My Wine Education

Guest Post: Giacomo Fascio's Rosso Cervo Cocktail

While Kevin & I are in Alaska, we've asked some friends and colleagues to post on their wine loves, wine experiences and more. For this post we welcome Jay Erisman, our favorite instructor from The Party Source EQ Center and quite the wine and spirits expert. He tries to put a positive spin on our dislike of the new Jim Beam Red Stag. Thanks Jay!
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Bourbon drinkers have offered mixed reviews of the latest from Jim Beam: Red Stag Black Cherry Infused Bourbon. I tend to lean to the thumb-down end of that spectrum. (Although Red Stag is rather subtler than I expected, and not quite the Robitussin swill some have described. And it is clearly aimed at the Beam-and-Coke crowd, who may like it just fine.) But the appearance of the drink led me to wonder: how good could cherry and Bourbon be?

Image courtesy of Avenue Food, Creative Commons License

For help, I asked my first-call cherry masters, the Luxardo family of Torreglia, Italy. The Luxardos are responsible for the great maraschino cherry liqueur--a requisite ingredient in any bar--as well as a host of other cherry products, including whole amarena cherries and a syrup made of real maraschino cherry juice (that's "mara-skeeno," and marks the true and original cherry of that name, not the little artificial radioactive-red fruits endemic to American liquor cabinets). A cocktail of good, strong Beam Bourbon, layered with amarena syrup and the extra bitter Punt y Mes vermouth leads to a cherryish but quite complex cocktail, with a nice thickness that could even work as an after-dinner sip. Serving it on the rocks with a splash of soda cuts the richness if you like.

Giacomo Fascio's Rosso Cervo Cocktail

45 ml (1.5 oz) Jim Beam Baker's Bourbon
15 ml (.5 oz) Luxardo Amarena syrup
15 ml (.5 oz) Punt y Mes

Combine in a shaker with ice and stir for 20 seconds. Serve in a cocktail glass. Garnish with three Luxardo Amarena cherries, and pour a floater of Sazerac Rye on top.

Jim Beam Red Stag: Black Cherry Infused Bourbon

Back in February we announced the news that Jim Beam was releasing a black cherry-infused bourbon. My thought at the time was that they were shooting for the same crowd that enjoys flavored vodka - sort of young, hip crowd. I'm obviously not young and hip. I prefer my vodka pure and please don't mess with my bourbon.

That said, I was willing to give Jim Beam's new venture a chance. I wasn't going to judge it sight unseen or untasted. (Kevin, on the other hand, is a bourbon purist. He went into this already disliking it.)

Two weeks ago we picked up a bottle of Red Stag at Party Town, who seemed to be the first in the area to carry it. The rep had, of course, told the staff amazing things but the staff hadn't all tried it. We were left on our own.

Again - I went into this with an open mind. I don't mind the Wild Turkey American Honey, but at least Wild Turkey bills that as a liqueur. This is still bourbon.

Kevin instantly hated it. Much to my surprise, so did I. The best comparison I've got is cherry Nyquil. Bleh. It looks like bourbon, but one whiff and you smell can already smell the cough syrup. There's an aftertaste of syrup and plastic that is fairly unpleasant. I know it's supposed to be infused with natural flavors, but it sure doesn't smell/taste that way.

In an effort to be fair, we thought we'd mix it. When I travel and want a mixed drink, I go with either Beam or Jack and Coke. In theory, this would be a cherry Coke, right? While a Coke definitely improves the flavor of the bourbon, there's still the plastic aftertaste. We also tried with Sprite, much to the same effect. There's a chance this might add an interesting flavor to Bourbon Slush. My Slush recipe uses peach tea bags, and this might add a little more oomph to that, but I still worry about the aftertaste. I'm not sure how it would work with a Manhattan, but I think I've given up trying.

I really did want to like this - I love bourbon and I enjoyed the idea of extending my options. I do believe that it should be billed as a liqueur and not a bourbon, which has a strict definition. Either way, we give it a firm .

