Pisco Punch!!!

What a day. In the midst of the shenanigans that are San Francisco Cocktail Week (I did not participate this year due to some personal prejudices...my bad), a truly beautiful event took place today. My friend Diego Loret de Mola, of Barsol Pisco, took a busload of bar folk on a pilgrimage of sorts to our own City of the Dead, Colma, CA. It seems Diego and local bar historian, John Burton, had discovered the relocated grave of Duncan J. 'Pisco John' Nichol, creator of the Pisco Punch and in my opinion, the Spiritual Father of all San Francisco bartenders.



I call Mr. Nichol this not just because of his career here, but because of his style of doing business. Lets look at what the modern San Francisco bar has in common with him:

• Unique Spirits. Pisco was clearly not a widespread bar product in the US. There was plenty here because of the all the South American miners chasing gold, but it definitely was not a sweeping trend. Modern San Francisco bartenders are quite well known for doing the same. Have you seen how much Creole Shrubb is being poured?



• Housemade Product. Nichol made his own pineapple gomme and kept his recipe secret. While we are not so concerned about protecting our tricks, you are not a serious bar if you don't make at least some of your own stuff these days.



• Citrus. We like our juice out here on the Left Coast, 'nuff said.

PS. I just realized I put the pics on the wrong post. Here they are.

Exercizing While Intoxicated

May in San Francisco is a great time. We get our few hot days of the year (I feel like I am still in New Orleans!). There is Oysterfest (I am still on my oyster kick, even if they don't come in po boys,) and this Sunday we will have Bay-to-Breakers where you can drink on the street (what the!?! I am still in NOLA!)

I was linked to this very useful blog, exercizingwhiledrinking, this morning. I knew I would like this guy right from the get-go when I saw the photo at the header where he doing his best Hunter S. Thompson. The research for this one post much have cost millions of dollars and hundreds of lives so I will encourage all to follow the link rather than me lifting his words.

New Orleans Part 4.5

The Tito Shimmy!

I can't believe I almost for to talk about this.

So, the last stop on Mr. Joe Gendusas Cocktail Tour was the The French 75 bar at Arnoud's. This an absolutely beautiful room in a very grand restaurant with a very cool history and I cannot recommend it enough. Again, the cocktails were a bit a sweet for my liking, but the atmosphere was just the best. The man behind the stick introduced himself to me as Tito (I heard another name being tossed about about as well) and he taught me something I have dubbed the 'Tito Shimmy." As I was on a Sazerac kick, I bucked the French 75 trend. These guys use brandy instead of gin and very little lemon, I know they invented it, but I really don't like this recipe as much as the modern one. I was curious to see if you would use both Angostura and Peychoud's (totally WRONG btw) and he did. I was curious to see if he would over sugar it and he did. I was getting used to these things though and they don't exactly kill the drink. I was very worried about the chilling however. I really hate it when whiskey/bitters type drinks get shaken. It is a total deal breaker for me and Tito was building my drink in the tin rather than a glass...bad sign. Well, rather than killing my cocktail with foam and water, he picked it up with both hands. holding the tin between his palms, then moved them back in forth like he was starting a fire with sticks. He did this fairly rapidly, but I could hear the ice swishing gently, without too much abuse.

The drink looked like a properly stirred cocktail when presented. When I asked him what was up, he said he couldn't find a spoon. I kind of doubt that though. I have been giving it a try with my Sazeracs and I find the move to be an echo of the tradition of spinning the glass in the air to coat it with Absinthe...and that is pretty cool in my book.

New Orleans Part 4

Now, we get down to some serious drinking. Mr. Venegas, Mr. Ehrman and myself start out on the Carousel Bar again with Marvin. A couple of drinks in he comments on how much he loathes working on Mothers Day....you never saw three guys go for their cell phones faster. I can say that I had made prior arrangements for the Day but, a call was definatly in order.

Afterwards we had a solid lunch (yup, po boy number 3 for me) at Café Maspero and headed out for more drinkin'. Fortunately, we had a respectable plan, a New Orleans Original Cocktail Tour with Mr. Joe Gendusa. Joe himself is the original, a native, from the family that perfected the bread for my beloved po boys. Rather than give a total spoiler for the tour, I will just say that it is in itself, worth the cost of the whole trip. Joe walked us through a three and a half hour documentary on one of the most intriguing cities in the Country. The one highlight I will share relates to the pic above. As we were walking the last bar on our tour. Joe stops in front this building and tells us in a very reverential tone that without this building, we would not be together at that moment. This was the site of the Sazerac Coffee House, the birthplace of the cocktail. I had walked by this building a couple of times each day since I had been there and had no idea... I almost cried.

