Month: September 2014

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Articles Books Interviews Miscellaneous Reviews

Musings on Whiskey by Warren Bobrow for the White Mule Press (thank you!)

Musings on Whiskey from Warren Bobrow

Posted on September 25, 2014 by in Whiskey

Bobrow_portraitWarren Bobrow announces his new book Whiskey Cocktails and tells how he came to write it. Known as The Cocktail Whisperer, Warren’s vast knowledge of cocktails has spawned a previous book, Apothecary Cocktails, and over 300 articles on food, wine, and cocktail mixology. As our guest blogger, we get a peek inside Warren’s musings about whiskey, spirits and food. Enjoy!

My influence for writing Whiskey Cocktails is one of a most circuitous nature.

Whiskey has rough and tumble roots for me. Initially I looked at whiskey as something that was rough and harsh across my palate.

I wasn’t a whiskey fan until a couple of years ago.

Rum was more my forte, I was a rum judge for the Ministry of Rum in 2010. I also wrote about food, and, of course wine. It’s very tough to make a living being just one more voice in the room of food writing or even wine writing.

Coincidently, many of those rums that I was starting to enjoy became even more intriguing for me. Through research, I found that many types of rum were aged in used bourbon barrels.
Perhaps that flavor of char and smoke was more a part of my taste buds than I initially allowed?

It’s funny for me, when I think of the wines that I grew up with at home — the ones that were on the our dinner table — Left Bank, Rhone, Loire, all use casks that speak clearly of the place. There was a flavor to each sip. Something unique and profound was taking place at the same time in my education. I traveled across Europe, Africa, and South America, always tasting, memorizing and trying to figure out flavors of intoxicants and food.

The same holds true for whiskey. The casks that go on to give other liquors unique qualities, characteristics and above all terroir may be from whiskey!

There is a certain cadence to whiskey and in the broader metric, craft sprits. They are not always great, but they certainly are passion in a bottle.

My thoughts on craft mean something that is handmade in small numbers. Craft means flavor and texture and risk, small business is not easy. Owning something that relies upon consumers is often fraught with failures. I know because I lost my own small business in Hurricane Hugo back in 1989. I owned a craft business, specializing in fresh pasta. (Maybe it was the grain??)

It might be a small produced wine, organic and Biodynamic that reminds me of whiskey, the flavors of stone fruits and caramelized nuts. Or vice versa. There are creative interrogatories in all forms of intoxicating beverages.

I’m very fond of food when I taste whiskey or any spirits for that matter. If I taste rye, I want a sandwich like a Rueben, piled high with briny and smoky corned beef or pastrami on seeded rye. Whiskey just calls out for food that speaks to me clearly.

Whiskey Cocktails, is my second book. My first book, Apothecary Cocktails takes the tack of what you took for healing in the years before electricity and refrigeration. How folk healing remedies may have been little more than snake oil, but what a wonderful way to heal what ailed ye!

Whiskey Cocktails explores the liquor from a stylistic approach — Scotch, Bourbon, Rye, Alternative Grains, Indian (India), Japanese, French, Tennessee Sipping Whiskey, White Whiskey, etc. even cooking recipes!

In a former part of my life, before I was in the corporate world, I was a trained chef. This formal training comes in handy for the mixology business. It’s all about flavor and combinations of flavor.

I invite you to peer into my mind, one sip and word at a time.

There are some marvelous things in Whiskey Cocktails. Others have said that this book is a new Classic. I’m not sure, I’d rather be humble than a know it all. As I said, I’m new to whiskey and I’m lucky to be here, surrounded by and growing to be respected among my peers as a member of the table.

If they only knew the path I took to get here! Whew!
Bobrow-Cover
I invite you to purchase Whiskey Cocktails and if you haven’t already, please consider Apothecary Cocktails as well.

You can read my musings at http://www.cocktailwhisperer.com or purchase my book at: http://www.qbookshop.com/authors/17884/Warren-Bobrow.html

Thank you.
Warren Bobrow

Categories
Articles

Martha Lou and how I know her… food writing by Warren Bobrow

Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica DLux-4
Photo: Warren Bobrow – Leica DLux-4

I took this picture of my friend, Martha Lou when I was down in Charleston judging the Iron Mixology segment of the Charleston Wine and Food Festival several years ago.

The look on her face when she saw me for the first time since the early 1990’s was worth the price of driving down from NJ to Charleston.  It made my day too because I have never enjoyed a plate of fried pork chops so much as when she made them for me.

I like my fried pork chops as a sandwich.  Two pieces of white bread draws the remainder of the cooking oil off the 1/4 inch thick chop.  Curled from the heat and impossibly crunchy against my teeth, the bread is not an afterthought, but integral to the enjoyment of the sizzling hot, and salty pork chop.

