According to Winston Churchill, the gin and tonic “has saved more Englishmen’s lives and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire.” These days, of course, a case could be made as to whether or not those Englishmen’s lives, as they wreaked havoc over a quarter of the world while ruling their Empire, were actually worth saving. But that is a moral debate for another day. Meanwhile, it was the quinine in the tonic that was responsible for any lives saved. Seventeenth century Peruvians discovered that the bark of the cinchona tree (which became known as the fever tree) could…
The phrase “dog days” doesn’t actually come from our canine friends lolling around in the heat, apparently. It comes courtesy of the ancient Greek and Romans and has more of a celestial meaning than a four legged one. In July, Sirius, known as the “dog star” (because it made up the nose of the constellation, Canis Major, shaped like a dog) would rise at the same time as the sun. Because it was such a bright star, it was initially believed that its energy combined with the sun to create the hottest days of the year – the “days of…
This is a drink of the ’80’s. A time period which doesn’t have a stellar reputation for producing anything of real style or substance. Hot pink lycra, oversized shoulder pads and big hair certainly, but I think most of the cool, classy stuff belongs to a few decades earlier. But it just so happens that I was a big fan of the fuzzy navel back in the day and in a recent moment of nostalgia, decided to mix one up. Turns out there are some things that can be brought back and enjoyed all over again. The fuzzy navel is…
Many years ago in Portland, Oregon, there was an uber cool, uber chic bar named the Brazen Bean. It was in the upper part of an old Victorian house and was one of the best places to go in town for an interesting cocktail. Over time I tried many of them but I always seemed to be lured back to the Brazen Martini. So simple and chic, it consists of 1 part vodka to one part Parfait Amour. Parfait Amour is a French liqueur with hints of orange and vanilla and can sometimes prove elusive to find. If you can’t…
I went into a local restaurant recently and asked for one of my favourite drinks — a Kir Royale. It’s a classic cocktail and one I have ordered many, many times over the years. On this particular occasion, however, the waiter was unfamiliar with it. Not too surprising — he was pretty young. I explained that it was simply champagne and creme de cassis, suggesting that surely the bartender would know how to make it. Except that she didn’t either and not only that — creme de cassis wasn’t even in the building The outcome of this story is that…
