Red wine better for your heart than gin

Hmmmm, we shall see.

I'm on the second last day of our vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I just enjoyed a Beefeater and tonic.

Looking forward to the 1982 Ch. Clerc Milon I'm bringing to dinner.

Why, oh why, didn't I buy these 1982 Bordeaux by the case?

Salut/Hi Mark Lipton,

le/on Fri, 13 Aug 2004 11:54:04 -0500, tu disais/you said:-

Even if it weren't better for your heart, it would be better for your palate. Dreadful muck.

=>8^0 Say it ain't _so_, Ian! I happen to really enjoy a good Martini on occasion - a _real_ Martini, that is, which is _always_ made with gin (Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray - NEVER vodka), an olive or two and very little Vermouth.

With the olives in there, it's a meal in itself! ;^)

Tom S

I wonder if they also tested Hollands Gin such as made by Bols? It has a taste as if a whole juniper shrub has been soaked in the alcohol for a long time with other strong things thrown in. It has a taste that is the most difficult to acquire a liking for of any drink I know. Apparently the writer Ernest Hemingway liked it and made a drink with it that he called "Death In The Gulf Stream." Take a tall, thin water tumbler and fill with finely cracked ice. Add 4 splashes of Angostura. Add the juice and peel of a green lime. Fill the glass full of Hollands gin. No sugar is to be added. Tom should try this. The darkest cigar he can find would be the perfect match. :-)

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I don't know about the Hemingway story and just came into this thread but it evoked memories. The aged product is called "Oude Jenever" and when I first encountered it at age 16, in the youth hostel Herrengraght 88 (sp?) in Amsterdam, they said that the Dutchmen drank it to show how tough they were. (Not because anyone liked it.) It smelled (and I assure you that I know my basic organic chemistry) like toluene. Not acetone (as in the "native rum" in Vonnegut's Ice-Nine story, _Cat's Cradle_ if memory serves) but toluene. Harsh, aromatic, and mutagenic.

-- Max

Max... it's spelled "Herengracht" :)

Well... how Jenever tastes has a lot to do with the way it was distilled and aged.

In Holland we make a major distinction between Jonge Jenever (young aged and vodka like transparant) and Oude Jenever (aged on oak barrels and whisky like colored from pale yellow to dark amber).

Some of the finest Jenevers come from Belgium btw... I especially like the Filliers 14 yrs aged)

Young Jenever should be drinked very cold and is often accompanied by a Pilsner Beer. The smell resembles eau de cologne / toluene. This is the most popular type in holland especially with older people. I guess this type of Jenever is difficult for foreigners to like and is pretty tough on the tongue.

The finer Old Jenevers (Filliers, Van Wees, Zuidam, and much more) are as different from each other as different styles of whisky. Filliers has a very soft and smooth taste which has hints of the Juniper berries but also vanilla tones from the Oak barrel aging come into mind. It really is a special treat and most people who like the finer Whiskies will not be unpleasantly surprised by this drink. Van Wees is more tough on the tongue by the stronger hint of Juniper and makes it more an aquired taste but in my eyes just as tasty :)

The smell of Old Jenevers varies from the very sharp toluene type (usually the lesser brands, younger aged types) to smooth vanilla & juniper.

Regards,

Bas van Beek

Max Hauser schreef:

Thanks so much for the tutorial on Jenever. My one encounter was a very bad experience but armed with enough information I may be able to wipe out that last experience.

HEY!! Countless young glue sniffers have *adored* the smell of toluene, Max. FWIW, I've had both Oude and Jonge Jenever, and the smell I get is p-cymene, but YMMV :P

Mark Lipton