TOTC2011: Nonstop to Tokyo

As I mentioned previously, my favorite thing at Tales of the Cocktail this year was the Nonstop to Tokyo. It was by luck, and the kindness of my friend Nathan Luchansky, that I was even able to attend - the event was completely sold out at least two months ahead of time and Nathan gave me a ticket.

Here are some pictures from the event, as well as some details to give a sense of why it was great.

Departing NOLA
Starting out, we headed into a suite and were given a boarding pass for our trip to Tokyo. The event was sponsored by Suntory , and featured a variety of their whiskys (they don't use the "e") as well as a few other spirits that they handle in Japan. My friend Neyah White, now an ambassador for Suntory, but formerly head barkeep of one of my favorite places in San Francisco, was there as our tour guide.

On entry, we were given access to two side rooms - one where a cocktail with Hibiki 12 was being served, and one where we could sample a variety of Japanese whiskys and play a little putt-putt golf.

One of the spirits we were invited to taste was called "Chita." Not available in the US on it's own, it is used as part of the blend in the Hibiki whiskey. It's a really interesting, delicious spirit - made from 100% Japan-grown corn, and aged in used bourbon barrels. It tastes like a fine aged rum and was quite sippable.

The Main Event
After while, we were invited into the main room of the suite, where there was small bar with seven or eight seats. Hidetsugu Ueno from Bar High Five in Tokyo greeted us, and presented us with a menu of cocktail options. And then, essentially, he made us cocktails and told us a bit about cocktail culture and cocktail making in Japan.

Some of the highlights:

• He cracked ice by hand, using a three-pronged ice crusher
• He carved an ice block into a diamond-shaped cube for one of the cocktails
• One of the cocktails was served at room temperature in a tulip glass, with undiluted honey in the bottom, so that the drinker could adjust sweetness to taste by swirling the glass.
• The techniques he used, and the fluidity of his motions, were beautiful to watch.
  

A couple of trivia bits I learned:

• Both Midori and Southern Comfort are very popular in Japan.
  
• It is common to use knives completely up - the knife he used on the ice block was used for other things in the past, but the blade has shrunk over time and now it is only good for carving ice.
  

Thiswas a truly unique experience, and a wonderful introduction to the cocktail culture in Japan. And, I got to try a couple of new whiskys and get a couple of good ideas for cocktails, too.

Thanks again to Nathan for finding me and giving me the ticket!

TOTC: The First 24 Hours

After arriving in NOLA yesterday, I hit the ground running in the parties, drinks and good time departments. Perhaps a bit more than I should have, in retrospect, given that it's early on in my TOTC tenure.

Here were some highlights from Wednesday:

• Running into many friends from many places, many of whom I haven't seen in quite awhile. This was honestly my favorite part.
  
• Sipping Lagavulin 16 at the Diageo "Behind the Distillery Doors" panel. The event started late, and wasn't quite what I expected. However, I very much enjoyed the Scotch and learned a few things about how other spirits makers handle issues, and how they search for innovations.
• Wonderful cocktails and dinner at Sylvain with a good friend. Several writer friends recommended it, and they were absolutely correct. Go there. Now.
• The drinks at the Old Absinthe House have improved, from the looks of it. I still had a beer, but I actually considered getting a cocktail.
  

And a few lowlights:

• The Pimm's Cup at the Napoleon House was not as good as I remembered. Tasted like bad sour mix, actually. Did not even finish it, even.
• The elevators at the Monteleone are even slower than I remembered. More people in them this time around.

All in all, a great first 24 hours. Now, off to a seminar!

Blackberry Juleps

Ever since the Kentucky Derby, I've been playing around with Mint Juleps now and then. Along the way toward the Belmont Stakes this weekend, I have been tweaking a recipe for a Blackberry Julep. Now this isn't the King of Cocktails' Blackberry Julep recipe - I was aiming for something of a hybrid between that recipe and the Mint Julep.

