sliders, kebabs, grilled or fried shrimp, sandwich wedges, fruit slices or even sashimi as per drinker’s taste.

Blue Lagoon – Frothy Citrus Cocktail

Featuring blue Curacao Blue Lagoon is another popular summer cocktail with vodka as key alcoholic ingredient. Variations of traditional Blue Lagoon include a dash of lime cordial to entice with a ‘Fruit Tingle’. Refreshing on a long hot day, it is basically the lemonade making Blue Lagoon cocktail slightly frothy & absolutely citrus in flavor.

Looking for a kick with lemonade, Blue Lagoon is perfect on an afternoon at the poolside. Pure fun, anytime, anywhere, fix a highball glass with Blue Lagoon cocktail recipe to feel into a tropical paradise.

End Game – Check & Mate Cocktails are romantic in nature, no matter the kind of setting you encounter. Bland alcohol can be boring & sounds more medicinal anyway. On the other hand, blended with natural ingredients cocktails are refreshing chargers tuned to the magical moments revealed within this journey called life.

Liqueurs for Floating Cocktails

Liqueur is simply a distilled spirit which is flavored with some variation in the form of cream, fruit, flowers, nuts, spices or herbs and finished with sweeteners like sugar or corn syrup. Liqueur in most cases is rather sweet, while some other types can be dry or tart.

Moreover, most Liqueurs are rarely aged but a few do receive a resting time which allows them gain flavor profiles.

Liqueur VS Liquor

It was easier to separate Liqueurs from liquor in the past. While Baileys, Benedictine, Kahlua, Chartreuse & Schnapps were all Liqueurs, Rum, Whisky, Fin & Vodka are liquors. However nowadays since many traditional spirits like Vodka are being flavored, it has therefore become difficult to distinguish between Liqueur & liquor.

Nevertheless, the thumb rule separating the two is that Liqueurs are sweet & syrupy in comparison with liquors which are not. Additionally, Liqueurs usually with a few exceptions have much lower alcohol content typically ranging between 15 to 30 percent by volume.

Liqueurs for Floating Cocktails

Serving Liqueur

Versatility is the biggest benefit of Liqueur. Liqueur, like several other spirits can be ideally used for mixing drinks and may also be served neat, over ice and may also be added to coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks like cream or milk. Liqueurs are also used for cooking or baking and some types of this spirit have also become major highlight of several desserts.

Layering Liqueurs for creating neat striped drinks has also become very popular. This is achieved by slowly floating a variety of Liqueurs over the back of spoon & ensuring that they do not mix. Cocktails like these can be a great idea for your next casual party or event.

Liqueurs in United States & Canada

Liqueurs in parts of United States & Canada are also called Cordials or Schnapps. However, in some parts of Commonwealth nations Cordial means concentrated non-alcoholic fruit syrup which is usually diluted according to taste and consumed as non-carbonated soft drinks. Schnapps in Germany & Scandinavian countries mean a type of Brandy or Aquavit.

Checkered History of Absinthe

Absinthe was originally produced as medicine in the latter half of 18^th century. This is a spirit with a checkered history which became a popular aperitif and an icon of France’s Belle Epoque. Unfortunately, bad press and ban across the world in early 20^th century which have been now overturned, Absinthe is now legally available and resurgent in the United Kingdom with a renewed pace.

Absinthe is widely consumed by poets and artists who are in search of inspiration. Fortunately, popularity of Absinthe is on the rise and which is helping shine a light on the spirit.

Making of Absinthe

A distilled spirit which is flavored with bitter wormwood and a choice of variety of botanicals including fennel and sweet anis, there are two main types of absinthe namely Verte & Blanche which are green & clear. Blanche is clear and is bottled immediately after distillation.

Traditionally Vertes have been colored green by infusing the spirit with more botanicals before they are bottled. As of now there are numerous compounded Absinthes in the market alongside traditionally produced spirits. Compounded Absinthes use a variety of flavorings and artificial color and generally do not feature the same depth of color.

Checkered History of Absinthe

Hallucinations & Absinthe

Although there is a chemical in Absinthe known as Thujone which can cause hallucinations, it is highly unlikely that it does. Thujone is a component in wormwood, but the levels in Absinthe are so low that it would take huge quantities of the spirit in order to have any effect.

