Warren is the cofounder and CEO of drinkklaus.com, the finest terpene forward, craft cannabis cocktail in the world. He's written Apothecary Cocktails-Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today, Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails: Restorative Vintage Cocktails, Mocktails, and Elixirs , Whiskey Cocktails : Rediscovered Classics and Contemporary Craft Drinks Using the World's Most Popular Spirit, Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics: The Art of Spirited Drinks and Buzz-Worthy Libations, and the Craft Cocktail Compendium (2017)
Warren Bobrow has been a pot scrubber, dishwasher, the owner of the first company to make fresh pasta in South Carolina , a television engineer in New York City, and he even worked at the famed club named Danceteria. He became a trained chef from the dish sink up; this unfortunately led to a mostly unsuccessful twenty year career in private banking.
Currently a cannabis, wine and travel aficionado, Warren is a former international rum judge and craft spirits national brand ambassador.
He works full time in the cannabis business as an alchemist/journalist/CEO. Instagram: warrenbobrow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Bobrow
Perfectly pure Vodka? What a claim. Can your spirit make that same claim? Well there it is. Right on the label. Certified by the United States Government. NO IMPURITIES in this Vodka.
Now, I’m not usually a Vodka drinker. Far from it. I mean, if someone pours me a Vodka and grilled muddled grapefruit, I’m certainly going to drink it.
There used to be a bar near South Station in Boston named the Blue Sands. It’s gone now, along with most of the patrons, young and old. I suppose they met their demise through drinking rock-gut Vodka mixed with grapefruit juice. 80 cents for a small juice glass. You could get absolutely wrecked for about five bucks.
Drinking Blat on the other hand… the uber-elegant Vodka imported from Spain is not the same thing. This is contemplative Vodka. Vodka with flavor all its own. You wouldn’t want to cover up the intriguing aromatics of fresh herbs and citrus zest with uncertain mixers.
I received a bottle last night and immediately set to testing the theory- not for the lack of a hangover, but to unleash the flavors hidden within this crystal clear spirit.
What makes this Vodka so unique? I’m not sure- but I would say, seek out a bottle. And don’t cover up the aromatics too much.
Don’t be afraid to drink it on the rocks, or with a twist. Perhaps you’d like to mix it simply like this?
The Door Opener Cocktail
2 Blood Oranges, sliced into rounds and then seared until crunchy on the flesh
2 Shots of Blat Vodka from Spain
A few shakes of Angostura Bitters
A squeeze of Milagro Agave Syrup
Muddle a couple of the Blood Orange rounds in a cocktail shaker
Add a some ice
Add the Blat Vodka
Add the Bitters
Squeeze a bit of Milagro Agave into the mix
Shake and strain into a shallow coupe’ glass
Enjoy!
Blat means wheat in Catalonian. But to me, Blat means flavor. It also means damned good wheat Vodka.
But what makes this Vodka better than the others on the market?
I’m not sure- but through a proprietary method of distillation, Blat Vodka reads, right on the label and certified by the US Government that it is pure. Chemically speaking there are zero impurities in this Vodka. No impurities according to the owners of the company, equals no hangovers.
That seems to be a pretty broad ranging statement, but independent US Government Laboratories have certified on every bottle that.. well, here it is directly from the label:
We Guarantee, as a result of proprietary process, that this bottle was filled from has produced Vodka with Non-Detected Impurities. The analysis has been carried out by the most accurate USA independent laboratory certified by the TTB. The results have shown that typical traces of 1-Butanol, Active Amyl Alcohol, Isoamyl Alcohol, Isobutanol, Methanol, N-Propanol, or Acetaldehyde, EB Ethyl Acetate, were all non-detected.
So what are they saying? “Achieving extraordinary purity without sacrificing the best traditional taste through a completely unique proprietary process. Reaches where others cannot reach.”
But what does this Vodka taste like?
A dream.
A dream? Yes. A dream of aromatics. I detect rosemary, citrus and white flowers. This Vodka is pure and clean and it mixes with citrus in a most friendly manner.
This is a most friendly Vodka.
Just like the owners of the company. They are as approachable as your own family.
There is something about this Vodka that allows it to marry well with citrus fruits. But not your typical Vodka and Orange juice type drinks. I’m speaking of grilled citrus, like blood oranges, muddled with freshly snipped garden herbs like rosemary and fresh mint.
A whiff of the sea is in every sip.
They use a special type of water for the blending their Vodka. Let’s just say that the recipe is a closely guarded secret. I’d like to “spill the secret” but alas, even the wife of one of the owners does not know the formulary.
They say you won’t get a hangover by drinking Blat. I’m not sure I’d like to test this theory, but it makes sense.
Take out the impurities and take away the chances of one of those behind the eyes is pure pain hangovers.
I’ve traveled to the region of Spain that this Vodka is named for. Catalonia. The region is rich with a very specific terroir. Wheat is grown here and Blat Vodka is (in my opinion) the closest thing Vodka comes to Pappy Van Winkle. If they create their cache’, it should be for the purity of the flavors in each sip.
This is Vodka that doesn’t stand in the way of getting your work done. (my quote!)
So, I played around with my bottle of Blat this afternoon. But as simplicity is my guide, I took the path less followed. Bitters became my GPS in this experiment.
I call this little cocktail the Black Hat. Named for a circa 1800’s top hat I own. The last time I wore this top hat (many years ago) I became particularly wrecked on your basic Vodka on the Rocks. Now, many years later, I still own this venerable top hat, but alas, it is too small for my head.
