Professor Cocktail

The Cheat Sheet: The Professor's Guide to the Best Cocktail and Spirits Links

You want stories? We got stories.

• In The Atlantic, Wayne Curtis goes on a nutmeg bender. He ends up getting a little high, but I wonder if the power of suggestion helped.
• In the New York Times, Rosie Schaap writes about "After the Feast, the Digestif." She focuses on different types of brandy, including Armagnac, grappa and slivovitz.
• In CLASS Magazine, Simon Difford discusses the Piña Colada.
• Imbibe Magazine does a Q&A with some of NYC's best bartenders, including Dushan Zaric, Theo Lieberman and Kenta Goto.
• The Columbia Room's Derek Brown talks about dishonest yelpers. I give all online reviews a serious discounting for this very reason.
• Martin Doudoroff tells you all you need to know about the classic American cocktail: Old Fashioned 101.
• Bartender Michael J. Neff (Ward III) talks about craft distilleries. Not that long ago there were only a few dozen small distilleries in America. Now there are hundreds of them.
• Here's a piece of news we've all been hoping for: Drinking vodka makes you more creative.
• A video from 2010: bartender Derek Brown talks at TEDx about reinventing the cocktail.
• Some of our greatest presidents had a fondness for whiskey. They even make whiskey again at Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate. Unfortunately, it's extremely expensive and in very short supply.
• Can you believe I've never tried sake? Seems odd, but I never have. In a piece from a while back, David Wondrich provides an intro to this unique Japanese beverage.
• Dutch businessman Bay van der Bunt has the world's oldest liquor collection. He has over 5000 bottles and is getting ready to sell them.
• The Oscars may be over, but you can still drink like you're in the movies.
• In the "how to" department, videos on shaking a cocktail, from Angus Winchester, Jamie Boudreau and Evan Zimmerman.
• Concannon is now making an Irish whiskey that is aged in wine barrels. Other distillers have done this with Scotch, but usually the wine is something like Sherry.
• A selection of 5 hot cocktails for cold winter nights. No recipes, but some interesting ideas. The Almond Hot Toddy sounds delicious.
• The Martini is taking Los Angeles by storm.
• Following on yesterday's post on the Manhattan, a recipe for the Newark, a popular variation.
• You have to love an adventure story that ends in a cocktail recipe. Here's a classic one from Charles H. Baker.
• Gizmodo reviews the top 5 cocktail recipe apps. I haven't been particularly impressed with any of the apps I've tried out so far. (I'll need to write about this at some point.)
• Charlottesville is a great town and The Hook talks to several of the best local bartenders.
• SF Beer Week took place recently, and David Kover reports back on eight memorable sips.
• Ordering wine in a restaurant doesn't have to be an intimidating experience. Wine importer Terry Thiese tells you what to say to a sommelier.

The Manhattan Project

Kevin Sintumuang had an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal recently on one of the best, most enduring cocktails of all: the Manhattan.

Take a sip. It's not a race—just a sip. Now savor. Cinnamon. Oak. Vanilla. Mint. Cornbread. Dark cherries, even. The flavors of the Manhattan seem to go on forever. Crazy good, huh? Amazing for a drink that really only has three ingredients: whiskey, vermouth, a dash of bitters. That's the beauty of the cocktail. It's gimmick-free.

You wouldn't think that it would taste so good. Whiskey mixed with aromatized wine? Sounds kinda gross, doesn't it? But the combination is magical, especially when the flavors are bound together with the addition of bitters. (Adding bitters to a cocktail is like adding salt to french fries. Sure you can eat them without it. But why would you want to?)

So how do you make a Manhattan? It's one of the easiest drinks around.

 

Manhattan

2 oz Bourbon or Rye Whiskey
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. 

 

Whether you use rye or bourbon whiskey is a matter of personal preference. Bourbon makes for a slightly sweeter, smoother drink. Rye gives it a touch of zing that is very nice. If you prefer to shake this drink, you can shake it. If you prefer it on the rocks -- like I do -- you can serve it that way. You can also omit the cherry if you don't have any. It's not essential.

As you can see, the Manhattan is a flexible cocktail. Perhaps the coolest thing about the Manhattan, the feature that makes it different from so many other cocktails, is its potential for experimentation. As Sintumuang points out, the Manhattan is endlessly variable -- and what's more, it can easily be altered by even the least imaginative of mixologists and still produce a fine libation.

The beauty of the Manhattan is that it only calls for three ingredients—a framework that allows anyone, be it a home bartender, spirits nerd or pro cocktailian, to experiment with confidence. Following the classic recipe above, play with different types of whiskey, vermouth or bitters, and you'll be sipping an entirely new concoction each time.

