Robert Burns Night

On Saturday night, we had the pleasure of attending the annual Burns Night celebration hosted by our good friends, Rob and Shelley (that's Rob with the bagpipes). There was haggis (and of course the Address to a Haggis), neeps and tatties, and many other delicious treats. Searching for something to bring, I put myself in charge of Scotch-based cocktails. As many have found, Scotch is not the easiest thing to mix with, but I knew some of the folks at the party would not be sipping it neat, so I went on a search.

I found two fun mixed drinks from fellow bloggers, and they worked out very well. I made the Blood and Sand, which is a very nice and balanced drink using Paul Clarke's recipe (which borrows from Ted Haigh's recipe), and the Robert Burns Cocktail (which seemed only natural given the occasion). For that cocktail, I used Marleigh at Sloshed's recipe. Those recipes are:

Blood and Sand
1 ounce blended Scotch (I followed Paul's recommendation of Famous Grouse)
1 ounce fresh-squeezed orange juice (After we ran out of oranges, I had to use Minute Maid)
¾ ounce sweet vermouth (Noilly Prat)
¾ ounce Cherry Heering

Fill shaker with ice, and shake well, strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or a rocks glass if you've run out of cocktail glasses). I garnished with fresh orange peel. I liked this version far more than previous attempts at this drink - partly due to the proportions in this version and partly due to the blended Scotch.

Robert Burns Cocktail
1½ oz Scotch (Famous Grouse again)
½ oz Sweet Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
Dash orange bitters (Fee Brothers)
Dash Pernod

I shook this one with ice, and strained into an ice-filled glass. I garnished with either regular orange peel or flamed orange peel, depending on my mood (and whether I still trusted myself with the lighter).

Both drinks were popular, although the Blood & Sand was a bit easier drinking for those who are not accustomed to glasses of pure alcohol. All in all, a very fun night with just a few cups o' kindness taken for auld lang syne.

Taste Tests: Ginger Beers, Part II

I know you've been waiting with bated breath for the results of our ginger beer taste comparisons, and I don't want to make you wait any longer. Here are our rankings, along with our tasting notes for all the products we tried (both alone and in Moscow Mules, it was interesting to see how our opinions changed!):

Our Overall Ratings:

Best: Bundaberg - all around, the best performer both on its own and in mixed drinks. Consistently ranked in the top two. Plus, we like that its actually fermented.
Second: Cock 'n Bull - the "original" for Moscow Mules was one that we preferred for mixing, even though we didn't like it as much on its own (but who drinks it that way anyway)
Third: Fentimans - the most unusual (in a good way) of the bunch, with less sweetness and more rich spice, with a genuine-tasting flavor

We did not care at all for the Reed's Original or the D&G's Old Jamaican. The Barritt's was certainly acceptable, but not our preferred choice if we have one, and the Ginger People version seemed somewhat limited in its application. Although we used it at our event, we probably wouldn't choose the Sioux City again, unless someone asked for it.

Tasting Notes on their Own:

• Cock 'n Bull - clear in color, sweet, relatively light, with a bit of ginger tang/spice. Very bubbly, like a soft drink ought to be.
• Ginger People - very gingery, not really spicy though, sweet and lightly carbonated, with caramel notes. It was a very light yellow/tan color.
• D&G Old Jamaican - Very bubbly, sweet, with ginger tang and heat. Dominant lemon/citrus notes, but with a less genuine flavor than the other two above.
• Reed's - Dominant honey smell and taste. Had ginger and spice notes, but the honey dominated the flavor. It was sweet, with medium carbonation.
• Bundaberg - Nice ginger flavor, with a bit of tang - more ginger than Cock 'n Bull. Sweet with medium carbonation.
• Fentimans - Spicy, a blend of ginger and other spices (we could smell the juniper). Left a bit of heat in the back of my throat. Less sweet, well carbonated.
• Barritt's - Gingery, with a tiny bit of tang. Sweet, with a bit more flavor overall than Cock 'n Bull, although very similar to the Cock 'n Bull.
• Sioux City - darkest in color (colorings are added). Spicy, in a nondescript kind of way, with a nice ginger nose. A hint of heat, but very soda-like.
  

Tasting Notes in a Moscow Mule:

• Cock 'n Bull - a light, refreshing version of the drink, with moderate sweetness and light ginger. Well balanced.
• Ginger People - I liked it better with the lime, and would use a lot of lime with this ginger beer. My other half did not like it and thought it conflicted with the lime. The ginger is a true ginger flavor, and it lingers on the finish.
• D&G Old Jamaican - Overbearing, overwhelmed the drink, with an artificial taste. The citrus notes dominated, with nondescript spice in the finish.
  
• Reed's - Neither of us liked this one for this drink. The honey flavors dominated, and it didn't really work in the drink at all.
• Bundaberg - Nice balance of ginger flavor, with a bit of tang - more character than Cock 'n Bull, but seemed a tad sweeter.
• Fentimans - Had the most character & spice, and was less sweet than the others. One of us loved that peppery spice, while the other of us merely liked it.
  
