{"id":1183,"date":"2016-02-07T16:07:32","date_gmt":"2016-02-07T16:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2025-04-21T13:27:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T13:27:00","slug":"the-spirit-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/?p=1183","title":{"rendered":"The Spirit World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve always been pretty crafty around a bar, many times out of necessity because I didn&#8217;t have either enough alcohol for an event or possess all the right mixers. I&#8217;ve always thought it was important to be a good home bartender to serve and impress guests, and I&#8217;ve always tried to maintain a reasonably stocked bar. I&#8217;m always a bit chagrin when an expensive bottle of liquor start looking empty.<\/p>\n<p>Always on the endeavor to learn more about the craft of cocktail mixing, I recently had the opportunity to take a class about three typical spirits; gin, whiskey, and rum. I had no idea how any of them were actually constructed and It was quite enlightening\u00a0to learn about the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/distilled-spirit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">distilling process<\/a> for each. Secondly, I never gave any thought to pairings for\u00a0liquors; food and\u00a0liquid. The class was quite fascinating.<\/p>\n<p>So my take-aways were:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>You can do a lot with gin. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.drinkspirits.com\/gin\/the-difference-between-tanqueray-gin-and-tanquery-10-gin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tanqueray 10 <\/a>is a delicious, light gin that has many qualities of vodka. It is known as the perfect martini gin.<\/li>\n<li>Whisky blending is an art. There are so many subtle flavors and ingredients that contribute to the taste os a whisky. I worked with a group that tried to recreate a flavor and it was nearly impossible.<\/li>\n<li>Rum is a versatile liquor, but it sneaks up on you and has a lot of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alcademics.com\/2014\/01\/how-much-sugar-is-added-to-your-rum.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sugar<\/a> in it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The craft of blending is really challenging.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1185\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1185\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7627.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1185\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1185\" src=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7627-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Blending whisky flavors\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7627-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7627-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7627-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1185\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blending whisky flavors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">We have a great resource in Austin for well manufactured bar equipment.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1186\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1186\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7628.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1186\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1186\" src=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7628-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"The Austin Shaker card\" width=\"300\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7628-300x271.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7628-768x695.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7628-1024x926.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7628.jpg 1959w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1186\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Great place for high-end bar service tools<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">We had to craft a cocktail with\u00a0Tanqueray 10 and we muddled a pair, added some bitters and made a martini. It was quite delicious, but I can&#8217;t remember a thing about making it!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1187\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1187\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7621.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1187\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1187\" src=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7621-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"man standing\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7621-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7621-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1187\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mixing and muddling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">This is a fantastic addition to a citrus inspired cocktail.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1188\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1188\" style=\"width: 209px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7622.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1188\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1188\" src=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7622-209x300.jpg\" alt=\"Bittermans bottle\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7622-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7622-768x1105.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7622-712x1024.jpg 712w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7622.jpg 2007w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1188\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hopped Grapefruit was delicious<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Finally, I now know what these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.johnniewalker.com\/en-us\/whisky-knowledge\/\">bottles<\/a> mean, regarding flavor.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1184\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1184\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7626.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1184\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1184\" src=\"http:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7626-300x189.jpg\" alt=\"picture of bottles\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7626-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7626-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7626-1024x646.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_7626-320x200.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1184\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flavors of Johnny<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve always been pretty crafty around a bar, many times out of necessity because I didn&#8217;t have either enough alcohol for an event or possess all the right mixers. I&#8217;ve always thought it was important to be a good home bartender to serve and impress guests, and I&#8217;ve always tried to maintain a reasonably stocked bar. I&#8217;m always a bit chagrin when an expensive bottle of liquor start looking empty. Always on the endeavor to learn more about the craft of cocktail mixing, I recently had the opportunity to take a class about three typical spirits; gin, whiskey, and rum. I had no idea how any of them were actually constructed and It was quite enlightening\u00a0to learn about the distilling process for each. Secondly, I never gave any thought to pairings for\u00a0liquors; food and\u00a0liquid. The class was quite fascinating. So my take-aways were: You can do a lot with gin. Tanqueray 10 is a delicious, light gin that has many qualities of vodka. It is known as the perfect martini gin. Whisky blending is an art. There are so many subtle flavors and ingredients that contribute to the taste os a whisky. I worked with a group that tried to recreate a flavor and it was nearly impossible. Rum is a versatile liquor, but it sneaks up on you and has a lot of sugar in it. The craft of blending is really challenging. We have a great resource in Austin for well manufactured bar equipment. We had to craft a cocktail with\u00a0Tanqueray 10 and we muddled a pair, added some bitters and made a martini. It was quite delicious, but I can&#8217;t remember a thing about making it! This is a fantastic addition to a citrus inspired cocktail. Finally, I now know what these bottles mean, regarding flavor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,40],"tags":[285,287,289,286,288],"class_list":["post-1183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-lifestyle","tag-alcohol","tag-craft-cocktails","tag-johnny-walker","tag-mixologist","tag-tanqueray"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1183"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3008,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions\/3008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottballew.me\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}