It’s been 233 years since the bouncing baby United States of America declared its independence from the United Kingdom, and it’s been thirteen years since a hardy band of patriots led by no less than the US President repelled the alien invaders intent on exterminating mankind. If that’s not worth celebrating, then seriously, nothing is.
There are an actual ton of recipes kicking around to mark the occasion, which is handy because I haven’t had a lot of time to put one together myself. The one that caught my eye is Jonathan Pogash’s American Collins (or Red, White & Blue Collins).
American Collins 45ml Bombay Sapphire
25ml simple syrup
15ml lemon juice
4 pitted Bing cherries
8 blueberries Muddle the blueberries and cherries with the syrup and the lemon juice. Add the gin with ice and stir briefly. Top with club soda.
Whatever you’re drinking today, raise a glass to Uncle Sam. No, not the cantankerous old sod who lives in your basement. The mythologised personification of the American Spirit.
Yes, the creepy thin old man with the starey eyes. That Uncle Sam.
Edinburgh bartenders continue to rock the UK scene. Here’s Bramble’s Ryan Chetiyawardana winning the national final of Diageo’s World Class competition.
This week’s links don’t know what you should call them, in case they sound like a dick.
After all, the word “mixologist” has a decent amount of history behind it, not that it stops thediscussion. Just don’t say bar-chef. That’ll get you a slap.
Of course, all of this breaks in the 24 hours ahead of St. Patrick’s Day (a.k.a Amateur Night) which is as good a time as any to celebrate 250 years of Guinness.
There are many noble Scottish traditions – St Andrews Day, the Edinburgh Festival, for example, and it’s important not to forget drinking. Whether it’s three litres of cheap cider in a supermarket carpark or an expensive single malt in an upmarket bar, we’re much better at it north of the border. But the current Scottish Government – the Scottish Nationalist Party, no less – are set on introducing a flotilla of measures aimed at combating the nation’s, uh, complicated relationship with the bottle. Funnily enough, not everybody is impressed.
Joining the entirety of Scotland in the problem-drinker club this week – members of the world’s orchestras. C’mon in boys, there’s beer for everyone!
Bad news for anyone planning on releasing a whisky in 2009, as Whisky Magazine name their Icons of Whisky for 2009 while I try to include the words “whisky” and “2009″ as many times as I can in one sentence without it sounding weird
When it first came to prominence, whisky was thought to be the water of life. It’s been a while since then, but it’s still proving to be transformative.
