Bourbon & Bands

A few days ago, I was preparing to go up to the Catskills for the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival. My first thoughts weren't about what clothes to pack, but what alcohol I was going to drink. Back when I had a walkman, it was what cassettes to bring with and then CD's with my compact disc player. Now that I enjoy a nip or two, it was what booze. For days I was asking myself "what do you drink for two days and not get sick of ...or from"?

Here's what my criteria was on deciding which bottle to bring:
1. Can I drink it with nothing added to it?
2. Can it be mixed with simple beverages to create another drink?

With those two questions and the fact it's National Bourbon Heritage Month, I decided on a bottle of bourbon...but which one. That started another slew of questions to myself since I have a theory about bourbons- different ones are good for different moods.

• Feeling like getting into an altercation- George T. Stagg, Hirsch 16, Old Grand Dad (80 or 100 proof)
• Sitting on a porch and watching the day pass by- Blantons, Sam Houston
• Had a bad day and want to numb yourself- Basil Hayden, Pappy Van Winkle 12 or 15, Bookers
  
• Going to a music festival and plan on slowly drinking for two days- BULLEIT

On my way in to work, I made a pit stop at Brooklyn Tattoo to purchase my first flask in the hopes of using it in good health all weekend. If you plan on drinking your own hooch, might as well bring it with you in style. Even though I was planning on putting Bulleit in it first, I had a change of heart when the night's Bourbon tasting had leftovers. The lovely woman who hosted the Buffalo Trace tasting had a double pour of Blantons left and gave it to me...eventually I decided not to drink it at work and took it with me- I can't waste good stuff. At the same time, there was the most amazing Cote-du-Nuits Village Rouge from Desertoux-Ferrand which I couldn't leave behind and poured that into an empty vitamin water bottle.

I didn't get to my hotel till almost 2 am due to a few unexpected factors in my travels. First, I missed the stop in Monticello, but got to witness a verbal confrontation over a seat. It was one of the most brilliant scenes. A woman had put her bag on the seat in front of me to move there since it was the emergency row exit and had more leg room. Before she was able to sit there, another woman walked over, picked up her stuff and basically threw it back at her saying she couldn't hold seats. Mind you, it was an empty bus! The word motherfucker and bitch got tossed around quite a bit, but my favorite was when the woman who just sat in the seat said "Smack your motherfuckin' eyes straight...you will be seeing straight." I have of course captured this on tape for your listening pleasure. I'm a bit bummed that I didn't get the part where she called her a googly eyed bitch, but I'm sure this will make you laugh.


The bus pulled over about 10 minutes later so the driver could get a cup of coffee and that's when the two women walked off the bus and the googly eyed one got punched in the face. It's also when I realized I had missed my stop. Lucky for me, there was a car service right there with a very nice man who was willing to take me to the hotel. Yay! Finally at the hotel I could relax and started to drink that lovely Cote-du-Nuits, take some fun pictures on Celeste's imac and gear up for Saturday.

We were getting a late start on going to the festival on Saturday and didn't want that to hold me back from starting my Bulleit challenge...to leave Sunday night with an empty bottle. I was on vacation after all, so thought that Blantons would be a terrific chaser after breakfast. After finishing up what was in the flask, I was ready to open up the Bulleit. When starting to drink early in the afternoon, the trick is to start easy and then work your way up. A layering of beverages if you will. First drink plenty of water, then purchase a bottle of ice tea. Drink half of the tea and then pour the Bourbon into the bottle. Drink the combination while sitting in the hotel room. It's also good to try and put on your make-up while drinking your spiked iced tea...really.

My first day on the festival grounds I didn't know what to expect. I only came with one flask filled and a small amount of my spiked tea. If only I had known that it was a free for all. One flask was not enough and I have to give thanks to my friend Daniel who was drinking the same thing and gave me a refill while rockin' out to Les Savy Fav. According to him, it was much classier to drink out of a flask than out of a water bottle. It was nice to know I wasn't alone in my drinking quest and had many people to share in the joys and tom-foolery that goes along with a steady stream of hooch. Even if you weren't drinking, you had to join in the fun. That's why I created this album for you to view of what happens when you are having a good time...

