Beefeater London Dry

Gin is the abstract expressionist of the alcohol universe. It's a fearless drink, showcasing a cacophony of bold botanicals and spices with an allowable level of variance and flexibility not seen in other spirits. Using a fine grain spirit as its canvas and juniper berries as its brush, gin composes a wide range of styles ranging from the relatively simple and delicate American Dry to the complex and robust London Dry. Each style combines juniper at varying levels with a multitude of other flavorings to give each gin a unique identity and each gin drinker a unique experience.

I don't have a problem with modern stylish gins that lean toward the lighter, more citrusy end of the flavor spectrum. They taste fine, I just feel they are a bit one-sided. I happen to prefer the older styled gins that honor their deep French (genièvre) and Dutch (jenever) origins. Gins that have stiff upper lips, two fistfuls of juniper berries, and the ability to pirouette in pointe shoes. I like deeply complex gins made in copper pot stills with quality ingredients by skilled craftsmen. I like Beefeater London Dry Gin.

For starters, the bottle design is really cool. A clear square bottle with a  proud Yeomen Warder marching on the front with a stylized Tower of London seen though the bottle on the back label. The sides are embossed with "Made in London" in big bold letters going up one side and down the other. The year "1820"  is embossed at the base of neck notating the first year of manufacture. And I cant quite explain how, but the bottle neck/cap design seems to fit more snugly than regular screw on caps.

The smell of juniper bursts from the bottle like a can of Shasta shaken in a paint mixer. Spicy orange peel, coriander(cilantro) seed, and various other floral notes lurk beneath the fresh juniper berries on the nose. When lightly swirled, the long legged thickness of the gin acts an enchanting wink from inside the glass. The taste is like nothing else. Its like a juniper bush sweating in your mouth. Juniper berry sap coats the inside of your head while the zesty citrus moves the liquorice and marzipan down your gullet. The thick oily body of Beefeater is truly a delight and the smoothness of it is otherworldly. Showcasing its quality of distillation and skill of the craftsmen who created it, the gentle comforting sting that is 94 proof gin gives way to a lukewarm burn. Juniper lingers with a happy tingling tongue. The official score of the match is 37 of the Queens Jewels out of 22. At around $20 this bottle is a must have for any gin appreciator. 

Martinis made with this world class gin are an absolute delight. The intense flavor and high proof can be a bit much for some and may require additional cooling over ice before adding the vermouth and serving. I can think of no better cocktail on a warm afternoon than a cool Beefeater martini. That same intensity makes Beefeater well suited for gin and tonics. Readily available tonic is so drastically over sweetened with corn syrup that it forces most gins  into the background of bitter tonic wash. Beefeater has the depth to penetrate through the sweetness and create a much more enjoyable drink than your typical bitter-sweet fizzy gin and tonic. 

G&T

• 3oz Gin (Beefeater)
• Tonic
• Lime Wedge

Fill a rocks/old fashioned glass with ice. Pour Gin over ice. Top with tonic. Lime to taste.

cheers

Noilly Prat Dry

Finding out that you really like something you previously disliked is an exciting event. The enjoyment creates new emotions as you stumble though your confusion and wash away your previous negative convictions with new positive feelings. It's a much more poignant experience than enjoying something you are trying for the first time. The catharsis creates a void that is instantly filled with an abundance of positivity resulting in a more intense experience. I was privileged to such an event with a very misunderstood alcohol.

At one time I was convinced that dry vermouth was just bitter bath water used to dilute high proof gin. I ordered it in my martinis out of habit and never reasoned as to why such an unapproachable alcohol would be used in such a popular cocktail. I blame my own youth naivety and cheapskate bars unwilling to throw out spoiled booze. Who knew there was such a huge difference between a fresh bottle of high quality vermouth and a six month old unrefrigerated fly trap. Understanding and appreciating the deep complexity of vermouth can be bit of a challenge. But if you're patient, open minded, and willing to give second chances, you will find that vermouth is an alcohol that deserves respect.  

Vermouth is a fortified aromatized wine. That means it's fermented grape juice that has alcohol and spices added to it. While I can appreciate others, Noilly Prat (nwa-ly prat) original is by far my favorite. The 200 year old original "European" recipe holds firm as the dominant dry French vermouth. Only recently available in the U.S., this version of Noilly is far more delicious than the bland discontinued "American" version. Using a combination of indoor and outdoor cask aging, select alcohol infusion, and significant herbal fortification, Noilly dry is like nothing else.

