Everyday Drinking_ The Distilled Kingsley Amis - Kingsley Amis [87]
1. What is the derivation of the word “brandy”?
2. Since, as noted above, “brandy” used by itself means a spirit made from grapes, one might think that the phrase “grape brandy” was a tautology. But not so; it has a precise meaning. State it.
3. What do they give you in France if you ask in a bar or restaurant for a fine à l’eau?
4. The taste and particularly the aroma of brandy come out in full only if the glass is slightly warmed. What is the approved method of bringing this about?
5. As Dr. Johnson famously said, “Claret is for boys; port for men; but . . .” But what? Exact words, please.
6. “Brandy will do soonest for a man what drink can do for him.” Who said that?
7. Of which country can brandy be said to be the national drink?
8. Identify the following:
(a) marc
(b) grappa
(c) weinbrand
(d) bagaceira
(e) pisco.
One of the five is an odd man out.
9. An Alexander Cocktail is obviously made with brandy or it would not be here. Best made with a decent but not first-rate one. What are the other ingredients, and why is it often called an after-dinner cocktail?
10. Which mode of transport would be most useful to a tax official out to identify the brandy warehouses in a brandy-making centre?
DISTILLATION
The process that gives us spirits or strong drink is very old, but it has been only very recently in comparative terms, from about the time of the first railway systems, that the distiller has had any but the vaguest and most general control over his product. Nowadays distillation is a branch of technology, and yet essential parts of the procedure continue to defy measurement. There is no substitute so far for the stillman’s skill and experience.
1. Give a short definition of distillation. (Remember, water can be distilled.)
2. What is the physical property of alcohol that is so useful, indeed indispensable, to the distiller?
3. To obtain a spirit or spirits, the distiller needs as raw material some substance containing alcohol. By what process will this have been produced?
4. It is safe to say that the invention of the still is the sort of thing that happens independently in more than one place. Nevertheless, give the conventional account of the historical beginnings of distillation. (Clue: It may be helpful to read the next question before starting to answer this one.)
5. Proponents of this view often cite linguistic evidence in its support. State it, and evaluate it if you can.
6. Outline a more up-to-date proposal about the provenance of distillation. (NB: We are of course interested in distillation less as a technological process than as the source of whisky, gin, etc.)
7. Stills of a type that has not changed in principle since the earliest times continue in use for the production of Cognac, malt whisky, tequila and other spirits. Name this type and indicate its three basic parts.
8. When a spirit emerges from the type of still just mentioned, it retains a content of substances called congeners or congenerics. What are these, and what are their effects?
9. Many spirits on leaving the still are blended with another liquid which may itself have been distilled. What is it, and what is the purpose of introducing it?
10. Some potable spirits, such as gin and vodka, are said to have been rectified. What is meant?
MINOR SPIRITS
Somebody once said it must be depressing for God to notice that, all over the world he created, his children were drinking spirits in an effort to get away from it, and if I could remember who it was I would have set a question asking who. But the unknown sage was certainly right about the near-universality of the hard stuff, and no one needs to be told about the enthusiasm with which spirits have been taken up by those few races that, like the American Indians, were too backward to have developed them off their own bat.
The description “minor” refers to geographical distribution and volume, not quality. Akvavit, in particular, is a drink fit for a king, and Aalborg brand is the worthy holder of a warrant to the Danish