/drinkmemag_issue19

lifest yle through the gl ass

the five tastes – Plus One More –

issue

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19 . . . a pr i l + m ay 2 012

In One Pour, Flavor Redefined

Announces New Flavors For the Bar Chipotle Sour Heat and smoke spice up the back bar Thai Basil & Black Pepper Culinary inspiration for the bar chef Thyme & Citrus Fragrant herbal and citrus notes

www.perfectpuree.com Enter for a chance to win your way to Napa Valley!

For details, visit: SWEEPSTAKES

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NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. Promotion is open to legal residents of one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia who are 21 years of age or older on the date of entry. To enter, register at www.perfectpuree.com/whiskshakestir between April 2, 2012 and August 31, 2012. For more details and the Official Rules, please visit the above website. Void where prohibited.

a p r i l + m ay 2012

the five tastes ingredients down the hatch | is sue

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f e at u r e s

14 sweet wines

46 a bitter secret

Constance Chamberlain

The origins of this essential cocktail tincture Ford Mixology Lab, New York

22 sour beer American beer’s wild trend Brian Yaeger

30 the tasting experience

54 manzanilla sherry The best wine you’re not drinking Victoria Gutierrez

A trip down memory lane Chris and Nate of Whiskywall

46

41

30

8

salt y sweet tart bitter umami

* special secret sixth taste! kokumi

d e pa r t m e n t s

4 from the editor

38 eat your booze

8 design

Spiced maple bourbon cheesecake Denise Sakaki

Classic glassware Dava Guthmiller

41 48 hours in...

10 seasons change

Bogotรก, Columbia Paul Ross

What to drink for spring Courtney Harrell

52 profile

12 new booze

Fergal Murray: Guinness master brewer Daniel Yaffe

ArteNOM tequilas David Driscoll

28 book review Taste Buds and Molecules Victoria Gutierrez

58 libation laureate Ale Gasso

58 e-drinking 60 featured recipes

from the editor

What’s going on with Drink Me?

We look completely different! We’ve timed our three year anniversary with a complete redesign of the magazine. As we’re capturing all five tastes in this issue — sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami (and kokumi, the newly discovered sixth taste), we thought it would be appropriate to introduce the world to the new flavor of Drink Me. We just hired an amazing new designer to our team, and we’re kicking up our fresh look.

You’ll find the same magazine, just with a new haircut and a few trips to the gym. All the better for you to feast your eyes on.

*

Your editor: a piquant ol’ salt (artist’s rendition)

To satisfy your sense of taste, we’re entering your mouth. With over 100,000 taste buds, your tongue is a flavor-sensing G–spot integral to your enjoyment of all drinks — and we want to cover everything you swill. While taste can be broken down to ion channels, glutamic acid, and scientific chemical structures, for us it’s all about sour beers, saltiness in sherry, and bitters to perfect your cocktail. Just as scientists are discovering the existence of a sixth taste — “kokumi” — which is described as richness or “mouthiness,” brewers, wine makers and mixologists are busy creating new flavors never tasted in a glass. It’s all in the name of exciting your sensations and making your tongue dance.

Cheers!

Daniel

daniel yaffe,

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editor—in—chief

IT’S HOW YOU FEEL INSIDE

kokumi!!!

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Daniel Yaffe sweet! ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Victoria Gutierrez TRAVEL EDITOR: Paul Ross creative DIRECTOR: Tracy Sunrize Johnson tart!

WEB DEVELOPER: Aman Ahuja COMMuNIT Y MANAGER: Zanni Miranda

ADVISORY BOARD: Jeremy Cowan, H. Ehrmann, Cornelius Geary,

Hondo Lewis, David Nepove, Debbie Rizzo, Genevieve Robertson, Carrie Steinberg, Gus Vahlkamp, Dominic Venegas

scan this qr code with your smartphone to link directly to us!

To find out more, check out redlaser.com

CONTRIBuTORS: Constance Chamberlain, David Driscoll, Ford Mixology Lab, Ale Gasso, Dava Guthmiller, Victoria Gutierrez, Courtney Harrell, Tracy Sunrize Johnson, Cover by Maureen Shields, Paul Ross, Denise Sakaki, Chris and Nate of WhiskyWall, Brian Yaeger, Daniel Yaffe, Sierra Zimei

cover illustration by maureen shields

THANk YOu: Brooke Arthur, Sangita Devaskar, Stephanie Henry, Sitar Mody, Mary Samson, Skylar Werde

See her SF shows this September at Rare Device and October at Blackbird! to see more work: berrysausage.com/shields

PuBLISHER: Open Content

www.opencontent.tv Eriq Wities & Daniel Yaffe

more than 100,000 people read drink me ! interested in advertising with us? ads@drinkmemag.com

recycle me Drink Me magazine is printed on 20% recycled (10% postconsumer waste) paper, using only soy-based inks. Our printer meets or exceeds all Federal Resource Conservation Act (rcra ) standards and is a certified member of the Forest Stewardship Council.

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The entire contents of Drink Me magazine are Š2012 and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any manner without written permission. All rights reserved.

please! drink responsibly.

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Bloomin’ awesome.

ICONS OF WHISKY AMERICA Whiskey Distiller of the year 2011 - Whisky Magazine

Bourbon

www.fourroses.us Four Roses Distillery LLC, Lawrenceburg, KY Be Mellow. Be Responsible.

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text by Dava Guthmiller of Noise 13 Branding and Design

There’s a new trend in cocktails. I’m not sure if it’s due to the rebirth of the classic cocktail itself, or that everyone is hitting up flea markets more, but an abundance of vintage cocktail glasses is everywhere.

From Comstock Saloon and Wo Hing General Store in San Francisco to Pegu Club and Prime Meats in New York, bar masters are setting the mood with a collection of vintage mix-to-match sets. It allows the bar to choose the right glass for the cocktail but, perhaps most importantly, vintage glasses set the tone for an ever changing yet decidedly classic list of cocktails on the menu.

For more information 415.362.1116 www.sfbartending.com

A few of the vintage glasses from Wo Hing General Store’s collection

I’m loving the curved sides of the Nick & Nora glasses being used for martinis. They seem a bit smaller but oh, how they keep the drink in the glass. The triangular versions, brought to the bar in the twentieth century, can be a bit topheavy and not quite as elegant. Another welcome resurgence is that of the classic champagne coupe, which works equally well for cocktails as it does bubbles. The glass was designed especially for champagne in England in 1663.

From cut crystal to silver and gold rimmed vessels, you can grab your own set to match, or mix it up with some of the colored glass versions for a true classic cocktail selection.

Vintage glassware helps make the new trend on the old drink feel, ironically, fresher.

Vintage collections have also shown up for the now popular punch bowls at bars such as Rickhouse, Bourbon & Branch, Jacques 1534, and Clover Club.

These bowls usually come with a set of matching cups that can hang on from the sides of the bowl — making them fantastic for home parties when you don’t want to keep mixing drinks all night long.

