EU full of Picky Eaters

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by Napoleon I
Once again - they own the name Parma. As long as standard English usage for a phrase "city" "product" is product made in that city, other people can't call it Parma ham. Is it really so difficult to say Parma style ham? Or will that stop other producers from peddling inferior product as the real thing?

Actually, they won't even be allowed to say "Parma-style", IIRC. The name must be striken from the product.

That's the problem.

[Chemical Ollie]

Hey, Gin is British. If anyone tried to fool you otherwise, please send him to me for a serious discussion! Genever is Dutch, and has about the same taste.

[Napoleon I]

vee -

A lot of people have no prior knowledge of producer regions, they just know burgundy wine is "pretty good". Do you discount them?

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

For other brands, "cheap" is more or less synonymous with the product.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with Tanqueray.

Haven't had it.

[vee4473]

Originally posted by Spiffor

Why so, if they're local specialities ?

Hey, here's another example for you. IIUC, Gin is an American drink. In France, every "Gin" I got to drink tasted like perfume (and a cheap one as that - well, maybe it tasted like white-spirit instead, I still haven't made up my mind).
As a result, I'll never drink that crap again. Because of the French (?) rip-off, the reputation of this drink has been utterly lost to me, and probably to many other Frenchmen.

you just proved that my solution will work...

if you had asked where the gin you drank was made, and found out it was a cheap french version, you would have said "bah, this isn't the real thing, i'll reserve judgement until i taste at least one American brand"...

(although maybe you'd hate the real gin too....heh....i like it though.)


if you know where a product originates....just read the label, read the label, read label.....


It will at least let you know that if you didn't like it, it may not be because you don't like the real thing, just that you haven't had the real thing yet..

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by vee4473
if you had asked where the gin you drank was made, and found out it was a cheap french version, you would have said "bah, this isn't the real thing, i'll reserve judgement until i taste at least one American brand"...

Well, actually not. It is my speculation that Gin is American (Ollie just told it's Wrong, it's British). And it is my speculation this crap was the French rip-off. Besides, I've drunk some of the few gins of my life in bars, and there I couldn't get to see the bottle

That's why I'll never drink Gin again, unless I wander sometime in the genuine Gin-producing region, where they may have learned to make a good product over the centuries )

[The Mad Monk]

Gin is Dutch.

History of Gin


Long before Martini became one of the all time favorite drinks in the world, history of gin goes back to the 17th century in Netherlands. Gin was created by a Dutch chemist, Dr. Sylvius in mid 1600s. His intention was to invent a medicine that would clean blood for kidney disorders. He called it "genever," meaning juniper in French, because he used neutral grain spirits flavoured with the juniper.


In 1698, which William III and Mary I ruled England, gin became not only one of the essential products, but also a product to compete with French market. Behind the success, there was William III's personal intention to hurt French government because of their threat against his native country, Holland. While French spirits were expensive in British market, gin was sold at affordable price and was mass-produced. Meanwhile, people misunderstood gin as a spirit to induce abortion and became known as "mother?s ruin."


Unlike other spirits, gin doesn't have a qualification measure by age. Based on the regulation, gin producers are not allowed to claim their product by age. Most gin is sold at 80 to 94 proof. When you order a gin cocktail at bars, bartenders would mostly likely to serve dry gin that westerners think as regular gin.


Gin is distilled from grain and primarily flavoured with juniper berries. Most gin is colorless, however, some brands may be golden due to their aging process in barrels. There are different kinds of gin; dry gin, London dry, golden, Old Tom, and flavoured. Dry gin is the most popular, and uses a collection of flavourings known as the botanicals. The botanicals are either suspended in the tower above the still in order to absorb their flavour and aroma or added directly to the neutral spirit before being redistilled.


Over the century, Martini became one of the most ordered cocktails at bars and restaurants. The name, Martini, was name after the town called Martinez

http://www.cocktailtimes.com/hist_spirits/gin.html

[The Mad Monk]

...but its British popularity is France's fault.

[The Mad Monk]

I always thought gin tasted "medicinal".

Now I know why.