Martha Lou is a treasure.  Not only because of her ebullient personality, but because she is genuine.  The real thing.  Her sweet tea is her smile.

My story of how I met Martha Lou may come as a surprise for some people who only know me from Facebook.  It was the mid eighties and I’d been accepted at Johnson/Wales when it was located in Charleston.  I was living in Portland, Maine- freezing- in a place I couldn’t afford and working for the Sonesta making baked stuffed lobster was not endearing in any manner.  So I moved down to Charleston.  And started over.

During my teen years I had a craving for Soul Food.   I’d trot down to East Orange, NJ and find myself at the Peppermint.  This is ham hocks and greens, fried pig ears and slaw on white bread and stews that you could smell by the sweetness of the long cooked onions and tomatoes.  After eating there for a couple of years and being introduced to the cook by a mutual friend, I started paying attention to what they were doing back in the kitchen.         I thought that if nothing else in life, I could become a cook, since my first career as a television engineer was a bust.  Because my parents took me to Europe as a boy, I paid further attention to how people become cooks.

They start at the bottom and they learned from the old-timers.

I learned how to cook real Soul food from former Southerners living in East Orange and Morristown, NJ.

I grew up on a gentleman’s farm.  It belonged to my grandfather and grandmother since the 1940’s.  They didn’t need to farm it, but they did with a full staff like in the old days.  To this day the farm is still both biodynamic and organic.  The farm was the laboratory of my childhood.  It came with all the parts intact, just as it was in the 1800’s.  It is still in perfect condition as if the dairy cattle just left for the afternoon.  After a rain you can still smell the cows from the wood floors.

Estelle Ellis was our cook.  She was from Northern Georgia.  I’m sure she grew up around Soul Food because when she taught me to cook, everything was put up for later in the season.  As I said, we didn’t have to rely upon the farm, but so much of my diet came from this place or very close by.  New Jersey was much different in the 1960’s.

Estelle never wrote anything down, nor did the cooks at the Peppermint- but I paid attention and their lessons stuck.

So I get to Martha Lou’s.  White guy in a place surrounded by the projects.  Trucks and truckers, not what I would call in the 1980’s as a safe neighborhood at night and I introduce myself to Martha Lou.

She remembered my name- eventually, and I started talking to her about East Orange.  She has family up there evidently and I mentioned the Peppermint.  Her eyes closed a bit and she said… “what do you know about the Peppermint?”

I told her that I was cooking at a local restaurant, the Primerose House on East Bay Street and could I come during the day and watch her cook?

Well, after much hemming and hawing she said yes- but only after I had to cook some innards for her blessing to be a life-long friendship.

I don’t pretend to be from Charleston, nor would I, but when I saw Martha Lou and took this picture, it was like I was family.  Over a plate of pork chops.

Categories
Recipes

Dad’s Hat- Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey and Sage Herbal Elixir

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I think that I wrote this piece two or so years ago…  It’s fun to see where my writing has taken me.  So please enjoy and pick up a copy of my forthcoming book (Whiskey Cocktails) if you get the chance.  It’s got all the stuffing!

DAD’S HAT PENNSYLVANIA WHITE RYE AND SAGE HERBAL ELIXIR (FLOYD’S PACK MULE COCKTAIL)

I just created a new cocktail with historically correct flavors.  What are those interesting bottles?  Well my friends, my usual- or unusual form of cocktail whispering has led me to a secret spring.  There up the road apiece is a spring that spouts water as clear and refreshing as the soft hand of a maiden in the summer.

Pennsylvania Rye in the un-aged form runs as soft and sweet as this spring that bubbles up from the earth.  Branch water with a kick I say.  Sitting next to this venerable bottle of Pennsylvania History sits a bottle simply called Sage from the same creative mind behind the salubrious and ever mixable liqueurs named Root, Rhubarb and Snap.

But what is Sage?  Sage is Herbalicious according to the hand-crafted natural paper-press release.

According to the copy, Thomas Jefferson was not only a founding father, but he was also an avid horticulturist.  His friend and mentor Bernard McMahon was in the midst of chronicling the 130 plants discovered by Lewis and Clark.   As history has it, Bernard and Thomas also were fond of highly intoxicating beverages.  Sage in the purest form is not just sage as an herbal adjunct, it is also an ingredient in early “Gar-Tending” experimentation!

This type of experimentation weaves its way into my semi-drunken state- *who me?*

Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania White Rye is gorgeous stuff.  If I could lay down a few bottles and wait about ten years, I’ll bet the mouth-feel will soften to that of branch water.  Now, instead of letting any rest, I’ve created a cocktail with this spicy and emotional Rye powerhouse.

