Monthly Archives: September 2011

Four Loko Rises Again as “Poco Loko”

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

You can’t get rid of Four Loko that easily, folks…

CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2011 – Responding to popular demand, Phusion Projects, LLC recently announced the introduction of Poco Loko, a new version of the company’s Four Loko product with unique flavors and in a smaller can size with lower alcohol by volume.

Poco Loko is available in 16-ounce cans at 8 percent alcohol by volume, and comes in four unique flavors: Green Apple, Black Cherry, Mango and Lemonade; most of which are not available in 23.5 ounce cans. The product, which will be available in four packs and in single cans, is being introduced in order to meet consumer demand for additional products and flavors, and to continue diversifying the Phusion Projects line of products.

“We’ve always been a company that listens to what our consumers want,” said Chris Hunter, one of the co-founders of Phusion Projects. “Poco Loko is a great product to bring to market, and we’re excited to re-introduce fan favorite Green Apple, originally from the Four Loko XXX Limited Edition line.”

As with all Phusion Projects products, Poco Loko is a flavored malt beverage that does not contain caffeine, guarana or taurine.

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Posted in Beer, Mixers

Recipe: Knob Creek Sour Ginger

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

In honor of Bourbon Heritage Month (you’re soaking in it, by the way), our pals at Knob Creek sent us this enticing recipe, courtesy of chef Mike Isabella. Sounds like a fun one!

Knob Creek Sour Ginger

2 parts Fresh Squeezed Ruby Grapefruit Juice
1¼ parts Knob Creek Bourbon
¾ part Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
½ part Lemon Juice
Garnish: Lime Wedge, stuffed with Candied Ginger

Combine all ingredients in a Boston shaker. Add Ice and shake. Strain over ice in a rocks glass. Squeeze the lime wedge to disperse the candied ginger into the drink.

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Posted in Bourbon, Recipes, Whiskey

Review: 1512 Barbershop Rye

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

The story behind 1512 is almost more interesting than this, its first product.

Salvatore Cimino is a real barber in San Francisco, and his forebears include a series of whiskey bootleggers. So Cimino put the two together, in a way: With a legally produced whiskey named after his discreet Nob Hill barbershop. Cimino spends his days cutting hair, his nights cutting heads and tails as whiskey comes off the still.

Cimino set up shot north of the Bay Area, in Rohnert Park, and production here is extremely limited, under 100 liters a month of product. Distilled from rye in custom copper stills, completely unaged, and bottled at 91 proof, even in the rising world of white dog whiskey, it’s unique.

How you feel about 1512 will likely echo how you feel about unaged, white whiskeys. It’s young and brash, completely untempered by time spent in barrel. But going with rye is an incredibly prescient choice, giving the spirit character that most ultra-corny white whiskeys just don’t have. The real fun is not in the largely traditional nose but on the back end: That fuel-focused funk so common in white dog is cut with a big kick of pepper, saltiness, and something I can only describe as the essence of a summer barbeque — a little coal- and mesquite-like burn on the finish.

White dog is rarely fun, but 1512 Barbershop Rye — an enticing first volley in an upcoming line of whiskey curiosities — is both fun and rare.

Batch #3 reviewed.

A- / $30 (375ml bottle) / 1512spirits.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Reviews, Rye, Whiskey, White Whiskey

Review: DonQ “Pasion” Passion Fruit Rum

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

DonQ’s latest flavor is the always crowd-pleasing Passion Fruit, an exotic treat that nonetheless has become familiar to U.S. palates. DonQ’s Pasión is bright on the nose with tropical notes, but it’s hard to peg it specifically to passion fruit. On the palate, it’s even trickier, as the rum component comes across a little too harsh and the passion fruit a bit too sweet. The ultimate spirit tends to veer, oddly, toward cherry notes, when I’d hoped for something lighter and fruitier. This would probably be fine in a big and fruit-bombed tiki cocktail, but for more subtle drinks it’ll overpower the blend.

B- / $16 / donq.com

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Posted in Flavored Rum, Rated B-, Reviews, Rum

Book Review: Matt Kramer on Wine

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

I like Matt Kramer and find his writing on wine to be conversational, readable, and generally lots of fun. What I don’t like is books that are anthologies of earlier, already published writing.

