Ahead of us is another session in the series of regular meetings with bar literature expert Tomáš Mozr!
On June 24th, the next Books & Booze event will kick off, this time on the theme How Bars Fell for Citrus.
Looking at something with a sour expression usually doesn’t mean anything good, let alone excitement. And yet citrus fruits are an inseparable part of our lives. Ancient philosophers, Chinese historians, Arab geographers, European aristocrats, doctors, artists, botanists, and breeders have all contributed to the unique place citrus holds in cultural history. To this day, citrus is associated with health and wealth, adventure and exploration. It appears in art, science, literature, religion, and naturally, in the kitchen and at the bar. Citrus fruits cross cultures and continents. In fact, global citrus consumption still surpasses that of bananas and apples. All this—especially the role of citrus in today’s bar scene—will be discussed at the June edition of Books & Booze.
Despite the ancient origins of citrus fruits, the sour side of cocktail history is relatively young. The very first written mention of adding citrus to so-called strong drinks appears in a treatise written in 1576 by the Englishman George Gascoigne.
According to some experts, the origins of the sour cocktail can be traced back to the moment it stepped out from the shadow of punches—the category it once belonged to. And if we were to dig deeper into history, we could undoubtedly go even further. After all, any drink that combines alcohol with a sour component and perhaps a touch of sugar to balance the taste could, with a bit of exaggeration, be considered a sour. The first known written reference to a sour, however, dates to 1856, when it appeared on the menu of a hotel bar in Toronto. It took just two more years for the cocktail’s popularity to rise enough to land it in the pages of the New York Times—this time under the name Brandy Sour.
Sourness, as one of the basic and easily recognizable tastes, clearly reflects the changing nature of bar culture, particularly through the approach of individual bartenders. In the 19th century, the category of “sour” had a very different meaning than it did in the 20th, when the use of citrus evolved from just a couple of dashes of lemon juice to around 20 or 25 milliliters. Tiki cocktails, on the other hand, show us that sometimes one citrus fruit simply isn’t enough, and two or even three are needed.
Did you know that there’s such a thing as a so-called bizarre citrus? In 1672, Cosimo III de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, appointed a local physician named Pietro Nati as director of the botanical gardens in Pisa. Nati caused quite a stir in academic circles when, in his dissertation, he described a type of citrus tree that produced sour oranges, lemons, and other “mixed fruits.” The Italian botanist Giorgio Gallesio later offered a more detailed description of the tree, noting that while it resembled a bitter orange tree—also known as Bigaradia—its leaves and fruits had a hybrid character, somewhere between a sour orange and a lemon. This variety, known as Bizzarria, is believed to have first appeared around 1644 in the western suburbs of Florence. It’s no coincidence that the word “bizarre” can be traced back to the Italian term bizzarro, meaning whimsical, strange, or bold—an apt description for this unusual citrus, which arose from the accidental grafting of a Florentine citron onto a bitter orange tree.
Kdo byli první barmani ve Francii a co o nich víme? Vše začíná v 17. století, kdy se ve Francii naplno rozmáhá nabídka nových exotických ingrediencí z kolonií, které si získávají své nepochybné místo v soudobých podnicích připomínajících dnešní moderní kavárny. Byly známy jako limonadiers a v jejich nabídce byste našli jak kávu, čaj nebo čokoládu, tak staré dobré francouzské nápoje, mezi nimiž byly různé pálenky, ovocné likéry, vína, ochucené limonády a piva. Svého vlastního cechu se provozovatelé limonadiers dočkali v roce 1673, přičemž netrvalo dlouho a již o tři roky později cech a jeho práva oficiálně uznal král Ludvík XIV. A jak jméno napovídá, hlavní sortimentem nabízeným zákazníkům byly ony osvěžující sladkokyselé limonády.
You will also have the opportunity to taste some cocktails supported by the brands: Ferrand Dry Curaçao, Ferrand 10 Générations.
You will learn about this and much more when you join us on June 24, 2025!
Tomas and the Alcron Bar team will always welcome guests in two waves. The first from 17:00 and the second from 19:00, when guests can join at any time.
Everyone who wants to explore the secrets of the world of cocktails and bar culture is cordially invited, and this unique event is open to everyone for FREE! And that’s why you really shouldn’t miss this event!
Will you take part in six of the twelve themed evenings? You will then become a unique member of the “Friends of Alcron” group and look forward to surprises.
For more information, please contact Alcron Bar at: alcron.bar@almanachotels.com or check out: BOOKS & BOOZE with Tomáš Mozr | Alcron (alcronprague.cz)