Robotic cocktails in SF

A cool robot bartender event I hadn't heard about.

Scotland photos

By the way, the photos from my trip can be seen on my Flickr page here, organized by day and distillery. I'll be adding more pictures as I go along.

Scotland Day Three: Death defying

This morning I feel much better after having suffered from near-fatal jetlag the whole trip. I was averaging four hours of sleep or less since the day before the trip began, but last night I finally caught up and had nearly ten hours' worth. It was easier here, as we're staying in the hotel adjacent to a castle in Huntly.

Yesterday we rushed out of the not-as-fancy hotel to drive across the mountain towards the Spey river and the famous Speyside whisky region. Most of the group then had their own death-defying experience canoeing down the Spey river. Almost all of them tipped over, up to three times, in the freezing water. One writer said, "Just minutes ago I was curled up in fetal position on the riverbank." When the four of us smarter folks who declined the experience showed up at the end point, everyone else was shaking like wet chihuahuas and had in their eyes the crazed stares of people who just survived something awful and had a new appreciation for life.

What I was doing instead was visiting Ballindalloch castle, where we were greeted by the family who lives there and owns it. They had the affected accents and mannerisms of the moneyed gentry that you couldn't pay a character actor to imitate better. They were awesome.

Afterwards, the river people dried off and we went to the Speyburn distillery. The place doesn't have a visitor's center, so we were given the close-up tour. What I never realized about scotch production is that there are two different steps to prepare the barley. First you soak it so that the barley germinates, then you dry it out at just the right moment. This is now mostly done at centralized malting houses rather than onsite at distilleries as it was in the past. (The pagoda shaped buildings many scotch distilleries have are the old roofs of the drying rooms.)

After you (now) buy your malted and dried barley, you have to grind it up, then soak it again several times to release the sugars. Only then does it go to the fermentation tanks, then on to be distilled twice. We tasted the products of the distillation in the barrel room, sampling the entire range of Speyburn and Old Pulteney.

We headed off afterwards to Dufftown where we were given a cooking lesson by the chef at A Taste of Speyside restaurant. It was tasty stuff -even my veggie version was delightful. Then we checked into our lovely hotel where I skipped dinner and slept through the night. Ahh. I"m up at 5AM but after 10 hours of sleep that doesn't bother me at all.

That's right folks- two days in a row without bagpipes! My whole theory about this trip has so far proven wrong.

Scotland Day Two: Pipe-free

Yesterday we visited the Royal Lochnagar distillery, a very small, pristine place located next to the summer residence of the Queen of England. (The distillery was there first.) On the drive here the landscape turned from lush and green to tall rocky hills covered in heather- which looks like an ugly brown bush when it's not blooming.

Also on the way here, the back door of the shuttle bus popped open and someone's luggage fell out onto the street. We turned around and went back a few miles to find a lady holding it by the side of the street waving us down. Nice people, the Scots.

But here's what's not nice: no bagpipes all day! Can I get a piper up in here?

Vinegarwatch during National Vinegar Month!!*!!

Have you heard that vinegar is a hot cocktail ingredient? Of course you have- I can't seem to stop blogging about it.

So has the Washington Post, where writer Jenn Garbee from LA wrote a story on it. Perfect timing for National Vinegar Month.

Vinegarwatch continues!

Piperwatch

Scotland Day One- Bagpipe count: 1

I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of bagpipes involved on this press trip. When I went to Mexico on a tequila trip we had one to three different mariachi groups per day. I think it's gonna be like that with bagpipes, which are just as loud, but at least there's no singing.

Whoops- scratch that. We had a singing Scotch harpist at dinner. But she was soft and gentle, like the rolling heathered hills of Dunkeld.

The folks at the Aberfeldy distillery (Aberfeldy single malt is the main flavor component of Dewar's blended scotch whisky) claim that the soft and gentle countryside is reflected in their spirit, which has a heather-honey aspect to it, no real burn to speak of, and a dry, sandalwood with a touch of peat finish. Does whisky reflect terroir, or is this just convenient? We'll see.

Where's the party?

Here's a fun blog about irresponsible drinking.

Rum race

Next weekend's Bay to Breakers is San Francisco's famous naked race (as opposed to the naked marches, naked street fairs, and a generally high level of overall nakedness), though these days more people seem to be wearing costumes than nothing at all.

Don't like exercise? Don't worry. This year, the Million Pirate March gives you an excuse to drink rum, wear an eyepatch, and be generally more piratey than on other days. Also, wearing an eyepatch doesn't imply you have to wear anything else.