He includes a guide for Manhattan experimentation, with suggestions for different types of whiskeys, different types of vermouth, and different types of bitters. But even beyond that, you can mix up variations on the Manhattan that take its flavor in bold new directions, while still remaining true to the essential nature of the drink.

One of the most common of these variations calls for replacing the vermouth (some or all of it) with amaro, one of the myriad varieties of bitter Italian liqueurs. Probably the best known of these is the Black Manhattan, which omits the vermouth and instead uses Averna. (This is a good drink, as long as you don't mind the bitterness. Averna has strong accents of orange flavor that work nicely in the Manhattan.)

Other variations call for the addition of a small amount of another spirit, such as orange curacao, Cherry Heering, maraschino liqueur or Fernet Branca. The possibilities truly are endless. As long as you keep as your foundation the essential nature of the Manhattan, you can experiment with discovering the flavors that you like best.

The article shares several recipes for variations on the drink from top bartenders around the country. As if that weren't enough, it also includes a guide to where you can find the best Manhattans in Manhattan. It's a veritable cornucopia of Manhattan-y goodness! Bravo, Wall Street Journal.

The Cheat Sheet: The Professor's Guide to the Best Cocktail and Spirits Links

I had so many interesting articles to link to this week that I decided to mix up a special edition of the Cheat Sheet. Enjoy!

• In the San Francisco Chronicle, Gary Regan talks about Japanese whiskey, specifically Yamizaki.
• Also in the Chronicle, the economy must be rebounding because sales of booze are up.
• Advertising Age reports that one of the engines driving those sales overseas is bourbon. (American exports of spirits now amount to $1.34 billion, outpacing both wine and beer.)
• Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler shares the most important bar tool you're probably not using: a notebook for recipes. I've been keeping my recipes on index cards, but this looks like a better idea. (I've thought of doing it on my iPad or iPhone, but I don't like using them in the kitchen.)
• The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a piece on what's going on with bourbon today.
• Serious Eats presents a guide to single malt Scotch.
• Bartender Jim Meehan (PDT) talks to the Wall Street Journal about absinthe. (video)
• The New York Distilling Company now has its own bar, the Shanty, and the New York Times visits.
• In CLASS Magazine, Simon Difford reviews several gins, along with some other spirits. He gives the highest marks to Zuidam Dry Gin, which I've never even heard of before.
• Also in CLASS Magazine, Camper English reports on the twelve best bars in Vancouver.
• Need even more bar recommendations for Vancouver? Simon Ford shares his.
• Boston bartenders are putting new twists on classic cocktails. Looks like some good stuff is going on up there.
• Mardi Gras may be over, but as Rosie Schaap writes in the Times, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a Ramos Gin Fizz.
• Speaking of the Ramos Gin Fizz, Chris McMillian, New Orleans' best bartender, shows you how to make one.
• New York's Daily News has a piece on cocktails created by bartender Kenneth McCoy of Ward III in honor of the nine films that are nominated for Best Picture.
• Here's another collection of cocktails for your Oscar-night party, courtesy of Richard Goldsmith.
• And even more Oscar-night cocktails, these from The Spir.it.
• The latest trend in gin: Navy-strength gin, clocking in at around 114 proof. I haven't tried any of this yet, but I'm curious. It seems like gin could quickly get overpowering at that level.
• Brooklyn has its first gin distillery since Prohibition. Breuckelen Distilling started in 2010 and makes a few varieties of gin and whiskey.
• A new distillery is opening in Washington, DC as well. The New Columbia Distillery is planning to open this summer.
• The Weekly Pint shares the best craft beers in the Big Easy.
• In case you didn't get your fill of presidential cocktails, here are a few more.
• The Four Seasons in Baltimore has a new high-end cocktail bar called the Wit & Wisdom Tavern. The Baltimore Sun visits and has nice things to report.
• Want to make your own Allspice Dram? Serious Eats tells you how. Or you can buy St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram. It's a little pricey, but one bottle will probably last the rest of your life.

That's it for now. What are you drinking this weekend?

The best Caribbean rums, island by island

Wine Enthusiast magazine doesn't just write about wine -- they recently ran a good piece on the best Caribbean rums, including tasting notes and scores. They also suggest a variety of ways in which these rums can be enjoyed, and some of the best places in the islands to stay and to drink. It's definitely worth a read.

Here are some of the rums they recommend. I haven't tried all of them yet, but they get good marks from most people.

Barbados

Mount Gay Extra Old -- Wine Enthusiast score: 93 points. An interesting rum that a lot of people love, although it's a bit too whiskey-like for my tastes.

Belize

1 Barrel Rum

Dominican Republic

Ron Atlantico Private Cask
Brugal 1888 -- Wine Enthusiast score: 93 points

Jamaica

Appleton Estate 12 Year Aged Rum -- One of my favorite rums. A superior product, filled with rich flavor.

