Matt's Miscellany

Springbank 10 year old 100°

2010-12-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

Springbank 10 year old 100°
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 50%
Other: Non chill filtered, no color added.
Region: Campbeltown
Price: $50
Availability: Readily available

Springbank is the best-known Campbeltown distillery and essentially sets the standard for that small whisky region. In addition to their namesake line of single malts, they produce a highly peated version known as Longrow, named for a nearby distillery that closed in 1896. Springbank is one of few distilleries (if not the only one) these days in which the floor malting, distillation, maturation and bottling are all done on the premises.

This version is bottled at a fairly high 100° which allows you to add water as you see fit (I usually drink neat or with only the slightest drop of water) . Springbank also offers a standard 10 year old at 92°. As with other Springbanks, this is admirably bottled without added color or chill-filtration.

Tasting Notes
Color
pale straw
Nose
Butterscotch and banana notes with modest peat smoke. Buttered popcorn.
Flavor
Medium-bodied. Palate entry is sweet butterscotch again with a tangy mid-palate and a hot, spicy finish with some medium peat. Full flavored and nicely balanced.
Finish
Long and spicy with medium smokiness
Rating
90

Overall impression and notes: I've enjoyed every malt I have tasted from this distillery and this is no exception. While the proof is fairly high at 50% abv, this malt is eminently enjoyable with or without added water and has some very interesting and full flavors for a 10 year old.

Old Pulteney 12 year old

2010-12-14T20:47:00.000-08:00

Old Pulteney 12 year old
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 43%
Region: Highlands
Price: $30
Availability: Readily available in specialty shops

Old Pulteney, located in the town of Wick, is the most northerly whisky distillery on the Scottish mainland. It sits on the east coast about 40 miles northeast of the Clynelish distillery. Both distilleries produce whiskies praised by connoisseurs as having a "maritime" character. Old Pulteney is known as the "Manzanilla of the North" in reference to the famous, delicate fino sherry produced in the coastal Spanish town Sanlucar de Barrameda.

According to the bottle sleeve, the stills are quite odd: the wash has no swan neck and it is thought that when the original still was delivered, it was too tall for the stillhouse and the manager insisted it was "cut off". The spirit still resembles a "smuggler's kettle" and both undoubtedly contribute to the distinctive character of the whisky. I found pictures of both stills in this informative post here and there is little question that they were jury rigged to fit within the constraints of the premises.

Tasting Notes
Color
Medium amber with a reddish tinge
Nose
Bright and fruity (apricot), light sherry oak. Butterscotch candies
Flavor
Starts out deceptively medium-bodied and round, with a sweet richness which dissolves into a light-bodied, mouthwatering, spicy finish. Some bitter orange, more apricot. Flavors are light and delicate.

Finish
Medium, spicy, warming

Rating
87

Overall impression and notes: This was an enjoyable new Highland malt for me. Not the most complex or flavorful dram, but a very enjoyable nose and a pleasant balance of sweetness and spice on the palate. A nice Highland counterpoint to the typical Speysider.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles, November 2010

2010-11-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

Visited:

11/26/2010
Linne Calodo - Were only pouring the wines which weren't sold out - Outsider, Screwball and Slacker. Good wines, but didn't excite me for the price.

Eagle Castle - kitschy castle with suits of armor and other castle-ey stuff inside. No wine to recommend here.

Booker - A new one for me - excellent Rhone varietals. Enjoyed everything I tasted there. Incredible concentration and an interesting aging program. They had a 2006 syrah which had 48 months on oak(!) but was able to carry it well owing to the tremendous structure and concentration of the wine. Also enjoyed a blend with 60% counoise - Oublie. Purchased bottles of 2008 Alchemist (85% Syrah/15% Cabernet Sauvignon) 24 months, 2006 Alchemist 48 months, 2008 Fracture (100% Syrah) 24 months and 2008 Oublie (Cunoise, Mourvedre, Grenache). Highly recommended.

Caliza - Another new one worth recommending - great Rhone varietals. Good wines all around, but the 2007 Syrah was exceptional. Great concenrated fruit. Purchased bottles of 2007 Syrah.

11/27/2010
L'Aventure - I'm never disappointed here, even though the tasting room was unusually slammed. Tasted 2006 Optimus, 2008 Cote a Cote, 2007 Cabernet Estate, 2008 Estate Cuvee and a new one, the 2008 Le Grandt Verdot (60% Petit Verdot). All of the wines were excellent with amazing concentration (the color on most wines was an inky purple) with excellent flavors of dark fruits, graphite and minerals. My favorites are always the Estate Cuvee and the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Purchased bottles of 2007 Estate Cabernet, 2007 Estate Cuvee and 2008 Estate Cuvee. Kudos to the tasting room staff for pouring a decent sized glass which enables a better tasting experience.

Chateau Margene - After hearing about this winery from Paso locals for years, finally got to pay it a visit. Tasted a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Syrah. Was disappoined in all the wines except the Petit Syrah which was good but unexceptional. The Cabernet which is highly touted, was lean and bell peppery - not my style at all.

Four Vines - The only place of the day which only comped a single tasting (three of us had to pay). Did not taste any Zinfandels (probably sold out) which was disappointing. Their Petite Syrah Heretic is always a favorite of mine. Purchased a bottle of 2008 Heretic.

Castoro Cellars - Picked up a great roast beef panini sandwich at the shop in front of Four Vines and headed over to Castoro for lunch. It was raining, so we all sat inside and shared a bottle of their Zinfandel, which was simple and good for $12.

Turley - Followed a seemingly common pattern of having no new wine (presumably all sold out) and trying to hock older wines from 2005 and 2006. Tasted a bunch of Zins and even got to try the legendary Zinfandel and Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard from 2005, but both were disapointing. The 2006 Dusi, a previous favorite of mine, was still tasting good.

Denner - Another winery building an impressive track-record of year after year quality across the board. Tasted 2008 Ditch Digger, Syrah, Dirt Worshipper. I loved the Syrah and the Dirt Worshipper (my usual favorites here). Purchased bottles of 2008 Syrah and 2008 Dirt Worshipper.

Jada - Great wines, each one paired with a fine cheese in the tasting room, a very nice touch. My favorite was the Hell's Kitchen, a rich blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Tannat. Don's favorite was the Strayts a blend of 60% Merlot and the remainder equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Halter Ranch - It was getting a little late in the day, but not too late to notice their 2007 Syrah and also that the guy tasting next to us was none other than Michael Gladis who plays Paul Kinsey on Mad Men. I get credit for spotting him, but Don's friend Scott gets credit for calling him out. He was gracious, shook our hands and even took some recommendations on wineries to visit. Purchased a bottle (supposedly the last one) of 2007 Syrah.

Adelaida - This was a bonus at the end of the day. The palate was too tired to recall anything noteworthy, but we had a good time mixing it up with the tasting staff.

Got Grapefruit?

2010-06-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

I love the humble white grapefruit and the wonderful nectar it produces. The bitterness/ sweetness balance is exactly what I appreciate in a citrus fruit. It works great in simple cocktails - both gin and tequila are natural companions with their inherent citrus notes.

If you're in possession of white grapefruit juice, either fresh squeezed (preferred, obviously) or from a bottle (I prefer Ocean Spray white grapefruit juice, which is surprisingly good for a bottled product and has no added sugar) and are wondering what to do with it, here are my two favorite recent grapefruit juice-based beverages for your consideration:

The first is a mash-up of a gin (the "english") greyhound and a pink gin. The second is essentially a Paloma made with grapefruit juice instead of soda (thus the "still")

They're both super easy to make. Try mixing up the ratios a bit for your optimal drink.

Pink English Greyhound
~2 oz. Gin (Beefeater (regular or 24))
~2 oz. white grapefruit juice.
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
Fill a double old fashioned glass with ice cubes. Fill 1/3 to 1/2 with gin. Top with grapefruit juice. Stir. Float 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters.

Still Paloma
~2 oz. blanco Tequila (El Jimador)
~2 oz. white grapefruit juice
1/4 lime
Fill a double old fashioned glass with ice cubes. Fill 1/3 to 1/2 with Tequila. Top with grapefruit juice. Squeeze lime into glass. Stir.

Ti' Punch

2010-05-31T11:26:00.001-07:00

Leave your preconceived notions about fruity punches at the door. Ti' punch is a delicious, simple and very strong rum-based mixed drink made with high-proof rum and very little of anything else.

Ti' punch is popular in the French Caribbean where rhum agricole rules the roost. Rhum agricole by the way, is made exclusively from sugar cane juice whereas most rum is made from molasses, a by-product of sugar production. It is made in Martinique, Haiti and Guadeloupe and even carries an official Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) in Martinique. If you've never tried rhum agricole before, I suspect you'll be blown away by the intensity of estery fruit on the nose and the comparative full-body it has relative to a standard Puerto Rican white rum.

A properly made Ti' punch contains simply cane syrup or sugar, lime and rum. Ice is optional (more on that later). Proportions vary greatly. It is a tradition to serve it chacun prépare sa propre mort which means "each prepares his own death". Now you're starting to get the idea.

The punch is traditionally made with blanc (white) rum, but can be made from aged rums as well. As with tequila, I prefer the blanc in a mixed drink as it has more of the fresh cane character.

I've made Ti' punch with Neisson blanc (Martinique) and Barbancourt blanc (Haiti). La Favorite is another fairly common rhum agricole from Martinique that I'll be trying in the future. I prefer the Neisson at 50% abv to the Barbancourt at 43% when using ice. Barbancourt is much easier to find (like at your local Bevmo) and just recently began bottling rum again after repairing the extensive damage done to the facilities during the earthquake (including the loss of $4M worth of inventory).

For the cane syrup, I've been using Depaz cane syrup from Martinique. It's got a very nice bold flavor reminiscent of the rum itself. I found it at Bevmo and expect that the 750ml bottle will last a long time. You only need about a half teaspoon or less in the punch. The Barbancourt website lists a recipe for Ti' Punch Kreyol containing 1 oz of syrup to 2 oz of rum which is way too much. You could use raw sugar or raw sugar syrup as an alternative.

Application of the lime has many schools. Some cut the lime in wedges, while I've seen many authentic pictures showing a disc cut from the side about the size of a half dollar. I've started doing this and enjoy the peel/fruit ratio. It's important to squeeze it well, expelling the oils in the process. Some drop it in the drink, others eschew this as barbaric. I add the lime to the drink.

Finally there's the ice - or not. Traditionally it was drunk without ice, probably because ice was not readily available. Without ice you have a very strong drink, basically a large shot of high-proof rum with a small squeeze of lime and some syrup. Addition of the ice, while making the drink cooler also tames the rum a bit and blends all of the flavors. I like to add a few cubes of ice to my punch.

Even with the ice, this is a very strong drink. What's so nice about it is that even the small amount of lime and sugar totally transform the rum into something more balanced and well-rounded. But not at the cost of the rum's character and flavor which really comes across.

Ti' Punch
2 oz. Rhum agricole blanc (preferably 50% abv)
dash of cane syrup (substitute raw sugar or raw sugar syrup)
disc-shaped slice of lime cut from the side or lime wedge

Add a dash of cane syrup to an old-fashioned glass. Squeeze lime over the syrup making sure to expel as much of the oil as possible. Add rum. Add 3-4 cubes of ice, stir and enjoy.

Note: Photo taken from Caribbean Spirits website

A Couple of Chinottos

2010-04-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

Up for consideration in this post is the Italian soda Chinotto, a somewhat unusual tonic which combines the bitter chinotto fruit with some additional herbal flavors. It's kind of like an Italian amaro (envision a blend of Campari and Ramazzotti) in a refreshing soda format.

Let me take this opportunity to note that I like Italian sodas in general. They seem to master the fine balance between sweet and sour or bitter and are usually made with high quality ingredients such as cane sugar and high percentages of fruit juice. My favorite grapefruit soda, Villa Italia is from Italy and the San Pellegrino Aranciata (orange) and Limonata (lemon) sodas are both excellent.

Ok - getting back on topic, from Wikipedia:

The chinotto is a small, bitter citrus fruit that grows on the chinotto tree, which is also called the "myrtle-leaved orange tree" (Citrus aurantium var. myrtifolia). This tree grows to a height of three meters and can be found in Malta and in the Liguria, Tuscany, Sicily, and Calabria regions of Italy.

The chinotto fruit is an essential flavor component of most Italian bitters (i.e., amari) and of the popular Campari aperitif. Its name is derived from China, where the tree was thought to have originated.

I've only found Abbondio and San Pelegrino brand chinotto soda in the U.S. San Pellegrino is available at Bevmo, while I usually source the Abbondio at my local Giuliano's Italian deli (I recently found it at Hi Time as well). Both companies appear to lay claim to inventing chinotto soda. Wikipedia states that San Pelegrino claims to have invented it in 1932 while Abbondio's website states: Chinotto was born in the 1940's from an original Abbondio recipe. Blended with a secret ingredient, it has a marked, fresh and unmistakable taste. Much like the debate over who invented the Mai Tai, I'm sure we'll never know. In any case, I sat down with a 200 ml bottle of each for comparison.

My tasting notes:

San Pellegrino
Nose - fragrant bitter herbs, caramel, licorice
Taste - Bitter citrus, herbs, caramel. Fizzier, brighter and more citrusy than the Abbondio.

Abbondio
Nose - Herbs and caramel.
Taste - Herbs and more pronounced dark burnt sugar. Delicate bubbles.

The final verdict: Too close to call. They're different styles and appeal to the palate in different ways. The San Pellegrino is lighter and more citrusy. The Abbondio is darker with more caramel and herbal flavors. Both are fantastic and worth trying to any serious soda aficionado.

Finally, there is an interesting WSJ article on Italian sodas which contains some good discussion as well as a couple of interesting cocktails containing chinotto soda. I've tried and enjoyed the Dela Mela which is basically a chinotto and apple brandy highball (yes, yet another great opportunity for me to use the indispensable Laird's apple bond!)

Top Ten Rums

2010-03-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Kaiser Penguin is running an interesting post on top ten rums everyone should have in their collection.

I'm not a rum expert by any means, but I've made it a point to get out there and try some of the better examples. Here's my list of the best ones that I've tried so far:

1. El Dorado 15 year (Guyana)
2. El Dorado 5 year (Guyana)
3. Appleton Estate V/X (Jamaica)
4. Appleton Estate Extra 12 year (Jamaica)
5. Coruba Dark (Jamaica)
6. Santa Teresa 1796 (Venezuela)
7. Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 year (Guatemala)
8. Lemon Hart 151 (Guyana)
9. Cruzan Single Barrel (St. Croix)
10. Mount Gay Sugar Cane (Barbados)

With regards to some of the other rums mentioned in Rick's post, I found it interesting that Kraken and Old New Orleans spiced rums seem to get a lot of respect from the experts. Smith and Cross (from Haus Alpenz) a Navy Strength pot-still rum from Jamaica also got a lot of votes and I will definitely pick up a bottle to try. Despite many tries, I just cannot muster any love for J. Wray and Nephew overproof rum. It's estery and exotic with a lot of fresh cut pear aromas, but I just don't care for it and I find that it overpowers everything that it's used in. Another popular one was Clement VSOP (Martinique). I have a bottle and like it, but when tasted among the other rums it has a distinct sulphurous aroma that puts it out of my top ten.

Some Czech Pilsners

2010-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

I was first introduced to Czech Pilsners by way of Pilsner Urquell during my college years. Back then, Trader Joe's used to carry it in "hornets", or 22 oz. bottles. It was a standard at my roommate Rob's house and quick became one of our must-haves in our early days of connoisseurship. I got the chance post-college to visit the Pilsener Urquell brewery in Pilsen and was able to taste the beer fresh, prior to filtration - a real treat.

Over the years, I've tried a few different beers from the Czech Republic and decided it would be fun to taste a few of the more famous brews comparatively. For this tasting, I've assembled: Pilsner Urquell (Pilsen), Staropramen (Prague) and Budweiser Budvar (a.k.a. Czechvar from České Budějovice).

The beers were tasted blind in Riedel Vinum port glasses. Following are my tasting notes and scoring:

#1) Pilsner Urquell, 91 points
color - medium gold
nose - medium maltiness with some cereal grain and light hops
taste - Nice bright hoppiness with a pleasant bitter finish
finish - fairly long and bitter

#2) Czechvar, 89 points
color - the lightest of the group. Yellowish gold.
nose - appetizing with bitter hoppiness. Delicate.
taste - light on the palate and in flavors. Delicate malt and hops. Not much bitterness, but not much anything. With extended tasting, some honey and flowery notes emerge.
finish - medium-short.

#3) Staropramen, 86 points
color - darkest of the group. Golden amber.
nose - Richer and more malty than the Czechvar.
taste - Rich, with some maltiness and and bitter hops. Some off, metallic notes.
finish - medium length.

Final Notes - Pilsner Urquell remains the standard among Czech Pilsners and is the "original" Pilsner, dating back to 1842. Czechvar, one of my other regular favorites is definitely a lighter style and is perfect for a hot afternoon with its crisp, clean flavors. Staropramen is a good beer, and I enjoy it on its own, but in the comparative tasting, that ominpresent metallic note knocked it down a few points.

Orval Trappist Ale

2010-02-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

I've been on a bit of a Belgian beer kick lately. My interest was stoked by a recent trip to Wurstküche (translation: sausage kitchen) - a great exotic sausage place in the LA arts district.

Described by Rachel's brother Zack as a "hipster German" joint, it serves up great sausages along with some sensational beers - many on tap all in a modern, slightly minimalist setting. Aside from offering a rarely seen style, Berliner Weisse, Wurstküche seems to make something of a specialty of offering a broad selection of Belgian ales, many on tap, and served from the "proper" chalice - shaped glass with the brewery's mark on it.

Some of the highlights that night were Duvel Green (a light, draft-only version of Duvel that omits the in-bottle fermentation) and La Chouffe and Houblon Chouffe (the former a fruity, hoppy, yeasty, spicy golden ale, the latter an even hoppier and fruity india pale ale). Oh, and the sausages and mustard were great too.

Since then I've been drinking a variety of Belgian ales, mostly Tripels. When I came across this bottle of Orval, I tasted something unlike any beer I've tried before.

Orval is a Trappist pale ale. Only one beer is brewed and in only one format as far as I can tell - an attractive bowling pin-shaped 11.2 oz. bottle (pictured above).

The beer I tasted was bottled in January 2009, so it's just over a year old. Incidentally, it has a "best before" date of 5 years from the bottled date. The beer pours a deep amber with some haziness typical of yeasty Belgian ales. On the nose, it smells of cut flowers with some raspberry and citrus. On the palate, there is a fairly strong flavor of elderflower with some berry notes that follow through from the nose. The finish is clean with some nice bitter hoppiness and with the elderflower continuing to linger.

It's fairly readily available - I bought this bottle at the local Bevmo. If you're looking for something different from Belgium, this is certainly a beer worth trying with its exotic flavors.

Highland Park 18 year old

2010-02-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

Highland Park 18 year old
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 43%
Region: Islands (Orkney)
Price: $100
Availability: Readily available in specialty shops

I first tried Highland Park 18 year old several years back when my scotch-drinking Uncle was in town for vacation. We picked up a bottle at Hi-Time and drank it next to the 12 year old. The differences are quite pronounced. The additional barrel age provides extra richness and brings forth more of the complexities from the sherry wood such as leather and nutty elements.

Today the bottles have changed to the "flask" shape shown in the Highland Park 12 year old post. I still have the bottle like the one shown above which has a nice impression of the Orkney islands molded on the bottom.

See the Highland Park 12 year old post for details of the distillery.

Tasting Notes
Color
Medium-dark amber
Nose
Delicate peat, dried fruits, a floral element. More sherry and oak than the 12y. Even more complexity.
Flavor
Medium-to full-bodied. As with the 12y, an incredible roundness and balance of flavors but richer and more elegant still. Retains the sweet honey, complex dried-fruit character of the 12y, with additional sherry and oak intensity. Some nuttiness. Leather. Vanilla. An endless cascade of incredibly well-balanced and integrated flavors.
Finish
Long, rich, round, oaky
Rating
97

Overall impression and notes: I've had this malt on many occasions now and I'm very comfortable saying that Highland Park 18 year old is the single best spirit of any kind ever to have passed my lips to-date. Period. Reserving the extra 3 points for a perfect score is really only wishful thinking on my part - some motivation to continue the search for something better, however unlikely.

Worth every penny at around $100, but an absolute steal at the $50-60 it was a few years ago...

Highland Park 12 year old

2010-02-15T20:26:00.000-08:00

Highland Park 12 year old
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 43%
Region: Islands (Orkney)
Price: $35
Availability: Readily available in specialty shops

Highland Park has long been a favorite whisky. Ever since reading about it in the late Michael Jackson's definitive Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch, I've had somewhat of a fascination with the malt. Its place on top of the pillar was firmly established in my first real blind scotch tasting (many, many moons ago) when both my friend Rob and I picked HP 12 as the undisputed victor among many other respectable malts. Since that time, I've regularly purchased bottles of the 12 and 18 year old versions and never cease to be amazed by the richness and bottomless depth of flavors they possess.

Highland Park distillery is located on the island of Orkney and is the most northerly in Scotland. Aside from their selection of dry Oloroso sherry casks for aging the whisky, the distillery makes much about the malting of the barley and the peat used. According to their website:

Highland Park is one of only a handful of distilleries where the expensive and physically demanding custom of turning malt by hand still takes place. Highland Park malt costs two and a half times as much as industrially processed malt. Some 20% of the malt used to make Highland Park comes from Orkney.

The remainder is either malted at one of its sister distilleries, Tamdhu (to Highland Park specifications), or comes from Simpsons, a high quality malt producer located in the Scottish Borders. The Orcadian malt is 40 phenol parts per million whereas that from Tamdhu and Simpsons is only 1-2ppm. Together they create the balance for which Highland Park is renowned.

Highland Park is one of only five distilleries that continue the tradition of hand-tuning malt on site. This process is very expensive and labour intensive – which is why most distillers have long since abandoned the practice.

Regarding the peat:

Samples of Orkney peat have relatively more carbohydrate derivatives whereas those from Islay have lignin derivatives more prevalent. Overall the conclusion is that there is a different chemical fingerprint in the peat which will probably make a difference to the overall flavour of the whisky.

It is no exaggeration to say that peat is the terroir of (island) whiskies. The smokey notes of Highland Park come from this degenerating plant material that is prevalent on the islands of Scotland. The peats of Orkney are some 9,000 years old (younger than those of Islay) and the deepest bogs are at most four metres deep. Highland Park takes its peat from selected banks on Hobbister Moor, combining cuttings taken from three distinct levels to create the required character. Fogg; the top layer, approximately 1,800 years old is taken from just below the surface is rich in heather and rootlets. Yarphie; the darker, more compacted second layer generates less smoke and more heat. Moss; the deepest and, therefore, oldest layer (approx 9,000 years) is lumpen and almost coal-like.

Following are my tasting notes taken during from a recently purchased bottle of the newer "flask" shaped variety pictured above. I can't speak to specific variations in flavors/quality over time other than to say that every bottle of HP that I've had at any age has the unmistakable richness and complexity that I've come to treasure from this distillery.