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Seasons Change…

So Should Your Drinks

spring

text by Courtney Harrell | illustration by maureen shields

Finally, spring is here! A soft, warm breeze has rushed in a promise of youthful energy, and fun is waiting to be had. It’s time to turn off your heater, come out of hibernation, and work off that winter layer you’ve added to your belly. It’s also the time to revitalize your drinks with juicy berries, melons, and citrus while you do your closet cleaning.

beer

Kick off your snow boots, throw on your flip-flops, and drop the heavy porters and stouts. Pick up a lighter, thirst quenching beer such as an ale, lager, or wheat beer. Spring beers are crisp and refreshing as they steer away from winter’s spices and are fermented with the clean taste of citrus, honey, and even fruit. From March 1st to June 1st you can enjoy

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toasted malt with a brisk hoppy finish in Ninkasi Brewing Company’s Spring Reign Ale (6% ABV). If you are looking for a brew with a touch of sweetness, grab an Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager (5.1% ABV) made with real Louisiana strawberries.

wine

Whether you like white or red, your wine is more enjoyable when it goes hand in hand with the outside temperature and your days’ activities.

A springtime picnic in the park calls for a tasty bottle of chilled white wine.

Pick up a Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough Valley in New Zealand.

It’s a versatile wine with aromas of apples, melons, and green bell peppers, ready to compliment your fresh tomato salads or your goat cheese and crackers. If red is your choice, a Grenache is divine with its flavors of raspberry and a hint of spice. And for something a little different, grab a chilled Lambrusco. It’s slightly sweet, slightly sparkly, and completely affordable with tones of strawberry, raspberry, and cherry.

cocktails

While sitting on your front steps, luxuriating in the afternoon sunshine, pour yourself a rejuvenating cocktail over ice. Store away your heavy dark liquors and reach for the clear stuff. Vodka, gin, rum, and tequila are lighter and mix wonderfully with many of spring’s fruits and vegetables. For a surefire Sunday morning hangover cure, shake up a pepper vodka Bloody Mary with a pinch of celery salt and a dash of horseradish. You can use your creativity and reach for your muddler to bruise up a fresh and minty rum concoction or blend a cucumber, kiwi, or pineapple for some cocktail satisfaction. And if you just need a good old stand by, there’s always a gin and tonic.

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new booze

ArteNOM Tequil as text by David Driscoll, K&L Wine Merchants

I

n a world continuously wowed by ‘smooth’ alcoholic prod-

ucts, it’s important to remember what makes a spirit taste rich, supple, and soft.

With Scotch or bourbon, the extended contact with oak barrel wood passes vanillins into the whiskey, which eventually results in a sweeter, more creamy texture — after about ten to fifteen years, that is. So how is it that certain añejo tequilas, spirits of only one to two years old, become full of butterscotch, caramel, and vanilla flavors so quickly?

All we can say is that, in some cases, the distillers have an array of tricks up their sleeves.

Enter Jacob Lustig, a former tequila expert for America’s largest distributor of alcohol who set out on his own mission to bring ‘real’ spirits from Mexico to the United States. His label, ArteNOM, works in the same way that an independent bottler in Scotland would. Jacob purchases tequila from a distillery in Mexico for ArteNOM, yet still includes the name of the distillery on the bottle. All three ArteNOM tequilas — the blanco, reposado, and añejo — were each chosen for their particular specialty. The Rancho Buenavista Blanco is incredibly pure and clean.

The Felicianos Vivanco Reposado is

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graceful and elegant in a way that no other tequila (that I have tasted) has ever been. The añejo from Enrique Fonseca is aged in old bourbon casks and yields the barrel spice associated with American whiskey, yet keeps its traditional flavors.

All three have nothing extra added — no sugar, no caramel coloring — just agave, yeast, and water.

The ArteNOM tequilas are the three best tequilas I’ve ever tasted, and they’re not expensive.

Jacob Lustig isn’t looking to become the world’s next tequila tycoon; he’s simply a fan of booze just like the rest of us. That’s evident in the more than reasonable prices attached to his products, which make it accessible for us to know how good real tequila tastes.

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Sweet Wines

text by Constance chamberl ain

many of the world’s most coveted wines, historically, were highly concentrated in sugars, often earning names such as ‘liquid gold,’ ‘liquid sunshine,’ and ‘the wine of kings.’ the names don’t lie; a bottle of any one of these delicious juices will leave you feeling like you’re privy to a secret, something so many others will never experience.

T

here are several explanations as to why wines were traditionally made in this way when, today, it is sometimes viewed as ‘primitive’ to enjoy sweeter wines (think White Zinfandel).

In areas of Germany, it would often become too cold in the wine cellars, essentially stopping fermentation before all the sugars could be converted to alcohol. Some wines were made sweet primarily because they would travel better on ships (sugar is a natural preservative). Some people say, and they’re probably right, that sweet wines were made because they’re just what people liked to drink.

The truth is, sweet wines can be among the hardest to make. Noble Rot, otherwise referred to as Botrytis, can be both a delight and deviant for wine producers. This fungus shrivels the grapes

and concentrates the sugars, yielding a seductive wine for its drinker; but, for the winemaker, the process is anything but attractive. It’s hard to control, and can happen to grapes that would make a terrible sweet wine. The same hardship goes with wines made from raisined grapes in the case of Straw Wine, or frozen grapes in the case of Ice Wine: the monetary return on investment is often very low compared to the level of effort it goes in to make the wine. As time has moved forward, sweeter wines have fallen out of fashion, but to abandon these wines is to abandon wine’s roots.

The fact of the matter remains: a sense of heritage can be found within these bottles, which is why these wines can easily fetch some of the highest prices of them all.

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the following is a mini-guide to some of the best-known sweet wines in the world, as well as some hidden gems.

Tokaji this hungarian wine is one of the most famous, highly coveted, and oldest wines in the world. In fact, Tokaji was the first wine region to discover the beneficial effects of Noble Rot, and also the first to implement a classification system detailing legal requirements with regard to aging and sugars. the taste: Tokaji is made from the late harvested grapes of Furmint and Hárslevelü picked at varying levels of ripeness, which results in a contrast in levels of sweetness and different flavors. However, as a general rule, one can expect honeyed, dried fruit flavors such as apricots, peaches, and golden raisins with a balance of nuts and caramel. Fresh acidity cuts through the sweetness, making these wines rather refreshing. wine to try: Royal Tokaji Aszu Essencia 2003 ($159.99)

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Sauternes bordeaux, france may be best known for its wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but let us not forget the sweet white wines.

Sauternes is made primarily from Semillon grapes with the addition of small amounts of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. Semillon is highly susceptible to Botrytis, which makes it a prime object for the production of sweet wines.

Technically, Sauternes can only be grown and produced within five small communes of Sauternes and Barsac. To uphold the wine’s quality, producers will choose to not make it in poor vintage years. the taste: Sauternes is a very complex but delicate wine. It is often bursting with honey, marmalade, and dried fruit flavors, with a touch of toast from aging in French oak barrels. wine to try: Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 1st Cru Classe 2005 ($59.99)

Constantia hailing from south africa is Constantia, a wine named after the place where it was born. Constantia was the first region in South Africa to be put under vine, as it was a popular trading port in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It’s mentioned in the works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Baudelaire, and was the wine that Napoleon would drink after battle (in addition to Champagne, of course). Today, the wines are still packaged in the same antique-style, 500mL bottles. the taste: Today, Constantia is crafted from Muscat de Frontignon grapes that are sundried, late harvested, and vinified in barrels. The result is a golden colored, luscious wine featuring flavors of dried pineapples and mango, vanilla, and almonds wine to try: Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2006 ($49.99)

Australia rutherglen’s history begins in the 1860s. This wine is made from Muscat a petit grains Rouge (aka Brown Muscat) and can be made in a variety of styles including foundation style, Classic, Grand, or Rare.

