First Taste: Rittenhouse Rye 25 Year Old Single Barrel Whiskey

The release of the third and final bottling of Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel Rye has arrived, following the release of the 21-year-old bottling in 2006 and the 23-year-old  in 2007 (reviewed here). The new 25-year-old expression is drawn from the final barrels of the same lot as the first two though questions about how it has benefited are almost irrelevant, as all bottles - even at $190 a bottle - will be scooped up instantly. About those bottles - there are only one thousand 3-bottle cases, a total of 3,000 bottles, to be shared between the US, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  

So what do I think of the 100 proof, single barrel designated, non-chill filtered, straight rye? On the nose, there's maple syrup, dates, shellac, baking spices, old chair leather, some ashiness and a bit of a charred quality that I don't recall from the last bottling. On the palate, there are all of the above, plus some better defined spice notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and even a bit of Red Hot candy, a brisk, drying finish at first and then, wham - some potency starts to show. There is a bit of woodiness starting to peek through as well, which makes me think somewhere between 23 and 25 years was the peak age for this rye. But it almost doesn't matter - is Payton Manning a better quarterback today than three years ago? Is the current Broadway production of "South Pacific" better than the last revival? Was this year's "Mad Men" better than last? Who cares? Buy this if you can find it. (Distributed by Heaven Hill)


My score: 9.5

Read more...

I'll take Manhattans

Woodford Reserve's national search for a new Manhattan wound up in New York this week, with eight bartenders displaying their versions of the classic. The high level of the judges - master distiller Chris Morris, Aureole chef Chris Lee, Clover Club's charming mistress Julie Reiner - was brought down when they added me, but we all agreed on the winner, Jeromy Edwards of Back Stage at Theater Square Marketplace in Louisville, whose Cider Manhattan worked best. People may cry the Kentucky fix was in, but three of the four judges are Brooklyintes, so there. My close second was the White Limo from Washington DC's Owen Thomson.

Cider Manhattan
2 oz. Woodford Reserve
3/4 oz. cider reduction
1/2 oz. Antica vermouth
dash Angostura bitter
Grand Marnier-flambéed cherry (preferably Rainier)

Flambé cherry in the Martini glass, allowing it to caramelize. Place ingredeients and ice drink in shaker and turn, don't shake. Pour into Martini glass after it has cooled.
Read more...

Not exactly death in the afternoon, but maybe blood and sand

Bilbao, Spain, isn’t exactly known for its cocktail scene, though Americans have been stopping off there increasingly since the opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum. There, as throughout the rest of Spain, gin and Scotch are the favored tipples along with Spanish wines, but malt folk should be on the alert for one fine collection in an unexpected location when on a tapas crawl.

Casa Victor Montes, located on Plaza Nueva in the old part of town, is packed most nights (and middays) at the tapas bar and sit down tables where dishes like dried cod cooked in a sweet pepper sauce or poached in olive oil delight. It takes a few minutes, but slowly, visitors realize the cases and shelves surrounding them and filling the walls to the ceiling hold one of Spain’s largest whisky collections — 600 bottles, 80 of which are still being served.

The collection boasts lots of interesting one-offs, but also oddities (not many places can offer Old Huckleberry Bourbon or Macallan 1964), yet few customers order the stuff, according to bartender Pedro. Too bad, as the place has a well-worn patina bars only get after, oh, say, 140-plus years of operation, and is best contemplated with a dram or two. Great food and fine wine are of course important to find, but it’s especially good to know about a clean, well-lighted place for a late afternoon whisky in any city, ancient or modern.
Read more...

Lush Life

Jill DeGroff has visited all the best bars of the world - she’s the one off to the side quietly sketching away while hubby holds court. Now we can all see what she’s been up to, as the release is here of Lush Life; Portraits from the Bar. Parties will be held in several cities, featuring culinary cocktails prepared by award-winning mixologists, and she will be signing books and rendering a few caricatures. The tour started in Boston, and she’ll be in New Brunswick, N.J. Nov. 8 at Stage Left , and then on to D.C., NYC and San Francisco — check here for her current schedule.
Read more...

The Mix

To the left you can get an idea what my latest project looks like - the biweekly mixology newsletter called Mix. I'll be keeping track of new beverage programs, up-and-coming bars and bartenders, great resources, events and people. So if you have news of your beverage programs, or know of something interesting and very inside, let me know. No web address yet, but the sign-up link is here.
Read more...