Tasting Notes
Color
Medium amber
Nose
Delicate peat, apricot, oak, sherry. Staggering depth and complexity.
Flavor
Medium-to full-bodied. Incredible roundness and balance of flavors. Begins sweet and honey-accented, then waves of rich smoke, flamed bitter orange peel and sherry follow.
Finish
Long, rich, round.
Rating
94

Overall impression and notes: Michael Jackson famously described Highland Park as being the "greatest all-rounder" in the world of malt whisky. There is no question about that. This malt fires on all cylinders - it is all at once characterful, balanced, sweet, smoky, and sherry-accented with some delicious fruit flavors. None of these elements dominate, but rather they're all there in equal measure as part of the overall symphony of flavors.

It's a masterpiece - deep in complexity and worthy of being a permanent fixture in any respectable Scotch collection. This is absolutely the single best under-$40 spirit in the world.

Longrow CV

2010-02-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Longrow CV
Bottled by: Distillery (Springbank)
ABV: 46%
Other: Vatting of 6, 10, 14 year old malts in rum, sherry, port, bourbon casks. Non chill filtered, no color added.
Region: Campbeltown
Price: $50
Availability: Readily available in specialty shops

Springbank is the best-known Campbeltown distillery and essentially sets the standard for that small whisky region. In addition to their namesake line of single malts, they produce a highly peated version known as Longrow, named for a nearby distillery that closed in 1896. Longrow whisky is double-distilled, as opposed to two and a half times for the standard Springbanks. Springbank is one of few distilleries (if not the only one) these days in which the floor malting, distillation, maturation and bottling are all done on the premises.

As with other Springbanks, this is bottled at a respectable 46% abv and without added color or chill-filtration.

I've long wanted to try Longrow, but their 10 and 14 year old bottlings are typically on the expensive side ($100+). This vatting was designed to be easier on the wallet, while still offering some of the complexities of the older age whisky. After reading through several online articles, it appears to be a consensus that the malt is a vatting of 6, 10 and 14 year old malts from port, sherry, rum and bourbon woods.

CV stands for "Curriculum Vitae" which is a common term for a "resume" in the UK. I suppose the idea is that the CV bottling represents a "first look" at the varied attributes of this malt.

Tasting Notes
Color
Medium-straw
Nose
Firm, but not overpowering peat. Some sweet, crisp malty notes. Appetizing. A faint hint of rum

Flavor
Medium-bodied. Nice malty, sweet opening followed by a wave of
complex peat and spice
Finish
Peaty, spicy, long
Rating
91

Overall impression and notes: I really like the sweet malty undertones of this malt - it is reminiscent of the character of Glen Scotia 14 year old - a Campbeltown trademark perhaps? The youth of this malt is apparent but, at the same time, so is its age - there is a lot of complexity for a malt at this price point.

For those looking for a peaty malt off the well-trodden Islay path, this is highly recommended.

My New Chemex

2010-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

After reading about the advantages of Chemex-brewed coffee for years, I finally put one on my X-mas list and received one from my parents this year. I love the simple, modern design of the carafe with its wood and leather girdle.

Some history according to the Chemex website:

The Chemex® coffeemaker was invented by Peter J. Schlumbohm, Ph.D., in 1941. Schlumbohm was born in Kiel, Germany in 1896. He received his doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Berlin. After several trips to the United States, he settled in New York City in 1936. Over the years, he invented over 3,000 items for which he was granted patents. However, his coffeemaker and carafe kettles were his most long enduring inventions.

Being a doctor of Chemistry, he was very familiar with laboratory apparatus and the methods of filtration and extraction. He applied this knowledge when designing his coffeemaker. He examined his laboratory glass funnel and his Erlenmeyer flask and made modifications to each. He modified the laboratory funnel by adding an "air channel" and a pouring spout. He added the "air channel" so the air displaced by the liquid dripping into the vessel could easily escape past the laboratory filter paper, which was to be used in the funnel as the filter media.

To the well of the Erlenmeyer flask he added a protrusion, which looks like a bubble. Consumers have often called it a "belly button." This is a measuring mark, which indicates one half the volume that is below the bottom edge of the handle.

He then combined the modified glass funnel with the modified Erlenmeyer flask to create a one-piece drip coffee maker to be made of heat proof, laboratory grade, borosilicate glass. Last, he added a wood handle and called the item a "Chemex®," which was a fabricated name. All that was needed then to brew the coffee was the coffee, hot water, and filter paper.

Incidentally, I previously owned the Chemex water kettle which is a striking design (pictured right) with a cool molded pouring spout and a stopper with a glass tube which allows steam to escape and keeps the vertical section (the handle) cool. Unfortunately this item met an untimely demise during its service on our cooktop.

For its inaugural run, I loaded my coffee maker with Blue Bottle Coffee's Chiapas blend. For comparison purposes, I brewed the same coffee, using the same proportions in my traditional drip coffeemaker with a gold filter.

As far as brewing technique, I used the preparation instructions on the Blue Bottle website, which dictate A) pouring a few tablespoons of hot water over the grounds to let them "bloom" for a few seconds and B) to stir the grounds while adding the remaining water for maximum extraction. I used the Chemex brand unbleached filter papers which are basically folded sheets of heavy high quality lab-grade paper. I used approx 16 oz. of water and 6 Tablespoons of (relatively unevenly) ground coffee from my blade grinder.

Following are my notes regarding the two coffees:

A) Drip Machine
Appearance - Dark, rich looking coffee, with slight murkiness and some non-offensive fine grounds in the bottom
Nose - Fruity notes are accentuated
Flavor - More of the fruity notes. A slightly more "level" flavor profile, which does not quite develop the complexity of the Chemex.
Finish - Fruitier and shorter than the Chemex.

B) Chemex
Appearance - Dark rich looking coffee with no murkiness and zero grounds.
Nose - Darker rich chocolatey notes are accentuated
Flavor - Complex flavor profile with acidity and rich chocolaty taste and texture. Nice balance of acidity and flavors.
Finish - Long, rich, chocolaty, mouth coating.

Final Observations - I'm impressed with the Chemex. It was not quite as much labor as I was expecting, having to stand there and stir the coffee while pouring water over the grounds; actually it was kind of fun watching the coffee grounds bloom and stirring the muddy, sandy-textured mass.

I can see the benefits of the stirring process and the dense paper which clearly permit additional extraction and an overall better balanced and rich tasting cup. I look forward to disovering some of the complexities of my other coffees using this method.

Oh, and by the way, the Chiapas coffee from Blue Bottle is excellent.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles - December 2009

2009-12-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

visited:

Vina Robles - highlights were the 2007 Petite Sirahs - most notably the Penman Springs Vineyard and Jardine (which also uses Penman Springs fruit) bottlings. Penman Springs owners Carl and Beth McCasland are good friends of Jennifer and Don and make a damn fine Petite Sirah of their own. The Penman Springs bottle was particularly dark and rich. Purchased bottles of both.

Robert Hall - met Sunny in the tasting room - had a great dry sense of humor. And he enjoyed forcing us to blind taste and guess the varietals. Did not do too well but nailed the Cabernet Franc. Decent wines but nothing spectacular. Picked up a bottle of the Cabernet Franc.

Tablas Creek - tasted through a lot of wine. The 2007 Cotes du Tablas blanc was good, the 2007 Espirit du Beaucastel blanc was fantastic with a great nose of flowers and tropical fruit. The 2006 Syrah was very good as was the 2006 Espirit du Beaucastel rouge. The 2007 Espirit du Beaucastel rouge was phenomenal. More fruity and full flavored than the leaner 2006 it had lots of dark fruits and a nice delicate earthy. mineral note. Also notable was the 2007 Tannat, a dark and brooding wine tasting with nice boysenberry flavors. Picked up bottles of the Espirit du Beaucastel rouge 2006 and 2007 as well as the 2006 Syrah and 2007 Tannat.

Denner - Also had quite a bit of wine here. Favorite was the 2007 Syrah, which exhibited lots of rich, extracted cassis, blackberry fruits along with nice minerality and well integrated french oak. The Grenache was excellent as well. I don't typically like grenache much on its own, but this wine really jumped from the glass with flowers and jammy cherry and raspberry fruit notes. I'm never a huge fan of the Ditch Digger with its strong mineral and roasted game elements, but it is clearly a well made wine. Also the 2007 Dirt Worshipper, which I've enjoyed in prior vintages, was nice but did not inspire. Purchased bottles of the 2007 Syrah and Grenache.

Zin Alley - Tasted a 2007 zinfandel which was plummy and a bit odd on the nose, a 2007 Nerelli "Generation 4" (Syrah/Zin blend) which was very good with some rich dark syrah fruit to balance the jammy zin fruit, a 2007 Zin Port which was good but a bit simple and a 2007 Nerelli "After Hours" late harvest boytritized dessert wine made from Chardonnay,Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer, which was very good with the Gewurztraminer tropical fruit and spice showing through.

Favorites of 2009 - A Year in Review

2009-12-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

So after my first year of blogging my brains out, I thought I'd take a few minutes to look back at what 2009 had to offer in the world of potables.

What follows is a list of my favorite "discoveries" of 2009, in no particular order:

1) Amer Picon/Torani Amer - A fantastic spirit which tastes of bitter amaro liqueur and orange zest. Both the homemade version and the commercially available one from Torani are a real treat and make a nice addition to cocktails such as the Brooklyn and the Picon Punch.

2) Laird's Apple Bond/The Jack Rose - Quite possibly the coup of the year for me. Laird's Apple Bond just begs to be mixed in cocktails which seem to unleash the concentrated apple flavors. The Jack Rose cocktail was an epiphany, and highlighted the importance of using a good grenadine (i.e. homemade or Ferrara).

3) Schweppes Indian Tonic (Holland) - I've always enjoyed domestic Schweppes, but when Rob and I did our tonic water tasting, no tonic really hit me in all the right places more than Schweppes Indian tonic with its complex bitter character.

4) Plymouth Sloe Gin - A relatively new product on the market, Plymouth is an authentic English sloe gin which has a delicious tart flavor of cherries/plums and warm, lingering finish. A great winter warmer on its own, it was also excellent in the Wibble cocktail.

5) El Dorado 15 year old rum - OK, my official rum tasting post is still in-work, but after my neighbor Beky received a bottle of this from a customer and gave me a taste, I had to go out and buy a bottle of this complex Guyanese rum right away. Tastes of smoky burnt sugar, toffee and raisins with subtle woodsy notes. I have yet to find another rum of this staggering complexity and quality and may soon give up the search.

6) Cherry Heering/Blood and Sand - The Blood and Sand is the first, and possibly only cocktail, which makes successful use of scotch whisky as an ingredient, due in large part to the presence of the delicious cherry liqueur, Cherry Heering. With flavors of cherry, chocolate and spices, I'm looking forward to some more experimentation with Heering in the new year.

7) Root Liqueur - A neat new product from Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction! Thanks to Mike for first seeing it in a magazine and recommending it for trials. Great flavors of birch bark and spice, this liqueur is interesting on its own, and really sings in a Forbidden Root cocktail.

8) Sangrita - An excellent and refreshing tomatoey, citrusy, spicy drink that I've grown really accustomed to having alongside my favorite blanco tequilas. Thanks to David Rosengarten for introducing me to this in his cookbook Taste. Speaking of blancos, I'm looking forward to putting together a tasting of at least one sizable flight of more blanco tequilas in 2010.

9) Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth - A fantastic, flavorful vermouth with licorice and spice (e.g. cloves) flavors. Well balanced with a clean finish, this is simply the best vermouth out there. Create the ultimate Manhattan with Carpano Antica and Rittenhouse BIB Rye (which, incidentally, I do not care for at all neat, but in a Manhattan it is incredible)

10) Ardmore 15 years old & Ardmore Traditional Cask - My first experience with Ardmore single malt scotch whisky was these two bottlings, the 15 year old from Whisky Galore and the Traditional Cask from the distillery. Both were notable expressions of this uniquely heavily peated Highland malt. The 15 year old particularly, when sprinkled with a few drops of water, really demonstrates the trademark creaminess of this malt, which is a component of the Teacher's Highland Cream blend.

Finally, a few special wines really stood out this year. Below are my tasting notes, recalled from memory, on the special bottles I had in 2009.

11) 2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Kanzler vineyard - the best of the 2006 Kosta Browne Pinots that I had, all of which were a lighter, earlier-drinking style than their brawnier 2005 counterparts. Intense floral, tart fruit and spice aromatics with a nice balance and long finish.

12) 1990 Lynch Bages Pauillac - Opened my (sigh) last bottle of this during the year which was originally purchased during my college years. A lesson on the ageability of fine Bordeaux - still fairly young, with firm tannins which are just starting to soften. Very drinkable at this age with lots of dark fruits (cassis, blackberry) and that classic lead pencil/graphite aroma along with some grilled meat. Excellent overall balance and a nice long finish. Definitely ranks among the best Bordeaux I've ever had. Still at least another decade ahead for this wine.

13) 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia - A (very generous) gift from my friend Paul, this is quite possibly the single best California Cabernet I have ever had. Incredible concentration, it poured an inky purple. Loads of sweet black currant, cherry/berry fruit with well integrated vanillin oak flavors. Still quite young, I'll probably give my next bottle a few more years.

14) 2006 Diatom Chardonnay Huber - From Greg Brewer, winemaker at the fantastic Melville winery, Diatom chardonnays are produced from single vineyards and are fermented in stainless steel without a malolactic secondary fermentation (which gives most typical Chardonnays their "creaminess"). The freakishly high alcohol (in the high 16%!) goes largely unnoticed in this wine which oozes tart, crisp fruit such as white peach and granny smith apple along with floral and mineral elements. Striking for its pure, focused fruit flavors and its ability to provide layer upon layer of complex flavors without the typical overt use of oak.

Final Notes: I've had a great time tasting through what 2009 has to offer and look forward to a great 2010. A special thanks to all who've provided feedback and recommendations. I thrive on recommendations, so please keep those comments coming and feel free to offer up suggestions for future posts if anything comes to mind.

Plymouth Sloe Gin

2009-12-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

The recent spate of of cold weather here in Southern California has left me searching for a nice "winter warmer". Sure there's the typical wintry standby, single malt scotch, but I was looking to broaden my horizons a bit. This led me to sloe gin.

Plymouth, maker of a fine "Plymouth Gin" which is the only of its kind, as opposed to "London Dry" recently launched its own version of sloe gin which one-ups the sweet, sticky anduninteresting sloe gins usually sitting on the shelf.

According to Plymouth's website:

The making of fruit gins is a long tradition in the British countryside and Plymouth gin keeps true to a unique 1883 recipe. Sloe berries are slowly and gently steeped in Plymouth Gin, soft pure Dartmoor water and a small amount of sugar for approximately 4 months. The sugar levels are kept low to allow the full flavour of the berries to shine and allow the dry acidity of the fruit to be an important part of the taste. The result is an entirely natural product with no added flavourings or colourings. Sloe Gin has long been enjoyed as a "winter warmer" in the countryside.

On its own, Sloe Gin is quite delicious. I took the following tasting notes:

Color: Burgundy with a brick-colored edge
Nose: Evokes cherries, tart plums, black tea, almonds
Taste: tart acidity with bright fruit flavors (cherry, plum skin) followed by a round sweetness and then a bit of alcoholic bite
Finish: Long, more black tea

While it's great on its own, I thought I'd peruse a few cocktail recipes and try a few that caught my eye (yes, even mostly icy concoctions which are far from the "winter warmer" archetype)

Plymouth's website lists a few interesting cocktails; the one that sparked my interest the most was the "Wibble", a recent creation:

The Wibble
1 oz. grapefruit juice (Ocean Spray white grapefruit)
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 dash simple syrup
1 oz. Plymouth Sloe Gin
1 oz. Plymouth Gin (used Beefeater)

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Invented at the Player, London 1999 for Plymouth Gin's managing director by Dick Bradsell

Notes ****/***** Really nice cocktail, which gets better as you drink it. I love grapefruit and it works well in this. The gin is surprisingly in the background here relative to the sloe flavors, but it still asserts its presence. Also tried this without the simple syrup and it was still great, just used the slightest bit less lemon juice.

Cocktail DB had a staggering array of drinks using sloe gin. I really had to focus on culling down the list to a reasonable size. Here's what I ended up with:

Black Hawk
1.5 oz. rye whisky (WT 101)
1.5 oz. sloe gin
Stir with ice and strain. Serve in a cocktail glass with a cherry.

Notes: ***/***** This is a sort of Sloe-ey variant on a Manhattan. The Wild Turkey 101 Rye pretty much overwhelms the Sloe flavors which I was surprised to find.

Blackthorn
1 oz sloe gin
1 oz gin
1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Martini & Rossi)
1 dash orange bitters (Regan's)

Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain. Serve in a cocktail glass with a cherry.

Notes: ***1/2/***** Nice play of sweet and bitter, but the sloe character is a little lost with the vermouth and bitters. Still, a complex and agreeable cocktail.

Diki Cocktail #2
2 oz sloe gin
1/4 oz applejack
1/4 oz grapefruit juice

Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain. Serve in a cocktail glass

Notes: ***/***** This is nice with the apple bond and grapefruit (I used closer to 1/2 oz. of each as 1/4 oz. seemed too inconsequential. A little on the sweet side for an "up" cocktail. Also tried 1.5/1/1 with even better results (at least ***1/2/*****).

Ninety Miles or Savoy Tango (same)
1 1/4 oz sloe gin
1 1/4 oz applejack

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain. Serve in a cocktail glass.

Notes: ***1/2/***** Surprisingly good given there's only two ingredients in this, but then again why should I be surprised when Laird's apple bond seems to marry so well in many cocktails. The apple flavors really come through nicely.

Rosy Deacon Cocktail
3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz sloe gin
1 oz grapefruit juice

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain. Serve in a cocktail glass.

Notes: ****/***** Whoever decided that grapefruit and Sloe gin is a good combination is a genius. This is surprisingly fruity, complex and way too easy to drink. Watch out, this one will sneak up on you...

Ruby Cocktail
1 3/4 oz sloe gin
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz cherry liqueur
1 dash orange bitters

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain. Serve in a cocktail glass

Notes **1/2/***** I like the flavor here but this is a dessert. Simply too sweet for a cocktail, as I might have expected looking at the ingredients. Needs some more "punch" for balance. Beautiful color though. I can see where it gets its name.

Final Notes: I've seen and heard about sloe gin for the longest time, but never really had any interest until this bottling from Plymouth arrived on the market. I really enjoy sloe gin on its own - it's tart, sweet and warming for those chilly winter nights. But it also works very well in cocktails and seems to be a natural partner with gin, grapefruit and apple brandy. My favorite of the cocktails was the Wibble, with the Rosy Deacon as runner up. Anything with 3 stars or more is definitely worth a try.

Thanksgiving Cranapple Punch

2009-12-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a recipe for a mixed drink that I put together for Thanksgiving this year. I focused on a drink that would showcase some seasonal ingredients and provide some level of refreshment, allowing everyone to avoid getting too tipsy prior to a nice dinner with some good wines.

No fruit says Thanksgiving more than cranberries and I selected a 100% cranberry juice from L&A for this. It is super concentrated/unsweetened and is quite tangy and bitter - the true essence of the cranberry. It needed some dilution and sweetening to work in a punch.

As for the liquor in the punch, I don't need much arm-twisting to use Laird's bonded apple brandy. Superior to their Applejack due to the higher apple content (it is 100% apple brandy vs. Applejack which is grain spirits mixed with apple brandy), it works wonders in cocktails where the intense apple flavors really come through.

Finally some fresh squeezed orange juice and a slice as garnish add some dimension and further balance the tartness of the cranberry. I would have used blood oranges were they available, but they don't come into season until December-January. Instead I used CA navel oranges.

Cranapple Punch (single serving)
1.5 oz. Laird's Apple Bond
2 oz. L&A Cranberry Juice (concentrated, unsweetened)
2 oz. Water
1T Superfine sugar
1/4 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice

Dissolve sugar in water. Build ingredients in a double old fashioned glass over ice cubes. Stir. Garnish with an orange slice.

Cranapple Punch (group)
1 750 ml bottle Laird's Apple Bond
1 32 oz. bottle L&A Cranberry Juice (concentrated, unsweetened)
32 oz. Water
1 cup superfine sugar
4 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice

Dissolve sugar in water. Mix ingredients in a large (>>92 oz.) punch bowl. Stir. Garnish with orange slices (half rounds). Add ice block. Serve in individual glasses over ice. Serves 16.

Dark 'n Stormy

2009-12-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

The Dark 'n Stormy - Bermuda's national drink - is a refreshingly different drink worth checking out. Made exclusively with dark rum and ginger beer (and garnished with a lime wheel only as an option), it is a simple highball which is easy to put together and enjoy.

Trademarked by the Gosling's brand, their website lists the following recipe for the drink:

Dark 'n Stormy®
2 oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum
Gosling's Stormy Ginger Beer
In a tall glass filled with ice add 2 oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum and top with Gosling's Stormy Ginger Beer. Garnish with lemon or lime wedge (optional).

The drink is indeed very good with Gosling's Black Seal rum as required by the trademark, which the company takes seriously. In fact, Gosling's has apparently been pursuing legal action against Zaya rum which ran an ad in Imbibe magazine recommending their 12 year old rum as the preferred ingredient for a top notch Dark n' Stormy.

While Black Seal rum is good, I have found that there is an even better rum for a Dark n' Stormy. And if using this rum causes the drink to be called something else, then so be it - I'm willing to pay that price. That rum, incidentally, is El Dorado 5 year old Demerara rum from Guyana. Not designed to be a sipping rum (unlike the fantastically complex, otherworldly El Dorado 15 year) it has a spirity, youthful nature which makes it perfect for mixing and it has much more flavor going on than Black Seal. Specifically, it has the classic Demerara burnt sugar, caramely, smoky notes that really play well with a topper of a good quality ginger beer.

This discovery came after trying the drink with a number of different rums that I had on hand for mixing. Coruba, a dark rum from Jamaica, was a little too dark and sweet and lent the drink too much of a molasses note. Mt. Gay Sugar Cane Rum (an excellent rum) was pretty good, but not quite as convincing a performer in the mixed drink as the El Dorado. Its lighter flavors just didn't stand out enough for my taste.

Another great thing about the El Dorado 5 year old rum is that its price is on par or even less than Gosling's Black Seal at around $17.

So how about the ginger beer? Barritt's, a Bermuda brand, was the mixer of choice (officially, that is) prior to Gosling's recent launch of their own Stormy Ginger Beer. It appears to remain the ginger beer that Dark n' Stormy connoisseurs prefer based on some limited web browsing. Another fairly well-known Bermuda brand is Regatta.

The Bermuda ginger beers tend to be fairly light in color, cloudy and to have a medium-strong ginger flavor, but without the lingering burn which characterizes the stronger Jamaican-style ginger beers.

Barritts is my clear favorite. Next to it, the Goslings is slightly harsh with a more musty flavor. Regatta is very good, but it is lighter in style, more like a ginger ale and for that reason does not perform as well as a mixer.

A non-Bermuda replacement that I have found works well is Bundaberg from Australia. It's lighter in ginger bite than Barritts but has a round, sweet flavor. And it is reasonably priced and readily available at your local Bevmo unlike all of the others, which can be difficult to find.

As far as a recipe goes, I tend to use approximately 2:1 ginger beer to rum. And regarding the optional lime garnish - I omit it altogether.

