Monthly Archives: March 2009

Review: Absolut Mango

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

Now out of vaguely northern European ways to spell the names of fruits, Absolut turns the mango (mangeaux?) for its latest infused vodka.

The contents of Absolut Mango should not surprise you in the slightest: Absolut Swedish vodka, infused with natural mango flavor. There are no artificial additions or sugar or anything else in the vodka (which remains at 80 proof).

I don’t know if it’s because the mango is such a foreign fruit to decidedly non-tropical Sweden, but this is not my favorite Absolut infusion. It’s got a wonderful and promising mango aroma, but after drinking it straight (chilled or on the rocks), one is left with a moderately bitter character and a harsh aftertaste and only a hint of mango in the body. Thankfully it works much better in cocktails, imparting more mango flavor and generally adding complexity to standard mixers (lemonade, cranberry juice) than you would get with regular vodka. And, since it’s 80 proof, your drink is just as strong.

B / $22 / absolut.com

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Posted in Flavored Vodka, Rated B, Reviews, Vodka

Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World Expo San Francisco, March 28, 2009

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

What I liked about WotW 2009: It was held on a boat and, despite my usual seasickness, I didn’t get ill at all. Lots of great whiskey being poured. Despite the stairs (three levels) and the crowds (big), relatively compact venue was easy to get around in.

What I didn’t like: Inexplicable 30 minutes spent waiting in line to get in, salivating all the while. No-shows on the pre-release list, namely Macallan. No printed program (my scribbles below are a “best translation” attempt).

Lots of good stuff being poured — and finally got to try the High West rye — both the current release and an upcoming, unreleased bottling — that everyone’s been begging me to write about. I liked them both!

That said, as always, bear in mind the below comments are based only on a few scant sips of whiskey and should be taken appropriately — as preliminary ratings.

Thanks to Celtic Malts for throwing such a fun evening! See you next year!

Complete Notes – Whiskies of the World San Francisco 2009

Scotch and Irish…

Auchtentoshan 18 Year / B / A bit weedy.
Bushmills 21 Year / A- / Exceptionally smooth.
Bushmills 1608 / A / Amazing balance in this limited edition and better than the 21 year (which is more expensive).
Glenkinchie 1991 / B+
The Glenrothes Select Reserve / B+ / Too light in style.
The Glenrothes 1991 / A / Candylike, very fun. Great value.
The Glenrothes 1985 / A- / More mellow, but with a bit less character.
Highland Harvest Organic Scotch / B- / The only organic Scotch I’ve ever seen. Very rough though.
Laphroaig 15 Year / B+ / Hard to distinguish vs. the 10 year.
Tomintoul 27 Year / A-
Tomintoul 31 Year / A / Star of the show (and quite similar to the 27 year), a delicate and nicely sweet whisky with amazing depth.
Mackillop’s Choice Caol Ila 1979 / B / Hot and overly peated.
Mackillop’s Choice Macallan 1990 / A / Lush and sweet, hard not to like.
Johnnie Walker Gold Label 18 Year / B+ / (Weren’t pouring the Blue – boo!)
Wemyss 1989 “Fruit and Nut Fudge” Single Highland Malt / A- / Sweet with a hot finish.
Tullamore Dew 12 Year / B- / Extreme orange peel character.
Aberlour 12 Year / B / A double wood Scotch, fine.
Aberlour 16 Year / A-
Aberlour A’Bunadh Cask Strength / A / Nice sherry tone. No idea why the pourer suggested putting this on the rocks. Heresy! Another great value.
Dewar’s 18 Year / B+ / Nice blend, but can’t read my notes.
Aberfeldy 21 Year / A- / Great smoky/big peat style Scotch.

Some domestic whiskeys…

High West Rendezvous Rye / A- / A huge, big rye, but with a relatively mild finish. Liked it a lot. Want to try in more depth.
High West 16 Year Rocky Mountain Rye / A- / Smoother and less spicy than the Rendezvous. Quite different in style but also good. Not yet released.
Tuthilltown Baby Bourbon / B / 100% corn bourbon, really, er, corny.
Tuthilltown Four Grain Whiskey / B- / Even funkier than the corn stuff.
Old Potrero Rye / C+ / Extremely odd character, not overly appealing at first blush.
Woodford Reserve / B+ / A very straightforward, unsurprising bourbon.

Some other spirits…

Bendistillery Cofia Coffee/Hazelnut Vodka / A / Full review to come.
Chase Potato Vodka / A-
Chase Elderberry Liqueur / A- / More flowery than St. Germain.

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Posted in Reviews, Whiskey

Review: 2007 Golan Heights Winery Golan Cabernet Sauvignon

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

I knew Israel made wine, but like most consumers I’d figured it was that cough syrup called Manischewitz and that was about it.

Turns out Manischewitz is made in New York, not Israel. Real Israeli wines are far, far better, but just as kosher.

With Passover a week away, interest in kosher wines is at its high for the year, and the faithful are wise to turn to something better. Check out Golan Heights Winery (based in, well, Golan Heights), which makes a surprisingly good cabernet sauvignon.