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McNab Ridge Wine Brunch @ Oceanaire

A few weeks ago, we wrapped up our Wine Festival weekend with a brunch on Sunday at The Oceanaire. (Editor's Note: We were comp'd the brunch from the nice folks at The Oceanaire.) The Sunday brunch featured wines by Rich Parducci, the winemaker for McNab Ridge and two of the Coro wines, all out of Mendocino, CA.

I'm not really a seafood girl, but every time I'm at The Oceanaire, I make it a point to try something new and I'm usually pleasantly surprised. I figure if I'm going to learn to appreciate seafood, a high-end seafood restaurant is probably the place to do it.

When we walked in on Sunday morning, we were greeted by Alli (her card reads Allison) who was an excellent server throughout the meal. In fact, we had two different servers, although I only got Alli's name, and both were friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.

We started the meal with mimosas, followed closely by an amuse bouche of salmon with lemongrass on a crostini with a mint-infused grape (if I'm reading my notes correctly) and Bloody Marys. I'm not into Bloody Marys either, but Kevin said it was excellent - spicy and "his type of Bloody Mary."

Our first real course was the Oceanaire Porkopolis Breakfast, consisting of housemade goetta, sunny side egg, and creamed hashbrowns. This was paired with the 2007 McNab Ridge French Columbard. As far as the food goes, it was great. I tried the goetta and it ended up on Kevin's plate as well. I'm fairly convinced that goetta is an acquired taste in this town and you either love it or hate it.

2007 McNab Ridge French Columbard: French Columbard is a white wine that McNab Ridge is growing to "preserve history in the county." Not many people grow French Columbard anymore, but it used to be quite common. It's an off-dry wine with 1.8% residual sugar. It had natural, bright acid. I noted that it was sweet, light, aromatic, and refreshing. Kevin noted the intensely floral characteristics, such as white flowers and pansies. To my surprise, it added a bit of spice to the first course - or perhaps the food added the spice to the wine. It was certainly easy to drink and I've been inspired to seek out more French Columbard.
Our review:

Our second course was the Fisherman's Breakfast: grilled Norwegian salmon, baked shrimp, fried oyster, and bourbon-glazed Nueske's Bacon. The course was paired with the 2007 McNab Ridge Sauvignon Blanc. My only complaint with this course was that the bacon was so strong, it sort of overpowered the Sauvignon Blanc.

2007 McNab Ridge Sauvignon Blanc: This was obviously a California-style wine, right from the nose, which was full of tropical scents and candied fruit. From my first taste, I got big mangos, as well as honeydew and cantaloupe. This one was aged in stainless steel and did not see any malolactic fermentation. If you enjoy the bright, tropical California style Sauvignon Blancs (as opposed to grassy New Zealands), you'll enjoy this wine.
Our review:

Our third course of the morning was the hickory smoked Rushing Waters trout hash, with chorizo, sweet potato, poached egg, rosemary oil, and tomato concasse. The third course was paired with the 2004 Coro Mendocino Zinfandel Blend. This was a great finish to the brunch with a wine that deserved to be the last, as it was by far the best.

2004 Coro Mendocino Zinfandel Blend: Coro is a special project in Mendocino that really deserves its own blog post. Winemakers in Mendocino get together, blindly judge each others wines, and then go back and make changes to the blend based on the feedback. They've implemented all sorts of rules and restrictions in order to create the best wine possible representing the terroir of Mendocino County. Coro, by the way, means "Chorus" in Italian and only 12 winemakers participate out of the 70 in the county. That's really the short version.

As for the wine, I could have sipped on it all day. I got chocolate and bing cherries on the nose. It was followed by raspberries, cherries, and gentle tannins, and finally, a chocolate finish. This was such a luxurious wine that I hope I get a chance to try all of the wines in the Coro project.
Our review:

Our wine brunch wasn't quite over, however. As we enjoyed the last of the Coro, we got a chance to chat with Andrew of Oceanaire, Rich Parducci the winemaker, and Brandon from Tramonte & Sons (distributor). In the process, we discovered that Tramonte & Sons has partnered with McNab Ridge to create Zincinnati, a limited edition Zin just for our area. They were completely sold out except for City Beverage - a liquor drive-thru in Hyde Park - where Kevin and I headed directly after the brunch. I think we bought the last bottles in town. Andrew also gifted us with several bottles of Graziano wines, left over from the Graziano wine dinner the previous week. Thanks Andrew!

