Unit 8: Listening Task #1
The Art of Cocktail Making
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Jeff has worked at a bar in the United States and Taiwan. He was interviewed recently in Taipei. |
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Q: How many different kinds of cocktails are there? A: That's hard to answer. New cocktails are constantly invented and some old ones die out. I personally know how to make about 150 cocktails. Q: What cocktails are most popular in Taiwan? A: I hesitate to speak for the entire country. In the bar where I work, the Alexander is especially popular with younger women and the Bloody Mary seems quite popular with men. Q: Could you tell us how to make those cocktails? A: Sure. An Alexander is one-third brandy, one-third cream, and one-third creme de cacao. Q: OK. That is equal parts brandy and cream, then something named creme de cacao. What's that? A: It is a sweet liqueur with a chocolate flavor. Q: Let me see if I got this right. A 3 ounce Alexander is has one ounce of brandy, one ounce of cream, and one ounce of a coffee-flavored liqueur named creme de cacao. Is that correct? A: More or less. Most of our cocktails are more than 3 ounces, but you have basically the right idea. And people usually add a dash of nutmeg on the top. Q: Did you say nutmeg? A: That's right. It's a common spice. Q: OK. What about a Bloody Mary? A: Now a Bloody Mary consists of mostly of vodka, tomato juice, and lemon juice. Q: OK. You mentioned three ingredients: vodka, tomato juice, and lemon juice. What's the ratio? A: Roughly 50% tomato juice, 30% vodka, and 20% lemon juice. So to make a typical drink, add 6 cl of tomato juice to 4 cl vodka and 2 cl of lemon juice Q: Is that it? A: No. You add two dashes of Worcester sauce with one dash of Tabasco with a little celery salt and salt. If you don't know what these are, Worcester sauce is a sort of barbeque soy sauce. And think of Tabasco as a spicy ketchup. Q: Now before working in Taipei you were working in New York. What sort of cocktails were especially popular there? A: At the bar I was working at, the Screw Driver and Tom Collins were quite popular. Q: And could you tell us how to make them? A: Sure. The Screwdriver is easy to make. Just add an ounce or two of vodka to a glass full of ice cubes, then four or five ounces of orange juice. Q: That sounds easy. Just add orange juice to vodka A: Yeah. An average drink is about four parts orange juice to one part vodka, plus ice. Q: OK. How do you make a Tom Collins? A: It's also easy. This drink is about 50% carbonated soda water, 30% lemon juice, and 20% gin, with half a tablespoon of powdered sugar. Q: OK. So for a typical size drink, could you explain that again? A: Sure. To 5 cl of carbonated soda water, add 30 cl of lemon juice, and 20 cl of gin, and 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar. Shake these ingredients together with ice and pour into a glass, then add ice cubes. Q: Thanks for explaining this to me. A: My pleasure. |
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