Each style denotes the richness and complexity of the wine and requires a separate set of aging requirements.

Rutherglen Muscat is fortified with the addition of a neutral spirit and alcohol levels are expected to be above 16%, much higher than a traditional table wine. This adds to the life span and character of the wine. the taste: The wines are full of toffee and crème brûlée flavors. The tiniest sip is truly an indulgence, and they are internationally known as some of the “richest wines in the world.”

Most of the estates started as German and British passion projects opened to appease their owners’ cravings for sweet wines. wine to try: All Saints Estate Rutherglen Muscat NV ($22.00)

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Madeira madeira is one of the most fascinating sweet wines in the world. You can still easily buy bottles dating back to the 1900’s due to the fact the wine’s fermentation process literally eliminates all of the oxygen in the wine. This also means that once opened, a bottle of Madeira can remain drinkable for up to a year!

This wine, like others listed here, was best known in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the island was once a popular trading port. the taste: From Madeira, you can expect to taste a range of flavors, largely because of the range of grapes and styles allowed in its production.

From the most popular versions, you can expect a plethora of dried fruit flavors such as fig, prune, and raisin.

The wines have a distinctly nutty taste because of extensive oak aging. wine to try: Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Boston Bual NV ($46.50)

Vinsanto vinsanto comes from the mediterranean island of Santorini, Greece. The wines here are particularly interesting, because their heritage is rumored to date back into ancient times. Santorini was once a major trading port and was known for its production of delicious wines then labeled as Vino Santo – literally translating to “wine of Santorini.”

Santorini Vinsanto is made from Assyrtiko, Aidani, Athiri, and a small quantity of other native grapes found on the island that have been laid on straw mats in the sun for a period of time before being pressed and, finally, aged in oak casks. Santorini is a volcanic island, which means that its vines are grown in volcanic soils, often on steep slopes. To protect the grapes against harsh sunlight and wind, the vines are woven into protective baskets. the taste: Within a bottle of Santorini Vinsanto is a blend of dried fruit and sweet spice flavors, but what’s distinct about these wines is their acidity and the distinct mineral influence imparted by the island’s volcanic soil. wine to try: Sigalas Vinsanto 2004 ($50.00)

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Sour Beer: American Beer’s Wild Trend

text by brian yaeger

Shortly after rescuing the Anchor Brewery in 1965, Fritz Maytag threw a party to spread the word. A veritable who’s-who of San Franciscans, including the mayor, RSVP’ed. But instead of celebrating, the fête nearly turned into a funeral. “We had in those days,” said Maytag, “two tanks of beer and we filled about one hundred kegs per tank.

And it was all sour.”

The beer, it turns out, was grossly infected with sour-taste-making

This is your sour beer, crystallized and viewed under a polarized light microscope Wall art available for purchase at BevShots.com. Copyright 1995-2012.

Michael W. Davidson and Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

bacteria, to the point where Maytag jokingly referred to it as a “Belgian beer.”

The story has a happy ending—employees fortunately tracked down enough refrigerated kegs to slow the bacteria’s growth, and folks were none the wiser—but that’s where Anchor’s strict adherence to thorough sanitation originated. So while each of Anchor’s early products pioneered their American craft iterations from IPA to porter to barleywine, the brewery is now one of the few craft breweries in the nation not championing, or even dabbling, in this thing called ‘sour beer.’

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www.sanfranciscobrewcraft.com

Fulfill your Brewing and Winemaking Needs.

Free Brewing Classes Available.

1555 Clement St. San Francisco 94118

415.751.9338

A one-man Lewis and Clark of the American sour frontier is Vinnie Cilurzo, owner and brewmaster at Russian River Brewing Co., just a short hop north from Anchor. He’s the guy responsible for a series of Belgian-influenced sour ales including Consecration, Supplication, and others that start with Brettanomyces (yeast that plays a big part in sour beers) and end with “-ation.” In penning the entry for ‘sour beer’ in the Oxford Companion to Beer (OCB), Cilurzo reiterates Maytag’s knock that, “When speaking of beer, the word ‘sour’ is usually a pejorative.” He adds, “That said, there is a range of older beer styles that are traditionally acidic, and together with modern variants inspired by them, they have been termed, perhaps a bit rakishly, ‘sour beer.’”

A great many beers fall under that category, from Flemish Reds and Oud Bruins to Lambics and an entire host of ‘wild’ ales, so termed for employing rapscallion yeasts and bacteria that can take an infected beer down

a thrilling journey way off the beaten path. Make no mistake about it; when a beer ferments spontaneously via wild yeast, it is indeed infected. For this reason, makers of sour beers tend to view themselves less as brewmasters, for that implies being the master of the brews, and more as wranglers or curators guiding the end result via blending, patience, and a little prayer.

Going to extremes Whether a beer is intentionally inoculated with yeasts such as Brettanomyces, or simply allowed to become host to these untamed critters through the allure of wort (beer’s unfermented origins) cooling beneath the night sky where ambient yeast and bacteria hitchhike on the breeze, the result offers flavors found at the extreme fringes of what is often called beer’s flavor wheel. Seriously, go to Beerflavorwheel.com to learn more. And if there’s one thing beer connoisseurs dig above all else, it’s extreme flavor.

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Join said fanatics at Puckerfest held at Belmont Station in Portland and Sour Fest thrown at the Stone Brewery near San Diego. Each festival is celebrating its sixth anniversary this July.

When you think about it, the history of craft beer has always been about pushing the boundaries of flavor and taste. Thirty years ago, the revolution began by shifting from pale lagers to pale ales like Sierra Nevada’s. From there, we’ve rapidly evolved to Russian River’s Pliny the Elder being a benchmark for double IPA, pale ale’s cousin on ‘roids.

It stands to reason that Russian River’s Sonambic ales are the standard bearer for American craft sour beers. Sonambic, by the way, is what Cilurzo dubs his spontaneously fermented beers. Lambics are the provenance of Belgium’s Senne Valley, where breweries produce authentic, spontaneously fermented sour beers.

Because the native bacteria adrift in Sonoma are different than those floating around Brussels, Russian River Brewing Co. refrains from purloining Lambic’s classification. Two things Lambic producers and Russian River Brewing Co. have in common are profoundly acidic beers and devoted fans. It’s those fans, perhaps more than the makers of the beers, who are propelling the popularity of such ales.

Sour passion kids The practice of inoculating beer with earthy, funky Brettanomyces and sour-producing microflora such as Lactobacillus and Pediococcus is infecting the brewing industry. “What is certain, if improbable, is that sour beers are taking hold, especially in the United States,” writes Cilurzo in the OCB.

New Belgium Brewing in Colorado lured brewmaster Peter Bouckaert from the Rodenbach brewery in Belgium, before beer geeks vociferously started clamoring for more sour beer, resulting in their heralded beer, La Folie. In Portland, Oregon, the Cascade Barrel House is a domestic mecca for sour beers, earning both gold and silver medals in the woodand barrel-aged sour beer category at the 2009 Great American Beer Fest for their Bourbonic Plague and Vlad the Imp Aler beers, respectively.

But the category’s popularity permeates the beer culture

beyond the American West, and delicious offerings emanate from New York’s Captain Lawrence Brewing and Massachusetts’ New England Brewing, to the somewhat surprising locales of Nebraska and Indiana, where the Omaha Brewing Co. and Upland Brewing Co., respectively, keep less metropolitan regions awash in sour.