The quote that endeared this man to me forever: "This is not just a tour for me. This is my home."

New Orleans Part 3

Day 3: The Pain Begins.

I was quite hungover on Saturday and there was no relief to be had. A group of us headed to Mothers for brunch. It was hot and there was a longish line so I was quite worried about my ability to make through till an owner type popped out and suggested we come on in and get some bloody marys to keep us busy while we were in line...marvelous. I had po boy number 2 (for those of you keeping count) and did me just right. Refreshed, we did a little hat shopping and Meyer the Hatter (great!), bought some Gold Bond and wound out way to the Swizzle Stick Bar at the Cafe Adelaide. I had a couple of fabulous Whiskey Smashes courtesy of Kevin who was kind enough to recommend them even though his ice crusher was down and he had to break cubes by hand in a bag with his muddler. Other drinks sampled (House Swizzle, Julep, Pisco Sour, Sidecar) were all a tad on the sweet side for me, but that seems to be the way of it in New Orleans. I can tell many bartenders want to make their drinks a bit more serious, but the American drinking public demands more sugar.

New Orleans Part 2

Our second day in New Orleans was much more packed than the first. Out of bed at the crack of noon, we headed to down to the carousel bar (it goes round once every 15 minutes in case you wanted to know) at the Monteleone to meet Marvin. Pimm's Cups, Bloody Mary's and Pisco Sours...saved our lives he did. Marvin is a man of fine humor who is very proud of his drinks.

After a couple of Po Boys, we found our way to Pat O'Briens to get out of the heat and refresh. There we met Glenn, a fine maker of Juleps, who had been working that bar for 35 years. Blew me away. The bar was exactly the opposite as the rest of the French Quarter that afternoon, empty, dark and cool. This kept us there until it was time for the Nuptials. I normally don't go for Pat O's because of the hordes of tourists pounding Hurricanes, but I couldn't picked a better bar that afternoon. Here is what we didn't drink. It does turn out however, that they do have a good rum in their house brand bottles. Pat O's has a deal with Cruzan Rum of St. Croix for their private label...not bad.

New Orleans

I am just back from a long weekend in New Orleans for a wedding (beautiful btw K and M!) I was lucky enough to tend bar for bit at the rehearsal dinner with my main man Dominic Venegas, then spent the rest of the night on the street in front of the Absinthe House, home of the most beautiful absinthe fountain I have ever seen (you the know, the kind so pretty that you forget to take a pic of it.)

We went looking for the legendary Chris McMillian at The Library Bar at the Ritz-Carlton, only to find out that the room had been turned to a members club for cigar smoking. I couldn't help but find it odd that they felt the need to create a space like that in a town where you can smoke in the Hospital if you feel like it. Here is a video of what we missed.

The Octomore has Come!

I am on my way to New Orleans this morning so I decided to save time and lift some content from other blogs. The big news (as I see it anyway) comes from Scotland. A side project from Bruichladdich, The Octomore, has been bottled for the first time today. This whiskey is named after a nearby farm and a long defunct distillery but is made at Bruichladdich. The interesting thing about it is that is the most heavily peated of all scotch whiskey, a title previously held by Ardbeg. I won't bore anyone with the science of it (120 ppm phenol if I remember correctly...I couldn't resist), just know that it is over twice as peated as any other contender.

I can attest to the truth of that. If you look closely at my pic over on the right, you will see me humping a barrel of this stuff.

It is mighty.

The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master

Esquire magazine published a great list yesterday entitled 'The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master.'

While the whole list is great, number 17 is classic:

17. Make one drink, in large batches, very well.

When I interviewed for my first job, one of the senior guys had me to his house for a reception. He offered me a cigarette and pointed me to a bowl of whiskey sours, like I was Darrin Stephens and he was Larry Tate. I can still remember that first tight little swallow and my gratitude that I could go back for a refill without looking like a drunk. I came to admire the host over the next decade, but he never gave me the recipe. So I use this: • For every 750-ml bottle of whiskey (use a decent bourbon or rye), add: • 6 oz fresh-squeezed, strained lemon juice 6 oz simple syrup (mix superfine sugar and water in equal quantities)
To serve: Shake 3 oz per person with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice or, if you're really slick, a float of red wine. (Pour about 1/2 oz slowly into each glass over the back of a spoon; this is called a New York sour, and it's great.)

Dead on.

Death at Dusk

This drink has been getting quite a bit of play recently and I treated myself to one (the first time I have actually had one start to finish). Man, is there nothing absinthe does not make better?


1/2 oz. Creme de Violette
1/2 oz. Absinthe
5 oz. Sparkling Wine
garnish with brandied cherry

I try to float to the Absinthe on top, eventually it will diffuse and look like this, but before that happens, it looks pretty fantastic.

