All posts by admin

For some reason, there is a stereotype that beer can only be drunk cold. Most Russians would never even think of trying hot beer, although in Scandinavian countries it is customary to treat guests to this drink and treat colds. I propose to consider the most popular recipe for making homemade hot beer.

Historical reference

Hot beer was invented by the Scandinavians in the 15th century. Several centuries later the recipe was adopted by Poles and Germans. The latter used the brew as a cure for coughs and sore throats. Gradually, hot beer, along with mulled wine, became a traditional European drink for the winter holidays, replacing tea and coffee.

In order to get really tasty and healthy alcohol in moderation, it is not enough just to boil regular beer on the stove and pour it into a glass. Hot beer, called beer mulled wine, is prepared according to a special recipe.

The classic hot beer recipe

Ingredients:

• beer (any) – 1 liter;
• sugar – 1-2 tablespoons;
• carnation – 3-4 buds;
• cinnamon – 1 pinch;
• yolks – 3 pieces;
• lemon – 1 piece;
• orange peel to taste.

Preparation

You should not listen to the opinion of people who believe that beer should only be cold. Most likely, they just never tasted hot beer and are captive to their stereotypes. Not everyone liked blue cheese either, but now it is an exquisite dish.

Brewers all over the world argue about which beer is better to drink: draft, bottled, in kegs, cans, etc. It is difficult for an inexperienced consumer to navigate and choose the best option. To facilitate this task, I propose to discuss the difference between bottled and draft beer.

Real live beer can be stored for up to 10 days, then its taste deteriorates. If the shelf life is more than 30 days on the label, this is a pasteurized beer in which some of the nutrients are irretrievably lost. Manufacturers also use chemical preservatives to increase shelf life, many of which are considered carcinogens.

It is believed that ordinary live beer is sold in bottles, it is just that instead of barrels it is poured into another container. But this is not the case. To increase the shelf life up to 90-120 days, any bottled beer is pasteurized – heated, and then quickly cooled. After pasteurization, the beer “freezes”, natural fermentation processes stop in it, which negatively affects the taste.

Draft beer made according to the classical technology is never added to chemicals. Immediately after preparation, it is poured into barrels. Due to the sealing, the drink can be stored for up to 30 days, but most breweries recommend limiting it to 7 days.

Unfortunately, not all beer in barrels is live. There are unscrupulous manufacturers who add preservatives to it. There is only one solution to this problem – to drink beer of proven brands brewed nearby (in your own or a neighboring city). This will reduce the likelihood of drinking harmful chemical additives with beer. It may not be the best beer in the world, but you will be sure of its quality.

Another interesting point – the fullness of the beer taste is revealed only in the glass. The fact is that through the narrow neck of the bottle, the liquid enters only a small part of the receptors on the tongue, and the taste is felt incompletely.

Bottled beer is best drunk when you want to taste a particular brand. For example, we do not have live German beer on sale, since it is not profitable to bring it to us. In all other cases, I recommend drinking draft beer. But it must be fresh and brewed according to traditional technology.

There are thousands of cognac producers in the world, but only a few of them managed to become famous and respected. We take a look at 8 of the best brands to follow. These are recognizable brands that have written down the name of their creators in history and brought substantial fortunes to their descendants.

1. Hennessy (Hennessy) – the most famous cognac house in the world. It is part of the Louis Vuitton luxury goods holding – Moët Hennessy. With a production volume of 50 million bottles per year, it ranks first in the world in the sale of cognacs.

The company was founded by an Irish officer Richard Hennessy. After retiring in 1745, he settled in the city of Cognac, where he began his own production. At first, his cognacs were liked by the nobles at the court of Louis XVI, and after several decades the Hennessy brand was known throughout Europe.

2. Rémy Martin (Remy Martin) – the second largest cognac house in France, founded in 1695 by a young winemaker Remy Martin. The brand is currently owned by the Rémy Cointreau Group.

3. Augier – the oldest cognac house in the world, founded in 1643. The products are characterized by stable production technology. In Ogier, craftsmen use only ancient recipes.

4. Bisquit (Bisquit) – this cognac house was founded in 1819 by the twenty-year-old Alexander Bisquit. Products are supplied to the United States, Great Britain, Germany and other countries. In 1965, the brand and vineyard plantations were bought by the Pernod-Ricard company. Since then, Bisquit cognac harmoniously combines the traditions of aging and modern production technology.

5. Camus (Camus) – the brand has existed since 1863, it still belongs to the descendants of the founder Jean Baptiste. This cognac house has 125 hectares of vineyards throughout France. Previously, Camus cognacs were supplied to the royal courts of Europe, now they are considered elite and are sold only in expensive specialized stores.

6. Courvoisier (Courvoisier) – cognac house, founded by Emmanuel Courvoisier. It was the cognacs of this brand that Napoleon Bonaparte drank. After the defeat of the emperor at Waterloo, British officers tried Napoleon’s favorite cognac for the first time. Since then, Emmanuel Courvoisier has also supplied his cognacs to England.

This cognac house has its own production technology, which does not involve distillation. Alcohol is extracted not from grapes, but from finished wine. In the cellars of the Courvoisier cognac house there are over 3 thousand bottles aged over 200 years.

7. Davidoff (Davidoff) – the company began its history with the sale of its own cigarettes. In 1964, it was founded by the son of Kiev emigrants, Zino Davidoff, whose family worked all their lives in a tobacco factory.

Very soon Davidoff cigarettes and cigars became a symbol of sophistication and refined taste. Cognac Davidoff appeared as an addition to cigars. It comes in exclusive bottles and is made from Hennessy spirits. This drink is for very wealthy gentlemen, it can be purchased only in elite stores.