While statistics aren’t available for how many craft breweries create sour beers, more and more are experimenting with the style, meaning you’re likely to find at least a few barrels of the stuff stashed away somewhere in the brewhouse.

Moreover, a significant handful of the new breweries in the planning phase—numbering over 700 altogether, according the Brewers Association—aim to offer sour beers predominantly, if not exclusively. Examples include The Rare Barrel in Northern California and the Ale Apothecary in Central Oregon.

If you delve into this acidic world, sip gingerly. Just as you’d probably have a hard time devouring a whole lemon, palate-obliterating sour fatigue is a real thing.

bo ok review

Taste Buds and Molecules: The Art and Science of Food, Wine, and Fl avor au thor --- François Chartier s u bject --- flavor science and pairings text by victoria Gutierrez

Proper wine pairings for highconcept food have long been the

realm of sommeliers relying on their mastery of classic pairings and, to an even greater extent, their highly subjective palates. Wine is ethereal, of the land and the people, and its connection with food is one that can only be pinpointed and perfected by a virtuosic conductor of flavors in a process of trial and error.

Well, the work that Francois Chartier has been doing in his lab, as well as in the elBulli kitchen with Ferran Adrià, turns that classic process on its head and throws it under the microscope. Chartier starts with a wine, breaks it down to volatile molecular components, and pairs it with flavors and foods possessing those same components. This field of research, called “food harmony and molecular sommellerie,” informs the makeup of Chartier’s book, Taste Buds and Molecules.

Perhaps the most powerful, and even empowering, elements of the book are the charts that link a main flavor with all of the culinary components and wines with which it shares a common

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molecular makeup. Take maple syrup, for instance: it includes beta-caryophyllene and furanones, woody and carameltasting molecules respectively, which chemically (and flavorally) link it with oak-aged wines… as well as licorice, coconut, peaches, and even roasted fenugreek seeds. Take any of those flavors, and any wine with prominent oak flavors, and you’re going to pair just fine. As a general resource for creating highly inventive and well-paired meals, these charts are culinary gold.

With the small caveat that the book is sized rather too small to be a truly useful tool for playing in the kitchen and wine cellar, Taste Buds and Molecules is a must-have for oenophiles-turned-cook or cooks looking to pair wines with more confidence.

the Tasting Experience A Trip Down Memory L ane

text by Chris and Nate of whiskywall

Have you ever read the back of a whiskey bottle, or the tasting notes from a blog or magazine? Exotic, unfamiliar fruits and greasy mechanical parts abound — even colors are used to describe the taste of whiskies. Sometimes I wonder whether I am reading a flora and fauna guidebook to an industrial seascape or a connoisseur’s tasting notes.

One of my favorite retailers’

in-store whiskey expert always seems to be able to roll out a litany of delectable berries and spices, flowers, and baked goods. Sometimes his description of the flavors does little to provide me with any insight into the whiskey, as I am not sure if I have ever actually tasted an elderberry. In the off chance that I have, I possess no recollection of the experience. The lack of common reference points, and the sheer variety of interpretation, can often bedevil any attempt to effectively communicate the taste experience of a whiskey to someone outside your own frame of reference. But there is a certain joy in attempting to bridge that barrier.

Why do we love whiskey so much? The wealth and complexity in this shades-ofcopper-and-brown spirit offer a bounty of different flavors for us to enjoy. There is no right or wrong answer to the question of how a whiskey tastes, and we all pick up different flavors even though we are enjoying whiskey from the same bottle. But how are we able to identify the flavors that we taste? Unlike a specific item of food, we cannot say that whiskey tastes like whiskey. That simply does not do it justice.

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Why do we love whiskey so much?

All of our collective experiences

and memories of smell and taste are available for us to draw upon when tasting and describing a whiskey. Even from the start of our whiskey journey we draw upon our experiences; you might remember the first time you tasted a whiskey and instinctually exclaimed that it tasted just like the aromas of hospital and nail polish remover. But whiskey takes time to taste and savor, and once we get past the nail polish remover, we find that there is so much more. It’s like a time machine, minus the flux capacitor and the 1.21 jiggawatts. As we slowly savor the flavors of the whiskey, it brings us back to the moment when we bit into that crisp, green apple or lingered in front of that fireplace on a cold winter evening. There are fond memories of egg nog and freshly baked bread along with thoughts of vibrant tropical fruits and freshly cut grass that enter your consciousness as the warming whiskey moves across your palate.

Even random experiences that don’t seem to have anything to do with the flavor of a whiskey can be drawn upon, strangely, to express a particular note in the palate. I would never have thought that the time I opened up the transmission of a Honda with a busted differential, smelling a combination of oils and other automotive effluviums, would, years later, spring to mind as the most accurate (and curiously pleasing) description of a certain Ardbeg Scotch. Similarly, I never expected that an aroma emanating from a compost pile I once built would years later would be revived to help distinctly delineate the parameters of a blessed pour of an eighties-era Port Ellen. I have even found myself describing the often disregarded Ledaig as tasting like garbage. . . but in a good way. Perhaps that’s why it’s often disregarded?

It’s like a time machine minus the flux capacitor

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Because the scents and tastes

of a whiskey may often draw upon a strange and surprising range of experiences, communicating these concepts to someone else is not always the easiest of tasks. Like our fingerprints and retinas, no doubt the particular distribution and alignment of our taste buds vary from person to person, and while we may be able to share an experience, the fine details will almost certainly differ. My experiences are different from yours, so my descriptions of a flavor might be totally lost on you — much like the retailer’s were lost on me. Or, it may be that my memory of what a specific fruit or spice tastes like doesn’t comport with yours.

On a recent trip to a bar in Tokyo with a friend who isn’t a whiskey drinker, I found that his points of reference for certain flavors differed from mine.

We were sampling a fine and very rare 1970s Talisker aged in a sherry cask. The flavors, to me, were of dark red cherries, raisins, and chocolate… while my friend was transported to the memory of a very specific herbal pill for stomach pain. As he described it to me, I eventually figured out that he was talking about the Japanese pill ‘Seirogan.’ It’s not the most satisfying or appetizing of all flavor descriptions, but that is what struck a chord with my friend. And curiously, in the world of whiskey, such seemingly disparaging terms are not a

One of the real pleasures of tasting whiskey is attempting to use concepts like burnt leather, soapy orange, sugared cigar smoke, and grassy biscuits

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negative reflection on the flavor, but simply an attempt to fix, in some expressible medium, one aspect of a multifaceted beast. One of the real pleasures of tasting whiskey, aside from the obvious consumption of it, is attempting to use concepts like burnt leather, soapy orange, sugared cigar smoke, and grassy biscuits. These are flavors that we do not have a culinary reference for, but we can construct them from the vast experiences of our memories, olfactory and otherwise. And, better still, is witnessing the recognition on a fellow drinker’s face when they understand what you mean by dark red, salted marshmallow.

One of the great mysteries of whiskey is how to draw upon your own experiences and express the flavor in an intelligible manner. It’s a mystery with many solutions. A whiskey is flavored by the drinker’s experience as much as the distiller’s craft, and you are likely to run out of whiskey before you run out of interesting things to say about it.

