By Brian Yaeger
In one sense, every brewery around the world makes the exact same thing: Beer. Pure beer, as regulated by the Reinheitsgebot (the Bavarian purity law of 1516), contains only water, malted barley and hops. It wasn’t until some 300 years later, thanks to Louis Pasteur, brewers realized there were microorganisms—yeast—also at play.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8UCI7psFXI Because Jesus didn’t turn water into juice…
by Jon Santer The Wrong Order Order There is a recognized order of how to call for alcohol in a bar and it is: brand name of liquor first, then how you want it prepared, e.g., “I’d like a Kettle One and tonic.” Stating the brand name after the method of prep just makes things confusing, e.g., “I’d like a vodka tonic, Kettle One.” So, do you want a vodka tonic and a Kettle One? No, you want a Kettle Tonic. This is why Tanqueray and tonic is written T&t, not G&Tw/T. Brand name first, everyone is happier. Also you don’t need to tell us that Kettle One is vodka, i.e., “A Kettle One vodka tonic please.” We bar-people are well aware that Ketel One is vodka and Jack is whiskey, etc. Thanks.
Paris, January 2, 2008
Jet-lagged and sleepless on this brisk Parisian morning, I am just barely recovering from the careless debauchery of my New Year’s Eve celebration. Leaving my splitting hangover aside, I feel like a walking ashtray. My clothes and hair reek of cigarette smoke and my lungs have gone on strike. But I am not the only one bracing with a rough wake-up. This morning Paris, along with the rest of France is waking up to the first day of the mandated smoking ban in all bars, cafés and restaurants. For the first time in this nation’s history citizens will be banned from puffing away while sipping their kirs, or swigging pints of beer. My favorite bar near Saint Michel, called Le Panthalon, will never be the same. It’s long zinc bar and worn out art-deco tables will be lacking their customary cendrillers (ash trays), marking the definitive end of an era of French café and bar culture.
30 months in the making, and we’re rapidly approaching the magazine launch. It’s been a long and exciting road. Take some time to snoop around and enjoy. We’re giving you all the alcohol culture you could ever ask for, bottled up, ready to drink with a little tag that reads, “Drink Me.” We’ve landed somewhere near you in the rabbit hole. Welcome to our world…
