Mad River Distillers Corn Whisky

After only a year of production Mad River Distillers’ spirits are starting to spread beyond its home of Warren, Vermont and is now available in Massachusetts and beyond. Unfortunately the PLCB isn’t stocking the state stores in PA yet, but we were lucky enough to sample their vanilla-y rum (get your hands on it if you can) and their smooth corn whisky.

Mad River uses locally grown organic corn to produce their unique whisky mash. With most un-aged corn whiskeys (ahem SHINE) you often detect an underlying grassy, agricultural taste, but with Mad River’s “Vermont moonshine” you only taste the light sweetness of the corn, and the heat of the whiskey.

We liked the corn whiskey in a sour (bright and sweet), a hot toddy, a Ward 8, and just 100% pineapple juice, but nothing beats drinking it straight or with a little soda water and lemon juice. It’s a great spirit for more desserty (not sugary) drinks, but perhaps not a Manhattan, which you should be making with a woody bourbon or spicy rye.

If you find a bottle of Mad River spirits in your local liquor store we absolutely recommend taking it home. Hopefully we’ll be seeing much more of Mad River’s spirits as they continue to expand their product line. We’re really looking forward to their apple brandy, a Vermont take on Calvados.

Full disclosure: we were gifted the review bottle from Mad River Distillers.

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Mint Julep

We booze nerds sometimes get carried away by the details of a drink’s flavor, debating the merits of finishing casks, whether vodka can or even should have terrior, and other such minutia that so quickly seem vastly important. But one thing that is often overlooked, and quite unfairly so, is aroma. A drink should stimulate at lease four of your five senses with flavor, mouthfeel, appearance, and aroma. I even enjoy the rhythm of a skillfully shaken cocktail.

Since we are only days away from that auspicious American tradition, the Kentucky Derby, we thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to highlight one of the great aromatic cocktails, the Mint Julep. The julep is a profoundly simple drink to make and yields a wonderfully delicious refreshment.

Seen above is a traditional julep glass. While not necessary to enjoy a Mint Julep, it does help inflate your feeling of American bourgeois sophistication.

While Mint Juleps have been made with a variety of spirits in the past, Kentucky bourbon has been the standard for nearly a century. Additionally, some recipes will tell you to muddle your mint in the bottom of the glass, however this destroys the drink’s aromatic qualities and yields a sub-par cocktail. Instead, let your mint leaves float on the top of your Mint Julep and as you sip, breathe in with your nose. This way, the scent of the mint intermingles with the flavor of the bourbon as you drink.

1 oz simple syrup

3 oz Kentucky bourbon

2-3 mint leaves

Fill your glass (or silver julep cup) to the top with crushed ice. Pour over this your simple syrup, then bourbon. Stir until your ingredients are well mixed and a fog begins to accumulate on the outside of your glass (or ice on your julep cup). Garnish with mint and serve.

Traditional julep cups are made of silver so that as you mix, a thin film of ice should accumulate on the outside of your cup. This keeps your drink colder longer on a hot Kentucky afternoon. But for those not born with a silver cup in your mouth, a julep glass like the one shown above is also a great way to serve this drink.

Also, I hear Mint Juleps taste better when enjoyed beneath a giant floppy hat.

Why I do declare.

How to Stock Your Bar

Aside from booze blogs, web comics, regular comics, and as many books as we can get our hands on, we (specifically Matt) like to read certain menswear blogs. In particular we recommend An Affordable Wardrobe and Put This On, which inspired our video segments. One of the common questions addressed on menswear blogs is how to build a wardrobe and not surprisingly, the process is very similar to stocking your bar.

This is our collection a year ago. Much like a child, it has only gotten larger and more expensive since then.

Film Friday: Mad Men

At long last Mad Men is back! A couple episodes into the new season and we’re as happy as Roger Sterling in a pool full of Stolichnaya, which is why we’re taking this opportunity to bend the rules on our Film Friday series. So sure, Mad Men isn’t a film, but after 4 seasons the character development is outstanding, the writing is absolutely on point, and the editing and camerawork are downright cinematic. Besides, it’s our blog and we’ll do what we want.

So suppose for a moment that for the past five years you’ve been consciously avoiding AMC and shunning their programming lineup. Maybe you’re under the impression that this “Mad Men” thing that people keep talking about is some gruesome spinoff of Angry Birds. But now you’ve seen the light. You read something online that changed your mind, or that cute girl at work was talking about the show, or maybe your friends and family staged an intervention, because they love you and want you to be happy with your television choices. Anyway, you’ve decided that you need to start watching this Mad Men show and through the miracle of Netflix you can start right from the beginning.

