One can never know too much. When we discuss culinary literature and food in high spirits how can we miss about the spirits of the world?
Alcohol has been around ever since man discovered how to grow crops for food - an interesting by-product to an otherwise mundane task. The term alcohol is derived from the Arabic word 'al-kohl' : the consmetic eye make-up produced through distillation. Earliest alcoholic beverages date back from 4000 BC. Spirits have ever since been called the "Water of Life".
It's said "Alcohol is a liquid good for preserving almost everything except secrets."
The book says whisky is the undisputed king of all spirits, followed by Rum, Gin, Vodka, Brandy and Tequila.
So, our Nadan Kallu, wine and Beer have no place in it.
Whiskey is born naturally and drunk naturally. The making of whisky involves only materials provided by nature. Water, yeast, peat, barley, maize, cone or wheat. This along with clear water, cool air, the cold climate and the action of oaken casks with the whisky, all contribute to its unique flavour. This is why whisky is very rarely used in cocktails. Purist insist that the best way to drink Scotch, Irish, Tennessee, Bourbon or Rye is straight sipping.
Peter Mackie Founder of the 'White House' Whiskey says "As in the other things, there are good and bad whiskies. If we cannot afford the best, we should save our money and do without it".
Basically all whiskies are made from cereals, water and yeast. How they differ is in their methods of distillation, their composition as well as type of cereals used. Each country have their own set of rules. Even how it is spelled differs. LikeScotch is without e - whisky, Ireland and USA spell it as whiskey.
Scotch is a perfect mix of air, water, fire and the earth of Scotland. Irish is Ireland, Bourbon (51% American Indian Corn) (Kentucky), Tennessee (distilleries - Jack Daniels and George Dickel) and Rye (Grain uses is 51% Rye) are all American. Canadians refer to it as Canadian Rye.
Casks are important in its making. It can be done in three ways, Malt entirely made from Malted barley and distilled in a Pot still (huge copper vessel). The connoisseur can with little difficulty, literally 'taste' the region from which each malt comes. They are Lowland malt whiskies, Islay malt whiskey, Speyside malt whiskies and Highland malt whiskey.
Making of malt whisky involves malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation - 3 to 50 years.
In Grain whisky, malted barley and unmalted cereals are mixed in proportion. The processing is also different; it is continuous unlike Malt which is batch processing.
Blended is a mix of malt and grain.
Today French drink more Scotch than Cognac as its production came to a standstill in 1880.
The prohibition era in the U.S.A. gave rise to a number of colloquial expressions. The practice of smuggling bottles of whiskey in one's boots led to the word 'bootlegger' entering the English language because clandestine whiskey makers operated their stills at night, their product became known as 'moonshine'. The lack of charred oak barrels also gave their product the name 'white lightning'/ The well known phrase 'the real McCoy' was originally coned in reference to Scotch being smuggled into the US by Captain Bill McCoy.
Though it is claimed that further adding anything more flavorsome to whiskey is tantamount to sacrilege, the only exception is Drambuie (a malt whisky combined with honey)
Cheers is an English Toast. 'Sliante mhath' pronounced 'starngy var' meaning 'good health' is scottish, 'Slainte! is an Irish toast. 'Here's mud in your eye!" is American. "Okole Maluna Hauoli Maoli Oe!" is the Hawaiian toast for Rum. 'Proost!' is a Dutch toast for Gin. 'Na Zdorovia!' a Russian toast for Vodka. Brandy - 'A Votre Sante' - French for 'to your health'. 'Salud' a Spaish toast for Tequila.
'In Rum lies truth' is an old saying. It could be White (Southern Caribbean specifically in Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Barbados.), Golden (Caribbean islands and Venezuela), Dark (Jamaica, Haiti, Martinique and Guyana) - this gives 'Planter's Puch' in cocktail. World's best-known cocktails are based on rum. 'Mai-Tai', 'Pina Colada' and 'Daiquiri' - Daiquiri is a place in Cuba and doctors used this as a medicine against Malaria. It goes extemely well with fruit juices, as medicine for healing wounds.
Gin owes its modern sophisticated cachet to the Martini. Purity and flavor is the generosity of Gin. There is a myth that Gin is a ladies drink, greatest Macho advertisment for it is James Bond. Though it improves with age, it can be had immediately after it leaves the still. Carbonated water was orignally developed in the eighteenth century to emulate naturally sparking mineral water. This is mixed with Gin and is famous.
Vodka means the little water. Now it is used as a base for mixed drinks. This is mainly from Russia and Poland. A touch of ginger beer, lemon and some ice, enhances its taste. 'Bloody Mary', 'Screwdriver' . It does not leave tell-tale signs on the breath. By stepping various herbs in it like Tarragon, honey, chilli, peppers, coffee, lemon or orange peel, you can get flavour into vodka. People like it with a 'tear' i.e. with the outside of the glass frosty and cold.
Brandy means the spirit has been distilled from grape wine. All brandy is not cognic, but all cognic is brandy. Cognac is the brandy produced in the Cognac region of France - named 'Fine Champagne', 'Grande champagne' or 'Petite champagne'. Another way of differentiating is Three start VS(Very special), VSOP (Very special old pale) and Xo (Extra Old) Brandy produced in the Armagnac region is Armagnac. Germany also have long tradition of making fine brandy. Americal brandy mainly comes from California. Fruit Brandies are spirits distilled directly from fruits. It is fine enough to drink it undiluted out of a snifter. The warmth of ones hand is enough to warm it up. A brandy cocktail called the 'Highball' is well known made mixing 2 ounces (60 ml) Brandy and Ginger Ale or club soda. Add a twist of lemon peel and stir gently. It is pored over ice into a tall glass.
Mexico's most famous export, tequila is prodcued in only two designated regions in the country, one near Tequila and other near Tepatitlan. Tequila is distilled from the sap of the mature blue agave plant, also called the century plant. As agave is a succulent cactus with spiny leaves, it is sometimes nicknamed 'cactus whisky'. It takes two to tango. Margarita is the most popular cocktail - 2 ounces (60ml) of Tequila, 1/2 ounce (15ml) Cointreau made from brandy and orange peep and 1 tablespoon limejuice. All these are shaken with ice and drained into a cocktail glass rim rubbed with lime and dipped into a salt.
Know 'how much is enough' and 'how much is too much'. Provide plenty of food and non-Alcoholic Beverage.
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