Vodka

Vodka is an European clear distilled alcoholic drink that has been one of the most popular drinks across the world .

You'll find it to be the most popular spirit in drink making because of it's neutral taste and absence of flavour and colour.

Vodka often replaces Gin in many traditional cocktails

Vodka is known to be good for the heart, and if consumed in moderation, can prove to be good for cardiovascular health

Note that these days there are flavoured Vodka available in the market too, and some cocktails do make use of them.

Lemon Juice

Lemon Juice being rich in Vitamin C is an excellent remedy for sore throat and aids in digestion and controls blood sugar, and also promoted weight loss. It is used for various culinary and non-culinary purposes all over the world. Lemon juice is known to reduce or even reverse the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and intoxication.
In drink mixing, fresh lemon juice brings a tangy zing to so many classic drinks and in fact, it's the most used ingredient in drink mixing other than the liquors of course.

Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky

Scotch Whisky or simply Scotch is one of the most famous traditional whisky, the other being Irish Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, American Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey, Japanese Whisky and Australian Whisky.

Just like in Ireland ( Uisce Beatha ), the Scottish word for Whisky is a derivative of the Scottish Gaelic word Uisge Beatha, meaning the Water of Life.

Scotch Whiskey is a Geographically Identified Product and there are regulations that has to be met for a Whisky to be labeled a Scotch Whisky.

Traditionally Scotch Whisky is made from malted barley, but there had been deviation and variations too. A distinctive characteristic of a Scotch Whisky is drying of the malted barley over a peat fire, that attributes a smoky aroma to the Whisky. post distillation, maturation or aging is done in oak barrels previously used for bourbon whiskey, Sherry, Wine, Fortified Wine, Rum and other Spirits. This Aging process that spans years is the largest contributing factor that impact the flavour of the Whisky.

To be labeled a Scotch, a Whisky has to be pass several guidelines and production standards designed by the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009.

• 1. Comprises a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)
• 2. Contains no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
• 3. Is produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
  • 3.1 Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
  • 3.2 Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% (190 US proof)
  • 3.3 Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
  • 3.4 Processed at that distillery into a mash
• 4. Is wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years
• 5. Retains the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation

Crushed Ice

Ice is so obvious in most drinks, be it a straight drink or a mixed drink, that we often forget it's importance or even reason behind using a crystal clear good quality ice in a glass of whisky, or crushed ice in a tall glass to enjoy a cocktail.

Ice tempers a hard liquor, and as is in the case of whisky for example, if you prefer the flavours of whisky reach your nose without the hard note of spirit lingering around, or want to avoid the mild sting of a neat whisky, a cube of ice mellows the strength down a little and as it melts slowly, the aroma and flavour is released from the whisky slowly and makes whisky progressively weak, lingering and palatable.

Ice in Vodka helps release the little flavour a Vodka has, slowly, instead of letting the Vodka hit your nose all at once,

In mixed drinks, ice plays an important role in creating the perfect temperature a certain drink requires and bartenders use ice in several different ways, crushed ice for long drinks that will allow the cocktail to slowly water down like a Mint Julep, Moscow Mule, Rum Swizzle, Sherry Cobbler and other Tiki drinks, a large block or cubes of ice for drinks that are spirit heavy, such as the Old Fashioned, Negroni, and Manhattan