LIQUOR CHOICES HAVE CHANGED

Saffron Gin: New Saffron Premium Gin from the world famous micro distillers of Dijon Gabriel Boudier was launched at Bar06 in June. It created huge interest with the trade. Based on an old colonial recipe of the 19th Century that was recently re-discovered, Saffron Gin contains eight fresh botanicals: Juniper, Coriander, and Lemon, Orange peel, Angelica seeds, Iris, Fennel and Saffron. Saffron Gin is only produced in small batches using a traditional pot still.

Old Mr. Boston put out a Bartender's Guide in 1935. Others may have preceded it but that is the first one I owned, in 1949 in its 8th printing. In those years most people drank gin martinis, 2 parts plain gin with 1 part Vermouth and an olive in a stemmed glass. It was shaken over ice to partially dilute it, served straight up. For those who disliked gin, a Manhattan, 2 parts whiskey, 1 part sweet Vermouth, made and served in the same stemmed glass. similarly as a martini but served with a cherry. There were many cocktails but few bars catered to exotic tastes or stocked all the necessary requirements. In 1970 I bought a more recent edition.New cocktails were added and many were dropped. The Approve Cocktail being one dropped. Made with bourbon, bitters and Curacao with twists of orange and lemon peels, it had apparently succumbed to newer taste fads. Today there is no reason to buy a book such as those. One can use Google to find a new drink. Today there are more than a hundred Martini recipes alone.

The bartender could still mix from scratch and if you wanted a Bloody Mary (tomato juice with vodka) he could mix it to taste...a dash of Tabasco and a few dollops of Worcestershire sauce to the patron's taste. Not so today. Some bars even have an automated bartend for many drinks. Everything is pre-mixed and extras, lemon or lime slices, olives, pickled onions, salt or sugar for glass rims and cherries are often handled by the waitresses who forget them.

In my past life I used to sit at bars, check out the stock and could pretty much predict the clientèle. Checking with the bartender, I was usually spot on. Today, little is different on that score. A good restaurant may list a single malt Scotch (formerly a choice item) as a typical choice. A fifth had 21 or 22 shots. At the prices charged, buying a bottle a shot at a time would have been an exorbitant price and remains so to date. A 12 year old Macallan's single malt which sells for less than $47 would return $198. in a nice restaurant.

I suppose the above is a testament to man's creativity, marketing skills, and the gullibility of the mass population to follow the fad leader.