I was fascinated
by this blog entry on the NYT site. I didn't even know they had a drinking blog, but there it is, and it made me thirsty. The author talks about his own awakening to proper mixed drinks, after years of swilling beverages no more advanced than beer or whiskey, and then talks about which cities in the US are better for getting proper mixed drinks at. It's never made clear what defines a good drink, what's a bad one, and what all those other bartenders are mixing that makes their output so unlike the classic, refined drinks the author lauds. But I find myself wanting to know more.
My New York drinking years revolved largely around beer, with the occasional scotch thrown in for good measure. It wasn’t until I’d been in Seattle for five years that I finally learned how to mix a proper Manhattan, and the effect was that of a whiskey-fueled satori: the skies cleared, the universe slipped into balance, and for the first time in my life I understood the concept of bibulous beauty. Overblown? Perhaps — but liquor has a tendency to do that.
After that, the pursuit of cocktail wisdom began to consume virtually all my free time. I’d spend hours prowling eBay in pursuit of bartending manuals from the cocktail’s heyday, and began allocating a part of each paycheck to building my liquor collection from a meager couple of bottles of vodka and crème de cassis into a mighty mixological machine replete with dozens of kinds of rum, bottles of obscure liqueurs and every type of bitters I could lay my hands on.
As is often the case online, the real laughs come in the comments. In this case we've got moralistic teetotalers insisting that no one should ever write anything glorifying liquor consumption... on a blog about drinking. Others compare the post to an article extolling the benefits of really good quality heroin, except that heroin only kills a few hundred people a year, while alcohol kills thousands. Subtle!
I've not had that many mixed drinks in my life, but I had three (well, a one of my own and then half of two others I shared with the lady) on a recent date, and they were definitely the best thing about the evening. I've also been concocting my own drinks for the past couple of years, and though I claim no expertise at it, I do occasionally make one that's really good. My favorite is tanqueray with OJ and some peach/mango juice. On the rocks. The thing is that I don't measure it, and tend to vary the Tanqueray depending on how close it is to my bedtime (more = sleepy sooner), so only about every 3rd or 4th time does it turn out just right, when the tang of the gin is mixed just right with the OJ and slightly sweetened by the peach/mango. The rest of the time it tastes like a mediocre screwdriver with some peach juice. I am very curious about trying other mixed drinks, though. It's just a pity they cost so much and that you have to go to a bar to get them. Sure, you can mix them yourself, but as the author bemoans, you fuck it up most of the time. And you can only appreciate the first one or two. I think a wise man would do it like wine tasting; sip enough to enjoy, savor it, and then spit it out so you can have more, rather than getting blotto so everything tastes the same.
And the drive home on the wrong side of the freeway, straight into a school bus, just like a heroin addict. At least that's what the NYT commenters told me.
Labels: drinking
