"spirits" news and stories

Some chatter over at The Soapbox caught our eye. Should boozy beverages sport nutritional labeling? It's a topic federal regulators have been reviewing and one that's been brewing since 2003.

Current labeling regulations are complex. Wine, beer and liquor producers are not required to list actual ingredients on the label, but must list items like sulfites or FD&C Yellow No. 5 for consumers who are sensitive. Whether or not nutritional information like calories, carbohydrates and serving size should be added to labels is up for discussion, but Tom Hogue, spokesman for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) told USA Today that it's unclear when federal officials might make a decision.

"I hear echos of the topic, but I don't think it will become a government mandate," says Rob Cooper, president and founder of St-Germain/Cooper Spirits Company. "There are already a lot of regulations surrounding alcohol. You have to go through the TTB formal approval process to ensure consumers are getting a safe product. It's not the Wild West. You can't just do what you want. They're strict about the ingredients."

And besides, adds Cooper, "Alcohol is not a critical component of ones sustenance. It's for recreational use. Who cares if it's good for you?"

He's got a point.

A chilled Martini is truly a work of art. But the chemist/photographers behind the company BevShots have taken that idea to the microscopic level. Research scientist Michael Davis, of Florida State University, crystallizes cocktails on a lab slide, then photographs them using a camera attached to a light microscope. According to Davis, the light is polarized, resulting in these wild images of, say, a Tequila Sunrise or a Margarita. Oh, and you can buy the photos to memorialize cocktail hour 24-7. (Davis also made the images into ties, in case you want to sport your Guinness at the office.)

Think you really know your drink of choice? Take our quiz after the jump and find out.

Infusing vodka adds a depth of exciting flavors to cocktails.

The first time someone offered me a Hot Buttered Rum my mouth immediately salivated. On a cold wintry day, those three words sound divine. However, when the recipe is poorly executed and you get a glob of butter in a lukewarm mug, it's not always as good as it sounds.

Hot fatty drinks go way back to more than 200 years ago, when folks traveling by coach might stop in at a tavern to warm up, maybe having their drink warmed with a red hot poker from the fireplace. Recipes for Hot Buttered Rums can be found in several old cocktail books such as the 1862 Jerry Thomas' "Bar-Tenders Guide." Technically, this drink is a toddy with the addition of butter. The rum used would have been a darker rum aged in a barrel, so shy away from more modern style white rums and "gold" rums colored with caramel coloring when making this drink.

Here's an idea for making one that's richer and creamier than just chucking a pat of butter with spices in a hot mug of rum that ends up resembling an oil slick.

While packing up to move to Baja, I got rid of many winter clothes with the sweltering summer heat still fresh on my mind from closing on purchase of Casa Cóctel in the hottest part of the year.

Now the fall chill has finally hit even La Paz. This week had me scrambling for sweaters and blankets. The cool air stiffens bones while the dark spirits loosens them back up again.

Fall seems to be the perfect season for apples. Fermented apples turn into cider. Distilled apples turn into brandy.

Get my Fallen Leaves cocktail after the jump.