The next day, I didn't want to make the same rookie mistake and loaded up on two bottles of spiked iced tea and a full flask. Better safe than sorry is my motto. I also picked up a Fuente cigar on my way over. I was preparing to have an old man moment by the lake. Cigar in one hand...flask in the other. Nothing like sitting next to a lake, feeling the light breeze, smoking a great stoogie and sipping on some spiked tea. While my friends were running off to see bands, I basked in the sun.

Back inside, minus one iced tea bottle, I spent the next two hours watching bands until it was time for some food. This is where I noticed the fresh lemonade stand...a perfect background for my bourbon. The key to long term drinking is to thin it out otherwise you will wind up in a very bad state. Lemonade + Bulleit = Delicious. I also want to make note that it gave me super human air hockey powers.

By the time I was finished with my lemonade, Michal showed up and Celeste and I went off to the car for a re-load. It was with mixed pleasure and disappointment that I found there to be no more Bulleit. I was happy to have my second bottle of iced tea and still have a little bit left in my flask.

I went back into Kutchers with a feeling of MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Thank you to all those who helped by taking swigs off my flask, poured some bourbon into their drink and contributed to a very fun weekend.

New Cocktail Concoction

Months ago I was introduced to the Sorrel flower after trying it as a drink in a local Roti shop. I was instantly hooked to it's somewhat sweet, tart and spicy flavor combo. After making vats of tea with it, I looked to my bar/altar and found some Sauza Blanco. Pefect for experimenting with the flavors of Sorrel.

Sorrel has a bit of a tart fruit flavor to it, reminiscent of wild strawberries and cranberries. It's usually paired with cloves and ginger, but I thought the agave flavor in tequila would go quite nice. It took four days to fully infuse the sorrel, ginger and cloves with the tequila. Everyday, I shook, smelled and tasted until it was time to filter out everything. Into the fridge it went until last night when a friend was asking for a margarita.

After spending the entire day watching the West Indies Parade, I thought a drink more Caribbean than Mexican would be right. Not having any rum on hand, it was only fair to use the sorrel infused tequila into my Caribbean Stormy Margarita Mash Up. Here's what I came up with:
4 oz Sorrel infused tequila
2 oz Ginger Beer
Fresh squeezed lime juice
Ice
Pour the tequila over ice in a highball glass. Add fresh lime juice and top off with ginger beer.

It was spicy and sweet, very refreshing and a bit too easy to drink. Needless to say, it was the perfect beverage after watching hours of feather dancers and listening to a variety of Soca and Reggae.

Here are some pics (these were taken with my phone so they're not the best):

It's Official

I am now a proud graduate of the International Wine Center's Advance Certificate...and did it with distinction. Check it:
My name on the IWC

I guess now I really need to learn my Italian wines...

The Smell is in Your Hands

Learning about wine and spirits has turned me into a smelling freak. It wasn't too long ago I was a normal person. Happy to just eat my food, drink my hooch and go about my business. I knew my life had changed the night I ordered a glass of Lagavulin (one of the most amazing peaty scotches out there) and proceeded to dab it on my wrists and wear it as perfume. I must have spent 15 minutes between each sip inhaling the aromas. Last night my friend witnessed my new smelling obsession with cheese. It's one thing when you are the only one who notices your behavior, but another when your friends are calling you out on it.

We met up at Bierkraft in Park Slope, which I had never been into before. I was looking at all the different beers, when all of the sudden the cheese caught my eye. When Allison arrived I was deep in thought of what cheese I was going to devour. Lucky for me, she had the same idea...let's get a few hunks, a baguette and sit outside somewhere. The first cheese I picked out was the almighty Époisses, a cheese so stinky it was banned from public transportation in France! To be honest, we got two more cheeses but I was a one cheese woman last night. Our lovely cheesemonger let us sample some of it while she was wrapping it and instantly my fingers stank in the best way possible.

