About Barware

Bitter Basics:
Use Angostura for Manhattens and Old-Fashions.

The classic Sazerac calls for Peychaud’s Bitters.

Although sometimes hard to find, Bitter Truth Old Time Aromatic Bitters have cinnamon and cardamom that creates magic in a Rob Roy and other whiskey/whiskey based classics.

Gary Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6 is essential in the original martini.

Most whiskey type of drinks are served in old fashion glass barware.

Bitters are distilled alcoholic beverages strongly infused with the essences of aromatic herbs and roots. Common ingredients in bitters include gentian, quinine, orange peels and Angostura bark. Although the alcohol content of bitters can reach 45% or higher, most consumers only use a few drops at a time to enhance their appetites, flavor other distilled spirits such as gin, or to settle their stomachs after a heavy dinner.

Bitters were first developed in the 1820s as a digestive aid, but it also became popular as a flavoring agent for various alcoholic beverages, most notably Pink Gin. Bartenders would first rinse a few drops of aromatic bitters around a glass before adding the beverage of choice. This tradition of using bitters as a flavor enhancer is still practiced by mixologists today. Classic martini recipes often call for a swirling of orange-based bitters. Use a martini glass stemware or glass tumbler for serving.

Bitters are still sold today in many grocery stores, either with other condiments as Worcestershire sauce or with beverage mixers such as grenadine. A few drops of bitters can be added to recipes to enhance the sweetness of other ingredients, in the same sense that salt can bring out the inherent sweetness of melons or other fruits. Bitters are usually added in dashes, and a little does indeed go a long way.

Bitters are primarily used in the preparation of cocktails, so it helps to keep a bottle of Angostura bitters in a well-stocked wet bar. Beverages which could become too sweet, such as lemonade, can be tempered by swirling a few drops of bitters in the shaker before preparation. Bitters can also be added to tonic or soda water as a homemade cure for indigestion and other stomach ailments.

If you have had your own bar for years, you probably have a variety of barware including swizzle sticks, decorative toothpicks and martini shakers. However, for those just beginning to create their collection of bar accessories, there are a few essentials that no bartender can go without. Obviously there is the various glass and stemware, but this collection can be built over time.

The one thing no bar can be without it a quality corkscrew. When selecting corkscrews for your bar, be sure that they also include a bottle opener. It is also a good idea to purchase a reusable bottle stopper so that you can reseal bottles of wine and keep them fresh.

How to Be Creative With Ice Cubes

Ice cubes are a great way to chill any of your favorite beverages. Making your own ice cubes can be tricky and creative. Here are a few great ways to have fun making creative ice cubes.

Step 1 - FRUITY CUBES. If you are hosting a party and using ice to chill beverages, consider freezing ice cubes with cherries, limes, lemons, or other decorative items that compliment their drink.

Step 2 - ADDED FLAVORS. Consider making ice cubes with flavor. You can dilute juices or flavors like vanilla by added water and freezing. For stronger flavor, use pure juice. As the ice cube melts it will add additional flavor to their drink for a fruity twist.

Step 3 - FLOWERS. Edible flowers can be used in ice to create a decorative touch. Simply place these flowers in ice cube compartments and freeze.

Step 4 - FOOD COLOR. Adding gel color or food color to ice can be a decorative way to create interesting ice cubes. Try not to mix the color in completely so the ice will have a dramatically swirled effect.

Serve ice in the proper glass barware or glass pitchers.

How to Make Crystal-Clear Ice Cubes

Add a bit of class to your next party by serving drinks with crystal-clear ice cubes, just like they do in fancy restaurants.

What you will need:  Distilled water
Step 1 - Pour the distilled water into a pan. Boil the water.

Step 2 - Let the water cool.

Step 3 - Boil it again.

Step 4 - Fill your ice tray(s) and put into the freezer.
Tips:
You can use plain old tap water for this, but the results just won’t be the same. Distilled water has no minerals; minerals are one of the things that cause cloudy ice cubes.

Don’t omit the second boil. Boiling gets rid of excess air in the water; air is the other thing that causes cloudy ice cubes.

Serve drinks in the proper glass barware or glass pitchers.

This is just a sampling of simple drinking toasts from around the world. Some are impossible to find in language dictionaries as they are colloquial phrases, slang or in dialect. I apologize in advance for spelling mistakes: I’m no linguist. Meanings have been included when I could find them. Fill in the blanks if you can. Some are just a general ‘cheers’. If you were making a bet on possible translation, you wouldn’t lose money by suggesting that every one of these toasts is wishing the recipient continued health and general well being. My spell check is about to go wild! So raise your highball glass to one of these listed below.

