What is single malt?
Single malt is so-called because the malt comes from a single distillery.
It is a whisky refined by a single distillery, using malted barley as the
only grain ingredient. Each distillery has its own distinct taste, flavour
and style and single malts bear that. Some world-renowned single malts are
Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie, Glenlivet, Glenkinchie and if you move into the
rare varieties, Port Ellen. Enjoying a single malt is a connoissseur's job
and you have to learn to be one. A single grain, as distinct from a
single malt, is a grain whisky made at one distillery, while the single
malt is made with barley.
What is Blended Whisky?
Blended whisky is a mixture of single malt whiskys and ethanol derived
from grains. Developed for those who could not stommach the strong taste
of whisky, it is a combination of malt and grain whiskys. First distilled
and bottled by Andrew Usher in Edinburgh in the early 1860s, it turned out
to be softer, lighter and more palatable. The character of the whisky is
determined not only by the proportions of malt and grain whisky, but also
by the ages of the individual whiskies and the manner in which they are
combined to bring out the finest qualities in each other. Most whisky
drunk across the world is blended whisky. Famous Grouse, Bells, Teacher's,
Whyte & Mackay and Johnnie Walker are a few that are well-known..
What is the difference between Whisky and Whiskey?
Alcohol, malted or not, made from grain which is produced in Scotland is
called WHISKY, while it is called WHISKEY if it is produced in USA or
Ireland . American whiskey is called Bourbon and is made from grain.
Bourbon is at least 51 per cent corn or maize. Scotch whisky is generally
double distilled, while Irish whiskey is generally distilled three times.
Wheat whisky is the rarest whisky. Rye whiskies are mostly popular within
the US . Scotch whisky is whisky that has been distilled and matured in
Scotland for at least three hours in oak casks.
What is Alcohol?
Alcohol is obtained after breaking down natural sugar of grain into C02,
ethanol or ethyl alcohol and residual content. Yeast from grains and
vegetables changes the sugar into alcohol. From the cheapest beer to the
most expensive wine or after dinner liqueur, all alcohol is made with the
same fermentation process. The different colours, tastes, potencies and
flavours come from the different fruits or vegetables used as well as the
additives, by-products and diluting substances employed during the
fermentation process.
Why should you never drink on an empty stomach?
Experts say eating food before drinking retains alcohol in the ~ where it
is absorbed slowly into the blood stream. This gives the liver more time
to break the alcohol down. Otherwise, it is directly absorbed without
being broken down into simpler compounds into the blood stream. This can
be harmful for the liver and general health. The kick comes when the
alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream directly and slows down the
central nervous system. The absorbed alcohol blocks some of the commands
the brain sends to the body; hence the reflexes and reactions are slower.
Does drinking water before or between drinks help you hold your drink
better?
Dehydration causes your blood volume to go down and alcohol will cause it
to go down further. So make it a habit to drink enough water before you go
out for a hard drink. Experts say in case of alcohol consumption, the
bigger you are the better it is. Big people have a larger quantity of
blood, so alcohol they take in is more diluted as it mixes with the blood.
Women are generally smaller than men. They also have proportionately more
fat and less water in their bodies and so the entration of alcohol in
their blood is higher for the same amount drunk.
What goes better with Whisky - Water or Soda?
Whisky is preferred with water more than soda as soda is carbonated water
and it kills the taste of whisky. But real connnoisseurs of whisky like to
have it neat or with water on side or with two cubes of ice.
What is Cognac ?
The wines of Poitou, La Rochelle and Angoumois , produced from high
quality vineyards, were shipped to Northern Europe where they were enjoyed
by the English, Dutch and Scandinavians as early as the 13th century. In
the 16th century, they were transformed into eau-de-vie, then matured in
oak casks to become Cognac .. That was the start of the adventure for a
town, which was to become the capital of a world famous trade.
Cognac is a living thing. During its time in the oak casks it is in
permanent contact with the air. This allows it to extract the substances
from the wood that give both its colour and its final bouquet.
Ageing is indispensable if an eau-de-vie is to become Cognac . It takes
place in casks or barrels that hold between 270 and 450 litres. The
natural humidity of the cellars, in which the casks are stored, with its
influence on evaporation, is one of the determining factors in the
maturing process. With the balance between humidity and dryness, the
spirit becomes mellow and ages harmoniously.
Making Cognac is the work of the Master Blender. Applying strict control,
experience and intuition, he subtly blends eaux-de-vie of different ages
and crus, producing a Cognac that through the years will not only retain
its own personality, but will also keep a place in the heart of the
consumer.
