Cocktail Whisperer
About five years ago I made my way on assignment down to Louisville, Kentucky for the Running of the Roses at Churchill Downs. It was not one of the high points of my journalistic experience. Primarily because of my lodging arrangements. I was initially staying near the airport.
A selection of 5, 7, 8, 9 and 13-year old Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels
Separately distilled in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana
Aged in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana
Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
117.0 proof cask strength bottling
Aged in American white oak barrels
FLAVOR NOTES
Neat
Appearance: Luxuriant 18 karat gold flecked with cinnamon red at its heart with edges of yellower gold leaf shimmering with each gentle swirl of the glass.
Nose: Wet leather and Tahitian-vanilla bean challah French toast awash in hazelnut brown butter and dark maple syrup. Sweet plum and cherry notes give way to campfire and toasted buckwheat for a simultaneously familiar and exotic aroma.
Palate: Smoldering oak underlies the ever-present heat with each slurp accentuated by salted caramel and droplets of condensed milk.
Finish: Crackling hot late season corn pudding, covered in dollops of rapidly melting sweet butter jump at you. Each sip plunges down the throat, drenched in spicy citrus marmalade and toasted grains.
With a few drops of water
Notes of spicy ginger beer, sarsaparilla, and birch bark rush across the palate, making way for toasted brioche topped with smoked butter and raw honey. Filtered stream water carries the strong presence of this remarkable liquid, making it sing.
http://www.barrellbourbon.com/newyear
Tasting Notes by Warren Bobrow, The Cocktail Whisperer
http://thefreshtoast.com/drink/5-post-election-cocktails-need-right-now/
You see, although Mr. Trump’s New Jersey electorate lost to the Democrats, the resentment towards the overall losing party has never been so clear. Through winning, there is loss. Through loss, there is winning. Perhaps this will act as a metaphor for the next election. Today, I’m voting for cocktails …the Cocktail Party!
If you’d like to join me, here are a few of my favorite post-election cocktails, most of which are infused with cannabis*, the big winner of this year’s election. We can all drink to that!
Need help sleeping tonight? Try this Manhattan-style cocktail.
Ingredients:
To a cocktail mixing glass: Add one or two large cubes of ice. Add the cold brew. Add the Panamanian rum. Add the Carpano Antica. Stir. Season with Regan’s orange bitters, THC infused (note: I used ¼ oz. high grade cannabis- infused for 1 month in a bottle of Regan’s, strained). Taste. Strain into a coupe or rocks glass (if you use a rocks glass, only one or two cubes maximum!). Pinch and flame the orange zest, rub on the rim of the glass and serve.
The last few weeks have been filled with Twitter Flame Wars. It’s your turn to win one (more). This sleepy-tidrink makes light of the rise of the Anti-intellectuals. We know who you are!
Ingredients:
To a Collins glass filled ¾ with ice: Add the orange liqueur. Top with the Mezan XO. Cover with the cane sugar cola. Float the Stroh 160 on top; ignite with a match. Add a colorful straw. Serve!
A cocktail to bewilder the palates of your neo-conservative neighbors.
Ingredients:
To a cocktail shaker filled ¾ with ice: Add the cannabis-infused bourbon whiskey. Add the ginger syrup. Add the Fruitations syrup. Cap and shake hard. Pour over ice in a double Old Fashioned glass. Splash seltzer water over the top. Dot with bitters.
A cocktail to give you hope and dream of change. A take on the gin and juice of yore… and infused with pure THC for your dreams.
Ingredients:
To a Boston Shaker filled ¾ with ice: Add the THC-infused gin and the juices with the cranberry syrup. Cap and shake hard for 20 seconds. Pour into a pair of coupes. Dot with bitters. Serve.
So you want to win an argument?
Ingredients:
Add all the ingredients to a Boston Shaker. Cap and shake hard for 20 seconds or so. Pour into a double Old Fashioned glass with one large cube of ice. Dot with bitters. Serve.
To make a cannabis infusion, add 7 grams — or the dosage recommended by your caregiver—of ground, decarbed cannabis to 250 ml (about 1 cup) of a liquor of your choice in a heat-proof mason jar. Do not seal the jar, it could burst. Place the jar in the top of a double boiler on a hot plate or electric stove top.
(Never, ever use a gas stove or an open flame.) Fill the top of the double boiler with enough water to cover the mason jar halfway.
