I enjoyed Graffigna’s 2007 Pinot Grigio and, sure enough, its 2008 is nearly as compelling. Grapefruit is the predominant character in this Argentinian Pinot Grigio, with mineral, grass, and herbal notes following close behind. Again, this wine is crisp and easy to drink, and it goes well on its own or with food.
And also again, it’s an impressive bargain. $12 — tops — will get you a bottle that you’re likely to down in an evening without complaint.
A- / $12 / graffignawines.com
Sorry, les enfants! At long last, it looks like France — where you can drink beer and wine as young as 16 years old — is going to raise its drinking age to 18.
The good news: As has always been the case, no one is likely to ask for ID. From the AP story:
Deputies in the National Assembly late Monday approved an amendment to a health ministry bill raising the legal age limit from 16 to 18 for both alcohol and tobacco sales, bringing France in line with most of Europe.
With underage drinking on the rise across Europe, according to a recent study, the French bill, which still needs Senate approval, would allow mayors to ban take-away sales of alcohol at night in their towns.
The law will also outlaw open bars, seen as encouraging binge-drinking, as well as alcohol sales in road service stations after 6:00 pm.
Good luck with that, France!
Posted in Beer, Drinking & the Law, Wine
I don’t know what deer have to do with cherries, but you try coming up with a name for you black cherry-infused whiskey, OK?
Red Stag — which is Jim Beam bourbon “infused with natural flavors” (predominantly black cherry, one would assume) — is as good a name as any for what Beam has come up with here. We received one of only ten preview bottles distributed — and to be blunt, Red Stag tastes pretty much exactly how you’re expecting: It’s heavy on the cherry flavor, sweet to the point where it’s almost cloying, and the classic Jim Beam bourbon character takes a seat considerably further back in the bus.
The concoction — though a full 80 proof, unusual for a flavored spirit — is clearly targeted at the more novice whiskey drinker. There’s really no point in drinking this straight and, though it’s perfectly tolerable on its own (if a bit syrupy), it’s far more suited for mixing. It almost goes without saying that Coke is the obvious and natural companion for a cherry-flavored whiskey, and that’s definitely the way I’d recommend you try drinking it — or better yet, using it to woo bourbon neophytes toward sampling the elixir.
Don’t run to stores to grab a bottle just yet: It’s set to be officially released this June.
B / $18 / jimbeam.com
Come Tuesday, many of you will be picking up a bottle of Irish whiskey to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and for most of you, it’ll be either Bushmills or Jameson.
Can’t blame you, both are solid Irish brands and you can often find them for about $16, especially this time of year.
Some more detailed thoughts on Jameson, which I wanted to review more officially than I have in the past, in honor of March 17th’s arrival.
This is a very clean whiskey, and I’d recommend it for any general-use application (be it drinking straight, inclusion in a cocktail, or as a topical disinfectant). Served neat, it’s got some heat, but that quickly fades and leaves you with the guts of the drink, a citrus- and honey-laced classic whiskey that’s real surprise comes with the inclusion of a minty character throughout the body.
Definitely a lot to like here… but check out reviews of other Jameson expressions as well.
B+ / $20 / jamesonewhiskey.com
Posted in Irish Whiskey, Rated B+, Reviews, Whiskey
Been checking out the three offerings from new organic coffee outfit Good Earth. Again, this isn’t a coffee-centric blog, but I drink enough of it to know a good cup from a bad one.
The Good Earth brand dates back to 1972, dedicated to healthy and delicious food and drink. Now delving into coffee, the 100% Arabica coffees are all blended from various sources — a medium-roast Sienna Blend from South America and Africa, a dark-roast Mystic Blend from South America and Asia, and a decaf Sedona Blend (dark or medium roast available) from South America only.
Good Earth’s major failing is that in all it’s blends it is too light in flavor. The Sienna Blend (rating: C) is extremely light, with just a bare hint of traditional coffee and light sweetness. The Mystic (rating: B) fares better, quite a bit smokier and offering some cocoa character, but a little charred and chalky on the finish. Tried the Sedona medium blend (not the dark), with similar comments as the Sienna (though perhaps with a slightly deeper flavor profile).
The coffees are widely available. Probably not to You may want to try a cup or two to see if they’re to your liking before you stock up on pounds of the stuff.
about $9 per 10-oz. bag / goodearthcoffee.com
It’ s kinda jokey: Sierra Nevada’s new ESB stands not for Extra Special (or Strong) Bitter, but for Early Spring Beer, released just in time for the Spring Equinox and your thaw-time enjoyment.
To be sure, the copper-colored ESB is crafted in a vaguely British, nicely-hopped style, though it’s far less hoppy and bitter than even a run-of-the-mill pale ale. Very light, slightly sweet, and with a refreshing kick of bitterness in the finish. I like it quite nicely, and as far as names go, “Early Spring” is an awfully appropriate one.
5.9 percent alcohol.
A- / $13 per 12-pack / sierranevada.com
Hailing from New Richmond, Wisconsin, 45th Parallel takes its name from the line that passes through the state, halfway from the Equator to the North Pole.
