EVERYBODY WILL LOVE PHIL . . .
New Netflix series a treat in many ways
Ah, tequila. Perhaps you remember knocking the stuff back at some dodgy club in Fourways/ Claremont/florida Road/ Grahamstown (choose applicable den of iniquity). Most likely, you don’t.
But times are a-changing, and the Mexican spirit is moving with them — and up in levels of sophistication, at that. In fact, if you had to call a major trend in the world of booze, it would be that tequila is the new drink of choice.
“What?” we hear you gasp. “That stuff that tastes like hospital disinfectant?” Yip. But don’t take our word for it. Ask George Clooney. Last year, he sold his high-end tequila brand Casamigos to alcohol house Diageo for Us$1bn. And to kick off 2018, Bacardi bought premium tequila brand Patrón in a deal that put its value at $5.1bn. So you get the gist.
But the trick here is twofold. First, to really be on-trend (and dare we say extremely pretentious), you’ve got to seek out the artisanal, niche stuff — the kind you can casually drop into a conversation and sound as if you’ve been distilling agave nectar (that’s what the fiery liquor is made from) for yourself in Guadalajara, Mexico, for years now. Second, you do not do tequila shooters. You sip it, as you would any other quality drink.
This is where Fortaleza comes in, because it’s now available in SA. It is a small-batch, hand-crafted, 100% agave tequila that comes from the aptly named town of Tequila, in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
The small family-owned distillery, located on the slopes of an extinct volcano among maturing blue agave plants, is where fifth-generation tequila maker Guillermo Erickson Sauza makes tequila — using the same production methods employed by his forefathers.
From a cachet perspective, it’s exactly what you need. And, because we have tried it, we can say it tastes extremely (surprisingly) good; it’s smooth and dangerously easy to drink.
There are three varieties available. They will all look good in your liquor cabinet and are for sale at Norman Goodfellows, Makro and other bottle stores nationwide.
Okay, so first off — and take our word for it — you’ve got to get through the utterly peculiar opening song of the new Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil, and then you will enjoy it. The tune is creepily reminiscent of the one that opened the 1990s cheese extravaganza, America’s Funniest Home Videos.
Banish thoughts of this gaffcentred show and its awkward host, Bob Saget, because the intro song is the low point, and one that will be instantly forgotten when you meet Phil Rosenthal. He’s the guy the six-part series is named for.
The (literally) wide-eyed and effervescent Rosenthal was the creator of long-running sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, so he’s a smart and funny guy. This is evident from the culinary journey he embarks upon for the show. He eats his way through Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Saigon, Mexico City, New Orleans and Bangkok.
Each episode is a smorgasbord of treats, food, people, cultures and the good side of humanity — which, unsurprisingly, is often linked to sharing a meal and a table. Rosenthal meets up with old friends, he makes new ones, he laughs a lot and he Skypes his totally classic mom and dad, who are back home in their US apartment. He’s a real mensch and he makes you want to travel. And eat. A lot.