opinionated alchemist

Not long ago, there was a post about the Singapore Sling on Facebook, and I commented on it.  Point is, that it is unlikely - or better said, close to impossible, that the contemporary recipe [which is said to be the original recipe] was invented in the 1920's. Ok - let's first of all see the recipe: IBA specified ingredients* 3 cl  Gin 1.5 cl  Heering  Cherry Liqueur (cherry  brandy ) 0.75 cl  Cointreau 0.75 cl DOM  Bénédictine 1 cl  Grenadine 12 cl  Pineapple juice 1.5 cl Fresh  lime juice 1 dash  Angostura bitters Preparation Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into highball glass. Garnish with pineapple and cocktail cherry. David Wondrich, one of my favourite cocktail historians discussed the Singapore Sling here . And I do agree. I like his research, which showed the unlikeliness, that no cherry eau de vie was used - rather than Bols cherry liqueur or Cherry Heering. It seems unlikely, th

Official press picture of bacardilimited There is no shortage of company copying and ripping off each other in the spirit business. Since the introduction of Grey Goose by the mastermind Sydney Frank, there are dozen of premium and premiumer vodka brands coming out every year [last was the battle between Absolut [Pernod-Ricard] of their premiumest Elix and the counter of Bacardi with their Grey Goose V.X. This is quite normal and not especially dirty. Maybe a bit naive, though. But look what I found [picture besides]. Bacardi has "now" an "authentic" vodka with a very "unique" bell-shaped bottle. With a wolf as logo shouting out. Do you see any resemblance? I found the parallels with Russian Standard fascinating. Even the marketing stories [yeah - please don't be so naive and believe anything what they are telling you about a recipe from the 18th century - all a marketing lie] are very similar [Georgian vs. Russian... but still]. The