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...
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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...
I am cocky, when it comes to ginger beer. When distributors or ginger beer producers are coming and presenting their product, I cannot wait, to tell them how easy it is to make homemade ginger beer and how great it taste. I've experienced commercial ginger beers as always slightly "medicinal" - even "artificial" tasting. This usually comes from the dried ginger [or ginger extract], which seems to be pretty much industry standard. Don't get me wrong - products like East Imperial Ginger Beer and Fentimans Ginger Beer are great... but yeah - house-crafted is better, much cheaper - and it seems questionable, why anyone would buy a product, which he/she easily can produce in a better version. So I thought until now. I came across Cawston Press in one supermarket [I believe it was Spinney's] and as always when I see beverages, which I don't know yet, I had to buy them and try them. Now - I bought, the "plain' sparkling apple, the lemo...
Another new drink, to be featured in Blue Jade - the amazing Pan Asian restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Dubai... The Gin 'n Tonic is one very popular drink in Dubai. Yeah - here are a lot of Brits. But it is also a really great drink - and it defies very much the heat! For Blue Jade I wanted to break with the normal highball procedure, and really wanted to shake a drink up. As I reviewed East Imperial before, and titled it "not a lazy bartender tonic", I thought it will work as ingredients far better than any other tonic. It has some medium sweetness - however no acidity, which we will anyway apply with some fresh citrus juice... There is some muddled lemongrass [yeah - I don't usually like to muddle, but lemongrass just usually taste not that great, if used differently] - but the game changer is here the house crafted pandan syrup. It just brings the whole G&T into the East! The Jade Gin 'n Tonic We didn't only called it Jade G and T because of...
People who are following this blog - or simply know me, predict that I am not so keen on vodka. Yeah - as many other craft bartenders, I do think, that vodka is the lazy bartender spirit, - that it makes ok, but never great drinks; - that it should not have been ever invented... Sounds extreme? I know! But reality is, that guests are asking for vodka drinks and they sell. Yeah- not because vodka is convincing due to its quality - but because the producing/distribution companies are spending millions and billions into the product positioning, marketing, bribing [well... go figure]. And sometimes, you just can't fight against windmills - can you? One thing, which I really like to bring forward, was the Blue Jade beverage program. Blue Jade is the Pan Asian restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Dubai - and they have a great reputation within the Dubai dining scene. And point is: it is kinda fun to play with a specific concept, with specific constraints and expectations. In the fo...
Ok - let's begin like that - to write against "His Morgenthaler" is like bringing a knife to a Godzilla fight! He grew so much [and admittedly well-deserved], that not only his voice is like the trumpets of Jericho - he is even writing for freaking "Online-Playboy". This having said, it doesn't make him inerrable. I was more than skeptical about his take on the Brandy Old Fashioned [for me it is still the Wisconsin's OF] - but now his thoughts about the Long Island Iced Tea are quite disturbing! S Rescuing the Long Island Iced Tea From Its 1970s Origins 3,019 g 1 Jeffrey Morgenthaler Filed to: DRINK ALREADY VODKA RUM COCKTAILS LONG ISLAND ICED TEA 5/15/14 2:06pm E Share to Kinja j Share to Facebook i Share to Twitter r Go to permalink S EXPAND Let's just admit it, the Long Island Iced Tea is a bit of a joke. The drink had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, but orderi...
This is an amazing documentary about the historic backgrounds of Irish whiskey! I have seen with interest, that Midleton - launched a product portfolio, which brings back Irish Pot Still whiskey, which I think is more than smart. It just separates and gives a real authenticity to the whiskies. These brands [all Pernod-Ricard]: Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy [yeah - normal Midelton is a blended - but the Legacy is a Pure Pot Still] Green Spot Power's John Lane release and off course the venerable Red Breast [also with 'new' premium releases of 15, 12 cask strength and 21 years old]. The call it Single Pot Still whiskies, which I find a bit... confusing - maybe even disturbing [they are not "single" as "single malts" - as they are not made by individual distilleries]. But overall I am very happy, that Irish whiskey gets back on its authentic feet! Looking forward to try a lot!