A Cocktail-a-Day #2: Paloma

Today was a tough day. Didn’t feel like working. Coming face-to-face with a tornado makes everything else pale in comparison. Makes everything irrelevant, mundane.

It’s the second day and I am already getting stressed out. “Why?” is something that is constantly swirling around in my head. I am going to the field next week for four days…have no idea how I am going to make a cocktail a day.

Alcohol will help me through this. haha.

But at least it was a nice sunny day, so it called for a summer-y drink like the Paloma

Paloma is actually a popular Mexican grapefruit soda that many a bartender has adapted into a cocktail. Mine is an adaptation of mixologists Phillip Ward and Jamie Boudreau’s take on this popular drink.

Lime wedge

Kosher salt (optional)

2 ounces blanco tequila

1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice

3/4 ounce fresh lime juice

1/2 ounce Simple Syrup

1 ounce chilled club soda

1 rosemary spring + 1 for garnish

Moisten with outer rim of a highball or Collins’ glass with a lime wedge and lightly coat with Kosher salt.

Muddle a rosemary sprig in the cocktail shaker. Add ice. Add the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and simple syrup and shake well.

Strain into the glass, stir in the club soda and garnish with the additional rosemary sprig.

Discussion

I love this drink for its refreshing, herbal qualities. The Aha Toro blanco tequila I use also has a great “earthy” taste that compliments the herbal nature of rosemary.

Another way to infuse the rosemary flavour into the drink is to add it to add two rosemary sprigs to freshly made simple syrup and refrigerating it overnight. I didn’t want to bother with all that, so I simply muddled it in.

Enjoy!

A Cocktail-a-Day #1: Sweet Basil

This is one of my perennial favourites. This is my fall back cocktail when I need to impress chicks but can’t think of anything better. The recipe is straight off the Food & Wine Cocktails ‘09 guide that I am going to be perusing liberally from over the next 365 days.

The recipe is by mixologist Todd Thrasher of the Restaurant Eve fame in Alexandria, Virginia. He has a penchant for experimenting with unlikely ingredients like pickled foams and peach “airs”…a result of working with molecular gastronomists like José Andrés. The latter trained directly under Ferran Adria of the El Bulli fame. 

Recipe

This simple recipe is brought alive by using fresh basil, preferably harvested just before making the drink:

10 basil leaves + 1 for garnish (optional)

3 oz. Little Blanc

1/2 oz. gin (Hendricks is my favourite, but any brand will do)

1 oz. Simple Syrup (1/2 oz. if you don’t like it too sweet)

In a cocktail shaker, gently muddle the basil leaves until the fragrance wafts up the cocktail shaker. Add the ice, Lillet Blanc, gin, and simple syrup. Shake well.

Double strain (optional, I prefer bits of basil leaves in mine) and pour the drink into a chilled coupe. Garnish with the remaining basil leaf. Viola!

Discussion

I love the fruity overtones in the cocktail. Lillet is basically a brand of French aperitif wine. It’s made from a shit ton of of different grape wines and 15% macerated orange liqueurs, including green oranges (!) from Haiti. It can be had on it’s own or as part of a cocktail. And of course, who doesn’t like getting punched in the face by the sweet yet minty aroma of basil?

Even though Lillet itself is an aperitif, I think you could have Sweet Basil as either a pre- or post-dinner drink as it is just sweet enough to satisfy my dessert cravings. The 1 oz. simple syrup is a bit excessive in my opinion, as the Lillet itself is pretty sweet, but feel free to try out your own combinations.

Enjoy!

 

[NEW DISCOVERY] Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar in Inglewood

 Summary: A neat new addition to the Calgary food scene that serves up all kinds of delicious brews (alcoholic & non-alcoholic alike) and could easily serve as a space for modern art.

I love Inglewood. Every time I go there, my spirits are automatically uplifted. I found myself in the neighbourhood yesterday again shopping at ESPY for new threads (definitely check this place out –it’s the next Banana Republic) when I stumbled upon the “Now Open” sign for Gravity. It was the perfect time for an afternoon pick-me-up, so I took the opportunity to explore this new addition to the Inglewood family.

