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I drank every cocktail

aaronson.org

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Re: I drank every cocktail

#81

Post by aaaronson »

maest wrote: post #30

> First semester that year, I took a Beverage Management class, which was ostensibly about managing bars, but it was no secret that everyone took it because of its tasting component. Is this breadth of topics common for the American higher educational system or did the author go to a special university?

Author of the post here, I joke that I could've gotten a minor in Food because, on top of my actual CS major and Linguistics minor, I took Contemporary Nutrition, Grilling & BBQ Science, Beverage Management, and Vegetable Gardening (not to mention Bowling).

Re: I drank every cocktail

#82

Post by yojo »

mNovak wrote: post #71
yojo wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

General rules for cocktails: - Avoid the big brands for Tequila and Rum (Cuervo and Bacardi). There are exceptions, but it’s easier to skip. - Cheap gin can be good or bad. Gordon’s is a reasonable entry. The step up is Beefeater or Tanqueray. There are a bajillion craft gins and you can skip them until you’re ready to go deep. - Tequila should always say 100% puro de agave on the bottle. If it does not say this, do…

I'll add to this, there's no reason to buy simple syrup! You can make it in a mug in the microwave in 30s, and it'll hold in the fridge for a while. And the only counterpoint is pineapple juice, which you should just buy in the can -- it doesn't hold long at all once in air.

Absolutely make your own syrups! If you add a little bit of alcohol to your simple syrup (I use vodka or a clean rum), you can drastically extend the shelf life.

Honey syrup is even easier to make, just mix 50/50 honey and hot water. Subbing for simple syrup gives interesting results in most drinks.

Grenadine is also super easy - buy a bottle of POM and mix juice 50:50 with sugar. I like to add a little pomegranate molasses (get at a middle-east specialty market) to kick up the flavor, but not necessary.

Re: pineapple. If you are able to press your own pineapple juice you absolutely should, but agree that most people do not have the necessary equipment. Trader Joe’s sells bottles of fresh pressed pineapple juice that is excellent, if you’re fortunate enough to live by one. Otherwise yeah, canned is the way to go.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#83

Post by userbinator »

jamestimmins wrote: post #9

Such a fun and entertaining read. I'd never suggest someone give up a software career to become a food writer, but I'd love to read more of OP's writing as he pursues these goals.

He wouldn't be the first to go from software to alcoholic beverages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Pietrek

Re: I drank every cocktail

#84

Post by jeffreyrogers »

I believe the monkey gland is called that because around the time it was invented there was a surgeon (Serge Voronoff) who was promoting a surgery in which he would implant baboon testicles into men (there was a corresponding surgery for women as well). It was supposed to improve the libido. An early, probably ineffective form of hormone replacement therapy.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#85

Post by 3eb7988a1663 »

jeffreyrogers wrote: post #84

I believe the monkey gland is called that because around the time it was invented there was a surgeon (Serge Voronoff) who was promoting a surgery in which he would implant baboon testicles into men (there was a corresponding surgery for women as well). It was supposed to improve the libido. An early, probably ineffective form of hormone replacement therapy.

There is even a wikipedia page on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_gland

Which still sounds super fake to me. It takes a host of modern drugs to prevent rejection when doing human-to-human transplants. I have long odds that monkey tissue would result in anything but a painful, septic death.

As a medical benchmark, penicillin was discovered in 1928.

Edit: I was ignoring the obvious - sham surgery! Just leave a bit of a scar, maybe inject them with some cocaine, and everyone comes out smiling.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#86

Post by hattmall »

crystal_revenge wrote: post #54
owenversteeg wrote: post #19

For those that are getting into cocktails, by far the best piece of advice I can give is: know when the quality of ingredients matter and when they don’t. If it’s a very sugary/salty drink, or people are smoking, or already drunk, most people won’t care, but for a lot of cocktails the ingredients make a massive difference. The best bang for your buck is Carpano Antica, a sweet vermouth with real complexity to it; the…

My advice would be: Every cocktail has an unlisted ingredient that makes or breaks the drink - ice water. Shaking or stirring a cocktail doesn’t just make it colder, it dilutes it as well. Getting this right is very often the difference between a good and bad drink. I demonstrated this once when a friend complained that it was so hard to get a good cocktail, especially getting good ingredients. All they had in their…

Yeah one thing that makes a huge difference is that you mix your ingredients in the shaker with ice. Then strain and serve over fresh ice if it's called for.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#87

Post by jaredhallen »

mNovak wrote: post #71
yojo wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

General rules for cocktails: - Avoid the big brands for Tequila and Rum (Cuervo and Bacardi). There are exceptions, but it’s easier to skip. - Cheap gin can be good or bad. Gordon’s is a reasonable entry. The step up is Beefeater or Tanqueray. There are a bajillion craft gins and you can skip them until you’re ready to go deep. - Tequila should always say 100% puro de agave on the bottle. If it does not say this, do…

I'll add to this, there's no reason to buy simple syrup! You can make it in a mug in the microwave in 30s, and it'll hold in the fridge for a while. And the only counterpoint is pineapple juice, which you should just buy in the can -- it doesn't hold long at all once in air.

Sometimes I just make a Tbsp or two of simple syrup in a shot glass in the microwave. It takes about 10 seconds.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#89

Post by hattmall »

ordersofmag wrote: post #40
maest wrote: post #30

> First semester that year, I took a Beverage Management class, which was ostensibly about managing bars, but it was no secret that everyone took it because of its tasting component. Is this breadth of topics common for the American higher educational system or did the author go to a special university?

At the very largest universities there is a really really wide variety of programs and courses. For example here's a course catalog where a search for 'intro' returns 3500 different courses. https://classes.osu.edu/#/?q=intro&client=class-search-ui&ca... You can see the variety, from "Introduction to the Army and Critical Thinking" to "Introductory Meat Science" This breadth is typical of the very largest universitie…

Yeah, but just to be clear there's only ~1500 classes offered there. The 3000 comes from many of the classes having multiple components, lab etc.

The number is further reduced by the fact that many of them are the same class with special qualifications to ensure placements. For example intro classes for designated transfer students. So you have the same class but 10 seats or something are only available to certain transfer program students.

The real number looks like somewhere in the ~400-600 range. Which is still very impressive but 3500 different intro subjects would be wildly excessive.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#90

Post by hattmall »

maest wrote: post #30

> First semester that year, I took a Beverage Management class, which was ostensibly about managing bars, but it was no secret that everyone took it because of its tasting component. Is this breadth of topics common for the American higher educational system or did the author go to a special university?

Most reasonable business schools will have a significant restaurant management / hospitality program.
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