This is ultra-common for columnists in all walks of life — Roger Ebert surely makes a fortune repackaging movie reviews every year and selling them to readers who didn’t catch his musings on the latest Spy Kids the first time — so this shouldn’t (and doesn’t) surprise me. And this is actually Kramer’s first such book, which is remarkable if for no other reason than to make you realize the sheer amount the man has had to say about wine over the years.

Kramer is a good wine writer because although he clearly has an exhaustive knowledge of the subject, he speaks for and to the everyman. He loathes froufrou language and openly says that blind tastings suck. He complains that wine merchants (not critics) are the ones that decide what wine is “good” and what isn’t, and comes this close to decrying large-scale competitive wine tastings (like those his employer organizes) as hopeless bullshit. Kramer expounds on the awesome winemaking prowess at a Gallo outpost but will also let you know what he thinks about Lagrein. (It’s a grape, in case you didn’t know.) He laughs directly at many a wine collector, calls the wine-biz movie Mondovino malicious agitprop, and calls out restaurants by name for poor service and bad policies.

In other words, Kramer repeatedly bites the hand that feeds him. And yet, it keeps feeding him.

The good news is that’s our gain, and this collection of essays — while all over the map (literally) — is a fun way to re-experience Kramer’s writing if you didn’t catch it the first time. (And he writes for so many outlets that you couldn’t have seen it all in print originally.)

The book ends with a curiosity: A multi-thousand word profile of Angelo Gaja that was rejected by The New Yorker but which was paid for — $15,000 — in full. I didn’t get through it all, but that’s OK: Kramer is actually best in small doses, as his quippy writing style works well in the short form, where he can drop a gag and run out the room before his host realizes he’s been had. In some cases, that means you and me.

B+ / $12 / [BUY IT HERE]

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Posted in Books, Rated B+, Reviews, Wine

Review: 123 Tequila

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

123 — pronounced, of course, “Uno Dos Tres,” is a new, 100% organic tequila from David Ravandi, a 15-year veteran of the tequila business. I won’t expound on his past successes, but Ravandi knows his stuff, and he does it again with this high-quality series, which I had the fortune to try recently.

Using 100% Lowlands agave (4200 feet qualifies as “low” in Jalisco, by the way) from tha Amatitan Valley, these tequilas were designed with the wine connoisseur in mind. You’ll find each of the expressions has a very different character to it, though they all contain the same DNA.

Here are thoughts on each. All are 80 proof and bottles are hand-numbered.

123 Blanco Tequila (Uno) – Unaged and clean. Vibrant with lemon peel, black pepper, and minerals. Smooth as silk, with a slight sweet kick on the finish, which is so easy it’s criminal. The cleanness makes it perhaps my favorite tequila in this lineup, though it’s awfully close (as the grades will indicate). A- / $40

123 Reposado Tequila (Dos) – Aged 6 months in oak, which gives it a very light color and no real hint of wood. Rather here we see salted caramel, creme brulee, and toffee notes. There’s agave on the nose, but it quickly dissipates as you head for a light dessert course, complete with minty finish. Probably the most complex tequila in the lineup. A- / $45

123 Anejo Tequila (Tres) – After a year in oak, Tres’s wood character is more prominent, and on first blush it is heady on the nose with tannin and wood oil notes. This fades after time in the glass, revealing richer versions of those characteristics in the Reposado: Caramel, and some chocolate notes. A lovely anejo, it really opens up if you give it time. A- / $50

123tequila.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Reviews, Tequila

Recipe: Canadian Punch

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Christopher Null| 4 Comments

Being served at my birthday party. From The Punch Bowl, via Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide: How to Mix Drinks (1862).

UPDATE: This punch may have flown in 1862, but today it’s too weak and flavorless (the pineapples did nothing). I ultimately doctored it up by cutting the water back to about 1 1/2 quarts, and added a cup of triple sec and a cup of cherry liqueur. Much better punch.

Canadian Punch

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into rings (not canned!)
6 lemons, thinly sliced
4 quarts water
2 750ml bottles rye whiskey (I’m using one bottle of Canadian, one of a lighter Bourbon)
2 cups dark Jamaican rum

Place everything gently into a punch bowl and add a large block of ice. Serves 35 to 50.