Trying to hold in my jubilation over the Époisses was easier said then done. Allison was careful to just get the cheese on the bread, while I was practically taking a bath in it. Let's just say, it was finger licking good. She tried her best to keep my mind off of the cheese, but somehow I always got the conversation to focus back on it by blurting out some fun facts:
***it's from Burgundy
***the rind is washed with marc de Bourgogne (a spirit made from Pomace)
How can you not like something that combines cheese & hooch!?
And because I'm supposed to be writing about drinking, it goes best with a good red Burgundy or a sweet white wine.

Where we wound up with our snacks did not have a fine aged Burgundy, but had a killer selection of beers on tap...I got the Dry Blackthorn Cider. Don't worry, this is a real cider, not some sugar loaded crap that tastes like a jolly rancher. Beer is sort of a foreign beverage for me, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons. After the cider, I had a Palm Belgium Beer and then followed it up with the Avery White Rascal, a white Belgium styled beer that had some really rich spicy flavors. It's the first time in my life I had two beers back to back (and I even spent time working at a beer bar). I guess if you keep trying something, eventually you will like it.

After some time Allison's bag was opened and the Tuthilltown Manhattan Rye was poured as well as the new Colorado whisky. Since I was doing most of the pouring, it kept getting on my hands which then went straight up to my nose. One of the best ways to really smell whisky is by rubbing it on your hands. It reacts with your body just like a perfume and you will pick up aromas that you might not have caught in the glass.

So please, next time you're out eating cheese or drinking some whisky, get it on your hands. I really don't want to be the only one out in public with my hands in my face.

PS: The new issue of Wine Spectator has a huge spread on the top 100 cheeses.
PPS: 13 more days till it's officially National Bourbon Month!

My New Religion

I finally went a few weeks ago to the Brandy Library in Tribeca and instantly fell in total love....with their menu. I had the Peat Promise sampler and it definitely delivered. Some of the tasters were old favorites; Caol Ila 12 and Black Bottle (which reminded me I need to order it for the store) as well as some new scotches I hadn't tried yet including the Six Isles and Connemara cask strength. I want to work my way through all their samplers. It's a great way to learn about spirits. I highly recommend going there and trying something new (or old).

Monday was my birthday and gathered up my friends and head down there again. This time, my mission was their seasonal cocktails. The list is unbelievable and I had the best Mint Julep ever. Also had a delicious cocktail made up of bourbon and Rhum Clement (a really yummy rum that's infused with oranges and spices). Then there were all the drinks my friends ordered which I had to take sips off of. Such items as cognac muddled with fig, or highland single malt mixed with bitters. Whatever crazy combo they came up with it made sense in the end. If anyone wants to go...drop me a line. I still have a whole lot of drinking to do!

www.brandylibrary.com

Huge gap in blogging France

I was moving along pretty steadily with getting my trip and thoughts out into the blog world, but then something happened. It was called the International Wine Center. I am finally done with getting my advanced certificate in wine (well I still need to wait 3 months before I see results) and after a few weeks of doing nothing but playing Puzzle Quest and reading book candy, I'm ready to take on the blog again.

Now that I have all this new knowledge of the wine world, I still find myself not using a whole lot of the jargon they taught me to describe wine. I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks. They teach you to describe words with typical adjectives: fruit forward, oaky, tannic...but I still tend to tell our customers the following: so good it broke my heart, i want to put a straw in it and just drink, killer juice. Then there are my descriptions of some of my favorite spirits: made me break out into a jig, i love to wear it as perfume, or it's like a symphony (that can be used with wine as well). Sometimes you just have to go with that initial feeling.

I promise to finish what I started very soon. More pictures to add...thanks Stuart! Plus there's a big chance I'll be spending some time in September working a harvest...Yay!

Another Day in Burgundy

Wines Tasted/Consumed: 68

It was another early start with our first winemaker at 9am. Oh so tired.....but I'm in France on a mission. And so far it's been to drink my way through Burgundy.

First stop of the day was Jean Jacque Girard in Beaune. Yay, another early call and I'm still trying to shake off the night before. But Jean Jacque was truly a delightful visit. Lots of great wines and good information. Girard is one of the oldest domaines in Savigny and dates back to the 1400's. He has the papers to prove that the vines belong to his family that date back from before the French Revolution. I really started getting curious about the history of Burgundy while spending time there and started asking the winemakers about how long the vines have been in the family. We met Jean Jacque's son who is learning the trade and will eventually take over for his Dad. I don't know about the rest of you out there who are reading it, but how great would it be to inherit a Domaine???