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Rock Bar $$

80 29th St “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” Er, no… not that kind of rock (though he did make a great Tooth Fairy!). New to Bernal Heights, peep the NKOTB inhabiting the old International Club space, The Rock Bar. It’s the kind of place where talking gemstones with Front Porch fried chicken (they own the joint) and a can of Schlitz with a Bulleit and charcuterie back is rappel à l’ordre. In addition to a cool collection of craft beers, they also feature a lengthy list of artisan cocktails, all named after different mineraloids. Keep your eyes peeled for the artificial stone wall and gold phone booth outside, then saunter in and pony up to the bar.

Sip:

Vibe:

Dirty Metamorphic: Dirty Tito’s martini with muddled Fresno chilies ginger, pilsner.

David C says, “The drink menu is a mix of some well-done classics (e.g., Vieux Carré) and some inventive house-made concoctions.”

Basil Mudstone: Templeton Rye, Pineau, basil, lemon, and white tea.

Fire in the Hole: The abovereferenced shot-and-a-beer special with Schlitz, Bulleit bourbon, and complimentary charcuterie.

Justin M says, “The interior makes you feel like you’re in a little miner bar back in the gold rush era.”

Hours: Monday – Friday, 5pm – 2am Happy Hour: All day Alcohol: Full bar Ambiance: Hipster casual

For more reviews of Rock Bar, as well as hundreds of other bars, restaurants, and any other business you’re looking to connect to, shimmy on over to www.yelp.com, or download the Yelp mobile app today!

eat your booze

A Cheesecake with the Spice of Life S piced M aple B o u rbon C heeseca k e text and photograph by Denise sakaki

Cheesecake is an indulgence

for many reasons: it’s made up of rich ingredients, and it can take a long time to prepare. But it’s totally worth it, especially if you give it a cocktail-themed edge by adding a bit of bourbon, a kick of heat from ginger and chili powder, and some maple syrup to round out the flavor with sweetness. Chili powder is typically for savory dishes, but it works nicely with the richness of this dessert.

Bourbon and maple are a natural pair, complimenting each other and giving the cheesecake a pleasantly grown-up flavor. The flourish of a torched brulee sugar topping gives the cheesecake a rustic look.

Spiced Maple Bourbon Cheesecake

makes 8 to 10 servings Crust 2 cups gingersnap cookies, crushed into crumbs 6 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon chili powder Filling 16 ounces softened cream cheese ½ cup maple syrup 6 large eggs 3 tablespoons bourbon (I like using Maker’s Mark or Buffalo Trace) ½ cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon powdered ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon chili powder ¼ cup sugar (for caramelized sugar topping) Special Tools: 9-inch springform pan Parchment paper Large baking dish Aluminum foil Hand torch (for making brulee top)

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. To prepare the crust: Mix crumbs, melted butter, and chili powder in a bowl until mixture resembles the texture of wet sand.

Prepare the springform pan by tracing the bottom disc of the pan on parchment paper and cutting out the circle to line it. This will help keep the crust from sticking to the pan. Use a little cooking spray or butter as glue to keep the paper from sliding around. Sprinkle the gingersnap crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan and use your hands to press it into a firm, even layer. Bake the crust for about 10-15 minutes, until it’s hardened and lightly toasted.

Allow crust to cool.

3. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.

4. To make the filling: Stir the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and then add the dry spices, mixing until everything is fully incorporated.

sure the water isn’t higher than the level of the protective foil. This will keep the top of the cheesecake from cracking. Carefully place the cheesecake with its water bath into the oven.

6. Bake for forty minutes to an hour, checking it and rotating if needed. The finished cheesecake should have a wobbly center when it’s done, like a loose gelatin. Turn off the heat and allow the cheesecake to cool gently before removing it and placing into the refrigerator overnight to fully set.

7. When you’re ready to serve, run a butter knife dipped in warm water around the edge of the cheesecake to help separate it from the ring before unlocking and separating it from the dessert. Sprinkle the sugar over the cheesecake in an even, thin layer and use your hand torch to caramelize the top, making a crispy sugar shell.

5. Take a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap the bottom of the springform pan with the baked crust — the foil should come at least halfway up the sides of the ring. Place the tinfoil-wrapped pan into the center of the roasting pan. Carefully pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan, making an even layer over the baked crust. Take one quart of boiling water and carefully fill the roasting pan with enough water to come almost halfway up the side of the springform pan, making

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Like most spirits, ® Tales of the Cocktail keeps getting better with age.

h, 2012 July 25th-29t New OrLeaNs, La

Over the years, Tales of the Cocktail® has aged quite well. From a small gathering of cocktail lovers to the annual meeting place for all those mesmerized by the art of mixology. Now, as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary, we’re ready for the biggest Tales of the Cocktail® yet. Join us in New Orleans for five days of culture, cuisine, conversation and the best cocktails ever made at a festival that just coming of age. To learn more about this historic event and to get your tickets and book your hotel rooms, visit TalesoftheCocktail.com.

travel

48 Hours in

Bogotá

C o lu m b i a

text and photography by paul ross

Colombia’s current tourism slogan is

“The only risk is wanting to stay.”

Considering the fearful reputation that Colombia battles, I don’t know if the word “risk” is advisable.

Bogotá, the capital, works hard and plays even harder

with five areas of the city — Chapinero, Parque 93, and the T, G, and Pink Zones — vying for drinking and dining distinction. All the restaurants have bars, all the bars serve food, and las rolas (locals) love both.

You can find an abundance of the two where we start, at Andrés.

What the legend of Rick’s is to Casablanca, the reality of Andrés Carne de Res is to Bogotá. Businessmen, students, families, tourists, locals — everyone goes to either the original steakhouse and nightclub outside of town, or the newer five story city center extravaganza. The massive menu has the size and heft of a coffee table tome. There are hundreds of cocktails and liquors, including

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travel ctd.

l–r: Andrés hopping main floor; their extensive menu page 41: Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo, near the university

three piscos and twelve aguardientes (the sugarcane-derived national drink).

The Andrés clientele comes for the food and stays to party... often until dawn. There’s music, dancing, and even a coterie of manic clowns. The food’s good, the portions are generous, and the prices are fair. Just a short stroll away is Yumi Yumi, a local favorite enjoyed for its two- and sometimes three-for-one drink specials. The house cocktail is a deceptively potent mix of vodka, peach liqueur, and fresh watermelon juice.

Friendliness is encouraged by the tiny size of the place. And, again, the food is good and a bargain.

T he food ’ s good, the portions are genero u s , and the prices are fair .

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Colombia is a country where rums are both cheap and good, but beer has a long history here. Bavarian braumeisters emigrated decades ago and quickly became ingrained in the culture. Pola was one of the first Colombian beers and, if you say, “Dame un Pola,” it’s like asking for the generic Kleenex of beers.

Club Colombia is another ubiquitous brand fighting back against the rising tide of microbreweries with a trio of specialty offerings: Rubio (blonde), Roja (red) and Negro.

In the US, skybox-type luxury condos overlook the local sports arena.

In Bogotรก, the view is down onto the Plaza de Toros.

The second largest carnival in Latin America is held in Colombia, and features a week of festivities, including numerous parades

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travel ctd.

The star attraction of Colombia’s National Police Museum: the Pablo Escobar room. This trophy case may be a testament to the efficacy of the department over the notorious drug lord, but I was told, “That’s not how he was dressed or how he looked.”

(Especially after they riddled him with bullets.)

Café Renault

R

epresenting the other side of the brewery-versus-pub equation is a rapidly expanding chain of microbreweries: the Bogota Beer Company.