Basil Happenings

We have developed a little bit of ritual for late spring here in San Francisco. Warmer weather brings fresh herbs, which in turn brings on the Wash House. Essentially just a basil gimlet, this little green monster has grown a cult following I am quite proud of.

Well, there has been some other fancy basil stuff going also. Danny Bowien, a young local cook I know from late-night at my bar, was in Genoa last month working out in some bakeries and kitchens with the the Chef from his restaurant Farina. As he related to me last night, he sort of inadvertently got entered in the World Pesto Championship along with his boss and 313 other Pestoiolos (yeah, I just made that word up) from around the world. Against all odds, the kid won! Our boy Danny is the World Pesto Champion for the next 2 years!

All the chefs were supplied with the same 5 ingredients (basil, pecorino, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil) in mortars and pestles. This made the contest one of pure technique rather than creativity or flash which is the best kind if you ask me. I am not sure if Danny made it, but I did have a handkerchief pasta in pesto at Farina a few weeks ago and it was tremendous. Pretty cool.

Leopold's Gin comes to California

Gin, gin and more gin.

Another gin has come to market in San Francisco and it confirms even further American Gin as a new category of botanical goodness. Leopold Bros. out of Ann Arbor, Michigan are doing some great stuff with their gin, peach, blackberry and cranberry liqueurs, Silver Tree vodka (yeah, I don't really care either,) and fruit infused whiskies.

They have taken the same approach as the Austrian Blue Gin I posted on last month and distilled all the botanicals separately and then blended them. This fractional distillation technique allows the distiller a high level of control over the more delicate elements in their product which is perfect for the light citrusy American style gin. While there is definitely juniper present, it is more of a base binding agent to all the citrus oils than the main thrust of the spirit like the London Dry style. Upon tasting, my first thought was Yuzu peel, which I now understand to be a mix of orange and pomelo.

My hope is that this new American Gin category (Leopold's, Blue Coat, North Shore, Death's Door, etc.) along with the new lighter style imports (Right and Bulldog) will help to bridge the Vodka and Gin markets the way the good Lord intended.

Forked Up!

Another completely nonbooze-related post, but whatever, it's my blog.

This came to me via thrillist.com this morning.

Camper and the Cocktail Yearbook

Alcademics is a beautifully named blog by Camper English that is at the top of my feed list...and not just because it starts with 'A'. I was considering posting on Food & Wines 2008 cocktail yearbook when he beat me to it. Easier to just link it anyway.

PS: How bout the photo!?!

Great Story-Telling from Ardbeg

I am a sucker for a well-told story...and Vikings...and ships...and dogs...and whisky. As luck would have it, Ardbeg has got them all going on at their website. I joined the Ardbeg Committee awhile ago and have received a fair amount of promo stuff from them that has been very well produced. I normally find this sort of thing wasteful and unnecessary, but theirs has been pretty cool. Well, the latest package from them was a special offer for a limited bottling called the Corryveckan. Thanks to some stifling liquor regulations, I cannot get a bottle shipped to me legally here in the US (maybe through Mexico!?!) and to be totally honest, the heavily peated Kildalton Malts (Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Port Ellen) are not really my favorite. However, the campaign supporting this bottling is pretty cool so I am totally trying to score a bottle.

Only 2 of the 3 episodes are up, but I couldn't resist posting.

Warm Olives?

A very special lady in my life gave me some very special garnish recently.

Yes, she knitted these herself... and yes, I do believe my home bar is now complete.

H on NPR

My boy H on NPR today!!

Rum in the Chronicle

Drinks writer Paul Clark and I had a chat about rum about a month ago and he quoted me in today's Chronicle... I couldn't be happier with piece and the words he chose.

Independant Mingling

As I mentioned yesterday, I am seeing a trend form in Independent Spirits where new producers are vatting/blending purchased barrels and selling them under their own label as forerunners to their own spirit which is still aging (or in some cases yet to be made.)

Everyone that I have seen has made a point of letting the consumer know exactly what is going on and where the juice is coming from. High West Distillery (see yesterday's blog) won't say which distillery made the barrels for their Rendezvous Rye, but does give the ages and mash bills a good break down. On Islay, the boys at Bruichladdich have just released The second Port Charlotte, PC6, which states clearly on the label that it was distilled at Bruichladdich, then moved a few miles down the road to age at Port Charlotte where the distillery is still being rebuilt. I can personally attest to the truth of this statement and I think that it is a beautiful thing they are doing.

