Feb8 Written by:Lou Greenstein
2/8/2008 12:24 PM
Beverage Trivia
We all like trivia and the world of food and beverage is just chocked full of interesting bits of information that could make you the trivia leader in your group. It is interesting how you run across these gems of knowledge. It can be anything from an old advertisement to a wonderful old first edition bartending book called, The Bon Vivants Companion. In any case, I have tried to research some of the more interesting histories of beverage consumption and put them down for all to enjoy.
Let’s start with the word, “proof”. It appears on every bottle of liquor, beer and wine we purchase, but it is amazing how few people know what it means. It relates to the strength of alcohol in the liquor…one degree of proof equals one-half of 1% of alcohol. An example is, 80 proof liquor contains 40% alcohol. Did you know how the term “proof” came about? Back in colonial days distilled spirits were mixed with gunpowder to determine if they were at the correct level of alcohol. If the product did not burn, it was not ready for consumption. If it burned very brightly it was over distilled and needed blending but if the mixture burned with a blue flame, it was considered “proved” . At that point the alcohol level was 50%.
Do you know who invented the Bloody Mary? Well it was none other then the now deceased Toastmaster General, George Jessel, back in 1929. The story goes that he had been drinking all night and decided to switch to something that would settle his upset stomach. The drink he invented included vodka (some people say it was first made with gin), lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and tomato juice. The first person to try the drink was named Mary, hence the name, Bloody Mary.
Today the Martini has experienced a unique renaissance, be it apple, blueberry, chocolate or smashing pumpkin they all flow back to the original inventor J. P. Schwartzendorf, a German music composer who died in 1816. He composed a series of operas all with the theme of love. His nickname was Martini, hence, again the drinks name. The olive found its way into the drink at a later date when a New York bartender, Robert French added the olive to hide the alcohol taste of the drink.
With the continued growing interest in all Mexican foods and drinks, it is no wonder that the Margarita has reached such high demand and with great variety. History has it that a bartender named Red Hinton invented the drink. He worked in Virginia City at the turn of the century. The drink was named after his girl friend Margarita Mendes, who was of Mexican descent. The story goes on to say she hit a man over the head with a whiskey bottle, the man got excited and shot at her to scare her away but accidentally hit her in the head and killed her. This recipe remains the same today with the exception that back then they used orange juice instead of Triple sec.
For those out there who have looked upon a bottle and wondered what the capital letters D.O.M. mean, such as those on a bottle of Benedictine. The answer in Latin, Deo Optimo Maximo, “To God, Most Good, Most Great”.
Another question many people ask is, “What do the letters on Brandy or Cognac bottles mean?” As an example V.S.O.P. The letters each have a quality meaning:
E means Especial S means Superior
F means Fine P means Pale
V means Very X means Extra
O means Old C means Cognac
So, V.S.O.P. would mean Very Superior Old Pale Cognac.
Now hasn’t this been fun? But, please remember one thing, everything in moderation. And another thing, I get half of all bets won using these bits of beverage trivia.
As today’s’ ending I would like to quote a few lines from a temperance address by Abraham Lincoln, “ The difficulty lies not in the use of a bad thing, but in the abuse of a good thing”.
Drop me a line .
Copyright ©2008 Lou Greenstein
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