New Orleans probably plays the most important and most prominent role in the history of American cocktail culture (and thus also of global cocktail culture). Sazerac, Vieux Carré, the original form of Milk Punches, Brandy Crusta, Boulevardier and many others were created in New Orleans for the first time or are at least suspected to come from this capital of the South. No wonder then, it sometimes seems to have become a real seal of quality if a drink originated in New Orleans. Read More
Monthly Archives: September 2018
V-Sinne Schwarzwald Dry Gin & Crushing your Senses
Well, today is the day and I dare to review a bottle of gin again. This may sound a bit irritating now, because I really appreciate a good gin, but of course, it has not been possible to ignore the fact of the sheer endless mass of new appearing juniper distillates we have to deal with since a lot of years. One of these gins is the V-Sinne (German for “five senses”) gin from the Black Forest. Read More
Wild Turkey Rare Breed & Arbitrary Nature of Time
The arbitrary nature of time – what a name for a cocktail! “I mean, have you ever really thought about it?” that’s what Maksym Pazuniak asks in his absolutely fantastic recipe booklet “beta cocktails.” which he published together with Kirk Estopinal. Well, and because the title of this cocktail is such a fit occasion, today I will do something that I would normally not: take up the question (tongue-in-cheek). Read More
Pure Spirits: Havana Club Pacto Navio & Blanc de Havana
The name Havana Club very likely triggers some predictable associations in most people: for many it is even the epitome of rum, ubiquitous in supermarket shelves, bars and discos. Most of these people will probably also think of some of the most famous rum cocktails: the Cuba Libre, the notorious rum and coke or also the Daiquiri. Nevertheless, most will not necessarily think of premium rum of so-called “sipping quality”. Read More
Knob Creek & The Iron Ranger
Bourbon whiskey is probably more in the spotlight now than it has ever been. However, this is less due to the fact that the spirit miraculously gained a fan base twice as big as the current one (although sales figures are developing well and more and more people are actually also interested in high-quality bourbon in Europe), but above all due to the smouldering trade and customs conflict between the USA and the European Union. Fortunately, however, this has not yet led to significantly higher consumer prices. Read More