The complexity of this vermouth is astounding. Huge wood and spice on the nose with a gentle, but defiantly present, sweet white wine undertone. Lumberjack wood with coriander, orange, clove, and chamomile, sticking out with what I believe to be wormwood sneaking around in the background.  I have only had absinthe once so I'm admittedly not well learned in the art of wormwood. I also somehow get this neat open air, seawater like must mid palate. The nearly constant wave of changing flavors seems to last for days as the long bitter to sweet to bitter battle leads to a smooth alcohol finish. It's like 8 M. C. Escher staircases to nowhere beating 3.5 hands drawing them selves in an arm wrestling match. If you want a good flavorful martini, Noilly is your vermouth. Even at in a gin heavy 5:1 martini Noilly Dry will add character. Always drink it cold and store it in a refrigerator. It's a wine so be aware it will spoil if not consumed within about six weeks.

cheers

Martini

Q. Why did the bartender grab a bottle of vodka during his preparation of your martini? A. Ian Fleming hates you.

The martini is the quintessential cocktail. Even when its represented as caricature, clear liquid gently suspending an olive in an elevated triangular glass, it's unmistakable. Brimming with sophistication and class, the martini is a classic piece of sparkling Americana. With it's four humble ingredients and minimal preparation, the martini is the ultimate dichotomic display of complex simplicity. However, naming those four ingredients and its style of preparation can become a flamboyant display of self defense.

I think vodka is great. It's a clean, understated spirit that I find delicious. I think gin is great. It's a timeless, incredibly complex spirit that I find delicious. I think substituting vodka for gin in a martini is not great. It's as wise as batting yourself in the face with a cactus. A martini is: Gin (preferably London Dry or Plymouth) and Dry Vermouth (preferably French), stirred over Ice, served up, garnished with Olives. Vodka with vermouth and an olive is not a martini. I have always identified that drink by its more common name "vodka and vermouth with an olive." Cold "new age" flavorless gin, shaken, then poured in a glass lined with vermouth is also not a martini. It's not cool, hip, or trendy, it's tasteless and silly. I call those things " 10th round Rocky Balboas" or "cold glasses of gin." Martinis are meant to be bold flavorful drinks expressing the wonderful flavors of juniper, spice, and wood. Using ingredients that do not present that palette to you are less than optimal and should be avoided in martinis.

Once you have the proper ingredients you can start to have some fun and experiment with gin to vermouth ratios. The IBA suggests a 5:1 gin to vermouth ratio for a classic dry martini and I couldn't agree more. 5:1 gives the gin plenty of room without completely drowning out the vermouth. 5:1 is an excellent starting point for newcomers. If you are like me and enjoy vermouth, give a wet martini a whirl and boost your vermouth levels. The wood and spice of the added vermouth create a slightly darker flavor profile. Really break the mold if you have a good bottle of vermouth and try a 2:1 martini.The "traditional" martini is really great but those unfamiliar with vermouth may find it a bit off-putting. The gin should always be dominant but substituting a bit more vermouth will lead to exciting flavor adventures.

Once your martini is complete the garnish selection begins. This I feel is completely subjective. I am a purist and only prefer vermouth soaked olives but I could see a lemon zest being enjoyable in a dry martini made with a strong citrus forward gin. The complex bouquet of a good gin will be complimented by both types of garnish. Fear not for a good martini will not be offended by your choice of garnish.

Finding your favorite cocktail can take a lifetime. Don't be afraid to try new drinks or variants of an old favorite. Share the joys that accompany good food and good drink. But be aware that if at any point we should find ourselves in an establishment that substitutes scotch for tequila in a margarita, rum for vodka in a cosmopolitan, or absinthe for bourbon in an old fashioned, please tell the ostentatious mixologist behind the bar that ill have a beer.

Martini stirred, not shaken.

1. 4oz. Gin
2. 1oz. Dry Vermouth
3. 2 Olives

If soaking olives in vermouth do so 15 minutes beforehand. Chill serving glass with ice water. Stir gin and vermouth over ice in metal shaker with bar spoon for 15 to 30 seconds. If high proof gin (50% alcohol) allow to rest in shaker for 30 seconds to1 minute. Empty serving glass. Single strain up. Serve with olives loose in glass or on skewer.

• For a "Dirty Martini" add .5oz olive brine to finished martini. 
• For a "not martini" substitute vodka for gin. 

cheers

Anchor Steam

Lager beer and summertime is a pair that's hard to beat. Like Kosher dogs and baseball, cold beer and hot weather just feel right together. While a flavorful ale is never a bad choice, that dry cool crispness lagers have really starts to pop when the mercury starts to rise. A well made lager can easily hold it's own against any ale and if the situation is right, a good cold lager will beat its ale counterpart.

