Newsdesk: summer is coming

(splash by Trevor D., licensed under Creative Commons.)

It’s summer! It must be, all the clues are there. There was sunlight this afternoon – proper sunlight with warmth and everything! The other big clue?

• It’s the Guardian’s guide to making the perfect cocktail, of course! Not only that, but they’ve started a weekly series on the Word of Mouth blog called How To Drink, kicking off with the perfect summer topic: ice.
• The Times looks at the resurgence of gin and the establishment of a vineyard in London.
• Two mysteries solved this week: the secret recipe of Dr. Pepper, and how to open champagne without smashing anything or blinding someone.

Newsdesk: what’s in a name?

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 the discussion. Just don’t say bar-chef. That’ll get you a slap.
• Table Matters looks at the evolution of the Martini, while the WSJ looks back at the Whiskey Sour (the Katherine Hepburn of drinks? That’d make a Martini, who? Audrey Hepburn? Negroni – Federico Fellini, that’s easy. Long Island Iced Tea – Pete Doherty? OK, stop now.)
• Proving once again that men of God really know their stuff when it comes to booze, workers at an English monastery reckon they’ve recreated the secret recipe of Chartreuse. It doesn’t stop with closely-guarded herbal liqueurs – they’re even making whisky now. [Via just-drinks and the Edinburgh Whisky Blog]
• Beam Global launches what it calls “the first boxed margarita cocktail in the U.S. market containing real tequila“. Which is kinda terrifying – how many house parties have been fueled by the placebo effect?
• Intriguingly, the Times has just put up a separate Drinks page in the Food & Drink section of their website, including a lovely piece on the attraction of a well-made cocktail.
• The week in shame: UK teenagers leading Europe in problem drinking. Hey, at least we’re no. 1 at something! No? Just knock it on the head, then? After all, giving up booze would transform the UK – and you can probably guess what we’d change into.

Newsdesk: best in Britain

This edition of Newsdesk is sponsored by local pride coloured with a touch of envy.

• Lots of lovely things have been written about Bramble down on Queen Street, all of which are annoyingly true. So, congratulations to the team on winning Best Place to Drink in the 2009 Observer Food Monthly Awards.
• The other things Scots are good at? Dying from drink-related problems no matter where they go.
• The BBC hit up New York’s cocktailians for demos of historic drinks (Not sure how well iPlayer embeds work outside of the UK – let me know if the video works overseas).
• Over at Proof, what your favourite drink says about you.
• On creation – not the divisive theological kind, more the fun, drinky kind – though there’s a solid theoretical base to all the artistry.
• The New York Times happens across Paris’ Experimental Cocktail Club. Coincidence, or are they following the Cocktail Guru?

Newsdesk: maximising the minimums

(Graphic from BBC News.)

This week’s news is minimum drink pricing, because you can’t keep a controversial public health policy down.

• While Holyrood has forced the Scottish Government to delay the introduction of minimum pricing north of the border, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer has suggested that Westminster implement a similar scheme to combat problem drinkers (PDF link). Sir Liam Donaldson’s recommendation – charging at least 50p per unit of alcohol – has met with resistance from the Prime Minister, but he’s determined to fight on. Unsurprisingly, the drinks industry believes self-regulation to be the solution, but there are those beginning to wonder if something drastic should be done. Then again, there are those beginning to wonder if a new age of puritanism will actually help, and there are those who can always see the upside.

(Happy St Patrick’s Day!… by shannonpatrick17, licensed under Creative Commons.)

• 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.
• Over in Indonesia, it’s not how much they’re charging for booze: it’s where they’re serving it as the Buddha Bar in Jakarta faces allegations of religious insensitivity and corruption.

Newsdesk: no, you can’t

• 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
• Things the internet is already aware of: Gary Regan asks Obama can we haz metric? – Paul Clarke on moonshiners – Eric Felten on sibling rivalry in the world of liqueurs.

