For the first time in its history, Fleishigs has published an issue focussed on beverages. The 39th such publication, the August 2022 issue of the magazine is the 2022 Drinks Issue.
As the magazine’s editor, Shifra Klein, writes in her editor’s letter, “we are all about celebrating happy occasions through food, but we never dedicated an issue to drinks and drinks alone. In fact, this type of issue has never been done before…” (p. 10). Klein further writes, “Every occasion is worth celebrating and this issue is all about celebrating life and the many happy occasions that come along with it. We were joined by master mixologist Jake Niman, who provided an entire handbook on everything you need to know about cocktails, from basic recipes and customization options to essential tools and ingredients. Champagne is the most celebratory wine of them all, so our resident wine connoisseur Gabriel Geller highlighted five varieties that I used to create bubbly recipes perfect for a crowd” (p. 10). While the drinks take center stage, it is not solely focussed on beverages, as Klein observes, “When we decided to make a drinks issue, we went all in exclusively with drinks, but a few food recipes snuck their way in…” (p. 10).
While not all of the beverages discussed in this issue were of the alcoholic variety, there were still quite a few. In fact, of the recipes included in this issue, 15 of them were for alcoholic mixed drinks, while there were 17 recipes for non-alcoholic mixed drinks, and 4 recipes for foods involving alcohol in their preparation.
Articles included “Cookbooks for the Aspiring Bartender” on page 14 with five suggestions for books on bartending by Dovid Statman, guest on episode 81 of The Jewish Drinking Show; Shifra Klein’s “Trends” on various beverage trends – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic – on pages 17-19; suggestions for five sparkling wines on pages 84-85 by Gabriel Geller, guest on episode 42 of The Jewish Drinking Show; Shifra Klein’s “We Are the Champagnes My Friends and We Mean to Go on and On and On and On” on pages 86-90 on three recipes for mixed drinks involving champagne; “Shifra Klein Presents: Beers That Aren’t Scary” on pages 93-98, featuring three mixed drinks involving beer; and Yael Geller’s “Open the Draps” on pages 113-114 on Drappier champagne.
A fascinating section, entitled “Cocktails: The Handbook” stands apart taking up 20 pages (pp. 60-79), featuring recipes for cocktails (“Get Into the Mix of Things”), tips for glassware, tips for items to use, as well as recommendations for certain ingredients to incorporate in making cocktails. With writing by Naomi Ross and pictures featuring Niman, this is certainly a fantastic, brief, helpful, and, yes, wonderfully well-presented section.
In fact, the photography stands out as Schneur Menaker provides an absolutely outstanding visual array of beautiful photography throughout the pages of the issue, which is typical of the magazine, but still should not be taken for granted.
One further item which I found fascinating was the amount of alcohol-related advertisements adorning the pages of the issue, which seemed to be high for the magazine, but very appropriate considering the content of the issue. There was even a two-page spread featuring Misceo liqueur in various recipes, which was quite well-done.
Disclosure: a digital copy of the issue was sent to Jewish Drinking for review purposes.
