Jim Beam Rye

I love bourbon. Good bourbon is a wonder, and even halfway-decent bourbon is more often than not pretty damn good. Rye is very like bourbon but with 51+ percent rye content instead of bourbon's 51+ percent corn content, and as a result tends to be spicier and not as sweet as bourbon. Rye was the original American whiskey (even though the more popular bourbon became the official American whiskey), and was the basis for most of those cocktail recipes we now use bourbon in.

As rye whiskeys go, Jim Beam Rye isn't a great rye but it's certainly a better whiskey than Jim Beam 'white label' bourbon, which frankly I can't stand. I do however give a hearty cheers to JB for keeping the bourbon torch alive all this time, and for this decent attempt to bring rye to a wider audience. I'm sure it's been around longer than it's been available at my local Safeway, but kudos for getting it on the shelf at any rate. I'm seeing more ryes appear on the market as American whiskey makes its resurgence and that's a good thing.

JB Rye has a nice caramel-pecan nose, with a whiff of butter toffee. The entry is a mouthful of slightly astringent bourbony Beam bitterness quickly fading to a surprisingly long toasted nut and caramel finish. Makes a decent mixer but lacks the well-roundedness of even Old Overholt. That said, I found this on sale cheaper than both Old Overholt and JB white label! Look for the yellow label.

Jim Beam Rye
website: http://www.jimbeam.com
typical price: $15.99/750ml
our rating: 6.5/10

Christmas is here, Time for... Beer!

Happy (and hoppy) holidays to you all!

I mentioned recently that at our little Christmas party we sampled no less than 9 kinds of beer, but I was too busy cooking and drinking to take proper notes. However, I do remember well enough to give a yay or meh to the following brews, and yes not all are seasonal, but who cares: Stone Double Bastard (yay), Franziskaner Hefeweizen (yay), Lagunitas Sumthin' Extra (yay), Blue Moon Belgian (meh), Spaten Optimator (yay), Samuel Smith's Winter Warmer (yay), Ridgeway Bad Elf (meh), Lagunitas Capuccino Stout (yay), and the sleeper hit was Half Moon Bay's Maverick's Old Soulstice, very nice!

But that's only the beginning...

NOW, our own Uncle Whisky, on the other hand, took copious notes as he swigged copious amounts of beer at the Holiday Ale Fest in Portland! Here with a guest post is Uncle Whisky:

Hi! Here's the breakdown from the ale fest, I'll try to keep them in chronological order, but there were some fuzzy moments ;-)

(bonus was that I found 3 tickets on the ground! that meant 3 more beers!)

Bear Republic, Healdsburg, CA. Barrel-aged Baba Yaga Imperial Stout 11.5% aged in French oak Cabernet barrels
Dark brown with tan head, big and chewy, very smooth, no bitterness, roasted nut and chocolate flavors. First beer i tried.

Brasserie Dubuisson - Scaldis Noel (last beer I tasted) Belgian strong ale 12%
Nut brown in color, muted sweetness, very rich and complex, nuts and dried fruit flavors. My favorite beer from the fest!

Fort George Brewery, Astoria, OR (3rd) North III - Belgian style tripel 8.8%
I originally thought they poured me the wrong beer. I had to confirm this with other fest-goers that this nut brown colored ale was in fact the North 3. Totally out of style as most Belgian tripels are pale in color. The beer was had some rich maltiness and a lingering bitterness. It was tasty but confusing. I thought they poured the Great Divide Hibernation which was being poured right next to it.

Lagunitas, Petaluma, CA (4th tasted) 2008 Olde Gnarley Wine 9.9%
My second favorite of the fest. dark amber in color, very smooth and rich, complex caramel and nut flavors. outstanding!

(ed. note - I loves me some Olde Gnarley Wine!!)

Hair of the Dog, Portland, OR (6th tasted) Jim 2009 - blended barrel aged old ale 10%
Initially I did not care for this one, but it improved on subsequent sips. The beer is quite different and hard to describe since it is a blend of other finished beers: HOTD Doggie Claws, Adam, Fred from the Wood, and Blue Dot imp IPA, as well as an English brown ale, German bock, and an American Strong ale. Dark amber in color with a citrus fruit aroma, followed by lingering hops.