Before I go on another tangent about their cloning process, I really want to talk about all the wines we had. There were 12 all together and they had a common thread of being elegant and very approachable. Probably my favorite of the Pinot's was a premier cru from Les Lavieres, but the prize of the whites was a good ole Village that was made from vines his grandmother planted. I even wrote "do a little dance, have a little fun" on my notes. At a certain point, you just can't take professional notes, but just go with the overall experience.

We were there for quite a while taking our time to taste even though we had a full day ahead of us, but sometimes it just feels good to sit and chill. Plus we tasted in his home instead of in a freezing cold cellar. The conversation just flowed and we had an incredible lesson in grafting. Every year, they take 1500 buds from the vines and take them to a specialist who grafts them onto root stock. Then they plant the new roots on the south slope side of the Alps and keep them there for a year before bringing it back to plan in their vineyards. Now that's love.

Before we finally shuffled off, I got to watch my first small production bottling line in practice. Here's some video:


After a few more minutes of chit chat we were off to our next stop, Paul Garaudet in Monthelie. And from what Stuart was saying about this producer, it was going to be a lot of fun. He's know for his grand personality and presence. We were also meeting back up with Scott and another group of people from the States to taste Garaudet's wines. It was nice to have a few more people to taste with after spending almost a week with just the six of us. We started off tasting the 06 whites, but then he was gracious enough to pour us the 05's as well. It went on into the reds and he kept opening not only 2005, but 2004. Most of the fun we had with the winemakers is when they were really into opening various vintages. It was such a great way to learn about how vintage means EVERYTHING in Burgundy. My favorite of his was a 2006 blanc from Merssault "Forges". It was also great to try another style of Pommard. Compared to Billard-Gonnet, Paul's was the smoothest and most elegant style. Winemaking in Monthelie is known for their high level of quality and it showed at this Domaine. The other star was his pinot noir from the vineyard of Les Duresses in Monthelie.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but according to our itinerary, we were meeting with 5 different producers today. FIVE! And we were only two deep and according to my stomach it was well past lunch. I think once all of us realized it we quickly made our goodbyes and flew off to Chambolle in the Cote de Nuit for what would be one of the highlights of the trip.

Hudelot-Noellat owns some of the most prestigious lands in all of Burgundy. These are the vineyards that people pay thousands of dollars to buy the wines. This land is what grapes are to Burgundy as what Black Sabbath is to heavy metal. To be honest, I didn't really have a clue as to the greatness we were about to taste. I honestly felt that I wasn't worthy not having payed my dues yet in the wine world, but the look on my fellow travelers' faces told me how much this stop was going to rule.

We met the young winemaker Vincent who took us down to the cellars. All of the wines we were going to taste were still in the barrel and he had to mix each one carefully with the right balance of juice from the new oak and the old oak. We started off with their entry level Bourgogne Rouge and their Chambolle Village, then each wine after just was a tasting privilege. Not that their entry level or village was something to spit out. We also tried their premier cru's: from Nuit-Saint-George- Aux Murgers, Vougeot- Le Petit Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny- Les Charmes, Vosne-Romanee- Les Suchots & Aux Malconsorts. Then there were the Grand Cru's of Romanee Saint-Vivant & Richebourg. But one of my favorites of the day actually came from a small premier cru located north of Echezeaux called Les Beau Monts. Let me just say...holy crap, that was amazing! My notes just read in all caps DO NOT SPIT OUT. There was no way I could take detailed notes here. The Clos Vougeot I tasted said "knees weak", the Romanee Saint-Vivant "can't even put into words". This was serious wine crazy goodness. The juice was so sacred we couldn't even dump the leftovers (if there were any) into the spittoon...it went back into the barrels.

