Posted in Cocktail magazine Edition No.46 November 2021
It's said that the Roman Emperor Marck Antony always had a food taster by his side, so I went to look for information and found this story I share with you, an example of a food taster doing his job.
"Although the couple undoubtedly count among the most famous lovers in ancient history, it seems that they distrusted each other. According to Pliny, during the time that led up to the fateful Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Marck Antony had a food taster at hand at all times, as he distrusted Cleopatra and was worried about the possibility of her poisoning him when he was no longer of any use to her. Pliny goes on to say that Cleopatra found this amusing and decided to have fun at her lover's expense. In this way, at a banquet, she wore a floral diadem on her head whose ends had been dipped in poison. As the party went on and the mood became more cheerful, Cleopatra challenged her lover to swallow the flowers mixed with wine. Marck Antony could not refuse the challenge and almost drank the poisoned wine, but the queen stopped him. Cleopatra then called her food taster, who, needless to say, died after drinking the wine. Thus, Cleopatra demonstrated to Marck Antony that the best precaution he could take not to be poisoned was to trust her."
This business of poisons leads me to the book by V.S. Alexander "The Taster of Hitler" which deals with the topic of food tasters, the story of Magda who goes through a series of physical and mental exams to be named one of the tasters of the Führer's food. The poisons they practiced with were in the kitchen, mushrooms, arsenic, mercury, and cyanide, and the tasters had access to them, so their lives and loyalty to Hitler were put to the test every day. "Your work is important, perhaps one of the most important jobs in the Reich. You are the barrier that separates Hitler from death. Always remember that."
We know that the trade of wine tasting became known and gained more strength thanks to the monks and friars who dedicated themselves to the production of wines during the Middle Ages, the purpose of the tasting was to determine which wines had the best characteristics and which did not. In Peru, tasters or "mojoneros" date back to the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century, where the consumption of wine was important according to historical information, not only because of its use in the Eucharist (mass), but also in its consumption and the large number of bars that existed in the Viceroyalty. This led to the organization of tasting panels to avoid adulteration, indicating the importance of the taster's profession. Additionally, in those times Peru was the first wine producer in this part of the continent, production concentrated in the regions of Arequipa and Moquegua at least until the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano. After that phenomenon, climate changes followed by prohibitions on the export of wine to Spain began the production of our spirit, Pisco. Remember, always drink responsibly.
Until next time!
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo"
Pisco & music
Spanish version
In Cocktail magazine Edition No.46 November 05 / 2021
November 2021
Translation assistance was provided by a language AI translation tool
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