opinionated alchemist

Not a lot of posts these days - I know. I am trying to keep a bit more busy on Instagram - I have heard, that people are far more active on this platform...
And I have been quite busy anyway (yeah, I know: as always). Now - I have to admit something: while my tarragon infusion worked perfectly at home (color-wise) - it has been not really successful on work. The aromas of tarragon were all there - but you have had (again) this faint light yellowish green.
Not good enough.
It seems though, that I found the culprit: too low alcohol! Even at 47% abc Bombay Sapphire isn't strong enough. When I used alcohol which has been around 70% it worked like a charm.  In the first hour (room temp) the alcohol slowly turned in a light green (but a more "unnatural" green with less yellowish hints). Heating it up to 65ºC It turned within another hour darker - but afterwards adding it into an ice bath, made it vibrant green.
Well - I have to admit, that the mint infusion has been more vivi…

There are people out there, which always want to simplify matters. I have read this post on liquor.com: "3 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER DO WHEN IT COMES TO BOURBOn" and I found it totally idiotic - let us directly go to it:
Don't spend more than $50 on a bottle What kind of stupid rule is that? I can understand the drift: you can really great bourbons under $50 (mostly in the US). However what is about gin? And vodka? Or cars? Or houses? Or wine? Or or or... Obviously I don't mean $50 - but you don't need to spend a fortune to get a great experience without spending a fortune.
The deal is: you always can find relative bargains, and you can find transcendent experiences, which might be marginal or largely superior (and some are even not as good as the less than $50 dollar bottle. But there is no point of making this moronic rule!

Don't only drink bourbon neat Besides of the next rule, which suggest exactly the opposite (not telling people how they drink their bour…

These days I have thought a lot about gin. There are a lot of gins coming on the market and some people are already calling it the “new vodka”.

While I do understand this notion, it is (out of my humble perspective) not at all comparable.
Yes - gin has been really exploited in marketing (like vodka) - but it is really like any mainstream trend. Vodka has been always a bit different: while a lot of gins have significant differences (especially due to their different botanicals) - quality vodkas lack the big differences and their subtle differences are subdued within the different moods people are in - or what they have eaten for breakfast or lunch, or if they had one drink before or simply with the mixers, the vodka is consumed with.
Anyway - one big topic I have contemplated about is Old Tom Gin. In my eyes, this style has been largely misrepresented and misunderstood.
The otherwise informative article in Imbibe shows exactly the issue - people get mislead by marketing of liquor comp…

I have found some new products, which let me thought over the whole concept of terroir of spirits.

Belvedere released two unique vodkas which are made with rye out of two specific micro-regions. Please check the link, because I won’t run with the typical marketing b.s.
The issue here is: does it make sense or is it total nonsense?
We probably have first to make some important distinction, what means and what influences terroir.








terroir| terˈwär | nounthe complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate. • (also goût de terroir | ɡo͞o də | ) the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced. ORIGIN French, ‘land’, from medieval Latin terratorium.Terroir (as well as unique sub-varieties) in directly consumed items is a non-brainer. And wine is known to rely on terroir (I am doubting, that terroir is really as important as most people say - it is quite a lot of p…

I am often really annoyed when I see people, making cocktails (blogging about cocktails, etc.).

Look, I love cocktail culture - I believe, that it is worth to be preserved. And I believe, that there has to be respect - because otherwise there won’t be anything to be preserved.

The Mojito is one drink, which gets molested all the time. And people don’t get it: there are drinks, which were consumed in a civilized environment (bars) - by more or less civilized people (at least they are civilized in the setting). And there are peasant drinks. A peasant drink can be great - I don’t judge, which drink is better - but latter is far more adaptable to changes.
Comparing the Mojito versus the Caipirinha is pretty obvious: the Mojito is a bar drink. Very soon after its creation, it has been consumed in Cuba’s most recognized bars - probably by the most famous people at its time.
Against that, the Caipirinha has been a drink of farmers and workers in Brazil.

The difference is a pretty big deal - …

It seems, that the Mai Tai got quite a revival these days. I seen it on quite a lot of menus - unfortunately in the most despicable recipes and ingredients lists.

Let’s first of all state, what the Mai Tai isn’t: the Mai Tai isn’t your typical tiki drink. For sure - it started in a Tiki restaurant - and it has been the creation of one of the two most iconic Tiki fathers - it was either way Don the Beachcomber or Vic “Trader Vic’s” Bergeron.

And while nobody seems to know, who really have been the first who named their cocktail “Mai Tai” - only Trader Vic provided the iconic recipe, which has been copied, simplified and abused.

Look, the Beachcomber recipe is the typical Tiki drink - which is far too strong, uses far too many ingredients - you get the point. No - this isn’t a rant about Tiki drinks...

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai is a combination of great aged funky rum, quality orange liqueur, orgeat and fresh lime - and maybe a hint of hyper concentrated sugar syrup. That’s it. It is a bit …