Simmer lightly at around 160ºF (71°C) for 30 to 60 minutes. Use a digital thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature. Alcohol flames just over 170ºF (77°C), so pay close attention to the job at hand, and don’t go running out for a pizza. Plus, a low heat will keep evaporation to a minimum.
Let the mixture cool, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth, then funnel it back into the empty liquor bottle. Top up the bottle with the remaining un-infused liquor until it’s back to a volume of 750 ml. This ensures that the THC will be dispersed throughout the infusion. Your infusion is now ready to use in your handcrafted cocktails.
Warren Bobrow, a.k.a. The Cocktail Whisperer, is the author of four books, including his latest: Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics.
– See more at: http://thefreshtoast.com/drink/5-post-election-cocktails-need-right-now/#sthash.krGzDYBm.dpuf
Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Distilled and aged in Tennessee and Kentucky
Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
112.10 proof cask strength bottling
Aged for 13 years in Char #4 American white oak barrels
Mash bill: 74% corn, 18% rye, 7% malted barley
FLAVOR NOTES
Neat
Appearance: Broiled apricot orange at the core and resplendent warm gold at the edges. Sunlight reflecting off of burnished copper flashes across the surface leaving iridescent streaks with each swirl.
Nose: Slowly roasted exotic fruits like kiwi, coconut, and Satsuma orange swirled with smoked bergamot tea. Herbed brown butter dripping over toasted brioche and northwest cherry
Palate: Lively and amusing across the palate, the mellow warmth makes this bourbon easy to enjoy. Future sips touch all parts of the palate with broad strokes of thick clotted cream. The glow of the 112.10 proof lurks just out of sight, a welcome but not distracting figure.
Finish: Oven dried stone fruit jam with a hint of citrus oils leads to Caribbean spices. The multi-minute finish is reminiscent of sweet buttered carnival corn.
With a few drops of water
Bright sarsaparilla gives way to gooey apricot bread pudding fresh from the oven topped with rum soaked raisins. Each taste leaves almond oil sticking to the back of your tongue. The cool water spreads nuance and sophistication throughout each pleasurable sip.
Tasting Notes by Warren Bobrow, The Cocktail Whisperer
http://www.foodista.com/blog/2014/11/16/really-great-ice-arctic-chill
A drink should speak clearly of the quality of the ingredients. Chipped ice that turns to water the moment the liquor or “bottled-possibly concentrated from a powder” mixers hit it.
Cheap ice is a cheap experience. And at a time when consumers and that includes drinkers want better “Craft” spirits in their glass, why are bars still using crappy ice? Even at home, do you you have an ice program?
Or are you still using the ice that your freezer pumps out, day in and day out with that satisfying thunk. This ice from your freezer, is in polite terms, not even worth your water glass.
Have you even noticed that festering container of garlic pasta that your housemate stashed in the fridge. You might as well be making ice out of it. Why? Because until your fridge gets a good vinegar and water cleaning, everything that enters the fridge is going to taste…. AND most importantly smell like that putrified garlic pasta.
So, here’s what I propose. Clean out the fridge. Wash it out with white vinegar and water. Do the freezer too. I’ll bet you’ll be shocked by what you find in there. Let it dry off well.
During the day or so that it takes to do a great job on your fridge and freezer, may I suggest placing an order for a most carefully made ice ball maker that I’ve played with in recent memory.
The mold is made of up two sides. When they close, they make a really tight seal. There is a little hole in the top. You will it with liquid through this opening. Experiment with all different liquids but do not put them in the dishwasher. They’ll be ruined. Just listen!
The company says that the mold is airtight on their label. I couldn’t verify that but I’ll take their word for it. This mold makes really nice ice in a 2.5 inch round.
I believe that ice is the most important thing in cocktails, at least the drinks that call for it.
Ice can make or break your experience. And if the ice is clear and hard in the glass, this is a thing of rare beauty. When you’re pouring expensive spirits doesn’t it just make sense to use the very best products that money can buy?
I think the Arctic Chill Ice Ball Maker is one of the finest products of its kind on the market. I’m very impressed!
If you want crystal clear ice, try using distilled water. My water is on a well, no matter what I do, it always turns out milky colored. But no matter, it’s still really nice looking!
Yesterday I was doing some further experimentation with a marvelous bourbon by the name of Barrell Bourbon. In this case the 003 edition.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, hurry to DrinkUpNY and order some, because they don’t make much- and what they do make disappears REALLY FAST. So Xmas is coming up and you DON’T have a bottle yet?
Please buy my second book, Whiskey Cocktails. Thank you very kindly! wb
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.
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
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