Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Maybe he just didn't *feel* the gout as much

John Foster Dulles's antagonism towards Reds didn't spill over re: reds; he was quite the wine aficionado.
By the time he became Secretary of State, however, his doctors, concerned with his gout, had forbidden him both wine and cigars; for the former he seemed to find an acceptable substitute in Overholt rye ....
-- Townsend Hoopes, The Devil and John Foster Dulles, at 40.

Rye whiskey, more healthy than wine! (But come on, really - did that help?)

8 comments:

  1. Very cheap rye, though. At least at present.

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  2. Yah, it's supposed to be a classic, but I don't know if it was better before Jim Beam took it over.

    Anyway, $11 a bottle is what I need for my Manhattan addiction. Gonna have to lay off the Old-Fashioneds; there's enough calories in alcohol without adding sugar.

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  3. You may not want to acquire this taste, but the Bullet rye now on the market makes the best Manhattan I've ever had. Previously, I'd preferred the Jim Beam to far pricier ones.

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  4. Really? I haven't seen the rye, just the bourbon. Rye is strangely hard to find, given how many drinks one makes with it. Will have to try it, though my budget will probably keep the Overholt my "daily" rye. Thanks!

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  5. The Bullett is like $24, the Beam like $16. Is Overholt <$11? The Beam is still my "non-premium" pick.

    A fad for Manhattans in Oxford provoked by Jack Pendarvis and me (Pendarvis is more influential because the MFA students who want to grow up to be Jack) has got rye suddenly available everywhere in town.

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  6. OH, and next time you are at Martins in New Orleans BUY THE LUXARDO CHERRIES. They claim to have invented Marschino cherries. Their cherries are canned in cherry juice and have an incredibly intense wonderful flavor. Expensive-- $16 a jar-- but they are smallish and packed full in the jar; I've got a jar I've been working on, with regular usage (including taking it to a party to make the drinks) since mid-July.

    A life without these is a diminished life.

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  7. Beam is what I was drinking before I found some local Overholt. I will have to do a taste-test.

    Very happy that you and Jack are bringing some culture to the area. I recall Ajax always had rye.

    My wife was sorry we didn't go to Martin's last trip -- she wanted to visit the deli -- so it won't be too hard to get there, I reckon. They're just in Metairie now, right?

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  8. Martin's on Magazine was still there in July. At some point, they are reopening the big location that has been closed since Katrina.

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