The word lager is actually German for storage. Using primitive storage techniques, lager beer came to be through the hybridization of ale yeast during longer storage periods in colder temperatures. The lager yeast is able to slowly consume more of the sugars causing the variance in taste between lager and ale. Lagers come in all shapes and sizes. Traditional European lagers range form the lightest Euro pale lagers, the flavorful Czech Pilseners to the powerful German Doppelbocks. American lagers range from the barely there Adjunct style, Czech inspired hoppy Pils, to the darker Dunkels and Bocks. While I give most popular American Lagers 3 enthusiastic thumbs down, there are a few seriously good domestically produced "true" American lagers. One of which I feel truly embodies the American values of  ingenuity, determination, and perfectionism. It's called Anchor Steam.

In the late 19th century keeping things cold in California was difficult. Air conditioning was a hand powered paper fan and refrigeration was known as January. The brewers making lager beer had to find a way to cool the wort rapidly by natural means. This was done by piping the hot liquid to open roof panels to let the ocean breezes act as the cooling agents. This created puffs of steam atop the breweries giving the beer its name. After the cooling was finished the lager yeasts were forced to ferment at the coolest tip of the ale scale. This process of using lager yeast at ale temperatures created beer that tastes like no other. Although the Steam beer made nowadays uses a cooling system that has been drastically modernized, some of the time honored traditions hold strong. The use of all malt mash and copper pot boiling let Anchor stand tall and show the world what real American brewing is all about.

This is easily one of my top three lagers. It is a beautiful crisp lager with deep ale complexity. A nice smooth copper pour unloads a forest of a nose. A fascinating smell of earthy tree bark with slightly fruity hop combined with a understated deep toasty malt. The flavor is identical. Initial floral hop bitter balances quickly  with a warm white bread malt. The balance is uncanny for the individual flavors are quite robust. The floral esters of hop and the slightly sweet grainy malt are simultaneously unified mid palate just before the closing hop fermata. 10 Tie-dye shirts out of  7. The beer is light enough to drink more than one but flavorful enough to nurse for appreciation. Serve slightly warmer than most lagers for best flavor. Steak or lamb will pair vary nicely with a good strong veggie like asparagus or Brussels sprouts. Find some shade and enjoy the weather.

cheers

Orval Trappist Ale

Contrary to popular belief, most monks are not Buddhist kung-fu masters. Giant temples filled with snap kicking bald dudes in robes is a Hollywood construct. The daily life of a monk is usually quiet and simple with little to no dramatic physical exertion. Long hours of deep metaphysical contemplation and endless menial chores are activities more closely associated with realistic monastic life. Monasteries regularly and intentionally separate themselves from many aspects of modern society. This isolation improves the absorptive spiritual atmosphere but can impede the abby's financial underpinnings. Monks and their collective brethren still need money for many everyday expenses. Since no one gets paid for praying and flipping burgers at the local Mickey D's is not an option, monks have created a market for their own hand crafted wares.

Having very limited resources to begin with, monasteries tend to create simple things with materials that are cheap and on site or easily attainable. Supplies such as grains, animal products, and wood are the most common. While the end product may initially seem like a simple loaf of bread or an everyday wheel of cheese, looking just beyond that simple cover you will find a truly fine artisanal creation. Holding the quality of the product paramount over all other aspects, monks are able to create truly amazing things. The most amazing of these creations is made by a small cluster of Belgian Roman Catholic monks known as Trappists. Their creation is beer. Humble, simple, modest, beer.

Made strictly to support the monasteries' activities, the seven Trappist breweries make some of the best beers in the world. This time, it's not just my opinion. The world over, beer connoisseurs covet these like priceless gold doubloons. With all 7 going in slightly different directions, each beer has specific "style" characteristics all their own. Each displaying absolute top tier craftsmanship using the highest quality ingredients. I was officially and formally introduced to beer proper recently with one them thanks to a co-workers strong recommendation. (Good work Murph!) It's label says Orval but it should read Heaven.

It's never once been advertised, the receipe is nearly 100 years old, and the money made from my purchase of this bottle will not be used toward a corporate profit of any kind. Yes, yes, and oh man this is one hell (woops) of a beer! The head grows as thick as a marshmallow from glimmering bubbles feverishly rising to the top. On the nose you get a bit of sour acidic citrus with a pollen like wildflower thing underneath. Extremely complex but oh so deliciously primitive at the same time. The taste parallels the nose. It's like the venison of beer. Wild, untamed sour yeasty tart explode. The dry hops start cranking mid palate during a very Lambic-esque first act. The unbridled carbonation, courtesy of  the bottle refermentation, make the nuance of the malt difficult to find. There is  however an ever so slight essence of caramel malt found near the back door. The hop finds its way though the complicated forest of flavors and sets up an extremely dry acidic finish. We're talking Champagne dry finish. Simply amazing.