Oakshire Brewing, Eugene, OR (5th tasted) - Very Ill-tempred Gnome - American barleywine 9.5%
Light amber in color, big spicy hop aroma, rich malt, complex and chewy. pretty damn tasty.

Seven Brides Brewing, Silverton, OR - Drunkel - dark strong ale 9.5%
Sweet aroma, nut brown in color with a tan head, tastes like fruity hoppy candy. Very tasty!

Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA - Bourbon Barrel Arrogant Bastard - American Strong ale 7.2%
Sweet vanilla nose, tastes of vanilla spice followed by big hops, and a nice bourbon flavor on the finish. Very tasty!

Upright Brewing, Portland, OR - Holy Herb - winter farmhouse ale - 6.9%
A very unusual beer. dark amber in color, lots of herbal spicy aromas. kinda like an herbal saison. Not my favorite, but a very interesting take on a saison.

Walking Man Brewery, Stevenson, WA - Ho Ho Homo Erectus (2nd tasted) - barrel-aged Imperial IPA 10%
The beer was aged in Jamaican rum barrels that were previously Kentucky bourbon barrels (!). Medium amber color, big alcohol nose, very smooth vanilla brown sugar caramel flavors with a lingering hop finish. One of the best of the fest! Only 1/4 barrel made.

Cascade Brewing, Portland, OR (2nd to last) - barrel select Baltic Porter 2007 -?%
Yikes! The only beer that i've ever poured out at a beer fest (including that god-awful chile beer years ago!) Tastes like it was strained through week old gym socks. I wonder if they have a brettanomyces problem in their brewery? Funky and sour where it should have been smooth chocolate malt. Only the Scaldis Noel was enough to get the taste of this out of my mouth. very disappointing.

So there you have it! As detailed notes as I could come up with given the circumstances. Good thing i came armed with a pen and the beer pamphlet was so well designed! Great fest overall and definitely one to go early and get the good beers without the crowds.

-UW

Kirkland (Costco) Anejo Tequila review

Costco is a funny place. And by funny I don't mean I laugh too much when I shop there, I mean I cringe when they check my receipt at the door like I'm a recently paroled serial shoplifter. I do laugh a little at the 'sample seagulls' hovering around the sample tables... that is, except when I'm trying to get my own slice of Aidell's Chicken Mango sausage before I forklift a palette of Noah's bagels onto my cart.

Now, I don't know how Costco does it, but one of the reasons I keep going back is that they have high quality house-branded products (Kirkland) that deliver great price/performance. This was the mindset I went into this particular purchase with: that I'd been pleasantly surprised with the value of, say Kirkland cheese and garbage bags. That and the hearsay that the Kirkland vodka was nearly as good as Grey Goose ( not that I've ever tried it yet). Plus it was such a cool, large bottle of what seemed to be beautiful tequila for only $23.99. It is a cool bottle.

Kirkland (Costco) Anejo Tequila is manufactured for Costco by Fabrica de Tequilas Finos, maker of Tonala. The tequila itself is nicely oaked without being over-oaked, and aged without being oversmooth. (eh? good thing?) Not a lot of agave flavor -- in fact, it reminded me of the 'new' Hornitos anejo in that it drinks more like a bourbon than a tequila. In the end, Kirkland Anejo is unremarkable as a sipper but it makes a really smooth and nice margarita. Maybe the only time I'll ever recommend using an anejo in a margarita. I won't go so far as to say this is anejo for the giant shopping cart crowd but it's not a boutique bottling. It is a very cool bottle though. And a pretty good bargain.

Kirkland Anejo Tequila (Costco)
mfg & imported by Fabrica de Tequilas Finos
price: $23.99/1L
our rating: 6.5/10


photo credit: Matt Denton

Double Bonus Turkey Day Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Martini!

Brother in law brought this over and we tinkered with it, he came up with the brown sugar to replace the caramel in the original recipe. Surprisingly tasty! And only a little like drinking a pumpkin pie.

(FWIW I used Monopolowa Vodka and Captain Morgan spiced rum. Sailor Jerry's would be too cherry and not enough allspice.)

Pumpkin Martini

1 1/2 oz premium vodka
3/4 oz spiced rum
2 dollops Libby's pumpkin pie mix
1 1/2 oz half and half
2 dollops brown sugar
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon

Shake vigorously in cocktail strainer over cracked ice and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with fresh whipped cream and a shake of cinnamon.

