Alcademics.com

Fine Scotch Whisky, Not for Drinking

Usually when a whisky company releases a rare scotch, they pretend it's for drinking when they know it's going to sit on the shelf for 20 years in some rich person's collection.

An exception to this is The Last Drop, a rare blended whisky costing $2000. It was sold with a standard-sized bottle to keep closed and a mini of the same stuff to taste.

Now Jim Beam brands have released two scotches in the US that they're not even suggesting you drink. Laphroaig 25 year, which sells for $500, and Ardmore 30 year, which goes for $450.

I've had some older Laphroaigs and I love what happens to this smoky whisky with a long time in wood. Ardmore has traditionally been used for blending, though a much younger (no age statement) single-malt was released about a year or two ago. I had some older Ardmores at the distillery last summer and remember liking them a lot.

But if you read the press release, how much you like them is irrelevant. These are investment whiskies, we're told.

Rare, limited-edition whiskies offer alternative investment opportunities for those looking to revitalize their spirits portfolio.

“Those looking for a bold investment with a strong finish should consider whetting their appetite with fine Scotch whisky,” said Stacey Simmons, senior brand manager, Laphroaig and Ardmore. “The rarity and exclusivity of Laphroaig 25 Year Old and Ardmore 30 Year Old is perfect for those who are looking to add to their collections or simply enjoy a rewarding single malt experience.”

Horde them, hide them in your cellar along with your guns and drinking water and canned food!

Or, you know, drink up. Life is short.

Gentleman's Information

I had always wondered about the composition of Charles H. Baker's two-volume set , The Gentleman's Companion. I own a reprint called Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World with just drink recipes in it, but wasn't sure from what parts of the originals it came. Luckily I belong to a private library that has both volumes of the book in perfect condition so I checked them out to see.

It turns out the two books have slightly different titles:

The Gentleman's Companion Volume I: Being and Exotic Cookery Book
or, Around the World with Knife Fork and Spoon

The Gentleman's Companion Volume II: Being an Exotic Drinking Book
or, Around the World with Jigger Beaker, and Flask

The first one is all food recipes, the second is all drink. The Jigger, Beaker, and Glass reprint is nearly an exact reprint of the second volume (with the notable exception of the title).

I scanned in pages of the introduction to the first volume, as those are harder to come by.The first couple are below, the rest are here. 

Send More Chipotle

As I was saying in the last post, I had a stunningly delicious drink made by Neyah White of Nopa- one of the best cocktails I've had so far this year.

The Escondido Romano is made with maraschino liqueur, Cynar (artichoke) amaro, Hangar One's new limited-edition Chipotle flavored vodka, and sparkling wine.

Please note that the picture to the right is not an actual photograph, but an artist's rendering of the drink.

It is amazingly original and complex and smoky and perfect. I suggest asking for it at Nopa- but you'd better hurry. Neyah says that they were only allocated four bottles of this batch of the Hangar chipotle vodka. 

The chipotle contains separate infusions/distillations of smoked jalapeno and bell peppers, Fresno chili peppers, habanero peppers, and probably some other stuff. You can taste them all in the vodka. I had some of the jalapeno spirit right off the still a while back and damn it's tasty. Distiller Lance Winters produced 1500 six-bottle cases of the stuff in total. Yet Nopa received only four. Stingy.

Dear Lance Winters: This cocktail is a much better use of your fine new vodka than the Bloody Mary into which most people will dump it. Please send Neyah White more chipotle vodka.

Thanks,
Alcademics

SF Pairing Battle: Recap and Next Round

I was finally able to attend one of the Three on Five beverage pairing contests held at the Fifth Floor Restaurant in San Francisco. Information on previous battles is here: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5.

This one was an all-vegetarian meal and battle, with Emily Wines pairing wines, Beth Whalen of City Beer Store pairing beer, and Neyah White of Nopa pairing cocktails.

The event was just as much fun as I'd heard, with the judges explaining their pairing decisions before each course and the audience nerding out and comparing notes throughout the meal. And the drink pairing was fantastic. For some dishes the contestants would try to match the flavor in the foods, and for others they'd try to pair against it with an opposite flavor or texture.