What is the difference between Scotch, Irish, Rye and Bourbon Whiskies?
Scotch Whisky is whisky, which has been distilled and matured in Scotland
. Irish Whiskey means whiskey distilled and matured in Ireland . Whisky is
distilled in Scotland from malted barley in Pot Stills and from malted and
unmalted barley or other cereals in Patent Stills. The well-known brands
of Scotch Whisky are blends of a number of Pot Still and Patent Still
whiskies. Irish Whiskey distillers tend to favour three distillations
rather than two, as is general in Scotland in the case of Pot Still
whiskies and the range of cereals used is wider.
As regards Bourbon Whiskey, the United States Regulations provide:
(i) that Bourbon Whiskey must be produced from a mash of
not less than 51% corn grain;
(ii) that the word 'Bourbon' shall not be used to describe
any whiskey or whiskey-based distilled spirits not produced in the United
States .
Rye Whiskey is produced both in the United States and Canada but the name
has no geographical significance. In the United States , Rye Whiskey by
definition must be produced from a grain mash of which not less than 51%
is rye grain. In Canada , there is no similar restriction. The relevant
Canadian Regulation states: 'Canadian Whisky (Canadian Rye Whisky, Rye
Whisky) shall be whisky distilled in Canada and shall possess the aroma,
taste and character generally attributed to Canadian Whisky.'
Canadian Whisky is in fact often referred to simply as Rye Whisky or Rye .
What is the Origin of VODKA?
Vodka is a drink, which originated in Eastern Europe , the name stemming
from the Russian word 'voda' meaning water or as the Poles would say
'woda'. The first documented production of vodka in Russia was at the end
of the 9th century, but the first known distillery at, Khylnovsk, was
about two hundred years later as reported in the Vyatka Chronicle of 1174.
Poland lays claim to having distilled vodka even earlier in the 8th
century, but as this was a distillation of wine it might be more
appropriate to consider it a crude brandy. The first identifiable Polish
vodkas appeared in the 11th century when they were called 'gorzalka',
originally used as medicines.
Medicine and Gunpowder
During the Middle Ages, distilled liquor was used mainly for medicinal
purposes, as well as being an ingredient in the production of gunpowder.
In the 14th century a British Ambassador to Moscow first described vodka
as the Russian national drink and in the mid-16th century it was
established as the national drink in Poland and Finland . We learn from
the Novgorod Chronicles of 1533 that in Russia also, vodka was used
frequently as a medicine (zhiznennia voda meaning 'water of life'). In
these ancient times Russia produced several kinds of 'vodka' or 'hot wine'
as it was then called. There was 'plain wine' (standard), 'good wine'
(improved) and 'boyar wine' (high quality). In addition stronger types
existed, distilled two ('double wine') or more times. Since early
production methods were crude, vodka often contained impurities, so to
mask these the distillers flavoured their spirits with fruit, herbs or
spices.
The mid - 15th century saw the first appearance of pot distillation in
Russia . Prior to that, seasoning, ageing and freezing were all used to
remove impurities, as was precipitiation using it in glass ('karluk') from
the air bladders of sturgeons. Distillation became the first step in
producing vodka, with the product being improved by precipitation using
isinglass, milk or egg white. Around this time (1450) vodka started to be
produced in large quantities and the first recorded exports of Russian
vodka were to Sweden in 1505. Polish 'woda' exports started a century
later, from major production centres in Posnan and Krakow .
From acorns to melon
In 1716, owning distilleries became the exclusive right of the nobility,
who were granted further special rights in 1751. In the following 50 or so
years there was a proliferation of types of aromatised vodka, but no
attempt was made to standardise the basic product. Types produced
included: absinthe, acorn, anisette, birch, calamus root, calendula,
cherry, chicory, dill, ginger hazelnut, horseradish, juniper, lemon,
mastic, mint, mountain ash, oak, pepper, peppermint, raspberry, sage,
sorrel, wort and water melon! A typical production process was to distil
alcohol twice, dilute it with milk and distil it again, adding water to
bring it to the required strength and then flavouring it, prior to a
fourth and final distillation. It was not a cheap product and it still had
not attained really large-scale production. It did not seek to compete
commercially with the major producers in Lithuania , Poland and Prussia .
In the 18th century a professor in St. Petersburg discovered a method of
purifying alcohol using charcoal filtration. Felt and river sand had
already been used for some time in Russia for filtration.