• Barritt's - Light ginger, very bubbly. It was well balanced and had ginger and spice flavors, but seemed rather average.
• Sioux City - One of us thought it was boring, and that the alcohol came through over the beer (despite my rigor in pouring it exactly the same way 8 times). One of us thought it was spicy in a nondescript way, but too much like cola.

So there you have it. I'm glad I got that 4-pack of Bundaberg, I might have go back for more!

Taste Tests: Ginger Beers, Part I

As I've mentioned periodically, I have accumulated quite a stash of ginger beers over the last few months. I've picked them up all over the place, and sweet talked a few bar managers out of bottles from their secret stashes.

I got the total up to 10, although 2 of them were technically ginger "ales" rather than ginger beers. Going into the taste tests, I thought those two had enough punch to hold up to the other ginger beers (as it turns out, one of them did, but one of them didn't).


Brief Background on Ginger Beer
As you probably know, ginger beer nowadays is typically just a soft drink with more ginger punch and spice than ginger ale. It was originally a fermented drink (using something called the ginger beer plant that isn't really what I think of as a plant). A few of the ones you can find on the market now are actually fermented, but most of them are a blend of water, sugar, real or artificial flavors and colors, carbonation and maybe some preservatives.

I don't really hear much about ginger beer, except when people are discussing the Dark 'N Stormy or the Moscow Mule. So you might wonder how I got started in collecting them. We had a party awhile back where we served classic cocktails from the 1930's and 40's, with live entertainment from that era, and we served the Moscow Mule. It has a fun story, and is a fairly accessible (and easy) drink if made with a decent ginger beer, so I was off on a search for one. The first one I bought, Stewarts, was simply too much. Way over the top on the spiciness, so much so that I couldn't bring myself to finish a drink, no matter what I made with it. So I ruled that one out.

I tried two others that were relatively easy to find in the Chicago area: Sioux City and Ginger People (check out their cute logo at right - the label explains it). At the time, we ruled out the Ginger People - it has a really nice, true ginger flavor, but it didn't mesh well in the cocktails. So we went with the Sioux City, which had some spicy bite, but not as much as the Stewarts, and worked pretty well in our Moscow Mule.


Here's the rundown on the ones we tried, in no particular order:

• Cock 'n Bull - the ginger beer that made the Moscow Mule famous. I'm not sure it's the same formula as the original, since it now includes "sugar and/or corn sweeteners," "caramel colors" and "natural flavors." Interestingly, the website on the bottle doesn't seem to work (www.cocknbull.com), and I found two different pictures of this brand on the web. The one linked above is the one I have, not this one. I got this bottle from Neyah at Nopa in San Francisco, its not sold in Chicago as far as I can tell.
• Bundaberg - Australian ginger beer, which it appears is at least partially fermented and flavored with real ginger root. It lists yeast as an ingredient, but also carbonated water. I found this one at my local Cost Plus World Market.
• Barritt's - This is the ginger beer that the folks at Gosling's Rum say you have to use to make a proper Dark 'N Stormy (and you have to use their rum too, at least according to them and a Bermuda trademark they were issued). My friend Adam at the Clark Street Ale House donated this one to my collection (thanks Adam!). I'd heard about it around town but never seen it in a store. It is made with high fructose corn syrup, "natural and artificial flavoring" and other equally exciting sounding ingredients.
• Ginger People - mentioned earlier, its made with ginger juice and ginger extract, cane sugar, and "natural flavors" among other ingredients.
  
• D&G Old Jamaican - the beverage gurus at Tavern on the Park sold me a bottle of this one for my collection. I'd never seen nor heard of this one, and the guys would only tell me that the "have a guy who gets it for them." I was excited about it, until I noticed that it proclaims on the front that it is a "naturally and artificially flavored carbonated beverage."
• Fentimans - This was the last addition to my collection, and I found it at Sam's Wine & Spirits in the South Loop store. I happened to notice it in a shopper's basket while I was roaming the store, and so I asked about it. My favorite cheesemonger, who happens to work at this store, highly recommended it and said its very hard to find. Their website says its at Cost Plus, but I haven't seen it there.
• Sioux City - mentioned above, and made by the folks at White Rock Beverages according to the cap, although its not listed on their website. Like some others, it contains HFCS, "natural flavor," "caramel color" and a few other ingredients, including, notably "brominated vegetable oil." What the heck is that doing in there?
• Reed's Original Ginger Brew - not technically a ginger beer, its labeled a ginger "ale." I understand they make an Extra Ginger that is labeled ginger beer, but I could not find it anywhere. This one has some unusual ingredients, including "fructose, pineapple juice from concentrate and honey," as well as "lemon and lime juices from concentrate" along with spices, ginger root and sparkling water. All natural ingredients at least!
• Fever-Tree Ginger Ale - also not a ginger beer. When I tried it previously, I thought it was spicier than most ginger ales, so I thought it might be able to compete in this category. I was wrong, it was totally overpowered by all of the other competitors. Its still a lovely ginger ale though.
  

In Part II, I'll post tasting notes and rankings of our favorites. Stay tuned!