Lunch with Mystique

I had lunch recently at Tres Agaves with Jean-Francois Bonnete, President/CEO of Mystique Brands. After 10 years working with cognac, he decided to branch out and become an importer and "brand builder."

What that means practically is that he picks brands he likes, buys the importation rights, and promotes the products. He's currently on the one-of-each plan. He has one pisco (Barsol), one cachaca (Fazenda Mae de Ouro), one scotch (Tomintoul), one absinthe (Versinthe), one tequila (Los Arango), and one cognac (Landy). There are some sure winners in there.

He seems to be running the indie record label of booze, signing his favorite small(ish) acts that the major labels ignore, and helping them to become the next big thing. Nice work, if you can get it.

Live from Scotland!

After 24 hours of traveling (some of it in economy class- the horrors!) I have arrived in Scotland. Bill Dowd is here, as is St. John Frizell. We're currently in Dunkeld and about to visit the Aberfeldy distillery.

Driving the hour from Edinburgh, everything is big and green and currently blossoming. All the trees look very... healthy. We passed little baby lambs, Shetland ponies, and fuzzy highland cattle in the fields. I didn't have a clear mental picture of what Scotland looked like before I got here- it's actually quite Medieval, with big stone castles and tons of smaller stone houses alongside the rivers, every 10 minutes or so in the car. Gorgeous!

Come to think of it, I've been in Scotland for three hours and I haven't had a scotch yet- I better get to it.

Glossy Booze May edition

Here are some booze stories in this month's magazines.

- Sunset Magazine (May) has a story on starting a wine cellar, plus a recipe for the Michelada. Unfortunately, it the version I don't like with tomato juice.

- Conde Nast Taveler lists 28 new bars and clubs around the world, plus a good recipe for the Pisco Sour from Copenhagen, a terrible one with Absolut Mandarin and Citron from Buenos Aires, an apricot and nutmeg sour from Bangkok, and a Dirty Martini recipe with Reyka from Alibi in Boston (yuck). From San Francisco they mention the Presidio Social Club and 1300 on Filmore. Interesting.

- Details (May) discusses the Shandy, and has a much better picture than last month.

- Gourmet's Alan Sytsma talks about Will Goldfarb's Experiential Cuisine program, and includes a recipe for the molecular cocktail the Coco Cola. Plus, online they have a nice story on Sam Adams sharing their hops with small breweries.

- Saveur.com has an interview with Beachbum Berry.

- Speaking of hops stories, Imbibe (May/June) has a large feature on the shortage and explains the crisis quite clearly. Also, there are stories on summer cocktails, making great iced coffee, 10 summer wines, travel to Croatia, Saison ales, aerators, rosewater cocktails, bourbon historian Mike Veach, and homemade ginger ale.

- Malt Advocate (second quarter issue) has a cover story on the scotch whisky boom, plus stories on blending beer, Buffalo Trace, the Boilermaker, beer prices, Brown-Forman, and St. George's Dragon distillery in England.

-San Francisco Magazine has a story by me(!) on the death of happy hour drink specials, and a few places that still have them.

-7x7 Magazine's Jordan Mackay writes about blanco tequilas that are good for sipping.

- Best Life (May) has a story on fine, finer, and finest tequilas, written by the talented Camper English. Oh looky, it's online.

Off to the highlands

I'm heading off to Scotland tomorrow morning for 10 glorious days of work (read: drinking scotch). I'm going to attempt to post from the road, and I have some blog posts scheduled to appear on Alcademics while I'm gone, so I hope you won't get too lonely.

In the meantime, I could really use some recommendations for places in Edinburgh to get good cocktails.

Anyone?

Her name is Paloma

Anita says the Paloma is the new Dark and Stormy in San Francisco. Good call on that one, and a good drink. Of course, they have to get all fancy here and make their own grapefruit soda (probably biodynamically and organically grown grapefruit too). I'm not fully on board with the froo-froo version of the drink, because I had so many in Mexico made with Squirt and really good tequila. It's one of the few drinks that brings me back to a specific place that's not a bar stool two miles from my house. And I like to keep it real, yo.

Try this, it's disgusting

A case went to trial in New Zealand recently over an incident that occurred last summer. A customer ordered a mulled wine but was served dishwashing liquid instead. Oops!

Customer Sarah Ferguson had bought a glass of mulled wine from Old Man Rock Cafe and, noticing an immediate burning sensation around the lips and mouth, spat out the liquid.

A worker at the cafe, Bethany Sim, offered to test the mulled wine and immediately suffered a similar but more extreme reaction to Ferguson.

With both women in pain, an ambulance was called.

Apparently the cafe received dishwashing liquid in a reused bottle for Mountain Thunder brand mulled wine.