BBC locations craft artisanal brews, are modeled after American sports bars, and stay open until 3 a.m. One is located in Parque 93, an upscale entertainment zone where its neighbor across the park

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is the muy trendy Café Renault. The Café has a wine Cruvinet system, a full sushi bar, a Renault parked at a rakish angle inside the restaurant, and from the wood-fired oven comes complimentary bread with imported olive oil and mozzarella. The Parque 93 district is also home to Gato Negro, Habana 93, la Fabrica, and Salto del Angel.

I t ’ s a game where everyone k nows when yo u get a stri k e .

D

efinitely less buttoned-down, and cheaper, is the Plaza del Chorro de Quevedo, an al fresco student hangout so well known that one calls out for a shot of chicha (another cane-based firewater) with “Dame un chorro!”

More often than not, a bottle will be passed to you; take a swig, and the graffiti will appear even wilder.

Venturing even further, you can seek out a tejo bar. There, amid bottles of aguardiente, beer, and open-air urinals, you can join in the uniquely Colombian game of tejo: heaving a two pound metal disk ten meters across a crowded room toward an inclined board covered in wet clay while attempting to hit the mecha, an envelope filled with gunpowder. It’s a game where everyone knows when you get a strike.

And this is a just a partial list, for one city! There’s also Medellin, Cartagena and “the world’s second biggest carnival” in Barranquilla. I heartily recommend that you get going to Colombia, where the party is always on.

The sport of tejo — and its masculine accommodations

Welcome to 48 Hours . . . where we profile the unique nightlife in various cities.

Does your town have something truly special to offer? If so, invite us! We have a gift for finding things that even locals don’t know about — and we’ll share that gift with you.

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A Bitter Secret The Origins Of This Essential Cocktail Tincture

text by Ford Mixology L ab, New York

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It’s no mystery that bitters are, well,

So just what are they, exactly? To quote our friend Brad Thomas Parsons, author of the book Bitters, “bitters are an aromatic flavoring agent made from infusing roots, barks, fruit peels, seeds, spices, herbs, flowers, and botanicals in highproof alcohol (or sometimes glycerin).” To the true bitters novice, we like to describe bitters as the salt and pepper of cocktails. Do you ever taste a dish and think that something is missing, and consequently add a pinch of seasoning? The same applies to cocktails. If a combination of flavors seems to fall flat, a dash or two of bitters may be just the thing it needs to bring all of the flavors together. a mystery to most people.

nce upon a time, we were invited to work in a bitters factory. Up to that point, we had known bitters as an end product, not possessing too much information about how they were made. Before our short stint as bitter employees (pun intended), we always imagined bitters being made in a large industrial facility that looked like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Imagine our surprise when we arrived to our first day of work, walked into a shared warehouse space, made our way into the basement, and were shown into a room the size of a closet. All of the bitters that this small, independent producer manufactured came out of this tiny workspace!

O

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On an even smaller scale, many cocktail bars are making their own bitters for use in their original cocktails. Let’s say you walk into the hot new cocktail bar in your town and peruse the menu. Your eyes fall upon a line item such as “house made Earl Grey bitters.” Wow, that sounds fancy! What our experience as a bitter man (and woman) taught us is

This was the Willy Wonka experience

that we pictured when we held that first bottle of bitters in our hands. that bitters are very easy to make. Yes, it requires skill to determine the specific recipes and maceration (soaking) time, but the process is quite simple. So how did they do it? In the case of the Earl Grey bitters, they simply put loose Earl Grey tea and maybe some citrus peels or other spices into a jar of high-proof spirit and let them sit until the desired flavor and bitterness was achieved. Voila! ast month, we had the opportunity to tour the massive Angostura distillery in Port of Spain, Trinidad. This was the Willy Wonka experience that we pictured when we held that first bottle of bitters in our hands. At the distillery, we were led into a pristine room with giant vats and told a story about how Angostura

L

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bitters are made. Ironically, the largest detail omitted was what they’re made from. The secret recipe for Angostura Aromatic Bitters has been carefully kept for 200 years — or has it?

In his book, Jigger, Beaker & Glass, originally published in 1939, Charles Baker claims to be in possession of a formula for “Trinidad Bitters.” Though he can neither confirm nor deny that the recipe he holds is the real deal, he writes, “We now append a formula for Trinidad bitters we had given us by a friend who lived in Port of Spain, and which dated many years back into an old publication he had discovered among some family accumulations in settling an estate. The old text claimed this to be the leaked-out secret formula for Angostura.” Armed with Baker’s book and some key ingredients including cinchona bark, citrus peel, cardamom, chamomile, cinnamon, raisins, and grain alcohol, you can try his leaked recipe at home.

he use of bitters in spirits dates back to as early as the year 1806, when the first cocktail, the Old Fashioned, was presumably invented.

By definition, a cocktail is “spirits, bitters, sugar and water combined,” as found in David Wondrich’s historical tome, Imbibe!, which leads us to the crucial point that a cocktail is not truly a cocktail without the presence of bitters.

Bitters had been created as a medicinal tonic, and in the early 1800s, distilled spirits were safer to drink than water.

At some point, a brilliant individual thought to combine the two, and the cocktail was born. If there was ever an example of what an important role bitters play in a cocktail, it would be in the

T

New Orleans cocktail from the 1800s, the Sazerac. The Sazerac is a cocktail based upon ritual, and the omission of (or substitution for) the specific bitter called for would transform this cocktail from a Sazerac to, well, not a Sazerac.

To create this classic at home, you need just four ingredients: rye whiskey (though it was originally created with cognac), a sugar cube, absinthe and, most importantly, Peychaud’s bitters.

Peychaud’s bitters were created in 1830 by Antoine Amedee Peychaud, a Creole apothecary, and are a gentian (a bitter root) based bitters that have a floral aroma, sweeter taste, and lighter body than the richer, more aromatic Angostura.

S a z e r a c C o c k ta i l

2 oz. rye whiskey 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters Absinthe

½ sugar cube Water Lemon twist

In a mixing glass, muddle sugar cube with a small amount of water. Add rye and Peychaud’s, stir with ice twenty to thirty seconds. Strain into chilled, Absinthe-rinsed glass. Express lemon twist over glass and discard.

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Created in 1824 by Dr. Johann Siegert, A r o ma t ic B i t t er s

A ng os tura

were originally intended as a

medicinal tonic to cure digestive ailments.

All Angostura bitters are manufactured and bottled in Trinidad, using the same recipe and ingredients they’ve used for nearly 200 years. Only three or four people know the formula, which is so secret, in fact, that it’s k ept i n a sec r et r oom , and a $25,000 fine and jail time are imposed for anyone who tries to take anything from the distillery! Today, Angostura bitters are enjoyed in the cocktails of 175 countries around the world.

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f the recipe for a Sazerac is a hard and fast rule, the recipe for the Old Fashioned is a little easier to loosely interpret. After all, Angostura bitters hadn’t even been created in 1806 when the first Old Fashioned was said to have been mixed! While Angostura is a perfect choice for this cocktail, we think the Old Fashioned is a great way to experiment with the unique flavors of bitters currently on the market. With cocktails increasing in popularity, more and more independent bitters producers are popping up, releasing flavors that measure on all levels of the obscurity scale. While some small companies are creating never before seen flavors such as Brooklyn Hemispherical Sriracha Bitters and Bitter Tears ‘Miss Piggy’ Bacon Bitters, other producers are reviving long forgotten recipes. Several years ago, Dr. Adam Elmegirab referenced recipes dating back to 1853 to recreate Boker’s bitters, a key ingredient in many classic cocktails listed in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 cult cocktail guide, How To Mix Drinks.

