And yet at the same time a very good start. :) I just received an order of bitters from KegWorks and I’m looking forward to trying them all in the weeks to come. I think I may even be able to leverage some of these in this week’s cocktail.
Darcy from Art of Drink came up with the Imbiber’s 100, a list of 100 drinks any good imbiber should try before they die. This list is a fantastic spin off of the Omnivore’s 100 that I chimed in on a couple month’s ago. So here is my offering.
I scored a 56/100 so it looks like I have some serious imbibing left to do in my lifetime.
Instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog, with instructions.
2) Bold all the drinks you’ve imbibed.
3) Cross out any items that you won’t touch
4) Post a comment here and link to your results.
OR
If you don’t have a blog, just count the ones you’ve tried and post the number in the comments section.
List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire
1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Weasle Coffee)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe
4. Rootbeer
5. Gin Martini
6. Sauternes
7. Whole Milk
8. Tequila (100% Agave)
9. XO Cognac
10. Espresso
11. Spring Water (directly from the spring)
12. Gin & Tonic
13. Mead
14. Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budweiser
17. Maraschino Liqueur
18. Mojito
19. Orgeat
20. Grand Marnier
21. Mai Tai (original)
22. Ice Wine (Canadian)
23. Red Bull
24. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
25. Bubble Tea
26. Tokaji
27. Chicory
28. Islay Scotch
29. Pusser’s Navy Rum
30. Fernet Branca
31. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider
32. Bourbon
33. Australian Shiraz
34. Buckley’s Cough Syrup
35. Orange Bitters
36. Margarita (classic recipe)
37. Molasses & Milk
38. Chimay Blue
39. Wine of Pines (Tepache)
40. Green Tea
41. Daiginjo Sake
42. Chai Tea
43. Vodka (chilled, straight)
44. Coca-Cola
45. Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
46. Barley Wine
47. Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
48. Pisco Sour
49. Lemonade
50. Speyside Single Malt
51. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
52. Champagne (Vintage)
53. Rosé (French)
54. Bellini
55. Caipirinha
56. White Zinfandel (Blush)
57. Coconut Water
58. Cerveza
59. Cafe au Lait
60. Ice Tea
61. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
62. Vintage Port
63. Hot Chocolate
64. German Riesling
65. Pina Colada
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guiness
73. Rhum Agricole
74. Palm Wine
75. Soju
76. Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
77. Belgian Lambic
78. Mongolian Airag
79. Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
80. Sugarcane Juice
81. Ramos Gin Fizz
82. Singapore Sling
83. Mint Julep
84. Old Fashioned
85. Perique
86. Jenever (Holland Gin)
87. Chocolate Milkshake
88. Traditional Italian Barolo
89. Pulque
90. Natural Sparkling Water
91. Cuban Rum
92. Asti Spumante
93. Irish Whiskey
94. Château Margaux
95. Two Buck Chuck
96. Screech
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daiquiri (classic)
Ok, now that you’re thoroughly startled its time for a drink. But as this week is Halloween week no ordinary drink will do. I’ll be covering Halloween specific cocktails this week and should have some good tips for you for your Friday Halloween parties.
Why do you need to discuss Bourbon, its just another whiskey right? Well, yes, but there’s more to it than that. All Bourbons are whiskies, but not all whiskies are Bourbons. In the same way that to be called Scotch a whisky must meet certain criteria in order to call a product Straight Bourbon Whiskey a distiller must meet certain requirements. Wikipedia summed it up nicely so rather than regurgitate, I’ll just quote them.
The first step in the Bourbon production process is the selection and processing of grains. As per the rules this grain mixture has to include at least 51% corn. The remainder is then made up of any of the other fermentable cereal grains, e.g. rye, wheat, barley, rice I suppose, etc. The grain mixture is one of the deciding factors in the final flavor of the Bourbon. As an example Bulleit Bourbon uses a high percentage of rye which gives the resulting spirit it’s characteristic spiciness. Since its this specific recipe of grains that makes each Bourbon unique it makes sense that the specifics are tightly guarded secrets. The distiller then takes the selected grains and mills them. Milling the grains maximizes the surface area allowing a more complete starch conversion, the next step in the process.
Once the grains have been milled water is added and heat is applied to the mash. The application of heat causes the starches in the grains to break down in to fermentable sugars that can then be consumed by the yeasts. Once the mash has been cooked a small portion of the previous mash is added to the new mash. The acid from this “sour mash” slows the growth of bacteria and creates the pH balance that the yeast requires for alcohol production. Which brings us to the fermentation itself. Depending on the chosen yeast this process can take anywhere from days to weeks but the result is the same a low alcohol content wash.
The wash is then transferred to a still where it will undergo distillation into a clear alcohol. When you buy a bottle of Everclear you are buying un-aged whiskey straight from the still. The maximum alcohol percentage that can be obtain through standard distillation is 94%. In order to go higher you have to employ a process called vaccuum distillation which is considerably more complicated, not to mention a story for another post.
At this point the un-aged Bourbon is transferred to new, charred oak barrels for aging. There are varying degrees of barrel char that can be utilized to produce specific characteristics. Once filled the barrels are moved to a barrel house for aging. As the temperature varies throughout the year the Bourbon is pulled in to the wood (as temperature increases) and pushed back out (as temperature decreases). This aging produces two distinct results. First the char on the barrel serves to filter the Bourbon to some degree. Second as the alcohol moves in and out of the wood it picks up color and flavor. There are lots of compounds in wood that help to give the Bourbon it’s unique final flavors.
Bourbons are aged for a minimum of two years and the sky seems to be the limit. Once aging is complete there are a few more options. One, the Bourbon can be bottled without dilution at what is called cask strength. Bourbons from the larger distilleries are typically blended to produce a consistent flavor and then diluted to the proof desired. Some distilleries however and choosing to bottle the product un-blended from single barrels. These single barrel Bourbons, such as Eagle Rare, one of my personal faves, will vary in flavor from barrel to barrel slightly depending on the barrel itself and where the barrel was aged. As such, you end up with a product that although similar will never be exactly the same. I like this as it gives cocktails a bit, although not too much, variability.
Well I hope this overview has been interesting for you. I’ve glossed over some subjects intentionally (e.g. the specifics of distillation) and I’ll be covering those in more detail later on. Some topics (e.g. barrel chars) I’ve skimmed over due to a lack of knowledge. As I know more about these I’ll be sure to write update posts. I’ll be visiting a couple distilleries this weekend in Kentucky and hope to find out a lot more interesting info and get some good pictures.
I’ll be spending next weekend in Louisville, KY visiting my friend Jennifer. In that spirit we’ve decided to spend this week not focusing on a specific cocktail, but discussing a spirit in general. Aaron and I wanted to revisit a couple Bourbon cocktails we’ve discussed in previous weeks so we’re going to have some interesting tid bits to share with you there. In addition I want to document what makes Bourbon Bourbon, so to speak. Finally, Jennifer, being the awesome friend that she is, has agreed to play in to my cocktail habit by going on a couple distillery tours in Kentucky with me while I’m there, so I’ll have write ups from those later in the week.