Sage is distilled with thyme, sage (of course), rosemary, lavender and fennel.  All I could think about was mixing Sage with Dad’s Hat.

But the drink would not be complete without a few drops of the fire driven chocolate and spice enamored heat of the Bitter End Memphis BBQ Bitters.  Take about four drops of this amazing liquid and scatter them over the top.  The 100 proof power of the White Rye and the aromatic wonderment that says Sage finished with Bitter End Bitters only needs one more item.

I’m a fanatic for great ice…..Crystal clear and without any unpleasant fragrances or minerals, great ice cubes will enlighten your cocktails.  I did a 95/5 mix of Royal Rose Lavender Lemon Syrup and some of my filtered well water.  The benefit of putting the Royal Rose Syrup into the ice cube is to subtly change the flavor of the cocktail as the ice cube melts.  Mostly water, with that bit of syrup and everyone is friendly together.

I believe it shows sophistication of flavor.  And fortitude in your cocktail glass.  Isn’t that what this is all about?

Flavor?

Danger Level 4 out of 5.  Possibly 5 out of 5 if you err on the side of heavier handed cocktail measurements…

Floyd’s Pack Mule Cocktail

Ingredients for two very strong drinks:

1/4 cup Freshly made Lemonade (unsweetened) made with Meyer Lemons if you can find them
2 oz. Dad’s Hat Genuine Small Batch Pennsylvania White Rye- 100 proof (local Rye from Pennsylvania)
1 oz.  Sage from Art in the Age- 80 proof (USDA Certified Organic)
1 oz. Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Lavender and Lemon
4 drops Bitter End Memphis BBQ Bitters
For Ice Cubes, fill an Ice Cube tray with filtered water and add an ounce or so of the simple syrup, freeze overnight for best results

Prep:
To a Boston Shaker fill 1/4 with regular ice
Add the liquors
Add  freshly made lemonade
Shake until frosty
Pour into a funky glass with Royal Rose Lavender Lemon Syrup ice
Drip three-four drops of Bitter End Memphis BBQ Bitters over the top
Sip carefully.

 

Yes, I do mixology sessions at your home or business.  Just email me!  jockeyhollow@mac DOT com

 

Categories
Interviews Miscellaneous Reviews

FEW Spirits/ Five Questions…

FEW Spirits/Five Questions

September 26, 2014
I recently spoke to Paul Hletko, the founder of FEW Spirits in Illinois.

It’s been a while since I embarked on this project, known as the Five Questions, and I beg your time to read the questions and drink the highly personal answers from each craft distiller whom I see worthy of your attention.

 

Without further adieu, may I present Paul Hietko.

 

1. WB:  What do Craft Spirits mean to you?

PH: To me, “craft spirits” means passion for product over all else and actually made by the folks claiming to make it.  Authenticity and honesty is the key.

2. WB:  Where are you from?  What did you do before you became a distiller?

PH: I was born in the Chicago area, grew up in Michigan, spent time in Northern California, and have lived in Chicago now for over 20 years.  Prior to becoming a distiller, I pursued several creative passions, and played guitar professionally, as well as running a record label, building custom guitar effects pedals, and more.  I also had a desk job for many years, but always strived to pursue dreams.

3.  WB: What is your favorite food?  Which of your spirits go well with that dish?

PH: My favorite food depends on my mood.  I’m currently a bit obsessed with banh mi, as well as working on some homemade curries. I’m really digging the bourbon with the banh mi, as the spiciness of the bourbon plays well with the spices in the sandwich.

4. WB: Is there anything you’ve eaten or sipped that brings a tear to your eye when you taste it?  Why?

PH: Some of the favorite things I sip are products that my friends make, as I know what it takes to bring it to life.  Food and drink can have such a dramatic affect, and eating various foods can really bring me back to various places.  I can’t eat matzo ball soup without missing my grandmother.  I can’t think of Spätzle without missing my grandmother’s!

 

5.  WB: Social Media brought us together originally.  What are your thoughts on Social Media?  Do you use it?  Do you have time to Tweet?

PH: I love social media – it’s the best way to communicate with the people that actually consume what we make.  All that we do, we do for the spirit that is in the glass so that we can hopefully be a part of peoples enjoyment of life with their family and friends.  That means a lot to us, and this connection with our fans is truly amazing.

 

My tasting Notes for these gorgeous spirits…

FEW Bourbon Whiskey

Spanish Leather, sweet cream and wet stones give way to a bit of heat and that long finish that says CRAFT.  This is very drinkable stuff, worthy of your finest glassware

FEW Rye Whiskey

If I could drink a corned beef sandwich, this is what I’d be enjoying for lunch!  Smoky notes of charred earth, tangy and cinnamon tinged rye bread with a zingy finish that goes on and on!