I

O l d Fa s h i o n e d C o c k ta i l

2 oz. Rye whiskey or bourbon Bitters (we like mixing chocolate and orange bitters) Sugar cube Seltzer water Orange and lemon twists In a mixing glass, saturate sugar cute with bitters, small amount of seltzer, and orange twist. Muddle. Add whiskey, and stir with ice twenty to thirty seconds. Strain into Old Fashioned glass over ice and garnish with lemon.

With all these new formulas on the market, just how many varieties of bitters does one really need? At minimum, we say any well-stocked bar should have a bottle of Angostura Aromatic Bitters, a bottle of Peychaud’s Bitters, and a bottle of Orange Bitters (try Regan’s Orange Bitters #6 or The Bitter Truth Orange Bitters).

Beyond those three staples, the rest provide great fodder for experimentation.

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profile

fergal murray G u inness M aster B rewer text by Daniel Yaffe

While in Dublin, Drink Me stopped in at the home of Guinness to have a pint and a chat with Master Brewer Fergal Murray.

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DM: How did you become the master brewer at Guinness?

DM: What country has the best Guinness?

Fergal: The journey I had was that I learned how to brew among the team... when I started here it was over 2000 employees, a real manual, operational, old school way of doing it. So I learned how to make beer through that system. It takes about ten years to become a master brewer, of sorts. You can do it on an exam, but you need to be immersed in the craft of brewing. The way I learned through the team here brought the qualifications — I got the brewers degree, then the master brewers degree, then they let me run a few parts of the plant here.

And the legacy: I’m the custodian of the magic, the myth of Guinness... so it’s “hand me down.” And now I’ve even got a better job, because I get to travel all around the world and represent the brand. I think what I do is what actually Arthur [Guinness] would probably be doing if he was still around.

Fergal: Guinness tastes absolutely great everywhere. There are markets that have extraordinarily different experiences with Guinness. I’ve had great pints of Guinness everywhere, but I love going to foreign parts... our Foreign Extra Stout in Uganda is absolutely amazing. All our Foreign Extra Stout brewing around the world is all verified here back at the brewery in the technical center. We get forty-nine other breweries producing Guinness for us, and we need to verify that they’re following the recipe. But, anybody who visits the home of Guinness [in Dublin]... this is going to be the moment of wonder. I can never say that this is not the best place in the world to have a pint of Guinness.

I know it is the best place I’ve ever had a pint of Guinness but I know I’ve also had great experiences other places as well.

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DM: What do you drink when you’re not drinking Guinness?

Fergal: I’m a beer fan... if it’s microbrands around the place. If someone gives me a sample of something, I love sampling it and verifying that we’re still ahead of the game. That nobody is sneaking up behind us really, but also just to observe what other brewers are doing.

DM: Are there any American beers that stand out to you?

Fergal: There are few that do a very good job. There are some that have been around — Karl Strauss, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Brewing, New Belgium — theses guys do a great job, they’re leading the way in that area.

There’s bound to be fundamentally loads of others, as well, [that] I don’t even dare mention.

DM: What kinds of brewing secrets do you have?

Fergal: The balance is critical. The long term moorishness of the product... like you want to drink a second pint. The first one just gets you mmmm into the mood. There’s ways of doing that in the brewing process, so the secrets are about the process.

And we do have a special brew that we do use, I would call it like a seasoning if you want to use that phrase; something that we add to just enhance the flavor.

DM: Seasoning… like spices?

Fergal: No, no, that’s the analogy like if you make food, you add something in it...we don’t add anything like that.

It’s natural brew, it’s just managed in a separate way. No, there wouldn’t be anything like that added in at all, as we’re just natural ingredients from start to finish. We do have a separate stream of brewing such that when we add a little of this in, we know it enhances the flavor.

DM: What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked in an interview?

Fergal: The strangest question is “What other dream job would you have, if you weren’t the Guinness Master Brewer?” I’d love to sell super yachts. You know these things that people buy — $400 million for a yacht. I’d love to be one of those sales guys. I think that would be a great job.

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Manzanilla Sherry: The Best Wine You’re Not Drinking

text by Victoria Gutierrez

ily, n u tty, salty, an ac q u ired taste . . . what could possibly satisfy these qualifications? Sardines, definitely. Olives, for sure. A wine?

Usually, the flavor descriptors for a wine include berries and baking spices, never venturing further down the savory path much past leather and tobacco. A very specific wine, however, meets the requirements:

manzanilla sherry.

A

ll sherry comes from Jerez,

a piece of Andalusia in the southwest corner of Spain. All sherry, with the exception of a dessert sherry called Pedro Ximenez, is made from an unremarkable grape called Palomino. While it may seem odd, the choice of a neutral and downright boring grape is what makes sherries so special. By starting with a blank slate as a base wine, the unique process by which sherries are made can shine.

First in line to enjoy the spotlight on the Palomino stage is the soil. While some parts of Jerez have barro (clay) and arena (sand) soils, the best sherries start in albariza, a white and crumbly clay full of calcium, magnesium, and sea fossils. Like wines from Burgundy and Champagne, this calcium-rich soil brings sharp, tangy, mineral-like flavors.

The next big influence in the unique flavor of sherry is the aging. After the Palomino grapes have been crushed and fermented like any run of the mill white wine, the wine is slightly fortified with a neutral grape spirit and then put into barrels. Not just any barrels, but very big (600 liter) and very old American oak barrels called ‘butts.’ The new sherry is aged in the butts for a year.

At this point, there’s a whole bunch of boring butts laying around the winery. What next?

The butts are put into a solera. This is an aging system, often made by stacking up the butts. The top row holds the

youngest wine. When it’s time for bottling, wine is siphoned out of the bottom row, with the oldest wine. A bit is left in that bottom row, and then wine from the second-to-bottom row is used to fill the bottom row back up.

Then the third-to-bottom fills the row beneath it, and so on and so forth. What you end up with is a final product of sherry that has many different ages of wines all blended together, packing a ton of complexity into not a lot of time. All sherry has spent at least three years in a solera, and the oldest soleras have bottom rows that can have up to 100-year-old wine in them. Since a vintage can’t be put on the bottled wine (it’s made up of wines of several ages), sometimes the year the solera was started will be put on the label.

This basic process is the same for all sherries, which come with different classifications — fino, manzanilla, amontillado, oloroso, and more — depending on where they were made, how long they aged, and how they aged.

But manzanilla, in particular, is quite unique.

Manzanilla sherry can only be made in the very tiny, very near to the sea town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. All the way up to going into barrels, it’s made the same as any other sherry. But, when filling the barrels, the winemakers will only fill the barrel about three-quarters full.

Here’s where things start getting peculiar.

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A

mbient yeasts and organisms in the air are just a fact of life; airborne particles are how we have sourdough bread and Lambic beer. Sanlúcar de Barrameda’s close proximity to the Atlantic ocean lends it a microclimate that is temperate, very humid, and extraordinarily friendly to yeast. As the butts of sherry hang out, partially filled to allow maximum air exposure, a funny thing starts to happen. The abundant yeast starts to create a yellowish, filmy covering on the top of the wine (picture your grandma’s lace tablecloth). This covering is called flor, meaning flower, because the yeasts are basically flowering on the wine. A quick note on fino sherry: fino starts just like manzanilla, with a flor, but a sherry not made in Sanlúcar de Barrameda won’t have a climate that can support the growth of the yeasty covering for the entirety of the wine’s aging. I like to think that fino sherry is manzanilla lite.

