FFWD Weekly
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| BOOZE Herbal and spice-based spirits and wines have been with us for centuries, though we rarely question the actual composition of these drinks. We think of them as being bitter or sweet, medicinal tasting or just plain weird. Time was when the North American palate associated bitter qualities in food or drink as a fault. European food trends, however, have taught us to appreciate the complexity of foods with slightly better characteristics, and the understanding of their pairing with other flavors. As far back as the Middle Ages, we have been experimenting with the combinations of herbs, spices and alcohol. Many of these concoctions were created for medicinal purposes to treat a variety of maladies, and as digestive aids. While some of these potions turned out to have little therapeutic value, and in many cases some nasty side effects (such as severe cramping, nausea and death), a great deal of the herbs and roots have since been proven to have valid health benefits. Today there are a myriad of flavors used, but generally they are broken up into the following groups: Barks, such as cinnamon, angostura and sassafras; the roots and spices, which include cloves, ginger, turmeric and henna; and then the herbs, such as peppermint and basil, as well as sage, licorice (anise), tea, dill and clover, to name just a few. All of them rely on a wine or neutral spirit as their base. Perhaps the most infamous of all of these is absinthe. Now the stuff of legends, absinthe is the wormwood-based drink that was made famous by such luminaries as Hemingway, Picasso, Van Gogh and even Hippocrates. Oscar Wilde's quote on absinthe reads: "After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world." Absinthe can reportedly induce hallucinations and euphoria, stimulate the libido, and cause madness and death. The Czech Republic is about the only place left where you can still find (legal) absinthe bars, although the recently opened Opaline in New York's East Village is apparently offering some sort of absinthe-based drink. Absinthe turns green when water is added, earning it the nickname "the Green Fairy." In Paris, the cocktail hour became known as "l' heure verte," and many would find the cocktail hour fading into the start of a lost weekend. The anise-flavored spirits Pernod and Pastis are the successors to absinthe, although a friend informs me it is very easy to make at home. You can probably find a recipe on the Internet, along with anthrax and a do-it-yourself black plague formula. In Italy, one can spend an enjoyable afternoon sitting in a little piazza and sipping Campari and soda. Campari is quinine-based, which makes it fairly bitter. It mixes up nicely with orange juice, giving it an interesting sweet/bitter combination. Vermouth is a wine-based drink that also relies on quinine (and at one time, wormwood) for its bitter flavor, as does Dubonnet, along with some herbs and juniper berries. Dubonnet tends towards the sweet side and vermouth can be fully dry or sweet. Chartreuse is another spirit that is very herbal as well as offering a strange mist of tropical fruit flavors. It is usually mixed into cocktails of dubious distinction with names like a "screaming lizard" (tequila and green Chartreuse) or a Martini Thyme, a martini made with gin, Chartreuse and a thyme sprig. Then there are bitters, such as Jagermeister, that assault the palate with a blend of herbs, cola, chocolate and medicine cabinet. Bitters were developed as a digestive aid for those who had maybe one too many helpings of trotters and sauerkraut, but are now being marketed to a younger market, usually in the form of a (yak) shooter. Apparently Cynar (pronounced chee-nar) is now available here. This is an Italian artichoke based drink that is, by all accounts, an acquired taste, to say the least. It has been described to me as being wildly bitter with notes of road kill, Pine Sol and wet dog. Yum. Most of the drinks mentioned here do require some getting used to, some of them you may end up enjoying, while others will just make you wonder why anyone would bother. Á votre santé! |