8. Delamain – in 1824 this cognac house was founded by James Delamain – an English nobleman who owned his own estate in France. First of all, Delamain brandies are known for their light color and unsurpassed fruit taste. These are drinks for true connoisseurs.

Experts consider the most famous brands of domestic cognac (grape brandy): Moskovsky, Kutuzov, Shustov, Ararat, Bagration, Noy and Bely Aist. But they are still far from well-known French manufacturers.

Until recently, no one made a rating of the best vodkas in the world. Only in 2011, a company engaged in the supply of vodka to the United States held a similar competition. Thanks to her efforts, we can name the best vodka in the world according to American consumers and experts. There are many Russian manufacturers on the list, but the French brand took the lead.

The experts in this competition were representatives of the wine industry, professional tasters and ordinary consumers. Each brand was evaluated by 30-40 people. The balls were exhibited according to the following criteria: taste, aroma, clarity, mouthfeel and appearance of the bottle. The results of the competition will seem strange to many Russians, but do not forget that the rating was compiled by American experts and consumers, and their taste preferences differ in many respects from ours.

15 of the best vodkas in the world:

1. Gray Goose (France) – the winning vodka is made from selected grains of the French province of Cognac and water from the famous Gente spring. The drink goes through a natural process of cleaning with limestone and distillation in small batches five times. Experts believe that due to its high quality, the Gray Goose brand will become the world’s best-selling vodka in a few years.

2. Crystall (Russia) – fine vodka taste is achieved thanks to special additives. The production uses only “Lux” class alcohol and a specially developed carbohydrate module “Alcosoft”. The acidity regulator is malic acid.

3. Krolewska (Poland) – the best grains and water in Poland put the Krolewska brand in third place. This vodka amazed the experts with the exquisite design of its bottle.

4. Youri Dolgoruki (Russia) – prepared according to the classic vodka recipe. It contains only the best ingredients and special additives to improve and soften the taste.

5. Finlandia (Finland) is a quality Finnish vodka with a balanced taste that has long conquered the American market.

6. Jewel of Russia (Russia) – is made from alcohol of wheat rusks, also contains microscopic pieces of gold foil, fructose and lactose. The unconventional production technology was highly appreciated by experts.

7. Vincent (Holland) – this vodka is made only in small batches from wheat and barley. It goes through two stages of distillation, which softens the taste of alcohol.

8. Rain (USA) – made from corn. For filtration, diamond dust and coal are used. This vodka has practically no taste.

9. Ketel One (Holland) – traditional Dutch vodka.

10. 3 Olives (England) – the top 10 best vodkas are closed by the English brand, which has shown good results.

11. Russian Standard (Russia) – selected grain and water from lakes allowed the Russian Standard brand to take a high place in the rating.

12. Vox (Holland) – high quality vodka based on the best alcohols.

13. Stolichnaya (Russia) – almost all our compatriots know about this brand of vodka, it does not need a separate introduction.

14. Vermont Spirits White (USA) – the experts put this brand only in 14th place. It is not yet included in the top ten vodka producers.

15. Absolut (Sweden) – a well-known Swedish brand, which unexpectedly found itself in a low position for itself, closes the list of winners. The shape of her bottle resembles a medical bottle.

Based on the presented rating, Crystall is the best vodka in Russia, and 4 more brands are in the top 15. But this is the opinion of the Americans, we have not yet held such authoritative contests. Polls for 2013-2014 show that in Russia the leading brands are Stolichnaya, Finlandia and Graf Ledoff, but it is impossible to verify the completeness and veracity of these data.

It can be difficult for an untrained person to correctly determine the age of cognac – the time of its aging in oak barrels. The “stars” familiar to us are found only on ordinary cognacs (grape brandies) produced in the former USSR. Real French cognacs have a different classification based on symbolic meanings. We will consider both labeling options so that you don’t have any problems with a drink from any manufacturer.

Exposure of cognac is considered until the moment it is bottled, after which the drink stops “aging”. The time it is in the bottle is not critical, since the quality does not change.

French classification

The standards are set and controlled by the National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognacs. Age is determined by the aging of the youngest alcohol contained in the drink. For example, if alcohols of 3, 5 and 6 years are mixed, then the aging of the resulting cognac is 3 years.

Consumers learn about the aging of the drink thanks to special markings on the label:

• VS (Very Special), Trois Etoiles, de Luxe, Selection – at least 2 years;
• Superior – at least 3 years of aging;
• VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale), Vieux, Reserve or VO (Very Old) – at least 4 years old;
• VVSOP (Very Very Superior Old Pale) and Grande Reserve – at least 5 years old;
• XO (Extra Old), Vieille Reserve, Tres Vieux, Extra, Royal or Napoleon – at least 6 years old.

French legislation prohibits labeling cognacs older than six and a half years, since it is almost impossible to control their blend and quality.

Domestic labeling of cognacs

The classification used by producers from the former Soviet Union (mainly Armenian brandy houses) is much simpler. It distinguishes ordinary, vintage and collection cognacs.

Ordinary cognacs are marked with asterisks. Each such asterisk indicates the year of aging in oak barrels. For example, if you see 5 stars on a bottle, then this is a five-year-old brandy. It should be noted that there are no domestic cognacs aged less than 3 years (theoretically), GOST prohibits the use of such young cognac spirits.

Categories of cognac

There are letter designations on vintage cognacs, they are as follows:

• KV (Aged Cognac) – at least 6 years of aging;
• KVVK (Aged Cognac of the Highest Quality) – at least 8 years;
• KS (Old Cognac) – at least 10 years;
• OS (Very Old) – the drink is at least 12 years old.

Cognacs that have been aged for more than 23 years are considered collectible. These are very expensive drinks bought by wealthy connoisseurs for private collections.