Blackberry Julep v2.0
1 1/2 oz Bourbon (I used Old Whiskey River)
3/4 oz Blackberry Liqueur (I used Echte Kroatzbeere)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 ratio)
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
6 Mint Leaves

Muddle the mint and simple syrup in a mixing glass. Add the liqueur and bourbon. Strain into a highball (or julep) glass filled with crushed or shaved ice. Swirl with a bar spoon until the outside of the glass frosts up. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a fresh blackberry.

I have been substituting that blackberry liqueur for Chambord lately, and its working pretty well - a nice change.

ADI Conference, Day 3

Holy crap, the whole rest of April and the first few days of May got away from me before I finished my posting about the ADI conference. I better get this finished before a whole month has passed!

Without further ado, here are the highlights from the last day of the conference - a very interesting day indeed.

Whiskey Distillers Panel
We left the Seelbach bright and early to head to the Huber Winery campus. Our sessions for the day were held in their lovely conference area. After the welcomes and administrivia, we kicked off the conference sessions with a panel of craft whiskey distillers.

The panel included Jess Graber from Stranahan's in Colorado, Ralph Erenzo from Tuthilltown in New York, Don Poffenroth from Dry Fly in Washington, and Rick Wasmund from Copper Fox in Virginia. Here are a few highlights of the panel:

• Pretty universally, the distillers reported that they get about a 10% ratio of whiskey to wash, so 3000 gallons of wash yields 300 gallons of whiskey
• Some of the distillers do their own fermentation, while others have a local brewery create the mash. Reasons varied - some met with reluctance from the breweries, while others outgrew the capability of their local brewery; and one really wanted to control the entire process from the beginning (he even malts his own barley)
  
• Relative to the "small batch" brands made by larger companies, their production levels are very small. However, they vary within their group - ranging from 1-2 barrels per month to 6 barrels per week being put away. Those who've been making whiskey longer, or have larger aspirations, are producing at higher levels.
• If they had it to do over, they all wished they had allocated more money for marketing. "Getting bottles to leave the store is the key," as Rick Wasmund rightly pointed out.

Working with Distributors
I had the pleasure of leading a panel talking about working with partners in the distribution process. Our aim was to set realistic expectations among the new distillers (and those aspiring to be distillers) about how the process works, who the players are, and what you can expect. Since I was on the panel, I didn't get any photos of that one!

Tasting Panel with Jim Murray
Toward the end of the day, we were split into two groups for a structured tasting. I went for the blind whiskey tasting led by whiskey expert/critic Jim Murray. Jim's approach to tasting (and education) was very interesting. Some parts of it were in conflict with other advice I've been given over the years, but I went with it. Here were the steps:

1. Nose the spirit - at room temperature, before any alterations
   
2. Warm it up - place your hand under the bottom of the glass, and your other hand over the top. Hold the glass to your chest (unfortunately we ended up doing this for at least 10 minutes, so it got a bit uncomfortable, but people who cheated were called out on it)
3. Remove your hand from the top and let the alcohol vapors escape
4. Nose it again - one nostril at a time, which allows you to detect the aroma more clearly and allows more air to pass through
5. Taste the spirit - put some in your mouth, and then open and close your mouth with your lips pursed (kinda like making a fish face); too bad I didn't get a photo of a room full of people doing this
6. Swallow or spit

We tried some interesting spirits. Each one was kind of a sucker punch - it was not what it tasted like blind. Nonetheless, certain folks in the room continued guessing (loudly) each time, sure that they new what each one was.

We tasted:

• Penderyn Welsh Whiskey
• Sazerac Rye Whiskey
  
• Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• Clear Creek Single Malt
• And the most interest one, Amrut Cask Strength 3 year old whiskey from India
  

That last one tasted like a well made, well-aged Scotch whiskey. It was smoky, with a bit of peat, very complex and smooth despite being 61.2% alcohol. Mr. Murray advised that it is made in Bangalore, and that at 5 years it is positively undrinkable. It is so hot there, that whiskey ages much faster than it ever would in Scotland. I'm sure the Scots are none too happy about this.