Distilled from locally-grown grains (unspecified varieties), 45th Parallel is distilled three times and then charcoal filtered before being bottled at 80 proof. The company takes great pains to note that it does not buy bulk spirits and repackage or blend them into its own products. Everything in the bottle is produced in New Richmond.
Looks good on paper, but 45th Parallel is surprisingly sedate as far as vodkas go. For those looking for a dead neutral spirit, 45th Parallel is about as close as they come. The sweet and citrus of many other vodkas produced these days is wholly lacking in 45th Parallel. Strain and you can come up with some bread-like characteristics and an almost herbal, medicinal character late in the game, but that’s about it. The only sour note is the finish, which ends on a bitter, vegetal note instead of the clean touch that vodka is so well-known for.
Because of 45th Parallel is a near-perfect vodka for use in cocktails (where the vague, off finish doesn’t come through), but I recommend other brands for sipping straight.
Very hard to find.
B / $30 / 45thparallelvodka.com
Our pals at Bushmills did an interesting experiment, challenging several San Francisco-area bartenders to come up “a twist on the traditional Irish meal of whiskey and eggs, but in cocktail form.”
Here’s what they came up with.
An Bodhran (The Drum)
Jonny Raglin, Absinthe
1 1/4 oz. Bushmills Irish Whiskey
1/2 oz. Port
1 barspoon maple sugar
1 whole egg
3 drops mint bitters
Shake all ingredients heavily with ice for about 1 minute. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with three drops of mint bitters.
Bushmills Toast Cocktail (pictured below)
Daniel Hyatt, Alembic
1 oz Bushmills Irish Whiskey
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur
3 drops rose water
1 whole egg
Dry shake ingredients for 10 seconds, add cracked ice and shake vigorously for 30 sec until frothy. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and top with drops of cocoa infused olive oil.
To create infused cocoa oil, toast 1 tbs. cocoa nibs in a saucepan until they just start to smoke a bit, reduce heat and add 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Simmer on low heat, careful not to let the oil burn for about 20 min. Pour oil and cocoa nibs into blender and blend for 15-20 seconds. Strain through coffee filter or 4 layers of cheesecloth and keep in refrigerator. Pour into small squeeze bottle for application.
Finnegan’s Wake
Joel Baker, Bourbon & Branch
1 1/2 oz. bacon-infused Bushmills Original
1 oz. egg
1/2 oz. turbinado syrup
Dash Whiskey-Barrel Aged Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Hard shake for 10 seconds to froth the egg. Add ice to the liquid and shake hard for another 20 seconds. Fine strain into a sour glass. Garnish with a light dusting of nutmeg and skewered baked beans.
Posted in Irish Whiskey, Recipes, Whiskey
St. Patrick’s Day approaches… here’s more Irish whiskey reviews.
Kilbeggan is an awfully simple blended Irish whiskey, its claim to fame being that it comes from the “oldest licensed distillery in the world.”
It isn’t hard to drink, offering light sweetness and moderate wood character locked into a pale yellow spirit. There’s a touch of pepper on the finish, which doubles back with a sweet caramel kick before falling back to a charred wood fade-out. Balance here is iffy; the various flavors don’t really come together in a cohesive way. Still, the individual components are enjoyable enough, though at $17 a bottle, it’s hard to complain too much.
B- / $17 / cooleywhiskey.com
Posted in Irish Whiskey, Rated B-, Reviews, Whiskey
I’ll be blunt: Ron Abuelo’s rums are as good as rums that cost twice as much and possibly more.
Right now the company (producer Varela Hermanos, a 100-year-old firm) offers two rums, distilled in Panama from sugar cane the company grows itself. (Abuelo claims to be one of few distilleries in the world to grow its own cane.) Both are 80 proof.
First up is Ron Abuelo Anejo (the company doesn’t make a white rum), which is clearly aged, but with no statement on how long. (It’s a fairly pale rum, so I wouldn’t expect it spends more than three or four years in cask.) At first I found the Anejo a bit harsh, but letting it open up in the glass did wonders for it. After 10 minutes, the bitter, fiery nature mellowed out, leaving the spirit with a nicely sweet, lightly oaked body. Not a lot of complexity, no, but its brown sugar-like character was really quite lovely, even on its own, sans mixer. Not bad at all for a rum that costs about $13 a bottle, which makes it one of the cheapest aged rums on the market, cheaper even than just about all of Bacardi’s aged rums. (My only big complaint: The plastic cap doesn’t stay on well at all.) B+ / $13
As good as the Anejo is, it’s outclassed by Ron Abuelo Anejo 7 Anos (pictured below), a moderately darker spirit with a smoother and more complicated body. The 7 year is ready to drink from first pour, a cocoa-inflected sugar bomb that is immediately accessible. Fresh sugar cane and some light citrus are at play in this rum, and though it has short finish that won’t leave you grasping for exalted descriptions, it’s a classic spirit that I challenge any rum drinker not to enjoy and enjoy greatly. All this will set you back a whopping 20 bucks, which makes it accessible even for the Rum & Coke crowd who feel guilty about using aged rum with a mixer. A- / $20