I think it makes a great prop though. And the inspiration for this cocktail is the remembrance of the last time that I drank Vodka on ice. I’m quite sure that Vodka was not as pure as Blat.
The Black Hat Cocktail (Serves one or two, depending on how wrecked you want to be, but remember, no hangover!)
Bitters, Old Men- Isaan Another Level Bitters (Comprised of Burdock, Lemongrass, Ginger, Kaffir Lime Leaf, Yuzu Peel, Birds eye chili, Fish Sauce and Sweet Soy)
Add 2 Shots of Blat Vodka (Wheated, just like Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon!)
Add exactly five drops of the Bitters, Old Men Bitters
Stir with a long piece of lemongrass, but crush the end first with the flat side of a chef’s knife to release the aromatics
I also created another cocktail based on strong Mexican Coffee with the unmistakable aromatics of Mexican Chocolate and smoke from one of the unmistakable Del Maguay Mezcals.
This cocktail is also simplicity in motion. Use the same proportions as the Black Hat, but substitute the Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters for the Bitters, Old Men Bitters
Instead of five drops of bitters, use only three drops of the Mexican Mole’ Bitters.
Add 1/2 shot of strong coffee to the vodka and then the Bitter End Bitters and a good splash of Agave Syrup for a sweeter finish
Like many of the great liquid legends of cocktail artistry, the greatest drinks seem to have the largest legends behind each pensive sip. None hold as much mystique and intrigue as the Bellini. I love the Bellini for what it is not. It is not sugary sweet. It is not trendy. It is not difficult to make. What a Bellini is and what it has become- is history in the glass. I’m holding a bottle of Powell & Mahoney Peach Bellini cocktail mixer in my hands and I seek greater inspiration from the whiff of tiny white peaches and the “not too sweet” finish of “summer in a glass.”
This is very sophisticated juice- worthy of the finest sparkling wines or mixers. To say that summer is only as far away as a bottle of Powell & Mahoney is not too far of a stretch. You cannot physically force summer upon the outside world, but inside your cocktail glass it can be summer any time you open a bottle and mix a drink.
The original history of the Bellini has been told and re-told over the decades. Venice, Italy- the famed “Harry’s Bar” and freshly picked white peaches, gently pureed and then strained with a touch of pure cane sugar makes the best cocktail. What I do know about the Bellini is that a proper Bellini must be prepared with the best possible ingredients. The Peach Bellini mix that I hope you have a chance to try is exceptionally refreshing in a glass, served plain as well as with a bit of freshly drawn seltzer. You can make a brilliant Bellini with the sparkling wine of your choice- or any of a multitude of other ingredients.
The classic preparation includes Prosecco but yours might be something else entirely. The hit of dry fizz to the savory sweetness of creamy, white peaches can be described simply as, memorable and essential!
My parents took me to Italy when I was in my early teen years. They did not forbid me to taste alcoholic beverages- quite the opposite in fact, there was always wine on our table at home and more wine when traveling in Europe. Our trip to Venice was one of the highpoints of my childhood. We took a water-taxi to the famed glass factories of Murano where many of my cocktail glasses were crafted. I do believe and my mind’s eye recalls many unique flavors on that trip so many decades ago.
I remember it was brutally hot on this summer trip to Venice. The glass factories are not air-conditioned and my young thirst was only compounded by the lack of water or even wine as I recall.
To blow glass, vast amounts of fire is necessary, hence the furnaces glowing nearly white hot. Images and feelings such as these never left my mind, watching glass blown by talented artisans in a time honored method has reverberated in my memory since those days.
It’s no coincidence that the vessels that hold my cocktails are hand-blown, some from Italy, others from crafts-people trained in Italy.
There is a certain polished elegance to real Murano glass that cannot be duplicated any place else in the world.
The glass galleries of Venice are located in vast palazzio that echo with history. Millions of dollars of glass sculptures sit next to more humble reminders of the glass-blower’s craft. The hushed elegance of these living museums is further exemplified by the serving of Bellini cocktails, many served in glasses blown just for this purpose. You don’t have to drink a Bellini in a Murano hand blown glass, but it wouldn’t hurt! As I mentioned it was one of those days in Venice that the air stood nearly still and the humidity rose off the canals in vast sheets of penetrating, rippling heat. My parents were served tall (hand-blown) glasses of peach nectar with fizzy Prosecco poured over the top.
Of course I held my hand out for one to sate my young thirst. I can picture the sweet, yet tangy flavor of white peaches, the staccato of the Prosecco and the glass emptying itself down my throat in one fell swoop.
“Yes please, may I have another?”
With this quality product, made in “Micro-Batches” by Powell & Mahoney, you too may duplicate the utter dream-state of being in Venice. If it’s not summer where you are, turn up the heat in your home and find yourself a glass that befits a drink of the highest quality. And try not to duplicate the seven deadly sins, unless you want to!
In my most twisted fashion, I’ve created a cocktail that befits the classic flavors and memories of Venice, and those of Carnival, when the city is masked in intrigue and passion.
This cocktail is firmly based on the classic history of white peach nectar and Prosecco, but in keeping with my twisted sensibility I’ve taken the path less followed and twisted things up quite a bit.
You may find after several, if you have any clothes left on they will be gone soon, hence the name the Seven Deadly Sins. ( Sette Peccati Capitali)
Ingredients for several clothing and mind liberators hence the name Sette Peccati Capitali:
Is the world’s oldest distillery in Scotland? If you said yes, then you are incorrect. The oldest operating distillery is in Ireland.
