Good news in these changing times comes via this fun little article in the Atlantic:
For me, the best aspect of these bars isn’t that they’re essentially theme parks where you can drink, but that the drinks highlight rather than mask the tastes of the spirits. This is as it should be. Lading drinks with overly sweet mixers, thick juices, and fruits amounts, in a way, to a continuation of Prohibition. During the 13-year drought, Americans applied considerable creativity to hiding the taste of bathtub gin and bootlegged liquor, and then never really broke the habit. Seventy-five years after Prohibition’s repeal, we’re returning to the basics at last.
Amen to that. Going through ancient bar books (like the 1941 edition that resulted in that Rum Swizzle recipe a few days back) one of the major differences I noticed was that the oldest drink recipes within used the taste of the liquor -- even when it was just average booze -- and a few simple ingredients to create a good combination. I'm of the firm belief that this beats the hell out of the alternative, and it's fairly simple (also cheap, importantly) to do. I enjoy the buzz of drinking, but like food, the taste is also meant to be savored.
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