Humour

A Hungarian and a Spanish descendant had a discussion about the virtues and pitfalls of Aniseed based alcohol.The Spaniard should, but probably won’t, bow to the wisdom of the Hungarian – and avoid these mischief inducing drinks.

Talking about furlongs after reporter assignments in peace keeping countries lead to the story of a Liverpudlian and an Irishman, trying to make homemade ouzo with a rotted out hot water tank. The tank didn’t survive.

For those of you that haven’t fallen off the fence yet, here is a little ed-u-ma-ka-shun on these temptations:

Aquavit, from Scandinavia
Absinthe, popular throughout Europe
Arak, or Araq, the traditional in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Turkey and Syria. This is what got the Hungarian in such trouble
Aguardiente from Columbia
Mastika, a drink in the Balans
Ouzo, or Tshipiro is favoured by the Greeks – what gets the Spaniard dancing on tables
Pastis, a drink in France
Rakı, a Turkish drink
Sambuca, a drink in Italy
Xtabentún, a liqueur from Mexico
Anis, popular in Spain. Two varieties: “seco” or dry and “dulce” which is more sweet.

The clouding they exhibit on addition of water is called louching. It’s also a fast way to tell if the bartender has already watered down your drink. Watch the expression on his face as you slowly add drops of water to the glass. Either he will pour you a new one from a different bottle, or, he’ll cut your bill in half.