A Summer of Alcoholism

At the beginning of the summer I turned twenty one. I celebrated Howard and I's birthday by throwing a cocktail party, and this necessitated stocking a bar. Over the course of the summer I have read a lot about liquors, and I have passed from one fascination to another. The most recent has been rye whiskey.

Rye was the liquor of choice among our nation's founding fathers. It was popular in the States until Prohibition, when it went inexplicably out of style. The oldest, most available and cheapest brand is called Old Overholt, and the picture on the bottle resembles the portraits found on our currency. It's a light and flowery whiskey, in sharp contrast to Maker's Mark Bourbon. I drink it shaken with ice.

Last year Brandon and I discovered Martinis. We make them with cheap gin and not too dry despite present fashion. Even with our cheap ingredients the Martini is a world class drink of elegance and poise.

The Manhattan is a similarly refined drink that I have reveled in this summer. I owe it my introduction to bitters. Whiskey sold in glass bottles doesn't come so cheaply as gin, and thus it has remained a guilty pleasure.

Immediately preceding our cocktail party was my obsession with Brazilian Caipirinhas. They are made from a rum analog called Cachaca that is distilled from fermented cane juice. To make, you muddle two tablespoons of raw sugar with a fat slice of lime. Fill the glass with ice, then pour a tall shot of Cachaca over it. The drink smells of sugar cane and is great on hot days. I'm a proponent of substituting brown sugar and halving the sugar makes a better fit to the American palette.

The Caipirinha provided the inspiration for the Bitter Max and this too I have been meditating on. Rum vanishes seemingly overnight in the face of the new drink as well as, it turns out, Tequila.

Apparently I've inspired an appreciation for liquor in Caius. He reported that though once he had an aversion towards it, he is now in love with his native Romania's Tzuica. He promises to give me a taste the next time we meet. I hope you'll take example from my good friend Caius.