Wall Street Journal Spirits Column

[Joe Riley]

I am a tremendous fan of great writing, especially when something is well-written and makes me laugh.

Eric Felten is a pretty smart guy (just check out his personal website, the guy's no slouch in the talent department) and I happened to run across something that he wrote last month in his "How's your drink?" column in the Wall Street Journal which just slayed me:

"The infantilization of drinkers remains the top marketing point for the prefabbers. The flacks for that supermarket standby, Rose's Cocktail Mixers, sent out a press release for their Mojito mix this summer touting it as "a solution to complicated drink-making." Complicated? Crush some mint in sugar syrup and fresh lime juice; add white rum, club soda and ice; stir. Is it supercilious to suggest that those for whom this is a task of surpassing complexity are better off not dulling their wits further with alcohol?"

That quote reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine happened to mention to Jerry that her Orangina didn't taste right, and Jerry told her that she had to shake it, and Elaine replied, with much irritation, "No, I'm done shaking things" (or words to that effect) whereupon Jerry proceeds to ever so gently shake the Orangina bottle and makes a remark along the lines of, "Yeah, that's really brutal".

I haven't read his book yet, but I obviously need to.

This week, he tackles the scary subject, "What to drink in a down market"

(In the interest of full disclosure, I happen to know Eric Felten. Eric Felten is a friend of mine, and you, Senator, are no Eric Felten )

[aaronsinger]

I'm a pretty lazy guy and understand the use of some mixes, but have always thought Margarita mixes to be pretty dumb, there's only what, 4 ingredients? It's not that difficult people.

But a mojito mix is even funnier.

[Joe Riley]

Today Eric held forth on Halloween cocktails and Bourbon/Adams-Morgan and bar manager Owen Thompson get a major mention for what Eric believe should be THE Halloween cocktail, "Satan's Whiskers":

Satan's Whiskers

½ oz gin

½ oz dry vermouth

½ oz sweet vermouth

½ oz freshly squeezed orange juice

½ oz Grand Marnier

1 dash orange bitters

Stir with ice until bitingly cold and then strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist. For a variation, substitute Cointreau Noir for the Grand Marnier.

Kudos to Owen for getting such a nice mention Oh, and yes, the cocktail is delicious

[Joe Riley]

Grand old hotels take the "bar exam": Grand Old Hotels take the Bar Exam