Descent into Averna

Continuing my love of reverse-engineering libations that I have enjoyed while out and about, we return today with a cocktail currently featured on the Bern's Steakhouse menu. Thankfully, the good folks at Bern's graciously publish the key components in each of their cocktails and what caught my eye on a recent visit was this particular libation's hybrid approach to a Black Manhattan and a Sazerac. As served to me at Bern's, the libation was well-balanced, but I felt the rye whiskey was the most pronounced component. Quite remarkable considering the drink contains not one, not two, but three absolute sledgehammers of aroma and taste: allspice dram, amaro and absinthe.

 

As the cocktail appears on the Bern's Menu, note the missing 's' in allspice, tsk tsk

 

For my first attempt at recreating this libation, I decided to honor my tried-and-true Black Manhattan recipe and use a 2:1 ratio of rye whiskey to amaro.

 

Edit - I've been tinkering with various ratios of rye to amaro and I do believe a two ounces of rye to three-quarters of an ounce of amaro is the sweet spot for this particular libation. The recipe below has been updated to reflect this.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces well-aged Rye whiskey (here I used Pikesville Rye but can also vouch for Rittenhouse rye)
• 1 ounce 0.75 ounces Averna amaro
• 0.25 ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• Six Four dashes of Black Walnut Bitters
• Absinthe rinsed stemware
  

Composition

Swirl absinthe into a chilled cocktail glass, set aside in the freezer while you mix the drink.

Place the rye whiskey, amaro, allspice dram, and black walnut bitters into a cocktail shaker, stir and taste. Adjust to personal preference and when happy, add ice to the shaker and stir until well chilled. Strain into the absinthe rinsed glass and garnish however you see fit.

 

Commentary

As I strained the cocktail into the glass and noticed its significantly dark color, I immediately suspected my version would be punchier than what I was served at Bern's. My suspicions were confirmed within a few sips; my version had a much stronger Averna (and allspice) vibe than the Bern's version. I'd wager that Bern's uses a half (ish) ounce of Averna, which is understandable considering they are making libations for a wide array of palates and amaro can be quite polarizing. To my tastes, I am sticking with the full ounce of Averna, but do recommend you tailor this component to your tastes. I will decrease the amount of walnut bitters I use in future versions however, somewhere in the two to four dashes range will work better than the six I used. Lastly, please do not omit the absinthe rinse. Just as in a Sazerac, the absinthe envelops the entire cocktail with an enchanting aura that is always present, yet never gratuitous in its presence. Delicious.

 

Cheers!

A Rum Old Fashioned

 

Inspired by Punch's Rum Old Fashioned contest, this concoction has cemented itself as my go-to favorite libation, particularly on a Friday night as I slide into a relaxing weekend. While an Old Fashioned is typically the playground of bourbon and rye, if you enjoy rum, I wholeheartedly recommend experimenting with this cocktail.

 

Ingredients

• 2 ounces well aged rum (see Rum note below)
• 0.25 ounces falernum
• 3 - 4 dashes orange bitters
• 1 teaspoon demerara syrup (optional and to taste) 
• Orange twist

Rum Note: Of paramount importance when it comes to selecting a rum for this libation is to ensure the bulk of the rum used is well aged - a minimum of five years, but the older the better in my opinion. You can use two (or more) different rums, just ensure the dominant rum has some maturity to it. I enjoy using two different rums when I am mixing this drink: an ounce and a half of an older, high proof 'sophisticated' rum (usually hailing from Barbados or Guyana) complemented by a half ounce of a wildly funky, but typically young Jamaican rum.

Composition

Place the rum, falernum, and orange bitters in a mixing vessel/cocktail shaker. Stir and taste, add demerara syrup as desired. Once satisfied with the libation's balance, add ice to the container and stir until well chilled. Strain into your favorite Old Fashioned glass over a large chunk of ice and garnish with an orange twist.