Happy Thanksgiving! Bonus recipe: Wild Turkey Old Fashioned

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We all know what Thanksgiving means: food comas, guerrilla Christmas shopping, and being cooped up with relatives till we remember why we only get together a couple times a year. Which is why we like to take the edge off with a cocktail in the spirit of the day, a Wild Turkey Old Fashioned. After a couple of these you won't mind that the stuffing's dry, the turkey is burnt and that Cool Whip just doesn't cut it as a pumpkin pie topper. Enjoy!

Wild Turkey Old Fashioned

2 oz Wild Turkey 101 Rye or Bourbon
2 dashes Angostoura bitters
lump of sugar or 1/2 oz of simple syrup
Orange slice

Muddle sugar, bitters and orange slice in glass, add whiskey and ice, serve with addl. orange slice as garnish if desired.


image source: the intoxicologist

Quick Review - Totem Tequila Reposado

I was browsing the tequila aisle, looking for something worth my meager $20 (ahh budget cuts)... looking for something I hadn't tried but that was worthy of my liquor allowance. Had this, tried that, didn't like that, been there, hey what's this? A special on a 100% agave reposado? Hmmm....Totem Tequila Reposado appeared to be what I was looking for, with just enough quirkiness to attract my attention in its generic wine bottle shape and foil stamped label... plus it was on clearance for only $20!

Once you get past the sharp alcohol front, the nose is like much more sophisticated bottles, with sweet toasted oak and a whiff of agave. It has a slightly bitter butter entry (making the batter better?) but ends smoothly. I got through half the bottle before figuring out that it was definitely a keeper (...which explains why my initial notes are completely illegible!) It's not as rustic or distinctive as El Jimador or as smooth and forgettable as Cabrito but is right in there arm and arm as a bargain brother bottle. If you can find it as cheaply as I was lucky to have done, take a chance and check out Totem.

Totem Tequila Reposado
aged 9 months
website http://www.manik.com.mx
typical price: $35
our rating: 6.5/10

Quick Review: Monopolowa Dry GIN

OK you may know I'm not a gin guy. Don't like it, never did, can't stand geraniums (after that Christmas candy incident) and if you saw the passion with which I ripped out our rat-infested juniper bushes you'd know I hate them too. And you may think that where I'm going with this is that despite all that, I found a gin that even I love. Well, not exactly. But I did find a very drinkable dry gin from the maker of one of my favorite vodkas, that from what I can tell, appears to be a gin for vodka drinkers, if that makes sense.

Vienna's ALTVATER GESSLER - J.A. BACZEWSKI makes its Monopolowa spirits chiefly from potatoes, not grain, and whether that is what results in their smooth, clean character I'm I'll for it. This award-winning gin is particularly dry with a lemon zesty nose that has hints of geraniums, and the flavor is juniper and what seems to be a hint of marshmallow (not unlike in their vodka). Makes a nice dry martini and at about $15US / L is a fantastic bargain.

Monopolowa Dry Gin
website: http://www.agjab.com
typical price: $15/L
our rating: 8/10

Cocktail Friday! Today's Cocktail: Satan's Whiskers

Spooky Scary! An orange cocktail! And even scarier, made from gin! Just kidding.... As you know by now we're not huge gin drinkers but I ran across this recipe and had to try it, frankly based on the name alone. Got to be one of the coolest names for a cocktail I've ever heard, even though I have no idea what it means or what it has to do with this fairly mild cocktail. Satan's whiskers sounds like fire, like it's got rye and tabasco in it! Singe the hair in your nostrils! But no, it's a relatively sublime and slightly sweet concoction that would be great at, say, a Halloween party for your martini-swilling guests. Besides, it gave me an excuse to buy a new bottle of gin and review it for your pleasure (soon!).

The original recipe calls for Grand Marnier, for which I substituted Patron Citronge. I do recommend using the same brand of vermouth when mixing french and sweet, such as the classic Noilly Prat.

To your health! (Such as it may be during this onslaught of influenza!)

Satan's Whiskers

1/2 oz sweet vermouth

1/2 oz French vermouth

1/2 oz dry gin

1/2 oz orange juice

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1-2 dashes orange bitters

Shake ingredients with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist.