Ever wonder what the term ‘honeymoon’ meant? All over the world, there is much evidence that history of alcohol goes as far back as over 10,000 years ago! In fact, in some ancient cultures, the communities figured out how to make beer before even learning how to make bread! From worshipping wine to settling feudal arguments, alcohol has come to the rescue for many civilizations, as well as many more to come.

Cultures such as the Romans, Greek and Egyptians all had based many rituals and gatherings around the consumption of alcohol. The ancient Egyptians even buried people with a little alcohol to take with them in the afterlife. In ancient Babylonian times, there are over 20 different styles of beer before 800 B.C., when China and India began producing their own forms of alcohol such as the world famously beloved sake, cognac and brandy through the distillation of barley and rice.

As time moved forward during the Roman civil war, Caesar and his troops introduced beer to Northern Europe creating a whole influx of brewing activity. Many of the monasteries in Europe began producing beer as it was a nourishing beverage that they could consume in the monastery while also selling some on the side, which would help benefit their monastery. Now Don’t we all appreciate the efforts that went into such wonder beers such as Chimay which is still produced by monks?

Many years later came the Renaissance which meant more beer? Indeed this did have an impact on alcohol and brewing as it was known, but this time they put science into the equation when concocting different forms of alcoholic beverages. It was around this time when the big boom in all the different forms of alcohol came about in many countries throughout the world. With these big booms came all sorts of new types of alcohol such as Russian Vodka, Mexican Tequila, German, Belgian, English and other types of drinks for all the world to enjoy!

Soon thereafter, came the boom in the newfound colonies in America which made a trade out of alcohol in the now United States. In later years, the alcohol sold and distributed throughout the U.S. were served in establishments such as local saloons with also supplemented their incomes with a little gambling and prostitution on the side for their patrons. However, many groups of people were disgusted with this sort of lifestyle and began to fight the consumption of alcohol altogether. These abstinence fighters worked and worked tooth and nail to get laws passed in order to place a ban on alcohol throughout the United States in order to create an ideal ‘sober’ nation and to rid the nation of the ‘evils’ of alcohol. Well, in 1920 they finally succeeded and alcohol was banned. This was better know as prohibition. It was during these times, many powerful gangs, bootleggers, racketeers, and smugglers got their start and caused quite an increase in criminal activity and the famous ‘black market’ of booze, which had made many people sick through poorly-made and contaminated beverages.

Around 1932, the government realized that something went terribly wrong as John D. Rockefeller, a well-known industrialist stated: “When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seen before.”

The ban on alcohol and Prohibition in general was lifted in 1933. Many of the world’s largest breweries in existence today such as Budweiser reopened for business and not only lifted many spirits, but also began brewing the world famous style also known as the American lager.

So what do you think? Was prohibition the answer to the problems of the time or did it cause more problems than it was worth? Of course we don’t have too much evidence stating in detail as to what problems had arisen in ancient times due to the alcohol trade, but it does seem in the evidence we do have that people have always been much more content with the freedom of being able to consume alcohol versus that of prohibition. When consuming alcohol, however, remember that the health benefits of alcohol come when consumed in moderation as opposed to over doing it. Enjoy!

The distillery and brand Bacardí, from Santiago de Cuba, was established as the largest and best exporting company of rum for most of the 19th century and part of the 20th century. However, the company was nationalized in 1959 by the Cuban Revolution and the owners of the brand Barcardí migrated, taking the brand with them.

The new industry assumed the old trade name- founded in Cardenas in 1878- and thus, Havana Club brand came to life; a brand made for exporting mainly, and whose symbol, La Giraldilla, is a statuette which symbolizes Havana City. Havana Club was produced, at first, for the national market and for the former socialist countries, however in 1993 the brand was presented by the French-Cuban company Havana Club S.A. whose global distribution is in charge of the Pernod-Ricard enterprise. This enterprise has been in charge of promoting the Cuban rum in the market, accomplishing unforeseen share growth, as well as development of new Cuban brands like Mulata, Caney, Arecha, Legendario, Varadero, Santero, and Caney.

Havana Club today produces silver dry rum, three-year special rum, seven-year reserve rum, and 15 years rum, as well as the youngest brands: Cuban Barrel Proof and Maximum Extra Old, all having great success nationally and internationally. It is a strong beverage, but is nice on the palate and when used moderately, is not detrimental to human health.

