I have just watched "How to Drink" - the rum episode. What though came to my mind is: we are learning and categorizing wrong. The problem is, that we are looking at the greatest common denominator. But this might confuse us or is even misleading us. For example rum: yes - mostly it is taught, that rum is made of sugar cane or a sugar cane product. But really - most rums are made from molasses. The few exceptions are Rhum Agricole (which you could argue is a category itself and not passé a rum) and few brands which are made from sugar cane juice. Please note, that cachaça is not considered a rum! The "Brazilian rum" moniker doesn't come from the Brazilians (because there are real rums made in Brazil), but from the 20th century US bureaucracy, which needed to categorize cachaça and "didn't wanted" to give it its own category. The rums (except of rhum agricole) are made from countries which are not typically producing rum and don't have speci...
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The Mai Tai is a difficult drink - no let me rephrase this: bartender are often confused, when it comes to the recipe of a Mai Tai. The main issue is the public. Unfortunately "common customers" love the name "Mai Tai". It reminds them on the tropics - and probably their past vacation there. Different when they went on vacation and drank a "not so great bottle of wine", which they though covered with their glorification of their experience (just to find out at home, that the wine hasn't been that great), the Mai Tai remains in their glorified memory - simply, because most consumers don't make cocktails at home. So people remembered the "romanticized" name Mai Tai - but really didn't had a recollection about it - other than it tasted exotic (and let's face it - cocktails in a vacation destination aren't usually that great or authentic). However there always has been a Mai Tai. Let's first of all turn to the rivalry ...
There is an article about: SCIENCE EXPLAINS WHY SOME BASE INGREDIENTS MAKE BETTER VODKA It is unfortunate, but in these days science is mostly misinterpret and also used "wrong". Strangely people relying on science but don't really understand how. Science seems to be a "new religion" similar to catholicism in the dark ages: people don't read and understand the scientific papers, but rely on the press and on "spokes people" which are simplifying and explaining. This isn't so bad if it comes to popular scientists like Neil DeGrasse or Bill Nye. They are trained scientists and understand scientific reasoning. However when it comes to the press and other people who are "using" science it is a complete other issue; Let's look at the article to understand what I mean: By definition, vodka in the U.S. must “be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color,” according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bur...
Masafi is a UAE based drinking water supplier. There has been another brand (Al Ain) which has started the "zero sodium trend". But what I have to give to Al Ain is, that they just advertised their water what it is: zero sodium. They didn't implied any health benefits or anything else. I found that pretty smart - as a lot of people are concerned about their sodium intake - hence they are "playing with the perception" that the water "can help" to reduce the sodium intake, without being misleading. Masafi though is definitely misleading. They suggesting, that their water actively helps to maintain a healthy sodium intake. Why is it misleading? Because it all depends on ratio. Look - the recommended sodium intake of a normal adult is 1,500 mg (1.5 grams). The sodium content of "normal" mineral water is about 3mg to 33mg (latter is already pretty extreme- it is Badoit sparkling water with one of the highest sodium content of all commerci...
The pink wave is approaching us and probably will overrun us all... at least this is my current feeling, when I see, what kind of new products are approaching and which products are hitting the trend-lists. First there was the Cosmopolitan - then after a long hiatus of pink highly popular beverages, rosé wine started its incredible victory run. The frozé has been a wine based drink, which really pushed pink further. And now we are at pink gin. This is an obvious combination of "pink" and another current hyper trend: gin. Gordon's, one of the biggest volume producer of gin (but in my eyes, maybe not one of the outstanding ones), didn't wanted to stay behind - and also developed a pinkish gin. How is it? It is sweet, it is pink, it smells like strawberries and taste like a berry-fruit bouquet. There are for sure some juniper and other spice notes, which are coming through. Yet the beverage is not very complex. Which might be ok, for the target clientele?! M...
Who would knew, that I am reviewing a budget vodka here - on the opinionatedalchemist.com. But this isn't a normal review. I skip the marketing perception and use this product to cut directly to the case: Vodka is a "rather" neutral, colorless, "rather" flavorless and odorless distilled beverage from any agricultural source - and depending on the country, it has a minimum of 37.5% and 40% abv. As I said time and time again before: at times it is absolutely nonsense to talk about premium and luxury, when the original product doesn't really "hold this promise". Luxury water can have luxurious marketing, luxurious packaging, can be even rare and slightly more expensive "to produce". However really it is just water. Maybe it has some nuances to normal water - however those nuances (in a blind-test) are pretty small. Vodka is extremely similar - and the chain of evidence (despite a lot of people trying to proof otherwise) makes it re...
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 dr...
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 | noun the 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-b...
I have heard many times, that this Martini, that Mojito or this Margarita is the best of the world. But what does this really means? Let’s face it has been easy to do a better cocktail in the late 90’s or even in the early new millennium. You simply had to use proper recipe, fresh ingredients (I remember to have had many discussions with guests and other bartenders about, if a cocktail “deserves” quality and fresh ingredients - and a lot of people said, that it is “waste” to use good ingredients in a cocktail) - and you usually made it already onto a list. Nowadays it is far more difficult - because there are a lot of bars, which are using the freshest ingredients, quality spirits - often even premium spirits. So how can I make the best cocktail then? Please understand, my Padavan, that you are asking the wrong question... There is nothing such as the best Mojito, the best Margarita and so on. Point is, that “the best” is not very objective: Is it the most popula...
Let me first of all say - that I really like diffordsguide.com. I don't agree with everything - but Simon Difford is one of the guys, which I very much respect - and he has a reasonable view. However when I read the latest article [I got the newsletter - as RSS is pretty much dead, this is the way, how I get news...] - I really got quite annoyed: via http://difordsguide.com Why I got upset you might want to ask? Well just read on. Basically the article states, that sugar is bad for you. Even worse than the monosaccharides combination - is the fructose part. The article states even, that agave syrup, is pretty much nasty. So far, so good - well done - you have shipped around the cliffs of following the tree-hugging vegans, who are demonizing white sugar, but then suggest agave syrup as healthy alternative! But what is bad with the article is, the typical contemporary bluntness. >>There is something bad in our diet - oh yes, lets replace it and not changi...