FEW Single Malt Whiskey

Is this whiskey from Scotland?  Nope, it’s all American!  Licks of wood smoke give way to sweet grains and a haunting finish punctuated by toasted citrus zest and salt crusted stones.  This is sophisticated and worldly.  Class act!

FEW Barrel Gin

Sweet notes of long cooked grains enrobed in dark (70% or more) bittersweet chocolate, cooked slowly with the aromatics of Juniper Berries and slowly cooked stone fruits, like quince and peaches.  A Ramos Gin Fizz with this slurp would take you to places not yet discovered!

 

My second book, Whiskey Cocktails is available ever so shortly on Quarto Publishing.  In the book, I’ve created 75 new and re-imaged cocktails for one of the world’s favorite spirits, Whiskey… With my unique- Cocktail Whisperer style and grace. 

 

Categories
Tasting Notes

Barrell Bourbon: Tasting Notes and Observations

Barrell Bourbon:Tasting Notes and Observations on Whiskey

August 30, 2014
I just received two bottles of bourbon from Tennessee.  Tennessee Bourbon you say?  What is that?  I thought all whiskey from Tennessee had a black label on it?

Well to be perfectly honest with you, so did I.  I wasn’t aware that there are Craft Spirits in Kentucky.  I know that some are working on getting the laws changed to permit Craft distilling, but I’m really not sure who they are, or if they’ve been successful.

But without that tainting my impression of the Craft Spirits industry and who makes what and where, I’d like to introduce you to Barrell Bourbon.

Barrell Bourbon is a true luxury product that you can get.

DrinkupNY has it!  http://www.drinkupny.com/Barrell_Cask_Strength_Tennessee_Straight_Bourbon_p/s0185.htm

Sitting in front of me are two bottles .

Batch #001 and Batch #002.

Barrell Bourbon link here

I’ll try to be kind to you and your thirst.  This isn’t going to be easy.

Writing about and tasting fine liquid is like describing Grand Cru wine.  Most people cannot even fathom spending hundreds of dollars on a bottle of wine, much less ever given the chance to taste it.

Although Barrell Bourbon is not inexpensive, it’s not over 100 dollars per bottle either!

When a company sends me a bottle and it just isn’t available to the public, all I can do it hope that it makes you thirsty.  I do my best to guide you and help you find a bottle.

I actually had someone reach out to me the other day, who read my review on Pappy 20 Year, assuming that I had a secret in with the company to get a bottle (or more) of this highly allocated liquid.

Nope!

But Barrell Bourbon is available.  Extremely limited, but you can find it.

It’s not even noon and I’ve just taken a healthy slurp of Barrel #001.  This is Cask Strength my friends.  Rolling in at 121.6 Proof, it is straight out of the barrel.  They don’t fine pad filter this whiskey. They only use a light mesh screen to keep the larger chunks from inside the barrel out of your glass.  That’s not to say that this bourbon is crystal clear, far from, there is stuff in there.  I love spirits with a soul and Barrell Bourbon has it!

Tasting Notes:

The bottle – no you don’t taste the bottle, but bear with me… is made of fine perfume grade glass.  It’s gorgeous to the touch.  Sumptuous and smooth.  The cap is wood and real cork.  A nice touch in the world of plastic almost everything.  The label on each batch is very similar, with the only differences in the writing.

My bottle of Batch #001 reads Craft Distilled Barrel Stength.

Batch # 001, Bottle # 2384.

It goes on to read 121.6 Proof, 60.8 Alc/Vol.

Batch #002 reads Bottle # 429,  117.8 Proof, 58.9% Alc/Vol.

Batch #001 is made from a Mash bill of 70% corn, 25% rye and 5% malted barley.  It’s distilled in Tennessee and aged in Kentucky for five years in freshly charred American oak barrels.  It’s bottled at full barrel strength without any artificial colors or additives.

Flavors of Earl Grey Tea reveal themselves along with sweet vanilla, dark stone fruits, salted caramels and quince-slow cooked ones at that.  The heat is ever present.  You cannot escape it, even with a few drops of Branch Water sprinkled over the top to release the flavors and inner soul of this passionate product.  The alcohol tingles on the tongue and wraps around your brain.  This is serious stuff, worthy of your finest crystal glass.  But don’t put anything other than water into it.  This would be a waste of fine liquor!

Peanut brittle expands across my tongue along with long cooked apricots and white raisins.  Pine nuts reveal themselves, enrobed in dark chocolate.  The finish is tannic and dry.  It goes on and on.  Impressive and worthy of your hard earned money.