 

Commentary

This cocktail came into my life at just the right point in time. My interest in rum began about a decade ago and as the years passed, my knowledge and library of rums steadily increased. The lion's share of rum-based drinks in my repertoire have Tiki/Caribbean origins and I was curious to begin exploring the stirred rather than shaken world of rum drinks. I do recommend experimenting with various rums to find a combination that curls your toes. Speaking personally, I think heavy-bodied molasses based rums work best as the dominant rum with a smaller portion of a grassy rhum agricole or a high-ester Jamaican added to liven things up. A great rhythm section is always complimented by a vibrant horn section.

 

I do think the falernum is mandatory, but have found the need to add sweetness to be variable; be sure to adjust to your liking. Another mandatory component is the orange twist. Normally I'd say a drink's garnish can be skipped when mixing at home, but holy moly does an orange twist really boost the experience. It is because of this cocktail, and this cocktail alone, that I keep a orange in our refrigerator at all times so that should the mood strike, an orange twist is but a flick of the vegetable peeler away. 

 

Before closing, one word of caution regarding aged rum. Because whiskey is tightly regulated across the globe, age statements found on a whiskey bottle are completely trust worthy. The same cannot be said for rum. Sadly there are nefarious producers that market rums as being aged for a specific number of years when in fact they are no where near as aged as stated. When exploring specific rums for purchase consideration, please perform a bit of due diligence. A quick Internet search is indispensable in distinguishing the honest producers from the misleading producers. Happily over the past decade, I do feel producers are being more transparent and honest and the number of nefarious producers is decreasing. Cheers to that my friends.

 

 

Boulevardier goes to Starbucks

I recently had the great pleasure of spending a few indulgent days as a food and drink tourist in New York City. Many memorable bites and sips were enjoyed, but this post is dedicated to a moment that delivered genuine astonishment. I would have wagered the mortgage payment against the idea that a Starbucks would serve me the most memorable beverage of the trip, but that is precisely what happened. Just as with The Apriscot, below is my attempt to reverse engineer this wonderful cocktail.

The cocktail as listed on the Starbucks Reserve Arriviamo Bar Menu

Ingredients

• 2.0 ounces Bourbon whiskey
• 1.3 ounces Campari
• 1.3 ounces sweet vermouth
• Vanilla Syrup to taste (or simple syrup with vanilla extract added to taste)
  
• 2 dashes lavender bitters
• 3 tablespoons ground coffee (medium grind)
  

Composition

1. Place the coffee grinds in a cheesecloth-lined fine mesh strainer
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the bourbon, Campari, and vermouth. Stir and taste, add vanilla syrup to your liking (usually one teaspoon for me). I like to ensure the drink is quite bold at this point, don't fret, we will be diluting a bit when we stir with ice just before serving.
3. Hold the the strainer/cheesecloth/coffee assembly with one hand over a clean glass large enough to hold everything in the cocktail shaker. Slowly pour the mixed cocktail over the coffee as evenly as possible.
4. Once fully strained through the coffee, toss the coffee grinds and transfer the cocktail from the glass back to the shaker and add the lavender bitters. Taste and adjust if needed.
5. When satisfied, add ice to the shaker and stir until the drink is well chilled and diluted to preference
6. Strain into your serving glass over a large cube of ice.
   

Commentary

A reminder that some of life's greatest surprises can indeed come from unexpected places. My friends and I were simply trying to kill thirty minutes or so in the early afternoon of our final day in New York when we decided to visit the bar we spotted earlier in the morning at the Chelsea Market Starbucks Reserve store. As we were walking from Little Island en route, I innocently blurted out my hope that the Starbucks bar had at least one coffee-infused cocktail. Oh how naive I was. The menu was filled with numerous creative coffee-infused drinks. Standard cocktails, while available, were relegated to the menu's dusty and less traveled back pages. There were two offerings on the menu that caught my eye - this Boulevardier and a Manhattan. Happily one of my friends ordered the Manhattan and I was able to sample the two cocktails that caught my eye, both equally enjoyable.

