Sorry for the long delay there — I think I’m still in shock from the experience of seeing so many different types of whiskey trotted out at WhiskyFest in San Francisco last Tuesday; that, and from my experience at Bourbon & Branch the night before.

While my liver and I still aren’t on speaking terms, I can say that I had a great trip. I got into town on Monday, just in time to check in at the hotel then head over to Absinthe to meet the evening’s companions, Anita & Cameron from Married…With Dinner, and Erik Ellestad and his lovely wife, Michele (a surprise to Erik, it being his birthday). Our experience at Absinthe was short, it being closed and all (happy Monday!), but we trundled over to the Orbit Room for cocktails that fell into the the “not bad, but we’ll just have one and then move on” category.

After Erik and Michelle headed off for his birthday dinner, Anita and Cameron let me tag along as we headed up the hill to NoPa. I’d read about this restaurant somewhere, and heard only glowing details, but somehow I’d missed any mention of its cocktail list (not surprising — so many reviewers turn a blind eye to that whole side of the business). That was a mistake — they had some really great sounding drinks on the menu, many with house-made bitters. Anita had a Girasol, made with fino sherry, St. Germain and sunshine bitters (made with cardamom and saffron), Cameron went for an Old Cuban and I had an Amarita, made with blanco tequila, Aperol, lime juice and house-made grapefruit bitters (the bartender said there was some sage in the bitters, and I had no complaints). They were fantastic all around.

I’d tell you about the dinner, except since I was dining with two very accomplished food bloggers, I’d probably embarass myself — though I probably couldn’t embarass myself any more than I did by hovering over my pear salad and Mediterranean fish stew, looking territorial and making growly yummy sounds as I stuffed myself with scallops and squid, oblivious to all rules of social discourse.

My manners couldn’t have been too obnoxious, though, because Anita & Cameron gave me a lift back downtown, dropping me in the middle of the Tenderloin and pointing at the unmarked door for Bourbon & Branch. This is a bar I’d heard and read about extensively since they opened, and during my short time in San Francisco it was at the top of my list of places I needed to try. Fortunately, this being a Monday, the bar was fairly quiet, and I had no problem getting a seat at the bar (the reservation I’d made earlier in the day seemed unnecessary, though on a busier night I can see how they’d be required).

And this visit to Bourbon & Branch was both my pinnacle and my defeat. Pinnacle, because I had the pleasure of being treated like a king by Joel and Eric, the gentlemen working the bar that evening. After an introductory drink I put myself in their hands, and I was really blown away. House cocktails like the Black Manhattan — made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Averna and Fee’s Barrel-Aged bitters — were really astounding. Eric mixed another drink using Michter’s rye, Luxardo maraschino and some black liquid from a mystery bottle, then told me it was something made with Belvedere vodka in which had been macerated whole walnuts (green and black, I believe — my notes are a little sketchy), and herbs including mint and rosemary.

And defeat? It was my defeat, simply, because I was so overwhelmed by the quality of the drinks they were serving and their commitment to their craft, that by the time I stopped to think “wait — how much have I had?” the answer was “definitely enough.” Fortunately I was sitting next to a couple of guys who were also in town for WhiskyFest and who were similarly in the bag, and together we pointed ourselves in the right direction for our hotels (except for the guy we lost somewhere — but his buddy wasn’t concerned, so neither was I). I shrugged off the offer to hang out and drink tequila — probably the best decision I’ve made in a long time — then made it back to the hotel to crash and then wake up with a headful of thunder and fuzzy memories (thank god for the notebook).

After I managed to slough off most of my hangover — foraging a lunch at the Ferry Building Marketplace helped — and take care of a little work, I headed up to Haight St. to meet Erik and Jimmy Patrick at Alembic. This was another bar I’d been hoping to try, and while I was saving myself for WhiskyFest — and was still a bit tender from the night before — I had a fantastic La Paloma, with house-made grapefruit soda, while Erik and Jimmy went for Sazeracs. I nearly broke down in tears when I saw the list of ryes on their spirits board, and I felt really at home in Alembic’s comfortable space.