I’m quite fond of Irish Whiskey. You may note that Irish Whiskey is not spelled Whisky like in Scotland. Irish Whiskey has the addition of the E at the end in a fashion similar to the way Whiskey is spelled in the United States.
Why? I believe through my research that the extra E is meant to discuss a higher quality spirit that those without the E. This was a historic reasoning that had something to do with quality of a specific spirit. I don’t care to discuss the personal history, you can do that yourself. This history pit country against country. It was certainly not inclusive.
Oh, they spell Whisky without the E in Scotland. Whatever. I think that the exclusion or inclusion of the letter E is confusing to the consumer. But like any interesting puzzle the historical reasoning is out there on the web.
Onward…
Back in the late 80’s I had chance to travel to Ireland for the first time. This lush country, with gorgeous,1000 shades of deep green vistas set against limitless skies. This is where passionate crafts-people, embrace the ancient methods of distillation. The distillation arts in Ireland harkens back to a time when living off the land actually meant something.
I was fortunate to stay in Dublin- a young, raucous city filled with vivid splashes of color and light set against dark skies and brooding classical architecture. It’s a magical place- well geared to intellectuals and also thirsty entrepreneurs. There are authors and artists from all over the world that make their way to Dublin to study, to drink and to make history. You can go into dozens of bars, listen to traditional music and meet poets, dreamers and best of all, drinkers.
The pubs are filled with lads and lassies who come to seek solace in a fine pint of dark and a glass of uisce beatha or water of life. The pubs of Dublin and her denizens make this city go round and round.
I tasted Irish Whiskey for the first time at the historic horseshoe bar at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. I was immediately hooked on the friendly, yet potent sweet water.
Ireland has amazing farmland well suited for growing grain. The soil in Ireland is rich in many of the nutrients necessary to grow grains. Grain just happens to make excellent many alcoholic finished products.
You have a thirsty country, much rain- generally miserable weather in the winter… Made even more lovely with a finished product made from fermented grain.
With grain comes distillation- and with distillation comes Whiskey. Irish Whiskey, is a unique product. It tastes like no other Whiskey in my opinion and it helps me dream. Dream you say? Drinking Irish Whiskey for me- unlocks a liquid history of searching for round-towers and seeking lovely wool sweaters woven in specific ways to identify the wearer. Irish Whiskey is part of the deeper social thread but is easily enjoyable in a lovely Irish Coffee.
I have the ingredients, but it’s just 8:53 in the morning. Not a good time to start drinking when a man has writing to do!
Ireland is no stranger to the craft of distillation as witnessed by Kilbeggan. Their handsome bottle reads 1757. No, this is not a misprint. 1757 is when the distillery was established. And 1757 means that this spirit is from the world’s oldest operating distillery. Not surprising to me. Kilbeggan is a new brand to the United States although by the bottle not so new to the world! Kilbeggan uses a 180 year old pot still. I believe a pot still gives great character to a spirit. There has to be something said to the distillation vessel. It must contain memories of some sort. It’s not just cold metal. It has a soul.
But does this make the spirit within the handsome bottle good? I think so. Please let me tell you about my thoughts.
Open the tall narrow bottle, classically finished in dark lettering over a pale yellow label. There is a hint of maroon and gold highlighting some important facts about the distillery. Several places on the bottle the numbers 1757 appear. The distillery is quite proud of their lineage and heritage.
Open the top and pour a healthy portion into a glass that resonates with you. From very moment that the magical liquid hits the glass I can smell the aroma of honey and hand-scythed grains. There is a bit of smoke way off in the finish, but nothing like drinking Scotch.
The beginning of the mouth-feel is peppery fire from the 80 proof spirit. The aroma of Kilbeggan is haunting and centering in the room. I want to have a taste. It’s soft, creamy in the mouth and quite beguiling on the top of my palate. Flavors of toasted nuts, fleur de sel, caramel and Irish Soda Bread (with extra raisins) predominate.
Add to this a healthy slathering of creamy yellow Irish butter, still warm over the toasted Soda Bread. This tiny slurp of Ireland just goes on and on with a multi-minute finish.
This is very sophisticated stuff. I’m especially enjoying the aroma in the room. Bacon fat, maple syrup and hot tea. Yum!
As a food writer I love to give the literary connections to flavors I’ve tasted in my childhood. This directional ability seems to translate well to the world of spirits writing.
As a cook, I find it interesting, to identify many of the flavor profiles that are available in spirits. Sure they all have brooding alcohol, that’s the point! People drink for pleasure. It tastes good and some even have a kick!
Flavor has everything to do with it.
Irish Whiskey is Irish history in every sip. For me to taste creamy butter melting over a thick slice of freshly toasted Soda Bread is to encourage you to find a bottle of Kilbeggan.
Two Cocktails For Kilbeggan
1. The Sheep in the Road cocktail- meaning that group of sheep don’t appear to be getting out of the road!
Makes two rather lovely cocktails
Ingredients:
6 Oz. Irish Breakfast Tea- chilled
4 Shots Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
Local Honey Simple Syrup (1:1 ratio of Honey to water, heat, then cool. refrigerate)
Preparation:
To a cocktail shaker add the Kilbeggan and the Irish Breakfast Tea
Add 4 Tablespoons of the Honey Simple Syrup
Garnish with a lemon round and a sprig of mint
2. The Cow in the Road Cocktail- meaning, there is a cow in the road up there, watch out!
Makes two cocktails of bewildering strength from the use of warming liquids, you won’t taste the alcohol, so please be careful.
