Monthly Archives: December 2011

Was 361 a Good Year?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

I’d be afraid to touch it, too. It looks possessed.

Scientists want to study samples of the world’s oldest wine, currently on display at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in the western German city of Speyer. There’s just one problem: everyone’s afraid to open the bottle.

The glass bottle, thought to be at least 1,650 years old, was found in a Roman grave near Speyer in 1867 and put on display at the museum. Since then, it’s been handled extremely carefully, and been on display in the exact same spot in the museum for 100 years.

Museum directors fear that a moment’s carelessness could shatter the bottle, destroying its priceless content. Though scientists would like to test it to figure out exactly how old the wine is and where it comes from, as well as perhaps seeing how it tastes – cracking it open is out of the question.

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Posted in Drinking Science, Wine

Review: Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary and Bellini Mixes

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Complex cocktails in ready-made form won’t ever lose their popularity, and bottled Bloody Mary and Margarita mixes will probably forever be at the top of that heap.

Powell & Mahoney makes more than 10 such mixes, including a Bloody, Margarita, Mojito, and even a Hot Toddy. We sampled two of them — the Bloody Mary and the Peach Bellini. Thoughts follow.

Powell & Mahoney Bloody Mary Mix – This mix makes a very straightforward and fresh-tasting Bloody, vodka or no. Thick but not too much so, it offers lots of fresh tomato flavor, clear Worcestershire kick, and very very mild spices. The heat-seeker will want to kick this up with a healthy dose of hot sauce or Tabasco, but if you’re looking for pure tomato character with a smattering of basic spices, this mix is arguably better than doing it yourself. A-

Powell & Mahoney Peach Bellini Mix - Just add Prosecco and you’ve got this Venice-originated classic. Essentially just water, sugar,and peach puree, this makes for a fresh and really fruity cocktail (don’t skimp on the Prosecco, by the way). The nose of the mixer, sans wine, is more apricot than peach, but when mixed 2 (Prosecco) to 1 (mixer), the peachiness comes alive. It’s not at all thick, so don’t expect any puree chunks in your glass, for better or for worse. A-

about $6 each (750ml) / powellandmahoney.com

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Posted in Mixers, Rated A-, Reviews

Review: Bytox Hangover Remedy Patch

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

Say what you will, but I am an unabashed fan of the Zaca Hangover Patch. Every time I’ve worn one, I’ve woken up the next day refreshed and feeling fine.

Now there’s another hangover-slaying patch on the market: Bytox. How would it measure up?

The idea is exactly the same: Put the patch on before drinking, and leave it on overnight. It sends vitamins and such through your body while you sleep. The makeup of Bytox is quite different than Zaca, which is heavy on Lycopene, Prickly Pear, and other such stuff. The Bytox patch contains Vitamins A, B12, B2, B3, B6, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid, D, E, K, and Thiamine (the lack of the lattermost being what Bytox ultimately blames hangovers on). Acai berry is the only new-age addition to the vitamin mix. The patch itself is also different, larger and feeling more like plastic than the cotton mesh Zaca. And while I love the idea of not having to swallow anything to get vitamins and such into the system, I found Bytox left a residue on my skin after I removed it.

While mileage will always vary with these things, ultimately Bytox didn’t seem to work as well for me as Zaca. While wearing it I slept restlessly, had bizarre dreams when I was out, and woke up with a mild headache. Bytox (like any hangover remedy) obviously can’t erase the effects of drinking, but it didn’t seem to do enough compared to other stuff on the market — though it is substantially cheaper. Willing to try it again, though.

B- / $11.49 for 5 patches / bytox.com

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Posted in Hangover, Rated B-, Reviews

Oddity of the Week: Benny’s Bloody Mary Beef Straw

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Christopher Null| 2 Comments

You love beef. You love straws. Now you can get the two together, in the form of Benny’s Bloody Mary Beef Straw.

