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Disagreements are normal, and I'm happy to debate the finer points of bartending and cocktails with anyone. Sadly, some people prefer the angry dictator approach. David Rattner, of National Bartenders School, being one of them. But that's OK. What's not cool is the his inability to separate the topic from the individual. Another charming letter from Dave follows.
Today we use bitter liqueurs, like Ramazzotti, Fernet and Poli, as a form of digestif, to help with our over-indulgent nature. Sometimes sweet liqueurs, or cocktails, can provide some relief after we've gorge at the trough of gluttony. Before our "modern" digestive aids, there were similar cordials (1700's) that served the same purpose. These cordials were called Surfeit Water, which were specifically created for overindulgence. They differed from Bitters, in that pharmacists and doctors provided bitters for your ill's, where Surfeit Water was provided by your saloon keeper.
Depending on where you are from, or your inclination for spelling things, there are many ways to spell this almond flavoured cordial syrup. Sometimes it's with an x (noyeaux) sometimes it's shortened (noyau) and it can even be spelt shortened with an x (noyaux), among other varied spellings. Aside from being slightly annoying, this is a mainstay cocktail ingredient that has been usurped by the Italian amaretto's. But it is still called for, and for those who like to dabble in the art of homemade liqueurs, here is a recipe for Creme de Noyeau De Martinique.
You know the world of the cocktail is changing when a vermouth company reformulates their product to the original recipe. This seems to be happening more frequently now that people have started to appreciate more complex flavours and less syrupy sweetness. Noilly Prat Original has just hit the airwaves in Ontario, with their rediscovered love for the past. Prior to this epiphany, Noilly Prat had been hocking the "Extra Dry" formulation, which was--correct me if I'm wrong--a marketing tie in with the Extra Dry Martini from days-gone-by. So the questions is: is this a good thing or bad?
Christmas is almost upon us and that means family, shopping, drinking, resting, eating, drinking, sleeping and shoveling the drive way. As you might have noticed, all of these things have reduced my posting frequency. I have a bunch of stuff in the "pipeline" and hopefully during the Christmas holiday I'll get some stuff posted. No promises though, I might just decide to catch up on a years worth of missing sleep. At the very least, to keep you entertained, I'll try to post some drink newspaper clips from the 1800's. Here's one about "creating a demand" which seems rather relevant in today's competitive spirit market.
While perusing old news papers I came across an interesting article on Victor Bergeron aka "Trader Vic", from 1957. I'm sure most of this information is covered in one of Jeff Berry's books, but it is an interesting read on his rise to fame.
When you publish a website, you often leave yourself open to public scrutiny, which often leads to "Fan Mail", as I like to call it. Most of the time I ignore it, but sometimes I feel compelled to reply. This is one of those occasions. Now, the topic is High Fructose Corn Syrup, again, but it has become a kind of crusade for me to bring logic into this odd, enduring, little topic. I basically stated my case, and left it for people to take it or leave it. Basically, an "opinion", on a blog no less! But, it seems people still like to chastise me for it, so here is my scientifically accurate response.