Give a Dark n' Stormy a try and let me know what you think. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients, but just remember that if you're not using Black Seal, you'll have to call it something else.

Blood and Sand

2009-11-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been to the Tiki Ti in LA, it's unlikely that you ever made it through an evening without witnessing the awesome spectacle that accompanies any order of a Blood and Sand cocktail. The drink is mixed and poured into a glass, then the bartender breaks out a tequila bottle with a bull's head pouring spout and the entire (admittedly small, but surprisingly loud) bar yells "TORO TORO TORO..." while the floater is poured. It's great fun.

Classically made from equal parts Scotch, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth and OJ, the cocktail is named after a bullfighting movie of the same name. There were many versions of the film including an original 1916 version filmed by the author of the book Vicente Blasco Ibáñez but perhaps the most famous is the 1922 silent version starring Rudolph Valentino (poster, right). It is likely that this movie formed the impetus for the cocktail's creation, as others have indicated the recipe first showed up around 1930.

The Blood and Sand emerges from an interesting melange of ingredients which, I have to admit, doesn't quite sound that great on paper. Scotch is difficult to mix in cocktails because of its tendency to dominate with its strong peat smoke flavors, but somehow it manages to play nicely in this one. I used Johnnie Walker green label (a vatted pure malt), which is probably a little high end for cocktail mixing, but it worked fine. A blended Scotch would work well - I'd probably recommend Teacher's which claims Ardmore single malt as one of its components - an excellent peaty Highlander.

This is my first experience with Cherry Heering which is a fantastic cherry liqueur and is the star of the cocktail despite playing a supporting role. Made in Denmark from a local cherry, the Stevens variety, the liqueur is very flavorful with a complex palate of cherries and subtle spices as well as some of the bitter almond-like character of the pits. Cherry Marnier is also recommended by many, but it is not widely available in the US from what I've seen.

I used fresh squeezed OJ, which I always recommend if you have oranges on hand. Also I used Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth, my recommended go-to for a "daily" vermouth.

I'm using the Cocktail db version which reduces the amount of cherry brandy and sweet vermouth. This variant is attributed to "Dr. Cocktail" Ted Haigh in one of the articles below. This version retains a strong cherry flavor, offers a better overall balance and is still sufficiently sweet.

A couple of articles that I came across while working on this post are worth noting:

SFGate article
Cocktail Chronicles Post

Blood and Sand Cocktail
1 oz. Scotch whiskey (blended is fine, used JW Green Label)
1 oz. Orange Juice (fresh squeezed)
3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth (Martini & Rossi)
3/4 oz. Cherry Brandy (Cherry Heering)
Mix in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I have yet to try the Tiki Ti version (there are just too many good drinks there!). I understand that it is made not from Scotch, but rather bourbon as its base and includes the addition of the tequila which is definitely not in the classic variant. Judging by the frequency this drink is ordered in the bar though, it must be delicious indeed. It'll probably be my first drink ordered on my next visit

Fitz's Root Beer

2009-11-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

During a business trip last week to St. Louis, I stumbled across a barbeque joint near my hotel which was offering Fitz's Rootbeer in the bottle. After having just seen a six pack of Fitz's Rootbeer on display in the airport as part of a Delmar Loop advertisement, I was intrigued.

According to the company's website:

Fitz’s American Grill & Bottling Works sits in the heart of the Delmar Loop, a ten-block section of distinctive stores, shops and even a renovated movie theater dating back to the 1930’s.

A small hamburger joint may seem like an unusual place for the birth of a root beer legend. But Fitz’s Drive-In is exactly where it started in 1947. Noted for incredible smoothness and thick, creamy texture, Fitz’s Root Beer was served in mugs and quickly became the root beer of choice among St. Louisans.

It still is. Our recipe is a closely-guarded secret and contains many of the ingredients used in the original. Unlike most soft drinks, Fitz’s continues to use pure cane sugar. The old-fashioned goodness of Fitz’s must be tasted to be believed. Curb service and thirty-cent hamburgers may be a thing of the past, but the distinctive, satisfying taste of Fitz’s Root Beer lives on.

So back at my bbq joint (Bandana's was the name of the place), I bellied up to the bar, ordered a mixed plate of pork and beef bbq with beans and cole slaw and a tall bottle of Fitz's.

Still suffering from the lingering effects of a cold at the time, I can't provide the most accurate notes but what I did get from the bottle was a high quality taste, clean from the use of cane sugar and with a fair amount of a wintergreen, minty element that I like in root beer. Others may find it too "toothpasty" but it worked for me.

I always enjoy trying some of the local flavors wherever I am, and I'm happy to have discovered this interesting St. Louis gem of a soda.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

2009-09-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you landlubbers not in the know, today is International Talk Like a Pirate day. I've decided to take this day on in my own style by drinking like a Pirate. And what says "Pirate" like a good old bottle of rum?

I did some quick internet searching (Googled pirate, rum) and came up with just the right website specializing in rum reviews with a Pirate slant. It's Bilgemunky.com (http://www.bilgemunky.com/category/pirate-reviews/rum/) and has some interesting reviews of a lot of rums. "A love of pirates is what this site is all about" reads the site's "about" page - 'nuff said.

I can't vouch for the accuracy of the reviews, but I reviewed the rum selection vs. my current booty at home and came across a highly rated rum which I've selected for this post. It was the last line of the review which really got me:

"Share a bottle with your landsmen friends, and then bask in your own pirattitude as they find themselves well out of their depth."

..."pirattitude" - brilliant!

The rum, by the way is Barbancourt 15 year old from Haiti. A recent purchase, this gave me an opportunity to taste the rum and record some notes. Made from sugar cane juice and double-distilled using the Charentaise method, apparently used in cognac production according to the Barbancourt website. The rum is then aged in Limousin oak barrels and is predominantly marketed in an 8 year old and 15 year old version for rum buffs.

My tasting notes follow:

Color - medium-light amber
Nose - Strong alcohol. Underneath, some caramel, raisins. Very subtle acetone (fingernail polish remover) notes.
Taste - Peppery, strong alcohol. More raisins, caramel in the background.
Finish - Somewhat short, but spicy and spirity

This is a pretty spicy rum as the tasting notes on bilgemunky indicate, though I'm not entirely convinced of its merits. I do see some charms in the subtle caramel and raisin notes, but overall this is surprisingly rambunctious for a 15 year old.

Not the smooth, balanced dram I was expecting, but it just may be an appropriate quaff for a Pirate. And tharrrr's something to be said for that.

Tonic Water Taste Test

2009-09-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I loved bitter and sour beverages. I can remember Sunday dinners at my parents' house - while my Dad and Grandpa had a "scotch and soda" (which to my Grandpa really meant scotch on the rocks) I would often be treated to a sour mix, OJ and grenadine drink. Tonic water was another treat that I would have occasionally. While many bristle at the thought of drinking tonic water straight, I actually rather enjoy the balance of citrus, sweetness and bitterness that can be found in a good bottle.

In the summer, a gin and tonic made with Beefeater gin (I prefer the crispness of Beefeater to the full-bodied character of Tanqueray) with a slice of lemon or lime (I vacillate between the two or sometimes even add a small squeeze of each) is a great thirst quencher and really sets the mood for a mid-late afternoon patio party.

For this post, I assembled a rather large group of tonic waters, ranging from my previous gold standard, Schweppes, to some pricey newcomers boasting artisanal ingredients and manufacturing methods, such as Fever Tree, Q tonic, Fentiman's and Stirrings. Below is a listing of the nine tonics selected.

1. Hansens
2. Schweppes
3. Whole Foods 365
4. Q Tonic
5. White Rock
6. Stirrings
7. Fentimans
8. Schweppes Indian Tonic (Holland)
9. Fever Tree

Note: Canada Dry is intentionally absent. After much experimentation, I have determined that I have a strong preference Schweppes (domestic) to Canada Dry which has a sweet, cloying flavor and not enough bitterness. For that reason it didn't make it to the finals.

All tonics were packaged in small glass bottles except Hansen's and 365 which were served in a can. Schweppes (domestic) and White Rock had plastic screw-caps while all the other bottles had a classic crown-type bottle cap. Purists tend to like the small glass bottles and believe that they offer superior carbonation.

The tonics were tasted blind by Rob and me. Following are our tasting notes and scores. Where tonics were close in score, I attempted to differentiate by tasting back to back to confirm the ranking.

1. Hansen's
Matt - light citrus, not much bitterness, medium sweetness. Score - 88
Rob - Unctuous, full-bodied. Could be a little more carbonated. Medium bitterness, not very sweet. Score - 90

2. Schweppes
Matt - light flavors. Some bitterness. Sweeter than #1 but less flavorful. Score - 87
Rob - Not much on the opening taste, but then finishes with a bitter attack. Good carbonation. Score - 85

3. Whole Foods 365
Matt - Citrusy, sweet, not much bitterness, though. Nice flavors. Score 86
Rob - Sweeter with light bitterness. Not super flavorful, but pleasant. Score - 89

4. Q Tonic
Matt - Not much going on here - not sweet, some bitterness. Score - 85
Rob - Very little tonic flavor. Some astringent bitterness on the finish. Almost soda water. Score - 75

5. White Rock
Matt - Sweet with some bitterness. Not a lot of citrus, but a decent overall balance of flavors. Score - 89
Rob - Light opening with a pleasantly bitter finish. Score - 87

6. Stirrings
Matt - Light flavors, medium bitterness. Some soapiness. Light sweetness. Score - 86
Rob - Light. Not much flavor. Short finish. Score - 80

7. Fentiman's
Matt - Full-flavored, medium bitterness. Medium+ sweetness with a lot of pleasant citrus notes. Score - 90
Rob - Full-bodied. Definite citrus flavors. Finishes with bitterness. Complex. Could be a bit more carbonated. Score - 91

8. Schweppes Indian Tonic (Holland)
Matt - Wow! Complex flavors, nice fizz, nice bitterness. Medium sweetness, good citrus and an almost herbal quality. Score - 94
Rob - Complex flavor with a mineral finish. Almost a mediciny, soda cracker-like flavor. Score - 89

9. Fever Tree
Matt - Lemon-lime soda, light bitterness. Simple, somewhat uninteresting. Some minor off-flavors. Score - 87
Rob - Simple but good tonic flavor. Won't get in the way of your gin. Score - 88

Final Rankings:

Matt
1. Schweppes Indian Tonic (94)
2. Fentiman's (90)
3. White Rock (89)
4. Hansen's (88)
5. Schweppes/Fever Tree (87, tie)
7. 365/Stirrings (86, tie)
9. Q Tonic (85)

Rob
1. Fentiman's (91)
2. Hansen's (90)
3. 365/Schweppes Indian Tonic (89, tie)
5. Fever Tree (88)
6. White Rock (87)
7. Schweppes (85)
8. Stirrings (80)
9. Q Tonic (75)

Conclusions: We both agreed that Fentiman's was an extremely fine product - Rob had it as his #1 and I had it at #2. It was the only product that scored in the 90's by both of us. At $3.50 for 125 ml, however I'm not sure how much of this I'll be buying in the future. The Lilliputian bottle is so cute though... Thanks to Rachel for picking this up at Galco's Soda Stop in LA.

The Schweppes Indian Tonic was a revelation for me. I loved the complex flavors and gave it extra points for character. Rob liked the complex flavors as well, but was somewhat put off by the mediciney finish. Unfortunately this product is mostly unavailable here in the US. Rarely seen in stores, I considered it a coup to find this at the Beverage Warehouse in Marina Del Rey. How long they will carry it is anyone's best guess. I may have to stock up.

Hansen's did surprisingly well. I usually do not care for it in a gin and tonic because it is not bitter enough. Which, by the way, brings up an interesting point with respect to this tasting; specifically, how will these tonics rate in a classic Gin & Tonic? To answer that, Rob and I have tentatively planned to conduct a comparison of our top picks of these tonics, mixed in a G&T, in the future.

White Rock was an interesting and tasty newcomer that turned out to be my #3 pick. Another rarity picked up at Beverage Warehouse.

Schweppes (domestic) was a disappointment to me. I have long respected its quinine bitterness as a superior ingredient to a proper G&T. In this tasting it did not shine. I will be very interested to compare it with some of the others when we try them mixed in a drink in the future.

365 was only o.k. to me. Rob liked it a bit more and had it tied for #3. It would definitely be worth trying for anyone near a Whole Foods.

Fever Tree had a mediocre showing despite my high hopes for it. It just didn't stand up to the more complex offerings and Rob and I agreed that it had a fairly simple lemon-soda flavor.

Stirrings was uninteresting and a general underperformer, and therefore would not be recommended due to its premium price.

Q Tonic was suprisingly flat in flavor. I found it lacking in character. Rob found it downright offensive. This was probably the second most expensive bottle in the tasting, so I will probably not be buying this in the future. That said, it is being heavily marketed and is probably worth a try for those wishing to try some of the exciting new tonics out there.

Final Notes: This was a long time coming and I had a really good time comparing flavors and ranking this broad range of tonics. I look forward to the "next phase" where we'll have the opportunity to rank these tonics based on their performance in a G&T.

Tootin' Root's Horn

2009-09-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

Blog friend Mikey sent me a note asking if I had heard of a new liqueur called Root. I hadn't, so I did a little research and discovered that it is an exciting liquid project from the folks at Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. I first heard about this company after receiving a cool T-shirt as a gift from Rachel and Jeremy, but did not fully appreciate how eclectic their product range was at the time.

According to the company: Art In The Age of Mechanical Reproduction firmly believes in empowering artists producing high quality work marked by fine craft and intellectual rigor. We do so by applying the fruits of such labors to the cultural forms of everyday life, granting those who wish to engage the opportunity to do so in his/her own environment. Rather than exist at a distance in the white cube of the gallery space, we weave our offerings into the collective surface of myriad personal contexts. In this troubling epoch of industrial commodification, standardization of reproduction, and fomentation of a society of shallow spectacle, Art In The Age issues a challenge and rally cry. We fight fire with fire, subsuming the onslaught of watered down facsimiles and inaccessible displays with thought-provoking products of real cultural capital.

As far as Root is concerned, the company offers an interesting history of root-based beverages in the US. They don't really go into any detail as to who was the creative force behind the launch of this interesting new product which I, for one, would have found interesting.

The website as well as the bottle tag describe the history as follows:

In the 1700’s, it was called “Root Tea.” An herbal remedy made with sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch bark and other wild roots and herbs. Native Americans taught the recipe to colonial settlers. As it was passed it down from generation to generation, it grew in potency and complexity. Particularly in the Pennsylvania hinterlands, where the ingredients naturally grow in abundance.

At the close of the 19th century, as the Temperance movement conspired to take the fun out of everything, a Philadelphia pharmacist removed the alcohol from Root Tea and rechristened it (ironically) “Root Beer”. He did this so that hard drinking Pennsylvania coal miners and steelworkers could enjoy it in place of true alcoholic refreshment. He introduced his “Root Beer” in a big way at the still legendary 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The rest, as you know, is flaccid history.

Here at Art in the Age, we thought it would be interesting and fun to turn back the clock and recreate a true pre-temperance alcoholic Root Tea. We’ve even made it certified organic, since back then, everything was organic. This is the opposite of corporate culture. It’s a genuine experience rooted in history and our own landscape. It is a truly interesting and contemplative quaff. Certainly like nothing else we have ever tasted before. It is NOT Root Beer flavored vodka or a sickly sweet liqueur.

Root is packaged in an attractive bottle and includes a nice label on the back with an artist's rendition of the major consituents in the brew. See image, right.

In terms of flavors, it is definitely reminiscent of root beer - think of a craft brew like Virgil's, but not as sweet. It does have some sweetness, but it is not syrupy or cloying at all. Those who enjoy a good birch beer such as Boylan's will recognize the strong birch bark character. There is also wintergreen which forms another of the primary flavors. In the background and not individually distinguishable, are a bevy of spices such as allspice, nutmeg and anise.

I tried Root on its own, sipped from a shot glass for the first few experiences. It's good and this just may be my primary form of consumption in the future. On the other hand, a number of very creative Root-based cocktails are listed on the Art in the Age website. A few which caught my attention, whether sampled or not, are listed below:

Dr. Hadley's Root Restorative
0.5 oz. Demerara simple syrup
6 large mint leaves
1.25 oz. Lairds Bonded (100 proof) Applejack
1.0 oz. Root Liqueur
.5 oz. Benedictine
.5 oz. fresh lime juice
2 dashes Fee Brother’s Aztec Chocolate bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish: Mint sprig Muddle mint in simple syrup. Add ice and other ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with a spanked mint sprig.
Created by Katie Loeb of Oyster House.

The Root cocktail competition winner, Dr. Hadley's Root Restorative sounds interesting and includes a lot of ingredients I like (Apple Bond, Benedictine, Demerara simple syrup) but I don't have the chocolate bitters (yet!) so I didn't make it and therefore cannot vouch for it. May be reason to order some bitters in the future though.

The Medicine Lodge Cocktail
1/2 oz. simple syrup (used turbinado)
1 1/2 oz. ROOT
2 oz.. Laird’s 71/2 Aged Apple Brandy (used 1.5 oz. Apple Bond)
1-2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
splash of ginger beer (used Bundaberg)

Stir ingredients and garnish with fresh ginger.
Created Christian Gaal of Noble American Cookery

This is pretty good. The ginger beer and Root is a nice combination. The Apple Bond is a little lost in this, though.

Dr. Root
2 oz ROOT
4 oz. Dr. Pepper (used Dublin Dr. Pepper with Imperial Cane sugar in a bottle)
A Splash of cream
Pour ROOT into a tall glass of chilled Dr. Pepper. Add a splash of cream & enjoy.

OK, I enjoyed... Definitely a dessert type of experience - creamy and rich.

Root 'n Ginger
2 oz ROOT
4 oz. ginger beer (used Bundaberg)
ginger slice (omitted)

Pour ROOT into a tall glass of chilled ginger beer. Garnish with sliced ginger.

This is GOOD. It delivers exactly what it says - it's Root and Ginger beer. No nonsense - nice combination.

Forbidden Root
3/4 oz. ROOT
3/4 oz. TRU vodka (used SKYY)
1 oz. fresh squeezed white grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1/4 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
1/4 oz. Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
dash of Angostura

Shaken and strained into a cocktail glass.
Created by Nic Jarrett

This drink gets props for being a play on the obscure and now defunct liqueur, Forbidden Fruit, which came in a bottle similar to Chambord (from the same company) and was based on grapefruit - see image to the right. I can't say that I'm surprised to find this interesting. I really like the Root flavors next to the grapefruit and Maraschino. I ususally find Maraschino overpowering - but it works here at the level the recipe specifies. This cocktail does justice to its ingredients - each plays a distinct and pivotal role - the hallmark of a successful drink. Definitely worth a try.

To buy Root, which I'd recommend, you either need to live in Philadelphia where it is distributed locally or purchase online through Hi-Time. When Rachel called Hi-Time, they mentioned that there was a lot of interest in Root and was out of stock at that time. But we got on the list for a few bottles which we were fortunate to be able to get a few days later.

Final Notes: I'd definitely recommend Root to anyone looking to expand their liqueur horizons. Excellent on its own, it also makes for an interesting mixed drink - my favorites being the Root n' Ginger and Forbidden Root.

My Favorite Belgians

2009-08-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

To be clear, I'm not talking about Dr. Evil or René Magritte here - rather, I'm referring to a couple of my favorite Belgian ales. Belgian beer comes in a variety of styles, including golden ales, white beers (witbier, e.g. Hoegaarden), Trappist ales, and Abbey ales (e.g. Leffe), among others. While there are a lot of these worth talking about, I've picked a couple of my favorites, Chimay Triple (white) and Duvel as the subject of this post.

Chimay produces a number of Trappist ales, brewed in the Scourmont Abbey. Their Triple, (known as Cinq Cents in the 750 mL bottle) with the white label has always been my favorite. The Chimay website speaks of two fermentations (as compared with Duvel's three, below, but the actual process appears similar) - a top fermentation followed by bottle conditioning. According to the site:

The yeast is a primary constituent. It is this that makes the story of Chimay beer. In fact, the yeast was selected by Father Theodore in 1948. His work was to isolate the yeast cells and cultivate them, make some "micro-brews" and then, of course, to evaluate the flavour and brewing qualities. When he had isolated the best strain, Father Theodore propagated it selectively.

Duvel (which means "Devil" in Flemish) is a "strong golden ale" and is made from Scottish Yeast, Czech hops, Barley from France and local Belgian water. The beer undergoes 3 fermentations - the first is a top fermentation taking place at a temp of 64-82F, the second is a "lagering" process at 27F, the tertiary step is a "bottle conditioning" whereby additional yeast is added prior to bottling and aged first at around 72F, then for a longer period (about 6 weeks) at 41F. It is this lengthy process which prompts the website to proclaim "Guaranteed not Fresh!".

Following are my tasting notes for these two beers which were served straight from the fridge in a wide-mouthed snifter approximating the glasses shown in the pictures:

Chimay Triple
Color - Dark golden, amber, slightly hazy
Nose - Malty, cereal grains, yeast
Palate - Full-bodied, round, malty. Complex, with some dark, raisin-spice notes.
Finish - Malty, smooth, complex

Duvel
Color - Light gold, slightly hazy
Nose - Bright hoppy elements. Crisp, mouthwatering
Palate - Fruity hoppiness continues, well balanced, crisp. Some yeasty/doughy flavors.
Finish - Crisp, bitter hops. Very nice.

Pour yourself a glass of these delicious, yeasty brews. And if someone happens to catch you with some beer foam on your upper lip and nose, you can proudly proclaim "That's how we drink it in Belgium. It's called a Belgian Dip." - to quote Dr. Evil.

A few Viogniers

2009-07-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend, our neighbors Jeff and Beky came over with some Viogniers in hand for an impromptu tasting. Jeff has long been extolling the virtues of Viognier and let me tell you, he's been preaching to the choir. They brought a bottle of Summerwood 2007 and Melville 2007 (along with a nice, sweet, late harvest Garretson Viognier for which no tasting notes were taken). I supplied what turned out to be an unfortunate Melville 2006 and Tablas Creek 2006.

Viognier is a classic Rhone varietal, which is used, unblended, in Condrieu. In California it is frequently blended with other Rhone whites (e.g. Roussanne, Marsanne) and is sometimes blended with Syrah to soften the flavors. Crisp, typically dry, flavorful, fruity and flowery, California Viogniers can be very good to excellent expressions of the varietal and are made all over the state.

Following are our tasting notes and scores. Wines were tasted blind. They are listed in order of scores, highest to lowest.

I am supposed to conspicuously point out that Jeff's wines kicked mine's butts decisively.

