Happy Friday! Drinks Links 8/19/16

Eating is cheating

Friday Rules: Eating is cheating

Very good news (and pic above likely in one of those pubs) Wandsworth Council protects 120 pubs from redevelopment (Press Release)

Yes! This autumn less pumpkin, more porter! Brewers scramble to find pumpkin for seasonal ales as supply tightens (CNBC)

But gin sales are up! Travel Retail Spirits Sales Sink 4.2% in 2015 (The Spirits Business)

Great gin primer. What Exactly Is Gin, Anyway? (Ginerations)

Yes. Yes it is. THIS “GINTERNSHIP” MAY BE THE COOLEST GIG EVER (Liquor.com)

But can you open carry your blaster? DRINK LIKE HAN SOLO AT THE STAR WARS CANTINA BAR (Liquor.com)

Health Booze, meh. Big Alcohol Tries to Go on a Health Kick (Bloomberg)

One less thing to carry. Corona Extra partnership makes beachside beer delivery a reality (Chicago Business Journal)

Let’s be careful out there. The Two Words That Could Save You (And Your Career) From Burnout (Tales of the Cocktail)

DIAGEO ‘NOT WALKING AWAY’ FROM MASTERS OF WHISKY (The Spirits Business)

KYOTO DISTILLERY UNVEILS JAPAN’S FIRST GIN (The Drinks Business)

TEXSOM 2016 Takeaways (Imbibe)

 

 

Underrated Cocktails

Pegu Club Cocktail

A new article out from Liquor.com lists the 16 most underrated cocktails according to a collection of bartenders from around the country. It is not a bad list.

I was happy to see my go-to cocktail, the Negroni, was listed, though I think it is getting a lot more attention than it used to get. The inclusion of both the Vieux Carré and Sazerac is something I am in complete agreement with, particularly in the case of Vieux Carré.

In further proof of how underrated it is, the Martinez did not make the list. With the right marketing, the Martinez could easily be the most sought after classic cocktail. But since I recently wrote about it, I’ll add another; The Pegu Club.

It’s not just the current heat wave that has me thinking about this very refreshing drink, but it doesn’t hurt. This is a simple and under appreciated cocktail that easily should have made the list. I typically work off the recipe from Brad Thomas Parson’s Bitters book:

2 oz London dry gin, usually Plymouth, sometimes Bombay Sapphire (as pictured above)

.75 oz orange Curaçao

.5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 dash Angostura (or Orinoco Bitters)

1 dash orange bitters

Shake, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

And, of course, if you’re in New York, it’s always worth having a Pegu Club Cocktail at the Pegu Club.

Cheers!

Happy Hour Drinks Links

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APEROL LEADS GRUPPO CAMPARI BRAND GROWTH (The Spirits Business)

Molson Coors (TAP) Misses Q2 Earnings on Volume Decline (Zacks)

Despite craft beer boom, not much hoppin’ on Illinois farms (Chicago Tribune)

The 10 Highest Calorie Beers (Drinks Business)

Diageo CEO says too early to assess terror impact (The Spirits Business)

Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller Merger Entering Final Stages (Yahoo Finance)

DIAGEO CONFIRMS DRIZLY INVESTMENT (The Spirits Business)

 

Alright, Alright, Alright

McConnaughey and Wild Turkey!

Wild Turkey says actor Matthew McConnaughey will serve as creative director to help reintroduce the brand. Going beyond the typical celebrity endorser, McConnaughey will direct and appear in a series of TV and digital ads starting in September. An introductory video is on YouTube now, and the announcement from Davide Campari‐Milano S.p.A.(CPR.MI) – which has invested significantly in the brand since buying it from Pernod Ricard in 2009 – is here.