Another the latest pre-release I have come across is probably the most interesting. In Virginia, there is a second Single Malt distillery in the works (the first being the bold Mr. Wasmund at The Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville.) The Virginia Distilling Co. is led by a Brit named Chris Allwood and is currently building their facility in Eades Hollow, just south of Charlottesville , VA in one of the most beautiful parts of the world I have ever seen. In advance of their own malt being ready, which is a good 6 or 7 years away considering the won't even run the still till this New Years Eve, Allwood created his Anticipation Series. Working with Jim McEwan, Bruichladdich popping up again!) they have coined the term 'Double Malt' and creating vattings in 3 regional styles with a 4th in the works. The Highland, the Speyside and the Islay are each comprised of malts from 2 regionally representative distilleries that then then ACE'd (Additional Cask Enhancement, a term I really want to catch on) in an ex-wine barrel.

In actuality, these anticipatory bottlings will have very little in common with the whisk(e)y that will follow. Even in the case of Port Charlotte where it will be the same water, malt and aging conditions, the still going in is of a very specific style and quite different from the beautiful ladies at Bruichalddich. I think that they exist purely for economic reasons. I personaly would find it pretty scary to start a company and build a distillery with no hope of cash flow for at least 5 years. The other move would be to use the stills for something that does not need to age like Gin (and Vodka...but we are not going to talk about that.) This is what is happening in Oregon right now at House Spirits. Their Aviation Gin (BEAUTIFUL!!!) and Medoyeff Vodka are paying the rent their Rum and Single Malt age.

The sexiest thing I saw on Sunday

I somehow made the mistake of ending up on Haight Street all day on Sunday, 4-20. I was expecting stinky hippies, I got loads of two-bit punk dime-bag dealers from the South bay and beyond. The whole goal was going to see the 4:20 screening of the Big Lebowski at the Red Vic and we thought we did a good job jumping in line a half hour before the tickets went on sale. Well, we missed it...as in, the couple in front of us made it in, and we didn't.

Anyhoo, we did see this little bit of laced-strapped awesomeness in a window along the way. $60.00 is a pittance to pay for the complete overload of sultry vibes that come with this item.

Palo Santo Marron...One Funky Beer

I received a mixed pack of Dogfish Head beer to sample last week and just got around to tasting some of them. They all were quirky and cool, but the Palo Santo Marron really impressed me. I vaguely recalled hearing of the wood before and a co-worker who is well-versed in South American stuff described it as an incense wood. Well, I went to Wikipedia to see if there was anything anecdotal and low and behold, Dogfish Head is mentioned in the article!

The beer is oily, toasty and high in booze, yet finishes with a little menthol-type feeling. I was reminded of varnish after the first sip, but subsequent drinking revealed a sweet balance. Powerful and elegant, two of my favorite words, in what is now one of my favorite beers.

The Petaler

As promised, here is a drink using the rose vermouth I posted a few ago. It is has been no secret I am sweet on the girl who does the flowers at Nopa. We both work on our stuff on Wednesdays so we banter a bit. These exchanges inspired me to push a floral Pimm's Cup style drink and the vermouth fits perfect.

The Petaler
1/2 oz. Square One Vodka
2 oz. Rose Vermouth
3/4 oz. Veloce (soon to be Dimmi Liquore de Milano)
very thinly sliced meyer lemons and oranges

Build in tall glass over ice interspersed with paper thin citrus slices and top with soda water.

You can check her out at www.thepetalersf.com.

Change at Maker's Mark

It was announced yesterday that David Pickerell, V.P. and Master Distiller at Maker's Mark has left the company after 14 years. He is being replaced by one Kevin Smith who has been with Maker's Mark since 1998.

I cannot wait to see where he will turn up. I met him briefly last year in Kentucky and was very imperessed with how easily he read where my interests lay and how quick he was share some of his vast knowledge of the industry with me. With the huge boom in American Whiskey over the last few years, it is a sure bet that he will be up to something cool.

Buy this book!

One of my favorite groups to track on the web are the dames over at LUPEC Boston. The are down-right tenacious at getting traditional cocktails the respect they deserve and they do it with a great sense of fun and frivolity.

Well, it appears they have gotten serious with their literary pursuits and published a book. I haven't actually received mine yet, so I can't review it, but I can sort of tell by the cover that I am going to dig it. Also, "The book costs $15 and all proceeds from book sales benefit the Friends Boutique at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which provides wigs, prosthetics, scarves and services for people dealing with the appearance side effects of cancer treatment."
-Sold!

DIY Rose Vermouth

So I have read snippets concerning the existence Rose Vermouth for a few years now but have yet to get my hands on a bottle...anyone that knows me knows I just can't abide this sort of thing. Well, I am pleased to announce that I have locked down a recipe for it and I could not be happier. I make it a case at a time and would suggest doing the same or similar. As with most recipes that require infusion and balancing, volume cures all.