Roll your own Walker

A couple weeks ago, the Diageo folks brought Andrew Ford, the Johnnie Walker blender, to town, and he brought with him various single malts for a blending exercise. Andrew mentioned that he'd stopped off to fill some bottles personally for the event and it's pretty clear, once we started nosing the various glasses poured for us, that Cardhu was back in town after a long absence. The malt is so beloved by the Spanish that Diageo pulled it out of the U.S. years ago (and even started agitating for the ability to sell a vatted malt called Cardhu, which raised a potent stink in whisky circles).
Along with that Speyside, we were offered portions of a grain whisky, an Islay (Caol Ila is my guess), a Highland (Royal Lochnagar?), a Lowland (Glenkinchie), a west Highland (Oban), and a non-Islay island (Talisker). And so we tried to replicate the signature JW Black blend ourselves.

What did I learn? Well, for one, that even with the superior drams mentioned above, mxing together something coming that doesn't bowl you over yet still has a smokey, lusty JWB pop isn't just a matter of pouring on the flavor. Balance is hard to reach, and the single malts seem to get more intense when mixed together, without the correct level of grain whisky to harmonize matters. So kudos for the much-maligned blended Scotch blenders like Mr. A. Ford. And I also was reminded, after a long time between tastes of some of these Diageo whiskies, how much I really, truly love Caol Ila and Talisker.
Read more...

First Taste: Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila

The efforts by the tequila business to shed the bad old image the spirit earned in the 1960s have largely succeeded, but one result is that tequila prices have gone through the roof. As good as some of today's blancos are (and believe me, the improvement in quality at the blanco level is clear; now, if only barrel management in Jalisco got as much attention as agave quality).

But there are always bargains to be had, and here's one some savvy mixologists already know about; Pueblo Viejo Blanco from Tepatitlan. It has a light cocoa powder, even baby powder, aroma at first, followed by anise seed, orange rind and a touch of bitter herbs. In the mouth, it has a great balance between minerally citrus, mostly lemon and lime, and a moderate agave sweetness. There's a notably rich texture, and the blanco finishes with another dusting of cocoa powder along with a clean lime and apple crispness, a lovely tequila all around. Prices vary, but last month in San Diego, I saw it going for under $16 at a chain store, a steal as far as I'm concerned. (Imported by Gemini Spirits and Wine.)

My score: 6.5
Read more...

Good cheap wine #3

Wine producers working in regions without much contemporary cachet have a monumental problem; how do they get consumers, overwhelmed with a flood of international wines produced in similar styles, interested in something different? Here's one way: make your wines refreshing, driven by varietal rather than stylistic characteristics, price them well and make them easy to serve.

Welcome example number one from vineyards formerly producing Armagnac; in fact, this little quaffer puts the lie to the idea that grapes normally used to produce brandy like ugni blanc and colombard can't make good wine. Fresh, floral and citrusy, with aromas of grapefruit, lime peel and nectarine, the Colombelle from Gascony is remarkably crisp and lean on the palate, with a great swoosh of citusy acids along with some peachy freshness and a clean, bright finish. It's relatively low in alcohol (11.5% abv), which makes it perfect for a light lunch, hot night, spicy food, or as an aperitif. The price (about $10) is exceptional at a time when flabby pinot grigios can still command $20. Buy it by the case if you find it. (Wine Sellers, LTD)
Read more...

Craft distillers catch on

Ralph Erenzo and Brian Lee don’t have to dodge swarms of bees anymore when they make apple vodka in New York’s Hudson Valley. In a micro-distiller’s world, that’s a sign of progress. The founders of Tuthilltown Spirits are just two of those riding the American craft wave. Now more than 155 strong, these indie distillers have been spurred by consumer thirst for handmade products, the classic cocktail trend, an easing of restrictions on in-store sampling, self-distribution and sales of their own wares and even by the “locavore” movement.

(Read the rest of the story below, originally published in the October Beverage Media publications.)
Beverage Media - Emerging Distilleries
Read more...

First Taste: Chokaisan Junmai Daiginjo Saké

It's rare to be able to sample many fine sakés in one place without emptying the piggy bank, but last week's "The Joy of Saké" event in New York provided guests with at least 200 different brands. A few stood out, but none so much as the Chokaisan. As a daiginjo, half of each grain of rice in the making is polished away, making the category the most expensive to produce, but also, potentially, the most delicate.

The Chokaisan, made with yeast derived from flowers, does indeed have pronounced aromas of white flower and pears. Clean and beautifully round on the palate, it shimmers with flavors of fresh picked and peeled pear and tarragon, crisp yet still a bit creamy, with a clean and minerally finish. Brewer Shunji Sato says he's tried to brew a saké that gives the sensation of gazing at a local mountain on a clear winter's day. I don't know about that, but in the midst of the cacophony of the saké tasting, I did feel a bit of fresh breeze blow across my face as I sipped the Chokaisan. (Winebow)

My score: 7
Read more...