Alcademics.com

Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Gonzalez Byass

In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Gonzalez Byass. 

(The grounds of the bodega have grape vines covering the streets to provide shade.)

(A train takes people on a tour around the bodega.)

(One of the rooms for special events.)

(A barrel signed by Picasso.)

(Some Tio Pepe out of the cask. You can see the flor broken up in the glass.)

 

• Make Tio Pepe
• Over 200,000 visitors per year to bodega
• Tio Pepe grapes are and will always be collected by hand, not machine
• Higher vineyards considered better – get more of the wet wind
• Theyre one of the only companies to grow PX in Jerez. Others buy it from Cordoba
• Have a big catalogue of vintage-dated sherries- Anadas
• Corks are loose on sherry barrels to let air in, but most air freshness comes from when you change the levels of the sherry in the solera
• The El Duque brand starts as Tio Pepe fino, aged longer
• The higher the percentage of alcohol, the more lignin it absorbs from the wood. 
• Nuttiness comes from the grapes. Coconut comes from the wood.
• Palo Cortado- probably started back in the day when they couldn’t accurately meauser alcohol percentage, so they put too much in the fino and killed it

 

Back In My Day, It Was Called A New-Fashioned

In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I cover the history of the cocktail- the original one. I'm sure you've heard of it: spirit, sugar, water, bitters.

Cocktail Menu: Chapel Tavern in Reno, Nevada

Well I guess I know where to drink in Reno now. 

T. Duncan Mitchell of Chapel Tavern sent me the seasonal cocktail menu. I want to point out two things:

1. They serve the Laphraoig Project
2. It only costs eight bucks! 

Cocktails $8 each

Dealer’s Choice
Let the bartender choose a cocktail for you. Name your base spirit preference if you like.

Corpse Reviver #1
Cognac, Apple Brandy, Sweet Vermouth (To be taken before 11a.m., or whenever steam and energy are needed.)

The Laphroaig Project
Islay Whiskey, Green Chartreuse, Yellow Chartreuse, Marischino, Lemon, Peach Bitters(Bourbon and Branch Origanal)

Milk Punch
Organic Whole Milk, Heavy Cream, Cognac, Absinthe, Nutmeg

Black Roy
Blended Scotch Whiskey, Amaro, Honey Syrup

Vice Admiral Vernon Grog
Bermuda Black Rum, Jamaican Overproof Rum, Cinnamon Syrup, Fresh Orange

Jalisco Flip
Reposado Tequila, Oloroso Sherry, Cinnamon Syrup, Whole Egg, Mole Bitters

Jack’s Lantern
Bourbon, Pumpkin Butter, Cream, Nutmeg

King’s Ransom
Old Tom Gin, Sloe Gin, Egg White, Sparkling Wine

Dutch Cobbler
Genever, Applebutter, Lemon, Ginger-Honey Syrup, Bitters, Dried Fruit

Hot Buttered Rum $6
Bermudan Black Rum, House Made Hot Buttered Rum Batter, Cream, Nutmeg

Spirit Flights

Alembic Brandy
Kelt VSOP, Martell Cordon Bleu, Maison Surrenne Petit Champ $12

Amari
Averna, Cynar, Amaro Montenegro $10

New American Whiskey
Death’s Door White Whiskey, Bernheim Wheat Whiskey, High West Rendezvous Rye $12

Tequila Distillery Visit: Don Julio

In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to the Don Julio distillery in the town of Atotonilco.

(Cutting up the pinas before baking.)

(Now when I see pinas, I get thirsty.)

(Fermenting agave.)

(Stainless steel pot stills.)

(We had a cocktail contest after the distillery visit. My team of writers won, of course.)

• Don Julio uses all estate-grown agaves
• Has a widerspacing between agaves than average
• They have 18 furnaces, each of which holds 25 tons
• Fermentation takes 24-30 hours
• Their agave is larger than industry standards, with a higher sugar content
• Inside the stainless steel stills is a copper coil

Cocktail Menu: Haddingtons in Austin, Texas

The just-opened restaurant Haddingtons in Austin, Texas has a cocktail menu that makes me thirsty. The drinks are by head bartender Bill Norris, formerly of Fino. 

-house cocktails-

The Waldorf #2: straight apple brandy, nocino, celery bitters, stirred, over ice $11

Dover to Calais*: navy strength rum, green chartreuse, orgeat, lime, peychaud’s bitters, up and frothy $11

Fox Room Swizzle: vodka, falernum, lime, mole bitters, jägermeister, icy cold, crushed ice $10

Apple Orchard: bourbon, orgeat, apple shrub, peychaud’s bitters stirred, up. $10

Duck Fat Sazerac: duck fat infused rye, peychaud’s bitters, absinthe rinse, served cold and neat. $9

Smoking Jacket: anejo rum, porter, amaretto, scotch, whole egg and nutmeg. shaken and up $10*

Conundrum: blue corn whisky, sloe gin, fernet branca $12

Olorosso & Apple: olorosso sherry, apple shrub, orange bitters, stirred, over ice $10

Haddingtons’ Word: single malt whisky, maraschino, strega, lemon, shaken and up $15

-classics-

Gin and Haddington’s Tonic: the classic pre-dinner highball, done with our homemade tonic $9

Moscow Mule: the drink that made vodka famous, with homemade ginger beer, lime $9

Japanese Cocktail: cognac, orgeat, aromatic bitters $10

Blood & Sand: scotch, cherry heering, sweet vermouth, orange $10

Stinger: cognac and crème de menthe over crushed ice. be careful with this one. $11

Aviation: gin, maraschino, lemon, crème de violet $10

Cocktail Menu: 25 Lusk in San Francisco

The newish San Francisco restaurant 25 Lusk has a cocktail menu, and it is below. Some of the drinks look good but to me it reads as a bit too accessible. Know what I mean?  