This recipe is made in two stages the first infusion takes at least a week, longer is better.

Stage 1) Fortifier
1 .750 bottle of Everclear
2 oz. jigger dried roses
2 oz. jigger dried jasmine
1 oz. jigger grains of paradise
-infuse for at least a week

Stage 2)
1 case dry rose (my boy K found me an 05 Rhone for $3.00 a bottle!)
3 cups dried rose buds (I like the Chinese ones available through Le Sanctuaire, if using the more common Mexican loose petals, bump up the amount a little)
2 cups dried jasmine
1 cups dried lotus
2 oz. jigger grains of paradise
1 oz. jigger quassia bark (careful here this stuff is bitter!)
1/2 cup honey

Combine in stock pot, let soak for at least one hour then move to stove, cover and cook on a low flame for 30 min or until the color has leached out of the roses. Let it cool, then strain though a china cap and loose cheese cloth being sure to ring dry (lots of goodies tied up in the flowers and stuff, squeeze it out!) Strain the infused Everclear the same way and marry into wine.

Now taste. It should be just slightly oxidised, enough to keep the floral notes from being overbearing and a little bitter on the finish. If the quassia has over infused (it happens...powerful stuff) add honey or a fresh bottle of wine. If you are careful to let the wine cool before adding spirit, the proof will be high enough to rebottle in the original wine bottles and store on the shelf. As with any vermouth, it is best to refrigerate once the bottles have some air in them.

I will post some drinks recipes using this later in the week.

No more Veloce?

I recieved this letter in my in-box this morning:

"VELOCE LIQUORE DI MILANO HAD A LEGAL CHALLENGE FOR THE RIGHTS TO THE VELOCE NAME WITH BAR VELOCE IN NEW YORK LAST SEPTEMBER. WE HAVE DECIDED THAT EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY VELOCE LIQUORE DI MILANO WILL BE RENAMED TO DIMMI LIQUORE DI MILANO.

DIMMI IS A WORD IN ITALIAN THAT IS USED FREQUENTLY EVERYDAY AMONG FRIENDS.IT IS AS COMMON AS THE WORD CIAO. IT MEANS "TELL ME" IN FRIENDLY WAY. IT IS NOW THE NEW BRAND TRADEMARK FOR LIQUORE DI MAILANO. THE NAME TRANSITION FROM VELOCE TO DIMMI WILL BE OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

WE ASK OUR FRIENDS, CONSUMERS AND ACCOUNTS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME. THE ONLY THING TO CHANGE WILL BE THE NAME. THE GLASS, BOTTLE DESIGN AND OF COURSE THE WONDERFUL SPIRIT IN THE BOTTLE WILL ALL REMAIN THE SAME.

THANK YOU ALL KINDLY,

STEFANO AND CHRISTINA TURRINI"

I think this is pretty sad. While they are a fairly new brand and I do not anticipate too much confusion for them, they really do not deserve the hassle. I went online and found the website for the three Veloce bars and they no not appear to even have full liquor licenses.

I congratulate the Turrini's for handling this setback in a mature and responsible way and wish them great success in the future.

Bottle Caddy

A pretty new toy at The Teardrop Lounge! The boys have unveiled their latest weapon in the war against the unorganized backbar. A smart and sleek bottle caddy for all their house-made product. I am absolutely in love with it. Keeping all my toys straight is tough on busy shifts and I think we can all agree that nothing looks worse than bottles scattered all over a work-station (at least to OCD freaks like myself anyway.)

I had a chance to visit the guys in Portland back in October and I cannot overstate how gracious they were. Their concept is fairly extreme and I am usually wary of those that try to be all things to all people. Often times large programs overreach and are unable to execute well. Not the case here at the Teardrop. The bar looks like a laboratory-in-the-round and is loaded with the tools to yield drinks both whimsical and intense. What I enjoy most is the sense of history they infuse their drinks without being stodgy or stiff. The combination of David, Daniel and Ted's (apologies to the young lady I met my last night for not remembering her name...it got kind of late out that evening) knowledge, passion and sense of hospitality results in a beautiful and seemingly effortless elegance.

Highly Recommended!

So, like I keep telling everyone who cares to listen, I don't compete in cocktail competitions anymore. I took a couple of tough losses over the years to totally crap drinks judged by drunk media and P.R. types in bars completely unprepared for the events. That being said, I just found out I am a semifinalist an Averna competition. The finalist are all going to Sicily...which is in Italy...which is totally worth me selling out one more time.