Batch # 002 is also made from a Mash bill of: 70% corn, 25% rye, 5% malted barley.  The first thing you perceive is the flavor of a grilled Reuben Sandwich on Rye bread.  Toasted rye has a very specific flavor and this is no exception.  There is a sharp cinnamon bitterness, almost like a red hot candy that pokes a hole right in the middle of your memory.  This is exceptionably memorable bourbon.  There really is nothing like it on the market.  Stone fruits and caramelized nuts reveal themselves after a few seconds along with deep flavors of Spanish Saddle leather and wet stones.  But not wet from a fresh water stream, they are slicked with the flavors of the ocean.

The slightly less alcohol *117.8- is a welcome relief after the hit of nearly 122% alcohol in Batch #001.

Both versions are memorable.  Orange marmalade and lemon curd fill your mind along with toasted rye bread and slabs of freshly smoked meats.  There are bursts of fleur de sel (sea salt) and more chocolate, but not the sweet kind, I’m talking 75% bitter.

Take little sips and bite your Reuben Sandwich,  let me know what you think!

This is bourbon on steroids! Definitely not for everyone!  No fooling!

***********************

Warren Bobrow,is the widely published author of: Apothecary Cocktails-Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today- Fair Winds Press- Beverly, Massachusetts. Apothecary Cocktails was nominated for a Spirited Award, 2014 Tales of the Cocktail.

His forthcoming book, Whiskey Cocktails will be released October 2014.  Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails follow with publication in spring ’15.

Warren is a master mixologist for several craft liquor companies.

Warren consults about mixology and spirits, travel, organic wine and food.  He’s written for web-blogs and magazines like: Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods: Dark Rye, Distiller, Total Food Service Magazine, Beverage Media Group, DrinkupNY, Edible Publications, Foodista, Serious Eats, Mechanics of Style and Beekman1802.  He was in the Saveur-100 in 2010.

Warren is a former, mostly self, trained cook from the pot sink on up.  J&W and ACF were thrown in for good luck.  Warren was the former owner/co-founder of Olde Charleston Pasta in South Carolina: *Dissolved his business after Hurricane Hugo in 1989* – to a career in private banking, (nearly 20 years; “a very grand mistake”) to this reinvention in 2009 as the Warren he’s finally become.

Warren is available to do highly personalized, interactive mixology events, local, national and international.
Contact: jockeyhollow@gmail.com

Categories
Articles Interviews Recipes Reviews

Teeling Whiskey and Barrell Bourbon, Two Delights, recently discovered. from Foodista.com (yes, I’m on the masthead!)

Teeling Whiskey and Barrell Bourbon, Two Delights, recently discovered.

Whiskey Cocktails is coming out in a few short weeks, so it seems to reason that my mailbox is suddenly full of whiskey!In this case I’ve received several fine bottles that I’d like to share with you.  The first one is Ireland in every sip.  The Spirit of Dublin, Teeling Whiskey is one such example of high quality.  They represent Ireland in each sip, in fact when I uncorked the bottle, the very aroma placed me on the Temple Bar, enjoying the mist against my face and Irish Whiskey woven into coffee, filling my belly with happy warmth.

I’m trying not to lose sleep over claims about what Craft Distilling means outside of marketing, nor am I getting bent out of shape about “Small Batch” and what actually constitutes that statement in the broad context of the word.

But what I will say is Teeling Whiskey makes statements on their label about the lack of chill filtration and the fact that they use former rum casks for a deeper and sweeter finish.  What I do know is that they use cork on their bottle finish and I do like that extra effort for quality.

I also like the bottle shape and the color- a deep brown/green/black that should ostensibly protect the fine spirits held within from damaging rays of the sun.  Who knows, but it certainly is a handsome bottle design.

The label evokes the feeling of another time- perhaps less hurried.  And when enjoyed out of my Bormioli tasting glass, I truly get what this whiskey has to offer.

It’s really luscious in the mouth and it finishes astonishingly sweet without a hint of smoke- because in Ireland their whiskies are sweet in their flavor profile.

 

For that reason I like to craft cocktails with Irish Whiskey

Teeling is as good as I’ve had in what appears to be a well crafted spirit. It’s something new and I know you will want to taste it.  So seek it out and don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit.  To that end I offer you a fine cocktail.

Black Irish Smash

 We know that adventurous Spanish sailors followed the Gulf Stream up to Ireland looking for conquests and fishing grounds.  Some stayed and gave the island an entirely new population.  Black Irish people, are the amalgamation of Irish people and those Spanish sailors.  Hence the cocktail.

