03/14/2015
After a long hiatus the J.B.L is back with some knowledge from British author and passionate imbiber, Kingsley Amis. These are his General Principles for drinking. Agree or disagree, they still have some merit.
G.P. 1: Up to a point, go for quantity rather than quality. Most people would rather have two glasses of ordinary decent port than one of a rare vintage. On the same reasoning, give them big drinks rather than small - with exception to be noted later.
G.P. 2: Any drink traditionally accompanied by a bit of fruit or vegetable is worth trying with a spot of the juice thrown in as well.
G.P. 3: It is more important that a cold drink should be as cold as possible than that it should be as concentrated as possible.
G.P. 4: For any liquor that is going to be mixed with fruit juices, vegetable juices, etc., sweetening, strongly flavored cordials and the like, go for the cheapest reliable article. Do not waste your Russian or Polish vodka,etc.
G.P. 5: The alcohol in any bubbly drink will reach reach you faster than in it's still version. Hence, or partly hence, the popularity of champagne at weddings and other festivities.
G.P. 6: With drinks containing fruit ( other than the decorative or olfactory slice of lemon, orange, etc. ) it is really worth while to soak the fruit in some of the liquor for at least three hours before hand.
G.P. 7: Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life, a mark of the naive - or worse.
G.P. 8: Careful preparation will render a poor wine just tolerable and a very nice wine excellent. Skimping it will diminish a pretty fair wine to all right and a superb wine to merely bloody good. Much more important is its price, which is normally a very reliable indicator of quality. Nevertheless
G.P. 9: He who truly believes he has a hangover has no hangover.
G.P. 10: Eating fattens you.