Vodka marches across Europe
The spread of awareness of vodka continued throughout the 19th century,
helped by the presence in many parts of Europe of Russian soldiers
involved in the Napoleonic Wars. Increasing popularity led to escalating
demand and to meet this demand, lower grade products were produced based
largely on distilled potato mash. Earlier attempts to control production
by reducing the number of distilleries from 5,000 to 2,050 between the
years 1860 and 1890 having failed, a law was enacted in 1894 to make the
production and distribution of vodka in Russia a state monopoly. This was
both for fiscal reasons and to control the epidemic of drunkenness which
the availability of the cheap, mass-produced 'vodkas' imported and
home-produced, had brought about.
It is only at the end of the 19th century, with all state distilleries
adopting a standard production technique and hence a guarantee of quality,
that the name vodka was officially and formally recognized. After the
Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks confiscated all private distilleries in
Moscow . As a result, a number of Russian vodka-makers emigrated, taking
their skills and recipes with them. One such exile revived his brand in
Paris , using the French version of his family name - Smirnoff. Thence,
having met a Russian émigré from the USA , they set up the first vodka
distillery there in 1934. This was subsequently sold to a US drinks
company. From this small start, vodka began in the 1940s to achieve its
wide popularity in the Western World.
What is the origin of GIN?
The first confirmed date for the production of gin is the early 17th
century in Holland , although claims have been made that it was produced
prior to this in Italy . In Holland it was produced as a medicine and sold
in chemist shops to treat stomach complaints, gout and gallstones. To make
it more palatable, the Dutch started to flavor it with juniper, which had
medicinal properties of its own.
From Dutch courage to William of Orange
British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years' War
were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in the damp weather
through the warming properties of gin. Eventually they started bringing it
back home with them, where already it was often sold in chemists' shops.
Distillation was taking place in a small way in England , but it now began
on a greater scale, though the quality was often very dubious.
Nevertheless, the new drink became a firm favourite with the poor. The
formation by King Charles I of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, where
members had the sole right to distil spirits in London and Westminster and
up to twenty-one miles beyond improved both the quality of gin and its
image; it also helped English agriculture by using surplus corn and
barley.. When King William III - better known as William of Orange - came
to the English throne in 1689, he made a series of statutes actively
encouraging the distillation of English spirits. Anyone could now distil
by simply posting a notice in public and just waiting ten days. Sometimes
gin was distributed to workers as part of their wages and soon the volume
sold daily exceeded that of beer and ale, which was more expensive anyway.
The Gin Riots
The problem was tackled by introducing The Gin Act at midnight on 29
September 1736, which made gin prohibitively expensive. A license to
retail gin cost £50 and duty was raised fivefold to £1 per gallon with the
smallest quantity you could buy retail being two gallons. The Prime
Minister, Sir Robert Walpole and Dr. Samuel Johnson were among those who
opposed the Act since they considered it could not be enforced against the
will of the common people.. They were right. Riots broke out and the law
was widely and openly broken.. About this time, 11 million gallons of gin
were distilled in London , which was over 20 times the 1690 figure and has
been estimated to be the equivalent of 14 gallons for each adult male. But
within six years of the Gin Act being introduced, only two distillers took
out licenses, yet, over the same period of time, production rose by almost
fifty per cent.
Respectability, High quality and Patronage
The Gin Act, finally recognized as unenforceable, was repealed in 1742 and
a new policy, which distillers helped to draft, was introduced: reasonably
high prices, reasonable excise duties and licensed retailers under the
supervision of magistrates. In essence this is the situation, which exists
today. These changes led to more respectable firms embarking on the
business of distilling and retailing gin and it became the drink of high
quality, which it has since remained. Many companies established
themselves as well-to-do manufacturers, often becoming patrons for major
enterprises; one such was the sponsorship of the attempt to discover the
North West Passage 1829-33: the attempt failed, but the expedition did
establish the true position of the North Magnetic Pole.
Gin had been known as 'Mother's Milk' from the 1820s but later in the
century it became known as 'Mother's Ruin', a description perhaps
originating from the earlier 'Blue Ruin' of the prohibition era in the
previous century.
What is Tequila?
First the history: Tequila was first distilled in the 1500-1600's in the
state of Jalisco , Mexico . Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco and the
city of Tequila was established in about 1656. This is where the agave
plant grows best.