Beer won one round, wine won three, and cocktails won one. But when the overall numbers were tallied, beer won the day. Go Beer! This was only the second time that Emily Wines has been defeated- and both times, by beer. Where my cocktail winners at?

Not surprisingly, cocktails won on my score sheet. I heard others saying the drinks were just too alcoholic to pair with food, but I am used to it I suppose so it didn't bother me in the least. And the biggest sensation of the evening was a cocktail by Neyah called the Escondido Romano. I'll post about it separately because it deserves attention. This drink was paired with an artichoke dish. Other standout pairings were Emily Wines' pairing of a beet salad with a grassy wine (Schloss Gobelsburg "Gobelsburger" Gruner Veltliner), and Beth Whalen's pairing of a Russian River Brewing Co's Consecration with a root vegetable and smoky cheese dish.

Anyway, I highly recommend this event. The next one is Monday, April 13th, again at 7PM. On April 13th, Emily will pair French wines against Italian selections from Wine Director Caterina Mirabelli (District) and Spanish wines from Master Sommelier David Glancy (PCI – Professional Culinary Institute). In addition to the wines, the sommeliers must also pair two of the five courses with “alternative” beverages or cocktails from those particular regions.

For reservations, go here or call 415-348-1555 to reserve your space. Make sure to specify the Three on Five event. The cost is $125 including all the 15 beverages and 5 course dinner. It's a total steal.

The question is: Can Emily Wines steal her title back?

[update 4/17/09]: The winner was Master Sommelier David Glancy of the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell.  He was representing Spain.  He won against Emily (France) and Catarina Miribili (Italy) of District. 

Camper Wins with Pisco

Every Thursday there is an incredibly awesome nerdy online event called Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum chat room. It starts at 4PM West Coast time. Each week there is a theme. Sometimes it's a concept (rinses) sometimes a recipe variation (Long Island Iced Tea, Zombie), and sometimes it's a particular product. Last week was Tuaca night, and tonight is Beefeater gin.

In the chat, someone proposes a drink recipe and a bunch of people make the drink to see if they like it. There is much interactive tweaking of the recipes and fun commentary all around. Then we move onto the next drink, and so on throughout the evening.

Many weeks there are contests to see who came up with the best original cocktail of the evening. I won last week with a hastily improvised cocktail I called the Frothee. (Pronounced froth-ay, of course.)

(photo by KaiserPenguin)

Frothee

• 1 1/2oz pisco
• 1 1/2oz Tuaca
• 1 1/2oz orange juice
• 1 egg white
• 1 dash orange liqueur (Cointreau)

Shake like a hip granny with crushed ice and strain into a sassy glass.

I'm not saying the drink is perfect but it sure goes down easy.

Chartreuse Tastes Like Hell

So says Rachel Maddow on the Jimmy Fallon show. (Okay, she says it tastes like hell until you mix it with other stuff.)

Rachel makes a Bijou cocktail for Jimmy (gin, sweet vermouth, Chartreuse, orange bitters) in this segment of the show. (It's near the end of the second break.)

Online Barware Pr0n

The people at Cask, who are the people at Bourbon & Branch, have made their inventory available online. So now you can get all your hard-to-find booze (Octomore, anyone?), your $47 Alessi bottle opener, and your vintage copy of the Gentleman's Companion all in one spot. Hot.

Check it.

New Booze in the SFBG

Run screaming to your local newsstand to pick up today's San Francisco Bay Guardian for *two* articles by your favorite drink writer. (Hint: Me.)

One is on "Outrageous Cocktails!" found in San Francisco bars, including drinks that are big, have weird ingredients, are expensive, or just have outrageous names, like Glenda's Hot Pink Oz-mopolitan offered at the Grand Cafe.

The other is a new installment of New Booze. As the story was about liquor with a new spin (new flavor, category, production technique, etc.) they did the photography by spinning the bottles. Fun.

The story is below after the break.