The details of the Havana Club production process in Cuba does not circulate often because the Bacardí brand has tried to patent it.  However, the secret of Havana Club, and the Cuban rum as a whole, does not seem to be a chemical formula zealously kept. Master rum maker  of Havana Club, Jose Navarro, assures that the quality of the Cuban rum “lies in our sugar cane, that grows admirably in our soil and the molasses extracted, has a unique quality (…) and also lies in a culture, inherited and transmitted from generation to generation, from Cuban to Cuban, from heart to heart.”

And that is true because Cubans drink rum very pure, without water, ice or any other mixture; something that is held deeply in the hearts and typical only of the producer countries. The rest of the world consumes rum mixed with other beverages, preferring light rums for cocktails like the Daiqiri, and the dark rums for cocktails like Rum Collins. The Cuban rum is even used in the preparation of some dessert sauces and flaming dishes.  

Grape cultivation in Jerez goes back to the Roman era and the Moors who ruled most of Spain from 711 to 1492 were forbidden by Islam from drinking wine. Contradictorily, grape cultivation continued in Jerez and distillation was introduced in the 10th Century mainly for uses in cosmetics, essences and antiseptics. Is it to note that the word ‘Al-Kohl’ is an Arabic word for the fine powder used in cosmetics which was a by-product of distillation.

As the popularity of Jerez wine, Sherry, grew, the distilled spirit was added to fortify them for export. Soon enough, wine producers realised that this distilled spirit could be used to drink instead of using it to age sherry. This was the beginning of Jerez brandy.

During the 19th Century, a new and important export market with the Netherlands developed. It consisted mainly of selling raw grape spirit aged in old Sherry casks that later became known as “Holandas”. Once in Holland it was either diluted and sold as “burnt wine”, Dutch expression for brandy or it was mixed with other liquors and resold in the market with a different name.

In 1835 the company Gonzalez Byass was founded and in 1844 the first pot stills were made. In 1845 Jerez brandy was first sold and was also the year when a shipment was sent to Ireland. During the next year, Soberano was selected as a brand name due to the close friendship of the Gonzalez family with the monarch from Spain which is “soberano” in Spanish. Its important to note that by the end of the century, the most important export market for Soberano was Britain mainly because of the successful business relationships with agents since 1855.

Today, partly thanks to the increasing number of English people who visit Spain for their holidays each year, brandy sales for this successful company are increasing every year about 10%.

Brandy de Jerez is produced by the sherry manufacturers mostly around the city of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Most Brandy de Jerez is actually made from wine produced from all over Spain, mostly from grapes in La Mancha and Extremadura since as the local sherry grapes are too expensive so as to convert them into Brandy.

Today most of the distilling process is done all over Spain using column stills. Then, its delivered to Jerez for aging in used sherry casks for the solera system which is similar to the one used for sherry wine. Solera is large casks each of them holding a somewhat older spirit than the one previous. When brandy is drawn off from the last cask (one third of the volume is taken out) it is refilled with brandy from the next cask in line all the way down the solera line to the first cask in which new brandy is added. This system of refilling the brandy through casks blends together a variety of vintages and this has the result of speeding up of the maturation of the brandy.

Brandy de Jerez Solera must age for a minimum of six months, Reserva for one year and Gran Reserva for a minimum of three years. Actually, the best Reservas and Gran Reservas are aged for 12 to 15 years. The lush, somewhat sweet and fruity found in Brandy de Jerez come from the use of fruit-based flavor concentrates and oak essence.

 Tequila was first distilled in the 1500-1600′s in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Guadalajara is the capital of Jalisco and the city of Tequila was established in about 1656. This is where the agave plant grows best.

The agave is not a cactus as rumoured, but belongs to the lily family and has long spiny leaves (pincas). The specific plant that is used to make tequila is the Weber blue agave. It takes 8-12 years for the agave to reach maturity. During harvest, the leaves are cut off leaving the heart of the plant or pina which looks like a large pineapple when the jimadors are done. The harvested pina may weigh 200 pounds or more and is chopped into smaller pieces for cooking at the distillery. Tequila was first imported into the United States in 1873 when the first load was transported to El Paso, Texas. In 1973 tequila sales in the US topped one million cases. There are two basic types of tequila, 100% blue agave (cien por ciento de agave) tequila and mixto. The 100% blue agave tequilas are distilled entirely from the fermented juice of the agave.

All 100% agave tequilas have to be distilled and bottled in Mexico. If the bottle does not say 100% blue agave, the tequila is mixto and may have been distilled from as little as 60% agave juice with other sugars.

