Newsdesk: what's in a name?

This week's links don't know what you should call them, in case they sound like a dick.

• After all, the word "mixologist" has a decent amount of history behind it, not that it stops the discussion. Just don't say bar-chef. That'll get you a slap.
• Table Matters looks at the evolution of the Martini, while the WSJ looks back at the Whiskey Sour (the Katherine Hepburn of drinks? That'd make a Martini, who? Audrey Hepburn? Negroni - Federico Fellini, that's easy. Long Island Iced Tea - Pete Doherty? OK, stop now.)
• Proving once again that men of God really know their stuff when it comes to booze, workers at an English monastery reckon they've recreated the secret recipe of Chartreuse. It doesn't stop with closely-guarded herbal liqueurs - they're even making whisky now. [Via just-drinks and the Edinburgh Whisky Blog]
• Beam Global launches what it calls "the first boxed margarita cocktail in the U.S. market containing real tequila". Which is kinda terrifying - how many house parties have been fueled by the placebo effect?
• Intriguingly, the Times has just put up a separate Drinks page in the Food & Drink section of their website, including a lovely piece on the attraction of a well-made cocktail.
• The week in shame: UK teenagers leading Europe in problem drinking. Hey, at least we're no. 1 at something! No? Just knock it on the head, then? After all, giving up booze would transform the UK - and you can probably guess what we'd change into.

Twelve: Kitchen Special No. 1

Being honest, I'm pretty cocktailed out at the moment. We're just put the finishing touches to a new drinks menu at work - featuring some of the drinks I've posted here - and I've been making the most of not thinking about combinations of spirits and liqueurs. That said, there are still times when I do want something a little more exciting than a beer or spirit/mixer. The problem here is that I'm genuinely awful at keeping my kitchen stocked. I'd save a pile of money if I actually planned meals rather than getting takeaways or eating at work. So, using whatever I had lying around the kitchen...

Kitchen Special No. 1

45ml Amsterdamsche Oude Genever
15ml Punt E Mes
15ml Elderflower Cordial
1 dash egg white

Shake all ingredients with ice and fine-strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon zest if you've remembered to go shopping this week.

Newsdesk: best in Britain

This edition of Newsdesk is sponsored by local pride coloured with a touch of envy.

• Lots of lovely things have been written about Bramble down on Queen Street, all of which are annoyingly true. So, congratulations to the team on winning Best Place to Drink in the 2009 Observer Food Monthly Awards.
• The other things Scots are good at? Dying from drink-related problems no matter where they go.
• The BBC hit up New York's cocktailians for demos of historic drinks (Not sure how well iPlayer embeds work outside of the UK - let me know if the video works overseas).
• Over at Proof, what your favourite drink says about you.
• On creation - not the divisive theological kind, more the fun, drinky kind - though there's a solid theoretical base to all the artistry.
• The New York Times happens across Paris' Experimental Cocktail Club. Coincidence, or are they following the Cocktail Guru?

Eleven: Spring Orchard

We've just finished putting together a new cocktail program for the Paris bar at work and everytime we take on this kind of exercise, there's a point when someone says "we need x cocktails with this spirit in them," because we're only ever going to have y drinks ready, and y is always a number less than x. But, that thing they say about necessity? It's true. This drink also ended up being a chance to use Galliano. It's one of the those bottles that seems to be on almost every backbar without seeing a lot of use, and it's one that always prompts curiosity whenever I pick it up. The overriding flavour is vanilla, but there are also hints of anise and citrus which makes it an interesting alternative to vanilla-flavoured vodkas.

Spring Orchard

1/8th green apple (muddled)
25ml vodka
12.5ml Galliano
25ml red grape juice
12.5ml lime juice
1 barspoon elderflower cordial

Muddle apple in the base of a shaker. Add the liquids and shake. Fine-strain into a chilled champagne flute and garnish with an apple slice on the rim.

Newsdesk: maximising the minimums

(Graphic from BBC News.) This week's news is minimum drink pricing, because you can't keep a controversial public health policy down.

• While Holyrood has forced the Scottish Government to delay the introduction of minimum pricing north of the border, the UK's Chief Medical Officer has suggested that Westminster implement a similar scheme to combat problem drinkers (PDF link). Sir Liam Donaldson's recommendation - charging at least 50p per unit of alcohol - has met with resistance from the Prime Minister, but he's determined to fight on. Unsurprisingly, the drinks industry believes self-regulation to be the solution, but there are those beginning to wonder if something drastic should be done. Then again, there are those beginning to wonder if a new age of puritanism will actually help, and there are those who can always see the upside.

(Happy St Patrick's Day!... by shannonpatrick17, licensed under Creative Commons.)

• Of course, all of this breaks in the 24 hours ahead of St. Patrick's Day (a.k.a Amateur Night) which is as good a time as any to celebrate 250 years of Guinness.
• Over in Indonesia, it's not how much they're charging for booze: it's where they're serving it as the Buddha Bar in Jakarta faces allegations of religious insensitivity and corruption.