Quoting Shawn Highfield to Carol Shenkenberger <=-
not enough to be distinctive.
I'm from a part of Ontario that has an accent.
And I am originally from the Ottawa Valley and used to have a very
distinctive accent which I eventually lost after moving west and then
north half a life time ago.
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Title: The Fine Art Of Mixing Drinks
Categories: Alcohol, Beverages, Info
Servings: 1 text file
cocktails
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a book about cocktails by David A.
Embury, first published in 1948. The book is noteworthy for its
categorization of cocktails into two main types: aromatic and sour;
its categorization of ingredients into three categories: the base,
modifying agents, and special flavorings and coloring agents; and
its 1:2:8 ratio (1 part sweet, 2 parts sour, 8 parts base) for sour
type cocktails.
Embury first outlines some basic principles for fashioning a quality
cocktail:
It should be made from good-quality, high-proof liquors. Embury
stresses frequently that the drink will never be any better than the
quality of the cheapest ingredient in it.
It should whet rather than dull the appetite. Thus, it should never
be sweet or syrupy, or contain too much fruit juice, egg or cream.
A cocktail, in the classic sense (a before-dinner drink) should have
no more than the slightest touch of sweetness to it
It should be dry, with sufficient alcoholic flavor, yet smooth and
pleasing to the palate.
It should be pleasing to the eye.
It should be well iced.
Embury breaks all cocktail ingredients down into three categories:
The base is the principal ingredient of the cocktail. It is
typically a single spirit which typically makes up 75 percent or
more of the total volume of the cocktail before icing. (See his
martini which follows.)
The modifying agent is the ingredient that gives the cocktail its
character. Its function is to soften the raw alcohol taste of the
base while enhancing its natural flavor. Typical modifying agents
are aromatic wines (such as vermouth) and spirits (such as Fernet
Branca or Amer Picon), bitters, fruit juices and "smoothing agents"
such as sugar, eggs, and cream.
Special flavoring and coloring agents include liqueurs (such as
Grand Marnier or Chartreuse), Cordials, Bitters like Angostura
Bitters, etc. and non-alcoholic flavored syrups (such as Grenadine
or Orgeat syrup). These are typically used in place of simple syrup,
and are to be used sparingly.
Categories of cocktails
Embury breaks all cocktails down into two categories:
Cocktails of the Aromatic Type use as modifying agents bitters or
aromatic wines or spirits.
Cocktails of the Sour Type use as modifying agents a fruit juice
(typically, lemon or lime) and sugar. For these a ratio of 1 part
sweet to 2 parts sour to 8 parts base is generally recommended.
However, Embury makes it very clear that he thinks the idea that a
drink must be made according to one exact recipe preposterous, and
that the final arbiter is always your taste. He suggests trying
different ratios, finding the one that is most pleasing to you, and
sticking with it.
Once one understands the basic components of each type of drink, new
cocktails can be created by substituting a different base or
modifying agent or by adding a special flavoring or coloring agent.
A daiquiri, for example, is nothing more than a whiskey sour with
rum substituted for whiskey as the base and lime juice substituted
for lemon juice as a modifying agent.
Embury's six basic drinks are the Daiquiri, the Jack Rose, the
Manhattan, the Martini, the Old Fashioned, and the Sidecar.
From: Wikipedia
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Cheers
Jim
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