Summerwood Viognier 2007 (Paso Robles, Westside)
Matt:
Nose: Flowers, french oak
Palate: More flowers, tart peach/nectarine, french oak, incredible balance and complexity.
Finish: Long, complex
Rating: 93
Jeff: Not much nose. Very smooth, buttery, oaky taste. Smooth, light finish.
Rating 95
Beky: All around best blend. Rating 95
Julie: ...mmm, flowery, very drinkable Rating 87

Melville Viognier Estate - Verna's 2007 (Santa Ynez, Los Alamos)
Matt:
Nose: Fruits, honey
Palate: Nectarine, tart, cotton-candy
Finish: Tart, fruity, sweet (residual sugar?)
Rating: 88
Jeff: acidic, grapefruit, oak. Rating 89
Beky: sweet start, crisp, alcoholy. Rating 87
Julie: balanced, ...mmm. Rating 89

Melville Viognier Estate - Verna's 2006(Santa Ynez, Los Alamos)
Matt:
Nose: Honey, some burnt/caramel apple aromas
Palate,: More caramel, burnt sugar, honey along with some tart fruit flavors
Finish: Long, tart, caramel
Rating: 85
Jeff: sour, acidic nose. Good upfront, lingering taste. A little sour. Rating: 82
Beky: Bubbly, champagney. Rating: 83
Julie: Effervescent, old smell, tangy. Rating: 80

Tablas Creek Viognier 2006 (Paso Robles, Westside)
Matt:
Nose: Not much
Palate: Dry, very light, not a lot of flavor development
Finish: Short, uninteresting
Rating: 80
Jeff: No nose, no body, no structure, no flavor. Rating: 80
Beky: Smoky start, dry, oak, as if cut with water. Rating: 72
Julie: Dry. eh. Neutral. Rating: 70

Final Notes -
Not being used to overt oak in Viognier, it was surprising to me how well the Summerwood fared in the tasting. It was clearly the best balanced of the bunch with great structure. Almost delicate compared to the over-the-top fruit and alcohol bomb Melville, it still had a lot of flavor and complexity.

The Melville 2007 was a very good to excellent wine. After I finished my tasting notes and we had the "reveal", I found that the flavors grew on me a little bit. The Summerwood remained king, but the gap narrowed a bit. Melville Viogniers have been a long-time favorite of mine and are a California quality benchmark year after year.

The 2006 Melville was clearly past its prime. The burnt sugar flavors are telltale signs of storage at too high a temperature or too long a period. Once great in its prime, it had by now developed tired flavors.

The 2006 Tablas Creek was a big disappointment. Clearly lacking in flavor, structure and complexity next to its peers, it really had nothing to offer. This was rated highly by Parker, but was universally panned by our panel.

I'll continue to buy Melville's Viognier as I find it to be a very interesting wine and a decent value. And next time I'm up in Paso Robles, I'll certainly make a point of stopping by Summerwood to revisit their excellent Viognier.

When Summer Sizzles, It's Time for Swizzles!

2009-07-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Swizzles are fast becoming a favorite drink of mine. Refreshing, with lots of crushed ice, swizzles are notable for being fairly simple mixtures of rum or other spirits, juices and sweeteners, which are then "swizzled" (stirred) until frost forms on the outside of the glass or pitcher.

Traditionally, swizzles are mixed by using a branch of the Swizzlestick tree, Quararibea turbinata, which is spun between the palms of one's hands (picture to the left). Swizzle sticks like this are generally not found in the US, so unless you or a good friend have a trip to Martinique planned in the near future, you'll have to settle for a bar spoon (which works fine, but is certainly less "authentic" feeling)

A good swizzle has a high-ish proof rum/spirit balanced by a nice citrus tang. The use of lots of cracked ice makes it refreshing and makes the drink last a long time. OK, so "a long time" may be an exaggeration, but it certainly lasts longer and delivers substantially more hydration than your typical "up" cocktail.

Swizzling gave me a good opportunity to sample some interesting rums from around the world. It seems as if each Carribbean destination has their own signature brand of swizzle and at least one excellent rum to go along with it. The Rhum Agricole of Martinique, in particular, have piqued my interest and will no doubt be the subject of further exploration in the future.

For this post I'm using Scarlet Ibis (Trinidad) for the Swedizzle, Mount Gay Sugar Cane Rum (Barbados) for the Barbados Red Rum Swizzle, Gosling's Black Seal (Bermuda) for the Bermuda Rum Swizzle, Lemon Hart (Guyana) for the Queen's Park Swizzle and Clément VSOP (Martinique) for the Martinique Swizzle.

Below are recipes for some favorite swizzled tipples including a rare drink of my own invention, the Swedizzle.

Swedizzle
1.5 oz rum (used Scarlet Ibis, Appleton V/X would be second choice)
3/4 oz Swedish Punsch
1/2 oz lemon juice
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass.

Chartreuse Swizzle
1¼ oz green Chartreuse
½ oz falernum (Taylor's Velvet)
1 oz pineapple juice
¾ oz lime juice
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Garnish with a spring of mint. As an option, add 1/2 oz. Bacardi or J Wray Overproof white rum to kick things up a notch (or two with the J Wray)

Barbados Red Rum Swizzle
2 ounces Barbados rum
1/2 lime
1 dash Angostura bitters
1/4 ounce simple syrup
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Recipe from Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide.

Bermuda Rum Swizzle
2 ounce dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal)
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce orange juice
1/4 ounce falernum
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Recipe from Robert Hess.

Queen's Park Swizzle
3 oz Demerara rum (Lemon Hart)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1/2 oz rich sugar syrup (demerara or turbinado sugar)
juice of 1/2 lime
8-10 mint leaves
Muddle mint leaves in the bottom of the glass. Add remaining ingredients and swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Recipe from Imbibe Magazine.

Apple Swizzle
1.5 oz. Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded)
0.75 oz. white rum
1 oz. lime juice
1 tsp sugar
5 dashes Angostura bitters
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Recipe from CocktailDB.

Martinique Swizzle
2 oz. Martinique rum
1/2 lime
1 dash Angostura bitters
1/2 oz. simple syrup
scant tsp pastis or Herbsaint
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Recipe adapted from Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide.

Notes: My favorite of the Carribbean swizzles has to be the Queen's Park Swizzle. While it originated in Trinidad, Demerara rum is traditional as Trinidad did not really ramp up rum production until after WWII (according to cocktail guru Dale Wondrich).

All of these swizzles make a damn fine drink. I had to tweak the Martinique swizzle a bit to downplay the pastis, balance the sweetness and allow the rum flavor to be noticed. The Bermuda rum swizzle is the fruitiest of the bunch, but definitely a worthwile pursuit. The Swedizzle, Chartreuse Swizzle and Apple Swizzle are all variations on the Carribbean theme, using interesting, if non-standard ingredients, that come together well.

But don't just take my word for it, get to swizzling!

Applejack and Apple Brandy

2009-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Applejack is an original American spirit, dating back to the times of Washington. The Laird family, producers of Applejack and several versions of an aged Apple Brandy started commercial production in 1780 and apparently received the first US distillery license in the small community of Scobeyville, NJ.

Applejack was popular with the early colonists, who were leery of drinking water; they believed it to carry disease and were convinced that the strong spririts promoted good health.

According to Laird's website, Robert Laird was a Revolutionary War soldier serving under George Washington, and the Laird family supplied the troops with Applejack. Historical records show that, prior to 1760, George Washington wrote to the Laird family requesting their recipe for producing Applejack, which the Laird family gladly supplied. Entries appear in Washington’s diary in the 1760’s regarding his production of "cyder spirits".

Today, Laird’s AppleJack is not straight apple brandy, but a 35% apple brandy base which is combined with neutral grain spirits along with a "hint of apple flavor and aroma" which is conspicuously obfuscatory.

According to the company a 750 ML bottle of Lairds AppleJack contains 6 lbs of apples and a bottle of Lairds Apple Bond contains 20 lbs of apples. I picked up a bottle of both recently for the purposes of experimentation - first on their own, then in some cocktails.

The AppleJack has a distinct fresh apple aroma and flavor, as advertised. Due to the 40 proof, it is fairly light, somewhat smooth with a nice appley finish. The Apple Bond has less of the fresh apple flavor, but has a lot more distilled apple character along with more heat. Definitely not a sipping brandy. When mixed in a cocktail, the Apple Bond really comes alive with an effusion of complex apple flavors and slightly more heat. I highly recommend it as the first choice in all of the cocktails below.

The cocktails choices were taken mostly from CocktailDB and were a small sampling based on drinks that sounded particularly tasty or made use of ingredients of current interest.

A.J Cocktail
1 1/2 oz grapefruit juice
1 1/2 oz applejack
1/2 oz grenadine
Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating*** (out of 5) A good cocktail with a nice grapefruit zing.

Devil's Leap
1 oz light rum
1 oz swedish punch
1 oz applejack
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating* Not enough tanginess to go with the Swedish Punsch.

Diki Cocktail #2
2 oz sloe gin (used Plymouth)
1/4 oz applejack
1/4 oz grapefruit juice
Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating*** More of a showcase of sloe gin, the subject of a future post, no doubt.

Jack Rose
1 1/2 oz applejack or bonded apple brandy
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz grenadine
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating ***** An amazing cocktail sprang forth from these basic, but quality ingredients. The ultimate demonstration of how apple brandy can come alive in a cocktail.

Jinx Cocktail
1/2 oz. passion fruit nectar
1 oz. gin
1boz. applejack
1 dash Angostura
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating***1/2 On the sweeter side, but everything in check.

Marconi Wireless
1 3/4 oz applejack (used Apple bond)
3/4 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's)
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating **** An excellent appley variant on the Manhattan. And it has a cool name and interesting historic link. More here.

Diamondback (from Cocktail Chronicles, link here)
1 1/2 ounces rye whiskey (Rittenhouse bonded strongly recommended)
3/4 ounce applejack (Laird’s bonded apple brandy strongly recommended)
3/4 ounce Chartreuse (yellow works, but green works better)
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating**1/2 This didn't do too much for me. Mostly Chartreuse dominated and I think there are better Chartreuse cocktails out there (or here).

Apple Swizzle
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz apple brandy
3/4 oz light rum
5 dashes Angostura bitters
1 tsp sugar (4 dashes)
Pour ingredients in a highball glass filled with cracked ice. Swizzle (stir) until glass frosts.
Rating**** Nice addition to the growing Swizzle armory.

C.f.h Cocktail
1 oz gin
1/2 oz apple brandy
1/2 oz swedish punch (used Saturnus Arracks-Punsch extract 50/50 with Van Oosten Batavia Arrack)
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz grenadine (used Ferrara)
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating *** Very Swedish Punsch-y. Pretty sweet, even with half the grenadine. Good, not great. Apple Brandy is in the background without a significant role.

Diki Diki Cocktail
2 oz Calvados or apple brandy
1/4 oz swedish punch
1/4 oz grapefruit juice
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating *** Very good with the Apple brandy showing through, but the grapefruit/swedish punsch blend is a little flat.

Hugo Bracer
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz apple brandy
1/2 oz Amer Picon (used Torani Amer)
1/2 oz grenadine (used Ferrara - a new and interesting grenadine)
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating**** A little on the sweet side (will use closer to 1/4 oz. grenadine next time), but a great combination of the tartness of the lime and the apple with the sweetness of the grenadine and the complex bitter-oranginess of the Amer Picon. All in all, a very nice cocktail.

Warday's (War Days)
3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
3/4 oz apple brandy
1/4 oz green Chartreuse or Yellow Chartreuse
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Rating*** Interesting mix of flavors. Not really a showcase of apple brandy per se, but the ingredients are pretty well balanced in the overall impression.

Final Notes - The Apple brandies tasted as part of this post are excellent spirits, which best express themselves mixed in cocktails. The Jack Rose cocktail was a revelation, especially when made with the Laird's Apple Bond Brandy. The apple character really shines through and blends well with the lime and pomegranate flavors. Recipes usually specify lemon or lime - I've found lime to produce a superior drink. Also homemade grenadine is key here (I opt for 1:1 pomegranate juice to sugar).

In addition, the Marconi Wireless, Apple Swizzle and Hugo Bracer are excellent cocktails and showcase the mixability and complexity of Apple Brandy.

Amer Picon, Torani Amer and Amer Boudreau

2009-05-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Amer Picon is yet another of the "lost" ingredients popular among the cocktail crowd these days. Originally invented by Gaetan Picon in the mid-1800's, it was used to combat malaria, first by himself, then by the French Army during his time in Algeria. It contains orange peels, gentian root and quinine among other things.

The formulation changed forever in the 1970's when it went from 78 proof down to 39 proof, making it difficult to recreate the flavor profile and potency of the original version in cocktails. The new formulation is only widely available in France and is not sold in the U.S.

A number of people have set out to recreate this classic ingredient, most notably the Torani company, maker of all of those flavored syrups (their orgeat is my favorite), who market a product known simply as Torani Amer. At 79 proof, many enthusiasts proclaim this to be close replica of the original Amer Picon. And apparently things improved recently when people started noticing a distinct lack of an undesirable vegetal, celery-like flavor element, which they believed pagued this product for a long time. (I have not tried the pre-reformulated version). The reformulated version is very good with a distinct orangey nose, is fairly high alcohol, and has a nice bitter finish. It is very popular in San Francisco and anywhere with a large Basque community (e.g. San Bernardino, Fresno) where Picon Punch seems to be a cultural phenomenon.

Recently, well known bartender and cocktail enthusiast Jamie Boudreau developed an Amer Picon replica known widely as "Amer Boudreau" (recipe here) which makes use of a homemade orange tincture (dried orange peel soaked in high-proof vodka or grain alcohol), Ramazzotti Amaro (which I originally discovered while in Italy - fabulous on its own) and Stirrings Blood Orange bitters. The version I made is a little sweeter than the Torani Amer, but part of that is due to the fact that I used 80 proof vodka so the overall proof level is lower. I'll use a higher proof vodka or Everclear for my next batch.

As far as cocktail recipes, three that I really like are provided below. I discovered the recipe for the Brooklyn Cocktail in an article in Imbibe magazine titled "Gone but not Forgotten" about defunct and lost ingredients.

The Picon Punch recipe is adapted from the recipe in the book aperitif by Georgeanne Brennan. There are a lot of variations on the Picon Punch recipe - many do not use lemon juice at all, but only the peel as the garnish. Some omit the soda. I like both in there. It is an amazingly refreshing cocktail and you can increase or decrease the amount of soda quite a bit without diminishing the enjoyment of this beverage.

The Liberal cocktail recipe is from CocktailDB and makes use of rye and orange bitters. It's similar to a Manhattan but with an extra orangey flavor profile in the background. I'm increasingly becoming a fan of the Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond (BIB) rye whiskey, which I recommend in this cocktail. While I gave it low marks on its own during a recent rye tasting, I've found that it brings out an extra dimension in mixed drinks (especially when paired with Carpano Antica Formula vermouth) and is fast establishing itself as a standard for me in the Manhattan.

Brooklyn cocktail
2 oz rye or bourbon (Sazerac Rye)
3/4 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz Amer Picon (or substitute)
1/4 oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a marasca cherry.

Picon Punch
1 1/2 oz Amer Picon (or substitute)
1.5 tsp grenadine (homemade)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 tsp brandy
soda water (~2-4 oz. depending on level of refreshment desired)
Add ingredients except brandy to a large-ish wine goblet, top off with soda, add lemon twist and float the brandy.

Liberal Cocktail
1 1/2 oz rye or Bourbon whiskey (Rittenhouse BIB)
1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula)
1/4 oz Amer Picon (or substitute)
1 dash orange bitters (Regan's)
Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a marasca cherry.

Final Notes - The currently available forms of Amer Picon - Torani Amer and homemade "Amer Boudreau" are enjoyable base ingredients for a number of interesting cocktails. The Torani Amer is inexpensive and readily available ($10.99 at BevMo) and makes a delicious Picon Punch among other things. For those of you enamored with the idea of making your own spirits, the "Amer Boudreau" is fairly easily made and delicious as well - similar but slightly sweeter. So pick up or make a bottle of Amer and find out what it's all about for yourself.

Green Chartreuse

2009-05-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

I finally hit a critical mass of interesting looking mixed drink recipes using green Chartreuse and had to get myself a bottle. My first experience with green Chartreuse was many years back; after reading a rave review of the spirit in Wine Enthusiast by the spirits editor F. Paul Pacult, I bought a bottle for my brother as a Christmas gift. I tried it at least a couple of times and was fascinated by its complex herbal flavors.

Chartreuse is made by Carthusian monks, who apparently got the recipe for the stuff back in 1605 at the Chartreuse Monastery located in the Chartreuse Mountains. Chartreuse comes in many forms. Yellow, which is lower in alcohol and sweeter, the aforementioned green, which clocks in at 110 proof, VEP (Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé) versions of both yellow and green which are aged extensively in oak casks and are very expensive, and finally the Elixir Végétal, supposedly the original form of the spirit which comes in a handsome lathe turned wooden case, is 142 proof, and is not available in the U.S. (and is thus very interesting to me).

Green Chartreuse is excellent on its own, ice cold. It is high in alcohol, but has a light sweetness and an overwhelmingly complex herbal flavor. It is made with 130 herbal extracts. Think of an herb and you'll probably find it evoked in this liqueur.

A number of cocktail recipes can be found which make use of green Chartreuse. Just search CocktailDB and you'll find over 50 recipes. I picked a few from CocktailDB and other sites which seemed especially interesting.

Of note is the Chartreuse Swizzle which is excellent and makes use of Falernum and swizzling - some recent favorites of mine. This recipe came from Marco Dionysos (of Harry Denton's Starlite Room in San Francisco) and won a Bay Area Chartreuse drink recipe contest in 2003. A recipe I found on the internet calls for a garnish of mint and nutmeg. The mint is key, but I am eschewing the nutmeg as I have a strong association with it in rich creamy winter concoctions such as the egg nog and brandy Alexander - which makes it out of place in this drink for me. As for the Falernum, I used Taylor's Velvet as the Fee's would be too sweet in this with the pineapple juice. Also this drink is great with 1/2 to 1 oz. of white rum added if you find it too sweet.

The Swamp Water is also delicious and can be found on the menu at Los Angeles's preeminent Tropical Bar, the Tiki Ti.

The Last Word cocktail is an old-timer, dating from at least before the 1930's, but not widely known. The original recipe calls for equal parts of the ingredients, but as usual I find the Maraschino overpowering and reduced it a bit, while upping the gin a hair.

The St. Germain and the Green Ghost looked the most interesting among the CocktaiDB recipes. The St. Germain is a bit odd, but I like that it's not too sweet, nicely tart and has a nice rich egg white foam. It appears I'm becoming a big egg-white-in-cocktails fan. The Green Ghost is likewise very dry with the Chartreuse more in the background of the gin.

The Last Word
1 oz. green Chartreuse
1.25 oz. gin
0.5 oz. Maraschino liqueur
1 oz. lime juice
Shake ingredients with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.

Swamp Water
1.5 oz. green Chartreuse
5 oz. pineapple juice
lime wedge
Combine in a highball glass with cracked ice. Squeeze lime wedge and stir.

Chartreuse Swizzle
1¼ oz green Chartreuse
½ oz falernum (Taylor's Velvet)
1 oz pineapple juice
¾ oz lime juice
Swizzle with crushed ice (stir until frost forms) in a tall glass. Garnish with a spring of mint.

St. Germain
1 oz. lemon juice
0.5 oz. grapefruit juice
1 egg white
1.5 oz. green Chartreuse
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker and dry shake (i.e. without ice for 10 seconds). Add ice cubes and shake like the dickens for about a minute. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Green Ghost
2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. green Chartreuse
1/2 oz. lime juice
Shake ingredients with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.

Final notes - Green Chartreuse is a complex and tasty herbal liquor. It is excellent on its own - in fact many believe it to be a waste to use it in mixed drinks at all. I do like Chartreuse on its own, well chilled, but also find it can make an excellent cocktail when paired with the right ingredients. Among the cocktails listed above, my faves are the "long drinks", the Chartreuse Swizzle and the Swamp Water, in that order. They're on the sweet side, but the flavors combinations are amazing. All are definitely worth a try.

Happy National Pisco Sour Day, Chile!

2009-05-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia, today is national Pisco sour day in Chile. In celebration, I've made a few of this venerable cocktail using various recipes. I really like this drink.

Pisco is a south American spirit that is produced from grape juice, namely Muscat, Torontel and Pedro Jiménez varieties in Chile, and a long list of varieties in Peru. It is similar in flavor profile to grape brandies that I tasted while in Italy. Also according to Wikipedia: In modern times, it continues to be produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. The drink is a widely consumed spirit in the nations of Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The right to produce and promote pisco has been the matter of legal disputes between Chile and Peru, both of which hold their most iconic cocktail to be the pisco sour. Apparently Peru already celebrated their national Pisco sour day in February.

I've chosen the Chilean version of this drink in deference to my good friend Marcos whose family hails from Chile and provided me with the critical element to this drink - the Chilean Pisco. (Capel brand). I can remember being at his house in junior high or high school and his parents mixing up a batch of pisco sours for guests at a midday party in their backyard. Too young to drink at the time, I can still remember the festive atmosphere that accompanied the preparation, serving and consumption of this beverage.

A number of recipes abound. Some use egg whites, some don't. Peruvian pisco sours usually come with bitters (Peru native Amargo Chuncho brand preferred, but Angostura will do), but Chilean sours mostly do not. I've gathered from some reading that the Chilean version tends toward the simpler side, with the egg white and bitters being considered unnecessary adornments for this delicious cocktail. Marcos's mom uses egg whites in her recipe and I really like the silky texture that results, so I'm including them in mine, but the drink is still delicious without them. Also, she does not use bitters so I'm leaving them out despite my current predilection to use Angostura bitters in everything (beverage-related and otherwise). She recommends rimming the glass with sugar.

Also, citrus selections also vary by locale. In Peru, it is traditional to use limón de pica (thorny lemon), which is apparently similar to Key lime or West Indian lime in the U.S. The typical citrus used in the Chilean Pisco sour is lemon.

Ratios vary. The formulation that I present below is the result of some experimentation - I like a strong citrus character balanced by sweetness. The recipe included on the bottle of Pisco wasn't my favorite (3:1:1/6 Pisco:lemon: sugar) My base recipe uses lemon exclusively, but I've also found that a little lime works very well. Try it and decide which best suits your taste.

Finally, regarding the preparation method, either a blender or shaker will do the job and give you a nice texture with a lot of dense foam. The shaker method works better for a small batch (one or two cocktails) but definitely requires a good deal of elbow grease in order to generate a meringue-like foam. The blender is better for larger batches. Either method, when done properly, yields a good result. I've added a scant pinch of salt to bring out some additional flavor (yes it makes a subtle difference).

The result is a smooth and tangy drink with the nice grape flavors of the Pisco. So head to your local liquor store, buy yourself some Chilean Pisco and celebrate national pisco sour day! Discover what a delicious drink this is if you haven't already.

Pisco Sour (Chile)
3 oz. Pisco (Chilean brand such as Capel or Alto del Carmen)
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice (or 1 oz. lemon, 1/4 oz. lime)
2-3 tsp. sugar (scant Tablespoon, Baker's superfine)
1 egg white (or not)
scant pinch salt
8-9 ice cubes (shaker) or 1/4 cup cracked ice (blender)

Shaker Method) Add ingredients except ice to shaker and dry shake (i.e. sans ice) vigorously for about 10 seconds to emulsify. Add ice cubes and shake vigorously for about 1 minute or until your arms give out (resting every 20-30 seconds is ok). Strain with a Hawthorn strainer into a sour glass or footed goblet rimmed with sugar (I used a Riedel Vinum Port glass)

Blender Method) Add ingredients to blender except ice and dry blend (i.e. blend sans ice) for a few seconds to emulsify. Add ice and blend for 10 seconds pulsing, if required, to blend ice. Strain with a Hawthorn strainer into a sour glass or footed goblet rimmed with sugar.