Overall, I was thrilled with The Oceanaire wine brunch. They offered enough food for picky eaters like myself, coupled with great food for slightly more adventurous foodies like Kevin. Oceanaire is thinking about having brunches for both Easter and Mother's Day. I think a seafood brunch followed by a walk around the square on a Sunday Spring morning would be a great way to start the day.

Las Vegas Las Vegas

I'm off to Las Vegas tomorrow morning. I'm going for business. I'll be presenting at the ASTD TechKnowledge conference on Creative Commons licensing (although the session has a deceptively different name) and a mini-workshop on using Twitter.

By the way, if you're curious in these things, I offer classes here in Cincinnati as well. Just express interest.

Don't worry about the wine blog either. I've got several posts lined up and scheduled so that you're not without your wine information - you'll never know I'm gone. Kevin might even pop in with a Beer Guy post while I'm gone.

But there's something for you in my Vegas trip as well.

Photo by Michelle, Downtown Las Vegas, 02/07

I'm a firm believer in killing two birds with one stone. So while I'm in the city that truly never sleeps, I'm going to interview some of the cocktail and wine superstars. And that's where I need your help.

On Wednesday morning, I'm interviewing Patricia Richards, who is the lead mixologist for Wynn Resorts. It's unusual for a woman to have achieved this role. I suspect it's her mixing that is also responsible for the Best Bellini I've Ever Had. Nothing can compare to the Bellini I had at the Wynn two years ago, so I'm eager to find out her secrets.

Patricia Richards. Photo provided by the Wynn

Additionally, I'm heading over to my favorite Vegas restaurant that's out of my price range: Aureole by Charlie Palmer. About 6 years ago, Kevin took me there as an early birthday dinner. I love the place - the wine servers "fly" on bungie cords up the wine tower to retrieve bottles. I wonder if they'll let me fly. Regardless, I'm set up to interview their Master Sommelier on Wednesday afternoon. I'm quite excited.

So my questions to you: What Do You Want to Know? Do you have questions about cocktails or mixology? Lay 'em on me. I'll ask Patricia. Questions about wine, buying wine for a fancy restaurant, buying wine IN a fancy restaurant? I can't wait to hear them.

It's up to you, folks. Help me out by posting interview questions in the comments.

Planning New Year's Eve in Cincinnati

**We'll keep this post featured at the top of the blog until New Year's Day. Don't forget to add any events you hear about in the comments!**

It's about time that everyone started making plans for New Year's Eve. Last year, after a not-that-great year, we opted to host our own New Year's Eve party, which was fun and happily low-key. This year, we're also sticking with low-key, but we're headed out on the town.

We're headed to Bouquet Wine Bar in Covington. From 10 pm- 1 am they will be hosting a sparkling wine tasting, with appetizers. The cost is $40. We'll be there with Tim, his lovely wife, and Jessica from Liquor Direct and her boyfriend.  Interested? I'm not sure if there are seats left, but you can contact Danny Gold for more information.

Other events that I've been told about include the following:

Recently added events are denoted by a symbol.

Late Night in Spain

As most of you know, Kevin & I try to be pretty involved with the Young Professionals group for the Opera. In that spirit, I want to let you know about Late Night in Spain.

The Opera Ball itself is sort of like a prom for much older folks. It's fun, the live entertainment is usually amazing, and there is the dinner. Don't want to drop $200+ on a ticket? That's okay. You can come to the Afterparty, which sounds like a blast. Late Night in the Amazon was supposed to be fantastic last year and this year, Late Night in Spain is supposed to top last year's event.

The Late Night events are geared towards young professionals. You can dress up, but ball gown isn't required. You get great music, a midnight buffet, and a DJ. Oh, and it's all "Ibiza-style," which just makes me laugh.

Kevin and I are missing this for the 2nd year in a row. Last year we were on vacation in Arizona. This year? We're judging a wine competition in Tennessee. But I'd love for everyone to attend and then comment on this post. Let me know how it goes!  I'll be jealous we're not there.

