I do drink quite little, in fact it does bother my stomach so much that I do usually avoid. Most of this is though related to the fact that most of the spirits today contain such a lot of chemistry that it is almost impossible to get anything pure. I was even horrified when I read that there were some boasting themselves with what in Spain is simply called ‘adulteración de vino’ (nothing to do with adultery … although … although), in any case meaning that you have put something into the wine or other spirit that is not naturally inside. The very fact of putting sugar into a wine is thus some kind of adultery for a Spaniard. (Very moral.) Rothschild wine family z (there are at least two I know, but there must be more) does thus proudly claim in a web site that their wine is the result of a mixture of grapes (!!!!) and the intelligent use of … chemistry. (Results are horrible by the way.) After, they say that the bottle the wine is in is worth at least 200 USD or more. Drinking the bottle, Rothschilds?

There is little natural wine left over, and thus it could be of interest to know that there is some very good natural white wine in Hungary (next to the border with Austria), and quite good in Spain, white in Jerez and red in Rioja (but you have to know, not all that shines is gold). By the way, the grapes of Jerez are the oldest of the world, they came from Greece a few thousand years ago and … do not exist in Greece anymore. From there, the famous Sherry, which is nothing but a bad pronounciation of the Spanish Jerez.

Highly recomendable is though the Spanish brandy, there are several good brands of. ‘Duque de Alba’ or ‘Cardenal Mendoza’ do not hit the mind as much as second class rum or whisky. My mother’s recomendation:1. don’t smoke while drinking, it makes you less drunk. 2. don’t mix up alcohol with sugar, it gives horrible headache 3. white (transparent) spirits as rum, tequila, vodka do have less side effects than ’colored’ spirits.

Don’t ask me where she got all that wisdom from: must have been inherent. (I must though say that I have tested, and that it is true.)

Related bad joke on Rothschilds: “They went as far as to put adultery even in wines ….” (Metieron el adulterio hasta en el vino.)

Ah! And if you wasnt to get through a hangover without much pain, take a colombian ‘changua’ soup. Receipt under request …