The agave is not a cactus as rumoured, but belongs to the lily family and
has long spiny leaves (pincas). The specific plant that is used to make
tequila is the Weber blue agave. It takes 8-12 years for the agave to
reach maturity. During harvest, the leaves are cut off leaving the heart
of the plant or pina which looks like a large pineapple when the jimadors
are done. The harvested pina may weigh 200 pounds or more and is chopped
into smaller pieces for cooking at the distillery. Tequila was first
imported into the United States in 1873 when the first load was
transported to El Paso , Texas . In 1973 tequila sales in the US topped
one million cases.
There are two basic types of tequila, 100% blue agave (cien por ciento de
agave) tequila and mixto. The 100% blue agave tequilas are distilled
entirely from the fermented juice of the agave. All 100% agave tequilas
have to be distilled and bottled in Mexico . If the bottle does not say
100% blue agave, the tequila is mixto and may have been distilled from as
little as 60% agave juice with other sugars.
Grades of Tequila:
• Blanco: 100% agave tequila that is un-aged and untreated with additives.
• Reposado: 100% agave, "rested" tequila that has been stored in oak
between two months and one year.
• Anejo: 100% agave, aged tequila that has been stored in oak at least one
year.
• Mixto blanco: mixto tequila that is unaged.
• Mixto reposado: mixto tequila that has been stored in oak between two
months and one year.
• Mixto anejo: aged mixto tequila that has been stored in oak at least one
year.
• Joven abocado: mixto tequila that has been treated with additives to
achieve an effect similar to aging..
How many types of Beer are available to Drink?
Here are the different styles you may come across at our stores or your
favourite local brew pub.
Ale - originally liquor made from an infusion of malt by fermentation, as
opposed to beer, which was made by the same process but flavoured with
hops. Today ale is used for all beers other than stout.
Alt - means "old". A top fermented ale, rich, copper-coloured and
full-bodied, with a very firm, tannic palate, and usually well-hopped and
dry.
Amber Beer - an ale with a depth of hue halfway between pale and dark.
Barley Wine - dark, rich, usually bittersweet, heavy ales with high
alcohol content, made for sipping, not quaffing.
Bitter - the driest and one of the most heavily hopped beers served on
draft. The nose is generally aromatic, the hue amber and the alcoholic
content moderate.
Bock - a strong dark German lager, ranging from pale to dark brown in
colour, with a minimum alcoholic content of about 6 percent.
Brown Ale - malty beers, dark in colour and they may be quite sweet.
Burton - a strong ale, dark in colour, made with a proportion of highly
dried or roasted malts.
Christmas/Holiday Beer - these special season beers are amber to dark
brown, richly flavoured with a sweetish palate. Some are flavoured with
special spices and/or herbs.
Dopplebock - "double bock." A stronger version of bock beer, decidedly
malty, with an alcoholic content ranging from 8 percent to 13 percent by
volume.
Hefe-Weizen - a wheat beer, lighter in body, flavour and alcohol strength.
Ice Beer - a high-alcohol beer made by cooling the beer during the process
to below the freezing point of water (32 degrees Fahrenheit) but above
that of alcohol (-173 degrees Fahrenheit).. When the formed ice is removed
and discarded, the beer ends up with a higher alcohol-to-water ratio.
India Pale Ale (IPA) - a generously hopped pale ale.
Kolsch - West German ale, very pale (brassy gold) in hue, with a mild malt
flavour and some lactic tartness.
Malt Liquor - most malt liquors are lagers that are too alcoholic to be
labelled lagers or beers.
Muncheners - a malty, pale lager distinguished from the darker, heavier
Munich Dark beers by the term "dunkel".
Octoberfest/ Maerzen/Vienna - a copper-coloured, malty beer brewed at the
end of the winter brewing season in March.
Pale Ale - made of the highest quality malts, the driest and most highly
hopped beer. Sold as light ale or pale ale in bottle or on draft as
bitter.
Pilsner - delicately dry and aromatic beers.
Porter - a darker (medium to dark reddish brown) ale style beer,
full-bodied, a bit on the bitter side. The barley (or barley-malt) is well
roasted, giving the brew a characteristic chocolaty, bittersweet flavour.
Stout - beer brewed from roasted, full-flavoured malts, often with an
addition of caramel sugar and a slightly higher proportion of hops. Stouts
have a richer, slightly burnt flavour and are dark in colour.
Sweet Stout - also known as milk stout because some brewers use lactose
(milk sugar) as an ingredient.
Single malt is so-called because the malt comes from a single distillery.
