Yo, ho, ho

Eric Felten, who has pretty much the best job on the Wall Street Journal, gets paid to write about booze. Wine is taken care of by another column (husband/wife team of Dorothy L. Gaiter and John Brecher); Felten concentrates on cocktails and spirits.

It’s not just mixology. In addition to one or more recipes for a drink, Felten delves into history, putting specific beverages or alcohols into a sociological context. By the time he’s done with most columns, you feel almost morally obliged to go out and try the libation du jour.

This week he takes on rum, specifically white rum. After a brief anecdote about George Washington, Felten dives into a taste comparison of nine different white rums. This includes three “boutique rums” from Martinique.

(Historical note of my own: at the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, the victorious British could have chosen Martinique and other sugar-producing islands in the West Indies as spoils of war. Sugar at the time was a tremendous cash crop—slam-dunk buckets o’ cash in the treasury coffers. For some unknowable reason, the Brits instead chose Canada. Lots of real estate, but nothing in the way of mercantile wealth to compare with Martinique.)

His comments are passing strange: “Mild, but saved from blandness by a nice hint of black pepper.” “Burnt, almost acrid scent. Predominantly vegetal flavors.” I’m not really sure what these mean.

But here’s the thing that caught my particular attention: his recipe of the week is for something called “Ti Punch”. Equal parts of white rum and simple syrup (essentially sugar water), with a single slice of lime.

Don’t know about you, but the enamel is peeling off my teeth just thinking about that one.

12 July 2008 UPDATE:

In yesterday's WSJ, Felten published this correction:

"A superfluous keystroke last week rendered the recipe for Ti Punch undrinkable. The recipe should have read ½ oz of sugar cane syrup, not the 1½ oz that was printed in the paper. If you tried it, and spat the treacly mess out in disgust, try it again, this time with ½ oz sugar syrup to 1½ oz white rum, a slice of lime and some ice. My apologies for having wasted any of your rum."

So it wasn't just me...