Ingredients:
Freshly Whipped Cream flavored with Kilbeggan
Hot Chocolate (your choice)
4 Shots of Kilbeggan
Sugar to taste
Preparation:
Make your hot chocolate and add to pre-heated mugs
Add the Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
Sip and when the cow jumps over that wall, know that there is a pub just up the way. Someone will come to the pub and tell you to move your car!
Straight
2 Shots of Kilbeggan
Glass (preferably clean)
no ice
a bit of cool water
Preparation… Moisten your brow with the water, drink the Whiskey and have another
I created this original recipe for Art in the Age out of Philadelphia. My friend Steven Grasse is the lead protagonist of this Public Relations, Marketing, Advertising and Brand Re-invigoration firm. It’s hard to put a finger on what they do best. I just like what they do!
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Philadelphia – August 30, 2011
Bid Farewell to Summer with The Last Pirate Ship
Make a Cocktail with Art in the Age’s Rhuby
Art in the Age’s Root and Snap liqueurs created quite the buzz. Now, the collective is causing another stir with its much-anticipated spirit Rhuby, made of rhubarb, pink peppercorn, petitgrain, and other organic ingredients, based on a Revolutionary era recipe.
According to legend, Benjamin Franklin and botanist John Bartram tinkered with brewing rhubarb tea back in 1771. The boozy variation is now on shelves, just in time for a late-summer libation created by modern-day mixologist Warren Bobrow.
The Last Pirate Ship
Serves one
Ingredients
2 oz. Rhuby
1 oz. fresh lime juice
4-5 strawberries
Fleur de sel
1 sprig of thyme
1. Combine ice, Rhuby, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Toast strawberries in a cast iron pan.
3. Muddle strawberries and add to cocktail shaker.
4. Shake and strain into a rocks glass, sprinkle with fleur de sel, and garnish with a thyme sprig.
There is an easy going congeniality in Charleston, South Carolina.
I lived in Charleston during the 1980’s, started a fresh pasta business, attended Johnson/Wales- cooked and bartended at the Primrose House and Tavern- then left after Hurricane Hugo crashed the party.
I never returned. There were many ghosts that I had to deal with intermixed with feelings about the this town, like no other that I’ve ever lived. My dreams of Charleston from the past have haunted me for years.
Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica M8
It’s that kind of place.
Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica M8
From the dripping Spanish Moss to the whisper soft voices of the way people speak down in Charleston, I’ve felt like it was a part of me for longer than I can imagine.
Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica M8
I drove non-stop from Morristown to Charleston. Food and fuel the only real stops.
This gracious lady of the New South, is as elegant as ever. She has been recreated with pleasure as her first name.
Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica M8
All ravages of Hurricane Hugo have been erased like the rapid progression of the Kudzu vine across the Low Country landscape. Erasing the past in a swath of green.
I discovered a city that had grown up, yet still retains her “village by the sea” appeal and candor.
There is serious food here now and serious drink.
Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica DLux-4
The chefs are filled with a passion for local, fresh, terroir and the brilliant flavor of the ocean. There is something about the nature of the pluff mud, tidal flats that makes the water alive with possibilities.
Photo: Warren Bobrow - Leica DLux-4
In a former life I lived in Portland, Maine. Portland was similar in my imagination to Charleston from a perspective of friendly to really great seafood. It’s just freezing there! Too cold for me!
Oysters in South Carolina taste like no where else in the world. They are just about ravishing with a crisp glass of Rum! While in Charleston I was fortunate to snag a mini-bottle of Striped Pig Rum. This is the real thing. I would drink it with a splash of Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water and a slice of Meyer Lemon. Maybe a splash of Sweet Iced Tea- but that would cover up the sublime freshness of Striped Pig. This rum is redolent with the flavor of the place. It’s creamy-has a lovely finish of cane juice to heat to spice. I’m tasting it straight from the mini-bottle. No mixer but air.
This is fabulous Rum. I simply cannot wait to enjoy another cocktail with Todd Weiss, the owner of the Striped Pig distillery. The Gin Joint was, as you said… World class. There’s just something about cocktails down here. Maybe it’s the air, soft and laced with salt.
2 Shots of Striped Pig to a shaker filled 1/2 with ice
1/2 Shot Tenneyson Absinthe
4 Tablespoons of Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Autumn Plum
1 Medicine Dropper full of the Figgy Pudding
Shake and strain into a tall glass with some ice made from Coconut water
Charleston is a place of all kinds of possibilities. They embrace their history and catapult into the future. It’s like a living museum.
The Belmont Lounge is located on a part of King Street that one would not venture to in the 1980’s. Visually I remember a mostly bombed out area, nearly void of soul and life.
You would not want to walk there during the day and at night, well, I never did.
I lived on Charlotte Street and spent Hurricane Hugo in a kitchen house at #29. It was the most frightening thing I’ve ever experienced.
Now upper King Street is buzzing with activity. I must admit that the first time I ventured above Calhoun Street, I was a bit concerned for safety. No more. The Charleston PD don’t just drive the streets, they walk them, bike them and make sure the area is very well observed. I’m impressed.