It is a whisky refined by a single distillery, using malted barley as the
only grain ingredient. Each distillery has its own distinct taste, flavour
and style and single malts bear that. Some world-renowned single malts are
Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie, Glenlivet, Glenkinchie and if you move into the
rare varieties, Port Ellen. Enjoying a single malt is a connoissseur's job
and you have to learn to be one. A single grain, as distinct from a
single malt, is a grain whisky made at one distillery, while the single
malt is made with barley.
What is Blended Whisky?
Blended whisky is a mixture of single malt whiskys and ethanol derived
from grains. Developed for those who could not stommach the strong taste
of whisky, it is a combination of malt and grain whiskys. First distilled
and bottled by Andrew Usher in Edinburgh in the early 1860s, it turned out
to be softer, lighter and more palatable. The character of the whisky is
determined not only by the proportions of malt and grain whisky, but also
by the ages of the individual whiskies and the manner in which they are
combined to bring out the finest qualities in each other. Most whisky
drunk across the world is blended whisky. Famous Grouse, Bells, Teacher's,
Whyte & Mackay and Johnnie Walker are a few that are well-known..
What is the difference between Whisky and Whiskey?
Alcohol, malted or not, made from grain which is produced in Scotland is
called WHISKY, while it is called WHISKEY if it is produced in USA or
Ireland . American whiskey is called Bourbon and is made from grain.
Bourbon is at least 51 per cent corn or maize. Scotch whisky is generally
double distilled, while Irish whiskey is generally distilled three times.
Wheat whisky is the rarest whisky. Rye whiskies are mostly popular within
the US . Scotch whisky is whisky that has been distilled and matured in
Scotland for at least three hours in oak casks.
What is Alcohol?
Alcohol is obtained after breaking down natural sugar of grain into C02,
ethanol or ethyl alcohol and residual content. Yeast from grains and
vegetables changes the sugar into alcohol. From the cheapest beer to the
most expensive wine or after dinner liqueur, all alcohol is made with the
same fermentation process. The different colours, tastes, potencies and
flavours come from the different fruits or vegetables used as well as the
additives, by-products and diluting substances employed during the
fermentation process.
Why should you never drink on an empty stomach?
Experts say eating food before drinking retains alcohol in the ~ where it
is absorbed slowly into the blood stream. This gives the liver more time
to break the alcohol down. Otherwise, it is directly absorbed without
being broken down into simpler compounds into the blood stream. This can
be harmful for the liver and general health. The kick comes when the
alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream directly and slows down the
central nervous system. The absorbed alcohol blocks some of the commands
the brain sends to the body; hence the reflexes and reactions are slower.
Does drinking water before or between drinks help you hold your drink
better?
Dehydration causes your blood volume to go down and alcohol will cause it
to go down further. So make it a habit to drink enough water before you go
out for a hard drink. Experts say in case of alcohol consumption, the
bigger you are the better it is. Big people have a larger quantity of
blood, so alcohol they take in is more diluted as it mixes with the blood.
Women are generally smaller than men. They also have proportionately more
fat and less water in their bodies and so the entration of alcohol in
their blood is higher for the same amount drunk.
What goes better with Whisky - Water or Soda?
Whisky is preferred with water more than soda as soda is carbonated water
and it kills the taste of whisky. But real connnoisseurs of whisky like to
have it neat or with water on side or with two cubes of ice.
What is Cognac ?
The wines of Poitou, La Rochelle and Angoumois , produced from high
quality vineyards, were shipped to Northern Europe where they were enjoyed
by the English, Dutch and Scandinavians as early as the 13th century. In
the 16th century, they were transformed into eau-de-vie, then matured in
oak casks to become Cognac .. That was the start of the adventure for a
town, which was to become the capital of a world famous trade.
Cognac is a living thing. During its time in the oak casks it is in
permanent contact with the air. This allows it to extract the substances
from the wood that give both its colour and its final bouquet.
Ageing is indispensable if an eau-de-vie is to become Cognac . It takes
place in casks or barrels that hold between 270 and 450 litres. The
natural humidity of the cellars, in which the casks are stored, with its
influence on evaporation, is one of the determining factors in the
maturing process. With the balance between humidity and dryness, the
spirit becomes mellow and ages harmoniously.
Making Cognac is the work of the Master Blender. Applying strict control,
experience and intuition, he subtly blends eaux-de-vie of different ages
and crus, producing a Cognac that through the years will not only retain
its own personality, but will also keep a place in the heart of the
consumer.