Puerto Rico

Bacardi 8 -- Wine Enthusiast score: 91 points

Saint Lucia

Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum -- Wine Enthusiast score: 96 points

The Cheat Sheet: The Professor's Guide to the Best Cocktail and Spirits Links

 Some good stuff on tap this week. Enjoy!

• In the Washington Post, Jason Wilson shows a little love to white (bianco) vermouth. (This is a different animal from dry vermouth.)
• Also in the Post, a Q&A with Kentucky Congressman John Yarmuth (head of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus) about bourbon and taxes. Who knew there was a Congressional Bourbon Caucus? I want to join!
• In The Atlantic, Derek Brown proclaims that if the world ends in 2012, it will be because of flavored vodka. (Who are the targeted consumers of Whipped Cream Vodka, anyway? Twelve year olds?)
• In other Derek Brown news, he shows you how to make some Prohibition-era cocktails.
• In Esquire, David Wondrich explains how to give a proper toast.
• Gary Regan discusses the Betsy Ross cocktail and tells you how to make one. (Brandy, port, orange Curaçao and bitters.)
• Woodford Reserve has a new Double Oaked Bourbon, that ages the whiskey in two different kinds of barrels. Sounds interesting.
• The Globe reports on Boston's bar culture. Hospitality, along with commitment to fine cocktails, is key.
• CNNGo recommends the 8 best modern speakeasies. Included on the list are The Gibson in Washington, DC, Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco, and The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. in Philadelphia.
• In the New York Times, Robert Simonson writes about the trend of smoking cocktails. I have not tried a smoked cocktail, so I remain skeptical.
• Redbreast Irish Whiskey is rolling out a new 12-year-old cask-strength whiskey that gets very high marks from Cigar Aficionado. I'd love to try this.
• Five Amaro cocktails that won't leave you bitter -- including my favorite, the Picon Punch.
• Booker and Dax, a new bar in Manhattan, is lighting up New York -- with cocktails.
• Wayne Curtis writes about his trip to the Clough Club in Vancouver.
• Did you know that premium cocktails are back in vogue? Well, according to the Miami Herald, they are. (I seem to recall hearing this somewhere before.)
• Irish whiskey now outsells single malt Scotch in the United States. Erin go Bragh!
• St. George Spirits releases three new gins simultaneously: Terroir Gin, Botanivore Gin and Dry Rye Gin. Sounds intriguing!
• An article on bitters from The Guardian. Turns out they're important to include in your drinks.
• Kara Newman tells where to find a good cocktail in Las Vegas, including a nice twist on the Cosmo.
• Forbes Travel Guide shares how to drink like a president. President Obama, for example, is "partial to a great margarita, and also martinis."
• Here is a collection of presidential-inspired cocktails, complete with recipes.
• Pisco Sour Day has passed, but you can still celebrate by making one with Wine Enthusiast's recipe. They also give scores for three different Piscos. (Pisco Capel Reservado is their highest rated one.)
• Does terroir affect beer? Maybe.

I still have quite a few articles queued up, so I might make a special edition Cheat Sheet later this week. Let me know if you'd find that useful.

Liqueur Review: SNAP

SNAP
Liqueur
Final Grade: B+
Price: $30 (750ml)

SNAP is an organic liqueur* produced by Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (AITA, for short), a Philadelphia-based design company. They previously launched the spirit ROOT, which has caught on with a lot of bartenders around the country.

Fresh out of the bottle, SNAP's aroma is warm and sweet like gingerbread, with a soft honey color. Sipped neap, SNAP's flavor is spicy and sweet, with a slightly syrupy texture and a strong bite. (This liqueur is 80 proof -- 40 % alcohol -- so it has some kick to it.)

You can taste the molasses in it, along with the cinnamon and, further back, the ginger. I was expecting the ginger to be a little more forward in the flavor profile, and while it's definitely there, it's just one part of the mix.

SNAP was formulated with the flavors of lebkuchen in mind, the traditional German Christmas cookie made with molasses, honey and spices (including cloves and nutmeg, in addition to cinnamon and ginger). Some have described lebkuchen as the ancestor of ginger snaps, thus the name of this spirit.

SNAP is fine to drink neat, but the flavor and sweetness soon overwhelmed my palate. (It's made with blackstrap molasses, which is powerful stuff.) I decided to mix it in a cocktail to see what it would do. The website for AITA lists several cocktail suggestions for their liqueurs, and I settled on a variation of one of them.

 

Ginger Rye

2 oz Rye Whiskey
1 oz SNAP
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 Dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters

Shake the ingredients with ice, then strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. 

