Blog

Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery Visit
In early February I visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey distillery – actually two of them.

The original Jameson distillery is in Dublin, but it is no longer made there. In 1971 it moved to the Midleton distillery in Cork. The reason is because in the late 1960's Irish Distillers was formed, a merger of Jameson, Powers, and Cork distilleries.

In Dublin there is a visitors' center and restaurant. We went there first. I've got to admit, they did a really good job making a non-working distillery look working, using dioramas and original distillery parts but with fake ingredients pumping through them.

The next day we went to the new distillery in Cork. But actually it's the new-new distillery, located next to the old one.

Here we skipped the typical tour in favor of an in-depth one.

Jameson Fun Facts
- Triple-distilled, as opposed to most scotch's twice-distilled
- The old pot still here is gargantuan, probably one of the largest in the world. That is no longer used in favor of two wash stills half the size- that are still pretty huge.
- All of the pot-still whisky made here is made on the same four stills: two wash stills, 1 feints still, and one spirit still
- There are also several column stills as Jameson is blended whiskey.
- Redbreast (available in US) and Green Spot (not) are all pot-still whiskeys.
- They also make Middleton, Powers, and Paddy here, plus a couple other brands
- They distill Tullamore Dew here under contract
- Most Jameson uses ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Some (Rarest Reserve) uses ex-port barrels
- Sherry butts are prepared by putting oloroso sherry (that has already aged the minimum of three years to be called sherry) into new casks for two years to prepare them.
- Their pot-still spirit is a combination of malted and unmalted barley. If it's all pot-still whiskey, it is called "Irish pot still." Bushmills is "Irish malt" as it uses all malted barley.
- They don't make a big deal about yeast strains here – use a "standard distilling yeast"
- We nosed 100% malted distillate vs. malt/unmalt blend. The malted smelled more fruity and esthery than the blend
- Due to the weather, there isn't a great temperature variation in the barrel warehouses, and only 2% angel's share per year
- Jameson and Jameson 12 have opposite ratios of pot to column distilled spirit in them, though they don't say the ratios.
- Jameson 18 tastes like green caramel apples
- Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve tastes like the inside of banana peels, coconut flakes, pineapple gum arabic. It is the yumz.
- Only before 1800 was Irish whisky peated, and much of that would have been poteen rather than whisky. Around 1800 large-scale production became legal in Ireland and everyone moved to using coal rather than peat. So really in modern Irish whisky making there is no tradition of peating.
February 18, 2011
Chartreuse Secrets

Some friends who meditate told me about the movie Into Great Silence, which follows the Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse in the French Alps. As I barely stop talking you can bet they weren't telling me about its depiction of the silent lifestyle of the monks as something of interest, but because there is footage of them making the famous liqueur Chartreuse.

So I rented the movie and the bonus disc on Netflix. I fell asleep watching the main disc (twice!) and didn't see anything about the liqueur. But on the bonus disc, which you can rent separately and skip all the chanting, there is about ten minutes focusing on making Chartreuse.

In it, a monk goes about weighing dried herbs. You can see about four of them but I couldn't identify them. It was a combination of dried leaves, flowers, some seed stuff, and some roots. If I had the time I'd do screen caps and we'd play "guess the herb."

The monk then grinds them together and places them into a sack. He then hands them off to the distillery where other people distil them. I'm assuming much of the secret of Chartreuse comes from this combination of herbs, roots, bark, etc. that is delivered to the distillers already ground up so they can't guess what the components are.

The monk interviewed in the story says there are 130 plants used to make Chartreuse but, "There is no need to seek to know more," about the production, because they aren't telling.

However, the film then goes on to reveal more: The ground plants are infused in alcohol, water is added, then this is distilled. The distillate, which would be clear at that point, then undergoes seven or eight macerations with more plants that give it its characteristic color.

I believe they said it takes a month to make a batch of Chartreuse. No wonder the stuff is expensive.

The liquid is then sent to the cellar, where it ages first in large vats, then in smaller ones. The liquids are then reblended and sold.

I know of a few people who have visited the Chartreuse facility but apparently you don't get to see the monks; just the aging vats. I'm not sure what else, but I do still want to go in person one day. This film was a little peek behind the curtain to see what happens before it goes into the barrel.