As the name implies, this unique “straw” is designed to accompany Bloodies, but enterprising cocktail types will likely find myriad uses for it — not the least of which is simply consuming them plain. Essentially a Slim Jim with a hole drilled through it lengthwise (and yes, I know Slim Jims are made from chicken, but you get the idea), this all-beef stick is perhaps the most eye-catching garnish I’ve ever seen.

I tried it as intended — to sip a Bloody Mary — and found it didn’t impart any significant flavor as it zipped through the straw, but the real fun is, of course, in noshing on the garnish. The Beef Straw is big: This is far more substantial than a stick of celery in your glass, and if you’re a carnivore you’ll doubtlessly finish off the straw well before you consume the drink. The straw itself tastes pretty good: Meaty, but with a sausage-like texture, not tough and chewy like a Slim Jim is. Once a pack is open, it will last up to a week in the fridge.

The look may not lend itself to sophistication — particularly once you start chewing on the end — but it’s one of the biggest (and beefiest) cocktail conversation starters I’ve yet to encounter.

$34 for three 10-packs / bennysbloodymarybeefstraw.com

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Posted in Bar Food, Garnishes

Review: Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection 2011 Rare Rye Selection

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Christopher Null| 4 Comments

Every year Woodford Reserve releases a limited-release Bourbon, usually with a special finish or mashbill. This year it’s not releasing a Bourbon. It’s releasing a rye. Or rather, two of them. I caught a sneak peek of this being prepared for bottling when I visited Woodford this summer. Now here it is, on my kitchen table.

The 2011 Master’s Collection from Woodford is called Rare Rye, and it comes in two formats: New Cask and Aged Cask. The former is aged in a new, unused cask (like all Bourbon is), the latter is aged in an ex-Bourbon barrel (time in cask is not disclosed). Otherwise the spirits that go into these bottles is made the same. Both are 100% rye and bottling proof is identical at 92.4 proof. The bottles are sold together: $100 gets you 375ml of each.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection New Cask Rye is a deep, dark amber in color. The nose offers strong and spicy hints of what’s to come: Punchy, authentic rye character, and surprisingly easy-drinking despite the proof. This is one of the more easygoing rye whiskeys out there; I’d put it in line with Bulleit’s Rye, which should be taken as a compliment. Considering how wood-forward Woodford’s Bourbon tends to be, this whiskey is a surprising, and quite delicious, change of pace. A-

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Aged Cask Rye couldn’t look more different in the glass: Pale yellow, like a very young Scotch. If nothing else these two bottles are amazingly instructive in the power of old vs. new wood on aged whiskey. As expected, the nose is more reserved, but similar. The body is quite dissimilar: That rye grain comes on strong on the front of the palate, but caramel and vanilla notes punch their way in within seconds. While the New Cask version is ready to go, this Aged Cask Rye would easily benefit from a few more years in cask, to meld all the flavors going on here. It’s still quite good, but I find myself, when putting these side by side, returning mostly to the comparatively more intense New Cask version. B+

$100 for two 375ml bottles / woodfordreserve.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B+, Reviews, Rye, Whiskey

Review: Bell’s Winter White Ale

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Greg Bruce| Leave a comment

While some breweries use the holiday season as an excuse to release heavily spiced or cloying sweet beers, Bell’s deviates from this track with its Winter White Ale. Styled as a Belgian-yeast fermented witbier, Winter White pours cloudy and straw-colored before being capped by snowy head.

The yeast imparts the strongest aspect to this beer as the banana and distinct grape bubblegum are at the forefront of the aroma and taste. There is a surprisingly potent wheat characteristic to this as well that complement the bready malts. In the finish, lemon zest and cloves battle it out and for all intents and purposes it ends up as a draw. Although it is a little spicy, despite what Bell’s set out to do with this beer, the style inherently comes with some bite, so it gets a pass on that front.

A more phenolic take on the style, this isn’t going to blow any minds, but it’s definitely solid. I’m not sure how I’d feel drinking this in the dead of winter, especially given how light-bodied, crisp, and dry it is on the palate, as I seem to enjoy these beers more in the warmer months, but this serves as a nice alternative for those who can’t stand the cinnamon- and nutmeg-laced styles during the winter.