I wandered in off the street to find a cocktail lounge worthy of New York or even Barcelona. The groove was apparent in the lighting and the screening of “The Big Sleep” in glorious Black and White on the wall. The lighting, low and sensuous- the music not overwhelming. People spend more time talking than using their smart phones. They interact with the extremely congenial bar staff who genuinely have the knack and gift of gab. There is an Italian machine meant for slicing Salumi and a very high quality espresso machine for turning out perfect Irish coffee, topped by a thick mantle of cream. The bartenders are shorn in crisp white shirts with skinny ties. A bright red B for Belmont graces the bottom the tie.
Even the cocktail napkins are emblazoned with the B. Nice touch. I wanted one, but thought it better to ask first. (I didn’t take one)
The salumi is brilliant, the cured pork redolent of fat and smoke, a perfect panini of melted tomato and mozzerella cheese delights! Too much food! Pickled vegetables abound, was that pickled okra? I really must be showing my Yankee inclinations now!
Yes, judging by the bar, I felt right at home.
I met Joey Ryan at the bar. He has an easy-going style and friendly demeanor that is instructional and kind.
He invented a cocktail known as the Off-Duty Bartender. My friend Federico Cuco down in Argentina would be proud of this drink because of the use of Cynar.
I’m reproduced it here with my complements:
Absinthe Rinse (add Absinthe to a glass with ice and water, then pour out.. preferably into my mouth)
2 oz 100 proof Rye I prefer Rittenhouse
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 Punt e Mes
Stir ingredients in mixing glass while rocks glass is chilling with Absinthe rinse.
Strain ingredients in chilled glass after discarding ice. add large rock, and top with orange bitters.
Joey Ryan
The Belmont Lounge
511 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
843.743.3880
Joey, Hat’s off to you and the Belmont. I could spend much time in your care.
Yesterday I was contemplating Pimms Cup. The addition of lemonade is particularly inviting. I added to the mix by the inclusion of Absinthe. Somehow the very mention of Absinthe makes me think of two places. New Orleans and Charleston. Two very European cities firmly grounded in the United States.
Woolworth’s Lunch Counter Surprise
Ingredients:
Pimms
Lucid Absinthe
Fresh Lemonade
Sweet Ice Tea
Freshly made seltzer
Preparation:
Add 2 Shots of Pimms to the fresh Lemonade and Sweet Iced Tea
Add 1 Shot of Lucid Absinthe
Top with freshly drawn seltzer
Garnish with a home cured cherry (essential!)
Swing on the porch swing to make the pain go away
Pluff Mud Cocktail
Ingredients:
Snap (USDA Certified Ginger Snap Liquor)
Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon
Bitter End Mexican Mole’ Bitters
Hot Chocolate
Preparation:
Make a nice cup of Hot Chocolate
Add 2 Shots of Snap
Add 1 Shot of Knob Creek
Add 3 drops of the Bitter End Bitters
Makes two rather lovely cocktails perfect for a cool night or dessert
Sullivan’s Island Smash
2 Shots of Striped Pig White Rum
1 Shot Cane Syrup
1 Shot Freshly squeezed orange juice
4 ozs. Coconut water (sweetened)
Coconut Water Ice
Preparation:
To a cocktail shaker, fill 1/3 with regular ice
Add liquors
Add juice
Add Coconut Water
Shake and strain into small rocks glasses with Coconut Water ice cubes
Smash the Coconut Water cubes in a towel for maximum extraction of flavor!
Garnish with fresh mint and freshly scraped nutmeg- ESSENTIAL!!!
All Photography by Warren Bobrow with Leica M8, 50mm Summicron F2
My grandfather, a Yankee like myself, truly enjoyed Bottled in Bond, 100 Proof Bourbon Whiskey. I didn’t know about his passion for Bourbon because he never drank it around me and he never ordered it in a restaurant. Usually he ordered an extra dry Dewers Rob Roy. For many years I only thought he drank Scotch whisky. What I didn’t know at the time was that his true passion was Bourbon.
My grandfather owned his own company and one of the things that people would give him at Christmas time were some very special bottles of Bourbon. These bottles remained hidden from me for many years. After he died I learned from my grandmother that there were several nice looking (from a design perspective anyway) bottles of pre-1960 Bourbon in a hidden compartment of the bar.
She went on to tell me that she was going to pour out the contents (the historic Bourbon) and turn them into flower vases, because the bottles were so pretty. I got over to her home as quickly as I could. She showed me the hidden compartment in the bar. Inside there were several bottles of Bourbon from the 1940’s to the late 1950s. These bottles of Bourbon had rested, in the dark, away from my youthful fingers since he placed them there and forgot about them.
These remaining bottles are a liquid history of the last of my grandfather’s Bourbon collection.
Photo: Warren Bobrow
Truth be told, as a “damned” Yankee, I know the true value of these ancient spirits. Not as an investment in dollars, but as a flavor-driven window into my family’s past. The bottles that I hold in my hand are a history of flavor. This is a specific type of history that could never be duplicated today, primarily because the people who crafted the contents of these historic Bourbon bottles are now long gone. The ingredients used today are similar, but the Whisky is different because each sip holds liquid ghosts belonging to the past.
Tasting notes:
Old Forester “Bottled in Bond” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky. 100 proof. This bottle has been filled and stamped under the provisions of sections 5008 and 5243 of the Internal Revenue code.
Set into wood 1954. Bottled 1959.