The best thing about the most popular cafes is the ambiance (in addition to the coffee, of course) and Gravity does not disappoint. The interiors are a bit dark, if not moody, and has a “quiet” ambiance about it. With large pieces of art from DaDe hanging off the walls, Gravity almost feels like a Nuevo art gallery with high ceilings, hipster baristas, and a full-on chalk board menu that’s all the rage nowadays. To be honest, the high vaulted ceilings give the entire place the ambiance of a library, which to me is not a bad thing at all…I love libraries (Dan of Dan`s Goodside also has a pretty hilarious description of the ambiance here).  Gravity also hosts weekly open mic nights every Sunday and features musical guest every Wednesday.

In addition to serving the traditional caffeinated fares, Gravity also serves wine, beer, and if you are feeling real Russian, premium vodka. They have just applied for a patio permit with the City, so come summer time, you can look forward to chilling outdoors with wine or beer from Village Brewery until midnight on weekends.

I personally needed a caffeine and sugar boost, so I ordered a macchiato and cheesecake (no point drinking coffee if you are not complimenting it with something sweet).

Gravity serves Phil & Sebastian coffee, which I am increasingly growing fond of. I love their storefront off of 33 Ave SW in Marda Loop and it always pleases me greatly to see a local outfit make it in the food industry. The macchiato was great – even though the sweetness of the cheesecake overpowered the espresso, it did not taste acrid. The brew went down smoothly and was rich. I am not a coffee drinker usually, but find myself increasingly drawn to it. I can’t really pick up any of the subtle flavours that a more experienced palette can pick up, but in general, coffee is a much more complex beast than wine in many ways.

The cheesecake comes in these cute containers with open lids that are topped off with a strawberry-rhubarb (?) compote. The latter was tangy but the cheesecake wasn’t too sweet, so the tanginess didn’t really help to cut down on anything. Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of these compotes as I find they ruin a perfectly good cheesecake. Next time, I am going to have to remember to tell them to leave it off.

In addition to desserts, Gravity also sells entrees like panini, soups, and cheeseboards if you are looking for a more substantial meal. I went back the next day for lunch and ordered myself a roasted vegetable + cheddar panino and a cappuccino as I wanted to have a taste of their lunch menu.

The panino was delicious: the natural sweetness that roasting brings out in vegetables (zucchini, cauliflower, red peppers, and onions combined really well with the saltiness of the cheese and butter. All the flavours – sweet, salty, bitter and umame – came together really well, and I was pretty vowed when my brain realized what had just happened. The bread was also perfectly done, albeit a bit softer than I would have liked it, but I am just nitpicking. The cauliflower was also a bit crunchier than I would have liked.

The cappuccino was a bit disappointing, however, and that`s likely because I was drinking it while eating the panino. I found the cappuccino to be bitter to the point that I was reminded of the after-taste left in my mouth from drinking hoppy IPAs. There was also a persistent astringent after-taste at the sides of my tongue even though I cleansed my palette with water several times. The coffee had great body though: smooth and creamy, it had a very silken texture which I loved very much.

In reality, I should have asked for the cappuccino to come out after my lunch…I don`t know why these cafes serve you your coffee first if they know you have ordered lunch. Seems a bit backwards, but hey, live and learn. I will have to try their cappuccino at another time without food.

Summary

I enjoyed my time at Gravity. It’s got all the essentials a hip, urban cafe needs: art gallery modernist feel, good coffee and desserts, art hanging off the walls, and of course, hipster baristas. Pretty soon, they will also have a patio to enjoy the great Calgary summers with local beer and wine up till midnight. Keep an eye out for it…

Ranking

	Kiran
Ambiance	4.5/5
Service	4/5
Taste	3.75/5
Originality	3/5
Value	3.5/5
OVERALL	18.75/25 = 75%

[Beer] Review of Innis & Gunn Highland Cask Oak-Aged Beer

I love this beer. I & G releases this limited edition once a year and I try to grab a couple whenever I can. The basic concept is this: take already good beer and make it phenomenal by aging it in rare barrels that were previously used to age 18 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Bam!

I & G produces other similar lines of beer such as “Rum Cask Aged” “Irish Whiskey Cask Aged.” In fact, I & G is so popular in Canada, that they specifically brew a line of beer called the Canada Day Special, which also happens to be my favourite.

