Got Grapefruit?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...