While the drinks were tasty, the highlight for me was getting to hang out with Erik and Jimmy, who’s a dedicated whiskey fan, even if he does prefer the delicate peaty stuff to the awesome vitality of an honest-to-god American spirit. Still, one more scotch drinker meant more bourbon for me, so after settling up Jimmy and I grabbed a cab downtown for the main event.

I had planned on playing it really cool and easy, taking a walk around the room and scoping out the selection before diving in. I made it as far as the Van Winkle table before scrapping that plan. Both Preston and Julian were in attendance, and since I’d spoken with Preston by phone before, I thought I’d stop and introduce myself (and grab a taste of some 20-year-old Pappy along the way). Van Winkle has always had everything I love in bourbons — a rich, buttery base with a nice, soft body and a finish that lasts for weeks.

I could have spent five minutes just nosing the whiskey before moving on, and would have, if I hadn’t noticed that right next to Van Winkle was the table for Buffalo Trace. In various places on this site I’ve been known to wax rhapsodic about the wonders of Weller and the virtues of the Sazerac line of ryes. Buffalo Trace had their top of the line out for WhiskyFest, which of course meant the 2007 Antique Collection, and were pouring tastings before the bottles even hit the shelves. My impulse was to go directly for the Stagg — at 144 proof, the bulldozer of bourbons — but instead I started gentle, with a taste of the Sazerac 18-year-old rye. Christ – I love all the Sazerac ryes (the Thomas Handy is one of my top 3 ryes, ever), but the 18-year-old is really a centerpiece of the Antique Collection, and it’s easy to see why. Dry, oaky, almost musty in its austerity, the rye has a beautifully crisp flavor that really primes the palate. It was hard to tear myself away from the Sazerac, but for the sake of the Stagg, I managed it, and JESUS! was that a big bunch of whiskey in the glass. At 144 proof, this bourbon is afraid of nothing, and it had this amazing aroma of pipe tobacco that made you just want to settle down with a glass and spend some time getting acquainted. This is probably gonna be my Christmas present to myself this year, assuming I can find a bottle.

After Van Winkle, Sazerac and Stagg, it could have all gone downhill, but there were so many fantastic whiskies being poured that it was easy to just roam and talk and taste. I estimate I tasted around 35-40 whiskies during the evening, ranging from Stranahan’s Colorado whiskey to 40 Creek Canadian whiskey (which I’d previously enjoyed at Tales of the Cocktail) to Jura single malt (a “highland from an island,” poured by Willie Tait), to a trio of Mackillop’s Choice Single Cask whiskies (poured by Lorne Mackillop himself — thanks to Jimmy for making the introduction), and another trio of Old Pulteney.

But while I stepped around the map a bit, American whiskies are where my main interest lies, and I had some really fantastic stuff that I’ll likely never see again. From tasting Woodford Reserve’s four-grain and Sonoma-Cutrer Finish whiskies (the latter finished in used chardonnay casks, which gave the bourbon a bright, fruity complexity) to the 23-year-old Evan Williams Blue Label (107 proof, really rich on the nose and very spicy, with fistfuls of licorice and molasses and a finish that followed me home to Seattle — only $350 a bottle, available at Heaven Hill Heritage Center and in some foreign markets), there was a lot to enjoy.

But this was one of my favorites, partially because I wasn’t supposed to have it and partially because it’s my most favorite of whiskies, a rye:

The photo is blurry because Larry Kass was trying to keep it out of everyone’s sight after pouring me a taste — Rittenhouse 23-year-old Single Barrel straight rye whiskey, new on the market and a steal at $160. He only had two bottles on hand, and they were under the table, sharing space with two bottles of another new Heaven Hill bottling, Parker’s Heritage Collection Cask Strength bourbon, named for master distiller Parker Beam. The rye had Rittenhouse’s characteristic bright spicy kick, but at 23 years in the wood it was really mature, with leather and chocolate bouncing around with that spiky rye character, proving that while a rye whiskey can be fully matured, it can still keep a lot of attitude. And the bourbon — oh, the bourbon … bright and floral on the nose, but with a rich, lively spiciness on the palate. I’m always saying nice things about the products put out by Buffalo Trace, but Heaven Hill deserves a lot of praise for what they’ve done with whiskey.

