Cocktail Shakedown: The New War Against Classic Mixed Drinks
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Beat a raw egg white into a citrusy cocktail and you get a meringue-like effect, frothy and delicious. The resulting beverage—technically classified as a flip or fizz—is irresistible, not just to cocktail connoisseurs but to regulators and food cops. On January 19, 2010 one of New York's cocktail hot spots, the Pegu Club, got in trouble with city health department officials for serving just such a drink. Despite warnings printed on the menu, and raw egg white listed in the ingredients, a health inspector busted a bartender for failing to verbally inform a customer of the risky ingredient. Pegu Club had to yank the Earl Grey MarTEAni from the menu, restoring it only after the health department backed off serious penalties and a court summons. America is in the midst of a cocktail renaissance. A cadre of elite mixologists in New York, Portland, DC, and other creative-class cities is bringing back classics and offering new twists on old techniques. Yet retrograde health inspectors and bureaucrats are cracking down on innovation from coast to coast. Indeed, a San Francisco bar ran afoul of regulations by having the audacity to make its own bitters. Todd Thrasher is an award-winning mixologist at PX Lounge in Alexandria, Virginia. In this video, he speaks with Reason.tv about the perils of doing booze business in Virginia, the virtues of free choice at the bar, and the relationship between freedom and innovation. All while mixing up a swank fizz cocktail for his interlocutor ...
Subscribe to comments on this postClans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them use to burn their houses down — hence the statement “to get fired.”
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July 28th, 2010 - 06:24
lets just ban alcohol alltogether, what could go wrong with that?
July 28th, 2010 - 06:34
@trime1851 Friends of the Constitution…something like that….=-)
July 28th, 2010 - 07:21
@drewstarr71 – Since both the democrats and republicans are equally corrupt but in different ways, what is the name of the new party?
July 28th, 2010 - 08:07
Get rid of stupid people by getting rid of stupid warning signs. “WARNING – dont use your hair dryer in the shower!” – if your stupid enough to do so, then I just call that natural evolution.
July 28th, 2010 - 08:07
The American Government does not respect WE the people at all….vote in a new party in 2012 to all the offices in Government and restore the Constitution to it’s full GLORY!! YES WE CAN!
July 28th, 2010 - 08:51
5 stars
July 28th, 2010 - 09:40
When people? When is it finaly going to dawn on all of us that government IS the problem?
July 28th, 2010 - 10:15
@ThePenWolf
You’re still here? Why? Get out of your trailer and find a job.
July 28th, 2010 - 10:36
This bartender was really articulate and knowledgeable about his business. There were a lot of really good points. As for raw eggs, I eat em all the time. Government can’t ban what is served in a private bar any more than it can in my kitchen except bars are easier for the state to intimidate and bully. Unless you keep em in your fridge for a week, there’s no reason to fret! People grow up.
July 28th, 2010 - 11:36
The acid won’t kill salmonella. However, the chance of getting sick off of an eggwhite is slim-to-none.
July 28th, 2010 - 11:43
This bartender was really articulate and knowledgeable about his business. There were a lot of really good points. As for raw eggs, I eat em all the time. Unless you keep em in your fridge for a week, there’s no reason to fret! People grow up.
July 28th, 2010 - 12:33
@CHUCKLZLORD [[capitalism works, anarchism does not]]
How do you know?
July 28th, 2010 - 12:48
That looks awesome. I would definitely go to that bar.
July 28th, 2010 - 13:40
@stuntdoogie, yes he sure did! The Internet is such a resounding success that there should be a National Al Gore Day every year just to celebrate.
Ha ha ha, April Fools! (pardon me for being a little late)
July 28th, 2010 - 14:27
Try telling Rocky this horseshit! time for rocky-8…Rocky vs the libs.
July 28th, 2010 - 14:58
Will we ever regain the Rule of Law, based on the United States Constitution?
July 28th, 2010 - 15:52
@jefevonQ Of course I have no clue as to your environment you dimwit! I said so. How can I possibly verify ANYTHING you say about yourself? You just embarassed yourself. Congratulations!
July 28th, 2010 - 16:37
Wait did he just thank Al Gore for the Internet?
July 28th, 2010 - 17:07
I get eggs and chickens from the same farmer in VA! Awesome.
July 28th, 2010 - 17:37
LMAO! Oh, noes! Can’t have consenting adults make decisions on their own. Americans are so stupid that they must be herded like cattle, otherwise they’ll all jump off a cliff like lemmings. Don’t forget if you criticize the government for any wrong doing, then you hate roads, hospitals, police, and small furry cute and cuddly puppies (and you also hate America too).
Boy, my doctor told me if you drink too much dihydrogen monoxide you’ll die! We better ban it, quick!
July 28th, 2010 - 17:53
It would be semi-funny to end this one with, “In loving Memory of Katherine Mangu-Ward 1979 – 2010″
July 28th, 2010 - 18:37
This is what happened to Tilt. Man I miss getting “tilted”
July 28th, 2010 - 19:25
@ThePenWolf
Yeah, I have no clue as to the environment in which I live. Thank you for the cliche B.S. to reinforce my position.
July 28th, 2010 - 19:43
Hatched on Saturday, lol…
July 28th, 2010 - 20:06
@Twiggy269 The sad thing is that street thug shouldn’t have the idea to steal your stuff in the first place. And you promote his idea of violence just by promoting your own. It’s the domino effect, You start carrying handguns to protect yourself and they start carrying handguns, so on and so fourth. It’s very flawed to view they world as imperfect when the viewpoint in question is what makes the world imperfect when the world is shaped by ideas and flaws and not by a set standard.