Batavia Arrak and Swedish Punsch

2009-05-03T13:19:00.001-07:00

For my birthday, I got a bottle of Van Oosten Batavia Arrack among other interesting Haus Alpenz products. I've been wanting to try this sugarcane and fermented red rice-based spirit due to its long history of use in punches such as the famous Swedish Punsch.

According to Wikipedia,

It is the "rum" of Indonesia, because--like rum--it is distilled from sugar cane. It is a pot still distillation, a type of still which was influenced by the Chinese, who brought the distillation process to Indonesia.

To start the fermentation, local fermented red rice is combined with local yeast to give a unique flavour and smell of the distillate. It is distilled to approx. 70% alc. vol. Like rum, Batavia Arrack is often a blend of different original parcels.

It should be noted that "Arrack" is a generic term for eau-de-vie in parts of the world, and Batavia Arrack bears no relation to Sri Lankan Arrack or Lebanese Arrack. Also of interest, Batavia Arrack is stored in teak vats, which undoubtedly provide some of the unusual flavors found in this spirit.

On its own, Batavia Arrack smells like rum, but with a distinct woodsy smoky note along with a distinct floweriness. It's not exactly something that I would want to drink straight, but it's quite interesting - unlike anything I've tasted, so comparisons are difficult. As previously mentioned, it's most commonly used in cocktails, most notably punches, with the most famous being Swedish Punsch.

The history of Arrack in Sweden dates back to 1733, per Wikipedia, when the Swedish East India Company starting importing it to Gothenburg. Since that time, it has held a prominent place in Sweden's drink heritage, mostly as a base for punsch. Originally served warm, once commercial versions starting appearing in around 1840, it became more common to serve it chilled.

Swedish punsch combines Batavia Arrack with lemon, tea, sugar and sometimes other spices such as vanilla, cardamom and nutmeg. A number of commercial versions are available, but none in the US at this time. The brand Facile has been planning a launch of their punsch in the US this Spring, but their website is out-of-date and it is uncertain when it will arrive. Also, there has been some word that Haus Alpenz will be introducing a Punsch to the US this summer. Cocktail bloggers everywhere are trembling in anticipation.

For my first punsch, I've chosen a recipe that I found posted on the TikiCentral Forum by Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz.

According to Eric, this is an adaptation of a commercial recipe for Swedish Punsch, and quite close to the Facile Punsch (I haven't tried the Facile punsch yet, but am eager to try).

Punsch "Josephine" Liqueur, 375ml @ ~24%
180ml Batavia Arrack
100ml Water
135g Sugar (Bakers)
3/4 tsp Natural Vanilla Extract (Trader Joe's)
6g Tea Leaves (Assam; equiv to 2 typical teabags)
Peel from one lemon, fresh ground cardamom (I used nutmeg)
Prepare the cardamom: open the pods and crush the seeds. Either add to loose tea leaves or, if you want minimal sediment, place into a tea bag/sachet. Prepare the tea with the cardamom and lemon peel - by this amount it should brew to twice normal service strength. After 4 minutes, remove the cardamom, tea leaves/bags and peel and mix together with the sugar, stir until syrup-like, then add the Batavia Arrack and vanilla. Give a quick stir to further dilute then immediately bottle.

Another recipe that I will most definitely try in the future is from Erik Ellestad's Underhill Lounge blog here.

The Swedish Punsch is intriguing. Despite the fairly heavy use of lemon peel, tea and vanilla, none of these elements are really conspicuous in the punsch. The Arrack is noticeable, but it has been significantly softened by the other ingredients. There is a little bit of a wet-dog smell thing going on here, but I'm not finding it offensive (really). This is good, but again, I'm not sure if I would really drink this on its own. Searching CocktailDB, I came across a number of recipes that sounded good and served as a starting point for experimentation:

Bombay Cocktail (Swedish Punsch, lemon juice)
Boomerang Cocktail (dry vermouth, Swedish Punsch, Bourbon or rye whiskey, lemon juice, Angostura bitters)
Diki Diki (apple brandy or Calvados, grapefruit juice, Swedish Punsch)
Doctor Cocktail (Swedish Punsch, Jamaican rum, lime juice)
Havana (apricot flavored brandy, Swedish Punsch, London dry gin, lemon juice)
Pooh Bah Cocktail (Swedish Punsch, white rum, gin, apricot flavored brandy)
Waldorf (Swedish Punsch, London dry gin, lime or lemon juice)

Tasting Notes -
Bombay Cocktail - wonderful combination of the punsch with the lemon. Could even use a little more lemon for tartness.
Boomerang Cocktail - Bourbon sort of covers up the flavors of the Swedish Punsch resulting in a sweet and fairly uninteresting beverage.
Diki Diki - did not make due to lack of Calvados at this time.
Doctor Cocktail - excellent with the dark rum (used Lemon Hart) still shows a lot of Swedish punsch flavors with nice tartness from the lime.
Havana Cocktail - way too sweet. Not what I want in a cocktail
Pooh Bah Cocktail - I love the name and the feeling of being a Grand Poobah, but the cocktail is merely ok. Better than the Havana but still a little sweet and lacking tartness for balance
Waldorf Cocktail - still on the sweet side, but with the extra lemon/lime juice (used 1 oz lemon, 0.5 oz. lime) a much better balanced drink. Very nice.

Final Verdict -
I like Batavia Arrack - mostly as an ingredient to Swedish Punsch - which I like mostly as an ingredient in cocktails. I can't really see drinking the Arrack or the Punsch on their own. As far as the cocktails, my top recommendations among the ones I've tried so far are the Doctor Cocktail, the Waldorf Cocktail and the Bombay Cocktail. A nice and interesting new addition to my cocktail arsenal.

**Update** - After a trip to Penzey's for some vanilla and cardamom pods, I repeated the recipe above but this time I soaked the lemon peel in the Batavia Arrack for about 6 hours instead of brewing it along with the tea. This drew a lot more of the oils from the peel and resulted in much more lemon zest character in the punsch - an improvement, IMO.

Damiana

2009-04-26T07:39:00.001-07:00

After reading about Damiana - the interesting herbal liquor from Mexico - in David Rosengarten's book Taste many years ago, I made a mental note to find some of this stuff and give it a try. Well it has taken several years for me to finally come around to procuring a bottle and I've done a little bit of experimenting with it over the past couple of days.

In his book, Rosengarten recommends adding "a few drops" to a margarita (made with 1/1/1 lime juice, Cointreau and blanco Tequila -my house standard, FYI) for "an authentic Mexican touch"

According to Damiana's website:

Damiana Liqueur is a light herbal-based liqueur from Mexico. It's made with the damiana herb that grows in Baha California, Mexico. It has great mixability and tastes great as a shooter. The bottle is uniquely shaped and is modeled after an Incan Goddess. The Damiana Margarita is very popular in the Los Cabos area of Mexico and Mexican margarita folklore says that the very first margarita ever made was made with Damiana Liqueur (not that silly French liqueur).

Given the wealth of information on the Damiana shrub available elsewhere, the website is fairly disappointing in its cursory depth on the subject.

According to the Wikipedia entry, Damiana (Turnera diffusa, syn. Turnera aphrodisiaca) is a shrub native to Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean. It is a relatively small shrub that produces fruits that are similar in taste to figs. The leaves have traditionally been made into a tea which was used by native people of Central and South America for its aphrodisiac effects. Damiana today is conventionally made into a tea and is used to treat conditions ranging from coughs to constipation to depression. The herbal supplement is reputed to help with Fibromyalgia, energy, emphysema, low estrogen, frigidity, hot flashes, impotency, infertility, menopause, Parkinson's disease, PMS, inflammation of prostate, and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Interesting enough, but to quote a famous Monty Python tagline, what's it like? On its own, the liqueur is a bright yellow, and gives off an interesting aroma of herbs. It's hard to distinguish exactly what's going on here, as I really have no reference. On the palate, I get some interesting bitter herbs, notions of Galliano (although it does not have an overt licorice or anise flavor), but with a lot more spice - some curried-fruit flavors and I want to say mesquite bean candy, although I only have faint recollections of what that tastes like. It is a very complex and dynamic liqueur.

The liqueur is apparently very popular in Los Cabos where it is used in place of the Triple Sec. I have tried that version, and find it to be a little too far of a departure from a classic margarita. I really do need that "silly French liqueur" Cointreau in my margaritas. (I'll go on and on about Cointreau in another post later) I've also tried Rosengarten's "few drops" version and really find that the Damiana flavors get lost.

The optimal use of Damiana in a Damiana margarita, per my experimentation so far, is to simply add about 1/4 oz. to a standard margarita. My friend Jeremy uses a slightly different recipe, making use of Trader Joe's margarita mix instead of the lime juice, which I'll have to try in the future as well.

Damiana Margarita
1.5 oz. good blanco Tequila
1.5 oz. Cointreau
1.5 oz. fresh lime juice (add simple syrup to taste, if desired. I ususally omit)
1/4 oz. Damiana
Shake ingredients with cracked ice and pour unstrained into an old-fashioned glass. Salted rim optional.

Pimento Dram

2009-04-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Pimento Dram - a Jamaican allspice-flavored liqueur is getting a lot of attention these days for its delicious spice flavors and versatility in cocktails. Interesting articles can be found in SF Gate's "Hot Dram..." and in Imbibe magazine's "Gone but not Forgotten" article, both by Paul Clarke.

Allspice, a dried unripe berry from the Pimenta dioica plant is very complex in flavor and combines the taste profiles of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.

Previously Wray and Nephew produced a rum-based Pimento Dram in Jamaica - now labeled "Berry Hill" and made with neutral grain spirits instead and sold online through Reggae Treats. Some cool vintage and contemporary images from CocktailDB can be seen here.

Haus Alpenz recently launched an "Allspice Dram" (I think the marketers eschewed the term "Pimento") made from a young pot still Jamaican rum and Jamaican allspice, and produced by an Austrian distiller.

A number of home-made Pimento Dram recipes abound on the web. I have a batch of Chuck Taggert's Pimento Dram #3 (scroll down to Feb 17) aging in the house right now (tasting notes will be provided in the future).

As far as Pimento Dram-related cocktails go, below are a few of what I've found to be some excellent representations of the versatility of this liqueur. The Navy Grog and the Nui Nui are Tiki-style mixed drinks with lots of ingredients and specific rums and are served with lots of cracked ice. The Lion's Tail and Jasper's Jamaican are more traditional style cocktails, served straight-up in a cocktail glass

Navy Grog
1/2 oz. Lime juice
1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
3/4 oz. honey mix (1:1 honey and water - used Trader Joe's Mesquite honey)
1/4 oz. Pimento Dram (used St. Elizabeth)
dash Grand Marnier (1/4 tsp)
1 oz. gold Jamaican rum (Appleton V/X)
1 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Coruba)
1 oz. Demerara rum (Lemon Hart)
Shake well with cracked ice and pour, unstrained, into a double old fashioned glass.

The Navy Grog is akin to a spicy version of the Mai Tai, but with more rum as well as some of the other obvious differences (no Orgeat, etc). The Grand Marnier is totally optional and not really traditional, but I've started making them with it and like the results. Also, I've tried simple syrup and the honey mix provides a better cocktail, with richer flavor and smoother flavor integration. Some reference Navy Grog links here, here, here, and here.

Nui Nui
4oz Cruzan Estate dark rum (used 3.5 oz. Bacardi Gold, 0.5 oz. Coruba)
1/4oz pimento liqueur
1/4oz vanilla syrup
1/2oz cinnamon syrup
1oz lime juice
1oz orange juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake well with crushed ice and pour into a fun cup (used a highball glass)

This recipe was taken from Kaiser Penguin's blog. It's classic Tiki and requires the use of vanilla syrup and cinnamon syrup. I used homemade versions of both. This is a larger drink with a lot of rum. Lots of complex flavors coming together on this to great effect.

Lion's Tail
2 oz. Bourbon (Maker's Mark or Knob Creek)
1/2 oz. pimento liqueur (used St. Elizabeth)
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon 1:1 sugar syrup (turbinado sugar)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.

Recipe from CocktailDB

Jasper's Jamaican
1.5 oz. gold Jamaican rum (used Appleton V/X)
1/2 oz. pimento liqueur (used St. Elizabeth)
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon 1:1 sugar syrup (turbinado sugar)
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.

Recipe adapted from Dr. Bamboo.

Final Notes - I am really enjoying the flavors of the St. Elizabeth allspice liqueur - the only version that I have tried to-date - and look forward to some further cocktail experimentation. I'm also anxious to try my homemade version after its requisite month or so of aging. Although I don't really drink this liqueur on its own, I do find myself sneaking sniffs of the bottle whenever I pass by the cabinet, taking in the intoxicating aromas of rum, sugar and allspice.

As far as the drink recipes go, both the Navy Grog and Nui Nui Tiki-style drinks above are enjoyable, and definitely offer different experiences worth trying. Of the two straight-up cocktails, I was expecting to like the bourbon-based Lion's Tail more (tried both Makers and Knob Creek), but ultimately felt that the rum in the Jasper's Jamaican, really blended better with the other flavors in the drink and was a slightly more enjoyable beverage.

Demerara Dry Float

2009-03-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

A week after stocking up on various rums from Beverage Warehouse in Marina Del Rey (or is it Culver City), I settled on trying a recipe comparison for a Demerara Dry float. Demerara (Guyana) rums are noted for their dark smoky burnt sugar aromas. I have previously had bottles of Lemon Hart 80 proof rum, but this was a first time for buying the 151 proof version (the impetus was to make a Jet Pilot).

In Kaiser Penguin "recipe comparison" fashion, I've selected two famous recipes to make, compare, rank and tweak.

For passion fruit syrup, I'm using the Trader Vic's brand (pre-artificial ingredients version - a collector's item now). For maraschino liqueur, I'm using Luxardo. Juices are fresh squeezed. Demerara rum is Lemon Hart (both proofs). For Trader Vic recipe, 1 dash = 1/4 oz. (which is per Vic Bergeron's "measures") 10 cubes of ice were used and drinks were shaken for 20 seconds before being double strained into a double old fashioned glass.

Recipe#1: Beachbum Berry - Created by Don the Beachcomber
1 ounce Demerara rum
1/4 ounce 151 Demerara rum
2 1/2 ounces Fresh Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/2 ounces passion fruit syrup
1/4 ounce sugar syrup
1/4 ounce Maraschino
Shake everything except the 151 rum with ice, strain into double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice, and carefully float the 151. Do not stir.

Recipe #2 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 oz. passion fruit nectar
1 dash sugar syrup
1 dash lemon juice
1 dash maraschino liqueur
1 oz. Demerara rum (86 proof)
1/4 oz. Demerara rum (151 proof)
Shake all ingredients except 151-proof rum well with ice cubes. Strain into a footed iced-tea or 10-ounce glass. Float the 151-proof Demerara.

Tasting notes:

Recipe #1: This is definitely the larger of the two drinks with 5.75+ oz. and wow, is it citrusy! This is a Guyanese margarita. I'm finding that the constituents are really getting lost amongst the heavy use of lime juice here. Very tangy and refreshing, but just a bit too one-dimensional.

Recipe #2: About 3 oz. total in this drink. I like the balance of this one - I feel that the ingredients are playing well together, but I'm getting a little too much of the maraschino (which I'm not a huge fan of on its own - at least yet). Overall, I feel that this is a better drink, but next time I will cut the maraschino to 1/8 oz (less than a teaspoon).

Final Notes: Trader Vic's recipe is definitely closer to what I would want out of this drink, although I think it does warrant some minor tweaking. It should be noted that the alcohol is more conspicuous in the Trader Vic's version as there is far less juice and syrup, but this was not an issue for me. The only issue is that being such a small drink, it goes down quickly. This drink does a nice job of demonstrating the mixability of the Lemon Hart Demerara rums and really showcases the rich, caramelly Demerara character. Subsequent to the tasting above, I've tried upping the passion fruit syrup, lowering the maraschino, and have generally settled (for now, at least) on my final recommendation being Trader Vic's recipe, but modified with half the maraschino and a slightly thicker float.

Demerara Dry Float (Adjusted Recipe)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 oz. passion fruit nectar (Trader Vic's old formula or homemade)
1/4 oz. 1:1 sugar syrup
1/4 oz. lemon juice
(<)1/6 oz. (scant tsp) maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
1 oz. Demerara rum (80 proof)
1/3 oz. Demerara rum (151 proof)
Shake all ingredients except 151-proof rum well with ice cubes. Strain into a double old fashioned glass (double strain for an ice-free surface). Float the 151-proof Demerara.

2004 Brunello di Montalcinos are on the way

2009-03-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend I placed my presale order for some 2004 Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello di Montalcino, made from 100% Sangiovese hails from Italy's famed vineyards in the surrounds of the beautiful town of Montalcino in Tuscany. I have an attachment to these wines, not only due to the intense and complex flavors that are found in no other wine, but for sentimental reasons as well.

When Julie (pregnant with Sarah at the time) and I visted Tuscany in 2006 we took the opportunity to take the 1.5 hour picturesque drive from the villa at which we were staying down to Montalcino along with Big D, Jeremy and Jill. It was a fantastic day with some very memorable experiences - most notably the grounds and expansive views from Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona (image above), the amazing hospitality of Ettore Spina, owner of Sesta di Sopra, and tasting through several years of Brunello in barrels with Andrea Cortonesi, owner of Uccelliera.

At Uccelliera, we were treated to a taste of the 2004 which was still in the barrel at the time (a gigantic Slovenian oak cask) - it was an amazing wine which certainly piqued my interest in 2004, a vintage for whose release I would have to wait another 3 years. By law, Brunello cannot be released until 5 years after the harvest year, so the 2004's are just now becoming available for pre-sale purchase.

After browsing through several websites, the wines that I finally settled on purchasing (from K&L wines in Hollywood) were:

Argiano - I was originally introduced to this winery by my parents and Uncle who visited it on a trip to Italy a while back. They brought me back a bottle of the 1998. I've tried the 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 thanks to my parents and my Uncle Larry. I like the style of this house - it is fairly easy to like with lots of the classic Brunello cherry/berry and cola character. The tasting at Argiano is rather sterile, with a fairly uninterested staff, but the wines are of excellent quality and the grounds are beautiful. The 2004 received a 94 in the Wine Spectator. 10,300 cases made.

Sesta di Sopra - We didn't originally intend to visit this particular winery, but we were in the area and the 2001 was highly regarded so we decided to stop by. There was no one around so we knocked on a door and were greeted by a kind gentleman who invited us in. We sat down around a large family table (this was in his house) and he got us some plates and poured some of the winery's olive oil and provided some bread for dipping. He asked if we'd like to try some wine (of course!) and poured the 2004 Rosso di Montalcino, which was very good (excellent for a Rosso) and the 2001 Brunello di Montalcino which was excellent. He drank all of the wines with us and insisted on new glasses for each wine which he rinsed meticulously with a small amount of sacrificial wine. He showed us his cellar and the grounds and told us "next time" we should call him in advance and he would make lunch for us. We were the only customers that visited during that time and he gave us the remainder of the bottle of Brunello to take with us (this bottle was around Euro 35). The 2004 received a 94 in the Wine Spectator. A mere 330 cases made.

Uccelliera - This was our last winery of the day and we were treated to a tour of the grounds and the facility by Andrea Cortonesi, the owner, who spoke very little English, but had a helper who could help with some of the translations (although she knew nothing of wine, so it was somewhat difficult for her to translate). I can't remember all of the vintages we tasted, but I'm thinking it must have been the 2002, 2003 and 2004. He only let us taste out of the barrels and did not open any bottles of the current vintage. It was very interesting to taste the wine through the various stages of the aging process even though those particular vintages were of variable quality. The only Brunello available for purchase at the time was the 2001 which turned out, on later tasting, to be a savage wine, very powerful and earthy with grilled meat types of flavors. I remember the power of the 2004 in barrel and made a mental note to be on the lookout for this wine in the future. The 2004 received a 97 in the Wine Spectator and is the highest rated Brunello of all the wines tasted so far in this vintage. 1,890 cases made.

I'm really looking forward to receiving these wines (hopefully in the next few months) and giving them a try. I am hopeful that they will be outstanding in their own right, but also help me relive some fond memories until I get the chance to travel back to Montalcino.

Top Ten Wines

2009-03-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

My friend Rob and I took a moment to reflect on some of the best wines we've had, many together, over the years since we really started getting in to wine in college. We picked our top ten faves and added some notes about what we remember being so amazing about the wines and whether there were any memorable circumstances related to tasting them. So, without further ado, here they are:

Matt's Top Ten (mine are in no particular order - it was too hard...)

