Alcademics.com

Tiki taking over?

Now that they're serving tiki drinks in New York, the rest of the country can read about the trend. At Elettaria they're serving a few tiki cocktails including the Navy Grog and Zombie, the Rusty Knot is some kind of tiki dive, and DISCUS threw a tiki party that was reported on all the blogs.

Out west, the Teardrop Lounge in Portland is doing Tiki Third Tuesday with a whole list of drinks just for the night- dang that's a lot of work! In San Francisco, a busload of bartenders went to Forbidden Island on Monday for a Rhum Clement event, so Tuesday at happy hour your favorite bartender may not look so happy.

The Times story does make a good point, though.

“Certain elements of mixology have gotten too dry,” (Angus Winchester) said, referring to a bar ethos that esteems pre-Prohibition cocktails, sometimes to a point of purism. “Cocktail lists are starting to look like history lessons, with bartenders hiding behind the fact that they’re using the 1812 recipe of a drink rather than the 1814 recipe. Tiki is the antithesis to all that.”

To a degree, anyway. As Mr. Miller said of the Navy Grog: “We’re using the original 1941 recipe.”

I think the tiki trend allows for the same nerd-ness as pre-Prohibition cocktail worship, but with different flavor profiles. Those earlier drinks (and their modern incarnations favored on the East Coast) use citrus zest, twists, flames, foams, and other aromatic tricks to give spark and life to small-volume drinks that largely come out of bottles. Many tiki drinks, it seems, use citrus and other mixers as the lively base canvas of the drink, allowing the spirits some breathing room in which to show off. (Does this make sense? I'm trying to say it's like the difference between drinking straight rum and a Daiquiri.)

In any case, I say more (well-made) tiki drinks is a good thing.

Labels: NewYork, Portland, SanFrancisco, trends, tropical

SF Spirits Competition Winners

Taken from the press release, here are winners of the SF World Spirits Competition for 2008:

"Best in Show-White,"  Weber Haus, Silver Cachaca, Brazil,
"Best in Show-Whisk(e)y" Highland Park, 12-year-old Single Malt Scotch,
"Best in Show-Brandy," Loujan, 1979 Armagnac, Bas Armagnac, France
"Best in Show-Liqueur" Domaine de Canton, Ginger Liqueur, France

"Top Absinthe" Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe
"Top Vodka," Snow Queen Vodka
"Top Gin" Plymouth Gin
"Best Rum" Matusalem Rum
"Top Tequila" AsomBroso Silver Tequila
"Top Reposado Tequila" El Tesoro
"Top Anejo Tequila"  Siete Leguas
"Top Extra-Aged Anejo Tequila"  Don Julio
"Top Irish Whiskey"  Jameson, Rare Vintage Irish Whiskey
"Top North American Whisk(e)y." Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
"Top Blended Scotch," Chivas Regal, 25 Year Old Scotch
"Top Bourbon" Pappy Van Winkle, Kentucky Straight Bourbon
"Top Cognac" Hennessy Cognac Paradis Extra
"Top Fruit Liqueur" Cointreau Orange Liqueur

Labels: contests

Shapely bottles

If short and fat is the new tall and skinny, my bottle collection will soon match my body type.

Pictured: Rhum Clement VSOP, G'Vine gin, St. George Absinthe Vert.

Labels: products, trends

Sponsored Post:: A source for absinthe

The following post is sponsored by Buy Absinthe Alcohol.

Absinthe may be legally sold in the US if it contains less than 10 parts per million of thujone and is approved by the United States TTB. This is the same as 10 mg/kg, which, according to Wikipedia, is the legal limit in the European Union of thujone in spirits above 25% ABV. According to the website Buy Absinthe Alcohol, they sell only absinthe with limits of "35mg/lt for bitters and 10mg/lt for spirits." One liter of water weights 1kg, so the absinthes (not the bitters) appear to come under the safe thujone levels in America also. Many of the absinthes on the website list their exact thujone content, which is a nice double-check.

The products appear to ship from overseas (I'm not sure where) and are marked as "not for human consumption," as they are not (yet) approved by the US TTB. Shipping fees are a little less than $30 to North America. They generally stick to selling brands from France and Switzerland, which are better regarded than Czech Republic brands. And though they say they avoid dyes and color additives, a few of the bottles' bright blue or green colors would leave me to believe that's not a hard and fast rule. Some of the brands on the website are Lemercier, Versinthe, Absente, Rodniks, and Pere Kermmans. They also sell absinthe spoons, glasses, and hard-to-find absinthe fountains, though last time I checked they were out of stock of the fountains.

Here are links to the site: Buy Absinthe, the order information page: Buy Absinthe, and the blog: Buy Absinthe.

Labels: sponsored_posts

Easter brunch drinks

Green Street in Boston is celebrating Easter by making cocktails with eggs. Great idea.

Labels: seasonal, trends

Vodka hot spot:: Long Island

The New York Times reports on LiV, or Long Island Vodka, which will be released in a month. They're making the product from locally-grown potatoes; "the Long Island variety known as Marcy, which was originally developed for making potato chips."

Hamptons Vodka is also made on Long Island, but from Minnesota corn.

Labels: vodka

Grandpa's drink

Via Liquor Snob, Frozen Smiles ice cube trays. Available on Amazon.

Labels: funny, products

Absinthe: Hot or not?

In today's SF Chronicle Stacy Finz has a story on absinthe- will it outlive it's 15 minutes of fame? In it she lists some of the others coming to market.

The Swiss Kubler and French Lucid brands began distribution in the United States shortly after the absinthe ban was lifted last year. There are at least five more awaiting authorization from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau including Trillium, an absinthe being made in Portland, Ore. Gwydion Stone, an absinthe expert who founded the Wormwood Society, a nationwide club for lovers of the spirit, has teamed up with Portland's House Spirits distillery to make Marteau Verte Classique. The absinthe is awaiting federal approval.

Goth rocker Marilyn Manson is also jumping on the absinthe bandwagon, producing his own version in Switzerland. The aptly named Mansinthe hasn't yet received the proper licensing to be sold here. But the reviews, so far, have not been favorable. The Web site Epicurious compared Mansinthe's aroma to "sewage water or swamp mud."

Also in the story is a recipe for Jonny Raglin's Sacred Heart cocktail with pomegranate tequila, absinthe, and limoncello. Mmm.

Labels: absinthe