Golan Heights produces wine under three labels, Golan being the youngest and least expensive of the lot. This 2007 cabernet (which curiously features a photo of a rock on the label) spends just six months in American oak, leaving it young, very purple in color, and fresh with fruit flavor instead of deluged with oak. It’s an almost salty wine, but well balanced with lots of bright fruit flavor. Probably not something you could age for more than a couple of years, but worthwhile as a new — and very affordable — experience — and it works well with food.

B+ / $16 / golanwines.co.il

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Posted in Rated B+, Reviews, Wine

Review: Stevens Point Burly Brown Ale

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Craft brewery Stevens Point released its latest addition to its lineup this month, Burly Brown, and American Brown Ale.

I’ve tried it a few times and, while it’s a perfectly serviceable brew, “Burly” is a bit of a misnomer. There’s a good slug of hops and a strongly nutty character here, but those looking for a knock-you-off-the-couch experience will be disappointed. In fact, Stevens Point notes that the recipe used — a hoppier version of the English brown ale — is often referred to as “mild ale.”

The flavors are clear, but the beer is quite easygoing. I’d actually recommend trying it when you’d otherwise reach for a pilsner but want something with a little more body to it.

5% alcohol by volume.

B / $7 per six-pack / pointbeer.com

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Posted in Beer, Rated B, Reviews

Review: Larvets Original Worm Snax

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Christopher Null| 3 Comments

I’m only including Larvets here as a “bar food” because of the possibility they will come up as a bar bet: Will you eat something that lists “larva” as its first ingredient?

Rest assured, these mealworms are long-dead, dried, and utterly flavorless. Even the addition of cheddar cheese flavoring (there are also BBQ and Mexican spice flavors available) and MSG does little to make Larvets taste like anything. They’re crunchy, a bit like a rice cracker, but really, wholly harmless.

Someone slaps a box of these down on the bar and lays down a gastronomic challenge, feel free to take them up on this one. Just cringe along the way as you crunch down on the suckers — you know, for effect. You gotta earn those bar bets, even the easy ones.

C- / $1.85 for 5.6-gram box

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Posted in Bar Food, Rated C-, Reviews

Review: XyliMelts

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

What’s the worst part of a hangover? The headache? The upset stomach? The hatred toward your fellow man?

For some, it’s the dry mouth: No matter how much water you drink, that cottonmouth comes back in minutes, keeping you awake all night and aware of all the other symptoms.

Enter XyliMelts, a bizarre solution but one that merits attention: XyliMelts inlcude 500mg of xylitol, an “oral lubricant” and natural sweetener which stimulates saliva creation. To use it, you pop a XyliMelt in your mouth, and once you have it situated between the cheek and gum for 30 seconds, an adhesive side sticks to your gums and keeps the spit production going for anywhere between 1 and 6 hours.

You can use it during the day if your mouth is abnormally dry, but Drinkhacker readers will probably be more interested in the nocturnal application: That’s right, because XyliMelt sticks to your gums, you can leave it in overnight (technically you’re supposed to use two for a full night’s sleep, but I did fairly well with just one).

I tried it last night after Whiskeys of the World — when I knew I’d need it — and the results were kind of shocking: It worked. Yes, it’s a little disconcerting to try to sleep with a tablet slowly dissolving in your mouth, but the constant lubrication is more than worth the oddity, which you get used to in 30 minutes or so. The taste is fine, too: Lightly minty and moderately sweet. (There’s also a “plain” version.)

Given the scary warning that “some bacteria may evolve a resistance to xylitol,” this may not be something you’ll want to use every single day… but to ease the pain from the occasional bender, XyliMelts might be an excellent part of your arsenal. At 12 bucks for 80 tablets, it’s a great deal too.

A- / $12 for 80 tablets / orahealth.com

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Posted in Hangover, Rated A-, Reviews

Tasting Report: Toast of the Town, March 26, 2009

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

Heading into the Civic Center area of San Francisco rarely means a fun night on the town drinking lots of great wine, but that’s exactly what I had the great pleasure to do this Thursday, courtesy of an invitation from Wine Enthusiast magazine, which put on a fantastic, must-attend event.

Held in the classy War Memorial Opera House, wines were poured on four stories of the structure, making for some adventurous climbing and exploring in order to get your vino fix. While wines were poured from all over the world — there’s really no rhyme or reason to who was attending, as you’ll see from the melange of names in the tasting report below — quality was exceptional throughout. (Admittedly I tried to steer toward the higher-grade wines being poured during the VIP hour.)

But Toast of the Town, I soon discovered, is only half about the wine. The other half is all about the food, with an amazing variety of local restaurants serving appetizer-sized plates to the masses. Seriously, the food options were splayed out at a rate of roughly one restaurant for every two wineries (and on some floors, the ratio was 1 to 1), so you’d get a glass of wine, then grab a plate and nosh. And we’re not talking about a bite of cheese and a cracker like most wine events: Here we had crab dumplings, duck salad, steak tartare, lobster thermidor, ahi tuna, house-made carpaccio, beef marsala on polenta, red velvet cake… you name it. And, at the final table… a selection of awesome chocolates from Shokolaat. It’s the first time I’ve left a wine event completely stuffed — and perfectly satiated with a glass of Eagle Rare 10 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon (rating: A) — a unique way to finish a wine tasting event… and a great way to prepare for Whiskeys of the World this afternoon.