Two critical factors have emerged thus far as I've attempted to recreate this drink at home. First, the amount of coffee grinds. Too little coffee and the influence is nonexistent. Too much, and the cocktail is totally overwhelmed by the coffee. Currently I've settled on 3 tablespoons of coffee grinds to pass the cocktail through, but some further experimentation is needed. Second, the lavender bitters are fantastic, but be wary, too many dashes cloak the drink with an unmistakable floral/lavender/soap vibe. Less is more when it comes to the amount of lavender added to this drink.

 

My home setup

 

The drink as it was served to me at the Arriviamo Bar

The Apriscot

Inspired by a cocktail I enjoyed in New York City's Flatiron Room, below is my attempt to reverse engineer the libation's delicious savory smokiness.

 

The Apriscot as listed on the Flatiron Room's Menu

 

Ingredients

• 1.5 to 2.0 ounces peated Single Malt Whisky (see Whisky Note below)
• 1.0 ounce apricot liqueur
• 0.75 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 0.50 ounces orgeat
• Three dashes rhubarb bitters

Whisky Note: The quantity (and type) of peated single malt dictates the degree of smokiness delivered into the cocktail. 1.5 ounces injects a subtle smokiness whereas 2.0 ounces ushers in a hearty wallop of smoke. Adjust to your personal preferences.

Composition
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Stir, taste and adjust as you see fit. Note, I omitted the simple syrup as the orgeat I used is quite sweet, your mileage may vary. Once happy, add ice to the shaker and shake until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail coupe and serve up.

In the future I will experiment with stirring the cocktail rather than shaking. While shaking vs. stirring will produce a slightly different cocktail, I'm sure each version will be enjoyable.

 
Commentary

An absolutely delicious riff on a whiskey sour in my opinion. The smoke element is the most pronounced aspect of the drink, but the lemon and apricot do hold their own. Fascinatingly, the rhubarb bitters appear towards the end of each sip as the unmistakable taste of rhubarb danced across my tongue. While the Flatiron Room uses Ardbeg's 5-year old 'Wee Beastie', I am in the final third of a bottle of Lagavulin's 9-year old that I am trying to finish and as such used that. In truth, I think any peated Single Malt will work, but just recognize that the peat characteristic of the whisky you use will absolutely carryover to the cocktail. Lagavulin will produce a different cocktail than Ardbeg, Laphroaig or Caol Ila for example.

 

As an aside, a major thank you to the Flatiron Room for disclosing the specific spirits used in their various cocktails. I love when cocktail menus do this as it not only provides invaluable information to whiskey fans, it also greatly aids the home bartender's efforts to recreate the concoction in the comfort of their own home. Cheers!

 

Day #11 - Whiskey Advent Calendar

A busier than expected weekend has put me further behind schedule with the Advent calendar. On the upside, if I were on schedule, tonight's sample would be #19 leaving only five samples left to enjoy. Instead, my tardiness has left a whopping thirteen samples yet to be discovered, who says procrastination doesn't pay??

 

Jumping into the sample, and my short-term absence from the calendar is not being rewarded with a remarkable nose. Subtle vanilla, subtle barley sugar, subtle alcohol, you get the idea. With a bit of time, there is a cocoa powder note. All in all, there is not a whole lot going on here with the nose, it smells as though it is muted.

The taste is slightly more interesting than the nose, but not by much. Plenty of barley, very light oak, gentle red pepper spice. There is an initial burst of sweetness with the sip that morphs into a spicy sensation. The alcohol is well controlled here (or low strength).

The finish is medium length. As with the taste, the finish begins sweet but concludes with the red pepper spice.