Here is the drink and I am actually pretty happy about it. The first time I had Averna, it was served along coffee and chocolate biscotti and it was a rocking good combo. It still evokes an urge for chocolate when I taste it today. To respond to this, I took a couple of other ingredients that mesh well with chocolate....and well, they click. I call this technique of building drinks around flavors that are not actually present 'echoing' and it is very useful when stuck on a hard-to-pair element.

Escondido Spritz:

3/4 oz. Averna

1/4 oz. Maraschino

1/4 oz. Mandarin Napoleon

1/4 oz. Hangar One Chipotle (or Chipotle tincture or couple of hits of Tabasco in a pinch)

4 oz. Sparkling Wine

Built in flute and garnished with a nice healthy orange zest.

Spot the Wisky Barrel.

Maybe the best lottery ever. A bunch of Islay charities stand to benefit from this event if they get the 60,000 entries they hope for. For 25 pounds ($50 USD) you get to pick a set of coordinates in the Hebridean Sea where you think a barrel will end after after being dropped from an airplane.

The prizes are plentiful and very cool. Those casks of Kilchoman for example are going to be worth a whole hell of a lot more than the 4,000 pounds suggested once the distillery is in full release mode. I am not going to get into how I picked my coordinates (I will say it involved a canary, 2 beers and a hub cap,) so pick your own.

Smokin' Ax

One soulful guitar!

I picked this up from the laddie blog over at Bruichladdich. Manne Guitars, an fine Italian instrument house carved an ax out of a used Lagavulin barrel to be presented at a Music Festival in Frankfurt. They even mixed some whiskey in the varnish!!!

Blue Gin

More gin!

The right tall and honorable Thad Vogler gave me a bottle of Blue Gin last night and I cannot help but rave. I knew this was coming as I was lucky enough to meet the distiller, Hans Reitsetbaur last year when he was in town hawking his beautiful Eau de Vies. I floated a nice pour of his carrot eau de vie on a bloody mary and got him interested, I used a sample of the Blue with his apricot spirit in a French 75 and made a friend for life.

Anyway, this is just wonderful stuff. 23 separate botanicals (I think that is the number) blended in a powerful, elegant spirit. It has a great sense of depth and flavor layers that make it just a blast to mix with.

Highly recommended!

Private Labeling gone wrong?

The AP reported yesterday the rapper Lil' Jon has decided to start selling a California Wine under his name. At first I was this was typical marketing idiocy, but one quote sort of redeemed him a bit in my eyes. "I'm not no `drink wine every day' kind of dude," he said in a telephone interview. "I'm not like an expert, so don't ask me no questions ... I just like the taste."

I don't know for sure, but I think that actaully makes sense to me.

While not at all booze related, this dining experience blows me away.

I am not going to get into the details of the Scotch Whisky Association's new legislation concerning labeling, I will just say that I think it is a bad move.

Here is a petition to to keep it from happening. I highly encourage you to sign it.

Tuthilltown!!!

I was lucky enough to meet with Ralph Erenzo (and Dustin from Domaine Select) Distiller and sales manager for Tuthilltown Spirits out of New York. Firstly, these are both very nice guys, I was a solid 25 minutes late and the paid it no mind....I hate being late.

On to the product. I tasted most of the line, all of which is well-made, but was really blown away with a few products in particular.

Hudson Manhattan Rye: Solid toasted color, plenty dark and warm. Nose was all about the grain, not overly oaked at all. These two aspects made me ask how old it was, he had already told me that they use new barrels, so I was a bit puzzled by how dark it was compared to how gentle the oak was in the bouquet. "3 months," was the answer. HUH!?!? I don't see how that is possible. Well here is how they do it.

To start, they use small barrels. In Scotland I heard these called Quarter-casks and bloodtubs. Laphraig has a quarter-cask bottling that is super powerful. The idea is that a smaller barrel provides a higher ratio of surface area to spirit volume, i.e. more oak per gallon. This is cool, but not ground breaking. The other move is pretty outrageous. Apparently, Brian Lee, one of the men behind the spirit, is a sound guy. He devised a way to hyper infuse the spirit into the wood using sound waves. At night they crank up a subwoofer in the warehouse and vibrate the resting barrels. I think the result is undeniable.

Two Wine Enter, One Wine Leave.

Rueters had a funny piece about the rivalry between Napa and Sonoma as wine growing regions. I personally find it funny as the bulk of the world has no idea what they are talking about. I would think even most people in the US who claim to be wine drinkers would be a little hard pressed to sum up the differences between the two in a quick and succinct couple of sentences.

The reason I find this interesting is that I am starting to feel a little of the same rivalry in the cocktail world between New York and San Francisco. Like the wine industry, there are actually a very limited number of people who are really versed in both scenes, but plenty who think they are. As well, the two schools of cocktails are pretty different when you get in close and study them. In the end however, we are all just trying to make good drinks, just as the wine makers are just trying to make good juice. So what if we might have different ideas as to what that means.