2 oz. Teeling “Small Batch” Irish Whiskey

4 oz. home-made lemonade – Sweetened to taste with your own mint simple syrup (Mint Simple Syrup 1:1 mint to sugar to 1 cup almost boiling water- steep overnight or longer in the fridge and then filter out mint)

1 oz. Mountain Valley Sparkling Water

4 drops El Guapo Chicory-Pecan Bitters

very tiny pinch of sea salt

Prep:

To a mixing glass, fill 3/4 with ice

add the lemonade and pour the whiskey over the top and stir until mixed

Strain into two rocks glasses with one cracked 2×2 cube in each

Top with a splash of the sparkling water, add a very small pinch of sea salt

Finish with the bitters and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint for clarity

 

Barrell Bourbon is clearly getting my attention because it tastes like success.  Good luck finding it though- you can make this your quest, like that of Pappy Van Winkle, another very hard to get commodity.  I think that Barrell is a bit easier to get because of the nature of distribution.  They are not a huge company yet, so sale of this whiskey is pretty normal.  If you find it, buy it because a case is just six bottles and there aren’t too many of them around.

But why give you only bad news?

That’s certainly not my intention.

They say that Barrell Bourbon served at cask strength is just too strong for most palates.  So it needs a bit of water to reveal the inner flavors.  But I think it needs some mixing up.  Perhaps that’s just the twisted part of why I love what I do.  May I suggest doing a wash with Lucid Absinthe in your glass?  Then some pineapple that has been both grilled and then juiced?  Perhaps a sage leaf, lit on fire and the smoke captured by the inside of a Boston shaker?  The honor for teaching me this technique is firmly on the shoulders of the head bartender from Secreto in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Chris Milligan.  He taught me this art.

Ah.. it’s darned good stuff.  Pay attention though.  This cocktail does work with any high proof bourbon or rye.

The Antidote

3 oz. Barrell Bourbon (bottling 002, because 001 just isn’t around any longer)

1/4 oz. Lucid Absinthe- wash rocks glasses with Lucid Absinthe and a bit of ice to cool, let sit

2 oz. Grilled Pineapple juice

1 oz. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

1/2 oz. Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit juice

2-3 Sage Leaves

Crushed Ice

1 oz. Simple Syrup

3-6 Drops of El Guapo Gumbo Bitters

Sprig of mint

 

Prep:

Light your sage in a fireproof ashtray

Capture the sage smoke in your Boston Shaker

Fill the Boston Shaker 3/4 with ice (and the sage smoke)

Add the juices and the simple Syrup

Add the Barrell Bourbon

Cap and shake for 20 seconds

Pour out the water and the Lucid absinthe into your mouth (why waste good liquor?)

Add 1 cube of 2×2 ice to each glass

Pour your mixture over the ice

Dot with the El Guapo Gumbo Bitters

Garnish with the mint

Serve to a happy camper

Categories
Articles Interviews

Whole Foods/Dark Rye Magazine

Whole Foods/Dark Rye Magazine
Whole Foods/Dark Rye Magazine

A How-To Guide for Making Sweet & Sour Concoctions

By Warren Bobrow

Contrary to what you might think, shrubs are not the large green hedge plants that grow in your backyard.

As the “Knights Who Say Ni” well know, those are shrubberies. The real shrubs—strange and delicious concoctions of vinegar and sugar-preserved fruit syrup—are making a comeback.

Shrubs had their peak in the United States during the colonial era and were frequently used into the mid-1800s, mostly among the working class. Fruit syrup was an inexpensive, sweet refreshment. People found that drinking certain acidulated liquids like shrubs cured their aching bellies and gave them quick energy, too. The acidic vinegar also helped purify their poisonous drinking water.

When fizzy, cheaply produced soda pop hit the scene, shrubs all but disappeared from drinking vernacular. But modern hipster mixologists have rediscovered the magic of shrubs. Now people are starting to use them at home, too.

Shrubs can be simply made with only three easy-to-purchase ingredients: sugar, vinegar and fruit, plus water. They have a salty, sealike undertone but are also sweet and tart. The fruit gives a deeply welcome hit of sweet perfume, the raw cane sugar sweetens naturally, and the unmistakable tang of vinegar makes your lips pucker, and few things are more salutary for the gut than naturally fermented beverages. Shrubs really were the original energy and health drink. And now it looks like they’ve gotten their second wind!

Here are two of my favorite shrubs, along with three cocktail recipes.

Note: These shrubs will remain fresh for 1 to 2 months in the refrigerator.

Shrub Recipes

Raspberry Shrub

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

This very basic shrub makes all kinds of refreshing combinations. Although the raspberry shrub starts out vividly red, in the end result, the shrub will have a pale red hue.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup very ripe organic raspberries
  • 1 cup raw cane sugar
  • 1 cup raw cider vinegar

METHOD

In a nonreactive bowl, add raspberries and pour sugar over the top.