While I wouldn’t recommend going drink for drink with the characters onscreen, we find that the show’s more enjoyable with a strong drink in hand. As such, here’s a guide drinking along with Mad Men, season by season.

Season 1: Martinis and Vodka Gimlets

Still steeped in the glamor and buttoned-up culture of the 1950’s, the first season of Mad Men begins in 1960 – the Drapers and the Sterlings sip traditional alcohol-heavy drinks in their favorite clubs, at home, and at work. More importantly, these period-appropriate cocktails will sooth the shock of some characters’ blatant sexism. But as the final scene of season 1 implies, the shows writers have a higher opinion of the female characters than do many of the male characters.

Season 2: Cuba Libres and Heineken with a side of Utz potato chips

I must admit, that of the four full seasons so far, season 2 is my least favorite. However, 3 & 4 more than make up for it and there are important plot points in season 2 that will be important later on. We went with Heineken and Utz for this season because both brands are featured as clients of the Sterling Cooper ad agency. But with the Cuban missile crisis looming at the end of the season, we figured the politically pertinent Cuba Libre would make a good fit.

Season 3: Old Fashioneds and French 75s

Season 3 is back on track with quality writing, compelling stories, and masterful filmmaking. This season is one of triumph, tragedy and strife, which made our selections more difficult. There is a birth and a death, which led us to the French 75. A celebratory drink, the French 75 is champagne-based, but also takes its name from a First World War artillery gun. And in episode 6 an altercation with a lawnmower inspired the selection of the Old Fashioned, a somewhat gory muddled drink.

Season 4: Irish Coffee and Dempsey Cocktail

We figure that if you’ve gotten this far you’ve probably missed some sleep, so wake yourself up with an Irish Coffee and soldier on. You’re on the home stretch. Once you’re awake, switch to the Dempsey Cocktail (which we’ll be posting in a few days). Named for the legendary boxer Jack Dempsey, this drink fits in with season 4’s combative themes. As Don battles with Betty and Sterling Cooper Draper Price go head-to-head with a rival agency, we see the characters at their best and at their worst. In fact, in one of the show’s many examples of highlighting historical context, episode 7 takes place the same night as Muhammad Ali’s second match-up against Sonny Liston.

Season 5 is off to a good start and we’re super excited to have new episodes to look forward to. As the season progresses, leave us suggestions in the comments as to what your drink of choice is for this season.

Film Fridays: The Secret of Kells and the Wild Irish Rose

The day before St. Patrick’s Day it would be downright irresponsible of me to neglect the Irish contribution to cinema and booze in today’s Film Friday post. A few of my favorite films happen to be Irish including Intermission and Breakfast on Pluto, or feature Irish leads as in The Boondock Saints and In America. I even considered throwing a curve-ball with The Company of Wolves, which as a horror nerd I rank at the third best werewolf transformation scene after An American Werewolf in London and The Howling III: The Marsupials.

But I’ll save the gruesome horror and gore for another week. Instead I decided to go in the other direction with one of the most beautifully animated children’s films that I’ve ever seen, The Secret of Kells. Children’s cinema and booze are, admittedly, not the most obvious match. But I wouldn’t have chosen this flick if it didn’t hold at least as much appeal for adults as for children. Plus, the film’s got an Oscar nomination to back me up.

The Secret of Kells

Sazerac

To say that the Sazerac is a classic American cocktail is not entirely accurate. Though inevitably some drink historians disagree, for the most part the Sazerac is considered the oldest known cocktail created in the New World, making it the classic American cocktail. Invented in New Orleans sometime before 1830, the Sazerac is also considered one of the several official cocktails of the Crescent City.

We’ve seen some recipes that call for bourbon, but for historical accuracy nothing but rye will do. Also, if you have it on hand, always opt for Peychaud’s bitters.

4 oz rye

1 tsp simple syrup

1 tsp absinthe

2 dashes of bitters

Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice and add rye, simple syrup and bitters. Pour the absinthe into a rocks glass and swirl until the absinthe coats the inside of the glass. Stir the rye, simple syrup, and bitters and strain into the rocks glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

The Sazerac

Ward 8

Named for a political district in Boston, this drink was invented to celebrate the election of Martin Lomasney, nicknamed the Czar of Ward 8, to the state legislature. It’s easy to suspect, though, that the bartender at the Locke-Ober restaurant where the drink was invented, may not have meant the gesture as a compliment. Like many bosses of turn of the century political machines, Lomasney was a notoriously dirty politician, and an ardent teetotaler.