1977 Taylor Vintage Port (Purchased from Levi at Liquor Castle, Beverly Hills, now closed. I don't know how many college kids were drinking aged vintage port, but Levi and his charitable wife made us a deal too good to pass up. Youthful and powerful for such an aged wine, but with the balance and complexity I have come to love in Taylor's port.)
1995 Montelena Estate Cabernet (tasted as part of "Rob & Matt's wealthy industrialist" trip to Napa Valley - classic CA cabernet dark fruit with lots of tannin and a potential for a long life)
1989 Cordeillan Bages Pauillac (Rob brought this to a dinner at our house a couple of years ago, classic Bordeaux with archetypal lead pencil and eucalyptus notes accompanying black berry flavors.)
1994 Mondavi Reserve Cabernet (when tasted young upon release at the winery, incredible structure, dark fruits and complexity. When I was a Mondavi stockholder, we could roll in to the To-Kalon reserve tasting room and be set up with a 4+ wine vertical flight of the expensive reserve cabernets. Holy mackerel, those were some good times. Most recently, we opened a bottle of this last year - it was still good to excellent, but I feel that it was in its prime during its youth.)
1982 Montelena Cabernet (or was it 1980, tasted at our neighbor's 4th of July party, in around 2006. Amazing youth and complexity for such an aged CA cabernet.)
1996 St. Jean Cinq Cepages (Purchased by Rob in the right place at the right time as a pallet was being unloaded at LA Wine Co. Have had this on several occasions over the years - this wine aged well with black berry fruit flavors and tar notes.)
2003 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay (A fruity, buttery, oaky, bomb of chardonnay flavors with an excellent overall balance. A prototypical CA chardonnay.)
1995 Opus One (tasted at the winery with a sizable pour. Dark fruits, amazing length and complexity. Another of the benefits of Mondavi stock ownership.)
1996 Beringer Chardonnay Reserve (had at a dinner at Rob's. Amazing fruit, but still refined and balanced. My favorite of the Beringer reserve chardonnays, a perennial favorite)
1992 Taylor Vintage Port (Tasted in half bottle purchased in Buffalo, NY during an extended work stay and served with a Cuban cigar freshly purchased on a trip to Toronto. Fruity and complex, I have always favored the flavor profiles and complexity of Taylor ports)

Rob's Top Ten (in order of preference)

1995 Sanford Barrel Select Chardonnay (Tasted at the winery and subsequent bottles that were purchased at Sanford. The 1996 is also excellent, but I give a slight edge to the 1995. This wine represents my Platonic ideal of chardonnay: beautiful nose, tropical fruits and pear on the palate, with a buttery vanilla finish - full-bodied, but impeccably balanced. The wine may also get bonus points because it was tasted at the charming, rustic original Sanford tasting room, poured by Chris Boroughs, long before the "Sideways" inspired boom hit the Santa Maria Valley wine country).
1977 Fonseca Vintage Port (I have been fortunate enough to taste this wine a couple of times, starting in college, one of the times being the result of Sunil having to purchase a bottle for claiming that he failed a final and instead receiving an "A" or something like that. Incredibly complex and powerful port that still tastes young and as if it can last for decades to come. An absolute bench mark. I tend to prefer Fonseca's port style a bit over other houses, like the also excellent Taylor Fladgate.)
1994 Mondavi Reserve Cabernet (Tasted upon release at the winery at which time the wine was absolutely fantastic! Incredibly well structured with a beautiful balance of currant, plum, cedar, tar and well-integrated tannins. Tasted about a decade later at which time the wine had unfortunately lost some of its luster.)
1986 Pichon Baron Pauillac (Matt and I purchased a half a case of this benchmark bordeaux in college - yes, weird - and I have been tasting it periodically since. Very complex Bordeaux with distinctive raspberry, currant and pencil lead components. Has aged very well throughout the years.)
1994 Byron Estate Chardonnay (Tasted at the winery and throughout the years from purchased bottles, including a close to ten year-old bottle. This is chardonnay was absolutely enormous with distinctive Santa Maria Valley pineapple-and-cream flavors - a hedonistic fruit-, cream- and vanilla bomb.)
1995 Opus One (Tasted at the winery upon release during the "Matt-and-Rob-Wealthy-Industrialists" trip to Napa Valley. Even the equine sight of the Baronesse Philippine de Rothschild could not obscure the beauty of this wine. Very full-bodied and complex, with a distinctive and desirable tar component.)
2003 Talley Rincon Vineyard Pinot Noir (Tasted at the winery upon release. Fantastic pinot, by far my favorite of Talley's releases as it hits a Goldilocks-type balance between pure pinot fruit and full-bodied-ness. Very complex. I still have one bottle - will be interesting to see how this has aged.)
1997 Andrew Murray Esperance (Tasted at the winery, where it was a little young and extremely tannic, and then about 3 years later where the bottle was at its absolute peak! Very inky dark color, complex fruit and a fantastic finish.)
1994 Dow Vintage Port (Tasted with Matt in combination with a great Cuban cigar. Huge black-strap port with great tannic structure, but still very enjoyable in its youth. This should have a very long life ahead of it.)
1996 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay (Initially tasted at the winery, and several times subsequently. Very big, oaky chardonnay that is well-balance and extremely complex. I have liked subsequent vintages as well, but the 1996 is my favorite)

Falernum etc.

2009-03-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Falernum seems to be today's "it" ingredient among Tikiphiles. A lot of debates are being waged about the quality of commercially available Falernums and how to properly use them. Looking through a number of my favorite cocktail blogs, it would seem that anybody worth their salt as a mixologist is making their own Falernum (and not necessarily just one version, either).

Ok, so what is this stuff?, you ask. Predominantly flavored with lime juice/zest, clove, ginger and almond, Falernum is used in a broad number of Tropical drinks and provides a citrus tang along with sweetness and spices. It is available as both a liqueur as well as a syrup. There is a prevailing wisdom that the liqueur version is better in simpler cocktails in which the Falernum features prominently; and that the syrup, is better for Tiki drinks, where it plays more of a supporting role, accenting the flavor of the rums and other ingredients.

Today, for the first time, I bought a bottle of each of the two most widely available versions: Fee Brother's Falernum syrup (non-alcoholic) as well as the John D. Talyor's Velvet Falernum (11% vol.). I sampled each and made a couple of the more famous of the Falernum-based cocktails.

As for the flavors of the basic products, both have similar impressions upon first nosing - primarily clove with some lime and other spices in the background. On the palate, the Taylor's is smoother and better balanced. The Fee Brothers' is significantly more tangy and citrusy and also very sweet, with a slightly processed character. I like the tanginess of the Fees', but overall there is more going on with the Taylor's.

First up in cocktails is the Corn n' Oil, a simple drink made only from rum, Falernum and a dash or two of Angostura bitters. Some will add a lime squeeze. Forget the recipe on the back of the Taylor's bottle - that is way too self-serving an amount of Falernum. Better is one of the links on the Wikipedia site (the drinkdogma site - and don't fail to follow all the embedded links). Cruzan Black Strap rum with its strong molasses flavors is getting rave reviews by many and is where I have decided to start this journey.

Corn n' Oil
2 oz. Cruzan Black Strap or Lemon Hart 80 proof Demerara rum
1/2-1 oz. Taylor's Velvet Falernum
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Pour into a cocktail shaker half filled with cracked ice. Shake and pour, unstrained, into a double old fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Ok, I have absolutely no idea why this is called corn n' oil. Clearly there is no corn in it, nor oil and I don't really think that it tastes of either. But what I will tell you is this. Corn n' Oil = pretty damn good. With the Cruzan Black Strap rum, there is a STRONG molasses flavor to this. The falernum is in the background, even with 1 oz., but definitely provides some sweetness and an extra flavor dimension to the drink. A very interesting tipple - one worth exploring in the future, maybe with a lighter rum.

- So just after typing this, I've decided to move on to another one made with Lemon Hart Demerara 80 proof, a great mixing rum. It's definitely showing more falernum character (again using 1 oz. of Taylor's) along with the classic Lemon Hart burnt demerara sugar flavors, and now even the Angostura bitters are showing through. Clearly different beasts, both versions are eminently enjoyable, but I'd say the Lemon Hart version creates the better overall drink with each of the ingredients playing a noticable supporting role, resulting in a better overall balance. The back of the bottle recommends Doorly's rum - a Barbados brand possibly worth trying in the future.

Next up is the Jet Pilot. The inspiration for making this cocktail came from the Kaiser Penguin blog, where he lists this as one of his favorite Tiki drinks (How could he neglect the Mai Tai? - well, I left my comment...). Yes, it involves a dizzying array of ingredients, including a few which he painfully makes himself, including the Falernum (KP loves Thomas Kelleresque recipes - see his pearl diver's punch cocktail - yikes). I forewent the home-made Falernum, but I did make the cinnamon syrup per his recipe using cinnamon from Penzey's and plain white cane sugar. The Jet Pilot recipe on KP is the same as on Wikipedia and originally comes from Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's Sippin' Safari Tiki tome.

Jet Pilot
1/2 oz lime juice (used fresh squeezed)
1/2 oz grapefruit juice (used fresh squeezed)
1/2 oz cinnamon syrup (I made KP recipe, link above)
1/2 oz falernum (Taylor's Velvet or Fee Brothers)
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 oz dark Jamaican rum (I used Coruba)
3/4 oz gold Puerto Rican rum (I used Bacardi)
3/4 oz 151-Proof Lemon Hart Demerara Rum (I used LH 151)
6 drops Pernod (I used Herbsaint)
4 oz crushed ice
Put everything into a blender, adding crushed ice last, and blend at high speed for five seconds. Pour into an old-fashioned glass and add cracked ice to your preference.

Wow - now this is a tropical drink that I can't believe I've been missing all these years. A bevy of flavors going on in this - quite a different brew than my typical tropical drink with the cinnamon syrup and falernum, but awesome balance of sweet and tart with some nice spices going on. I love grapefruit, and it fits in to this drink nicely.

I made two versions, one with the Taylor's falernum and one with the Fee Brothers' falernum. My first impression was that both of these made a fine drink. The drink with Fees' was slightly brighter with more tangy citrus notes (like the individual product) . Julie preferred the Fees' favoring its citrusy, fruity profile over the slightly more bitter Taylor's. I felt that the drink with Taylor's Velvet Falernum was more even-keel with better overall balance and complexity. Edge to Taylor's Velvet Falernum for me.

Final Notes - Falernum is an interesting and different mixer. Anyone with an interest in tiki cocktailology(?) owes it to themselves to try this and make a few cocktails with it. This was my first time having both the Corn n' Oil and the Jet Pilot. The Jet Pilot epitomizes all that is great about tropical drinks - depth of flavors and complexity, along with refreshing and fruity qualities. It deserves its place among the top tier of tropical drinks. The Corn n' Oil is really a showcase of rum and falernum. While I don't necessarily think that this will become my favorite drink, it is an interesting beverage which certainly merits an occasional visit.

Campari Comparo

2009-03-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

During some research on my previous post on Campari, I (re)discovered that Campari's signature deep red hue comes from Cochineal carmine, a purified dye made from insects. I also discovered that Campari has recently changed their formulation, at least in the United States (not sure at this time if the carmine colored product is available in Italy) such that it is artificially colored. After reading a number of troubling reports -

On chowhound
On eGullet

- on the distinct differences in flavor profiles between the two versions, I decided to conduct my own tasting and report my results. I found a mini bottle of the carmine colored version at my local Bevmo and picked up a fresh bottle of the new artificially colored recipe from Trader Joe's. Below are my tasting notes. The Camparis were tasted blind, at room temperature, in Riedel Vinum port glasses.

Campari #1 (artificially colored)
Nose - bitter notes of orange, cherry fruit. After nosing #2, some off, chemical aromas appear.
Flavors - light, much less mouth filling than #2
Finish - shorter than #2
Score - 85

Campari #2 (natural carmine colored)
Nose - same subtext as #1 but no chemical aromas and distinctly more herbal and vermouth-like
Flavors - unctuous, mouth filling flavors of bitter orange and herbs. Very smooth with flavors well integrated and complex.
Finish - Long and complex
Score - 93

Final Notes and observations - Honestly folks, I was hoping that all of the hype about how bad the artificially colored version was would be unfounded and that the sanctity of Campari was preserved in the reformulation. Unfortunately, it was not. This is disturbing how much of the body and flavor has been lost in this reformulation. I keep going to the glasses sitting before me and keep getting consistent notes. With this big of a difference, I strongly suspect that a lot more has changed beyond just the coloring.

I think someone at Campari has made a bad decision and has ultimately sacrificed the quality of a classic product. I tried leaving a comment on their website here but I'm not sure if the message made it through as it appeared something wasn't working properly.

The Sazerac Cocktail

2009-03-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

The Sazerac Cocktail is reputedly America's first real cocktail. Originally made with Cognac, it was an elixir which made fairly heavy use of Peychaud's bitters, which were marketed as a tonic for the stomach.

For those new to Peychaud's bitters, it is a bright red herbal bitters with more sharp flavors than Angostura (which tends to be more rooty) with a distinctive clove character.

A great history of the Sazerac Cocktail is provided here.

I find the standard 1 tsp. sugar recipe a tad too sweet. Also, I find Old Overholt a bit lacking in character, resulting in the same overall impression in a Sazerac cocktail. Based on the results of the rye tasting, my brand of choice for this cocktail is Wild Turkey Rye (101 proof). If you want something around 90 proof, I think that Sazerac Rye edges out Russell's Reserve Rye for use in this drink (although Russell's edged out Sazerac on a stand alone basis).

Although absinthe is recommended, so little is used that I find it hard to get too caught up with this aspect of the cocktail. Herbsaint is traditional as it locally produced in New Orleans. I typically use Granier pastis, our "house brand" (Julie is a big fan of pastis). Finally, I like to discard the lemon peel. While it may feel a tad undergarnished, I enjoy the purity of the resulting cocktail, with the aroma and essential oils of the lemon coating the rim and surface of the liquid.

The Setup (not shown - Hawthorne strainer)

Sazerac Cocktail
2 oz. rye whiskey (Wild Turkey or Sazerac 6y)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp branch water (southern for bottled water)
4-5 dashes Peychaud's bitters
lemon peel
Absinthe, Herbsaint or Pastis

Fill one old-fashioned glass with ice. In a second glass, place sugar and bottled (or otherwise neutral) water and swirl until dissolved. Fill with ice and add rye. Dump ice from the first glass and pour a tiny amount of absinthe (or substitute) and swirl to coat the glass. Discard excess. Stir the rye and ice mixture and strain into the absinthe-coated glass. Twist lemon peel over the drink's surface and rim the glass. Discard peel.

The Rise of the Ryes

2009-03-01T20:24:00.001-08:00

Rye whiskey has certainly risen in popularity over the past several years. A number of specialty high-end ryes are popping up all over the place, including some aged a quarter century or so and costing upwards of $150.

The subject of this post is more accessible ryes in the $25 or less range. While I like the spicy, aggressive aspects of rye whiskey, if I'm going to spend $150 on anything to sit back and contemplate, it's more than likely going to be scotch.

I collected a handful of mid-low price range ryes for a comparative tasting and an assessment of how each of the ryes fared on their own, and as a potential mixer in such classic rye cocktails as the Manhattan and Sazerac cocktail. There are a number of interesting articles/posts out on the web. A few that I came across are worth checking out, both in terms of history/information on rye whiskey as well as others' tasting experiences:

eGullet rye writeup here
Cocktail Chronicles tasting here
Gary Regan article here

As for the ryes in the tasting, I selected the following based on some past history and based on some research into recommended brands in this range:

1. Wild Turkey Rye, 101 proof, $17
2. Wild Turkey Russel's Reserve Rye, 90 proof, $25
3. Sazerac 6 year old, 90 proof, $22, single barrel #109 ("hand selected by the staff of Hi-Time Cellars")
4. Old Overholt, 80 proof, $13
5. Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond, 100 proof, $17
6. Jim Beam Straight Rye, 80 proof, $17

Following are the tasting notes and ratings. Whiskies were tasted with Rob and were tasted blind.

1. Wild Turkey Rye
Matt's Notes
Nose - Nutmeg spiciness
Taste - Lots of flavor development. Incredible overall balance. Best in class.
Finish - Nice spicy finish
Rating - 90

Rob's Notes
Vanilla and wood on the nose, Very full bodied. Higher proof (?).
Rating - 92

2. Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve Rye
Matt's Notes
Nose - Light aromas, sweet toffee
Taste - Not a lot of flavors developing, but a decent overall balance
Finish - slightly short and hot
Rating - 88

Rob's Notes
Sweet maple on the nose. Spice and pepper on the finish. A bit harsh.
Rating - 87

3. Sazerac 6y old
Matt's Notes
Nose - Some good buttery oak and grainy notes
Taste - Smooth, nice balance, but a bit lacking in complexity.
Finish - Nice long finish
Rating - 87

Rob's Notes
Sweet grain and caramel flavors. Full-bodied with a nice finish.
Rating - 90

4. Old Overholt
Matt's Notes
Nose - Banana chips, some oaky rye notes.
Taste - Smooth. Non-complex, but more so than the Jim Beam.
Finish - Decent spicy finish
Rating - 86

Rob's Notes
Banana chips on the nose as well as oak. Thin mid-palate and rather short finish.
Rating - 85

5. Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond
Matt's Notes
Nose - Something in the nose I don't care for - not sure if it's toasty oak or the grain
Flavor - Good flavors, but more of the nose character
Finish - Fairly harsh
Rating - 85

Rob's Notes
Subdued, but pleasant nose. Full-bodied, bourbon-like. A bit of hotness in the finish.
Rating - 89

6. Jim Beam
Matt's Notes
Nose - Banana chips again (more than Old Overholt)
Flavor - Not a lot of flavor development. Sweet middle-palate
Finish - short
Rating - 84

Rob's Notes
Turpentine on the nose. Woodsy and harsh on the finish.
Rating - 81

Overall Ratings:

*** First Place ***

Wild Turkey Rye (92/90)

Unanimously voted the best of the bunch. Great rye character, good complexity and wears its high proof well.

** The Rest **

Matt

#2 Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve (88)

#3 Sazerac 6y old (87)

#4 Old Overholt (86)

#5 Rittenhouse bottled in bond (85)

#6 JimBeam (84)

Rob

#2 Sazerac 6y old (90)

#3 Rittenhouse bottled in bond (89)

#4 Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve (87)

#5 Old Overholt (85)

#6 Jim Beam (81)

Final Notes - Maybe a bit of a surprise that the Wild Turkey 101 proof Rye carried the day, but it was the clear winner with a solid combination of complexity and rye spiciness. All of this despite (or because?) of its high proof. The largest scoring disparity was the Rittenhouse bottled in bond, which had something on the nose, and to a lesser extend the palate, that I was not enamored with. Jim Beam was the clear loser of the bunch. We found it to be simple and lacking in character, which was a bit disappointing based on its high marks in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.

Sweet Vermouth

2009-03-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

As part of the Rye Whiskey tasting, Rob and I decided that we needed to do a head-to-head vermouth challenge. This tasting focused on the merits of the vermouths as stand-alone beverages. More to come in the future with ratings in mixed drinks.

An interesting, if controversial vermouth tasting on Cocktailnerd's blog here. Controversial because of Martini & Rossi's poor showing. I maintain that he got hold of a bad bottle. All of the vermouths in this tasting were fresh with the exception of the Punt e Mes, which was probably at least a year old (but has been stored in the refrigerator).

The contenders:

1. Martini & Rossi
2. Noilly Prat
3. Cinzano
4. Carpano Antica Formula
5. Carpano Punt e Mes

Tasting Notes:

1. Martini & Rossi
Matt's Notes
Sweet with some complex spices and nice bitterness. A nice balance.
Rating - 90

Rob's Notes
Thyme and dark fruits on the nose. Cola and cherry on the palate. Short finish
Rating - 85

2. Noilly Prat
Matt's Notes
Sweet plum fruit. Cloying sweetness - too flowery and lacking in depth.
Rating - 86

Rob's Notes
Ralph (barf) on the nose. Clean on the palate with a slightly bitter finish.
Rating - 81

3. Cinzano
Matt's Notes
Aromas and flavors of pizza sauce. Cloyingly sweet and spicy.
Rating - 84

Rob's Notes
Grassy and herbaceous on the nose. Funky mid-palate.
Rating - 83

4. Carpano Antica Formula
Matt's Notes
Heavy licorice elements on the nose. Some mulling spices (clove) on the nose and palate. Very complex on the palate with a nice balance and clean finish
Rating - 93

Rob's Notes
Underberg (Swiss bitters brand) aromas with clove and allspice on the nose. Nutmeg and cinnamon on the palate. Cloves on the finish.
Rating - 90

5. Carpano Punt e Mes
Matt's Notes
Murky with scents of molasses on the nose. Nice sweetness and bitterness on the finish.
Rating - 90

Rob's Notes
Soy on the nose. Darker on the palate with a sweet tang.
Rating - 85

Overall Ratings:
*** First Place ***
Carpano Antica Formula (93/90)

Unanimously voted the best of the bunch. Great complexity. Not too sweet with lots of spice, great balance and a clean finish. The only one of the bunch we would consider sipping on its own.

** Second Place (tie)**

Carpano Punt e Mes (90/85)

Martini & Rossi (90/85)

Both Rob and I had these tied for second place. The Martini & Rossi was the clear leader of the "standard" sweet vermouths for use, while the Punt e Mes offered a slightly richer and more bitter character.

* The Rest *

Matt

#3 Noilly Prat (86)

#4 Cinzano (84)

Rob

#3 Cinzano (83)

#4 Noilly Prat (81)

Final Notes - I had a slightly higher slant toward my scoring of these vermouths. This was both of our first times trying Carpano Antica Formula which was an excellent vermouth. This tasting confirmed Martini & Rossi as our favorite "standard" red vermouth (which I was concerned about after reading Cocktailnerd's review). Carpano Punt e Mes offers a richer, more bitter character for those inclinded toward such a thing. Noilly Prat and Cinzano were average performers and based on my infrequent use of sweet vermouth, are unlikely future purchases.

Final Final Note - I'd like to leave you with the quote from the bottle neck tag on the Carpano Antica Formula: ...Its special taste will conquer you for its refinement and rare bitter-sweet persistence. Consider me conquered.

Ginger Beer

2009-03-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Rob and I conducted a tasting of ginger beers, the classic ingredient to such cocktails as the Dark n' Stormy and Moscow Mule and generally very interesting to drink on their own. As per the usual process, the sodas were tasted blind and there was some discussion during the tasting to compare tasting notes, without giving away our scoring.

The contenders:

1. DG Old Jamaican Ginger Beer
2. Capt'n Eli's Ginger Beer
3. Maine Root Ginger Beer
4. Sprecher's Ginger Ale
5. Reeds Extra Ginger Brew
6. AJ Stephan's Jamaican Style Ginger Beer
7. Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Ginger Beer
8. Buderim Ginger Beer
9. Blenheim "Not so Hot" Ginger Ale

Attached are our tasting notes and rankings:

1. DG Old Jamaican Ginger Beer
Matt's Notes
Cloudy white. Nice ginger nose with some good ginger spice. Some typical ginger soapiness/floweriness. Very sweet compared to the competition.
Rating - 90

Rob's Notes
Super sweet. Spicy ginger finish which stays with you. Woodsy nose (cedar)
Rating - 91

2. Capt'n Eli's Ginger Beer
Matt's Notes
Medium dark gold, clear. This one really made me sneeze the most during nosing. A lot of cologne/perfume elements. Rob mentioned lemon cleaning products (bingo!). Nice spice, but a bit chemically overall.
Rating - 84

Rob's Notes
Lemon cleaning products (in a good way). Fairly dry with some astrigency on the finish
Rating - 87

3. Maine Root Ginger Beer
Matt's Notes
Cloudy yellow. Spicy, vegetal (sushi seaweed). Nice flavors and overall balance.
Rating - 88

Rob's Notes
Nice lemon-ginger nose. Funky mid-palate building to a spicy finish.
Rating - 89

4. Sprecher's Ginger Ale
Matt's Notes
Cloudy white. Chalky with some ginger soapiness. Very dry compared to the rest. Slightly bitterish. I think this one suffers (maybe unfairly) for its dryness compared to the rest.
Rating - 83

Rob's Notes
Very dry compared to others. Builds to a pleasant soapy gingery finish with some spice
Rating - 87

5. Reeds Extra Ginger Brew
Matt's Notes
Honey, honey and more honey. Sweet and honeyish, with the honey dominating the character as compared to the playing field.
Rating - 80 (rated as a ginger brew, not in terms of general enjoyment as a soda)

Rob's Notes
Smells like mead. Honey continues on the palate, leading to a mildly spicy finish. Not gingery enough.
Rating - 86

6. AJ Stephan's Jamaican Style Ginger Beer
Matt's Notes
Nice ginger nose. Pretty spicy. Nice balance of tartness, sweetness and ginger. A lot going on, with a very spicy finish.
Rating - 91

Rob's Notes
Soapy (in a good way) lemon-ginger nose. Gingery flavors. Very spicy finish (maybe a little too much). Sneezy.
Rating - 90

7. Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Ginger Beer
Matt's Notes
A conspicuous rosy hue. Cherries on the nose. Nice tartness and fairly sweet with a lot of cherry flavor.
Rating - 88 (for rating purposes only, this was not ranked as a ginger beer due to its uniqueness)

Rob's Notes
Cherry on the nose and plate. No real ginger flavors but very pleasant.
Rating - Not Rated

8. Buderim Ginger Beer

Matt's Notes

Some bitterness. A fair amount of ginger flavors. Something earthy-woodsy. Very pleasant with a decent balance of flavors.