Here is my breakdown of the Highland Cask:

Appearance: pours clear dark copper / amber colour with a thin, short-lived head.

Taste: delicious honey-like caramel notes at the start with a slightly bitter, hoppy after-taste. Creamy and smooth.

Palate: sweet, honey-like with fruity aromas. Builds a long-lasting malt flavour in your mouth after every sip.

The beer is stronger than most at 7.1% ABV. However, it comes nowhere close to the 10% of the Canada Day Special. A 300 ml bottle of that is enough to hit me hard, especially when I am just chillin’ with friends.

A definite must-try, just like Crabbie’s Ginger Beer. Man, everything alcoholic from Scotland is so good. And…<insert funny comment about Scottish being alcoholic>. Scene. End.

Enjoy!

 

Boozin’ it up Kiwi-style 1: Pomona Traditional Apple Cider

Pomona apple cider is second in a series of alcoholic drinks that I bought when I was over in Nz for a holiday. This drink is also brewed by Monkey Wizard, the very same brewery that I blogged about earlier when I reviewed their Wheat Ale.

I was actually more excited about this drink than the wheat ale –which turned out to be quite disappointing – even though I hadn’t tried it out at the brewery (no open bottles). The selling point basically was:

“All mainstream market ciders are shit. You need to try ours.”

Sold.

Here’s the lowdown:

Appearance: golden hue tinged with red. Clear in appearance, although it is supposed to be unfiltered…I didn’t notice any sediments

Aroma: apple-y

Taste: mellow, smooth, tangy with a clean finish. Bottle fermented so there wasn’t any of the sharp, pungent feel of forced-carbonation ciders like Strongbow. If you didn’t know any better, you could be fooled into thinking this was fruit juice. If you want a summary on bottle fermentation, check out out previous post here.

Palate: to be honest, I didn’t really taste much other than apples!

Monkey Wizard claims that the cider is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and fermented using only the wild yeast found on the apples. Riwaka (the town where the brewery is located) was pretty much over run with apple orchards, so I don’t doubt the claim that the cider apples have been cultivated over generations specifically cause they lend themselves well to be turned into cider.

Summary: a refreshing summer drink than can be surreptitiously fed to kids cause they won’t know the difference. Haha.

[Beer] Discoveries in Kiwiland: Monkey Wizard Wheat Ale

One of the greatest joys of traveling for me is stumbling upon random food-related discoveries that turn out to be awesome. Ryan, Jobe, and I were on our way to kayaking in the Abel Tasman national park for a day when I saw this micro-brewery by the roadside. It was 7am in the morning, so naturally it was closed (I guess kiwis aren’t the chronic alcoholics that Brits are). However, never the one to pass up an opportunity to check out hidden discoveries, I made sure we stopped there on our way back.

Monkey Wizard Brewery is located in the village of Riwaka, about 40-50 min. drive from the town of Nelson where we were staying. The area is apparently well known for having excellent water and is ideal for growing both apples and hops. Indeed, we drove by several apple orchards on our way to Abel Tasman. The micro-brewery was  a butcher’s shop in the past that has been converted to a brewery. Apparently, the brewery hand-crafts beer in the time-honoured “single step infusion mashing technique” that was popular in turn-of-the-century UK. I don’t know what the fuck that means, but it sure sounds cool and micro-brewerish.

Anyways, on to the wheat beer. I suppose the closest equivalent to it would be BigRock Brewery’s Grasshopper. Wizard’s wheat ale though was very different from Grasshopper. It was more tangy than the ‘hopper and had a reddish tinge instead of the traditional golden hue that I have come to associate with wheat ales. I personally didn’t find it as tasty or refreshing as Grasshopper but Ryan seemed to really enjoy it and thought it was better than the latter.  It also seemed to lack any defining finish and seemed quite flat.

The “flatness” likely comes from the bottle conditioning the beer goes through, but in this case, it doesn’t really do anything for me. The beer overall lacked any strong characteristics or defining flavours…

So my first foray into the Kiwi microbrewery scene wasn’t that exciting. That’s fine as we got to tour a few of the great wineries in the Marlborough region of South Island. Stay tuned for more updates on that front!

