Camper English's Blog, page 5
January 8, 2025
A Moment of Appreciation for the Clipart in the Weekly TTB Newsletter
Clipart, as we know, if the highest form of art. In its role as a visual representation of a subject heading, clipart is not a picture worth a thousand words; it is a picture worth one to three words, max.
Every week, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau sends out an email (subscribe here!) and in that email is at least one piece of clipart. I look forward to seeing it every week.
Here are some of the Greatest Hits of TTB Clipart: Enjoy!
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January 7, 2025
Testing Three New Bottled Waters from Spain
I recently visited the San Francisco location of The Spanish Table, a store that sells foods and wines from Spain.
I was there to look at sherry, but I spied some bottled waters I hadn’t tried yet. (This is exciting for me.)
They had:
Vichy Catalan - A super salty water that’s popular in Spain; I’ve heard it’s the top-selling mineral water there.
Vilajuiga - Sparkling
Sant Aniol - I bought both the still and sparkling.
Water Tasting
Of the three I bought, I liked the high-minerality Vilajuiga sparkling best (a nice softness behind the fizz), followed by the Sant Aniol still water (refreshing). I found the sparkling version of that line unremarkable.
That’s it for the Alcademics Water Report (tm) :)
The Drunkard has the Right to be Indiscriminately Loud
"The Drunkard has the Right to be Indiscriminately Loud"
Illustration by Don Herold. From The Future of Drinking (1930) by Gilbert Selder.
January 6, 2025
The Cocktail is the International Alcoholic Esperanto
Here’s a fun excerpt:
The American Mercury 1924-09: Vol 3 Iss 9
CLINICAL NOTES
BY GEORGE JEAN NATHAN AND H. L. MENCKEN
The cocktail, once observed George Ade, follows the American flag. That was twenty years ago. The flags of all nations today follow the cocktail. Its fame has spread over the globe, and justly. It has captured the English and the French, the Danes and the Italians. Five o'clock in Piccadilly brings its gin and vermouth and dash of bitters as five o'clock along the grand boulevards brings its iced brandy and gum syrup and dash of Byrth. It is the gift of smiling America to lackadaisical Europe. It is the international alcoholic Esperanto.
January 3, 2025
Make Clear Ice Shell Shot Glasses, Bowls, and Other Shapes
Most of us ice nerds know about making a clear ice sphere shell as pioneered by The Aviary, but you can use the same easy technique to make other shapes.
The technique to make the ice shell for a drink inside a sphere can be found in The Ice Book - and you can also find it in this story in Imbibe Magazine.
Inspired by a video of a Midwestern lady who used the same technique to make covers for ice lanterns in 5-gallon pails, I made some other shapes.
Notes and Tips for making Ice Shell Containers
Fill a plastic container with water and leave the top off. Freeze for a few hours until you can see a shell forming around the insides.
The top layer will be thicker than the bottom and sides, so keep that in mind.
After the first few hours I dipped the container in warm water to loosen it and slid out the shell. I put it back in the freezer outside of the container so that the bottom would freeze faster.
After the layer is thick enough, poke a hole and let the interior water drain.
I expanded the holes using a metal stick dipped into hot/boiling water. See below for another method.
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For this shot glass below, I used the copper pan bottom to melt off the top of the shape entirely. I think it looks great. The downside is that you loose a lot of the height of the shot glass this way, so this would be best in a taller container.
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[image error]If you enjoyed this post, please consider purchasing a copy of The Ice Book to help support this blog, thanks!
December 30, 2024
New Drink Book Releases in 2025
I keep a close eye on new books on drinks (mostly cocktails and spirits rather than beer/wine), and I read most of them that come out every year.
On this post I'll keep track of them. I probably won't include every cultural franchise tie-in cocktail book (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc) but some. If you want to see books from 2024, check out: Fall 2024 Drink Books and Spring/Summer 2024 Drink Books.