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Posted in Recipes, Whiskey

Review: Armorik Breton Single Malt French Whisky

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Cognac may be the national spirit of France, but doggone it, the Gauls make whisky, too. Single malt whisky, and a pretty good one at that, courtesy of Armorik, a distillery located in Brittany, on the far northwestern tip of the country, wedged between the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south.

Armorik is made very much in the style of single malt Scotch: French malted barley is double-distilled in copper stills, aged in ex-Bourbon and some refill Sherry casks, and bottled at 80 proof after cutting with local water. No age statement is offered, but it’s obviously on the young side.

That’s not a slam, because Armorik is very fresh and lively, offering honey, apple, malty bread, and nougat notes atop a smooth and silky core. If I didn’t know better I’d swear this was a Scottish malt, touched with a bit of smokiness (is there peat in Brittany?) and seaweed/iodine notes that blow in from aging in warehouses surrounded by the sea. The finish is where things start to get a little rocky, and Armorik’s youth becomes evident: The notes of young whiskey, with bigger raw grain underpinnings than a more mature spirit would reveal. It’s forgivable considering the uniqueness of this spirit — and the bets you’ll be able to win with your whisky nerd friends should you obtain a bottle — but I’d love to see what another 4 to 5 years in cask, or, perhaps, a Port or Sauternes finish, would do to this very intriguing malt. How could the French complain about a wine barrel finish, anyway?

B+ / $50 / distillerie-warenghem.com

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Posted in Rated B+, Reviews, Whiskey

Tasting Report: Biodynamic Wines of Benziger

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

Benziger is a brand often associated with the supermarket, but like many mega-brands, it also has a wide array of more upscale bottlings. Recently I had the chance to taste through six of its biodynamic selections with owner Mike Benziger and some other wine blogger types.

None of these wines are actually sold in stores, only on the company’s website and in its tasting room. Here are thoughts on each.

2008 Benziger Joaquin’s Inferno Sonoma Mountain Zinfandel/Petite Sirah – 73% Zin, 27% Petite Sirah. Named after the vineyard manager at Benziger… and a hellish part of the Benziger estate vineyard which is so steep that farming it is nearly impossible. The wine is pretty mellow for a Zinfandel, not overly jammy but still clearly in the neighborhood of “big Zins.” Nice smoothness and a touch of acidity. Like the blueberry. I’m not normally a Zinfandel fan but this works — compared to its class. A- / $50

2006 Benziger Oonapais Red Sonoma Mountain – A Bordeaux blend, 58% Cab, 17% Merlot, 14% Cab Franc, 11% Petit Verdot. A young, easygoing wine, not a lot of complexity here, but interesting to have a wine with a blend like this that’s this accessible. B+ / $50

2007 Benziger Oonapais Red Sonoma Mountain – The blend is similar but not disclosed in detail. Bolder on the nose and with more tannin. A much different wine, big and powerful and a far cry from the 2006. A different experience and, arguably, a better one. A- / $50

2007 Benziger Obsidian Point Cabernet Sauvignon – Lots of sediment here and in the 2008, but after dealing with that you’ll find nice tea and tobacco notes on a tannin-oriented structure. Opens up with time, but there’s some greenness that lingers. B+ / $65

2008 Benziger Obsidian Point Cabernet Sauvignon – Even younger, and probably best left in bottle for another year. Woody on the nose and palate, and with lots of green vegetable notes. 2008 probably won’t reveal itself to be the greatest of years, but a drinkable wine, to be sure. B / $65

2007 Benziger Tribute – Another Bordeaux style wine with a curious blend (84% Cab Sauv, 10% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot), from Sonoma Mountain. This is the big, fancy-name wine, but it’s more easygoing, less monstrous, than you might think. Chocolately, chalky, and moderately tannic, it’s got plenty of oomph, but the structure isn’t there. This isn’t a “deep” wine that invites a lot of exploration, but rather one of those wines where you’d say, “Yeah, I could drink that if I had a steak handy.” B+ / $80

benziger.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B, Rated B+, Reviews, Wine