za vashe zdorovye (Russian)
slainte duine a ol (Irish) to your health
genatzt (Armenian)
a sua saude (Portuguese) good health
a votre sante (French) to your health
banzai (long life) (Japanese)or
kanpai (dry glass!) (Japanese)
bud mo (Ukranian)
cin cin (chin chin) (cheers) (Italian) or
alla salute (in good health) (Italian)
proost (Dutch) cheers
vivat (Polish) revival, survival
tervist (Estonian) general greeting
skal (Danish) cheers
here’s looking at you (kid, optional) (American/Bogart)
kia ora (Maori) all purpose greeting
egeszsegedre (Hungarian) to your health
Iechyd da (Welsh) good health
I sveikas (Lithuanian) your health
kippis (Finnish) cheers
le’chaim (Jewish) to life
na zdravi (Czech) to your health
noroc (Romanian)
prosit (German) here’s to you (and your health of course)
wen lie (Chinese)
salud (Spanish)
bahkt tu kel (Romany/Gypsy) good luck and health be on you
Here it is folks – oogy wawa (Zulu)
(wawa means ‘fell’, oogy wasn’t listed, any ideas?)

We should all feel well cheered and healthy after all that!

What is the origin of the name ‘whiskey’?
The term ‘whiskey’ derives originally from the Gaelic ‘uisge beatha,’ or ‘usquebaugh,’ meaning ‘water of life.’ Gaelic is the branch of Celtic spoken in the Scottish Highlands.

What does the age label on the blended whiskey refer to?
The law dictates that the declared age on the label must refer to the youngest whiskey in the blend. For instance, if a blend is described as being 12 years old, the youngest whiskey in that blend must have been matured for at least 12 years.

What causes the smoky flavour in Scotch whiskey?
The smoky flavour of certain Scotch whiskies originates from the peat fire over which the green malt is dried prior to grinding and mashing.

Is it possible to tell the difference between one brand of Scotch whiskey and another by smell alone?
Yes, it is possible to differentiate between different brands by nose alone if you have the necessary expertise.

Scoth is usually served in old fashion glass barware.

- Raise Your Beer Mug To The World Or How To Say Cheers! In Zulu -
The Moguls did it. So did the Vikings. “A mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer.” After coining that phrase, you don’t think this anonymous Egyptian from 2200 BC kept it to himself. I can see him raise his drinking vessel to his Nile-side neighbors while repeating the words.

Every country in the world has some sort of traditional drinking toast, often dozens. Usually one or two words, common toasts are not in the same league with toasts to the bride (which can drone on for hours), or to the retiree who’s been with us for 30 years but would rather get to his food while it’s hot. All of these really should be briefer, especially if a meal is being served. The everyday, no black tie, corner pub toasts exist in every culture and the vast majority simply mean ‘I wish you good health’. Not surprisingly it is the English who have strayed from the norm. ‘Cheers’, ‘Down the Hatch’, ‘Bottoms up’ and many more. I always assumed the latter referred to the bottom of the glass, however the Hawaiians have taken this literally. ‘Okole Maluna’ means ‘buttocks up’. I am including a list of multi-national toasts to impress your friends and use as a sign of respect when in the company of people from different cultures.

Here’s a bit of etiquette to go with your cosmopolitan language skills. It is customary to toast the first round, and let the host go first. There is some controversy over the clinking of glasses. It is said that the tradition started as a sly way to test the authenticity of the host’s crystal. Whether the Vikings clinked pewter goblets or not, it is considered more civilized to ‘touch glasses’ rather than bash together in a resounding crash. And while you’re about it, serve on the left and remove from the right!

When I was little, my entire conception of alcohol was garnered from what I observed on TV and in the movies. I became accustomed to seeing distinguished gentleman pouring each other a drink from decorative whiskey decanters and watching them sip their potent potables on the rocks. This seemed enjoyable to them, so I assumed that alcohol must have a sweet and appealing flavor.

Due to my disillusioned concept of alcohol, I naively thought that I could take my first drink on the rocks and that it would taste great. Needless to say, I was humiliated when I ordered a whiskey on the rocks for my first drink and was forced to spit out my first sip. Since then learning the truth about the acrid taste of most alcohol, I proceed with more caution.

Elegant glass is glassware made during the Depression Era, and well through the 1970s. It is typically differentiated from Depression glass by quality; elegant glass, as the name suggests, was a much more high-quality form of glassware, making it valuable for the time and even more valuable today. Antique stores sometimes carry elegant glass, as do firms which specialize in glassware, and it can be purchased at auction and through collectors’ organizations as well.

Defining elegant glass can be a bit challenging. As a general rule, people use the term “elegant glass” to describe glass which was made by hand, by artisans, separating it from mass-produced Depression glass, which was designed to be as cheap as possible. Elegant glass would have been costly, but like Depression glass, it came in a range of colors and was often heavily faceted. Elegant glass was sometimes also acid-etched to create patterns and designs.

This form of glassware was most commonly found in upscale department stores and shops which supplied goods for private homes. It was designed as an alternative to crystal and china, which would have been extremely expensive; elegant glass was in a sense a middle-ground between goods of very high quality and expense, and more mundane housewares. As a result, it appealed primarily to people in the middle and upper classes, as people in the lower classes could not afford elegant glass.