Grades of Tequila:

• Blanco: 100% agave tequila that is un-aged and untreated with additives.
• Reposado: 100% agave, “rested” tequila that has been stored in oak between two months and one year.
• Anejo: 100% agave, aged tequila that has been stored in oak at least one year.
• Mixto blanco: mixto tequila that is unaged.
• Mixto reposado: mixto tequila that has been stored in oak between two months and one year.
• Mixto anejo: aged mixto tequila that has been stored in oak at least one year.
• Joven abocado: mixto tequila that has been treated with additives to achieve an effect similar to aging.

Arrack is a type of alcohol produced in Asia and parts of the Middle East. Traditionally, arrack has been produced from fermented palm sap, although ingredients like rice, other grains, sugarcane, and molasses can be used to produce arrack as well.
This beverage is quite popular in Indonesia and parts of Sri Lanka, and some mixed drink recipes call specifically for arrack since it has a distinctive flavor. Do not confuse arrack with arak, a Middle Eastern drink made from raisins; arak has a flavor like anise, similar to the Greek ouzo. The history of arrack is probably quite old. Historical documents and works of ancient art depict the stages of arrack production, and the beverage was well established by the time European traders and explorers were introduced to it. Like other hard liquors, arrack is made by fermenting the primary ingredient and then distilling the result. The liquor has a flavor similar to rum, accompanied by a rich golden color.

Indonesia is a major producer of arrack; Indonesian arrack is sometimes labeled as “Batavia Arrack,” in a reference to the former name for Jakarta, capital of Indonesia.One of the most common types of arrack is arrack made with the sap of coconuts. To collect sap from coconut palms, workers climb the trees and cut into the flowers, gathering the resulting flow of sap in large containers. The sap is allowed to ferment into a mild palm wine which can be distilled into fiery coconut arrack.

In Indonesia, fermented sugarcane is the most common base for arrack, while fermented grains may be used in other parts of Asia.The quality of arrack varies widely, as is the case with many distilled spirits. Some producers pride themselves on making strong, clear arrack with an excellent flavor, while others focus on producing as much arrack as possible, sometimes to the detriment of the finished product.

Serious companies handle their arrack like famous brandy, rum, and whiskey producers, and the alcohol may be aged for flavor in various types of wood.Specialty import stores and liquor stores are good sources for arrack, and you may want to ask staff for product recommendations if you are not familiar with any of the brands that the store carries. The liquor can sometimes be difficult to find; if you have a recipe which calls for arrack, you can use rum as a replacement. Many punches include arrack, as the liquor is one of the traditional five base ingredients in punch.

Source: wisegeek.com

This naval-Rum connection introduced Rum to the outside world and by the late 17th century a thriving export trade developed. The British islands shipped Rum to Great Britain (where it was mixed into Rum punches and replaced gin as the dominant spirit in the 18th century) and to the British colonies in North America where it became very popular. This export of Rum to North America, in exchange for New England lumber and dried cod (still a culinary staple in the Caribbean) soon changed over to the export of molasses to distilleries in New England. This was done in order to avoid laws from the British parliament, which protected British distillers by forbidding the trade in spirits directly between colonies. This law was, at best, honored in the breech, and smuggling soon became rampant.

The shipping of molasses to make Rum in New England distilleries became part of the infamous “slavery triangle.” The first leg was the shipment of molasses to New England to make Rum. The second leg was the shipment of Rum to the ports of West Africa to trade for slaves. The final leg was the passage of slave ships to the sugar plantations of the Caribbean and South America where many of the slaves were put to work in the sugar cane fields.

The disruption of trade caused by the American Revolution and the rise of whisky production in North America resulted in the slow decline of Rums dominance as the American national tipple. Rum production in the United States slowly decreased through the 19th century, with the last New England Rum distilleries closing at the advent of National Prohibition in 1920. The famed rumrunners of the Prohibition era were primarily smuggling whiskey into the United States.

In Europe the invention of sugar extraction from the sugar beet lessened the demand for Caribbean sugar, reducing the amount of molasses being produced and the resulting amount of Rum being distilled. Many small plantations and their stills were closed. Rum production receded, for the most part, to countries where sugar cane was grown.

