CigarsLover Magazine Awards Issue

SPIRITS
Foam
The great comeback of Irish distilleries
between tradition and innovation.
by Nicola Ruggiero
Over the years and via different articles in this magazine,
we have repeatedly read and advocated how
the world of cocktails, while revolving around fixed
and indisputable points (one of all, the balance of a
cocktail), is always in characterized by continuous research
and expansion. It is a sector in which experimenting never
stops and, sometimes, behind a brilliant new idea hides a
technique or a drink which is going to experience major
success (think of the Moscow Mule, for example).
The use of foam can certainly be counted among these technical
experiments. Not all drinks need it, and some do not
require it at all. Others, on the other hand, need a thick and
heavy foam, while others may benefit from a lighter structure
one. Yet, everything starts from the classic mixing style,
demonstrating how many aspects are not necessarily "new
discoveries" but rather development or refining of a pre-existing
technique. Everything comes from two cocktails where
foam truly makes the difference.
The foam obtained from egg white was a fundamental part
of Pisco Sour, invented in the twenties in Peru and today Peruvian
national drink and the Ramos Gin Fizz, created for the
first time in New Orleans in 1888 by the famous bartender
Harry Craddock, also author of the renowned book "Savoy
Cocktail Book", which used egg white and cream to obtain a
compact and stable foam, a signature of that cocktail. The
historical contextualization takes us back to the States, to
the years immediately preceding the period of Prohibitionism,
when this kind of drink was so trendy and fashionable
that bartenders struggled to meet the demand of the public.
46 #5-2022 CigarsLover Magazine