Welcome to Drinking the World; my thoughts on fine libations, special spirits, and fabulous cocktails. My name is Jonathan M. Forester and I'm a food & beverage writer / consultant, and formerly partner in a winery and brewery in Maine. Now, my new partner and I are currently in the process of starting an artisanal, farm distillery located on 370 acres in New York State called Dutch's Spirits. We will be specializing in premium, hand-made spirits. These will include bourbon, rye, and malt whiskey, peach and apple brandy, a variety of aged rum, gin, liqueurs, and cocktail bitters.
If the post is dated prior to December 13, 2008, it was previously published at Slashfood.com / AOL.com.
XML FeedsArchives for: July 2008
Tales of the Cocktail: Judgement Day
By Jonathan M. Forester on Jul 16, 2008 | In Uncategorized, Spirits, Cocktail Revolution, Tales of the Cocktail 2008
They call New Orleans the Big Easy, but yesterday was big, but not easy, as I spent my first full day here, prior to the start of Tales of the Cocktail. I am one of the 24 judges for the 2008 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition, a strict rum judging event coordinated by the Ministry of Rum at Tales. There was a long list of people who were considered as judges for this event and Ed Hamilton, the head of the Ministry, spent several weeks winnowing down the list to some of the top rummies around.
Drink and ride in Vieux Carre?
By Jonathan M. Forester on Jul 15, 2008 | In Recipes from Tales of the Cocktail 2008, Cocktail Revolution, Cocktail Hour (Recipes), Tales of the Cocktail 2008, Whiskey Cocktails, Brandy Cocktails
So I'm guilty of impaired riding. Carousel riding that is. Like many fans of the Cocktail, I'm down in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail for the next week and having a blast. Within a few minutes of getting to my hotel in the French Quarter, the Hotel Monteleone, I was sitting on a carousel and bellied up to the bar all at the same time. The famous carousel bar in the hotel turns at a leisurely four times per hour, which is negligible at first, but seems to speed up as the drinks slide down. I ordered one of my favorite cocktails, a Vieux Carré, which was invented here by Walter Bergeron in 1938, and sat back to enjoy the ride. Every now and then a friend would stop by for a chat, having to do a side step shuffle every few moments to keep up with the stately procession of the Carousel. I came to call this the Vieux Carré Strut, and soon it became one of the most popular dances at Tales.