B / $2.50 per 12 oz. bottle / bellsbeer.com

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Posted in Beer, Rated B

Tasting Report: The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza 2011

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

The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza is the smallest of the whisky shows, but that doesn’t mean it has something to prove. With fewer crowds and more thoughtful selections — no white dog here, folks — you can find quality whisky (overwhelmingly Scotch) at every table in the room.

This year the Extravaganza seemed smaller than in 2010, but all the big guns were still in the house. I sampled many of the same whiskys as last year, curious to see how consistent my notes would be. Here’s my 2010 writeup. Compare for yourself.

Tasting Report: Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza 2011

Aberlour 18 Year Old / B / not much going on

Ardmore 30 Year Old / A- / sample almost too small to taste, but seemed quite delicious

The Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask / A- / some say it’s too sweet; I find it pretty delightful, with a clear rum character to it

The Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel / A- / sherry and cherry notes, a solid everyday dram

The Balvenie 21 Year Old PortWood / A / great age on this, apple notes

Bushmills 1608 Irish Whiskey / A-

The Classic Cask – 35 Year Old Rare Scotch Whisky / A+ / a clear favorite from 2010 and again a truly lovely one today; drinks like a cognac with rich chocolate notes

The Classic Cask – Ben Nevis 1997 12 Years Old / B / very young

The Classic Cask – Tomatin 1994 16 Years Old / B+ / getting there; still lots of grain character

The Classic Cask – Bunnahabhain 1997 Peated 13 Years Old / B+

The Classic Malts Caol Ila Distillers Edition / B+

The Classic Malts Glen Spey 21 Years Old / A / lovely vanilla notes

The Classic Malts Oban Distillers Edition 1995 / B+

The Classic Malts Oban 18 Years Old / B-

Dewar’s Signature Edition / A- / mild, citrus-infused

Douglas Laing The Premier Barrel – Highland Park 1996 13 Years Old / A

Douglas Laing Big Peat – Islay Vatted Malt / A- / great balance for such a peat bomb; some sweetness here (a blend of Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, and Port Ellen)

Douglas Laing Double Barrel 10 Years Old – Highland Park + Bowmore / A- / nice combo, again good balance

Glefiddich 21 Years Old / A- / on the mild side

The Glenlivet Nadurra / B+

The Glenlivet 21 Years Old / B / marsala tasting, funky – hard to believe this is from the same distillery as the 25 Year Old

The Glenlivet 25 Years Old / A / still an amazing whisky

Glenmorangie Extremely Rare 18 Year Old / B+ / finish seems off

Glenmorangie Signet / A- / a little more wood influence here

Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or Sauternes Cask 12 Years Old / A / much better this go-round; not much Sauternes intensity but the sweetness is stronger than I’ve encountered before

The Glenrothes Vintage 1994 / B+ / quite smooth, sugary

The Glenrothes Vintage 1998 / B+ / much like the 1994, a touch more youthful

Highland Park 12 Years Old / A- / an old standby, like the interplay of sweet and smoke

Laphroaig Triple Wood / B+

Longmorn 16 Years Old / A / a dark horse; where has this been hiding? nice body, great balance

The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old / A-

Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single malt / C+ / off

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – 50.42 / B / 18 year old Bladnoch; big grain elements

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – 125.48 / B / 12 year old Glenmorangie; mild

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – 27.90 / A- / 10 year old Springbank

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – 127.9 / B+ / 9 year old Port Charlotte; overpowering with smoke

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – 71.33 / A- / Glenburgie (age unclear)

Suntory Yamazaki 18 Years Old / A / perfectly balanced Japanese whisky

Suntory Hakushu 12 Years old / B+ / the newest Japanese whisky to land on our soils, shows light peat, evergreen notes; aged at altitude

Usquaebach Old -Rare Superior Blended Scotch Whisky / B+ / touch of wood; easygoing