Amid all this, I kept bumping into people I knew, and people I’d been wishing to meet for a long time. It was great seeing Camper English, Martin Cate and Jacques Bezuidenhout again, and meeting Marcovaldo Dionysus for the first time. And in between there were seminars, with Fred Noe and Richard Paterson, and Larry Kass and Parker Beam.

I’d like to say I finished up with a dash to Cantina (it was only around the corner from my hotel, for Chrissakes) and another to Absinthe, plus the Bourbon & Branch after-party, but really, I was done (and I’d been very restrained, only finishing 4 of the quarter-ounce samples I’d been poured). After a beer at the hotel bar with Jimmy and his buddy Pete, I called it a night.

Stagg — Sazerac — Rittenhouse 23 — Parker’s Heritage Collection … I may need to expand my Christmas list this year.

Tags: Bourbon, Establishments, Events, Rye, Scotch by Paul
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I just got back from spending a couple of days in San Francisco. The reason for the trip was to attend WhiskyFest, but I also wanted to take the opportunity to meet a few other bloggers and sip at a few of the local watering holes I’ve heard so much about.

I’m beat from a long day so the full details will have to wait until later, but to get things rolling, here’s a post I wrote last night — yes, I sampled several dozen whiskies then had a beer with Jimmy Patrick and still pulled it together enough to write a post — and that ran on Serious Eats today.

Scotch or Bourbon?

In which I tackle the panel Jimmy referenced in a post from last week, though I have far fewer references to barefoot hillbillies.

More to come….

Tags: Bourbon, Events, Scotch by Paul
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Eeks, did this Mixology Monday fall into a busy time for me. Fortunately, host Natalie over at The Liquid Muse picked pairings as the theme, and since eating and drinking are two of the things I actually make time for in my day, it shouldn’t be too hard to put something together.

Despite my earlier assertions to the contrary, I didn’t do a lot of advance planning for this pairing. I did do a lot of advance thinking and worrying, but when it came down to it, I was just too damn busy this weekend to make a special trip to the store for one of the more ambitious dishes I had in mind. So, I took one of the standard easy meals we occasionally have around here, and made up a cocktail on the fly that I hoped would work well.

And y’know, I think I got lucky. Usually my free-form cocktails kinda suck — they’re either as dull and uninspiring as your cousin who works at the tire store, or they’re such a rude mishmash of flavors that they could be used as grounds for divorce, if I hadn’t learned long ago to stop using my spouse as a guinea pig unless the drink actually had some merit. I’m not saying the drink is all the way there, mind you — I’d like to mix one again sometime, and see if the drink keeps its form, or if I was just caught up in the novelty of it — but when the glass was plonked down next to the plate, it all worked out okay.

Here’s what I did: one of the dishes we keep on hand for easy and tasty mealtimes is salmon kedgeree. While it looks Indian at first blush, I think kedgeree owes more to the English tradition of take-away curry than it does to anything native to the subcontinent. Fortunately, we use some nice Alaska salmon — I think coho was what we had on hand this week — to liven up the dish.

Kedgeree has a pretty mild flavor, but the mishmash of mango and tomato chutneys and a potent lime pickle that I festoon about the top of my bowl really bring it to life. For me, this dish mainly acts as a chutney-and-pickle-delivery vehicle, so I needed a drink that would accomplish a couple of things. First, it couldn’t be too high in alcohol — otherwise, the whole experience would be just too intense. Second, it needed to be fairly mellow, to contrast with the sparkle of flavors I have going on in the bowl, but it also needs some complementary aspect to tie it to the food. Finally, it needed some special little sump’n, to give it some life of its own, and create a unique identity.

Raiding the liquor cabinet and grabbing a few recent favorites, I came up with two closely related drinks. Being crap at the whole naming thing, I’ll just list the recipes here; should I feel they’re worthwhile to come back to, I’ll expend the effort to come up with suitable monickers.