A gentle, almost cedar nose gives way to candied orange peel, sweet jasmine flowers and caramelized pecan. The brooding heat burns the tongue. With a texture almost as thick as maple syrup, the freshness and liveliness of this Bourbon hasn’t changed a bit since entering the bottle over fifty years ago. Charred notes of Anson Mills stone ground grits stuck to the bottom of an ancient cast iron pan is the next thing tasted as I rolled a few precious drops around my mouth. The soft, mineral finish goes on and on, revealing itself with another slow burn as if the bottom of the glass was aflame. This Bourbon, when served with a bit of Kentucky Colonel mint from the garden, awakens ghosts from one’s grand-pappy’s generation.
Ancient Age. Date uncertain due to the loss of the tax stamp, estimated somewhere between 1945-1950. Space Age in design, this Mid-Century modern bottle is filled to just over a pint in liquid. Marked straight Bourbon Whiskey. The bottle reads: carefully distilled according to the finest old traditions. 86 proof. Marked Full Six Years old. Distilled and bottled by Ancient Age Distillery Co., Frankfort Kentucky.
Warm aromas of sweetly delineated, hand-hewn oak- remind me immediately that Bourbon Whisky is not Scotch Whiskey or Tennessee sippin’ Whisky. One reason for certain is the lack of smoke, peat and saline in the nose. Normally, I find these flavors to be overpowering. I suppose I just don’t understand Scotch. The nose of this Bourbon Whisky resembles a liquid caramel candy. A burst of fire from the nearly 90 proof alcohol makes itself known then a finish of fleur du sel and freshly cut herbs like thyme and tarragon. This Bourbon, although “only” 86 proof, acts on the palate like one almost double the potency. In fact it resembles in many ways the potency and grip of some un-cut corn whiskies I’ve tasted recently. Each slurp reveals sharply aromatic Asian spices with a razor sharp finish that exposes itself on the back of the tongue; with a nearly 2 minute long finish! This Bourbon tastes nothing like the roughness of the neither 1952 Old Forester, nor does is resemble the overly oaked “modern-style” of the 1955 Old Grand Dad. With a crumbled leaf of Kentucky Colonel spearmint this Bourbon really opens up, revealing its wood-driven flavors as a contender for a (very rare and expensive) mint julep. This Bourbon has all the stuffing for a drink made with its primary ingredient over a half-century old!
Old Forester 1952. Bottled in Bond in 1957. Freshly baked charred- corn “hoe” cakes are smeared with melted, sweet strawberry butter. The first flavors take a bit to get used to. Sweet is usually a flavor more akin to Canadian Whisky or Irish Whisky. Freshly brewed sweet iced tea reveals itself- then flavors of caramel corn and cinnamon laced red-hot candy folded into a mug of boiling hot water, Asian spices and sugar cane lurk in the background. The backbone of alcohol is a sudden wake up call to the throat. It BURNS! A glass of this Bourbon has amazing heat for spirit almost sixty years old! The 1952 taste as lively a drink in the glass as a 2002 bottle of Knob Creek Bourbon! It’s just amazing how little the alcoholic power has diminished over the past half century!
Old Grand Dad “Head of the Bourbon Family” 1955. Set into bottle 1959. Part of a more modern and new style of Bourbon Whiskey, this is a roughly hewn, heavily oaked version of the classic drink. It’s just amazing to me how much Bourbon has evolved during the late 1950’s. The soft almost billowy quality of the Bourbon is ever-present, yet the finish is much sharper, but it lingers on the tongue for several minutes. The 1959 bottling is more akin in many ways to Four Roses or Pappy Van Winkle with an almost lemon oil, citrus tinged mouth-feel. The oils from the cask rise to the surface creating an illusion of a rainbow. Each sip is laced with banana, vanilla bean, toasted corn bread, the char from well- seasoned cast iron pan and brook trout cooked in that pan with a handful of toasted hazelnuts thrown in at the finish. An Amaretto-liqueur nose predominates. The finish is like the first day of golden sunshine, streaming into the windows after a spring thunderstorm. This is serious stuff and it deserves a drop or two of branch water to release its secrets. The next flavors are like authentically seasoned Thai food served Thai spicy. Flavor before heat is the mantra of this Bourbon. A few sips signal the essential drink to take the edge off the afternoon or evening like none of your neighbors have ever imagined or enjoyed.
These bottles are a bit less than ½ full … As much as I want to share them with well- meaning friends, I know that once they’re gone, they can never be replaced.
I’ll be drinking small glasses from these bottles without any mixers from now on. Well, maybe with a few drops of some sweet, local branch water flicked over the surface to connect these liquid history lessons with the flavor driven memories of the past.
What a great find! I love having a window into the past, in any way that I can. And to have that connection to your granddad is a sweet thing indeed. I was able to get a cache of a grandparent’s booze about twenty five years ago, too. Cognac, B&B, some Scotch…. and I was excited to compare them to contemporaries. But they were pretty much the same; I didn’t know at the time that spirits stop aging once they are bottled, so I was all worked up for a big taste explosion! But, alas… that 8 year-old whisky that had been bottled in 1958 was still just an 8 year-old whisky. It did have a bit of funkiness, but not necessarily in a good way.
Still, the thrill of opening something that had last been opened by someone long dead held a thrill for me, and I enjoyed sharing their liquor. During the Republican Convention in 2008, a very old bar in St Paul reopened for the week. The owners’ family had been keeping the place pretty much as it had been since the 40s forever, though it hadn’t been open since… maybe the 70s? 80s? Anyway, they brought ought some Old Forester and Ancient Age and others and were selling them at low prices. It was cool to see the old labels– nostalgia for a guy who started tending bar back in the 70s. But the whiskey was pretty bad. It wasn’t bonded, just normal proof, and they might had been spouted for God only knows how long. Still– it was really cool.
