Danger Diabolik (1968) Part II May 26, 2020

Hey peeps, welcome back to the next edition of SiscoVanilla at the Movies. I hope everyone is healthy and safe. For today's post, I'm going back to the Italian heist film Danger Diabolik that was directed by Mario Bava and starred John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli and Adolfo Celi.

In this scene, the movie has progressed quite a bit in the plot to try to catch Diabolik (John Phillip Law) by gangster Valmont (Adolfo Celi.) The party is always on with Valmont with booze free flowing. Whether it be on his plane, at his apartment or at his pool, Valmont always has a cool cocktail within reach.

In addition, Valmont is accompanied by his gun moll Rose (Annie Gorassini) who joins him drink in hand. 

 

As with the last post Danger Diabolik (1968) Part I May 1, 2020, I find that these movies are a great time capsule of sorts, especially when it comes to popular booze. Take a look at the picture below:

Again, as with the last post, Valmont has a variety of spirits available at his disposal. One particular bottle stands out to me: the Noilly Prat Original Dry.

Noilly Prat Original Dry is a French Vermouth that was created in 1813 by Joseph Noilly in Lyon, France. The aperitif clocks in at 18% abv (36 proof) and is described as such on the Noilly Prat website:

20 different herbs and spices are sourced all around the world to make Noilly Prat Original Dry. Among them Chamomile, Coriander from Morocco, Bitter Oranges from Tunisia, Cardamom from India, or Elderflower. Noilly Prat Original Dry is ideal served as L’Apéritif and paired with seafood, such as oysters.

The website recommends that you enjoy their Noilly Prat Original Dry an a L'Apéritif Original Dry on Ice, Original Dry Le Sud (with chilled Perrier) and in a 50:50 Martini Cocktail. Noilly Prat also makes an Extra Dry Bianco Vermouth, an Ambré Vermouth and a Rouge Vermouth.


Since I mentioned the pool earlier, I wanted to show you gals and guys how Valmont spends his time while in the pool. 

This dude has a floating bar with his personal bartender at his beck and call !!! Let's take a closer look to see what spirits he has on the bar.

Aside from fruits, snacks and an ice bucket, I see that he has a bottle of Dewars "White Label" Scotch Whisky.

This brand is the rare spirit that worldwide is referred to by the color of its label instead of its company name. If someone orders a scotch and soda, a bartender might ask: "You have a preference? or What Scotch would you like?" But if you order said drink as a "White Label" and soda, then we know what it is that you want. The story starts with the birth of John Dewar in 1806 in Perthshire, Scotland.

As a young man, Dewar went to work for a relative in Perth, Scotland who was a wine and spirit merchant. Dewar showed his value to the company by moving up the ranks, becoming a partner in the company in 1837. By 1846, he left the company to start his own business. According to page 207 of the Schweppes Guide to Scotch by Philip Morrice:

He began to blend and bottle his own whisky in a modest way and sought sales beyond Perth. Indeed, one of Dewar's many claims to fame is that they were the first to sell whisky in branded bottles.

Dewar's son, John Alexander Dewar would become a partner in the firm in 1879 and younger son, Thomas, would become partner in 1885. John Alexander was the analytical of the two brothers while Tommy was a showman who would have probably been quite comfortable with product branding and sales in today's social media forward market.

One story has Tommy employing bagpipers at a trades how to drown out the other vendors and draw attention to his products. Tommy also went on a worldwide tour which he kept a journal about  known as 'A Ramble Round the Globe' to bring his whisky to new markets. You can read the book via the Internet Archive courtesy of Google Books: 'A Ramble Round the Globe.' The article Tommy Dewar: A Ramble Round The Globe from the Kingdom Golf website highlights the trip. This leads into another story.  

This one has Tommy in New York City in 1892. He's at a bar and orders a tall glass of his company's whisky with soda and ice. This led to the creation of the Original Highball better known today as the scotch an soda. By 1902, Dewar's would trademark the term "High Ball." Not to be overshadowed by his younger brother, John Alexander would also make waves in his own ways.

In 1893, John Alexander was able to secure the Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria for the John Dewar and Sons whisky brand. In doing so, this would be the first time that a blended Scotch whisky would earn such a designation. One that it still holds today. Both brothers were like two sides of the same coin: John Alexander had the seniority with Tommy as the face of the company. Both brothers helped to make the John Dewar and Sons LTD a worldwide recognized brand.

Another key addition to the John Dewar and Sons team was with the arrival of A.J. Cameron in 1890. Cameron would start as a desk clerk, working his way up to the position of Master Blender. What influence did Cameron have with the Dewar's White Label offering? According to the Dewar's "White Label" website: 

In 1899, a year after production commenced at Dewar’s new distillery, Aberfeldy, A.J. Cameron created the now-iconic Dewar’s White Label. Over the next 120 years our flagship blend established itself as one of the leading blended Scotch whiskies worldwide.    

Since 2006, all of Dewar's blended scotches are blended by Stephanie Macleod the first female Master Blender in Dewar's history and the seventh Master Blender. Macleod would join the company in 1998 and like Master Blender Cameron, Macleod would work her way up the ranks. She started in quality control eventually rising to the position of Master Blender.

John Dewar and Sons has scotch whisky blends from their flagship "White Label" to their Double Double 32-Year-Old. I personally liked the Dewars 12 (when I drank spirits.) My dad on the other hand used to drink the White Label along with Cutty Sark back in the day. Which one is your favorite? Drop me a line in the comment box and let me know.

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking,
SiscoVanilla

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Danger Diabolik (1968) Part I May 1, 2020

Today's SiscoVanilla at the Movies post focuses on the European heist film Danger: Diabolik from 1968.