Because the wines were all over the map (literally), drawing comparisons was nearly impossible so my comments on the 28 wines I tried are scarce. I will however offer special praise for Archery Summit’s Red Hills Pinot, Pine Ridge’s Fortis cabernet, and a trio of whites from Louis Latour (and a sister property), however. But seriously… i want to go back for some more of those chocolates.

Tasting Report – Toast of the Town San Francisco 2009

France 2006 Joseph Drouhin Premier Cru Chablis / B+
Oregon 2006 Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir Willamette Valley / B
France 2006 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru / A-
France 2005 Louis Latour Corton-Grancey Grand Cru / A-
France 2006 Simonnet Febvre Les Preuses Grand Cru Chablis / A-
Cal 2005 Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena / A-
Cal 2005 Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford / A-
Australia 2006 Yalumba Hand-Picked m/g/s Barossa Valley / A-
Australia 2007 Yalumba The Viriglius Viognier Eden Valley / B+
Cal 2004 Geyser Peak Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon / B+
Cal 2005 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon / A-
Oregon 2006 Domaine Alfred Califa Pinot Noir / A-
Oregon 2006 Archery Summit Red Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir / A
Cal 2005 Pine Ridge Fortis Cabernet Sauvignon / A
Cal 2006 MacMurray Ranch Winemaker’s Block Selection Pinot Noir / A
Cal 2005 William Hill Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon / A-
Italy 2003 Da Vinci Brunello di Montalcino / B+
Cal 2005 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon / A-
Cal 2005 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve / A
Italy 2003 Biondi-Santi Rosso di Montalcino / B-
Italy 1999 Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva / B-
France 2005 Chateau de la Gardine Tradition Chateauneuf-du-Pape / B
Cal 2006 Ravenswood Old Hill Zinfandel Sonoma Valley / B+
NZ 2007 Nobilo Icon Pinot Noir / B+
Cal 1998 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvee / A
Cal 2005 Hall Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon / A-
Cal 2005 Hall Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon / B
Cal 2004 Mount Veeder Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon / B+

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Posted in Reviews, Wine

Review: 1998 Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d’Or Champagne

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Christopher Null| 7 Comments

I’ve had this bottle in my fridge for months, because opening a $150 bottle of Champagne just for kicks seemed so, I don’t know, so wrong. I drink expensive wine for this blog all the time, but something about Champagne gives one pause before cracking it open willy-nilly.

Well finally I had reason to celebrate something, so out came the Palmes d’Or by Nicolas Feuillatte, which — if nothing else — is perhaps the most strikingly-bottled wine I’ve ever encountered. With its indented-bubbles on very dark glass (just look at the photo below to get a sense of what I’m talking about), it’s impossible not to be awestruck by the bottle.

If only what was inside was more compelling.

The nose of this half-chardonnay, half-pinot noir Champagne immediately resounds with crisp apples and fresh bread, a good sign I think. But the body is extremely tart, feeling much younger than its 11 years of age. The finish is quick but not unpleasant, leaving you with a kind of lemony, marmalade character that zips away quickly. I was also strangely confused by how quickly the fizz dissipated from the glass, leaving me with a relatively flat Champagne after only a few minutes.

Though it’s by no means undrinkable, I’ve found more enjoyment in many simple $20 bottles of sparkling wine than I did in Palmes d’Or. Bummer.

B- / $150 / feuillatte.com

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Posted in Rated B-, Reviews, Wine

Recipe: Passionate Woman

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

I like the sound of this cocktail, a $5,000 prize-winner from SF mixologist Victoria D’Amato-Moran, which includes two spirits (Skyy Passion Fruit and X-Rated Fusion) which I have rated highly and enjoy a lot.

Passionate Woman
1 bar spoon fresh passion fruit
1 ½ ounces Skyy Infusions Passion Fruit Vodka
1 ounce Aperol
3 ounces fresh Ruby Red grapefruit juice
½ ounce X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
Grated nutmeg

Build, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

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Posted in Liqueurs, Recipes, Vodka

Review: 2007 Luke Donald Chardonnay

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

What it is about golfers and chardonnay I’ll never figure out, but here’s a new one, courtesy of Luke Donald (who put out a nice Bordeaux-style blend last summer).

Luke Donald’s chardonnay, from the Carneros region, isn’t nearly the success of his Claret, but it has some basic charm. Chardonnay’s textbook characteristics are here: Some wood, a decent core of apple fruit, but it has a lot of that ham-like character that so many chardonnays suffer from (I guess many winemakers find it charming), and it’s hard to push past it to get to the more enjoyable components of the wine.

Not at all awful, though I liked it better with food than on its own.

B- / $30 / terlatowines.com