1/7/11 Update - They already updated and improved the menu - see below. 

BAHIA MAR plymouth gin, dolin blanc vermouth,el maestro sierra fino sherry, caperberry

LITTLE AVA drouin blanche de normandie,cointreau, lemon, simple syrup,lemon-thyme-verbena-absinthe spritz

BLUEBERRY BEE skyy vodka, blueberry honey,lemon, fresh blueberries

HENDRICK’S MARGARITA hendrick’s gin, lime,cointreau, simple syrup, cucumber, salt

INTERNATIONAL ORANGE sailor jerry spiced rum,clément créole shrubb, lemon, cane syrup,fernet branca, bitters

TEQUILA SOUR camarena reposado tequila, lime,pineapple gum, cane syrup, egg white,angostura bitters

BUCK 25 pampero aniversario rum, tia maria, pineapple gum,lime juice, ginger beer

RED MONKEY buffalo trace bourbon,gran classico bitter, dolin sweet vermouth,mint, angostura bitters

DARK AND STORMY goslings black seal rum, lime, simple syrup, ginger solution, ginger ale

APREŚ LA NUIT skyy vodka, cold brewed espresso,cocoa nib, vanilla, raspberry gum

I asked the PR agency who did the list, and they were kind enough to send over a bio:

Michael Musil, Bar and Cocktail Consultant

Over the years Musil has been called upon to develop cocktail lists for an impressive roster of establishments, including Restaurant Michael Mina at the Westin St.Francis, Ame at The St. Regis San Francisco, Town Hall, Cigar Bar, Yoshi’s and South Food + Wine Bar in San Francisco, as well as Michael Mina’s Stonehill Tavern at The St. Regis Monarch Beach.

The opening of Buffalo Grille marked the beginning of Musil’s 10-year relationship with Pat Kuleto Restaurants, including opening the renowned San Francisco Union Square restaurant Farallon as bar manager and later serving as the assistant general manager.

1/7/11 - Update! Hey look, they changed some of the drinks already. I like the looks of this menu better. 

SPARKLING NORMAND calvados, elderflower syrup, prosecco, lemon, grapefruit

S.F. YACHT CLUB blue ice potato vodka,cucumber, lemon, lime mint

LITTLE AVA calvados, cointreau, lemon, simple syrup, lemon-thyme-verbena-absinthespritz

HENDRICK’S MARGARITA hendrick’s gin, lime,cointreau, simple syrup, cucumber, salt

INTERNATIONAL ORANGE sailor jerry spiced rum,clément créole shrubb, lemon, cane syrup, bitters

TEQUILA SOUR camarena reposado tequila, lime,pineapple gum, cane syrup, egg white, angostura bitters

TRADE ROUTE barbancourt 8yr rum, blood orange, lime, luxardo maraschino, taylorsvelvet falernum, orange bitters

AUTUMN ROSE four roses bourbon, st. elizabeth allspice dram, sage, honey, lemon,apple cider

GLASS HAMMER pellehaut armagnac, edmund briottet crème de mandarine, prosecco,lemon, orange bitters

RED MONKEY buffalo trace bourbon,gran classico bitter, dolin sweet vermouth,mint, angostura bitters

DARK AND STORMY goslings black seal rumlime, simple syrup, ginger solution, ginger ale

Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Williams & Humbert

In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Williams & Humbert. 

(The bodega is absolutely enormous.)

(There's a horse show inside the bodega for visitors.)

(For barrel tasting, the venenciador (in this case, the chief oenologist) inserts the venencia into the barrel to pull out a cup of liquid, then pours above a glass to aerate.)

(From a high perch in the bodega, you can see nearly the whole thing. Center in the picture is a tour group.)

 

• They make Dry Sack - actually a medium sweetness sherry
• Huge tourist visitor center- enter through the bodega and go to the horse show
• Brandy de Jerez is very popular in the Philippines
• Bowmore 1964 was aged in their casks
• Macallan new casks prepared here
•     New wood with aged sherry added to them
•     The sherry is not sold afterward- too woody
• Fino was first developed in an industrial way in the 1920’s and 30’s
• Dry sack is the top selling medium sweet sherry in the world. 
•     Tio Pepe is top selling fino. (Not made here.)
•     Harvey’s Bristol Cream is the top cream. (Not made here.)
• Dry sack is blended with PX right at the beginning  before it enters the solera system
• 15 year oloroso is very yummy. 
• I also liked Gran Dulque de Alba XO
• They make the Dos Maderas rums
• Liked the VORS amontillado, VOS Palo Cortado

 

Spicy Mary

A bunch of years ago I tried to sell a book on infusions, because there weren't any at the time. In some ways I'm glad it didn't sell, because my cocktail knowledge and abilities are so much better now that I would have been embarrassed by many of the cocktail recipes you were supposed to use after the infusions were done. 

But I did do enough recipe development that I learned the timing for a lot of infusions. In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I list the quantities of spicy things like pepperonchini, peppercorn, chili peppers, and horseradish to make a 1-day infusion. 

Then you can add those to tomorrow's Bloody Mary. 

When I was working on the book, I had all the different infusions sitting around and decided to dump them all into the drink at the same time. It was pretty amazing how you could clearly taste each infusion separately, rather than them being all muddled together into one new flavor.