What is the difference between Scotch, Irish, Rye and Bourbon Whiskies?
Scotch Whisky is whisky, which has been distilled and matured in Scotland
. Irish Whiskey means whiskey distilled and matured in Ireland . Whisky is
distilled in Scotland from malted barley in Pot Stills and from malted and
unmalted barley or other cereals in Patent Stills. The well-known brands
of Scotch Whisky are blends of a number of Pot Still and Patent Still
whiskies. Irish Whiskey distillers tend to favour three distillations
rather than two, as is general in Scotland in the case of Pot Still
whiskies and the range of cereals used is wider.
As regards Bourbon Whiskey, the United States Regulations provide:
(i) that Bourbon Whiskey must be produced from a mash of
not less than 51% corn grain;
(ii) that the word 'Bourbon' shall not be used to describe
any whiskey or whiskey-based distilled spirits not produced in the United
States .
Rye Whiskey is produced both in the United States and Canada but the name
has no geographical significance. In the United States , Rye Whiskey by
definition must be produced from a grain mash of which not less than 51%
is rye grain. In Canada , there is no similar restriction. The relevant
Canadian Regulation states: 'Canadian Whisky (Canadian Rye Whisky, Rye
Whisky) shall be whisky distilled in Canada and shall possess the aroma,
taste and character generally attributed to Canadian Whisky.'
Canadian Whisky is in fact often referred to simply as Rye Whisky or Rye .
What is the Origin of VODKA?
Vodka is a drink, which originated in Eastern Europe , the name stemming
from the Russian word 'voda' meaning water or as the Poles would say
'woda'. The first documented production of vodka in Russia was at the end
of the 9th century, but the first known distillery at, Khylnovsk, was
about two hundred years later as reported in the Vyatka Chronicle of 1174.
Poland lays claim to having distilled vodka even earlier in the 8th
century, but as this was a distillation of wine it might be more
appropriate to consider it a crude brandy. The first identifiable Polish
vodkas appeared in the 11th century when they were called 'gorzalka',
originally used as medicines.
Medicine and Gunpowder
During the Middle Ages, distilled liquor was used mainly for medicinal
purposes, as well as being an ingredient in the production of gunpowder.
In the 14th century a British Ambassador to Moscow first described vodka
as the Russian national drink and in the mid-16th century it was
established as the national drink in Poland and Finland . We learn from
the Novgorod Chronicles of 1533 that in Russia also, vodka was used
frequently as a medicine (zhiznennia voda meaning 'water of life'). In
these ancient times Russia produced several kinds of 'vodka' or 'hot wine'
as it was then called. There was 'plain wine' (standard), 'good wine'
(improved) and 'boyar wine' (high quality). In addition stronger types
existed, distilled two ('double wine') or more times. Since early
production methods were crude, vodka often contained impurities, so to
mask these the distillers flavoured their spirits with fruit, herbs or
spices.
The mid - 15th century saw the first appearance of pot distillation in
Russia . Prior to that, seasoning, ageing and freezing were all used to
remove impurities, as was precipitiation using it in glass ('karluk') from
the air bladders of sturgeons. Distillation became the first step in
producing vodka, with the product being improved by precipitation using
isinglass, milk or egg white. Around this time (1450) vodka started to be
produced in large quantities and the first recorded exports of Russian
vodka were to Sweden in 1505. Polish 'woda' exports started a century
later, from major production centres in Posnan and Krakow .
From acorns to melon
In 1716, owning distilleries became the exclusive right of the nobility,
who were granted further special rights in 1751. In the following 50 or so
years there was a proliferation of types of aromatised vodka, but no
attempt was made to standardise the basic product. Types produced
included: absinthe, acorn, anisette, birch, calamus root, calendula,
cherry, chicory, dill, ginger hazelnut, horseradish, juniper, lemon,
mastic, mint, mountain ash, oak, pepper, peppermint, raspberry, sage,
sorrel, wort and water melon! A typical production process was to distil
alcohol twice, dilute it with milk and distil it again, adding water to
bring it to the required strength and then flavouring it, prior to a
fourth and final distillation. It was not a cheap product and it still had
not attained really large-scale production. It did not seek to compete
commercially with the major producers in Lithuania , Poland and Prussia .
In the 18th century a professor in St. Petersburg discovered a method of
purifying alcohol using charcoal filtration. Felt and river sand had
already been used for some time in Russia for filtration.
