Mexico’s Botanical Foolishness
(via Flickr) This just in: Mexico’s trademark bureau (called the IMPI) has issued a proposal to restrict the use of the word “agave” as it is used to describe some agave-distilled spirits. Under the proposal, which is sponsored by the tequila industry’s trade group, only spirits produced within a limited geographic area would be able to put the word “agave” on the label. Any agave-based liquor produced outside that area would have to carry the designation “Aguardiente de Agavácea” (spirit of agavaceae) or “Destilado de...
Read MoreYou Deserve a Hot Toddy. And You Don’t.
A friend of mine has been on a grueling book tour to promote her new novel. One night in early December, after she’d been on the road for weeks, she posted a note on Facebook that she’d developed a scratchy throat on the road and had done the only sensible thing: called room service and asked them to send up a pot of hot water, lemons, honey, and a shot of Jack Daniel’s. For just a minute, I think we were all jealous of the many comforts her slight discomfort entitled her to. Room service. Hot toddy. The other luxuries of hotel living: an enormous clean bed, an unrestricted...
Read MoreWent to St. George Spirits. It Blew My Mind.
“Is it all right?” asks the tasting room bartender Chris, looking down quizzically at my barely-touched vodka shot. “It’s fantastic,” I tell him. “Just pacing myself.” He pours the rest out, but he’s not happy about it. And it really is a damn fine vodka, a vodka to put Goose-swillers in their place, a surprisingly floral and complex and lovely blend of two vodkas actually, one distilled from wheat and the other from viognier grapes. If you have ever felt that white wine wastes your time, what with all that fruit and oak and dismally low alcohol content, this...
Read MoreGrenadine: If There’s an Easy Way to Juice a Pomegranate, I Don’t Know What It Is.
This time last year, I made a little homemade grenadine during pomegranate season. We had a party shortly after that in which we mixed up Pink Lady cocktails according to this recipe in Imbibe magazine. The drinks were a hit–and although we hadn’t been using grenadine around the house before that, we definitely put it into heavy rotation after the party. Then we ran out. By that time, pomegranates were out of season. We tried buying grenadine at the liquor store, and we tried making our own using bottled pomegranate juice. Neither were remotely as good as the homemade...
Read MoreHave Yourself a Boozy Little Christmas.
Several years ago, at a family Christmas gathering in Sacramento, my brother-in-law served the pie and asked if anybody would like a drink to go with it. There was a pot of decaf going in the kitchen, so I asked him for a coffee with Bailey’s. He gave me an odd look. “Are you sure?” Was I sure? Well, it wasn’t my house, and maybe I was being a bit presumptuous. I’d scanned the liquor supply earlier and decided this was the best postprandial option on offer. “Um—yeah,” I said. “Is that okay?” He shrugged and nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. He came back a...
Read MoreBooks by Amy Stewart
The Drunken Botanist
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