Sipping a Ward 8 is like a contest between sweet and tart as the lemon juice and grenadine vie for attention. True to history, this cocktail is an excellent bracer to get you through yet another election year.

3 oz bourbon or rye whiskey

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz orange juice

2 tsp grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker half filled with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Toast to your candidate with a Ward 8!

Jockey Club

This sweeter variation on the Manhattan replaces the traditional bitters with maraschino liqueur making it a nice drink for before or after dinner.

Recipe courtesy of Liquor.com

3 oz bourbon or rye whiskey

2 oz sweet vermouth

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice and stir all ingredients. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Jockey Club Cocktail

Alton Brown’s Cooked Nog

For those who aren’t comfortable with raw Egg Nog, or who can’t find pasteurized shell eggs, this variation on yesterday’s recipe walks you through heating your mixture just enough to kill anything that might be lurking inside. The result is a little thicker, which may be preferable if you’re fond of store-bought nog, and very tasty. I’ll admit this is the first Egg Nog we made, and the first I’ve ever had, so my basis of comparison is limited to hearsay. But having tasted this recipe, I do finally understand why people go so nuts for Egg Nog every year.

This recipe should yield enough Egg Nog for 4 or 5 party guests. Also, we doubled the bourbon that’s listed here because, well, that’s just how we roll.

Pittsburgh Whiskey and Fine Spirits Festival Recap

It’s now a couple days after the 2011 Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival and I’m still doing my best to collect and organize my thoughts from that evening, so let’s start with the obvious: it was awesome. “Kid in a candy store” doesn’t cover it.

Organized by the good folks who bring us the Pittsburgh Wine Festival in partnership with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, this was the fifth Pittsburgh Whiskey and Fine Spirits Festival. Proceeds benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

In all, close to 175 spirits brands crowded the East Club Lounge at Heinz Field and any remaining floor space was flooded by hundreds of attendees. The atmosphere in that expansive yet cramped space was, in my experience, unique. It was hectic (We have to try the good stuff before they run out!), it was exciting (Angel’s Envy, Philadelphia Distilling, and our good friends from Wigle were all in attendance!), it was drunk (We tried all the good stuff before they ran out!).

It seemed to me that vendors and attendees were divided into factions, which is representative of attitudes towards drinking these days. There were the attendees who were there to get drunk and the booze brands that cater to them. You could generally identify these brands by the presence of “booth babes,” a phenomenon usually reserved for Comic Cons and trade shows.

Fred Noe, the great-grandson of Jim Beam, accompanied by partygoers.

On the other side of the coin, however, there were a tremendous number of people who were genuinely interested in tasting the liquors on offer (ending up a bit wobbly was a side effect). Luckily for us, there was a fantastic lineup of distilleries represented that offered some amazing liquors to sample.

We made a point to limit our intake to labels we really wanted to try. This included large established brands that might otherwise be outside of our price range (such as Laphroaig 18 Year Old scotch), smaller brands that might be harder to find (like Death’s Door White Whiskey, or Isle of Jura Scotch), and stuff we just hadn’t gotten around to yet (looking at you Vieux Carré, Buffalo Trace, and Doctor McGillicuddy’s Root Beer Schnapps). Plus we visited some old friends like Hendrick’s, Kraken, and Tub Gin.

Isle of Jura Scotch

We also noticed that larger distilleries tended to be more liberal pourers, as opposed to the smaller operations that cared more about – first – a proper tasting, and – second – making sure they had enough stock to last the night.

As excellent as the evening was, we were mightily disappointed by one thing. We, and many other attendees, were looking forward to the Whiskey Fest as our first opportunity to sample Wigle Whiskey’s first batch. And though Eric Meyer and company were present, they were unable to distribute the long-awaited samples. Why? Because the PLCB hadn’t approved their label. Their label. Instead Eric was distributing high-fives and rice-krispie treats that had been sneakily laced with whiskey. We are however, looking forward to Wigle’s Grand Opening on December 2^nd (be sure to check back here for coverage).

A personal-sized cask so you can age your own Wigle. Seen also: an illicit Wigle label.

In all, there was very little about this year’s Whiskey and Fine Spirits Festival that wasn’t excellent. There was tasty food (though more variety and more locations would have been nice), fantastic booze, and friendly people. In fact, we were pleased to find so many friends and acquaintances there who work in the industry. It almost makes me think we’re beginning to make a name for ourselves.

But more importantly, we made a handful of new friends and connections. In particular we think you should check out YourGrail.com

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