Gin mastermind Charles Tanqueray can be a mysterious player in the world of liquor. Nearly 200 years after he crafted one of the world’s most lasting booze brands, there are few details about Charles that follow his green barrel-shaped bottles around the world. In a phone interview, Tanqueray’s current Master Distiller Tom Nichol gave me some insight into the legendary man.
Meet Jack Daniel: History in a Bottle
It occurred to me recently that outside of the iconic square bottle with the black label marked “Old No. 7,” most guys don’t know a lot about Jack Daniel. Like many other distillers, particularly those in the age before multi-billion dollar liquor conglomerates, Jack is a fascinating guy to learn about.
Easier to Drink it Than to Say It?
I imagine that on your trips to the liquor store, you occasionally discover a liquor that you are not quite sure how to pronounce. These tend to be the imported liquors with French or Italian names, though sometimes you’re just looking at a made-up moniker. For example, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, a company founded in Brooklyn, chose a made-up name and included a map of Denmark on their early cartons.
Happy National Hot Sauce Day!
I don’t know how you’re celebrating National Hot Sauce Day, but I’m working on a blueberry nasharab sauce for some chicken. I’ll post the results and review tomorrow. Meanwhile, I thought I’d share some history factoids from the early days of hot and spicy sauce for your amusement.
The Day of the Dead with a Menu
The Day(s) of the Dead traditions include visiting grave sites and building private altars to honor the deceased that include sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed.
Chiles Reach Africa: An Excerpt from Dave DeWitt’s New Food History Book, Precious Cargo: How Foods from the Americas Changed the World
The most likely scenario for the introduction and spread of chile peppers into Africa south of the Sahara is as follows. Varieties of Capsicum annuum and chinense were introduced into all West and East African Portuguese ports during the 40 years between 1493 and 1533, with the introduction into West Africa logically preceding that of East Africa. The chiles were first grown in small garden plots in coastal towns by the Portuguese settlers and later by the Africans.
Totally Q: An Insider’s Look at the Crazy World of BBQ
After a lot of work by a small group of dedicated and hardworking people, my new book Totally Q is being released. The book is a massive collection of barbecue tidbits, scraps, leftovers and burnt ends that no serious outdoor cook should be without. It is a compilation of assorted facts, figures, and fairy tales all emanating from the outdoor cooking arena in some way or another.