Vincent lead us back upstairs so Stuart and Nate could talk business with Mrs. Hudelot-Noellat and I was so amped on good juice I was dancing around the showroom, waiting for my chance to ask if I could purchase some bottles. I think Mrs. Hudelot-Noellat was so entranced by my enthusiasm of her wines that she gave me a great deal on two bottles, a 2000 Romanee Saint-Vivant and a 1997 Nuit-Saint-George, which was drank not too long after my return to the states. I took a great deal of pictures here:

I honestly wouldn't want to be the next producer on our list, but Herve Sigaut (also in Chambolle) it was. Herve and his wife welcomed us in total friendly Burgundian fashion and brought us into their home and off we were to round 4. He too had a great deal of premier cru's in his stock as well. We tried the 06 Les Carrières, which was awesome, bu then had the 06 Les Fuées and was totally floored by the earth, juiciness and spice. We also got to try the 04 from this land and had a surprise bottle at the end, which turned out to be a 1987. I guessed the area, but not the vintage...Burgundy was actually starting to make sense to me. It only took 4 days and about 200 wines. There was another wine we tasted from Les Chatelots that made me write "A Chugger". After all the reds, Herve pulled out a few whites and I was excited to see Les Champ Gain! Yay! If you haven't tried a wine from this small patch of land in Puligny-Montrachet, go out and get a bottle...NOW. As you read this I am on a mission to get some in at Heights Chateau otherwise, you will see me cry a great deal. Herve's wife was present the whole time and it was clear that she made a great deal of decisions concerning the wines. Herve even told us that it was her who got him to start making his wines so elegant. They also explained how they try and limit all fining and work with the lunar cycle. It was really nice to see so many producers working with nature instead of against it.

By the time we left it was already a bit past dusk and we still had ONE MORE stop. Eeeek. At this point of the day we had already tasted 58 wines (which I'm coming to understand isn't really a lot on these trips), but Stuart consoled me and said the next stop would only be a few more. So last, but not least, we visited Domaine Guillard in Gevrey-Chambertain. It was a very interesting visit since this is the first producer we met with who had their operation inside what looked like a store front in the village, not where the vineyards were. When you walked in, there was a little mud room and then there were large stainless steel tanks in the larger room (it honestly looked about the same size as my Brooklyn studio apt). He ran a very old school operation with bottling be done by hand and without much help. The Bayfield guys were under the impression his sister helped him quite a bit and there were canned veggies and beans scattered around showing her mark there. I was totally enamored with Guillard's quirkiness and felt inspired to take a great deal of pictures in his cellar....which is what I did.

On the way out to the car, I saw this incredibly huge dog and made Mike take pictures of me trying to pet him/her. I mean he/she was gigantic. I've never seen one of its kind before and if anyone knows what breed this thing is, please let me know. And now...off to dinner!!!!


We were all looking forward to dinner tonight for two reasons, one being that we hadn't stopped tasting wine all day and the other being that it was one of the top restaurants in Burgundy. Three stars according to Michelin...Negative stars if you are vegetarian. http://www.lameloise.fr/commun/pages/restaurant.asp
I knew that going into France it was going to be culinary challenging for me given the fact I don't eat anything with a face. But I was getting into the groove of fine dinning as a veg and after that glorious meal I had the night before at La Montrachet, I was eager to test the chef's skills. I told the waiter about my dietary issues and asked that the chef take liberties and what I got was a plate of cold pasta with no sauce and a side of Parmesan cheese (which I think could have been from a can). Oh no he didn't! It was the worst/most expensive meal I had the whole time in France. At least the guys enjoyed their meals immensely, cause if it was up to me....I would have gone back into the kitchen and yelled at the chef for charging me what he charged and giving me what he did. And not only was my main dish poop, but we were there for hours. When we finally got the check after 8 courses, the credit card machine was down and we had to leave one by one to take Euros out of the ATM a block away. Bob had a bunch of Francs on him and we tried to make light of the situation by trying to pay the bill with them which got a bit of a chuckle. In the end, we were there for 5 hours and left with jars of Lameloise jam. Thanks guys for the free jam. No, really. If I had been drinking bourbon instead of wine, the front of the hotel would have been jammed.

Back to the hotel for our alloted 5 hours of sleep before rolling over and trying more wine.