February 16, 2011
High-Falutin’ Boozin’

Another magazine I write for that is not usually online is Caviar Affair, for which the tagline is, "Celebrating wordly indulgences and luxury living."

That's so *me*, right? Actually it really is, except that other people indulge me in the luxury to which I've become accustomed.

Anyhoo, they did put the new issue online. Unlike much of what I write for other publications, there is a definite emphasis in my stories for this magazine on stuff that you can buy, rather than, say, ruminations on flavor combinations and the deeper meaning of cocktail culture.

The whole issue online is here.

For this issue I wrote some stuff on vodka, some on rare scotch, a bit about my trip to Guatemala, and information about some new cocktail bars.

February 15, 2011
Flowers and Champagne

Here's something you already know: Sparkling wine + Floral liqueur = fun drink.

I hadn't realized until I started writing my latest Fine Cooking blog entry just how many new floral liqueurs have hit the market.

In recent years several new floral liqueurs have been brought to market, including St. Germain (elderflower), Esprit de June (grape vine flowers), Rothman and Winter Crème de Violette (violet), Crème Yvette (violet and berries), Fruit Lab Theia (jasmine), J. Witty Spirits Organic Chamomile, and Loft Liqueurs Organic Lavender.

So, here is the rest of the story.

February 11, 2011
Big in Germany

I try to link to all my writing available online, but you really only see two-thirds or so of it. And even if you could see it all, most of us couldn't read it because it's in German.

I am a regular contributor to Mixology magazine, based in Berlin, and for this magazine I write these insanely long stories usually about a single cocktail.

I've written 2000 words about eggnog, 2500 on the Blood and Sand, and 4000 words on the Mai Tai.

All of it gets translated into German so when I see the print version I can't read it but I like to look at the pictures.

One picture that I particularly enjoyed seeing was this cover illustration for my eggnog story.

I don't know if I've ever had the cover image before, so that's pretty awesome. (Update: Realized I've had it twice before- sweet!)

I shall now use this ego boost to get me through my next story, which is 2500 words on the Caipirinha, due tomorrow.

February 9, 2011
Which Vermouth is Which?

In Friday's FineCooking.com blog entry, I have a little story about how I remember which vermouth is which: sweet, French, white, Italian, dry, red. I could never keep them straight until I came up with a mnemonic device.

Read it here.

Plus! There is also the recipe for the Bamboo cocktail.

February 8, 2011
Sherry, Reconsidered in the Los Angeles Times Magazine

**Update: This story is no longer on the LA Times Magazine website, so I have pasted it here.

In yesterday's LA Times Magazine I have a huge feature on sherry.

(photographs by Nigel Cox)

As a wine category, sherry has practically everything going for it: a tremendous range of flavors, a rich history dating at least as far back as the Romans, the ability to pair magnificently well with food and an increasingly hip status as a cocktail ingredient used by top bartenders.

Most people, when they think of sherry at all, consider it an ingredient their grandmothers cooked with rather than something ripe for sipping on its own. Sherry is about due for a comeback, but it’s so unfamiliar to us now that it really needs a thorough reintroduction.

The story features eight drink recipes from the lofty likes of Murray Stenson, Andrew Bohrer, Alex Day, Zahra Bates, Kenta Goto and Audrey Saunders, Brian Miller, Neyah White, and Kevin Deidrich.

Go read the story, and then go make the drinks!

(photographs by Nigel Cox)

February 7, 2011
Cocktails and Italian Spirits
Last week I spoke on a panel in New York for the Vino 2011 convention. The event mostly focuses on Italian wines, but this year they also offered a cocktail seminar.

The seminar was called “Renaissance of the Cocktail in America: Top Spirit Professionals Assess the Role and Opportunities for Italian Spirit.” The panel was moderated by Francesco LaFranconi and the other panelists were Anthony Dias Blue, Lamberto Vallarino Gancia, Paolo Domeneghetti, and Tad Carducci.

I figure I may as well share my answers with people who couldn't attend the seminar.

Question 1: As one of the industry’s most credited spirits’ blogger and writer, what fascinates you the most about Italian liquors (Spirits, Amari, Aperitifs and Liqueurs) and which category provides you the most opportunities to write your stories/articles?

