opinionated alchemist

A decade or so ago, I was jealous about bartenders in the US and a bit less to them in the UK. Germany wasn't in this time well served with new products for the bar. Then I came to Dubai - and learned, that it wasn't that bad in Germany. Even today, there are a lot of limitations, when it comes to availabilities of products in the UAE. But on the other hands, I have learned a lot: limitations are fueling your imagination and creativity and if I would have stayed in Germany, I don't think, that I would have become the same bar-person, I am today... There are a lot of ingredients in the kitchen, we usually oversee. One of them I would like to play around today: fennel. Fennel seeds to be exact. Sure, you could mess around with the fennel bulb - juice it [after that you might want to agar-agar clarify it...] - but spices are so much easier to work with - and sometimes the result is even better. This is what google has to say about it: ...

So it is Ramadan again. The fasting month in the Middle East [and for all Muslims around the world]. For me it is vacation time - who wants to be working, when alcohol is even more restricted and most sane Westerners are staying - well where they are? Ramadan from a beverage perspective though, can be interesting! Basically you have 4 drinks , which are usually only served through Ramadan [but really - they should really be served around the year]: Tamar Hindi This is a brew made out of tamarind. It is very different - has an unappealing muddy brown color [usually also not completely clear] - but it is somewhat very refreshing and I would even say delicious. Jallab Guess what - it seems, that this drink gave "bartender's darling" the Julep its name. It features grape molasses and rose water - very sweet [like all Ramadan juices, there is usually a ton of sugar in it] - exotic - nice. Karkarde  This would be your Agua de Jamaica! Yes - the recipes see...