This beer gets 652 out of 650. The complexity of this beer may be difficult to grasp by many. The strong natural flavors of the ingredients don't hide at all and someone not comfortable with foreign flavors may be put off. That said, any one who likes beer must try this at least once. If you can, drink it from a chalice 2 degrees warmer than you think it should be drunk. The intricacies will be best tasted when the beer is just above cool. Put your tuxedo or little black dress on and prepare for a formal introduction to one of the best alcoholic drinks on earth.

cheers

Marble Red

2008 was one hell of a year. The world changed in so many notable ways that  future historians will likely argue as to which event had the greatest impact on mankind. Was it Fidel finally giving his big boy toys to his brother Raúl or China hosting their first summer Olympics in grand style? Could it have been Bill Gates giving his keys to Apple someone willing to bear the toil of counting to 50 billion, or The Hadron Collider firing up successfully without sucking the earth into another dimension. Only time will tell what macro-event will cause the greatest amount of change for mankind.

While those events were profound in the grand scheme, I was witness to something much more powerful and much more personal in 2008. Something so memorable that it turned this once ordinary beer chugger into an official, hop-headed snobby aficionado. The Marble Brewery opened its doors. Yes, I knew the difference between a drinkable beer and horse water, but I didn't know how far it was from a good beer to a great one. It would take only a single Dixie cup, filled with Marble IPA at a friends wedding party to know that from that day forward I would seek only greatness in beer. Fresh floral and delicious, Marble beer would forever have a fan in me.

Asking me which Marble tap was my favorite used to be simple. In an almost reactionary response, without hesitation I would say IPA. The amazing citrus hop with mild semi-sweet malt is near perfection. But as time went on the more I drank, and the more I drank the more I liked. Three years after my first IPA it's now a toss-up between the Oatmeal stout, the IPA, and the Red Ale. All three are outstanding beers that display precise style characteristics rarely seen in mass produced beer. This time around I chose the Red Ale.    

The Marble Red Ale pours a very cool rusty amber with a smaller yellowish head. The slightly toasty caramel malt with stronger than average hop give this beer a bit of a bran muffin nose. The hops really pop in this one with a surprisingly bright initial character for a red. It is definitely not a run of the mill malty Irish Red or a bland American Amber. The huge hop is subdued by an absolutely delicious lush blanket of caramel malt. The reaction of "Woah! Hops!" quickly followed by "Oooohhh Malt" is the best way to describe the initial 5 seconds of taste. The hops will get your attention but don't be fooled, the malt is the star here. Outstanding med/thick mouth feel makes your second taste not soon enough. Very nicely balanced finish with a slight nod to the hop. As the light hop resin lingers I bask in the glory of beer greatness. 

Ill say 4 hammers out of 3 sickles. Marble wins again! A great balanced ale that would compliment most meals. Bold enough to cut through spicy Thai or pizza and humble enough for potato soup or fried egg sandwiches. You really can't go wrong with beer this good. This is the caliber beer you serve to make a good impression or buy someone as a gift. A joyous time will be had with Weezer and Marble Red.

cheers

Happy Camper IPA

Being an alcohol connoisseur and having access to really good, local, micro-brewed beer is like being a little kind living near Santa's workshop at the North Pole. Hop flower fairys and candied dark malts dance with joy seven days a week. Boundless variates and quirky experimental beers keep things interesting and fun. Whenever you want, you can saunter on over and enjoy something special seemingly made just for you. Lucky for me New Mexico has been bestowed with multiple gifted micro-breweries. One of the best is the Santa Fe Brewing Co. of Santa Fe, NM.

Santa Fe Brewing Co. makes some primo suds. Interestingly enough, four of which come in cans. (Yah I'm on a can kick so what you wanna fight about it?) A nice clean pilsner for the summer months, a humongous Java stout that should be sold at Starbucks, one of the absolute best Oktoberfests you'll find this side of the pond, and an IPA that's a real kick in the pants. Being a self diagnosed hop-head, I decided to jump right into the IPA first.

 
Happy Camper IPA is unmistakable. The can's design is the the state flag of New Mexico. Emblazoned with a red Zia symbol, the bright yellow can is hard to miss. Upon pouring the amber liquid a very strong hop aroma hits you. A deep, sappy, almost spicy, pine resin jumps from the can. The taste follows your nose. Very bitter, semi dry hop that has an almost smokey character. Mild fruit flavors dance under the pine dominance. The malt takes a very cool turn in an attempt to balance the nearly out of control bitter. It uses the sweet natural flavor of the malt for balance, not the calculable amount. The light sweet malt enhances the fruity release of this powerful IPA. The bitter will linger a bit but it's a savory and enjoyable taste.

I approximate 8 out of 4 pine cones would be generated if this fell in the forest. This is one of the best portable beers available. This would make for some very happy burgers and dogs but a good spicy sausage with some onions and peppers would be perfect. Fire, meat, lake/river (what ever floats your boat!), and this beer is a combo that is tough to beat. The sound of a crackling fire and some gentle water will guarantee smiles.

cheers