Cover and let sit refrigerated for a few days, stirring and muddling often with a wooden spoon to combine. This mixture should expel lots of liquid.

After a few days of gentle fermentation, add vinegar. Let the vinegar combine with the sugar and raspberries for another week refrigerated.

Arrange a fine-mesh strainer over a nonreactive bowl (one with a spout is handy). Pour the shrub mixture into the strainer and mash with a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

Funnel the shrub into sterilized jars. Cover and refrigerate for at least a week more, shaking well before using.

The assertive vinegar flavor will fade over time, leaving you a simple syrup that is tangy, sweet and memorable!

Tip: A simple way to enjoy this raspberry shrub is with a glass of seltzer water and the addition of a few slivers of lemon zest.

AFTER A PAUSE PUNCH

Serves 2

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Ingredients:

  • Ice cubes
  • 4 ounces sugar cane rum
  • 3 ounces raspberry shrub
  • ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
  • ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ ounce freshly squeezed orange juice

Method:

Fill a cocktail shaker three-quarters full with ice. Pour rum, shrub and juices over the ice. Cover, cap and shake hard for 15 seconds or until frosty.

Add a large ice cube to each of 2 cocktail glasses. Strain cocktail into glasses and serve.

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Roasted Peach Shrub

Makes about 1 1/2 Cups

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Ingredients

  • 2-3 pounds peaches, preferably extra ripe, roughly chopped
  • 2¼ cups raw cane sugar, divided
  • 2 cups white wine vinegar or Champagne vinegar

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Arrange peaches on a large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of the sugar and roast for 45 minutes or until deeply caramelized. Let cool and transfer to a nonreactive bowl.

Cover roasted peaches with remaining 2 cups sugar. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for several days, stirring often to mash and muddle the peaches and release peach-flavored sugar syrup.

After a few days, add the vinegar. It may bubble a bit, which is ideal. Cover and let sit refrigerated for a week, stirring twice daily to release the flavors.

Arrange a fine mesh strainer over a nonreactive bowl (one with a spout is handy). Pour the shrub mixture into the strainer and mash with a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

Funnel into sterilized jars. Cover and refrigerate for at least a week before using.

Note: If your shrubs ever become fuzzy, foamy or speak in strange tongues, throw them out immediately! Mold is not your friend!

Only Fair Play Mocktail

Serves 2

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Ingredients

  • Ice cubes
  • 2½ ounces Roasted Peach Shrub
  • 2½ ounces rye whiskey
  • 3 ounces plain seltzer water, divided
  • 4 dashes aromatic bitters
  • Fresh mint, for garnish

METHOD

Fill 2 old fashioned glasses with ice and water, and then set aside to chill.

Fill a cocktail shaker three-quarters full with ice. Pour shrub and whiskey over the ice. Cover, cap and shake hard for 15 seconds or until frosty.

Pour ice water out of the cocktail glasses. Add a couple ice cubes to each glass. Strain the cocktail over the ice and top with seltzer water. Dot each cocktail with bitters and garnish with sprigs of fresh mint.

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THE OLD PACIFIC COCKTAIL

Serves 1

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Ingredients

  • ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme plus a sprig for garnish
  • Ice cubes
  • 2 ounces Roasted Peach Shrub
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 ounce plain seltzer water
  • Aromatic bitters

METHOD

Add thyme and a handful of ice to a mixing glass.

Add shrub and lemon zest. Stir 40 times and then strain into a cocktail glass over a large ice cube.

Add a splash of seltzer water, a couple drops of bitters and garnish with a sprig of thyme.

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Warren Bobrow is the author of Apothecary Cocktails, and his second book, Whiskey Cocktails will be released in October. In addition to his popular blog, The Cocktail Whisperer, Warren has written for Foodista.com, Voda Magazine, Saveur, Serious Eats, and Edible. You can follow him on Twitter at @WarrenBobrow1.

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DrinkupNY!!!!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Journey to the Center of the Earth (a trip for two)

By Warren Bobrow, Cocktail Whisperer

Icelandic craft distilled spirits like Reyka are famous for more than just their provenance.  They are famous because of the quality of the water.

Is the water from Iceland alcoholic?

Nope, I’m sorry to tell you that it isn’t.  But it certainly is pure.  And unpolluted water is everything when blending the highest quality spirits.

The water from Iceland is perhaps the softest in the world because of the utter clarity of the ecosystem.   The water for Reyka vodka is drawn from a 4000-year-old volcanic rock “field” that is, according to researchers, uncontaminated by the environmental ills of mankind.

