Vintage Liqueurs & Cocktails

There's been a lot of talk about the July/August issue of Imbibe. The anticipation for it's feature story had been building weeks before the magazine hit the shelves and it was well worth all the hype. The subject of all this attention is the search for liqueurs (and the cocktails they're mixed into) of yesteryear, a history lesson of sorts to dig up the tastes of the cocktail renaissance of the early 1900's. The magazine is riddled with tidbits about the topic that are fascinating and lead nicely into the feature article that explains some of those "foreign" ingredients (foreign to many modern mixologists) you see in bartending guides of the early days and explains where you can find them. Falernum, creme de violette and Amer Picon are included in the article so if you've seen those names in recipes and have been wondering what exactly they are, pick up Imbibe for answers to your questions. The story is continued on the Imbibe blog with a short appreciation of one of my favorite classics, Chartreuse. On the subject of long lost spirits, I was asked recently about finding (or substituting) Old Tom Gin. Suggestions anyone?

Photo Courtesy of: © Chartreuse Liqueur