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November 4, 2008
Straight Up or On the Rocks
Dawnise turned me on to an article on slashfood about bar-tending - something of a fascination of mine. The author had a recommended reading list, and I was happy to find that the library had Straight Up or On the Rocks in their collection. I tossed it on my request queue, and it arrived the other day.
It was a pretty quick read, and quite interesting - explaining the origins of the cocktail (something the author claims to be "quintessentially American") and it's evolution to present day, including how the art survived (or didn't) across Prohibition and the role of the bar keep in it's evolution.
One particularly interesting aside was his brief analysis of why prohibition was repealed - he asserts that a global economic crisis (check) made the government unable to continue to spend heaps of money (check) trying to enforce the law, and rather they re-legitimized the hugely profitable illicit drug booze trade so they could realize tax revenue.
Hmmm...
He also explains the rise of Gin, and then Vodka, as the mixer of choice, replacing the more traditionally American Rye and Burbon, and the cyclic history of the martini (and it's transformation from it's Gin based roots to the vodka drink most people think of today).
The last chapter is a recipe set, which is a mix of classics and a couple of "forgotten favorites" selected by the author.
Definitely worth the read.
Posted by dberger at November 4, 2008 7:15 AM