Reyka (Ray-kuh) is an ancient Icelandic word for steam or smoke.   This would make perfect sense because Iceland is a country filled with volcanoes and smoke.  I’ve never been to Iceland, but in college I had a down comforter from Iceland.  The down was gathered from puffins.  You know, that impossibly cute bird that lives in subzero temperatures without any complaints?  The same.  But what does a down comforter in college have to do with vodka from Iceland?

It means absolutely nothing at all.

But I suppose the correlation is more of the quality of the products that I’ve seen coming out of this country. They tend to be of the highest eminence.  They are the very best items that money can buy.

The same holds true to fact about their spirits.  Reyka is one of the best vodkas I’ve ever passed through my lips.  It is produced on a pot still in very small batches.  There is a gorgeous sweetness that follows each drop, one of caramel and then another of sweet corn still glistening in the morning sunlight.

It’s bursting with flavors and I want to drink more.

Reyka is bottled in a handsome light blue tinted bottle with a long neck (easy to grab in your hand) with a real cork, instead of synthetic cork.  It’s bottled at 80 Proof, 40% ALC/VOL but you’d never think that this vodka could be so smooth at this proof level.

The label reads something in Icelandic and we are also told that the vodka is a “Small Batch Vodka, Hand Crafted in Iceland.  In smaller writing it goes on to read Traditionally Distilled & Filtered through Ancient Artic Lava Rocks.  Lava rocks?  Ah, that would make sense.  Most of Iceland was formed from the eruption of volcanoes.  Pure water is filtered through layer upon layer of the finest filter known to distillers.  This makes the water from distillation sing with Terroir.  I’ve tasted Icelandic water at the Fancy Food Show and can attest to its softness across the palate.

Reyka is distilled from grain and they carefully prepare each batch to emulate the exuberance that the head distiller feels.  This is translated into each batch.

I don’t usually find myself drinking vodka.  It just doesn’t do it for me on a flavor profile, but I am impressed by Reyka Vodka.  It’s the anti-Vodka.  There is flavor in there as deep as the depths of the volcanoes in Iceland.  This vodka is the voyage to the center of the earth of Vodka.

Didn’t that take place in Iceland?

This week’s cocktail is derived from Voyage to the Center of the Earth.

In fact it is named just that.

I’ve included that masterfully prepared Fruitations Tangerine Soda and Cocktail Syrup to be combined with Reyka Vodka and a nice dose of Arkansas’s own Mountain Valley Spring (pure sparkling) water- because I think this combination of sweet to crisp is the perfect foil against this gorgeous Icelandic vodka.

Bitter Truth makes Creole Bitters that bring this very international cocktail back down to the Caribbean Sea through the luscious Creole Bitters.  Tinted the color red- of a late summer sunset.  These bitters complement the Reyka Vodka, the Mountain Valley sparkling water, the Fruitations Tangerine Syrup and your own favorite glass.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (a trip for two)
Ingredients:
2 oz. Reyka Vodka
1 oz. Fruitations Tangerine Soda and Cocktail Syrup
4 oz. Mountain Valley Sparkling Water
Lemon zest
Bitter Truth Creole Bitters

Preparation:
To a Boston Shaker, fill ¾ with ice
Chill two coupe glasses with ice and water
Pour out just before service…
Add the Reyka Vodka to the Fruitations Tangerine Syrup
Cover and Shake hard for 10-20 seconds
Strain into coupe glasses and top with the Mountain Valley Sparkling Water
Drip 4-5 drops of the Bitter Truth Creole Bitters over
Garnish with a lemon zest

Cheers from DrinkUpNY!

About Warren Bobrow
Author of: Apothecary Cocktails-Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today- Fair Winds Press- Beverly, Massachusetts. Apothecary Cocktails was nominated for a Spirited Award, 2014 Tales of the Cocktail.  His forthcoming book, Whiskey Cocktails will be released October 14.  Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails follow with publication in spring ’15.  Warren is a master mixologist for several craft liquor companies.

Warren consults about mixology and spirits, travel, organic wine and food.  He’s written for web-blogs and magazines like: Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods: Dark Rye, Distiller, Total Food Service Magazine, Beverage Media Group, DrinkupNY, Edible Publications, Foodista, Serious Eats, Mechanics of Style and Beekman1802.  He was in the Saveur-100 in 2010.

Warren is a former, mostly self, trained cook from the pot sink on up.  J&W and ACF were thrown in for good luck.  Warren was the former owner/co-founder of Olde Charleston Pasta in South Carolina: *Dissolved his business after Hurricane Hugo in 1989* – to a career in private banking, (nearly 20 years; “a very grand mistake”) to this reinvention in 2009 as the Warren he’s finally become.

Warren is available to do highly personalized, interactive mixology events, local, national and international.
Contact: jockeyhollow@gmail.com