New kid on the pretty fantastic.

The San Francisco World Spirit thingy just convened and there were a couple of cool aspects this year. Firstly, Absinthe....'nuff said. Secondly, a cachaca won best in show for white spirits. I was very surprised when I heard this a few days ago. Seeing as how I have anounced that we are in a gin boom, I kind of figured everyone else would go along with me. Weber Hauz has put their sandaled foot down however and done it a very smooth way. I was able to taste their white today and it blew me away (the pic above is an old bottle, the new package is great.

The nose is grassy and malty, kind of reminding me of a brewery. I can only think that that must be the yeast coming through. It is bottled kind of light at 38% so I will not sing the praises of it's smoothness yet, but I will talk about how clean it is....It is very clean. The 'funk' level is very low and there is a great grassiness on the finish.

I also tasted a 4 year aged in Brazilian oak and balsam. It was a little weird for me personally (kind of minty), but a very well made spirit for sure. I understand they just got their organic certification for process, not just the ingredients (pay attention Rain!). All in all, I am pretty impressed.

There are shipping direct at the moment, but should have distribution soon and I am predicting great things.

I dare you not to fall in love with Islay Whiskey after watching this.

Jonny Raglin, Walter Moore and myself had the pleasure of running around the warehouses at Bruichladdich with Mr. McEwan a few evevnings last summer.....Magic!

Two really cool hair cuts.

Lifted shamelessly from the Modesto Bee:



Looks like there is another American Gin coming to a cocktail glass near you, New Amerdam. It seems Gallo is getting in on the 'gin-boom" (yeah, I just made that up) we seem to be in. In the last 5 years we have seen Sarticious, No. 209, Aviation, Junipero (I am actually not sure when Anchor started selling this, but it was new to me 5 years ago), Blue Coat, North Shore, g'Vine, DH Krahn, Death's Door, Leeds, Dogfish Jin and Rehorst Milwaukee Gin come to market. Historically speaking, this has got to be some kind of record. If this happened every 5 years we'd be swimming in the stuff.

Man do I love Scotland!

Here is another beautiful bottle from the land of sheep and malt. Ola Dubh (think Oila-Doob) is a super dark-roasted malt stout called 'Old Engine Oil' that has been finished in ex-Highland Park barrels. The Expression I sampled was from a 12 year old barrel and it was great. It pours heavy, almost gloopy with a fairly intense nose of toast and caramel, but drinks effortlessly with a very restrained body. There are the faintest whispers of peat which may even be my imagination, but I honestly don't care.

We have been pairing it with sweets and cheese with much success and am hoping fervently that more comes to the US. The Brewer's website, http://www.harviestoun.com/, says that more bottles in the same line are in the works. I can't wait.

So we have playing around with Anchor Distilling's Genevieve recently. This beautiful bottle garners many questions from guests, a portion of which will inevitably order it with tonic. We pretty much think this is gross, so we needed a quick 'go-to' cocktail to twist it into.

The first one that worked out great was the French 75. We prefer this cocktail served in a flute (I just can't get my head around ice and wine in the same glass). The maltiness of the Genever shows very well when tempered by sparkling wine and seems much less aggressive with lemon.

The second came about when I had a guest order it in a Martini. The conversation was going very well till the guy exposed himself as a cocktail tourist by throwing the word 'dirty' at the tail end. I knew this wasn't going to be good, so I used the force and moved him on to an idea that had been forming as we talked. Genevieve sits kind of fatty on the tongue, so I wanted something to cut through that wasn't acid. Grappa was the answer. Equal parts Genever, Dry Vermouth and Grappa (I really don't think it matters what it is made of in this instance, sure they will be different, but certainly not better). Stirred and garnished with a generous zest of lemon, I call it the Resistance

The Wine Section of today's Chronicle is very, very cool.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/01/WI1NULE4G.DTL

A beautiful new toy.

I have recently discovered the joys of Atholl Brose thanks to my friends at JVS Distribution. This is a Scottish Whisky-based liqueur in the same vein as Drambuie. Atholl is more about the herbs and high notes than the honey syrup in Drambuie and is a great temper when stirred with younger, more brazen Whisk(e)y. I used a half ounce with some Peychoud's to tame a pour of Wasmund's Virginia Single Malt...lovely.

One rockin beer.

http://www.maredsous-usa.com/

Again, I don't want to get into reveiwing product here, but damn this is good beer.

I hit the relativey new bar, Monk's Kettle, with Dom and Kieran tonight and worshipped at the high alter of brew.

Great suds in a great place.

http://www.monkskettle.com/

The Rosle Bar Spoon.