Usquaebach 15 Years Old Blended Scotch Whisky / B / bit over-wooded

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Posted in Irish Whiskey, Japanese Whisky, Scotch, Whiskey

Whisky Explorers Club Relaunches

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

Throughout 2010 I was digging the Whiskey Explorers Club, which sent you four 50ml bottles of whiskey, six times a year, and invited you to guess what was inside. It was lots of fun (and not just because I dominated the leaderboard for most of the run), but imperfect: The little bags made it too easy to “cheat,” and more importantly being tied to the 50ml format meant the Club had a very small subset of the whiskey world to work with. Not a lot of high-end whiskey is bottled in the 50ml format, after all.

Now the WEC has been rejiggered and upgraded, and it’s lost an “e,” thanks to a partnership with Master of Malt. The key is that MoM can re-bottle just about anything for the WEC, putting spirits into non-bagged, miniature bottles (about 30ml each), unmarked aside from the code you use with the Explorers Club website printed on the label. The Club is still designed to expose drinkers to entry-level whiskys, but the variety should be greatly enhanced.

You can still find the Whiskey IQ Game here. Just plug in the code on the bottle and start guessing descriptors for color, nose, body, taste, and finish, then guessing what you’re actually drinking. The game mechanism is about the same as before, though the descriptive and scoring system still seems a bit wonky. Not only do I disagree with some of Ian Buxton’s tasting notes, but several of my picks simply didn’t register when they were graded. (As well, I would love nothing more than to have my chosen descriptives appear alongside the “official” ones so I could compare them at the end.) I was really pleased to go 4 for 4 in picking out the identity of each of these whiskeys blind.

I don’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone, but the first four whiskeys I received were all surprisingly high quality and high priced — not what I would term “entry level” at all! The focus, by the way, has overwhelmingly moved to the Old World. No more cheap Canadian whisky or widely available Bourbon in the mix. (Hence the change to “Whisky.”)

$160 gets you four sets of five whiskeys over the course of the year. That’s a slight hike over the old $120/year for 24 whiskeys, but the vast improvement in quality merits it.

On the whole, the “fun” aspect of the Whiskey IQ Game is still the same, but WEC has really upped the ante on the quality of the stuff being offered. Go for it.

forscotchlovers.com

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Posted in Scotch, Whiskey

Review: Pearl Wedding Cake Vodka

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

Is it too late to celebrate that Kardashian wedding? Not in my book, and while it may be gauche to send a set of knives, why not honor the happy couple privately with a bottle of Pearl Wedding Cake Vodka.

Yes, vodka flavored like wedding cake. I didn’t know wedding cake had a flavor — I thought it was usually just “white cake,” and I’ve heard of all kinds of other oddball wedding cake flavors. Pearl’s take on the matter seems to focus primarily on vanilla. I suppose it could be construed as a general white cake and frosting flavor, but you could use this pretty interchangeably as vanilla vodka in any recipe.

Very sweet and pungent, there’s no bite here and no noticeable vodka character. Not a lot of nuance, but mostly harmless.

70 proof. Artificially and naturally flavored.

B / $14 / pearlvodka.com

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

Review: Malibu Winter

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

Malibu Rum, always one to experiment wildly with additional flavors and added tweaks, updates the classic coconut rum with this limited-release version: Malibu Winter.

The twist: Little flakes of real coconut are suspended in the liquid, giving the spirit the distinct look of snowfall and, for the first time ever, successfully associating the words “Malibu” and “holidays.”

There’s no change to the formula or proof level (42 proof), although this version seems slightly thicker (and a bit less clean) in the mouth. If that’s the case, it’s why the coconut flakes stay suspended absolutely perfectly in the rum. Unlike, say, Goldschlager, they don’t settle to the bottom. No shaking of the bottle required: Each pour has a healthy dose of white flakes suspended within. You can taste and feel them in your mouth, but just barely.

Otherwise, everything here is as expected for Malibu, though the bottle has a clear cut-out in the white frosting so you can long for the festivities inside.

A- / $14 / malibu-rum.com