Trial drink #1

• 2 ounces Hidalgo Napoleon amontillado sherry
• 1 ounce Canton ginger liqueur
• 2 dashes Fee’s orange bitters
• 1 barspoon Herradura reposado tequila

Stir with ice & strain into chilled glass; no garnish

Trial drink #2

• as above, except instead of the tequila, substitute 1 barspoon Purkhart Pear Williams eau de vie

While the first drink paired better with the kedgeree, I think the second drink had greater merit for standing on its own as a cocktail. The sherry has a lovely mellow, dry and nutty flavor, and the Canton contributes a subtle ginger burn, without much added sweetness. The spirit in these cases is mainly a flavoring agent; the reposado blended more seamlessly with the sherry, but the pear brandy version had a nice, fruity character, while the eau de vie contributed zero sweetness.

Probably not the most adventurous pairing this week, but hey — it worked, and sometimes that’s all you need. I would have taken pictures, but that would have meant putting down my fork and glass, and some days that’s just asking too much.

Head on over to Natalie’s place to see what other folks are up to this week.

* and, for the kedgeree, if you want to play along. Serves 4, unless the kids decide not to eat it — you never know around here — in which case you have some nice leftovers:

preheat oven to 425 F

put in roasting pan and cover with foil:

• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 lime leaves or grated zest of one lime
• 1 to 1.5 pounds salmon fillets

Bake about 15 minutes, until salmon is tender. Remove salmon, and save the liquid.

In a big pan with a cover, heat over medium

• 1 T butter
• 1-2 T olive oil

Add one finely chopped onion; cook until soft. Add:

• 3/4 teaspoon coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon tumeric

Continue cooking until the onion is translucent and looks really nice. Add

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice

Stir around for a couple of minutes; it should start smelling pretty interesting. Then add the reserved salmon cooking liquid, and enough water to make 3 1/2 cups. Stir, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until rice is soft.

Once rice is done, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a clean dish towel, then replace the lid and let it sit for a few minutes. Flake the salmon, and add to the rice, along with

• 3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• juice and zest of one lime
• a few drops of fish sauce

Stir gently and serve with lime wedges, maybe a scoop of plain yogurt and chutneys and pickles out the wazoo. Don’t forget a salad or some other veg on the side.

Tags: Brandy, Drinks, Mixology Monday, Tequila by Paul
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In just over a week I’m headed to San Francisco to attend a whisk(e)y-lover’s dream event, WhiskyFest.

How could you not want to go to something called “WhiskyFest”? And if the name alone isn’t enough to bring you running, consider this: the pouring list offers more than 200 different types of whisk(e)y, from Aberlour and Ardbeg to Van Winkle and Woodford Reserve (and if you need a break from whiskey, there’s also Martin Miller’s Gin and Appleton Estate rums, among other diversions). Add to that a speaker’s list that includes Parker Beam from Heaven Hill, Fred Noe from Jim Beam, Ian Millar from Glenfiddich and John Campbell from Laphroaig, and you’ve got a pretty full evening.

That’s right — it’s one night only, on Tuesday, October 23. Presented by the good folks at Malt Advocate, WhiskyFest is pretty well established in New York and Chicago, but this year marks the debut of the event on the West Coast. If you’re going to be anywhere near the Bay Area next Tuesday, be sure to check this out — it takes place at the Hyatt Regency at Embarcadero Center, and tickets are available online.

I’ll be trying to take in everything on Tuesday night, but I’ve also worked a little personal time into the program, for visiting a few bars and stocking up on supplies at the local liquor boutiques. If you’re in town on Monday or Tuesday, you may bump into me at Alembic, Cantina or Bourbon & Branch, or any of the other places I’ve been yearning to try. I’m pretty easy to spot — I’ll be the guy sponging a drink off you while obsessing about the kind of rye the bartender is using. And you thought I was just pretending to be a geek…..

Tags: Bourbon, Events, Irish Whiskey, Rye, Scotch by Paul
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There’s no shortage of PR reps banging on the electronic doors around here, offering products to sample. As I’ve mentioned before, however, it’s pretty rare for me to accept the offer (books are a notable exception – which I’ll get to in posts soon to come), mainly because most of these products are types of booze I’m either ambivalent about, or actively seek to avoid.

