3 Unique Cocktails from Around the World | Cooking Asian Food

Ah the glory of sitting down after a long day of work to enjoy a cocktail, or heading into a bar and ordering your favorite concoction to begin a night of revelry. It?s a sophisticated option to simply ordering a beer and because there are so many variations of cocktails from across the world to choose from, you can use your knowledge to impress those around you and even teach a bartender a thing or two.

The original definition of a cocktail was any mixed drink that included any kind of spirits mixed with water, sugar, and most importantly some kind of bitters. An ?Old Fashioned? has those ingredients and was named because it is made in the old fashioned way, whereas modern cocktails can include just about anything.

The Martini: the king of cocktails. It is the drink of choice of James Bond, while satirist H.L. Mencken said of the martini ?it is the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet?. This cocktail is as versatile as it is delicious. The traditional preparation can be done with either vodka or gin, and the amount of vermouth used varies greatly from one taste to the next. Generally a ratio of five to one is accepted as standard, but those who prefer a drier martini have been known to suggest otherwise. Winston Churchill was said to merely whisper the word ?vermouth? to a glass of gin, while Sir Noel Coward was quoted as saying one should ?fill a glass with gin then wave it in the general direction of Italy.? There?s just so much to enjoy about a martini, it?s easy to see how it earned its crown.

From an American classic to a traditional Mexican beverage, let us now consider the margarita. Like most great cocktails, it combines simple ingredients and has a myriad of variations that make it a cocktail that can be tailored to the specific tastes of the preparer. There are a lot of commonalities between the margarita and the martini, in that the origin of the drink is unknown and greatly disputed, there is a traditional recipe and a cornucopia of offshoots, they have their own glassware, and the garnishes are nearly as important to the enjoyment of the drink as the ingredients themselves.

Finally, let?s focus on a traditionally English drink, the G and T, or gin and tonic. This one has a history that started as a medicinal remedy. In areas where Malaria was a way of life, it was discovered that quinine was an effective treatment, but as the tonic was so hard to get down, it was commonly mixed with gin to help ease the passage down the palate. It too has a good number of variations, though it?s not as prolific as the previous two cocktails, unless you believe Douglas Adams ?Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? which states that about 85 percent of all cultures have a drink called the gin and tonic.

Whatever your cocktail of choice, anywhere in the world you?ll be able to find one being mixed up. As the saying goes, ?it?s five o?clock somewhere!?

Todd is a bar tender at Flying Fish Restaurant in Sydney, Australia. Todd loves end of year party season, because it gives him the chance to try out some of the cocktail recipes he has been working on all year long. Todd also loves putting a modern spin on some of the cocktail classics.

{October 28, 2012} {Tags: unique cocktails}

Source: http://cookingasianfood.info/2012/10/3-unique-cocktails-from-around-the-world/

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