Topinambur and Other Tastes
After the formal conference ended for the day, we had an informal tasting of products. Most of them are either on the market or works in progress. Lots of interesting stuff to taste, most of which I can't get in Chicago. The most interesting thing I tried, which has never been on the market here as far as I know, is a Topinambur made by one of the finest distillers in the US.

What is Topinambur, you ask? Its Jerusalem artichoke brandy, quite popular in a small part of Europe. The Jerusalem artichoke is also known as the sunchoke, and apparently has more sugar (fructose) in it than beets. I think this tops the white asparagus brandy that Derek tasted in Germany a few years ago, but maybe not.

Dinner, and then Art & Whiskey
We had a fantastic fried chicken dinner at Huber, and then we headed back to the hotel. As you might expect, some of us went out afterward. It was kind of late by the time we headed out, though, and being a weeknight there weren't that many options. So we ended up in the touristy 4th Street Live area. Not much to say for the drinks (pretty much bourbon or beer), but it was fun. There is some great public art in Louisville - here are a few favorites.

Cocktail Adventures on the Alabama Coast

We've just arrived back in Chicago after a few days of R&R on the Alabama/Florida coast, in the Perdido Key-Orange Beach area, which is sometimes affectionately called part of the Redneck Riviera.



My parents were trying their hand at snowbirding, as were most of the other people we saw. None of the towns in that area are very large, and they were all pretty sleepy this time of year. We still had a great time, but it was pretty rough finding a decent cocktail in those parts.

In Search of...
Unfortunately we came up short in finding a great cocktail, but we found some fun bars, tried one new spirit, and met some great people along the way. Here's a brief sampling of our exploits.

We had high hopes for our first stop, as it bills itself as the "best cocktail bar in the area" with an award-winning drink menu. I'm not going to name it because of what I'm about to show you. The menu was virtually all vodka and rum drinks, and about 98% of them would have been very sweet. With nary a bottle of vermouth or bitters in sight, we decided to go back to basics and ordered straight bourbon. I ordered mine "neat," and the hubby ordered his "straight." The photo at left is what we got. So we played a game of pool and moved on to the next bar.

The Keg
We had passed this bar a few times on the road, and it looked kind of interesting. It's definitely the kind of place where you order a simple drink and hang out, which is exactly what we did (and we got what we expected). They had pool and a great jukebox, and the bartender, Rick, was a lot of fun. A classic old-man bar, and we stayed awhile.

Our Cigar Bar at the Wharf
This is the only place in Orange Beach where you can still smoke inside (and boy do the folks at the other bars wonder how exactly they got the city government folks to allow it). We're not big smokers, but we thought we ought to check it out based on how everyone else was talking about the place. So we had a cocktail and shared a cigar (when in Rome...). As before, simple seemed to be best way to go with the drinks, and we got exactly what we ordered. The folks were very nice, and the cigar expert, Zeke, helped us pick out a great one.

Conecuh Ridge Whiskey
The only thing we saw on our trip that we hadn't seen before was Clyde May's Conecuh Ridge Whiskey. It claims to be "Alabama Style Whiskey" and made from an old moonshine recipe developed by Clyde May. a legendary local bootlegger who sold his homemade hooch for decades, before eventually going to jail for it.

The whiskey had a strong maple aroma, and a lingering maple syrup flavor - it was sweeter than I expected (and than I prefer). It has a bit of spice, but is a bit simpler and lighter than my preferred bourbons or whiskeys.