The modern history of Rum owes a lot to the spread of air conditioning and the growth of tourism. In the second half of the 20th century, modern air conditioning made it possible for large numbers of people to migrate to warm-weather regions where Rum remained the dominant spirit. Additionally, the explosive increase in the number of North American and European tourists into Rum-drinking regions lead to a steady rise in the popularity of Rum-based mixed drinks. Nowadays White Rum gives Vodka serious competition as the mixer of choice in a number of distinctively nontropical markets.

Aged Rums are gaining new standing among consumers of single malt Scotch whiskies, Armagnacs, and small-batch Bourbons who are learning to appreciate the subtle complexities of these Rums. The pot still Rums of Guyana and Jamaica have a particular appeal for Scotch whisky drinkers (it is no accident that the Scottish whisky merchant and bottler Cadenhead also ages and bottles Demerara Rum), while the subtle and complex rhums of Martinique and Guadeloupe mirror the flavor profiles of the top French brandies in Cognac and Armagnac.

Source: Tastings.com

In the 1930s the practice of adding non-agave sugars to the aguamiel, or “honey water,” was introduced and quickly adopted by many Tequila producers. These mixto (mixed) Tequilas had a less intense taste than 100% blue agave Tequilas, but this relative blandness also made them more appealing to non-native consumers, particularly those in the United States.

From the 1930s through the 1980s, the bulk of the Tequila being produced was of the blended mixto variety. The original 100% agave Tequilas were reduced to a minor specialty product role in the market. But in the late 1980s the rising popularity of single malt Scotch whiskies and expensive Cognacs in the international marketplace did not go unnoticed among Tequila producers. New brands of 100% blue agave Tequilas were introduced and sales began a steady growth curve that continues to this day. This sales growth has resulted in the opening of new distilleries and the expansion of existing operations. Tequila is on an upswing.

What Bing Crosby and Jimmy Buffet Have in Common

Modest amounts of Tequila have been exported into U.S. border towns since the late 19th century. The first major boost to Tequila sales in the rest of the United States came in the late 1940s when the Margarita cocktail, a blend of Tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and ice was invented. Its origins are uncertain, but Hollywood actors and cocktail parties in California and Mexican resorts seem to be involved in most of the genesis stories. It is known that crooner and actor Bing Crosby was so taken with one particular brand of Tequila, Herradura, that he teamed up with fellow actor Phil Harris to import the brand into the United States. The Margarita, along with the Tequila Sunrise and the Tequila Sour, have become highly popular in the United States; in fact, it is claimed by many in the liquor industry that the Margarita is the single most popular cocktail in the nation. In the 1970s, when balladeer Jimmy Buffet sang of “Wasting away in Margaritaville,” the success of the song enticed millions more Americans to sip from the salt-rimmed Margarita glass.

The Worm Turns
The upgrading and upscaling of Tequila has, in turn, inspired Mezcal producers to undertake similar measures. In the past few years an increasing number of high-end Mezcals, including some intriguing “single village” bottlings, have been introduced to the market. Mezcal now seems to be coming of its own as a distinctive, noteworthy spirit.

Source: Tastings.com

In 1656 the village of Tequila (named for the local Ticuilas Indians) was granted a charter by the governor of New Galicia. Tax records of the time show that Mezcal was already being produced in the area. This Mezcal, made from the local blue agave, established a reputation for having a superior taste, and barrels of the “Mezcal wine from Tequila” were soon being shipped to nearby Guadalajara and more distant cities such as the silver-mining boomtowns of San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes.

The oldest of the still-existing distilleries in Tequila dates back to 1795, when the Spanish Crown granted a distiller’s license to a local padrone by the name of José Cuervo. In 1805 a distillery was established that would ultimately come under the control of the Sauza family. By the mid 1800s there were dozens of distilleries and millions of agave plants under cultivation around Tequila in what had become the state of Jalisco. Gradually, the locally-produced Mezcal came to be known as Tequila (just as the grape brandy from the Cognac region in France came to be known simply as Cognac).

Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821. But until the 1870s it was a politically unstable country that experienced frequent changes in government, revolutions, and a disastrous war with the United States. Marauding bands of soldiers and guerillas extracted “revolutionary taxes” and “voluntary” contributions in kind from the tabernas and distilleries. In 1876 a general named Porfirio Deaz, who was from the Mezcal-producing state of Oaxaca, came to power and ushered in a 35-year period of relative peace and stability known as the Porfiriato.

It was during this period that the Tequila industry became firmly established. Modest exports of Tequila began to the United States and Europe, with Jose Cuervo shipping the first three barrels to El Paso, Texas in 1873. By 1910 the number of agave distilleries in the state of Jalisco had grown to almost 100.