This is, quite simply, the best bar spoon readily available in the US. Get one, then prove me wrong.

Yeah though I walk through the Valley of Rye.... (shamelessly lifted from Dan @ The Teardrop Lounge. Much love bud.)

So my friend and sometime fellow traveler H came in tonight and decided to have an aged Rye fro his night cap. He saw that I had two Black Maple Hill Ryes on the shelf and asked for the 23 year. I assumed he knew what he was about and poured him a healthy one. I could tell immediately that he had never had this one before. I personally don't like it much, the 18 year I dislike just a hair less. While they both are cut to 90 proof, they drink very hot and neither are what I would call particularly mellow. I don't want to get into tasting notes here as that is not the goal of this blog (there are plenty of other places to go for that sort of thing).

Rather, I want to give the opinion I have forming recently concerning Rye as it ages. I quite simply think that Rye should age no more than 10 years. It seems to me that the spirit is too aggressive on the barrel to go longer than that. This theory was shown to be true when I poured H a taste of the Russell's Reserve Rye from Wild Turkey. This comes in at a much younger (and affordable) 6 years and is significantly more drinkable than its older counterpart.

Now that being said, I remedied H's dram by stirring it into a quick Derby cocktail (added Benedictine and Peychoud's) which showed the Whiskey in a completely different light. The addition of the slightest bit of sugar and spice let all those years speak more clearly than they could when left alone with just their own fire. The only problem with this is that this bottle is way too expesive to be mixing drinks with. We give a great deal on it by letting it go at $18 a glass and that just is not right for a mixing bottle.

Conclusion: for sipping, keep it under 10 years, for cocktailing, go as old as you can afford.

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.bolsaroundtheworld.com/

(for me would be nice)

So this is what I call full circle.

In my quest to reproduce Abbott's bitters (the few times I had them have been quite special), I had also created an incense of sorts. The Almond wood chips that I charred and threw into the jar to simulate barrel-aging came out being super infused with all the spices used in the bitters (those are another story...when I get it locked down). After letting them air dry, they bled Abbott's aromas in my liquor vault for about 2 weeks. I wasn't quite sure what I was saving them for, but I know tossing them in the compost would have been wasteful.

Well along comes Miss Amy Brown, the Pastry Chef at Nopa, who did not hesitate one second when I offered them to her. What she did with them is simply genius. She set the Abbott's incense to steep in milk for a few hours, then used that milk to make ice cream. It's all there, lavender, vanilla, clove, anise, gentian and allspice lovingly carried by cream and sugar.

Upon the urging of a friend's bride, (we WILL meet one day Mardee) I set about to make a drink with the stuff. My answer to her confection? Well some friends of mine at the Alembic had been playing with a Manhattan float a year or so ago and I never saw it happen. I always liked that idea and saw this as the perfect chance. I mulled some tempranillo with cubeb peppers, cherry bark and mission honey (think jasmine and lavender if that makes sense) and hit this fifty/fifty with Russel's Reserve Rye (that makes it vermouth now, right?). I mixed 2 oz. of this syrup with 2 oz. of seltzer and plopped a scoop of Abbott's Ice Cream on top. I couldn't bring myself to put a cherry on it as it would have been just a little too cute, however, a tiny drizzle of Cherry Herring did not offend and looked great.

This was a one shot and won't appear on any menu...but damn, it sure is inspiration to get some more Abbott's going.

I am just home from a three day trip to Portland which was quite and eye opener. The food scene was tremendous and the drinks scene has high hopes and a great attitude. Also, while they are seriously hampered by Oregon being a control state (all liquor comes from the State and his hampered by arcane and senseless restrictions,) they do have the advantage of a growing group of independent distillers who are poised to make the region as well known for it's Spirits as it is for it's Beer and Wine.

First, the producers:
Clear Creek Distillers (http://clearcreekdistillery.com/index.php)
Was actually a little bit of let down, but their range of bottlings is superior. I was unable to score a tour as they only schedule them for the weekends (being an actual bartender...that ain't ever gonna work). The next best was the tasting room which is open to the public. I was hoping to get a bottle of McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey which I have tasted but never really have been able to study. Alas, they we sold out. There are worse problems I guess.

House Spirits: (http://www.medoyeff.com/)
Christiaan was very generous with his time and his enthusiasm for cocktails as well as spirits is beautiful to see. When I rolled into the distillery, I was surprised to find that fellow Bay Areans (Areites, Areaitos, Areaistas ?) Martin Cate (http://www.forbiddenislandalameda.com/fi/) and bride were there as well and halfway into a sample of Medoyeff Vodka. More details will follow, but I will say this was one of the best parts of the trip.