I researched the whiskey a bit when I got back here, and it has an interesting history. It was introduced legally by Kenny May, the son of Clyde May, following his father's recipe. However, it is made in Kentucky using a corn/rye/barley mash rather than the corn/sugar blend that Clyde May was reputed to use. In 2004, the Alabama legislature overrode the governor's veto and named it the official whiskey of the state in 2004 (and it still has that designation). This lit up a firestorm of controversy about the company and brand. In late 2004, Kenny May got in trouble with the law (for selling liquor without a license) - here's the company's take on that. So the May family is no longer involved with the whiskey, and it seems like it hasn't been going too well since then - the company filed for Chapter 11 last year and the case is pending. Wikipedia says there is a shareholder derivative suit pending also.

So we struck out in finding a great cocktail, but we found some fun bars and some interesting liquor history.

Repeal Day in Chicago

Unfortunately, the word about celebrating Repeal Day has not really caught on in the Windy City. I was in bars and liquor stores all over town on the magic day, and almost no one I encountered was aware that it was Repeal Day (and a few didn't know what it meant).

Despite this, we decided that we should have our own cocktail bar tour to honor the day, and we had a fantastic time (and made some great plans for next year). Here's are a few highlights.

First Stop: Weber Grill Restaurant, 539 N. State, Chicago
I spent the day in the city, and had a little time to kill before my hubby would arrive by train. So why not visit our friends at the Weber Grill and try that Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection bourbon that's been calling my name whenever I see the menu?

This one says its was transferred to a a French oak chardonnay barrel after 6 years, and was 14 years old at bottling. It claims to be from a sour rye mash. It was bottled at 45% alcohol.

Tasting notes: The nose was very heavy with alcohol, more so than most spirits I smell. Adding some water seemed to help, but it still had a strong alcohol note. On first sip, it really didn't taste much like bourbon - it was a bit peaty and much drier than most bourbons. It was definitely fruity and spicy, with caramel notes. Not sure how I feel about this one. Anyone else tried it?

Next Stop: The Drawing Room at Le Passage, 937 N. Rush, Chicago
Eric Felten (of the Wall Street Journal) was in town to sign copies of his book, How's Your Drink? What an appropriate event for Repeal Day! We had some amazing cocktails at the Drawing Room - they do everything by hand, using only fresh ingredients. On an regular night, they would even do it tableside - they have portable bars. How cool is that? Here are a few pics from the signing.

And yes, I need to work on my photography skills - I know you all wanted to see Eric Felten's back (photo at left). But I did get a great shot of Charles making a Brandy Crusta!




It was quite cold on this night, so we didn't want to go far. We headed off to 676 Restaurant, 676 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago for a quick bite to eat (it was great).

It was late, and it was a school night, so we headed home. Of course, we also made some plans for next year's Repeal Day... more on that later!

Academy of Spirits, Part III

The Academy of Spirits is winding down, after ten exciting weeks of learning, tasting and mixing drinks. The last few classes have included cognac & brandy, vodka & gin (taught by Simon Ford of Absolut/Plymouth Gin), beer and aperitifs & cordials. Most of the classes have been great, and we've been able to taste a range of products.

Yesterday, we pulled it all together and mixed cocktails for a couple of hours. We made a Blood & Sand, modified Moscow Mule, Negroni, spiced flip, and a Bloody Mary from scratch (using cherry tomatoes). A pretty great way to spend a Monday afternoon, if you ask me, and I didn't even wear any of my drinks home (I tend to be a bit messy, especially outside of my own kitchen).

We also had to turn in an original recipe, which is part of the final exam. It must be a tall drink, served on ice, in a 6½ ounce glass. Of course we have to use spirits that we covered in class (which means they have to come from the Southern Wine & Spirits portfolio), but since they are probably the largest distributor in the U.S., there were lots of choices.

Here is my recipe:

Harvest Moon
1½ oz Knob Creek Bourbon
1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
½ oz Fresh-squeezed Orange Juice
Dash of Peach Bitters
Club Soda

Shake bourbon, liqueur, juice and bitters together, strain into ice-filled tall glass. Top up with club soda. Garnish with an orange wheel and pansy flower (I think, I'm still working on the garnish).

I'll post an update next week with photos from the competition. Wish me luck!