Vodka marches across Europe
The spread of awareness of vodka continued throughout the 19th century,
helped by the presence in many parts of Europe of Russian soldiers
involved in the Napoleonic Wars. Increasing popularity led to escalating
demand and to meet this demand, lower grade products were produced based
largely on distilled potato mash. Earlier attempts to control production
by reducing the number of distilleries from 5,000 to 2,050 between the
years 1860 and 1890 having failed, a law was enacted in 1894 to make the
production and distribution of vodka in Russia a state monopoly. This was
both for fiscal reasons and to control the epidemic of drunkenness which
the availability of the cheap, mass-produced 'vodkas' imported and
home-produced, had brought about.
It is only at the end of the 19th century, with all state distilleries
adopting a standard production technique and hence a guarantee of quality,
that the name vodka was officially and formally recognized. After the
Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks confiscated all private distilleries in
Moscow . As a result, a number of Russian vodka-makers emigrated, taking
their skills and recipes with them. One such exile revived his brand in
Paris , using the French version of his family name - Smirnoff. Thence,
having met a Russian émigré from the USA , they set up the first vodka
distillery there in 1934. This was subsequently sold to a US drinks
company. From this small start, vodka began in the 1940s to achieve its
wide popularity in the Western World.
What is the origin of GIN?
The first confirmed date for the production of gin is the early 17th
century in Holland , although claims have been made that it was produced
prior to this in Italy . In Holland it was produced as a medicine and sold
in chemist shops to treat stomach complaints, gout and gallstones. To make
it more palatable, the Dutch started to flavor it with juniper, which had
medicinal properties of its own.
From Dutch courage to William of Orange
British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years' War
were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in the damp weather
through the warming properties of gin. Eventually they started bringing it
back home with them, where already it was often sold in chemists' shops.
Distillation was taking place in a small way in England , but it now began
on a greater scale, though the quality was often very dubious.
Nevertheless, the new drink became a firm favourite with the poor. The
formation by King Charles I of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, where
members had the sole right to distil spirits in London and Westminster and
up to twenty-one miles beyond improved both the quality of gin and its
image; it also helped English agriculture by using surplus corn and
barley.. When King William III - better known as William of Orange - came
to the English throne in 1689, he made a series of statutes actively
encouraging the distillation of English spirits. Anyone could now distil
by simply posting a notice in public and just waiting ten days. Sometimes
gin was distributed to workers as part of their wages and soon the volume
sold daily exceeded that of beer and ale, which was more expensive anyway.
The Gin Riots
The problem was tackled by introducing The Gin Act at midnight on 29
September 1736, which made gin prohibitively expensive. A license to
retail gin cost £50 and duty was raised fivefold to £1 per gallon with the
smallest quantity you could buy retail being two gallons. The Prime
Minister, Sir Robert Walpole and Dr. Samuel Johnson were among those who
opposed the Act since they considered it could not be enforced against the
will of the common people.. They were right. Riots broke out and the law
was widely and openly broken.. About this time, 11 million gallons of gin
were distilled in London , which was over 20 times the 1690 figure and has
been estimated to be the equivalent of 14 gallons for each adult male. But
within six years of the Gin Act being introduced, only two distillers took
out licenses, yet, over the same period of time, production rose by almost
fifty per cent.
Respectability, High quality and Patronage
The Gin Act, finally recognized as unenforceable, was repealed in 1742 and
a new policy, which distillers helped to draft, was introduced: reasonably
high prices, reasonable excise duties and licensed retailers under the
supervision of magistrates. In essence this is the situation, which exists
today. These changes led to more respectable firms embarking on the
business of distilling and retailing gin and it became the drink of high
quality, which it has since remained. Many companies established
themselves as well-to-do manufacturers, often becoming patrons for major
enterprises; one such was the sponsorship of the attempt to discover the
North West Passage 1829-33: the attempt failed, but the expedition did
establish the true position of the North Magnetic Pole.
Gin had been known as 'Mother's Milk' from the 1820s but later in the
century it became known as 'Mother's Ruin', a description perhaps
originating from the earlier 'Blue Ruin' of the prohibition era in the
previous century.
What is Tequila?
First the history: Tequila was first distilled in the 1500-1600's in the
state of Jalisco , Mexico . Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco and the
city of Tequila was established in about 1656. This is where the agave
plant grows best.