The film was directed by famed Italian director Mario Bava and starred John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli and Adolfo Celi. The movie is described as so by Rotten Tomatoes:

Diabolik (John Phillip Law) is the criminal mastermind who has just pulled off a huge heist. He spends most of his free time with his girlfriend, Eva (Marisa Mell), in fond embrace. The police minister (Terry-Thomas) is approached by Valmont (Adolfo Celi), a master criminal who proposes to use his underworld connections to catch Diabolik for the police. In between their gratuitous lovemaking, he and the exotic Eva are chased by police and the mob in this plodding crime drama.

A non booze fact about the Danger: Diabolik movie that I came upon is very interesting. The source material that movie it is based on comes from the Italian comic book of the same name that was created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani. The comic was first published in November 1962. For more information, I recommend that you check out the Diabolik website. On to the movie. 

I love these 1960's films when it comes to booze and beer references. To me they are something of a time capsule in seeing what products were popular at the time. What was popular in the 1960's might have fallen out of style decades later and gotten back into style even later.

It takes a while before we get down to some drinking. Mobster Valmont is holding a meeting of mob syndicate members on his yacht and it is here where some interesting liquor brands can be found.

I zoom into the liquor bottles for a better view of the selection:

From what I can tell Valmont provides a nice variety of spirits for his guests to enjoy. I see a Martell Three Star Cognac, Gordon's Gin, Tio Pepe Sherry, Jim Beam Bourbon, Punt e Mes Vermouth Rosso, Martini Vermouth Blanc and a bottle of Buchanan Black and White Scotch Whisky that Valmont is holding and drinking from. I'm going to focus on the following brands:

Martell Three Star Cognac

The Martell distillery has been in operation since 1715 in Charente, in the Cognac region of France. Distilery founder Jean Martell (1694-1753) was from a family of merchants that were based on the isle of Jersey. Martell emigrated to France and set up a trading house and later a distillery that would become known as the House of Martell. 

The Martell Three-Star Cognac (now known as the Martell V.S.) comes in at 80 proof/40% abv. As per the listing Martell V.S. Cognac from the Difford's Guide website:

Martell's 'Very Special' cognac was created in the middle of the 19th century and is one of the most recognizable bottles in the world. It is blended from eaux-de-vie, mainly from Fins Bois, a Cognac region noted for its quick maturation so giving this V.S. a fruity charter. Martel V.S. is blended from 20 to 30 eaux-de-vie which are typically matured for a little over two years. 

Click on the link for the Martell V.S. Cognac for a more in depth flavor review. To learn more about the house of Martell, I recommend that you read the article Profile: The House of Martell from the Luxury Insider Magazine website dated November 16, 2011. I also go into detail on the concept of Bon Bois and Fins Bois in my post Ian Fleming's Goldfinger (1964) Part I from February 3, 2014.

Tio Pepe Sherry

Tio Pepe is the world's best selling sherry brand that is made from palomino fino grapes. The Jerez region of southern Spain has a special kind of chalky soil that the palomino fino grapes thrive in. Tio Pepe is best known for its best known for its fino style of dry sherry which is aged for a minimum of 5 years. It comes in at 30 proof/15% abv. The name for the brand comes from the founder of Tio Pepe's parent company González Byass. 

In 1841 Manuel Maria González Angel named his pale very dry white wine after his "Tio Pepe." Why? According to the article 175 años de constancia by Juan Pedro Simo from El Diario de Jerez dated July 4, 2010:

EL TÍO PEPE ’. The winery is going from strength to strength. So much success without knowing anything about wines seemed like a miracle. There was a character behind: José Ángel de la Peña, Manuel María's uncle, who introduced him to wine and business. In compensation, MM gave his counselor a small cellar to grow a fine wine to his liking. José Ángel did what he asked and only demanded that he give him the keys to enter and leave as he pleased. Some time later Byass sent several batches to London as a sample and the results were excellent. So effective was his reception among consumers that MM himself approached one day to his uncle's little cellar to write on one of his boots: 'Solera Tío Pepe'. There is, therefore, a ‘Tío Pepe’ of flesh and blood. This was the little story of the birth of the most universal fine of González Byass (translated from Spanish.)

For a review of Tio Pepe Sherry, check out the post Review: Tio Pepe Fino Sherry by Adam Teeter from Vinepair website.

Carpano Punt e Mes 

Punt e Mes is an Italian aromatized wine that is described by Punch in their post Bringing it Back Bar: What to Do With Punt e Mes as an aperitif that "straddles the line between sweet Italian vermouth and amaro." The name Punt e Mas comes from its origin story. According to the Carpano website for Punt e Mes:

"The story goes that on 19 April 1870 , a stockbroker, caught up in a discussion with colleagues whilst in the Carpano wine shop about the increase in share prices on that day – one and a half points – ordered his usual Carpano vermouth but asked for the barman to add half a measure of bitter, using the regional expression “Punt e Mes”. The drink immediately became popular as an aperitif before lunch, as recalled by the barman of the time Maurizio Boeris."

The taste and texture of the Punt e Mes is described by Carpano as follows:

"Punt e Mes has a golden orange color with topaz tones, herby aromas and dark red, black dahlia with vermilion shades. The initial taste is one of sweetness, characterised by an intriguing accent of orange. This is followed by the characteristically bitter taste of the quina and ends on a sweet note."

Punt e Mes clocks in at 32 proof/16% abv.

For my next post on Danger Diabolik (1968) Part II, I will take a look at one of the world's best known Scotch Whisky brands. This one brings back memories since it is a whisky that my dad would drink when I was a kid: Dewars White Label Scotch Whisky.

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking,
SiscoVanilla

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