All in all this is a perfectly fine whiskey, but not overly memorable. I do believe this is a barley-based whiskey. Perhaps a blend, but I do not get a lot of grain whiskey influence. Eliminating the possibility of grain whiskey means I am working with a 100% barley based whiskey here - perhaps a blend of different single malts? Yeah, let's go with that, a Scottish blended malt. I do not believe this has been aged terribly long, 8-10 years tops. Lastly, the alcohol is low, no higher than 43%, but I think 40% ABV is more likely. Overall, I am not too impressed, this whiskey could use a bit more strength to help liven its experience up.

My Guess

Type/Style: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

Region: Scotland

Age: 8 to 10 years old

Maturation: Ex-bourbon

Strength: 40% ABV

Producer: Compass Box

Sip, Mix, or Skip?: Skip

 

Reveal

Name: The Irishman - The Harvest

Type/Style: Irish Blended Whiskey (70% Single Malt, 30% Irish Single Pot Still)

Region: Ireland

Age: Non-age stated

Maturation: Ex-bourbon

Strength: 40% ABV

Producer: Walsh Whiskey

Price: $33

Official Tasting Notes

The Irishman The Harvest is the first blend created by Bernard Walsh, and it is still one of their best and one of the most unique coming out of the Irish craft distilling market. It is a blend of 70% Single Malt and 30% Single Pot Still Spirits aged in ex-Bourbon casks. This twist on a classic adds a very nice layered complexity and a bit of grain spice that makes this dram a stand-out. It is also a multi-award-winner with Gold Medals dripping off the bottle like honey.

Pedantic Corner:
"Single Malt" is a distillation of 100% malted barley from a single distillery, "Single Pot Still" also comes from a single distillery, but the mash consists of a combination of malted and un-malted barley.

Final Thoughts

Ohhhhh, a blended Irish whiskey but a blend of only barley-based whiskeys! Tricky tricky and well played Advent calendar. In the world of whiskey, Single Pot Still Irish is arguably my favorite type of whiskey (I do vacillate on this topic, hence the 'arguably'). Typically a Single Pot Still Irish Whisky delivers an unmistakable aroma of fresh cut green grass, yet I did not detect any such smell from this whiskey. Granted, the single pot still portion is only 30% of the blend, however I am a tad disappointed in myself for missing that note.

 

On paper, this particular whiskey should be a home run. Blending together the two great barley-based whiskey styles of Ireland is a match made in heaven yet the actual whiskey in the bottle is a disappointment to me. For starters, I think this whiskey's low ABV truly hinders the experience from start to finish. A lack of character also dampens this whiskey leading to an overall 'meh' impression. A bit more strength and a bit more maturation time would do wonders for this blend I suspect. The concept is stellar, the implementation needs a bit of work however. Close, but no cigar for me; this whiskey is a 'skip'.

Day #10 - 2022 Whiskey Advent Calendar

 

Sample #10 officially puts us in double-digit territory and approaching the halfway point of the calendar. I'm feeling a bit congested tonight, so I am not convinced my sniffer will be all that useful for tonight's pour, but let's see what we got.

Oh a very interesting nose - a gentle, but not timid whiskey. My first sniffs reveal a bit of barley. With subsequent smells, notes of vanilla and corn surface. There are very gentle notes of saw dust and cinnamon here. The alcohol is well controlled, nothing fiery or unpleasant. With enough time, I catch occasional aromas reminiscent of fresh cherries.

 

A very pleasant initial taste - corn sweetness, a nice strum of an ethanol chord, and a departing whisper of vanilla. The strength seems moderate to me, 43% to 45% ABV. The alcohol prickle is very well controlled making each sip a perfectly approachable and enjoyable experience. Interestingly the cherry note carries over from the smell.

 

The finish is moderate in length with oak leading the charge. This is not a drying finish however, no black tea sensations anywhere to be found. Accompanying the oak in the finish is a red pepper spice followed by a corn sweetness. Just as with the taste, there is a whisper of vanilla at the tail end of the finish.

