Of all the alcoholic drinks that exist on the market, the one that gets written about the most is wine. When you think about it that's a little strange. Surely it must be possible to talk about other drinks in the same way? Take beer, for example. In theory at least, it must be possible to discuss a beer's colour, its structure, its initial taste and its aftertaste. Of course what you wouldn't get is endless discussions about its 'terroir' or interviews with the brewmaster that explain his philosophy of beer-making, but you could at the very least do comparative tastings. Maybe one day I will, but today I want to address another common drink, the cocktail.

There's something rather romantic about cocktails. Perhaps subliminally we think of crisp vowels and elegant thirties cocktail dresses, with scintillating coversation and maybe Noel Coward tinkling the ivories. They simply have more class than a pint of beer. Cocktails are made up of several different drinks, but they almost always contain a spirit and often a liqueur or two. Drinking a cocktail, then, is very different from drinking a glass of wine.

There are many more tastes to discern, and spirits themselves aren't really tasted in the same way as wine. In a way we don't really taste spirits, it's more an exercise for the nose. Most of our impressions of a drink that is probably not less than 40% by volume is olfactory, but tasting is possible, although done differently than tasting wine. In the case of cocktails, which are often served chilled or iced, the taste of the base spirit becomes secondary, since what flavours it has are best discovered at room temperature. It's the combination of tastes that either pleases us or not.

Simple mixers and a spirit, like a brandy and ginger ale or a gin and tonic aren't usually considered a cocktail - although a white Martini and gin is. The rule is that at least two alcoholic drinks need to mixed to create a real cocktail. When you take the basic spirits of gin, vodka, whiskey, rum and brandy and then combine them with thousands of different mixers and thousands of different liqueurs, you can see why my 'Bartender's Handbook' contains literally thousands of recipes for cocktails.

Spirit of the Week

Southern Comfort

There are hundreds of cocktails that start off with Southern Comfort, since it is itself aromatic and therefore combines well with other ingredients. Here are two classic cocktails using it - Southern Slammer: 25% Southern Comfort, 15% Vodka, 10% Amaretto, 50% fresh orange juice. Shake it well, strain and serve into Highball glasses garnished with a slice of orange. A splash of Grenadine completes it.
Southern Julep: 35% Southern Comfort, 15% Peach Brandy, 50% soda water. Crush six leaves of fresh mint with some ice and put it in a shaker. Add the brandy and the Southern Comfort and shake well, strain and pour into a glass. Top up with the soda water, garnish with a leaf of fresh mint. Drink either of them on a rocking chair on the verandah watching The Big Muddy flow by.

Widely Available, RRP €24.99 or €13.99 for a half bottle.