Beat a raw egg white into a citrusy cocktail and you get a meringue-like effect, frothy and delicious. The resulting beverage—technically classified as a flip or fizz—is irresistible, not just to cocktail connoisseurs but to regulators and food cops.
On January 19, 2010 one of New York’s cocktail hot spots, the Pegu Club, got in trouble with city health department officials for serving just such a drink.
Despite warnings printed on the menu, and raw egg white listed in the ingredients, a health inspector busted a bartender for failing to verbally inform a customer of the risky ingredient. Pegu Club had to yank the Earl Grey MarTEAni from the menu, restoring it only after the health department backed off serious penalties and a court summons.
America is in the midst of a cocktail renaissance. A cadre of elite mixologists in New York, Portland, D.C., and other creative-class cities is bringing back classics and offering new twists on old techniques. Yet retrograde health inspectors and bureaucrats are cracking down on innovation from coast to coast. Indeed, a San Francisco bar ran afoul of regulations by having the audacity to make its own bitters.
Todd Thrasher is an award-winning mixologist at PX Lounge in Alexandria, Virginia. In this video, he speaks with Reason.tv about the perils of doing booze business in Virginia, the virtues of free choice at the bar, and the relationship between freedom and innovation. All while mixing up a swank fizz cocktail for his interlocutor, Reason Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward.
And for those inclined to play the home version of Reason.tv, here’s the recipe for Melanie’s Pisco Pipe Dream:
1.5 oz Pisco
.75 oz coconut Water / coconut milk mixture
.75 oz sweetened Meyer lemon juice
.25 oz citrus vinegar
white of one egg
1 tsp powdered sugar
Put all contents in a shaker and dry shake (without ice) for 30 seconds. Add ice, and shake for 1 minute, double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with Meyer lemon-black pepper reduction. Relax and enjoy responsibly.
Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg, who also edited the piece. Approximately 8 minutes long. Go to http://reason.tv for embed code and downloadable versions.
Subscribe to Reason.tv’s YouTube page and receive automatic notification when new material goes live.
Duration : 0:8:17
[youtube 2FC00bBDZco]
@trime1851 Friends …
@trime1851 Friends of the Constitution…something like that….=-)
@drewstarr71 – …
@drewstarr71 – Since both the democrats and republicans are equally corrupt but in different ways, what is the name of the new party?
Get rid of stupid …
Get rid of stupid people by getting rid of stupid warning signs. “WARNING – dont use your hair dryer in the shower!” – if your stupid enough to do so, then I just call that natural evolution.
The American …
The American Government does not respect WE the people at all….vote in a new party in 2012 to all the offices in Government and restore the Constitution to it’s full GLORY!! YES WE CAN!
5 stars
5 stars
When people? When …
When people? When is it finaly going to dawn on all of us that government IS the problem?
@ThePenWolf
You’re …
@ThePenWolf
You’re still here? Why? Get out of your trailer and find a job.
This bartender was …
This bartender was really articulate and knowledgeable about his business. There were a lot of really good points. As for raw eggs, I eat em all the time. Government can’t ban what is served in a private bar any more than it can in my kitchen except bars are easier for the state to intimidate and bully. Unless you keep em in your fridge for a week, there’s no reason to fret! People grow up.
The acid won’t kill …
The acid won’t kill salmonella. However, the chance of getting sick off of an eggwhite is slim-to-none.
This bartender was …
This bartender was really articulate and knowledgeable about his business. There were a lot of really good points. As for raw eggs, I eat em all the time. Unless you keep em in your fridge for a week, there’s no reason to fret! People grow up.
@CHUCKLZLORD [[ ...
@CHUCKLZLORD [[capitalism works, anarchism does not]]
How do you know?
That looks awesome. …
That looks awesome. I would definitely go to that bar.
@stuntdoogie, yes …
@stuntdoogie, yes he sure did! The Internet is such a resounding success that there should be a National Al Gore Day every year just to celebrate.
Ha ha ha, April Fools! (pardon me for being a little late)
Try telling Rocky …
Try telling Rocky this horseshit! time for rocky-8…Rocky vs the libs.
Will we ever regain …
Will we ever regain the Rule of Law, based on the United States Constitution?
@jefevonQ Of course …
@jefevonQ Of course I have no clue as to your environment you dimwit! I said so. How can I possibly verify ANYTHING you say about yourself? You just embarassed yourself. Congratulations!
Wait did he just …
Wait did he just thank Al Gore for the Internet?
I get eggs and …
I get eggs and chickens from the same farmer in VA! Awesome.
LMAO! Oh, noes! …
LMAO! Oh, noes! Can’t have consenting adults make decisions on their own. Americans are so stupid that they must be herded like cattle, otherwise they’ll all jump off a cliff like lemmings. Don’t forget if you criticize the government for any wrong doing, then you hate roads, hospitals, police, and small furry cute and cuddly puppies (and you also hate America too).
Boy, my doctor told me if you drink too much dihydrogen monoxide you’ll die! We better ban it, quick!
It would be …
It would be semi-funny to end this one with, “In loving Memory of Katherine Mangu-Ward 1979 – 2010″
This is what …
This is what happened to Tilt. Man I miss getting “tilted”
@ThePenWolf
Yeah, I …
@ThePenWolf
Yeah, I have no clue as to the environment in which I live. Thank you for the cliche B.S. to reinforce my position.
Hatched on Saturday …
Hatched on Saturday, lol…
@Twiggy269 The sad …
@Twiggy269 The sad thing is that street thug shouldn’t have the idea to steal your stuff in the first place. And you promote his idea of violence just by promoting your own. It’s the domino effect, You start carrying handguns to protect yourself and they start carrying handguns, so on and so fourth. It’s very flawed to view they world as imperfect when the viewpoint in question is what makes the world imperfect when the world is shaped by ideas and flaws and not by a set standard.
fury, if I am to …
fury, if I am to intrepret your statement literally, it would lead me to have to assume that you are an anarchist, since government is always immoral. Also, that you believe it is never justified to carry out an act of retaliatory violence, (i.e. police arresting someone for a violation of another’s rights) So, basically you are a total pacifist, who would get eaten alive in the system you aspire to have.