Recently in History Category

Adding things to Coca-Cola is a time honoured tradition, two that immediately come to mind are cocaine and rum. Another is Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia. Now this isn't kitchen cleaner ammonia, which would be a big mistake, this is a pharmaceutical preparation that has been used for over a century, even before Coke was invented. For druggists, this preparation was an over-the-counter medicine used to treat a variety of conditions. Unlike other patent medicines (snake oil), Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia survived and can still be bought at some pharmacies today. It makes for an interesting taste combination with Coca-Cola.

Just prior to prohibition, a great little booklet was put out by The Wine and Spirit Bulletin called Beverages De Luxe. It is a collection of articles, and recipes, written by owners of distilleries and others in the business. Some of the contributors include George Brown (Brown & Foreman) and A.M. Hanauer (Hamburger Distillery, Pittsburgh, PA) among many others. Hanauer wrote a piece on rye whisky and quotes Bismarek as saying “Beer is for women, wine is for men and rye is for heroes.”  There is some great info on vermouth, New England Rum and Gin. Plus some really interesting recipes from many of the hotels across America. Wanna see?

Art appreciation is something that has eluded me for years. I've always been rather technically minded, so painting is limited to drywall, and playing music to mp3's. Bartending could be considered an art, to some, but I think flavour, if raised in a family that experiences a wide range of cuisines, is something we learn. Without this intrinsic understanding of art, I'm often left staring at paintings wondering "how can I relate to this portrait". Then by chance, I discovered David Teniers the Younger while researching my Drink's from the 1600's session for Tales of the Cocktail.

The origin of the word “cocktail” is one of those persistent little mysteries that many people would like to solve, but information doesn’t come easily. I’ve looked at this a couple of times, basically putting my spin on previous information. But today, I’ve come across some additional information that I haven’t found referenced else where. The information is from 1788 and doesn’t completely solve the mystery, but might be an important piece. It also has nothing to do with horses, Aztecs, roosters, barrel dregs or war widows.

History has a tendency of repeating itself, and the world of bartending is not immune to the cycles of time. Perusing through old newspaper articles and finding an article from 1885 (Boston Daily Globe) that could have been written today, and been completely relevant, only reinforces these historical oscillations. The article seems to be a long lament of an indulgent imbiber, who lost a rare type of bartender. Today, the majority of people rarely come across a bartender who actually cares about what they are doing, but we seem to be heading into a period of renewed professionalism behind the bar, which is always a welcomed change. Read on for the article.

Browsing through some old newspapers I came a cross this article on the origin of Orange Curaçao (Kansas City Star - June 25, 1894). It is an interesting historical account of how orange Curaçao (spelled Curacoa in the article) or Triple Sec came to be. The original grades of Curacao are detailed and the "green ribbon" variety deemed the best. The green ribbon is a reference to the variety of orange (laraha) and the way the oranges were peeled. Ironically, the best variety of orange is green. The reason the orange is green is its picked before it has ripened, as it provides the best aroma and taste at this stage.