The collapse of the Díaz regime in 1910 led to a decade-long period of revolution that inhibited the Tequila industry. The return of peace in the 1920s led to the expansion of Tequila production in Jalisco beyond the area around the town of Tequila, with growth being particularly noteworthy in the highlands around the village of Arandas. This period also saw the adoption of modern production techniques from the wine industry such as the use of cultivated yeast and microbiological sanitary practices.

to be continued…

The history of Rum is the history of sugar. Sugar is a sweet crystalline carbohydrate that occurs naturally in a variety of plants. One of those is the sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), a tall, thick grass that has its origins in the islands of present-day Indonesia in the East Indies. Chinese traders spread its cultivation to Asia and on to India. Arabs in turn brought it to the Middle East and North Africa where it came to the attention of Europeans during the Crusades in the 11th century.

As the Spanish and Portuguese began to venture out into the Atlantic Ocean, they planted sugar cane in the Canary and Azore Islands. In 1493 Christopher Columbus picked up cane cuttings from the Canaries while on his second voyage to the Americas and transplanted them to Hispaniola, the island in the Caribbean that is now shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Portuguese explorers soon did likewise in Brazil.

The Caribbean basin proved to have an ideal climate for growing sugar cane, and sugar production quickly spread around the islands. The insatiable demand in Europe for sugar soon led to the establishment of hundreds of sugar cane plantations and mills in the various English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Dutch colonies. These mills crushed the harvested cane and extracted the juice. Boiling this juice caused chunks of crystallized sugar to form. The remaining unsolidified juice was called melazas (from”miel,” the Spanish word for honey); in English this became molasses.

Molasses is a sticky syrup that still contains a significant amount of sugar. Sugar mill operators soon noticed that when it was mixed with water and left out in the sun it would ferment. By the 1650s this former waste product was being distilled into a spirit. In the English colonies it was called Kill Devil (from its tendency to cause a nasty hangover or its perceived medicinal power, take your choice) or rumbullion (origins uncertain), which was shortened over the years to our modern word Rum. The French render this word as rhum, while the Spanish call it ron.

Locally, Rum was used as cure-all for many of the aches and pains that afflicted those living in the tropics. Sugar plantation owners also sold it, at discounted prices, to naval ships that were on station in the Caribbean in order to encourage their presence in local waters and thus discourage the attentions of marauding pirates. The British navy adopted a daily ration of a half-pint of 160 proof Rum by the 1730s. This ration was subsequently modified by mixing it with an equal amount of water to produce a drink called grog. The grog ration remained a staple of British naval life until 1969.

to be continued..

Among the pantheon of Aztec gods was Tepoztcal, the god of alcoholic merriment. Tequila, and Mezcal, trace their origins back at least two thousand years. Around the first century A.D., one or more of the Indian tribes that inhabited what is now central Mexico discovered that the juice of the agave plant, if left exposed to air, would ferment and turn into a milky, mildly alcoholic drink. News of this discovery spread throughout agave-growing areas. The Aztecs called this beverage octili poliqhui, a name that the Spaniards subsequently corrupted into pulque (POOL-kay).

In Aztec culture pulque drinking had religious significance. Consumption by the masses was limited to specific holidays when large tubs of pulque were set up in public squares. The ruling elite was not subject to the same restrictions, however, and drank pulque throughout the year– a privilege shared by captive warriors just before they were sacrificed to the gods.

When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the early 16th century, they soon began to make and drink pulque, but the low alcohol content (around 3% ABV) and earthy, vegetal taste made it less popular among the conquistadors than European-style beers and brandies. Early attempts to distill pulque were unsuccessful, as the resulting spirit was harsh and acrid. It was soon discovered, however, that cooking the agave pulp resulted in a sweeter juice which, when fermented, became known as Mezcal Wine. This “wine” was then distilled into the spirit that we know today as Mezcal.

Early Mezcal distilleries in the Spanish colony of Mexico operated in a manner similar to modern-day brewpubs. The distilling plant was usually small, and its production was consumed primarily in the distillery tavern (taberna). As the colony grew, the Mezcal wine industry followed apace and soon became an important source of tax revenue for the Crown. Periodic attempts by Spanish brandy producers to shut down the Mezcal industry were about as unsuccessful as similar efforts by English distillers to inhibit rum production in the British colonies of North America.