While this was definitely an alarming development to the very first fellows making wine in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, it’s now a very welcome sight. The first thing the flor does is protect the wine from further oxidation; a small bit of air gets through to lend the sherry its distinctive ‘nutty’ flavor, but for the most part the covering keeps the wine fresh and bright. The second thing that the flor does is impart all sorts of yeasty, bread-y, apple-y flavors.

Manzanilla sherry is one of the only wines known to have a salty, or briny, flavor similar to fresh oysters. The other is Muscadet, a white wine grown on the Atlantic coast in the Loire Valley in France. Lovers of these wines like to wax poetic about how the salty sea air blowing through the wineries deposits a salty flavor in the wines. While a nice thought, and one that reminds you of where these wines are coming from, the salty flavor of manzanilla sherry and Muscadet comes from the yeast itself and has nothing to do with sea salt. Think of brewer’s yeast or Marmite: while the latter does have some sodium added, the presence of yeasts breaking down can impart salty and even umami flavors.

A s the b u tts of sherry hang o u t, a f u nny thing starts to happen

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A

ccording to François

Unique, complex, pairs well with

Chartier

food... no wonder the wine geeks of the world can’t sing sherry’s praises enough. Most wine professionals are going to tell you that sherries, and particularly fino and manzanilla sherry, are the most underappreciated wines out there. The beauty of an underappreciated wine is, thanks to the laws of economics, it’s also one of the most affordable. Even when buying the very best manzanilla sherry out there, you’re going to have to try really hard to have to shell out more than a twenty spot.

in his Taste Buds and Molecules, the presence of the flor in a manzanilla sherry increases the complexity of the wine in a truly quantitative way. Let’s get geeky for a moment: a manzanilla sherry, at bottling, can be broken down into about 300 volatile (aromatic and delicious) molecular compounds. A full thirty-six of these are developed solely under the presence of the flor. More than ten percent of the flavor comes from yeast! Digging a little deeper, these thirty-six compounds include nutty and salty acetaldehydes that are also present in Spanish ham, buttery and cheesy diacetyls, and a compound called acetoin that links manzanilla to apples, broccoli, coffee beans, and even asparagus. All those compounds make for a complex and aromatic wine, which is why it’s not totally surprising that ‘manzanilla’ means ‘chamomile’ in Spanish.

In short, the time that a manzanilla sherry spends aging under its cozy flor blanket makes it an extraordinarily versatile wine for pairing with food. It’s always good to start by pairing a wine with the cuisine that it grew up with, meaning that a manzanilla sherry is always going to be phenomenal with coastal Spanish cuisine. Moving beyond classic pairings, manzanilla is a good bet with most Thai, Moroccan, and Indian dishes (though I love to just sip on it when I’m nibbling cheese).

I t ’ s always good to start by pairing a wine with the c u isine that it grew u p with

Speaking of Benjamins, you might want to mention the early days of America when you’re convincing a frightened dinner party to try manzanilla sherry.

Sherry was the first wine brought to the New World, and the Founding Fathers kept a whole bunch of it in their private cellars. If it was good enough for them, it’s probably good enough for us. That being said, the flavor of a manzanilla sherry will make you question the boundaries of exactly what wine should taste like. Stick with it, though, and you’ll be privy to a wonder of the wine world that few bother to discover.

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e-drinking

Whiskey Barrel Driftwood

Available in the i P hone

text by Ale Gasso

A pp S tore

Rising waters soothe

We’ve all been there: standing in front of a wall of whiskeys, you want to buy a Scotch but you have absolutely no idea which ones you’ll like. You can take out your phone and start looking them up, one by one, but who has that kind of time?

the jagged rocks after a day under the fiery sun and having met the old boat rolling over

Scotch Hunter

Enter Scotch Hunter , an iPhone app that aims to be your font of information when it comes to Scotch. Search

peaceful waves

by price, by island, by distillery,

in a moment of

for a random suggestion. Like ratings?

Everything is rated on a five star scale.

You can also search reviews on the app, and store your very own Scotch journal. Anything that empowers people to drink Scotch gets our seal of approval!

sudden chaos.

or just give it a good ‘shake’

. . . special section . . .

Con str uc ti ng

The

Co c kta i l

by sierra zimei

there’s an old saying that many bartenders use when constructing a cocktail from scratch: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak. These steps, combined with the ice, garnish, and preparation method, provide the five sense experience of your next beverage. Of course, this makes cocktail creation sound easier than it really is.

“I’ve got a formula that tends to work for me,” says Daniel de Oliveira, Brand Ambassador for Olmeca Altos Tequila. “I use 1.75oz base spirit, .75oz modifier spirit, .5oz sweetener, .75oz citrus or acid. This is my basic formula for sour variations and punch variations.

Obviously, when using maraschino or other heavier modifiers, there is adjustment that must be made.”

Not all mixologists abide by a strict formula.

Patricia Richards, Master Mixologist for the Wynn & Encore in Las Vegas, makes sure “. . . that the base spirit shines through. For example, if it’s a twist on a Margarita, the tequila better be the star, with accenting flavors that complement the base spirit.”

Most importantly, Richards wants you to remember “A balanced cocktail is neither too sweet nor too sour, but just right and makes you want more of it, with the base spirit always shining through as the star.”

The bottom line is balance and taste — but getting there is the fun journey. Just don’t forget to keep notes on the methods and measurements you used to get there!

nu m be r 1

c uc um ber & ginger cooler

Daniel de Oliveira, Olmeca Altos Brand Ambassador

Patricia Richards, Master Mixologist, Wynn & Encore

1.5 oz Absolut vodka .75 oz yellow Chartreuse 1 oz fresh lemon juice .75 oz green tea simple syrup 2 dashes peach bitters

1.5 inches thinly sliced long English cucumber 1.25 oz. Hendrick’s gin 1 oz. Canton ginger liqueur .75 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice .125 oz. light agave syrup 2.5 oz. club soda

Shake with ice and serve up. Garnish with fresh lemon peel.

In a mixing glass, thoroughly muddle cucumber. Add remaining ingredients, except club soda. Shake with ice to chill.

Add club soda to mixing tin. Pour contents into a Collins glass and garnish with a mint sprig.

featured recipes

* C h i p o t l e M a r g a r i ta

Manny Hinojosa, Mixologist

*

2 oz. tequila blanco 3 oz. The Perfect Purée Chipotle Sour ½ oz. agave nectar ½ oz. fresh lime juice Combine ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain and serve over the rocks into a chipotle saltrimmed glass. Garnish with a lime.

Alegria

Yael Amyra 1.5 oz. Ilegal Reposado Mezcal .5 oz. Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao .25 oz. The King’s Ginger .25 oz. Blandy’s Sercial Madeira 5yr .25 oz. Tempus Fugit Grand Classico Bitters Lemon peel ribbon Measure all liquid ingredients into a well-chilled mixing glass filled with ice and stir for 20-30 seconds with a long-handled spoon until thick condensation forms on the outside of the glass. Strain into a well-chilled coupe or wine glass and express the lemon peel by pinching over the glass. Drop the peel into the glass and enjoy.

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