The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-10
QUENCHERS THAT
ARE IN DEMAND
Strange Drinks Make Bartend-
ers Work Hard These Days
COME FROM EVERYWHERE
Flood of immigration Is Responsible
for Host of Liquors That Have
Curious Names and
Subtle Effects.
COME FROM EVERYWHERE

The flood of immigration, which in an
irresistible stream has poured into the
United States from every corner of the
wide world for the past half century, has
brought with It in the way of flotsam and
jetsam a host of strange liquors, with
wierd names and subtle effects. The pro-
sale figures of the customs reports of the
treasury department tells the story of the
increasing magnitude of this traffic, which
has sprung up in the wake of the exodus
of races, to solve and satisfy the great
American thirst problem.
The simple life for the barkeeper is now
only a memory. No longer, as in the good
old days of unperverted taste, can he es-
tablish Jag factory with a barrel of
whiskey, a happy SMILE and quick
trigger finger for operating capital; at
least he cannot do it and cut his coupons
with any degree of certainty and regular
ity. A complex civilization Is no longer
content with mountain dew straight,
but its heterogeneous thirst demands sake,
aquavit, bouza, quass novka, arraek, teff,
ytoust, in addition to an almost lmitless
list of new wines and beers. The time has
arrived when the competent barkeeper
must not only be an expert analytical
anthropologist.
Mastic, or mastlca, Is gift to the
American republic from the isles of
Greece. 1t is a drink with proud
lineage that runs back to the times OF
Perisles. Aspasia, Sophocles mad Anaxa-
goras. 1t is even the tradition that 1t is
= a tfrAnla ~ Oat TOR CIR,
bitter that Socrates welcomed the cup of
deadly hemlock as the only solution of
the trial marriage problem. PainstalIing
investigation of the quantities of modern
mastica throws a flood of light upon the
vexed problem of the battle of Marathon,
in which handful of Greeks swept the
vast army of invading Persans into the
sea and saved Europe for Occidental eiV-
ilization. A homeopathic dose of mastic
has enough concentrated courage in 1t to
make a rabbit spit in a bulldogs face.
Historians are, therefore leaning to the
theory that the famous charge of the
Atheenians, which struck the Persians
like bolt of ravaging fury, had it's in
spiration in soul-burning draughts of the
historical progenitor OF mastic Accord
ing to modern police records one Amer
lean full of mastic is storm center of
desolation; an army loaded with the juice
would be cyclone of disaster.
Mastic Is Fiery.
HMastis has come to the United States IN
the train of the large immigration from
Greece and the countries of the Eastern
Mediterranean. 1t can be had at nearly
all the bars In the large cities of the East
and Middle West. 1t is one of the most
| fiery of the brandies and is made from
| the must of grapes or currants after thu
| Juice has been expressed for wine. Care
is taken to crush the seeds in this must
| and as a consequences the mastic has {
| peculiar astringent taste that needs con
siderable practice to enjoy.
With the invasion of the Japanese, par
| ticularly In the West, has come the intro
| duction of sake a drink around which
| clusters many religions myths as to 1t:
origin. 1t is thick and syrupy and is made
from rice. 1t has so high percentage OF
alcohol that it is classified under the heat
of spirits by the customs house officials
There are number of varieties of sake
and some of them have succeeded in cap
| turing the jaded taste of the bibuluousl,
inclined on the Pacific coast.
| Pulqus, tequila mescal and other chain
lightning intoxicants distilled from tn,
maguey plant in Mexico have a certain
vogue in the Southwest, but the nationo
| drinks of Mexico have not become popu
lar this side of the Rio Grande, and ar,
49, ~. .,. 49, - =
Iaso iHeee are tiiou.anus VI asie =, -
ieAas' ne" HeAioo' ~ ,Ao,.a anu -.
loIlii" nc a. az - .iii s ~
urn tiIal a1 s'heeu .oa nias a1
piahts' a,u uoup.es. 'ne 1ou.nwese VIZ w..
pe az 1"iNn' , ,, 49,, Is.'uS 70 a.,
lanciie9 GU -. ~ . .. a , - ~
eia.et iepu .,5S - 4ai,,s ,,,, 4,,,,,i .,
p aia.e Nouiu 'e ''"i'SN ~ inv i'q'''ii' -
ilsscal. .u A.,
ManS iiliils ah'3 lioil sne Da e,ats, q.
teS' buls'tliahs' Noui'ia mains oei , ,ei's
o'"N po,i'a9, i,usel.'i 1--WE, o'ui 10
invaded tne Noitnme3e, aiu as les ~
the customs aucioit. . naNe hiaue TN
49, rrho 1GaI,o,, ~ ~ par,,ia l.
pra t;, t th '.,sli's, " - ne az -
and Mum. Not ONLY do thew grow wild
hut what is more, nowhere in Europe dc
thew reach such perfection. and, despite
rho cornpetition of France and California
Bosnia and Servia still furnish the great
or mart of the worlds prune supply.
Prunes and nies are the two chief sources
~ wealth of these Balkan states. for
after The people have sold all the prunes
thev can for exnort. thew feed the rest IN
the nias or distill them into prune brandy.
cherries and plums were long ago
,,tiIized for ro,or for the neonIe Of
Europe The famous liqueurs that are
nov, extensively consumed here were in
or.od In WIDELY senarated countries
Nfaras chino Was erst made in CONNER
oiaI ,uantities at the little town Of Zara
T., naIr,atia the makers having obtained
~ saorat fron, the neiphhorine slavs NJ
nz,,ta +, uas originaI1v d,stIlied FROM