Consuming Absinthe

Absinthe is never drunk neat and is always diluted with chilled water in a ratio of 1:3:5. Traditions arising around serving of Absinthe include slow dripping of water on sugar cube sitting on Absinthe spoon adds mystique to the spirit. Absinthe fountain which is an elaborate multi-tapped vessel allows drinkers to dilute at the same time and is largely preferred by purists.

Popular Absinthe cocktails include Corpse Reviver, Death in the Afternoon and Sazerac. Absinthe spoons are the most revered elegant artifacts in the world of spirits and which serve a useful purpose.

Appearance of Absinthe spoons vary and some are shaped to resemble a wormwood leaf while others bear intricate art deco designs. Some Absinthe spoons are incredibly valuable and sell for hundreds and thousands of pounds.

Growing Popularity of Mezcal

Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage which is made from agave plant which is native to Mexico. While most Mezcal is made from Oaxaca variety of agave plant, others like Michoacan, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Durango and recently approved Puebla are considered good as well.

Though Mezcal in the region has a great history, it is still unclear if distilled alcoholic beverages were produced in Mexico prior to the Spanish Conquest. Spaniards however are credited with introducing native fermented drinks like Pulque which is made from maguey plant. Eventually, experimentation with agave plant by Spaniards found a way to make distillable fermented mash which resulted in Mezcal.

Growing Popularity of Mezcal

Mezcal Now is Globally Exported

As of now, Mezcal is still made from the heart of agave plant in much the same way as it was 200 years back. Mezcal in Mexico contains a smoky flavor and is generally consumed straight. Although not as popular as Tequila, Mexico does export Mezcal and which mostly goes to countries like Japan and United States.

While the exports of Mezcal are growing each year, this produce is specifically made from blue agave in select regions of the country. Despite similarity in name, Mezcal does not contain mescaline or any other type of psychotropic substances.

Serving Mezcal

Mezcal in Mexico is generally served straight and not mixed with cocktails or any other liquids. However, Mezcal is often accompanied with sliced oranges, lemon or lime sprinkled mix of ground fried larvae, chili peppers and salt which is known as sal-de-gusano, literally meaning ‘worm salt’.

Mexcal in United States is fast becoming a prominent ingredient which goes in the making of several craft cocktail menus. Quite often Mezcal is also swapped for more traditional spirits in cocktails like ‘Mezcal Negroni’ & ‘Mezcal Old Fashioned’.

Crazy for Gin

Gin is a simple spirit flavored with a variety of botanicals but predominantly flavored by juniper berries. Despite a simple start in Middle Ages Gin has evolved from herbal medicine to commercial production in the spirits industry. Though Gin has a long & turbulent history it beholds a vibrant present & future.

Gin became popular with the British, Scottish, Irish & Dutch thrones which made it a popular spirit during those hay days. Nevertheless, Gin holds one of the broadest categories in spirits represented by products of various origins, styles & flavors revolving around juniper as a common ingredient.

Historic Importance of Gin

Although Gin is seen as a traditional spirit of England, origin of this spirit is much from over the sea. Juniper berries have been used for flavoring spirits since invention of distillation, both for medicinal qualities and for flavor.

However, beginnings of modern Gin started to appear since the 17^th century. Genever was a Dutch-styled Gin which appeared in the early mid-1600s. But the Gin story hopped over the English Channel to become well known in England in 1688. Thereby, locally produced Gin was cheap to make due to low taxation and therefore popularity of this spirit simply exploded.

Crazy for Gin

Crazy for Gin

Yes, this was the time for Gin craze when almost half of drinking establishments in London were Gin shops. However, overconsumption & extreme drunkenness provoked outrage from government & general public began explaining perils of consuming Gin as opposed to joys of drinking beer.

Subsequently, laws were passed that helped in controlling production & drinking of Gin by the 1850s when things calmed down. However, Gin continued to be a popular drink and spread to all parts of the globe with help of the British Empire. However, Gin now is customized to the taste of local consumers and which leads to a wide range of styles, flavors & ingredients right from the historical era to the ultra-modern.

Producing Gin

Production of Gin falls into two main categories, compounding & distilling the spirit. Compounding Gin involves adding flavors which are either natural extracts or botanicals to the neutral spirit. There are several cheaper Gins which are made nowadays using this method.

However, a large range of excellent Gins are also available nowadays within the category which is produced by macerating whole botanicals in order to produce high-quality of the spirit.