Till then, sit tight mofos!

[Cocktails] Feng Shui–A Perfect Harmony of Chinese, Japanese, Mediterranean, and Dutch Flavors

It feels good to be blogging again…I have been MIA for the last 3 months or so – winter is never slow in the oil patch.

I love mixing drinks…even though most uninformed and close-minded people think it’s gay, they don’t really understand the art and the joy in mixing different flavours to produce something that is beautiful.

One of my favourite books to try mixes from is the Food & Wine Cocktails ‘09 Guide. No one drink is the same as the other and almost each drink invariably requires some special ingredients that you will need to stock up on. But it’s always worth it afterwards, so even after 3 years of owning this book, I continue to try new drinks from this little handbook.

Feng Shui is an aperitif mixed up by Jamie Boudreau who got his chops making pre-dinner drinks at Vancouver’s legendary restaurant Lumiere. Boudreau apparently falls under the category of “molecular mixologist” and has experimented with some cool shit including bacon and bourbon (!).

I have wanted to try out Feng Shui for a long time, but didn’t do so out of shear laziness. I managed to finally gather all the necessary ingredients:

- 1 lychee fruit OR 1/4 oz. lychee liquor (like SOHO)

- 1 oz. sake

- 1 oz. gin

- 1/4 oz. lemon juice

- 1/4 oz. simple syrup

- 1 fresh thyme sprig

- 1 thyme sprig and skewered lychee for garnishing (optional)

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the lychee and thyme sprig.

Add ice and the rest of the ingredients (except the garnishes) and shake well for 20-30s until the shaker is all nicely frosted. Double-strain the drink into a chilled coupe and Viola!

I couldn’t find any lychees at the local Co-op and was too lazy to drive to T&T, so ended up using SOHO for the lychee flavour, which ended up working deliciously.

This is definitely a great way to start your pre-dinner drinking. The wonderful aroma of lychee harmonizes really well the gin and thyme. I couldn’t necessarily pick out the individual flavours and aromas of the thyme and juniper berries, but that could be because I was using SOHO and not lychee fruit.

Either way, a must try for all the budding mixologists and cocktail hackers out there!

-Kiran

[Cool Sh*t] Japanese Plum Wine (Umeshu)

I am a big fan of dessert wines, so I am constantly trying to find new variations on the traditional notion of using grapes to make dessert wines. I got my first taste Japanese plum wine when I was at Ippudo, NYC – I was an instant fan. So, a couple of months ago, when I ran across a bottle in my local liquor store, I immediately bought one to relive my culinary adventures in The Big Apple.

Ume can be had neat, on the rocks, or as part of a tasty cocktail. I tried it neat to get a undiluted taste of the liquor itself.

Appearance: very clean, light straw-coloured golden hue

Aroma: sweet apricot, plum, peach flavours (I can’t distinguish between them anyways)

Taste: very sweet, light, and clean tasting liquor. No harsh or lingering after-taste. Doesn’t burn your throat (it’s only 10% ABV). Mouth feel was very crisp.

Palate: my palate isn’t very well-developed, so I have nothing really to add. I can’t taste things like grass, honey-dew, cilantro or other kinds of crazy shit the real pros taste. I think they make that shit up anyway…

So all in all, a pretty delicious way to end your dinner if you have the craving for something sweet. Ume, unlike dessert wines, is also actually pretty dead simple to make. In fact, in Japan, it is common to make it at home, according to this blogger. There’s no real fermentation process involved, although patience is a must as it takes up to a year for the plum to infuse the liquor. If you are interested in making some, check out this youtube video as well.

A Side Note…

I would consider plum wine to be a dessert wine, although in the strictest sense, it really isn’t. Also, plum wine isn’t really a wine, it’s more a liquor as the plums are literally steeped in a white liquor for a year before the “wine” is ready. Dessert wines, on the other hand, are fortified wines where brandy (distilled wine) or other neutral spirits are added to the fermenting must (freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit). The spirit kills the yeast before the fermentation process is complete, thereby leaving some sugars behind and making the resultant beverage sweeter and stronger in terms of ABV (usually in the 20% range).

