The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks (31 page)

GALANGAL

Alpinia officinarum

zingiberaceae (ginger family)

T
he sharp, spicy flavor of this ginger relative has been popular in Chinese, Thai, and Indian cooking for centuries. Its traditional use as a digestive treatment led to its inclusion in early medicinal tonics that later became popular liqueurs. Today it is still found in some vermouths and bitters, and in eastern European herbal liqueurs such as Liqueur Herbert.

As with other gingers, the rhizomes are used in the spice trade. The plant is allowed to grow for four to six years, reaching about eight feet in height, forming a clump of tall stems topped by strappy leaves. The entire root base can be harvested at once, or just a few rhizomes can be dug out around the edges.

Although several related plants are referred to as galangal, the so-called lesser galangal,
Alpinia officinarum,
is the species recognized as a safe ingredient by the FDA. Other species include greater galangal,
A. galangal,
and
Kaempferia galangal,
sometimes called resurrection lily. All three grow in tropical climates and produce pink and white blossoms that resemble a spray of orchids or tuberose.

GENTIAN

Gentiana lutea

gentianaceae (gentian family)

W
ithout this tall yellow flower that grows wild in French alpine meadows, any number of classic cocktails would not exist. The Manhattan, the Negroni, and the Old-Fashioned all rely on the bitterness of gentian. Angostura bitters, a staple ingredient found in even the most poorly stocked bars, contains gentian and even broadcasts that fact on the label. Many of the most famous European
amaro
s and liqueurs set aside their secrecy and plainly claim gentian as a key ingredient. Campari, Aperol, Suze, Amaro Averna, and the aptly named Gentiane are just a few of the hundreds of spirits that depend on this plant for bitterness.

Its medicinal use dates back at least three thousand years. Egyptian papyrus from 1200 BC documents its use as a medicine, and it has been continuously used since then. Pliny the Elder wrote that gentian owes its name to King Gentius, ruler from 181 to 168 BC of a Roman province that is now part of Albania.

Gentians are not easy to cultivate. Each species prefers a very specific climate and soil type; many detest rich, loamy garden soil and resist transplanting. Of the over three hundred species identified, only a dozen or so actually do well in gardens. Yellow gentian in particular prefers alpine meadows to farmland; it is protected in parts of Europe and wild harvesting is subject to strict controls. (A poisonous look-alike,
Veratrum album,
also makes foraging for gentian a dangerous pursuit for amateurs.)

One of the reasons wild gentian requires protection is that the root is used in liqueurs and medicine; there is no way to harvest it without digging up the entire plant. The bitter compounds include gentiopicroside and amarogentin, which modern researchers have investigated for their ability to promote salivation and the production of digestive juices. (No wonder it is an ingredient in so many aperitifs.) Gentian even has benefits for people undergoing cancer treatments who have difficulty tasting or swallowing food, and it is under investigation as an antimalarial and antifungal drug.

The plant is typically harvested at four or five years of age, when the long, tuberous roots weigh several pounds. Eight tons are collected every year in the Pyrenees alone; far more is harvested in the Alps and nearby Jura mountains. The bitter components reach their peak in springtime and are more prominent in gentian harvested at higher altitudes, making the precise timing and location of the collection critical.

The bracingly strong bitterness of gentian is precisely what makes it so appealing in a liqueur. It acts as a foil to sugars and floral flavors, giving cocktails like the Negroni the backbone they require. Yellow antioxidants called xanthones give gentian liqueurs a natural golden color; this is evident in products like Suze, a white-wine-based gentian aperitif that is well loved in France but only just becoming available in the United States.

Gentian was also a key ingredient in Moxie, a soda that was once more popular than Coca-Cola. Essayist and
Charlotte's Web
author E. B. White once wrote in a letter, “I can still buy Moxie in a tiny supermarket six miles away. Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to a good life. This was known in the second century before Christ, and is a boon to me today.”

GERMANDER

Teucrium chamaedrys

lamiaceae (mint family)

This low-growing perennial herb from the Mediterranean is known to gardeners as an edging plant in knot gardens. With a stiff, upright habit and dark, glossy, narrow leaves followed by spikes of small pink blooms, germander is perfect for marching in a straight line through formal landscapes. The leaves give off a strong herbal fragrance similar to sage, a close relative. Medieval physicians prescribed it for a wide range of ailments, and over time it became a bitter flavoring in vermouths, bitters, and liqueurs.

GINGER