1. They sell pre-mulled mulled wine?
   
2. Mountain Thunder! That's the name of my new band.
   

Internet booze news for Monday, May 5

Here are some stories from the around the web.

- Art that you drink? That's my kind of exhibit. [via Dowd on Drinks]

- Rick Lyke wrote a list of 125 places to have a beer before you die for All About Beer magazine.

- Eric Asimov of the New York Times discusses mezcal.

- Matt Rowley finds a video on making 60 proof alcohol using wine and a salad spinner.

The most important month of 2008

May is National Vinegar Month! Alcademics Vinegarwatch goes into hyper-drive!

The press release from the Vinegar Institute (How do I join?) lists some of the culinary uses for vinegar:

In the kitchen, numerous vinegar varieties reign supreme when it comes to cooking. Many cooks know the solution to balancing flavors and adding a creative flair can be found right in the pantry. Vinegar is the cook's best friend when it comes to creating intriguing flavors in salads, sauces, marinades and more. If a dish lacks a little 'zip', a dash or two of the endless varieties of vinegar brings it to life or balances out flavors. The extended vinegar family includes such favorites as: Apple Cider Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, Rice Vinegar, and Wine Vinegar to name a few. Each variety offers its own distinct flavor and appeal. Numerous vinegar infusions can also be created with fresh herbs or fruit for countless flavor possibilities.

Unfortunately they left out the most important use for vinegar- as 2008's trendiest cocktail ingredient!

When I become chairperson of the Vinegar Institute, things are gonna change.

Vinegarwatch continues!

Organic sake

Momokawa sake in Oregon will launch the first USDA certified sakes in June. But they're not changing over the entire production:

SakéOne will bottle two different saké under the Momokawa brand; Organic Nigori and Organic Ginjo (Junmai). Both will come in 750 ML and 375 ML bottles that clearly communicate the difference between Momokawa and Momokawa Organic. The organic bottle strays from SakéOne's signature blue glass and embraces the more easily recycled green. The cap is short to minimize the use of raw materials and is itself recyclable. Labels are printed on "Tree Free" paper made from bamboo and grasses, and carry a different look and feel than the traditional Momokawa line while retaining the iconic Tori Gate image.

I'm curious about the "more easily recycled green" glass. I've read that green glass is harder to recycle and is less recycled than other colors (though I'm sure it's more recycled than blue). Like green glass, brown glass is colored with metals according to this website, so I'm not sure whether or not it's easier or harder to recycle than green glass. I'll have to look into this later.

Anyway, congrats to Momokawa for taking the extra step.

Different ways to get stinko on Cinco

The Chronicle does a nice round-up of non-margaritas in SF, including several versions of the Paloma, the Mescal gimlet, the fabulous Carter Beats the Devil at Flora, and the spicy Toro del Fuego at Laiola.

Treat your beer right

Lew Bryson has a story in Portfolio about how to care for your beer.

I learned about that and other ways in which beer can go bad by doing a series of experiments on some freshly bottled beer from a local brewery. I put it in bright sunshine. I froze it. I slow-roasted it in the oven. I subjected it to eight cycles of chilling and warming. I felt bad mistreating beer like that, but those beers suffered so other beers could be better. Here's what I found.

The short answers are: sunlight is a killer in just a few minutes, hot-cold-hot is no big deal, though avoid huge temperature extremes, and try to drink it fresh.

The second best press release of the day

I'm having trouble figuring out if this event is a celebration or a protest.

SALT LAKE CITY (April 30, 2008) – Impending changes in Utah’s liquor laws in Senate Bill 211 (SB211) will allow restaurants and private clubs to begin serving 1.5 ounces of primary alcohol in martinis and other single-liquor drinks on May 5, 2008. Club Bambara is marking the date by pouring Utah’s first 1.5 ounce martini, appropriately named the “SB211.”

SB211 eliminates sidecars, or separate shots of alcohol, in mixed drinks, but allows martinis and other single-liquor dinks to have a 1.5 ounce total alcohol content. Previous, if guests wanted more than an ounce in their martini, they had to order a sidecar and pour in the additional liquor themselves after their drink was concocted. “It makes such a huge difference in the integrity of a cocktail to be able to prepare it properly. All the ingredients should be created together for the best taste,” said Club Bambara’s master mixologist Austin Craig.

Wait...what!?! You used to be able to buy separate ingredients and mix your own drink in the glass, but now that's illegal and the compromise is that you can have a whole ounce and a half of one alcohol ingredient and no others? GEE THANKS, NOW IT SUCKS DIFFERENTLY.

On the other hand, master mixologist Austin Craig's job just got even easier.