Before wagering a guess as to what this is, let me say that I really do enjoy this whiskey. So much so that I feel safe in saying it is my favorite sample thus far. I do think this is a bourbon whiskey, produced somewhere in the United States of America. The oak is very well controlled such that there is near-zero oak char in the experience, but plenty of dry, toasted oak. The vanilla is consistent through each phase of the experience, as was the red pepper spice and cherry notes I experienced. This is, in the best way possible, a very gentle bourbon whiskey. Rather than being a sledgehammer of oak, vanilla, and brown sugar, this is a svelte finishing hammer gracefully finessing in the classic hallmark characteristics of bourbon. Because of this, my gut says this bourbon was produced outside of Kentucky, perhaps the Midwest or Pacific coast of the United States. Strength seems standard to me, 43% but possibly as high as 45%. Maturation barrels would be new oak with a remote chance of used, ex-wine barrels being used.

My Guess

Type/Style: Bourbon Whiskey

Region: North America (United States of America)

Age: 6 to 10 years old

Maturation: Oak, possible ex-wine influence

Strength: 43% ABV

Producer: No idea, but I'll bet it is a smaller 'craft' distiller

Sip, Mix, or Skip?: Sip

 

Reveal

Name: Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey

Type/Style: Blend of Straight Bourbons

Region: North America (USA)

Age: Non-age stated

Maturation: New charred oak

Strength: 43% ABV

Producer: Breckenridge Distillery (along with sourced bourbons from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee)

Price: $40

Official Tasting Notes 

 

One of their signature products — and arguably one of their best sellers — is Breckenridge Bourbon. The first thing that a Bourbon fan might notice is that this is a blend… but don’t let that throw you. They mash and distill a lot of Bourbon in house and blend it with other high-rye, straight Bourbons from Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky.

They are pursuing flavor, and they get it for sure in this deeply hued dram with a luscious mouth-feel. What's the secret of the superior texture? According to Bryan, it's all about the pure, mineralized, snow-melt water that they have in abundance and use for distillation and proofing.

Final Thoughts 

Most excellent, this was a very nice surprise indeed. I've long seen Breckenridge's bourbon on local store shelves, and while curious, I have never sampled until tonight. What a treat to finally get to experience this whiskey and I very much enjoyed the bourbon. What I like about this bourbon is its gentleness. All the classic bourbon notes are there, but none of them are pounding your senses. A fair counter-point/criticism of this gentleness is the notion that this bourbon is so gentle, it borders on unremarkable or 'simple'. Yes,  it is completely approachable, but truthfully there are nights where I do not want to analyze and sift through a whiskey. I just want to pour a measure, sit in a comfortable chair, shut my brain off, and sip the hooch in blissful silence. This Breckenridge Bourbon fits that bill perfectly. 

 

It is interesting that this is a blend of bourbons from all over the United States. While Breckenridge is blending in some of the bourbon they distilled in Colorado, my inner whiskey-geek would love to know the proportions, source, and age of each component of the blend. Alas, that appears to be a closely guarded trade secret, not even reputable scuttlebutt on the Interwebz can be found on the topic. Oh well, perhaps the acceptance that some questions are beyond our ability to answer fits perfectly for my desire to have a 'turn your brain off' whiskey to enjoy every now and again.

Day #9 - 2022 Whiskey Advent Calendar

Day #9 - knocking out the second sample of the day. While I don't think I'll be able to erase the entire schedule deficit I am currently running, every inch counts. Oh and hey, the Glencairn is back from its vacation as well, so let's get to sniffing and sipping.

 

Barley and grain jump out in the early going. Day #8 was a blended Irish whiskey and Day #9 smells reminiscent of a muted version of that. Gentle incense, vanilla, barley sugar, fresh peaches, very little alcohol prickle. A perfectly fine, albeit pedestrian, nose. Nothing jarring nor memorable.

Vanilla, grain, and a touch of bitter sharpness headline the taste. In keeping with the nose, the alcohol is quite low in this whiskey, I'd wager we are in the standard 40% to 43% ABV range. Completely anticlimactic compared to the 65% of Day #8's proof bomb, but it's understandable to let off the gas a bit after that bat out of hell rocket ship. There is very little oak here, almost zero oak in fact. Certainly no barrel char, so the barrels that were used were either well-worn or perhaps brand new and lightly toasted. A very gentle, almost thin whiskey.

 

The finish is short to non-existent. Easily the shortest finish of the samples thus far. Not a whole lot to comment on here - some grain, some oak, some barley sugar. Nothing noteworthy. 

Overall the nose is the best part of the experience. Nose > Taste > Finish. This is, almost to a fault, a very gentle whiskey. Dare I say most would describe this whiskey as 'smooth'. This in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, for someone brand new to whiskey, this would be an excellent introductory pour. This whiskey is so gentle, so mellow, that my mind is racing back to Japan again. Because there is a prominent sharpness, I feel that there is grain whiskey in play here, a fair amount as well which means we are dealing with a blended whiskey here. In my experience, the blended whiskeys from Ireland and Scotland have a bit more froth, a bit more shake, rattle, and roll to them. In contrast, this whiskey is like a whisper - gentle aromas, gentle taste, an almost vacant finish. Let's call it - this is a blended Japanese whisky. There is some malt in there, but it's mostly grain. I don't think the age is very high, under 10 years. The strength is no higher than 43%, but 40% is more likely. As for maturation, this whiskey did not use potent barrels for aging. Definitely oak, but nothing exotic like ex-wine barrels.

 

My Guess

Type/Style: Blended Japanese Whisky

Region: Japan

Age: 6 to 10 years old

Maturation: Oak, ex-bourbon, virgin oak

Strength: 43% ABV

Producer: No idea

Sip, Mix, or Skip?: Skip

 

Reveal

Name: The San-In Blended Japanese Whisky

Type/Style: Blend of malt whisky (from Matsui) and grain whisky (sourced)

Region: Japan

Age: Non-age stated

Maturation: Unknown white oak casks

Strength: 40% ABV

Producer: Matsui Whisky

Price: $30

Official Tasting Notes

The Matsui Shuzo Distillery keeps a low profile. It’s almost enigmatic with no visitor center or direct sales. But the line Whiskies that comes out of their warehouses are very highly regarded — including ten Single Malts under the Kurayoshi brand and five grain Whiskies under their Tottori nameplate. All of them very popular with the discriminating dram-lovers across the Land of the Rising Sun.

Kurayoshi The San – In Blended Whisky is proof of their endless mastery. A blend of Mitsui’s own Malt and carefully sourced Grain Whiskies, it was aged in white oak barrels. The pure soft spring water from under Mount Daisen makes the fruity flavors even smoother and more mellow, making this a super approachable yet very well-structured Whisky. A Gold medal at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Gold at the International Spirits Challenge are just proof of our thoughts on paper: that this light and refreshing Whisky is an outstanding example of what modern Japanese Whisky can be.

Final Thoughts

Alright, alright, alright, not too shabby on this one McConaughey. I do applaud Japanese whisky producers (the legitimate ones that is) for their dedication to producing well-balanced, subtle whiskies. At their best, Japanese whiskies gently unfold layers of ever-changing flavors throughout the experience of any given pour. This particular whisky is too gentle to accomplish that multifaceted experience, but it is remarkably approachable. Also, at $30, a person new to whisky will absolutely find value here to experience a basic representation of the Japanese approach to whisky.

 

One item I take exception to is the description of 'Long and lingering' in the 'Finish' portion of the official tasting notes. Absolutely the opposite of my opinion. While flavors and aromas are highly subjective and personal, the length of a finish tends to be a bit more concrete across the spectrum of tasters. Had the tasting notes said 'moderate' or the like, I would silently disagree, but not pursue my dissent beyond that. Overall I'd say this whisky is a worthy purchase for those curious about Japanese whisky and/or folks just starting out sampling whisky neat. For all others, there is not much on offer here and for many, this whisky will land squarely in 'meh' territory.