The agave is not a cactus as rumoured, but belongs to the lily family and
has long spiny leaves (pincas). The specific plant that is used to make
tequila is the Weber blue agave. It takes 8-12 years for the agave to
reach maturity. During harvest, the leaves are cut off leaving the heart
of the plant or pina which looks like a large pineapple when the jimadors
are done. The harvested pina may weigh 200 pounds or more and is chopped
into smaller pieces for cooking at the distillery. Tequila was first
imported into the United States in 1873 when the first load was
transported to El Paso , Texas . In 1973 tequila sales in the US topped
one million cases.
There are two basic types of tequila, 100% blue agave (cien por ciento de
agave) tequila and mixto. The 100% blue agave tequilas are distilled
entirely from the fermented juice of the agave. All 100% agave tequilas
have to be distilled and bottled in Mexico . If the bottle does not say
100% blue agave, the tequila is mixto and may have been distilled from as
little as 60% agave juice with other sugars.
Grades of Tequila:
• Blanco: 100% agave tequila that is un-aged and untreated with additives.
• Reposado: 100% agave, "rested" tequila that has been stored in oak
between two months and one year.
• Anejo: 100% agave, aged tequila that has been stored in oak at least one
year.
• Mixto blanco: mixto tequila that is unaged.
• Mixto reposado: mixto tequila that has been stored in oak between two
months and one year.
• Mixto anejo: aged mixto tequila that has been stored in oak at least one
year.
• Joven abocado: mixto tequila that has been treated with additives to
achieve an effect similar to aging..
How many types of Beer are available to Drink?
Here are the different styles you may come across at our stores or your
favourite local brew pub.
Ale - originally liquor made from an infusion of malt by fermentation, as
opposed to beer, which was made by the same process but flavoured with
hops. Today ale is used for all beers other than stout.
Alt - means "old". A top fermented ale, rich, copper-coloured and
full-bodied, with a very firm, tannic palate, and usually well-hopped and
dry.
Amber Beer - an ale with a depth of hue halfway between pale and dark.
Barley Wine - dark, rich, usually bittersweet, heavy ales with high
alcohol content, made for sipping, not quaffing.
Bitter - the driest and one of the most heavily hopped beers served on
draft. The nose is generally aromatic, the hue amber and the alcoholic
content moderate.
Bock - a strong dark German lager, ranging from pale to dark brown in
colour, with a minimum alcoholic content of about 6 percent.
Brown Ale - malty beers, dark in colour and they may be quite sweet.
Burton - a strong ale, dark in colour, made with a proportion of highly
dried or roasted malts.
Christmas/Holiday Beer - these special season beers are amber to dark
brown, richly flavoured with a sweetish palate. Some are flavoured with
special spices and/or herbs.
Dopplebock - "double bock." A stronger version of bock beer, decidedly
malty, with an alcoholic content ranging from 8 percent to 13 percent by
volume.
Hefe-Weizen - a wheat beer, lighter in body, flavour and alcohol strength.
Ice Beer - a high-alcohol beer made by cooling the beer during the process
to below the freezing point of water (32 degrees Fahrenheit) but above
that of alcohol (-173 degrees Fahrenheit).. When the formed ice is removed
and discarded, the beer ends up with a higher alcohol-to-water ratio.
India Pale Ale (IPA) - a generously hopped pale ale.
Kolsch - West German ale, very pale (brassy gold) in hue, with a mild malt
flavour and some lactic tartness.
Malt Liquor - most malt liquors are lagers that are too alcoholic to be
labelled lagers or beers.
Muncheners - a malty, pale lager distinguished from the darker, heavier
Munich Dark beers by the term "dunkel".
Octoberfest/ Maerzen/Vienna - a copper-coloured, malty beer brewed at the
end of the winter brewing season in March.
Pale Ale - made of the highest quality malts, the driest and most highly
hopped beer. Sold as light ale or pale ale in bottle or on draft as
bitter.
Pilsner - delicately dry and aromatic beers.
Porter - a darker (medium to dark reddish brown) ale style beer,
full-bodied, a bit on the bitter side. The barley (or barley-malt) is well
roasted, giving the brew a characteristic chocolaty, bittersweet flavour.
Stout - beer brewed from roasted, full-flavoured malts, often with an
addition of caramel sugar and a slightly higher proportion of hops. Stouts
have a richer, slightly burnt flavour and are dark in colour.
Sweet Stout - also known as milk stout because some brewers use lactose
(milk sugar) as an ingredient.
Wheat Beer - a beer in which wheat malt is substituted for barley malt.
Usually medium-bodied, with a bit of tartness on the palate.
Usually medium-bodied, with a bit of tartness on the palate.
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