This is an exception (and, in keeping with a promise I made at some point, I’m disclosing this fact to my readers — both of you). A ginger liqueur has always been high on my list of things I’d like to try, and when the offer came to sample Canton, I pulled myself out of my lethargy long enough to click on “reply,” and lickety split, there it was.

There’s something else I should disclose: I fully expected to be disappointed by Canton. Given the amount of new crap that’s spewed out by liquor companies every year, the new, quality products are in the distinct minority. Considering that 2007 has already seen the domestic debut of spirits such as St. Germain, Lucid absinthe, the Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette and Batavia Arrack van Oosten, I figured that we were far over our quota for good stuff to hit the shelves in one year. And even though Canton isn’t entirely new — a similar liqueur was made in China until about a decade ago, and was also sold under the Canton brand by the same company as the present-day Canton — it’s a re-formulated revival (so to speak), and that’s close enough for me.

But after sampling Canton a few times, I find that my initial expectations were unfounded, and I feel comfortable adding it to this list of notable releases for 2007. Canton is, quite simply, an excellent liqueur.

Here’s the skinny from the press kit: Canton is a cognac-based ginger liqueur made in France, and available this fall at “chic night spots, fine restaurants, and wine & spirits retailers in New York and LA on a limited basis.” (And, apparently, my house, which is probably closer to a spirits retailer than a chic night spot, considering my surplus of booze and my sleepy social life.) The liqueur is crafted from an infusion of VSOP and Grand Champagne Cognac with baby ginger; finishing ingredients include “Tahitian vanilla, orange blossom honey, Tunisian ginseng and cane sugar.” It’s sold at a gentle 56 proof, in a fetching bamboo-shaped bottle.

The only real quibble I had with the product’s rollout was the header in the press release: “The World’s First Ginger Liqueur Launches.” The bottle of Giffard Ginger of the Indies liqueur in my liquor cabinet gently cleared its throat at that line, so I decided to taste them side-by-side, to see how they stacked up against each other. (Short news on Giffard: also made in France, by a company that makes some absolutely spectacular syrups and liqueurs; the downside is, while Giffard products are available in Europe, I believe that British Columbia is the only place in North America where its products can be found – though I’d love to be wrong about this, so chime in if you know otherwise.)

The Canton came across somewhat hot on the nose at first, with a slight synthetic note that didn’t seem promising, but wasn’t particularly disagreeable. After resting in the glass for five minutes, though, a clear, crisp fresh-ginger aroma came through, with still a touch of alcohol heat. I compared this to the Giffard, which had a more subtle, fruitier nose, but without an assertive ginger presence.

On the palate, Canton’s charms came through. Ginger came roaring out of the glass, with a crisp, vegetal spice followed by a long, lingering ginger heat on the finish. The flavor was nicely balanced and not too sweet, with a rich, intriguing base note (from, I suspect, the vanilla and honey) against which the bright flavor of the ginger stood in clear contrast. The Giffard came across with a bit more sweetness and subtlety in flavor; the ginger is more subdued though still clear and crisp, with an interplay of assorted spices (not, alas, listed on the bottle) rounding out the corners of the liqueur. Like the Canton, the Giffard had a nice, warm finish, though Canton’s was longer-lasting and had a more pronounced ginger element.

I was actually quite surprised at how well Canton stood up to the Ginger of the Indies (to put this in perspective, Giffard’s Abricot du Roussilon liqueur changed my whole perspective on what an apricot liqueur could be, so I had a lot of faith in what Giffard could do, and high expectations for the liqueur). But, Canton came out great – crisp and spicy, full and round, with a taste of natural ginger and without a cloying sweetness.

I haven’t really started mixing with it yet, but I know there’s a lot of opportunity here. If you happen to come across a bottle and try a new cocktail, be sure to give me a heads-up, and I’ll do the same.

(And incidentally, though I had this post ready to go on Friday but decided to hold onto it over the weekend, Jamie beat me to the punch and posted about Canton on Saturday. If you’re in the neighborhood, head over to Vessel and drink his stash; he has more of that “chic night spot” thing going on, anyway.)

Tags: Spirits, Tastings by Paul
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