Iconic Spirits by Mark Spivak

Several months ago, the New York Post---which, as we know, is one of the last defenders of cultural norms in a deteriorating world---ran a piece on Manhattan bartenders refusing to make Mojitos for customers. The story basically said that you can’t get a Mojito in a New York bar during peak hours on a Friday or Saturday evening. In addition to being messy to make, the drinks are time-consuming: You have to carefully muddle the mint leaves to get it right, which is hard to do when there are dozens of customers at the bar, three or four deep, clamoring for alcohol. Request a Mojito, and you’re likely to hear that the bar is out of mint leaves. (more…)

The modern firm of William Grant and Sons is a large company that controls nearly two dozen major international alcohol brands, but the historical William Grant had humbler beginnings. Born in 1839 in Dufftown, a village in Scotland’s Speyside region, Grant did stints as a shoemaker, clerk and bookkeeper before deciding to learn the art of distilling. In 1886 he laid the cornerstone for his distillery in the shadow of Balvenie Castle, and remained active in the operation until his death in 1923.

Speyside today has more distilleries than any other region in Scotland, and produces over 40 different malts. These range from the most popular Scotch whiskies in the world (Glenlivet and Glenfiddich) to some of the most prized (The Macallan). Dufftown is located on the River Fiddich, and is home to six major distilleries; the town is fond of describing itself as “The Whisky Capital of the World,” although I can think of a few locales in Kentucky that might take issue with that. The most traditional of those distilleries is The Balvenie. (more…)

Oranges today are commonplace, but they were once among the rarest and most highly prized of culinary treats. During his march across Europe, the Emperor Napoléan learned that a chemist in Belgium was making a liqueur from mandarins, which at the time were an exotic ingredient not available outside Sicily or Northern Africa. He requested that the liqueur be blended with is personal Cognac. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to enjoy it, since the first shipment was delivered while he was on his way to Waterloo. Today, that liqueur is known as Mandarine Napoléan.

Blood oranges, a natural mutation of the sweet orange, have always occupied a special place in the world of citrus. While they may have first appeared on the scene in Asia, they migrated to the Mediterranean shortly afterward, and today are the primary variety of orange grown in Italy. Connoisseurs and botanists alike will tell you that Sicily has the best climate for growing citrus, and that the island is the source for the finest blood oranges. (more…)

If consumers confuse Livermore’s Concannon Vineyard with the Irish whiskey of the same name, the mixup is understandable---the two products have a common lineage.

James Concannon left Ireland for America in 1865, harboring the dream of creating great Bordeaux and Rhone-style wines in the New World. Ten years later he wandered across the country to California, became intrigued with the Livermore Valley, and immersed himself in the world of winemaking. Eventually, he became the first Irish immigrant to start a successful winery in the U.S. His operation survived Prohibition, and eventually became known as a champion of California Petite Sirah and the potential of Livermore as a viticultural area. (more…)

Friday, February 22 is National Margarita Day. If you’re at least middle-aged and the date sounds vaguely familiar, it used to be celebrated as Washington’s birthday. Nowadays we commemorate our first president on the third Monday in February, and clear the decks for serious drinking on his actual birth date.

Like many other famous cocktails, the origin of the margarita is shrouded in mystery. One version places its invention in Ensenada, Mexico in 1941, when bartender Don Carlos Orozco first served the drink to Margarita Henkel, the daughter of a German diplomat. Another story claims that it was devised a few years earlier by Carlos Herrera, who created it for a former showgirl named Marjorie King. Yet another commonly accepted tale insists that it was first concocted by a Dallas socialite named Margaret “Margarita” Somes. (more…)