Rating - 87

Rob's Notes

Not much on the nose. Sandy, sandalwood on the palate. Finishes with a mild to mid-spicy ginger flavor.

Rating - 88

9. Blenheim "Not so Hot" Ginger Ale

Matt's Notes

Not a lot going on on the nose. Sweet but very light with a nice ginger finish

Rating - 86

Rob's Notes

Not much on the nose. Dry with little flavor. May be suffering from comparison to sweeter brews.

Rating - 84

Overall Rankings

Matt

#1 AJ Stephans (91)

#2 (tie) Maine Root and DG (88)

#4 Buderim (87)

#5 Blenheim (86)

#6 Capt'n Eli (84)

#7 Sprecher (83)

#8 Reed's (80)

Rob

#1 DG (91)

#2 AJ Stephans (90)

#3 Maine Root (89)

#4 Buderim (88)

#5 (tie) Capt'n Elis and Sprecher (87)

#7 Reeds (86)

#8 Blenheim (84)

Final Notes - Rob and I had the same top 4 which is not unusual for us. There were a couple of ginger brews that had some issues relative to their peers in this format of a tasting: Sprechers was notably dry with a lot less sugar than the others which led it to somewhat of a disadvantage in this setting. (Thanks to Rob's girlfriend Ali for getting us the Sprechers and Boom Chugga Lugga to try) Reed's, which I enjoy frequently really stood out as being honey dominated next to the competition. And Blenheim, was just too light to stand up to these ginger beers, although it is a bit richer and spicier than typical ginger ales.

La Paloma

2009-02-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

Another beverage perfect for a warm summer day, the Paloma is what I like to think of as a Mexican answer to the gin and tonic - more sweet, sure, but tart with an underlying bitterness.

A Paloma is easy to make from readily available ingredients and combines a few of my favorites: a good blanco tequila some grapefruit soda and lime. If you have any interest in these raw ingredients and have not yet enjoyed a Paloma, you'll be wondering how you could have been missing it for so long.

As far as the tequila goes, what you're looking for is a nice crisp citrusy style. For this, I'm thinking Patron, Partida or Don Eduardo, although since the tequila will be largely overwhelmed by the grapefruit soda, any decent quality stuff should do (e.g. Sauza Hornitos should be ok although it's not my sipping tequila of choice). I do highly encourage the exclusive use of 100% agave tequila.

As for the grapefruit soda, several posts suggest that Squirt is the "authentic" mixer of choice in Mexico. Squirt is a good choice and readily available, Villa Italia (Italian grapefruit soda @ Trader Joes) is excellent with more of the bitter grapefruit peel character that I like. I can also recommend Ting, a Jamaican grapefruit soda, based on a recent tasting.

La Paloma
2 oz. blanco Tequila (100% agave please)
6 oz. grapefruit soda
lime wedges

Squeeze a lime wedge into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Add the tequila and top with grapefruit soda. Stir and garnish with an additional lime wedge.

Grapefruit Soda

2009-02-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not a daily soda drinker, but I do like the stuff. When I drink it, usually around lunchtime on the weekends, my preference is for brands in small glass bottles and made with cane sugar instead of HFCS when possible. Grapefruit soda has a nice balance of sweetness and bitterness.

In college, I was a big fan of Squirt. These days, my typical go-tos are Ting and Villa Italia from Trader Joe's. Previously I enjoyed the canned "Pompelmo" Italian soda from Trader Joe's but it is no longer sold. Grapefruit soda is an essential ingredient to a Paloma - a refreshing highball made with tequila and lime in addition to the soda.

I assembled 7 sodas and conducted a blind tasting to evaluate my preferences.

1. Villia Italia (Italy, Trader Joe's)
2. Whole Foods Natural Pink Grapefruit Soda (Italy)
3. Ting (Jamaica)
4. Penafiel Toronja (Mexico)
5. Squirt (US)
6. Filbert's (US)
7. Fizzy Lizzy Lone Star Grapefruit (US)

Two of these sodas were pink, the Whole Foods and the Fizzy Lizzy, the rest were a cloudy whitish color. Tasting notes follow:

Villa Italia - Cloudy yellow. Nice grapefruit aromas and flavors. Nice finish.

Whole Foods - Cloudy pink. Nice and bitter. Fairly sweet with a berry/candy element to it.

Ting - Cloudy yellow. Not a lot on the initial nosing, but has a nice flavor with some tang. A nice grapefruity finish.

Penafiel Toronja - Cloudy white. Holy moly is this sweet with no real grapefruit flavors going on. Abysmal.

Squirt - Cloudy white. Light in flavor, not a lot of bitterness, but nice flavors and a decent finish. Some grapefruit character here.

Filberts - Better than the Penafiel, but this tastes sweet with no real grapefruit character.

Fizzy Lizzy - Murky reddish pink. Smells of grapefruit concentrate and tastes the same. I do not like the taste of grapefruit juice from concentrate.

Ratings and Overall Impressions

*** First Overall ***

Villa Italia

This has a lot of grapefruit character and the best overall balance of sweet and tart. 10% juice.

** Second Place **

Ting

This tasted a little more processed, but hadnice grapefruit flavors and good bitterness. 6% juice.

* Third Place *

Whole Foods

Had good grapefruit flavors along with some candied berry notes. 12% juice.

Fourth Place

Squirt

Lighter in flavors, but some good grapefruit bitterness on the finish. 1% juice.

The Rest

Filbert's

I found this acceptable, but not a lot of character

Fizzy Lizzy

I found this too reminiscent of grapefruit juice concentrate which I do not like. Do not recommend. 70% juice.

Penafiel Toronja

Awful, just awful. Super sticky sweet with no grapefruit flavors or bitterness. Totally lacking in any sort of balance. Do not recommend.

Final Notes - I'm not surprised that the Villa Italia was the leader in this tasting. It's my go-to house brand for good reason. One surprise was that the Squirt did as well as it did. I expected with all of the more boutiquey sodas that it would not show well, but although 4th overall, I found it to be quite enjoyable with a nice bitterness and would definitely recommend it as a respectable grapefruit soda. For making a Paloma (one of my favorite uses for grapefruit soda), my recommendations would be Villa Italia, Ting and Squirt (I like my Paloma non-pink).

Single Malt Port Wood Showdown

2009-02-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

During a visit to my parent's house today, my Dad, Rachel, Jeremy and I conducted a Port Wood finished single malt scotch tasting. My Dad has been a longtime proponent of the Glenmorangie Port Wood finish bottling (recently changed) and received a bottle of the Cragganmore Distiller's Edition from me last Christmas. I brought my bottle of Balvenie 21y and we sat down and ranked the whiskies, which were tasted blind.

The contenders:

1. Balvenie 21 year old PortWood
2. Glenmorangie 12 year old Port Wood finish
3. Cragganmore Distiller's Edition (d 1992, b 2005)

Tasting notes:
Balvenie - My detailed notes and info here. Described by Jeremy as more peaty than the others
Glenmorangie - My detailed notes and info here. Described by Jeremy as "flavory"

Cragganmore - My detailed notes and info here. Rachel noted some banana flavors.

It was interesting that we pretty much agreed on the rankings. Overall rankings:

***First Place***
Glenmorangie 12 year old Port Wood Finish
#1 on all of our lists

**Second Place**
Balvenie 21 year old PortWood
Matt, Rich, Jeremy had this #2, Rachel had it #3

*Third Place*
Cragganmore Distiller's Edition
Matt, Rich, Jeremy had this #3, Rachel had it #2

Final notes: It's nice to see that the most outwardly port-influenced malt was the clear winner in this tasting. I was personally a bit disappointed that my bottle of 21 year old Balvenie did not fare better, but such is the honesty of a blind tasting. The other disappointment is that Glenmorangie has discontinued this particular port wood bottling in favor of a much higher priced "Quinta Ruban" bottling. I have not yet tried it.

Ginger ale

2009-02-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Ginger ale is a refreshing and enjoyable beverage. I find the so-called "dry" styles listed below generally best on their own, but they can also make a nice mixer if paired up with a lighter whiskey (think Maker's Mark bourbon or Jack Daniels). The ginger ales listed below are all fairly lightly-ginger-flavored as compared with their ginger brew/beer counterparts (separate post). I took the opportunity to taste test a flight of fairly common ginger ales and record notes below. While I don't typically drink ginger ale very often (or even ginger beer, which I prefer to ginger ale), it is nice to have a go-to product when the occasion is right.

The contenders:

1. Canadry Dry Ginger Ale
2. Schweppes Ginger Ale
3. Vernor's Ginger Ale
4. Fever Tree Ginger Ale
5. Whole Foods 365 Ginger Ale
6. Hansens Ginger Ale

Ginger ales were tasted blind in freshly cleaned tumblers.

1. Canada Dry Ginger Ale
Meduim color compared to the group. Smells like lemon-lime soda (7-up) No discernible ginger component. Tastes fairly sweet with more lemon-lime. Pleasant, but ginger ale?

2. Schweppes Ginger Ale
Medium color compared to the group. Not much on the nose. Tastes like ginger ale cut with club soda. Drier and crisper than the Canada Dry. Maybe(?) some hint of ginger, but not a lot of flavor.

3. Vernor's Ginger Ale
Darkest color of the group. Cream soda-ish sort of nose, flowery, almost a bubble gum quality. Fairly full flavored and sweet, more of the cream-soda elements. No ginger to speak of.

4. Fever Tree Ginger Ale
Second lightest color of the group. Getting a rooty/leafy/woodsy smell. Earthy flavors, slightly medicinal with a lot of ginger character. Compared to the other drinks, this one stood out, but the earthiness was a bit much.

5. Whole Foods 365 Ginger Ale
Lightest color of the group. Ginger and some complex spices. Sweet and crisp with delicate flavors of ginger. Comes off as drier than most of the others except maybe the Fever Tree.

6. Hansen's Ginger Ale
Second darkest color of the group. Lots of ginger on the nose. Dark aromas of spice and ginger. Fairly well rounded and full of flavor.

Observations and conclusions: As with any comparative tasting, this was an interesting experience. Vernor's, Canada Dry and Schweppes, while enjoyable enough as a beverage, just simply did not taste of ginger and were therefore effectively disqualified. Of the remaining, I offer the following:

***Best Overall***

Whole Foods 365

This one had a nice ginger character in a crisp, dry style.

**Runner-Up**

Fever-Tree

This had a lot of ginger character, but I was a little put off by the earthy woodsiness. The driest of the group.

*Second Runner-Up*

Hansen's

A different style than the rest, with its dark color and spicy aromas, but this tastes of ginger and is an interesting soda.

Final note on sugar content - it turns out that the 365 actually has slightly more sugar than the Canada Dry and the Schweppes, but uses cane sugar vs. HFCS. Fever Tree was the only other product to use cane suger. In terms of sugar content (per 12 oz.), driest to sweetest: Fever-Tree (30g), Schweppes (33g), Canada Dry (35g), Hansen's (36g), Whole Foods 365 (37g), Vernor's (39g).

Glenmorangie 12 year old Port Wood Finish

2009-02-14T11:34:00.001-08:00

Glenmorangie 12 year old Port Wood Finish
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 43%
Region: Highlands
Price: $35
Availability: No longer bottled in this version. Newer version labeled Quinta Ruban and sold at around $60.

Glenmorangie is a somewhat ubiquitous malt and was sold in all three wood finishes (port wood, madeira wood and sherry wood) at Trader Joe's until the last few years. All were pretty good, but the port wood was always my favorite of the bunch.

Tasting Notes
Color
Distinct rosy hue
Nose
Winey, with dark fruits (plums, berries) and American oak (bourbon, vanilla)
Flavor
sweet floral notes, more dark fruits (plum, raspberry). Medium bodied. Lots going on here.
Finish
Smooth, long, complex
Rating
90+

Overall impression and notes: Tasted as part of the "Port Wood Showdown" this malt was tops on everyone's list. Very interesting and complex. The most overtly port-like in color, aroma and flavors. A shame that it's being sold at such a higher price these days.

Cragganmore Distiller's Edition

2009-02-14T11:33:00.001-08:00

Cragganmore Distiller's Edition

Bottled by: Distillery

ABV: 40%

Other: port wood cask CgggD-6557, distilled 1992, bottled 2005

Region: Highlands (Speyside)

Price: $50

Availability: available at specialty stores

I first tried the distiller's editions of all of the 6 malts in the classic malts line as part of a mini bottle set that Jennifer and Don brought back from their first trip to Scotland. All of the malts are finished for a period in a special cask which ideally complements the base malt. The Cragganmore is finished in port wood casks.

Tasting Notes
Color
light gold
Nose
appetizing, barley graininess, malt, subtle oak
Flavor
Delicate malt, an underlying sweetness that never really comes forth. Restrained.
Finish

Dry, a bit short

Rating

Overall impression and notes: This malt was tasted as part of the "Port Wood Showdown" and was restrained and light in flavor relative to its counterparts. A pleasant enough dram which is likely more enjoyable on its own, rather than next to more flavorful bottlings. The strength is fairly unusually low - most specialty bottlings are 43-46%.

Balvenie 21 year old Port Wood

2009-02-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

Balvenie 21 year old PortWood

Bottled by: Distillery

ABV: 43%

Other: Aged in American oak and finished in port pipes.

Region: Highlands (Speyside)

Price: $150 (now, was about $80 when purchased)

Availability: Readily available

I am a fan of Balvenie's malts. Their DoubleWood is an excellent value and the single barrel 15y is complex and interesting. The port wood is aged 21 years, mostly in "whisky oak" which is Scottish for American oak and finished in port pipes (barrels)

Tasting Notes
Color
medium-dark gold
Nose
sweet, syrupy, some oak influence
Flavor
medium-full bodied, Nice complexity on the front end, some syrupy notes followed by a fairly warm, oaky finale.

Finish

long, but a bit hot

Rating

Overall impression and notes: Tasted as part of the "Port Wood Showdown". This malt has a lot going for it - the nose was very interesting and the palate entry is rich and sweet, but utlimately the mid-palate and finish failed to propel this malt to the next level. Quite enjoyable, but there are better values out there. Also, the port-wood influence on this malt is certainly less distinguishable than the Glenmorangie.

Talisker 10 year old

2009-02-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

Talisker 10 Year Old

Bottled by: Distillery

ABV: 45.8%

Region: Islands (Skye)

Price: $45

Availability: Readily available

I first tried Talisker 10 year old in a "Classic Malts" tasting set which included it, Lagavulin 16y, Dalwhinnie 15y, Glenkinchie 10y, Cragganmore 12y and Oban 14y. Not a bad set. This was my first real foray into scotch and although I was not necessarily ready for the intensity of the Lagavulin and Talisker malts at that time, they left a strong impression on me.

Tasting Notes
Color
full gold

Nose
winey, very delicate peat
Flavor
from a fruity, winey start, builds into a big and powerful smoky finale. Notions of English Latakia-blend pipe tobacco.

Finish

Spicy, peppery, powerful, long

Rating

91+

Overall impression and notes: I do not remember this malt being so winey - it may be due to tasting it next to the Bowmore and Port Ellen. I went back and forth on whether or not the wineyness in the nose was to my liking, but the flavor and finish on this malt are excellent. The spicy, powerful finish is legendary.

Bowmore 17 year old

2009-02-14T10:49:00.000-08:00

Bowmore 17 Year Old

Bottled by: Distillery

ABV: 43%

Region: Islay

Price: $60

Availability: No longer bottled at this age. Now replaced by an 18 year old. Becoming scarce.

My first Bowmore discovery was through a small bottle collection that was available at Costco. If memory serves, it included the legend, 12y, 17y and 21y. My recollection is that Bowmore ages very well, with my favorite being the 21y. The purchase of this bottle of the 17y old was prompted by Jim Murray's (Whisky Bible) proclamation that the 17y is his favorite expression from this distillery.

Tasting Notes
Color
medium amber-gold
Nose
Delicate peat

Flavor
quickly passing notions of sweet fruit, some sherry influence, then some medium-strength peat smoke.
Finish

Tangy, dry, peat smoke

Rating

Overall impression and notes: Bowmore is one of the most lightly peated of the Islay whiskies and the delicate peat in this bottling is a pleasure. This is not a big-bruiser, rather more restrained with an interesting fruit, sherry and peat balance.

Port Ellen 21 year old

2009-02-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

Port Ellen 21 Year Old
Bottled by: Provenance, Douglas McGibbon (independent bottler)
ABV: 46%
Other: Non-chill filtered, no color added, sherry cask, single cask DMG REF 479, distilled November 1982, bottled August 2004
Region: Islay
Price: $200
Availability: Closed distillery. Rare

After reading about the now closed Port Ellen distillery, I decided that I needed to try a bottling before they became even more scarce. I came across this version at Hi-Time on sale. According to the bottle:

The most sought after lost distillery in Scotland; it's a crime that Port Ellen is closed! Built in 1824 and moved to DCL in 1925 then unceremoniously mothballed in the early 80s recession. Port Ellen never reopened but the large maltings next door continue to produce malt today. Port Ellen holds a special place in the history books as shortly after it opened it was used to test the newly invented spirit safe(invented by Septimus Fox) which is now an industry standard. Keep your Port Ellen safe, drink sparingly as it is fast disappearing.

Tasting Notes

Color

deep mohogany, Spanish brandy (Cardenal Mendoza)

Nose

Oak, sherry, furniture polish, raisins

Flavor

starts off with a dark rich sherry, then lots of peat smoke development followed by oak and mulling spices (clove, allspice)

Finish
Big, huge peat
Rating
89

Overall impression and notes: Tasting this single malt is tasting history. Nothing is as significant as drinking malt from a great distillery which is now closed forever. This particular bottling has seen a heavy influence over its 21 years of age from the sherry cask. Perhaps some of the distillery character is lost in the process, but this is a characterful and interesting dram nonetheless.

Ardmore Traditional Cask

2009-02-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

Ardmore Traditional Cask
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 46%
Other: Non-chill filtered
Region: Highlands (Speyside)
Price: $35
Availability: Specialty stores with a large scotch selection

After reading about Ardmore's charms in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible I was determined to find a bottle. This and the Whisky Galore 15y (separate post) are the most widely available expressions from this distillery. Ardmore's malt is a component of the blended scotch Teacher's Highland Cream and is notable for it's high level of peating for a Highland malt. This bottling is aged first in American oak (ex-bourbon) and then matured for a final period in small 1/4 casks. No age statement.

Tasting Notes
Color
medium amber
Nose
some bread-dough aromas with a sprinkling of peat and oak
Flavor
starts slightly sweet, then a slightly bitter middle followed by peat

Finish

Spicy, a tad warm and lots of peat smoke

Rating

Overall impression and notes: Perhaps a bit young - very full flavored, but the finish is evidence that more time is needed for the flavors to achieve more integration and balance. A malt with a lot of character and a unique level of peat for a Speysider. Also a nice job on the packaging.

Ardmore 15 year old

2009-02-13T18:21:00.001-08:00

Ardmore 15 year old
Bottled by: Whisky Galore (independent bottler)
ABV: 46%
Other: Non-chill filtered. No coloring added.
Region: Highlands (Speyside)

Price: $46
Availability: Specialty stores with a large scotch selection. As a vintage dated bottling it will not be around for long.

After reading about Ardmore's charms in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible I was determined to find a bottle. This and the traditional (separate post) are the most widely available expressions from this distillery. Ardmore's malt is a component of the blended scotch Teacher's Highland Cream and is notable for it's high level of peating for a Highland malt.

Tasting Notes

Color

white wine (sauvignon blanc)

Nose

strong aromas of peat smoke

Flavor

creamy, smooth and sweet entry followed by a strong attack of peat. Complex and delicious
Finish
Extremely long, smoky
Rating
90

Overall impression and notes: It's easy to see where Teacher's gets its trademark creaminess. Surprisingly flavorful for such a light-colored malt. Obviously fairly neutral oak to be 15 years of age and be this light without a strong oak flavor presence. If you like a smoky malt, this is uniquely satisfying.

Glen Scotia 14 year old

2009-02-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

Glen Scotia 14 Year Old
Bottled by: Distillery
ABV: 43%
Region: Cambeltown
Price: $60
Availability: No longer bottled/scarce

I originally came across this bottling at Hi-Time in Costa Mesa many years back where they offered this single malt scotch in 50 mL bottles for a very reasonalble $3.99. I liked it immediately but did not come around to buying a large bottle until about two years ago when they had already stopped production of this age. Luckily I found 2 bottles at 20-20 in LA and cleaned them out. One of only two Campbeltown distilleries (the other is Springbank) Glen Scotia is far less known.

Tasting Notes

Color

medium-light amber

Nose

complex aromas of delicate peat, oak

Flavor

full, with a sweet, malty entry building to a tangy middle

Finish

long, rich, satisfying

Rating

Overall impression and notes: One of my top 5 single malts of all time. It is the full-bodied sweet, malty and complex palate that really puts it over the top for me. A special dram whose loss I mourn, but which I feel fortunate to have been able to enjoy. Now the question is when will I open my last bottle?

The Manhattan Cocktail

2009-02-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

The Manhattan cocktail is a classic. A marriage of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, a Manhattan, made properly with quality ingredients and served in a chilled cocktail glass, is at the pinnacle of cocktaildom.

I recently reflected on my preferences for a great Manhattan. I ran across an interesting article from reknowned Bartender's Bible author Gary Regan here. Great article with a lot of interesting variations discussed. I think a lot of what he says holds true, with a few exceptions.

First of all sweet vermouth should come from Italy. Dry vermouth should come from France. Of the "standard vermouths", I prefer Martini & Rossi to Cinzano (and the French Noilly Prat) based on a recent tasting. Carpano Antica Formula is an excellent and complex vermouth that makes an absolutely outstanding Manhattan, but one on the drier side. Likewise, Carpano Punt e Mes is more rich and bitter than the standard vermouths and makes an excellent Manhattan if, and this is a big IF, your whiskey can stand up to it. You will need a full-flavored whiskey to balance the richness of Punt e Mes.

Second, a Manhattan was originally made with Rye. Some rye recipes are required. Wild Turkey ryes are my favorite. The regular bottling was tops in a recent tasting. The Russell's Reserve is also good as as is the Sazerac 6y old which scored similar ratings. For mixing, I'd recommend the Sazerac over the Russell's Reserve, as I've found when tasting them together that the Saz has a slightly more assertive character, but is a little "hotter" and perhaps less balanced, which matches to a cocktail better. Both are fine choices, though.

Finally I do like a fair amount of Angostura bitters, 3-4 dashes is my optimum. And I gotta have a maraschino cherry (but do not encourage using the syrup in the cocktail). You can also use Italian brandy-soaked cherries or Luxardo brand gourmet maraschino cherries, if you want to go the extra mile.

What follows are two recipes each for a Bourbon-based and Rye-based Manhattan. I have paired a lighter whisky with the Martini & Rossi Vermouth and more full-flavored whiskies with the Carpano Punt e Mes or Antica Formula. A #4 made with Antica Formula is my current favorite and just may be my favorite cocktail, period.