January Through March 2025 Drink Book Releases
Spirited Women: Makers, Shakers, and Trailblazers in the World of Cocktails
Amazon
Bookshop
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Lessons in Mixology: A graphic guide to making the perfect cocktail
Amazon
Bookshop
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MockTales: 50+ Literary Mocktails Inspired by Classic Works, Banned Books, and More
Amazon
Bookshop
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How to Be a Better Drinker: Cocktail Recipes and Boozy Etiquette
Amazon
Bookshop
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Tokyo Bar: 65 recipes for Japanese-style cocktails and izakaya snacks
Amazon
Bookshop
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Tiny Cocktails: The Art of Miniature Mixology: A Cocktail Recipe Book
Amazon
Bookshop
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Pour Together: A Cocktail Recipe Book: 2-Ingredient Cocktails to Meet Every Mood
Amazon
Bookshop
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Margarita Time: 60+ Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails, Served Up, Over & Blended
Amazon
Bookshop
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Sleepless in Sangria: 60 Rom-Com Cocktails for Movie Night
Amazon
Bookshop
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Drink Your Garden: Recipes, Stories and Tips from the Simple Goodness Cocktail Farm
Amazon
Bookshop
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The Art of Cocktails: By the Legendary Bartender at the Ritz
Amazon
Bookshop
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The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell―and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose
Amazon
Bookshop
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Sours: A History of the World's Most Storied Cocktail Style
Amazon
Bookshop
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This is a Cocktail Book
ThisIsACocktailBook.com
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Citrus: A World History
Amazon
Bookshop
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Guide to Tropical Potions & Exotic Elixirs
TikiLindy.com
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Note: As indicated on my About page, all purchase links on Alcademics may take you to a page where I earn a small commission.
December 27, 2024
New Booze: Old Hamer Whiskey and Vara Rum
New Booze for December 27:
Old Hamer Whiskey from West Fork- it’s bourbon with a 99% corn mashbill (corn whiskey must be aged in used barrels so that’s why it’s not that). In addition to these three, they have an 80 proof version and three different finishes in various casks.
Vara Rum from Albuquerque- the white rum is first distilled in a pot still then finished in a column still. The dark rum is aged in sherry casks the whole time as far as I can tell. This company runs distillery tasting rooms in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
December 23, 2024
Bloody Mary, Hold The Chunks
I was interviewed for a story in the San Jose Mercury News about the Bloody Mary that just came out. It's paywalled but they often syndicate their stories so I'll share another link later if possible.
I expressed an opinion on a few things, such as how infusing the vodka with the spicy ingredients allows you to make the drink chunk free. I was a bit silly.
December 19, 2024
The Best Drinks Books of 2024
These are some of my favorite cocktails and spirits books I read in 2024. Several of them I blurbed for their authors. There are few more books that were published this year that I haven't read yet, so maybe they'll get on next year's list.
My 2023 Best Of List is here, by the way. In no particular order:
Cocktail Theory - A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Drinks
A sciency book that's half about the perfect conditions for cocktails, half about applying perfumer techniques to cocktail development.
Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits
My blurb: An investigation into the secretive and competitive collectors and their methods, unsolved mysteries, and mythological caches. The once worthless dusties inspire Goldfarb to debate the monetary value of quality versus rarity and the proximity to fame. And unlike, say, stamp collectors, the author and every other dusty hunter must grapple with the decision whether to taste a moment in time or to keep time locked away in a bottle.
Buy it: Amazon (note: super cheap right now) Bookshop
Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought the Cocktail Home
My blurb: The Cocktail Parlor is a literature review of women-authored books in which there are mixed drink recipes, and an analysis of what those drinks reveal about the changing role of women in society. [Along the way,] Dr. Nice cites so many fascinating authors that I kept one browser window open to search for more information about them and another to add their books to my reading list. Rarely has a drink book so enthralled me yet left me thirsty for more.
Buy It: Amazon (currently on sale) Bookshop
The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit
My blurb: Retracing the steps of a prolific modern-day forger of absinthe who tricked enthusiasts and experts, Evan Rail deciphers how the spirit was distilled, colored, blended, bottled, and sold a century ago, and takes us to meet members of the current absinthe collecting community spread throughout Europe who improbably cracked the case of the faker together. I finished this book in a couple sittings because of its plot and pacing, but also learned a ridiculous amount of new and unexpected information about absinthe along the way. If you’re interested in vintage spirits generally, absinthe specifically, the importance of online communities, or tasty true crime, this book is for you!
Malört: The Redemption of a Revered and Reviled Spirit
A wonderfully surprising and authentic telling of brand history that had me engaged and enraged!
The Bourbon Drinker's Companion: A Guide to American Distilleries, with Travel Advice, Folklore, and Tasting Notes
Tastings and a travelogue. Tons of great information from a distiller's point of view, and honest reviews not given in isolation.
Spirits Distilled : A Guide to the Ingredients Behind a Better Bottle
My blurb: Spirits Distilled is a new view of booze from the ground up. Beyond illuminating the plants, people, and production of all the major spirits categories, Nat Harry’s thoughtful recommendations should empower us to make better choices in the liquor aisle.
December 7, 2024
Holiday Ice Advice in Imbibe Magazine
I was featured in Imbibe Magazine giving some tips on making your holiday ice shine bright.
In our November/December 2024 issue, we share recs for tools and accessories that will help you take your holiday party’s ice situation beyond the sad cooler in the corner. For some extra tips and tricks, we tapped The Ice Book author Camper English to find out how he makes festive cubes, where to find ice molds, and how to glow-up your ice display.