Cincy Chic Treat: Economical Holiday Entertaining

When Monika first asked me to write this blog post with Cincy Chic readers in mind, our economy hadn't tanked quite so badly. Now, quite frankly, it's a bit scary. So the post has slightly transformed from Holiday Entertaining Tips to Economical Holiday Entertaining Tips. After all, you can still throw a wonderful party even though your budget is tightening.

Image Credit via Creative Commons

1. Progressive. I wish there were more progressive dinner parties out there. Moving from one house to another is fantastic, spreading out the responsibility of hosting a party so that there is less stress for everyone involved. You can take the progressive theme and spin all sorts of variations: progressive dinner, progressive dessert, or progressive cocktails. (Make sure there is a cab company available if you go with this one.) While it definitely works from house to house, I think this would also be a great way to socialize with your neighbors in an apartment or condo complex - all those people down the hall or down a floor that you've seen but never met. A single building progressive party has several advantages, including never seeing the snow and never being more than a stumble away from home.

2. Potluck. Don't wrinkle your nose. Sure, the name may call up church dinners, but there are so many twists on this old standard. Again, you're spreading the responsibility by asking others to bring a dish. Here are just a couple of ideas:

• Dessert potluck. Host a dessert party with everyone bringing a dessert dish. A lot of fun, fewer dishes, and suitable for slightly later in the evening, reducing the number of hours you're playing hostess.
• Cheese and wine. A friend of mine recently attended a cheese and wine party. Everyone brought their own cheese and wine and shared. Imagine all those bottles and cheeses lined up in a row. Classy and economical.
• Wine. Always, you can provide your own food but ask folks to bring their own bottle of wine to share. You can take this a step further and turn it into a blind wine tasting. You'd be surprised at how much fun this is and how it de-mystifies wine a little when you can't see what you're drinking. Make sure you have a lot of water available for rinsing, and dump buckets. Ice buckets, vases, and pitchers make great dump buckets with a creative twist.

**Bonus Tip** Ask everyone to bring their own wine glass. It adds a touch of fun (people bring some great glassware) and saves you from two things: losing a glass if one breaks and having to wash countless pieces of stemware.

3. Small dishes and comfort food. My mom used to make tiny little cold cut sandwiches to serve at parties and everyone loved them, perhaps because they were so tiny. But for Mom, they were quick and economical. In fact, comfort food makes for some great mini dishes. Dish out macaroni and cheese into ramekins, make grilled cheese sandwiches sliced into quarters and served on a big platter, or make a bunch of mini cheeseburgers. All can be created easily and on a budget.

4. Fondue. Need I say more? A couple of fondue pots (you can always borrow from friends) and some melted chocolate, melted cheese, along with fruits, marshmallows, and more. You can get creative with fondue and still manage to keep the costs down. Make sure you have plenty of napkins and little [disposable] plates on hand. Station fondue pots throughout the house to keep people from gathering in one spot. The hardest part of a fondue party? Cleaning out the fondue pots!

5. Big drinks. If you're not requesting everyone bring a bottle of wine, then you're opening yourself up for a huge bar bill. Kevin and I usually end up spending over $200 on alcohol alone for our parties. There are ways around this - make your drinks in bulk. Don't offer a bar-full of drinks. Offer a signature drink. In the past, I've made sangria, served in martini glasses, as well as crockpot mulled cider. You can make both in bulk cheaply and easily. Limiting the drink choices eliminates the alcohol strain on your budget. The recipe for cider is after the jump, and I've previously written about a recipe for a Sangria-tini you can make in bulk.

6. Finally, think small. Not just small foods, but small parties. Have a small intimate party with just immediate family or closest friends. A small dinner party is more affordable, less work, and often more rewarding than 50 people in and out of your home over the course of an evening. Not up for dinner? Kevin and I once hosted a breakfast party where we served quiche and enjoyed 2 bottles of Champagne with another couple.

However you entertain this holiday season, keep in mind what's important - close friends, family, and a boatload of holiday cheer. Got some creative tips for economical fun this holiday season? I'd love to hear your tips, tricks, and stories in the comments.

