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The Origin Of Whiskey
Whiskey is a powerful drink and whiskey is a powerful word-possibly because both are of Irish origin. The English articulation of the word in use today is based upon a word the earliest Gaels applied to the result of their stills, for it appears they were the primary whiskey-makers.
The name they gave the distilled spirit was singularly fitting-they called it "uisgebeatha." If we scrutinize the word we find that "uisge" (pronounced oosh'gee) means "water," "beatha" means "life," and the two combined mean "water of life." All of which goes to establish that nobody can beat the Irish for suitable naming. In time this intoxicating creation of Ould Ireland's stills became "whiskbae," later "whiskie," and finally just plain "whiskey."
Similarly, the Scots were distillers of this ancient and respectable liquor. They adopted the original name the Irish gave to the white spirit which flowed from their stills, the word going through a comparable succession of pronunciation until it became "whisky" without the "e"-one can note the spelling on any bottle of Scotch.
We have a lot to thank the Irish for, but whiskey rates a top place on the list. A toast to the Irish-what drink may better serve such a purpose than one of the many whiskey cocktails mixed to precision as in New Orleans? Make it an Old Fashioned, a Sazerac, a Manhattan, a julep, a highball, or just plain whiskey. Whichever it may be, fill 'em up and drink 'em down to the original whiskey-makers -the Irish!
The dictionary breakdown on a highball: "a long drink of diluted spirits, usually whiskey, served in a tall glass with cracked ice."
Like all fashionable drinks, the highball is prominent for its variety. Any spirituous liquor will answer- it depends upon individual inclination. Some like rye with seltzer water, some Bourbon; others hold that the spirit of the drink should be Scots whisky, and still others demand Irish whiskey. Brandy, rum, applejack, all have their advocates, and there are even benighted individuals who desire gin in their highballs.
For the fizz complement use whatever is appealing-seltzer, club soda, white rock, ginger ale, Coca-Cola, Seven-Up. Aficionados, as a rule, insist that only cold water be poured upon their whiskey. Whichever one prefers to place upon their cocktail coaster, make it strong and vibrant!
Oldtimers will tell you the three exceptional drinks of New Orleans in the memory of living men were the dripped absinthe frappe of the Old Absinthe House, the Ramos gin fizz, and the Sazerac cocktail. The American cocktail was not only bom in Old New Orleans but was given its inquisitive name in the city's famous Vieux Carre. The best known of all New Orleans cocktails is indisputably the Sazerac. The fact that it originated in New Orleans gave rise to the fable that it was first concocted by and named for an old Louisiana family, fable without fact as no such Louisiana family existed.


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