Brunch: pre-yardarm drinking

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Brunch: pre-yardarm drinking

From: Mark
Category: Drink & Food
Date: 12/05/2007
Time: 10:41:32

Okay – so drinking before the sun has past the yardarm¹ will have Drink Aware in a spin, but a sensible tipple with any meal can be is as much a part of the a day as it is a part of cultures crossing the globe². Although there is no rule of thumb spirits (Brandy de Jerez) and fizz (Champagne) have been the preserve of the early or light breakfast. In my book, the later you go the longer the drink. By the time you approach the Noon-day gun then its the long cocktails that work best across the massive spectrum of breakfast-lunch fusions.

Top tips:

A couple of hours after waking you are at your most alert and if you are hungry then your sense of taste will also be sharpest.
Chose a drink that is harmonious or contrasts your meal – for instance something sour or acidic to cut a food’s richness like a Pisco Sour, Sea Breeze or Mojito; or a full throttle Bloody Mary to match your spicy Huevos Rancheros.
Acidity can be the key to a successful brunch drink. However, much commercial wine today is lower in acid meaning they pair less well with food because the wine loses its ability to become a ‘foil’ against a broader range of flavours and textures.
Fizz is good with eggs because the bubbles deal well with runny yolks that coat the palate that makes still white wine taste sharp and lean. White or Cloudy beers go very well with eggs too!
Italian pink grapefruit granita: try Prosecco or uber expensive Franciacorta. The bubbles and citric-malic style of these wine gives extra zing to these sorbets. However, by way of contrast, you might want to try something hot.
American hot cakes: Vicar’s Coffee. The caffeine and whisky jolt is a perfect match!
Aussie banana bread: try Banana Bread Beer from Charles Wells brewers (available from Darts Farm).
Russian Blinis. Common sense says fizz rather than vodka at this time of day but try it as a Mimosa or a Bellini cocktail.
Congee or Thai Porridge can have an infinite range of flavours added to its rice-gruel base. I would keep to grain-based drinks. If it is of a more neutral flavour then I would go for a Thai beer such as Singha or Chang. If the congee has bigger, richer flavours then go for a sour Lambic Gueuze, Morte Subite (Belgian) or an Eisbock (German).
One drink may put a smile on the day, two may signal a long afternoon!

Note:
1. The yardarms on a sailing ship are the horizontal spars on a mast. At certain times of year the sun will have risen far enough so it passes across the topmost yardarm. In the north Atlantic in the summer, where the phrase seems to have originated, this would be about 11am. This was, by custom, the time of the first issue of rum of the day to the sailors. It seems that naval officers adopted this even when on shore and waited until this time before taking their first drink of the day.
2. 'Drinking Occasions: Comparative Perspectives on Alcohol and Culture' by Dwight B. Heath