#1 Bourbon (lighter)
3 oz. Maker's Mark, Jim Beam Black or Basil Hayden's bourbon
1.5 oz. Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

#2 Bourbon (richer)
3 oz. Knob Creek bourbon
1-1.5 oz. Carpano Punt e Mes or Antica Formula
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

#3 Rye (lighter)
3 oz. Sazerac 6y Rye
1.5 oz. Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

#4 Rye (richer)
3 oz. Wild Turkey Rye
1-1.5 oz. Carpano Punt e Mes or Antica Formula
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Campari

2009-02-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

After enjoying a Campari and OJ tonight I started to reflect on my affinity for this complex aperitif. I was originally introduced to Campari by my Dad who always drank it uncut on the rocks with or without a lemon zest; this was the way that I drank it for years until discovering some other quite delicious uses for this versatile product.

According to the Wikipedia entry, the history of Campari began in Novara, Italy, in 1860, with the invention by Gaspare Campari of the recipe that is still in use today... Among the ingredients are quinine and other bitter herbs, rhubarb, spices, ginseng, bergamot oil, and orange peel. It is known that the colour came from natural Carmine Cochineal E20. Cochineal is actually an insect(!) from which carmine, a purified dye, is made.

When Julie and I were in Italy visiting our friends Trisha and Davide, it was common practice for friends to order an Americano (or two) as an aperitif. This is one of several of my favorite Campari cocktails.

Campari is somewhat of an acquired taste in that it is quite bitter. It is also fairly sweet with an orange zest element to it. It is very complex in flavor and therefore works well on its own, but also marries well in the drinks mentioned below.

Here are five of my favorite things to do with Campari in no particular order:

#1 Campari on the rocks
2 oz Campari
1 lemon slice, zest or orange slice
pour Campari into a double old fashioned glass half filled with ice cubes. Garnish with citrus of choice.

#2 Campari and Soda
2 oz. Campari
3-4 oz. Soda to taste
Pour Campari into a double old fashioned glass half filled with ice cubes. Top with soda and stir. Citrus garnish optional.

#3 Campari and OJ
2 oz. Campari
2-4 oz. Orange Juice, Tangerine Juice or Blood Orange/Orange/Grapefruit Juice (fresh squeezed is best)
Pour Campari into a double old fashioned glass half filled with ice cubes. Top with OJ and stir.

#4 Americano
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Martini & Rossi (lighter) or Carpano Punt e Mes (stronger) sweet vermouth
2-3 oz. Soda (in Italy, Schweppes club soda in little glass bottles)
Pour Campari into a double old fashioned glass half filled with ice cubes. Add sweet vermouth. Top with soda and stir. Garnish with orange slice.

#5 Negroni
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Martini & Rossi (lighter) or Carpano Punt e Mes (stronger) sweet vermouth
1 oz. Gin (Beefeater)
Pour Campari, vermouth and gin into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon zest.

These are all great aperitifs with the possible exception being the Campari & OJ which may be a little heavy before a meal. It's more of a mid-late afternoon refresher.

Passion Fruit Nectar

2009-02-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

Passion fruit nectar figures prominently in many tropical drinks created by the inimitable Trader Vic. In his Trader Vic's Bartenders Guide, Revised, he states:

If you have occasion to buy some passion fruit nectar (we distribute it), you can pretty well be assured that any drink made with it will be good...

Trader Vic does indeed sell a product called Passion Fruit Syrup, which up until about a year ago was a reasonably quality product made with real fruit juice. Ingredients are HFCS, water, passion fruit concentrate, citric acid, natural flavors, xanthan gum, red #40 (11% fruit juice).

Unfortunately, the Trader Vic brand has decided to replace this product with a new recipe made from artificial ingredients. I have not tried this newer version based on some of the comments here in the Tiki Central forums. I tried a bottle of Finest Call passion fruit syrup, but this turned out to be a sub-par, if not, just-plain-bad call.

Instead, as with grenadine, I was left to devise my own recipe for passion fruit nectar.

The starting point for this effort is a bottle of Looza brand passion fruit Nectar. It is readily available at many specialty stores such as Whole Foods. It is a Belgian brand and contains only water, concentrated passion fruit juice and sugar (25% juice). Many of the recipes for passion fruit syrup that I ran across on the forum required some amount of cooking. As with the grenadine, I tried to avoid any heating, lest it strip the acidity and give the resulting syrup a more "cooked" flabby flavor. Using the "cold process" involves simply shaking the mixture until the sugar is dissolved.

Comparing sugar levels, the Trader Vic's contains 21g/oz. Looza contains 4g/oz. Cutting the Looza with 50% water (12.5% juice) results in 2g/oz. Therefore each oz. of Looza syrup requires an extra 18g or so of sugar or 1.5 tablespoons of cane sugar.

The resulting product is clean and fruity with a definite passion fruit flavor that is more focused than the Trader Vic's version, but not overpowering. It is notably less viscous, owing to the lack of xanthan gum, but I have not found this to have a negative impact on any tropical drinks made with it.

Passion Fruit Nectar
2c Looza Passion Fruit Nectar (approx. 1/2 bottle)
2c Bottled or otherwise neutral pure Water
3c White granulated sugar
2 drops red dye (totally optional, only if you're going for the original look)

Combine ingredients in a glass bottle or pour-top plastic juice bottle (closable top recommended) and shake vigorously until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate. Substitute 1:1 per Trader Vic recipes.

Trader Vic's Best Tropical Cocktails

2009-02-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

During the summer there are few drinks that hit the spot like a nice tropical beverage. Although commonly high in alcohol, the tropical drinks that follow in this post also contain a fair bit of juice and water, in the form of ice, which helps with maintaining hydration.

Trader Vic, the self-proclaimed creator of the Mai Tai, has a number of famous tropical drinks which were served in his restaurants and came with specifically designed glassware for the purpose. The Trader Vic's Bartender Guide, revised is a great repository for vintage tropical drink recipes. I have tried many of these recipes and what follows is a personal "top ten" of the drinks in the book. For this post, I am specifically focusing on tropical drinks. The book contains many cocktails including such non-tropical classics as the Manhattan and the Martini, but the Trader Vic signature cocktails are what really set it apart.

The following are my favorite ten recipes for tropical drinks from the book. Regarding mixers, see posts for passion fruit nectar and grenadine separately. Specific brand recommendations can be found in the recipes and are not necessarily repeated if mentioned once.

#1 Babalu (p. 144)
3/4 oz. frozen concentrated pineapple/ grapefruit juice (I use separate cans of concentrate)

1/2 oz. lemon juice

2 oz. golden Puerto Rican rum (e.g. Bacardi)

1/4 oz. rock candy syrup (Trader Vic lingo for saturated simple syrup. 1:1 simple syrup is fine)

1 c shaved ice or crushed ice

Blend in a mixer and serve in a highball glass (or vintage Trader Vic Voodoo glass) with cracked ice. Garnish with mint and fruit stick.

#2 Fog Cutter (p 153)

2 oz. light Puerto Rican rum

1 oz. brandy

1/2 oz. gin
2 oz. lemon juice

1 oz. orange juice

1/2 oz. orgeat syrup (Torani is good, with no HFCS)

sweet sherry (such as Harvey's Bristol Cream)

Shake everything but the sherry in a shaker with ice cubes. Pour into a highball glass (or vintage Trader Vic Fog Cutter mug) Float the sherry. Serve with straws.

#3 Mai Tai (p 164)

1 lime

1/2 oz. orange Curacao (not triple sec, I use Bols)

1/4 oz. rock candy syrup

1/2 oz. orgeat syrup

2 oz. rum* (1 oz. dark Jamaican such as Meyers or Coruba, 1 oz. Appleton Estate V/X)

Cut the lime in half and squeeze, reserving one shell. Combine ingredients in a shaker half filled with cracked ice. Shake and pour into a double old fashioned glass (or vintage Trader Vic Mai Tai glass) Serve with mint and a fruit stick.

*Note on the rums: According to Trader Vic, the original Mai Tai was made with J. Wray 17y old Jamaican Rum (no longer available). While I believe that using a 17y old rum is unnecessary for this drink, I do think that using Jamaican rums helps with the authenticity. In his book, he recommends 1 oz. Dark Jamaican rum and 1 oz. Martinique rum. I've heard that if you order a Mai Tai "made the old way" in a Trader Vic's today, it is made with Coruba and Lemon Hart Demerara (Guyana) rum.

#4 Rum Keg (p. 176)

1 oz. rock candy syrup

1 oz. passion fruit nectar

2 oz. pineapple juice (Dole)

4 oz. lemon juice

1 oz. apricot liqueur (Bols apricot brandy)

5 oz. light Puerto Rican rum

1 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Meyers or Coruba)

Blend in electric drink mixer with 2 cups shaved ice. Pour into 2 highball glasses over ice cubes (or vintage Trader Vic rum keg)

#5 Rum Pot (p. 176)

3 oz. lemon juice

3 oz. orange juice

3 dashes vanilla extract (1 dash = 1/4 oz)

3/4 oz. passion fruit nectar

1 oz. rock candy syrup

3 oz. golden rum or 1.5 oz. white Puerto Rican rum and 1.5 oz. dark Jamaican rum.
Blend in electric drink mixer with 2 cups shaved ice. Pour into 2 highball glasses over cracked ice (or vintage Trader Vic sugar pots)

#6 Scorpion (p. 179)

1.5 oz. lemon juice

2 oz. orange juice

1/2 oz. orgeat syrup

1 oz. brandy

2 oz. light Puerto Rican rum

Blend in electric drink mixer with 1 scoop shaved ice. Pour into highball glass with ice cubes. (or triple recipe and pour into vintage Trader Vic scorpion bowl)

#7 Bamboo Punch (p. 337)

juice of 1 lime

2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
1/2 oz. passion fruit nectar

1 dash rock candy syrup

1 oz. light Puerto Rican rum

1.25 oz. dark Jamaican rum

1/2 c shaved ice

Blend in electric mixer. Serve in highball glass with ice cubes (or vintage Trader Vic bamboo cup). Decorate with fresh mint and fruit stick.

#8 Kava Bowl (p. 360)
2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice (Dole)

4 oz. lemon juice

1 oz. grenadine

1 oz. orgeat syrup

1 oz. Siegert's Bouquet rum*

6 oz. light Puerto Rican rum

3 c shaved ice

Blend all ingredients in an electric mixer . Pour into 2 highball glasses (or vintage Trader Vic scorpion bowl). Decorate with gardenia. Serve with long straws.

*See here for Siegert's Bouquet rum info. Siegert's Bouquet rum was available on the export market in the sixties, and seventies and was very similar to the OLD OAK GOLD Blend but a slightly darker color and mellower. A similar rum today will be ROYAL OAK, according to Angostora. . Substitute a gold rum in lieu of any of the Angostura rums mentioned above.

#9 Trader Vic's Grog (p. 381)

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 oz. lemon juice

1 oz. passion fruit nectar

1 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice

2 oz. dark Jamaican rum

Pour into mixing glass half filled with shaved ice. Shake an pour into a double old fashioned glass (or vintage Trader Vic ten-pin pilsener glass). Decorate with fresh mint, cherry and a stirrer.

#10 Zamboanga Punch (p. 384)

juice of 1 lime

3 dashes Angostura bitters

1 dash grenadine

1/2 oz. passion fruit nectar

1/2 oz. light Puerto Rican rum

1.5 oz. dark Jamaican rum

Blend in electric mixer with 1/2 c shaved ice. Pour into a highball glass (or vintage Trader Vic bamboo cup). Add ice cubes. Decorate with fresh mint and a fruit stick.

Final Notes and acknowledgements:

These are very enjoyable beverages, great for getting together with friends and relaxing. They take a bit of work and a lot of counter space to prepare as well as some shopping to obtain the wide list of ingredients, but all are well worth the effort.

There are a number of recipes in the book which call out Trader Vic's Navy Grog mix. There is a general concensus among Tikiphiles that the navy grog mix used in the restaurants is quite different (and superior) than that currently marketed by the company. I have not been able to secure an authentic sample, nor have I settled on an authentic recipe, so there are no drinks on this list which use this ingredient.

The color pictures of vintage Trader Vic's barware are from Ooga Mooga. The b&w photos are from the Bartender's Guide pictured above. The Menehune swizzle stick is mine (vintage unknown).

Some Favorite California Chardonnays

2009-02-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

I like California Chardonnay. It gets a good deal of bad press owing to its full-bodied, creamy character, often buttery flavors, and heavy use of new toasted oak. Some argue that they are difficult to pair with food. Maybe, but give me some fresh grilled salmon and a California Chardonnay and I'm happy.

The key to an excellent California Chardonnay is balance. There should be a lot of fruit, think white peach, pineapple, mango, pear, apple, some acidity, some well integrated oak (vanilla, toasty smoky aromas) and some have a yeasty, doughy character from their yeast contact. I tend to like Chardonnays with a more crisp, lean style; not too ripe. Ripe Chardonnays develop more of a caramelly, overrripe pineapple element.

Following is a list of six Chardonnays at various price points that are my go-to Chardonnays year-in and year-out. These Chardonnays have an excellent track record of quality over many years and despite their obvious quality relationship to vintage quality, are amazingly consistent.

1. Beringer Private Reserve ($25)

I have been drinking this wine for at least 10 years now. It is an amazing wine of very high quality. This might be the Chardonnay I would recommend as the "quintessential" chardonnay. The 1996 was stuff of legend, and I am really enjoying the 2006 right now, which is a leaner style than the 2005. Very easy to find.

2. Chateau St. Jean Reserve ($28)

Another wine that I have enjoyed since visiting Napa while in college. St. Jean's Chardonnays are exellent across the board. They have a Belle Terre, Durrell and Robert Young vineyard bottling, all of which are great. The reserve is a blend of wine from these vineyards and sees partial malolactic fermentation. This chardonnay has an incredibly complex nose - I can swirl this in the glass forever. I have had the last 4 years and all are excellent. Specialty wine stores only - not common.

3. Newton Unfiltered ($45)

Probably one of the finest, most complex chardonnays I have had. Newton is well known and admired by Robert Parker and he notes that this Chardonnay is particularly know for its ageability. I have not tried holding onto a bottle for more than 2 years or so. They used to carry this at Costco. Fairly common

4. Cambria Bench Break ($30)

Along with Melville, Cambria makes one of my favorite Chardonnays from the Santa Barbara/ Santa Maria area. The Katherine's vineyard bottling is ubiquitous, and good quality, but their specialty bottlings are much more interesting. I have enjoyed the Bench Break vineyard bottling over the Rae's and Single Clone bottlings for the past few vintages. In a more tropical fruit style typical of Santa Barbara Chardonnay, it still has nice acidity and fine balance. Not easy to find.

5. Melville ($20-30)

Melville has a Verna's ($20) bottling as well as a Santa Rita Hills estate bottling ($30) that are both great. Made by the highly talented Greg Brewer (of Brewer-Clifton and the unoaked, non-malolactic Chardonnay Diatom fame) these wines are crisp and full of flavor. Not necessarily as complex as Beringer or St. Jean, but exhuberantly fruity and enjoyable. Fairly easy to find.

6. Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve ($12)

Arguably the best $12 Chardonnay out there. I remember this being one of the first "higher end" Chardonnays that I ever tried. At that time, higher-end meant higher than the $7 Columbia Crest Chardonnay available at Trader Joes. Not as complex as those above, but a high quality, consistent wine and a tremendous value.

Tequila - Blanco tasting

2009-01-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

My friend Rob and I got together for a blanco tequila tasting. As a longtime admirer of the fresh citrusy agave notes in blanco tequilas, I have been wanting to sit down and take some tasting notes and do a comparative rating:

The contenders:

Herradura Silver ($30, 40% vol.)
Don Julio Blanco ($36, 40%vol.)
Partida Silver (42, $0%vol.)
Patron Silver ($40, 40%vol.)
Casa Noble Cristal ($36, 40%vol.)
Siete Leguas Silver ($NA, 40%vol)
Don Eduardo Silver ($33, 40%vol.)

Pictured L-R: Casa Noble, Don Eduardo, Don Julio, Herradura, Partida, Patron, 7 Leguas

Folllowing is a tasting note summary for each tequila with final scorings/rankings at the end. Tequilas were tasted blind (thanks to some help from Julie) along with some Sangrita, and were rated on a 50-100 scale. There was some discussion during the tasting to describe and compare some of the taste profiles.

#1 Herredura Blanco
Matt's Notes
Nose - something off, a chemical aroma, flawed
Taste - more of the same
Finish - peppery, spicy
Score: 70-

Rob's Notes
Barf/Charitably papaya on the nose. Some cedar, woodsiness
Score: 75

#2 Don Julio Blanco
Matt's Notes
Nose - very round, vanilla, beeswax
Taste - full bodied, vanilla, dulce de leche.
Finish - smooth, round
Score: 93

Rob's Notes
Full-bodied, chardonnay oaky nose. Caramel initially on the palate, unctuous mouthfeel.
Score: 95

#3 Partida Blanco
Matt's Notes
Nose - delicate, citrusy
Taste - not a lot of flavor development. Agreeable, but not a lot of character.
Finish - hot, not too complex
Score: 88

Rob's Notes
Lighter, not much flavor. Hot & peppery finish. Agreeable.
Score: 88

#4 Patron Silver
Matt's Notes
Nose - Citrusy
Taste - citrus, vanilla. Medium-bodied (less body than #2)
Finish - long, smooth
Score: 92

Rob's Notes
Lighter - refined. Smooth finish. Great agave flavor.
Score: 91

#5 Casa Noble Crystal
Matt's Notes
Nose - Vegetal
Taste - More vegetal elements
Finish - medium length
Score: 89

Rob's Notes
Bland. B.O. on the nose. Wet newspaper, vegetal flavors.
Score: 80

#6 Siete Leguas Blanco
Matt's Notes
Nose - wet cement
Taste - more wet cement
Finish - long, cementy
Score: 86

Rob's Notes
Not much on the nose. Somewhat indistinctive but pleasant flavor. Pepper and wet cement on the finish.
Score: 89

#7 Don Eduardo Silver
Matt's Notes:
Nose - mostly vanillin. Buttered, steamed cauliflower.
Taste - full-bodied agave, citrus vanilla
Finish - medium length
Score: 90

Rob's Notes
Full mouthfeel, creamy finish. Minerally, pleasant.
Score: 90

Summary Ranking
#1 Don Julio Blanco (93/95)
#2 Patron Silver (92/91)
#3 Don Eduardo Silver (90/90)
#4 Partida Silver (88/88)
#5 Siete Leguas Blanco (86/89)
#6 Casa Noble Crystal (89/80)
#7 Herradura Blanco (70-/75)

All of these tequilas were enjoyable with the exception of the Herradura Blanco which has something off in the nose and palate which both of us considered flawed and discounted the score accordingly.

Grenadine

2009-01-11T20:23:00.001-08:00

I never really liked the taste of Rose's grenadine. Besides the high fructose corn syrup and obfuscatory list of ingredients, it just doesn't really taste like anything. Since the Sangrita recipe that I chose includes grenadine, I took the opportunity to do some research into what grenadine really is - pomegranate syrup. After reading through several recipes, many of which involved cooking, I decided that I would try something as fresh as I could, but without the hassle of actually trying to juice a real pomegranate (which I'm not ruling out trying in the future).

Enter POM 100% pomegranate juice. Although it is "from concentrate" it only lists as its ingredients pomegranate juice and natural flavors. Also according to the POM website, it:

contains no added sugars, preservatives or colors
is a good source of potassium
is gluten free
is flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients
is certified kosher

One recipe suggested equal parts POM and sugar, so I did some math to compare sugar levels. Using a 1:1 juice to sugar ratio yields a syrup with 28g of sugar per oz. Rose's has 21g of sugar per oz. Not exactly what I was looking for, so instead I opted for a 2:1 POM juice to sugar recipe which has 16g of sugar per oz. All you do is add the sugar and shake vigorously until it dissolves.

You are left with a bright, fresh syrup which tastes like pomegranate with the acidic tang and a little bit of tannin from the skins. I tasted the Rose's next. It tastes of cloying candied sweetness, with no real discernible fruit flavor and certainly lacking that crisp acidity you get from the fresh version. It reminds me of the results from my homemade version of Trader Vic's Passion Fruit Nectar.

I made about 6 oz in this first production batch which should make several batches of Sangrita. It will be interesting to use this recipe in some tropical drinks when milder temperatures arrive.

Pomegranate Grenadine
2 part 100% pomegranate juice
1 part cane sugar

Combine ingredients into a glass container and shake vigorously until sugar dissolves. Store in refrigerator. Shelf life TBD.

Sangrita

2009-01-03T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sangrita - the essential ingredient for a "tequila completo"; a sidecar, if you will, to be served aside a fine tequila and sipped alternately. I first heard of sangrita in David Rosengarten's tome "Taste" which has a great section about wine and spirits. He does not offer a recipe, but rather shows a picture of a bottle of Don Julio reposado alongside a bottle of commercially produced sangrita (from Sauza). Also, David introduces the term "tequila geekos"

Although at least a few commercial products are available in SC most notably Viuda de Sanchez, I decided that this is something that should be homemade from fresh ingredients. After doing quite a bit of web searching and running across several different types of recipes and zealots arguing about whether sangrita should have no tomato juice or be all tomato juice, I came across a recipe from Rick Bayless that felt right. Rick has a show on PBS called "Mexico, one plate at a time" that is pretty good - he seems to appreciate and enjoy Mexican culture and to develop authentic recipes. Anyhow, I've made this version and I like the flavor and find it to be an excellent partner to a great blanco.

Sangrita #1 (and only for now)
1/2 cup orange juice
4t grenadine
1/4 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2t hot sauce (I used Pico Pica)
1/4t salt

I'll probably experiment some more in the future. I think that it could use some more spice, but definitely not more heat. I do not like a lot of heat with tequila. One recipe I saw used grapefruit juice - worth a try for sure...

Wine Tasting - Paso Robles - December 2008

2009-01-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Visited:
Calcareous - (nothing too notable)
Jada - A new find (on Vineyard Drive, West side), I liked the Mirror syrah/cab blend the best
Denner - 2005 Syrah is still my favorite, preferred over the 2006 and the ditch digger blend. Also enjoyed the 2006 Dirt Worshipper (95/5 Syrah/Viognier) which was very good if a bit wild.
Linne Calodo - Love the wines of Linne Calodo, but this was not a good tasting experience. The room was packed, the wines were too cold, the pours barely coated the glass... The worst bit was finding out that the "Leona's" blend was to be discontinued as Leona's vineyard had been infected with blight. That had been my favorite in 2005 and 2006, preferred even to the Cherry Red. Their Nemesis syrah is incredible (the 2004 was one of the best I've had) but at 95% and no discount, it's too steep.
Turley - All '06s - tasted Juvenile, Old Vines, Pesenti, Dusi and Ueberroth. Juvenile tasted young as usual. Old Vines is good. All three single vineyard bottlings were excellent with an edge to the Dusi (Dante).
L'Aventure - What can I say - this place puts on a good tasting! We were serviced by Jay who we saw during our last visit - a freindly guy who knows the wine and gives you a solid pour that you can swirl around the glass and really get into. The 2006's are stunning. I was blown away by the Estate Cuvee as well as the Cote a Cote (I did not care as much for the 05 Cote a Cote last time). I bought the second to last bottle of the Estate Cuvee. Also they were tasting their Cabernet, a somewhat rare treat in the tasting room I believe. Wow dense, dark and rich, but built for aging. I think Parker was closer than Spectator on his ratings of these gems. The wines are expensive here, but the quality is top notch.