The Niagara region is famous for its wines, but a lot of people don’t know that Canada is, in fact, the world’s biggest producer of ice wines. The consistent winters allow the grapes to be frozen while still on the vine, hence concentrating the sugars and other dissolved solids in the must. Unlike dessert wines, ice wines are fermented from the must of ripe grapes that were frozen at −8 °C or colder on the vine, i.e., no distilled spirits are added. These grapes are then crushed mechanically and the resultant must fermented for months using special yeast strains that are able to process the larger quantities of sugars present.

Fortunately, Japanese plum wine or umeshu (ume for short), is a much simpler and easier wine to make. It also quite easy on the palette and can be appreciated universally. So, if you come across a bottle in your neighbourhood liquor store, don’t be afraid to pick one up and give it a taste.

-Kiran

 

 

Review of Brooklyn Brewery’s “Sorachi Ace” Seasonal Beer

On our recent trip to NYC, Richard and I had the opportunity to visit Brooklyn’s own craft brewery for a quick tour. BB has been around since 1988 and is also, according the website, “among America’s top 40 breweries.”

The free brewery “tour” turned out to be more a show-and-tell. Turns out the real tour ($8) is on the weekends and includes a guided tasting of four different BB beers. Nevertheless, after the show-and-tell, we headed over to the adjacent hall to grab a couple of pints, where Richard’s fellow nerdist- partner-in-crime-and-our-host-in-NYC Matt decided to grab a bottle of BB’s seasonal beer called Sorachi Ace for later consumption. Matt, being the nice guy he is, gifted the bottle to Richard, who didn’t have any room in his luggage, so I ended up carrying it in my checked luggage.

Nothing brings me greater satisfaction than topping up all the calories I lost on an hour-long bike ride with this nutrient-rich elixir called beer. This being the last weekend of summer weather in Calgary, I decided to celebrate by opening up the bottle of Sorachi Ace that Matt gifted us.

And that’s why, you never let your good friend carry your beer for you. Cause I will drink it for you, biaaatch.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle was the amazing bouquet of aromas. I didn’t even have to bring the bottle to my nose – that’s how subtle, yet powerful the citrus-y scents were. Apparently, Sorachi Ace is a strain of hops that was first developed by a large Japanese brewery in 1988 that was a cross between the “British Brewers Gold and the Czech Saaz varieties” and exhibited really citrus-y notes. The strain now is now quite rare and only grown by a single farm in Oregon. The other thing I noticed was the “bottle refermented ale” description on the label….more on that later.

Here is my breakdown on the beer:

Appearance: light golden color hue with slight cloudiness most probably due to the yeast added post-bottling. Also, no matter how carefully I poured the beer, the head was impossible to get rid off. I had to wait 5 min. for the head to subside and then top up my glass. Belgian lace present – that’s the Lace-like pattern of foam, from the head of the beer, left on the glass after each sip.

Aroma: citrus-y with slight hints of peach and mango.

Taste: slightly sweet, smooth. Slightly bitter finish. The taste stayed with you for a bit. Carbonation was present, but since the beer is naturally carbonated (via the bottle refermentation), it was pleasant and mellow, unlike the sharp, pungent feel of forced-carbonation beer. The mouthfeel was great with a nice silky finish. A very nice, refreshing summer drink.

Palate: my palate isn’t very well-developed, so I have nothing really to add. I can’t taste things like grass, honey-dew, cilantro or other kinds of crazy shit the real pros taste. I think they make that shit up anyway…

Now onto the more technical stuff. As I mentioned earlier, this beer is bottle refermented, which essentially means additional yeast and sugar are added to the bottle prior to corking. This means that yeast is still fermenting the sugars and generating additional CO2 and ethanol. Bottle refermented beers, hence, do not have to force-carbonated, and thus, lack the sharp taste commodity beers have. Natural carbonation produces a more elegant, delicate mouthfeel that does not taste as harsh. Bottle conditioning also removes any oxygen from the bottle, hence prolonging the shelf life of beer.

Summary: refreshing summer drink that will leave you wanting more. Does a great job balancing all the flavours so no one particular component over powers the others. Natural carbonation and the 9.7% alc. content only add to the enjoyment. However, like all bourbon, it smells waaaay better than it tastes!