Posted by
Andrews on Monday, November 17, 2008 1:58:17 AM
I know I have
griped about Wikipedia before, but if you want proof positive that the wikipedia model is flawed, just check out the
Cocktails Wiki. Pick your favorite mixed drink and I guarantee you 9 out of 10 are absolutely wrong.
Now, I know "Cosmopolitan" has changed thanks to the fruity drink crowd who took an older drink name and turned it into a fruity drink in a martini glass. And I know the martini has mutated as well. And I don't think anyone orders gibsons anymore, as you can't make them with (yuck!) chocolate vodka. But the recipes for a rum runner and a mai tai are both absurd. I can't believe that every mixed drink I ever knew has changed that much.
But, I'll leave it up to my readers to study the alcoholic abominations contained in this wiki, and judge for themselves how well the wiki model works.
POSTSCRIPT
They did get the Manhattan right, and I was actually a bit surprised at that. So one out of about a dozen that I checked. Oh, and they got the vodka gimlet right, though for some inexplicable reason they called it "Gimlet Vodka" and didn't allow for a gimlet using any other clear liquor. (Something called "gin" perhaps?)
POSTSCRIPT II
By the way, I am not an alcoholic, I made a living as a bartender for some time, so it amuses me to see the really bizarre recipes now attached to some familiar names.
UPDATE
Just on a whim, I decided to look up the most ancient drinks possible, the cocktails which really started it all. And I was shocked to find that the old fashioned recipe was actually correct. Same with the side car.
So, apparently there is an antiquarian somewhere among the contributors. Which is usually the case when anything in Wikipedia displays any accuracy, when it becomes a labor of love for someone. Unfortunately that does nothing to protect it against the ignorant or malicious, so these correct recipes could vanish tomorrow to be replaced by an old fashioned involving root beer schnapps and Zima. Such is the nature of Wikipedia.
But for now, the site appears to be accurate, but only for the most ancient and most cutting edge drinks, everything else is hit or miss, and mostly miss.