I did read somewhere that Tequila and Mezcal actually do change in the bottle, though I guess it is just a mellowing rather than added complexity. Not my cuppa tea, though.
Tuaca- Dark Rum from Atlantico- Angostura Bitters, Grade B Maple Syrup and charred citrus fruits make up this week’s cocktail experience.
The inspiration for this drink came during dinner a few weeks ago at the highly regarded modern American restaurant named Serenade; located in Chatham, NJ.
They prepare a cocktail that’s similar in scope, using sweet vermouth and chopped apples named the Chatham cocktail.
I love it.
In keeping with my twisted cocktail logic, I deepened the version served at Serenade by adding Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth, Tuaca- the savory Mexican Vanilla / Citrus Liqueur, Atlantico Dark Rum, a muddle of chopped, grilled citrus fruits (tangerine, orange, grapefruit) with Grade B (Dark Amber) Maple Syrup and finally a few dashes of Angostura Bitters with a splash of Perrier.
I call this drink the Dripping Spanish Moss Cocktail in reverence to the coming week’s activities.
I’ll be traveling to Charleston, South Carolina to judge the Iron Cocktail Competition at the renowned Charleston Wine and Food Festival.
With regards to the Iron Mixologist competition I will be judging, William Grant & Sons is sponsoring this competition and the back bar will feature their entire portfolio (or most of it). Their master mixologist Charlotte Voisey will be the master of ceremonies. The competition is 3 rounds. The 4 mixologists involved are Charleston locals and were the finalists in the Official Festival Mixologist Competition in January for the Festival featuring Milagro Tequila + Hendrick’s Gin. They are:
Jon Calo of The Cocktail Club
Mick Matricciano of The Belmont (Mick won the competition in January + his cocktail will be featured at the opening night party)
Brent Sweatman
Evan Powell of Fish Restaurant
The first round will have all 4 competing against one another to create a specific themed drink (decided by Charlotte). You and the other judges – Junior Merino, The Liquid Chef and Nicholas Polacchi, The Balvenie – will then narrow the finalists down to 3 who will then go to the next round to create a specific themed cocktail (decided by Charlotte). The second round will continue like the first and the 3rd will be the final two.
The competition is from 4:00 – 5:00 PM on Friday, March 2, 2012 in the culinary village in Marion Square in the Palmetto Cheese Culinary Hub Tent.
If you are anywhere near Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, stop by and introduce yourself.
The Dripping Spanish Moss Cocktail– is named for the surfeit of Spanish Moss that hangs gracefully from the “live oak” trees.
Ingredients:
Atlantico Dark Rum
Tuaca Italian Liqueur
Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
Angostura Bitters
Charred Citrus Fruits – combinations are up to you. Sear in a sizzling hot pan until crunchy, then muddled with the Angostura Bitters and Maple Syrup
Grade B (Dark Amber) Maple Syrup
Perrier
Preparation:
In a sauté pan that is heated to smoking hot, sizzle the citrus fruits until nicely charred and crunchy
Add a couple of chunks of the seared fruits to a cocktail mixing glass
Muddle with a few splashes of Angostura Bitters to release their aroma and juice
Add 2 Tablespoons of Dark Amber Maple Syrup and muddle a bit more
Add 2 shots of the Atlantico Rum
Add ½ Shot of the Tuaca
Add a couple cubes of ice to the cocktail shaker
Shake and strain into a pre-chilled Martini glass
Garnish with a chunk of grilled citrus fruit and finish with a splash of Perrier for spark
I first learned about branch water, or branch as it was called, from my governess, Estelle Ellis. She and her husband were from Georgia. She’s gone now, but my memories of her are quite vivid. She taught me how to cook, not by telling me but by showing. She was very kind to me and I still honor her memory by retelling her culinary stories that I learned in the kitchen of my grandparents’ “big house,” where I spent much time as a child.
She held the tenets of the older and slower ways near and dear to her, evidenced by the smile that came through in the way she spoke about ingredients, the ancient cast iron pans she used in cooking, and especially the way she took a cool glass of locally gathered branch for good health. She believed that branch was life-giving. Everything in her kitchen had a meaning, especially when it came to the flavors and aromas of times gone by. Branch was a part of my childhood as much as her peach pies made with fresh peaches from my grandparents’ orchard.
There was a patient cadence to the way Estelle spoke- the words that she chose and the descriptions of the way things ought to taste have resonated in my mind since I was a boy. In a few words there were meanings for everything in life. She used to tell me that it was time to “put-up” fruits for the long winter months in NJ. The apples were made into applesauce, and some made their way into the winter as Apple Jack. The peaches that didn’t make it into a lard-crusted pie were soaked in strong southern whiskey for a late night nip after the day’s chores were finished. This woman took care of my family in a way that is lost to time. She taught me lessons by using ingredients so fresh that the dew hadn’t even begun to be absorbed by the flesh of the fruit.
She would add a bit of this locally gathered water to a drink- correcting it. Adding a bit of branch to a glass of Bourbon, as I learned in later years, connects that specific drink in your hand to the past.
What is branch and where does it come from?
Branch- by nature of its provenance is sweet water. Perhaps the definition is the nature of the Branch itself. We all idolize the purity of a hidden spring that only exists in our dreams. Branch is the liquid sweetness that flows unhindered from the ground.
Branch can sometimes be seen oozing up and evaporating immediately when it hits the air or it can make a cheerful bubbling sound as it bursts forth. Sometimes the branch erupts from the earth as a gurgle, almost like a belly laugh.
