Cherries by the Bottle
Since when did the low-class hooch known as kirsch become the stuff of the connoisseur’s table? That’s a question that underscores Eric Felten’s recent “How’s Your Drink?” column in the Wall Street Journal.
Distilled from fermented cherries, pits and all, kirsch is part of the larger category of eau de vie—fruit brandies, typically unaged, that are dry in flavor and intensely aromatic. As Felten points out, a century ago kirsch was, when paired with coffee, a not-uncommon French workingman’s lunch, and the stuff drunk by criminals in grubby Parisian bars.