Prettymuch what I do for a living is identify and report on trends in cocktails and spirits, most of which are generated by progressive bartenders at the nation's top bars. So I'm most interested in what they're interested in.

Category-wise, we see the most action in amari and aperitifs as bartenders are playing with bitter modifiers, better vermouths/vermouth substitutes, and low-alcohol cocktails.

But across all categories there are other flavor trends into which different Italian spirits can fit.
- Extreme spirits. The most bitter, the most raw, the highest-proof, the funkiest, most challenging spirits are all the rage. Think: Smith & Cross, mezcal, Islay scotch, barrel-strength everything.
- Flavorful white spirits. Think: genever, pisco, cachaca, agricole rhum. Why not grappa too?
Question Two: When did you start noticing interest (among bartenders and mixologists) in the US for Italian liquors (Spirits, Amari, Aperitifs and Liqueurs) and cocktails made with them?

Back in the early 2000s when classic cocktails started their comeback. Back then it was all about making the most authentic Negroni, Aviation, Hemmingway Daiquiri, etc. These drinks need their original Italian ingredients like Campari, maraschino liqueur, vermouths, etc.

Now, even though we're still in the classic cocktail craze, it's more about spin-offs of classics: variations of the Manhattan using various amari, spin-offs of the Bamboo with other fortified wines, Negronis switching out everything for something else, and so on.

Question Three: Which Italian liquors (Spirits, Amari, Aperitifs and Liqueurs) categories do you believe are the most favorite by the American palate these days, and which are not fully embraced yet (what would you suggest to do about it)?

Now we're talking about consumers, and I don't think most consumers are in love with any of these spirit categories at all. That said, they all have their place in cocktails, which consumers love indeed. Italian (and any) spirit owners should think about their spirits as ingredients in popular cocktail formats and sell to the cocktail. Right now, consumers are especially interested in drinks they can make at home that they've tried out. Some top examples are:
- Anything that mixes with ginger beer in a Buck/Dark & Stormy format.
- Cocktails with baking spice flavor- allspice, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. Many tiki drinks would fall into this category.
- Aromatic herbs like mint, basil, cilantro, lemon verbena, etc. These can be used both in the Gimlet and Mojito format.
- Anything coffee – cold or in the future, hot. With the fresh-roasted, slow-drop coffee phase that's sweeping the nation, perhaps the grappa producers could work on a deluxe version of Cafe Correcto.
- Anything floral in the wake of St. Germain, or with strongly floral aromas.
- Any liqueur that can be mixed with sparkling wine.
I even tried to look like I know what I'm talking about wearing a suit and tie (and an expression that says "I'm up in your seminar, dropping knowledge.") But you know, since it was in a room full of Italians, my wardrobe probably fooled no one.
February 2, 2011
Absinthe Apparatus

In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I discuss what all that absinthe-serving equipment is for.

The fountain is not, of course, filled with absinthe, as in this music video. It is filled with plain old ice water.

Read more about that here.

February 1, 2011
Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana
In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana, which is located in Sanlucar de Barrameda.

(La Gitana is their most famous brand. It's a manzanilla; similar to fino but aged in Sanlucar.)

(The bodegas were wonderfully old, moldy, and dusty.)

(One of the old bullfight posters taped to the wall in the bodega.)

(Our host, a curmudgeonly sort who basically disagreed with everything we learned all week. We liked him anyway.)

(A view of the bodega.)
- More humidity and less exreme temperature swings in Sanlucar
- Flor is thicker and remains year round
- Make a single-vineyard manzanilla. It may be the only single vineyard sherry
- The vineyards and grapes not nearly as important as the place where the solera is
- Sanlucar is the oldest part of the sherry region- producing wines there the longest
- Most of the casks in these bodegas over 200 years old. They hate new casks.
- Replace staves with staves from old casks bought on market
- La Gitana has 14 level solera.
- Manzanilla typically has more ciraderas (levels to the solera) than fino. Have to move it faster between levels.
- Tastes like salt spilled in the relish. Yum.
- Manzanilla can pair with asparagus- is most versatile with food
- Says you can leave an open bottle in the refrigerator 4-5 years and it will still be good
- During the peninsular war, they supplied both Napoleon and the Allies. Now have both Napoleon and Wellington brands.
January 25, 2011