Branch can also be as kind and gentle as a bedtime story.
To truly enjoy branch you must capture it in the place where it comes up from the earth.
The spring up near our home is located in a spirit-filled place formerly inhabited by George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War. Estelle told me about this spring, it was where she gathered her Branch. To get to the spring you must walk down the ancient camp roads- it’s over there a bit, by the base of that long gone oak tree. You can tell there was a giant tree at one time by the number of smaller trees emanating out into the forest. Its progeny has spread throughout the woods and their roots still feed a sweet vanilla flavor into the earth.
The water bubbles up to ground level meeting the air in a hushed flurry of activity, for this well is an artesian well.
The branch that flows from this spot tastes as sweet as cotton candy on the first day of the state fair!
How would it taste with a tin bucket of the White Dog? A splash or two of branch in a pail of freshly drawn white whisky is illuminating to say the least. The sweetness it emits meets the fire from the freshly drawn whiskey and makes a carousel dance around on your tongue. Purists may scoff at cutting whiskey with water- but it’s the way I like to drink it. And you don’t use very much.
A Branch Water Cocktail
Take some of that really old Bourbon that you’ve been saving for a special occasion down from the top shelf. Carefully open the bottle and pour it into your grandfather’s favorite glass that you keep away from curious hands. Visit the hidden spring with your bottle and glass in hand and gently scoop a bit of the cool branch into your hand just as it emanates from the ground. Moisten your fingers in this water, feel the minerals in it – rough against your hand. Taste some of the sweet water in its cool, pure state, precious like fine jewels. Now, please scatter just enough of the branch that fits between your thumb and forefinger over your glass of Bourbon.
Contemplate your ancient cocktail, sipping with reverence and passion. Take another sip and roll it around on your tongue. Swallow it slowly, taking in lots of air while you taste it. This is important because certain environmental influences are as important as the flavor of the branch mixing with your Bourbon. If it’s a day in the fall and you’re alone in the forest, crunching your feet through the leaves, you can almost taste this aroma in the air. Aroma absolutely changes the way you perceive flavor through memory so take an aromatic note of the place while you sip cocktail and remember.
Gently slurp this precious brown liquid through your lips and smile.
And after you finish drinking, think of Estelle with her glass of branch and a slice of warm peach pie at the ready.
I just spent the past week down at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival. This explains why there wasn’t a Friday cocktail last week. I was too busy. In between judging the Iron Mixology Competition and that lovely party at Nathalie Dupree’s home- time just slipped away from me. Maybe it was the soft Southern accent, or the Antebellum architecture.
Of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely luncheon I enjoyed at Martha Lou’s Kitchen, feasting on a fried pork chop with a side of textbook macaroni and cheese- I’m getting hungry all over again. Almost makes the 15- hour drive from New Jersey to Charleston and 16 hours to return home worth while.
If you are ever in Charleston, South Carolina- please visit Martha Lou’s Kitchen over on Morrison Drive. Order the fried chicken or a fried pork chop.
Don’t deny yourself a large cup of sweet iced tea. It’s so sweet that your teeth will ache for days afterwards and if you have the chance, please say hello to Martha Lou for me.
She’s a true American treasure- Don’t let Saveur Magazine tell you that- they did already.
This leads me to the cocktail of the week. It is called the Rabble Rouser. Not because I am one- perhaps in a small way, yes I am- more of a Rebel Rouser than a true dyed in the wool Rabble Rouser- but I digress. This cocktail is better enjoyed by the bucketful. In a crowd? Certainly yes.
I like to stir things up. It is my métier.
Cocktails like this one can create a certain tension. This means to an outsider, to stir up trouble. I’ve always said of myself- trouble finds me.
Rabble Rouser Cocktail
1. 2 shots Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey or your choice of Bourbon
2. 1 shot Lucid Absinthe or your choice of Absinthe
3. Regan’s Bitter (citrus) a couple of shakes or Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
WARREN BOBROW grew up on a biodynamic farm in Morristown, New Jersey. He is a reluctant cocktail/wine writer and a former trained chef/saucier.
What a great find! I love having a window into the past, in any way that I can. And to have that connection to your granddad is a sweet thing indeed. I was able to get a cache of a grandparent’s booze about twenty five years ago, too. Cognac, B&B, some Scotch…. and I was excited to compare them to contemporaries. But they were pretty much the same; I didn’t know at the time that spirits stop aging once they are bottled, so I was all worked up for a big taste explosion! But, alas… that 8 year-old whisky that had been bottled in 1958 was still just an 8 year-old whisky. It did have a bit of funkiness, but not necessarily in a good way.
Still, the thrill of opening something that had last been opened by someone long dead held a thrill for me, and I enjoyed sharing their liquor. During the Republican Convention in 2008, a very old bar in St Paul reopened for the week. The owners’ family had been keeping the place pretty much as it had been since the 40s forever, though it hadn’t been open since… maybe the 70s? 80s? Anyway, they brought ought some Old Forester and Ancient Age and others and were selling them at low prices. It was cool to see the old labels– nostalgia for a guy who started tending bar back in the 70s. But the whiskey was pretty bad. It wasn’t bonded, just normal proof, and they might had been spouted for God only knows how long. Still– it was really cool.
I did read somewhere that Tequila and Mezcal actually do change in the bottle, though I guess it is just a mellowing rather than added complexity. Not my cuppa tea, though.