Author: Camper English

  • Solid Liquids: Dehydrating Liqueurs in the Oven

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    Camper English
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    In the process of making powdered liqueurs for future use, I've been trying to figure out the best method to get liquids into solids. I'll be comparing the microwave to the oven to the food dehydrator, using Campari as my first liqueur in all of them. In today's post we'll look at using the oven.…

  • Solid Liquids: Dehydrating Liqueurs in a Food Dehydrator

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    Camper English
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    In the process of making powdered liqueurs for future use, I've been trying to figure out the best method to get liquids into solids. I'll be comparing the microwave to the oven to the food dehydrator, using Campari as my first liqueur in all of them. For now let's talk about the food dehydrator. I…

  • The Spread of Sugarcane in the Old World

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    In the last post we looked at what sugarcane is. Now we'll see where it came from and how it traveled around the world.   Sugarcane is a tall grass native to the region of the India and Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated in New Guinea, perhaps independently in Indonesia.   In 325 BC Alexander…

  • Studying Sugar: A Resource List

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    In the Sugar Spirit Project, I've had to use several sources to research material, so I figured I'd list them on this page should you want to read them yourself or check my work. I'll add to the list as I use more resources.   Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History…

  • How NOT to Dehydrate Campari

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    I figure, why not try the method that looks easiest first, even if it seems doomed to fail?  That's what I decided to do as an experiment in dehydrating liqueurs down to sugar: to see what happens when you cook Campari the fastest way possible to get all the liquid out.    I put two…

  • An Oral History of Liqueur Dust

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    In studying the methods bartenders have used to dehydrate liqueurs into flavored powders, I mentioned that I didn't know the complete origin story of the practice.  Luckily, Jacob Briars, currently the global brand director for Leblon cachaca (and formerly with 42Below vodka), sent me an email with the full story as he remembers it.  You…

  • Sugar Spirit: What is Sugarcane?

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    In the Sugar Spirit project, we're going to look at sugar's history and production, but first we should establish what sugar and sugarcane are.  Sugar and Sucrose When we talk about sugar, we mean table sugar, or sucrose.  To chemists, sugar refers to a class of 'edible crystalline carbohydrates' that also includes fructose and lactose.…

  • Announcing the Sugar Spirit Project

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    Today marks the launch of the second Sponsored Project on Alcademics: The Sugar Spirit. The Sugar Spirit Project is sponsored by Bacardi Rum.  Rum is made from any sugarcane derivative and is the real sugar spirit, but in this research project I'll primarily be studying sugar itself. In writing about cocktails, we often come across recipes…

  • Cool Factor: Cocktail Coolers in the LA Times Magazine

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    For my latest feature in the LA Times Magazine, I asked bartenders from warm-weather cities to share their recipes for cool cocktails. The bartenders are Larry Rice from Louisville, Bobby Heugel from Houston, Erik Simpkins from Atlanta, Todd Thrasher from Alexandria, Anthony Schmidt from San Diego, Rhiannon Enlil from New Orleans, and Michael Shearin from…

  • Sugar Spirit Project Index

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    The aim of the Sugar Spirit Project is to research sugar: its history, production, distribution, forms and use, and byproducts.  This page is the project index that will link to all the posts. Hot-linked posts have gone up already, text posts are yet to come. Feel free to suggest more aspects of sugar for me…