Cheers!
Michelle

Election Cocktails

Just a little bit of fun for a Halloween, pre-election Friday. Available now through the election on Tuesday (yes, it will finally be over), you can get a special election martini at Morton's Bar 12-21. Democrat-tinis, Republican-tinis, and for those of you who somehow still haven't chosen a side - Undecided-tinis. I know, cheesey, but fun. Costs run $11 per drink. (Happy hour food specials are happening too!) Of course, Morton's will be broadcasting the elections, so you can come out and cheer on your candidate and watch the stimulating news coverage. At our house, we'll be tuned to Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert's live coverage.

Staying home? The fine folks at Morton's have provided us with the recipes.

Democratini:

• 1.5 oz Absolut Citrus Vodka
• 1 oz Blue Curacao
• .5 oz Sour Mix
• Place all ingredients into shaker and add ice. Shake 15 times and strain into a Martini Glass.

Republican-tini:

• 1.5 oz Absolut Citrus Vodka
• 1 oz Pama
• .5 oz sour mix
• Place all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake 15 times and strain into a Martini Glass.

Undecided-tini:

• 1.5 oz blue curacao
• 1 oz Pama
• .5 oz pomegranate syrup
• Place Blue Curacao into shaker and add ice, shake 15 times and strain into martini glass. Place Pama and Pomegranate syrup into shaker. Shake 15 times and slowly strain down the side of the Martini glass so that the mixture floats to the bottom. You should have half red with half blue floating on top.

Bourbon Tasting at Morton's

Recently, Michelle and I attended the bourbon tasting at Morton's Steakhouse in downtown Cincinnati. (It's worth mentioning we were comp'd the tasting.) The featured bourbons were the upper end of the Jim Beam family, specifically Knob Creek, Booker's, Basil Hayden, and Baker's. There was a specific recipe made for each bourbon that paired with the appetizers.

Bernie Lubbers, Whiskey Professor, was brought in from Jim Beam to discuss the attributes of America's native spirit and he did a great job of filling in historical information in an easy to digest manner. He made the lecture part of the evening light and entertaining before walking around to talk with each table personally. Adding the extra level of personal touch was a nice re-reinforcement of the overall friendly atmosphere.

Drinks included the Southern Citrus Smash, Knob Creek Mint Julep (incredibly sweet), the Booker's Manhattan (which was amazingly potent), and the dessert-like Washington Apple martini.

The layout of the room was reception style with the appetizers in the middle and two drink stations on either end of the room. We were lucky enough to get a window seat using the ledge as our unofficial table and providing a great view out onto Fountain Square.

The bar at Morton's has a fantastic selection of "bar bites" that provide a great end to any evening. We had the mini-cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese (thanks to Lauren who also had the salad), and blue cheese french fries. Overall, a few additional tastes to finish the evening.

Morton's next event is a Chimay beer tasting on October 24.  They'll be sampling Chimay Premiere (Red Cap), Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue Cap), and Chimay Cinq Cents (Gold Cap). The event is $45 and $5 of the ticket price will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Michelle and I will be in Sonoma, CA, that day, but if we were in town, we'd definitely go for the beer tasting. Morton's has a great attention to detail and I imagine this next event will reflect that as well.

Recipes for our bourbon drinks, and corresponding photos, are after the jump.

A Twist on a Depth Charge

We visited Chalk last weekend. We hadn't been there in a while and it's still my favorite local slightly-more-than-casual restaurant. This time we ate at the bar.

Whenever Brandon the Bartender is working, I ask him to create a drink for me. This time he did a variation on a Depth Charge - at least, I think that's what he called it. (I think of a Depth Charge as a drink involving beer.) Regardless of what it's called, it was quite tasty and included the newest liqour to hit Kentucky - Absinthe.

1/4 part Lucid Absinthe
1 part Hendrick's Gin
1 part Lillet Blanc (A white bordeaux wine used as a mixer or an aperitif)

Line a martini glass with the absinthe.
Shake the Gin & Lillet well over ice and pour into the martini glass.

The ice chips and coldness of the Gin/Lillet mix cloud the absinthe, which is what you want.

This was a rather nifty drink - classy and reminiscent of an earlier time. I never know whether Brandon is reaching into some crazy amount of mixology knowledge to create this drinks or randomly creating them, but I'm never disappointed. Thanks!

Image by Thomas Hawk, via Creative Commons on Flickr.