Newsdesk: you’d be amazed at what we can do

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.

• It can be arty, if you’re willing to face a little price rise and a bit of criticism. It can be misspelt and as easily misunderstood. According to some Australians, it can even be hangover-free.
• In binge drinking news, new research suggests that it’s a coping mechanism adopted back in Viking times and officially not our fault. Other research estimates 1,500 Scots will gain no comfort from the news, having died from alcohol abuse.
• Time for a success story in tough times: Britain’s microbreweries get some love from the Guardian. They’re not the only sector in growth, either – there’s Hong Kong’s roaring wine trade, too.
• If you’re anything like me, you’d have spent the Oscars asleep. If you’re not, you could have tried Gourmet’s themed cocktails, or maybe spent a little more than you’d planned.

Newsdesk: ring-a-ding-ding

This week, Newsdesk is wondering what it has to do to get some get a lucrative vodka endorsement.

Newsdesk: Back to basics

(Alphabet blocks by dklimke, licensed under Creative Commons.)

This week’s news links are brought to by the Martini – alleviating middle-class stress through gin and vermouth since 1867!

• The release of Revolutionary Road and the return of Mad Men for a second season has reminded the world of the  official cocktail of business lunches and the 1950’s. You can’t knock its place in popular culture or its heritage (or can you?), but the important question remains: how much vermouth?
• Stocking your home bar? No need to go crazy.
• The global economic downturn claims its first casualty in the spirit world, with the news that beer has replaced raki as Turkey’s drink of choice.
• The minds at eGullet turn their attention to the difficult task of naming drinks.
• Also at eGullet: taking his cue from Underhill-Lounge’s trip through the Savoy Cocktail Book, forum user evo-lution is planning to work his way through Jerry Thomas’ The Bar Tender’s Guide.
• Topical this one, given the recent focus on responsible drinking among adults and children, Paul Clarke’s latest contribution to Proof looks at why he drinks the way he does.
• From California, the nascent trend in beer cocktails – no margaveza?
• From NYC, an interview with Belvedere brand ambassador Claire Smith.
• If you live in Britain, you’ll be familiar with the Government asking you to drink responsibly. It seems they might even try asking nicely.

Newsdesk: nanny state

This week’s Newsdesk is sponsored by Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for Her Majesty’s Government – helping you raise your kids since 1998.

• The CMO’s advice that children under 15 should not be given alcohol has sparked a fairly predictable. Mark Lawson decries the nanny state as definitely not rock’n'roll, while the Times looks at things a little more philosophically.
• A visit to Drink in Boston leads Wayne Curtis to ponder the classic cocktail revival.
• The iPhone’s march into ubiquity spreads to another front as the WSJ looks at the spread of cocktail recipes apps.
• Sasha Petraske is interviewed ahead of expanding into Atlanta.

Newsdesk: what is best in life?

An electric field. Handy for making tasty wine, according to science.

There is – or should be – a list of things you should never type into Google Image Search and right near the top of it are the words “erectile dysfunction”. There’s probably also a good way to tie this into the following compilation of drink related links but God, my mind is scarred.

• This week, alcohol puts its good hat on with the news that moderate drinking can help prevent erectile dysfunction, and then puts on its bad hat because, guys, there goes that excuse.
• Technology = good, mainly because you can make cheap wine taste much better by passing an electric field through it.
• Epicurious brings us the five sexiest cocktails while the Guardian wheels out Simon Difford to pass on 48 cocktails you can make at home with no comment as to their sexiness. Shame. Coincidentally, recipe-publishing behemoth Difford also has an iPhone app out, have you heard?
• To mark the passing of Burns Night on Sunday, The Independent selects its top ten Scotch whiskies (fancy Javascript pop-up window) none of which are particularly surprising or indeed in this ice-filled glass beside me, while the Telegraph visits three island distilleries to learn the secrets of good single malt.
• Bonus old-school link: Wired on Ted Breaux’s quest to rediscover real absinthe.