 

For the whiskey, I used High West Whiskey Double Rye, and for the syrup, I used homemade Demerara Sugar Syrup (2:1, sugar to water). The spiciness of the rye complements the flavors of SNAP nicely, and the lemon juice balanced well with the sweetness.

This is where SNAP has some very interesting potential, as it makes for an excellent cocktail ingredient. In addition to rye whiskey or bourbon, I can see SNAP mixing very well with an aged rum. This is a unique spirit -- not the kind of thing you'd drink everyday. But it's definitely recommended as part of the mixologist's arsenal.

Report Card

Quality Grade: B+
Value Grade: B
Final Grade: B+

*There is some question of whether or not SNAP is technically a liqueur. I've chosen to list it as such for convenience sake, as that is what I think it most closely resembles.

Cohasset Punch: Chicago's Own Cocktail

Cohasset is a small town on the coast of Massachusetts, not far from Boston. It can fairly be described as tiny, barely mustering a population of 7500 souls. So how did it come to be the namesake of one of Chicago's signature cocktails?

According to Eric Felten, the drink was created for Victorian-era actor William H. Crane by a Chicago bartender named Gus Williams. Crane was a very successful comedian and would throw lavish parties at his summer house in Cohasset. One year he brought Williams along with him to mix drinks, and it was there that he invented Cohasset Punch.

Williams brought the cocktail back to Chicago with him and began serving it in his bar on Lake Street. It caught on with customers and became one of the town's most popular tipples, a status it maintained until at least the mid-20th century.

Savvy businessman that he was, Williams kept the recipe secret. When he retired, he sold it to the owners of the Lardner Brothers saloon on West Madison Street. There the cocktail proved so popular that they billed themselves as "Home of Cohasset Punch" and even sold it in bottled form.

Admittedly, it doesn't sound like a delicious concoction. It's a mixture of rum, vermouth and lemon juice, sweetened with the syrup from a can of peaches. (Here's a recipe, circa 1917, from Tom Bullock's The Ideal Bartender. So much for keeping it a secret.)

In 1936, the Chicago Daily Tribune described it as "harmless looking, pleasant tasting." Not exactly a ringing endorsement, although it apparently had plenty of fans. I didn't mix any up to try -- I'm not a fan of canned peaches, so we didn't have any in the house -- but Felten did and he pronounced the end result "not bad" but "bland."

Through experimentation, he discovered that the drink was improved by reducing the amount of Vermouth and adding a touch of Grand Marnier, the Cognac-based orange liqueur. Here is his recipe:

 

Cohasset Punch
Courtesy of Eric Felten 

1 1/2 oz Dark Rum
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/2 oz Syrup from Canned Peaches
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
2 Dashes Orange Bitters

Start by putting half a canned peach in the bottom of a saucer champagne glass; then half-fill the glass with shaved ice. Put all the liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the glass.

 

Recently, Professor Cocktail's Chicago Correspondent, Bob Montgomery, paid a visit to The Drawing Room, one of the city's finer eating and drinking establishments. He discovered there on the menu a drink he knew I'd be interested in: Cohasset Punch #2.

Created by bartender Mathias Simonis (from Distil in Milwaukee), Cohasset Punch #2 is an updated -- improved, I'd say -- version of the original drink. Simonis' version still has rum, vermouth and lemon juice, but replaces the canned peach syrup with cinnamon syrup, a change that works very well. (You can see Mathias' recipe and watch a video of him making one here.)

Inspired by his creation, I did some tinkering on my own, playing around with it to find what would best suit my palate. Here's what I came up with:

 

Cohasset Punch #2

2 oz Pyrat XO Rum
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice, then strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

 

It's a very tasty drink. Big thanks to Mathias and The Drawing Room!

Note: The reason I recommend using Pyrat XO Rum for this cocktail is because Pyrat is a dark rum with pronounced orange accents. You can substitute a different high quality dark rum, but in that case I'd advise adding some orange bitters to the mix. The orange flavor really helps bring it all together. For the Cinnamon Syrup, I used the Sonoma Syrup brand. They make excellent products, and I highly recommend them.

The Cheat Sheet: The Professor's Guide to the Best Cocktail and Spirits Links

Hopefully you're recovered from Valentine's Day. Here is some recommended reading to get you through the rest of the week.

• Derek Brown confesses that, according to the CDC, he's a binge drinker. But when he explains what he means, you might see the term a little differently.
• Katie Nelson (The Columbia Room) discusses how to set up a home bar.
• Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler claims that he makes the best Amaretto Sour in the world. To the best of my knowledge, I've never had an Amaretto Sour. But I'm going to give his recipe a try.
• Whiskey Advocate magazine has named Irish Distillers the Distillery of the Year. They're the producers of Jameson, Powers, Redbreast and other fine Irish whiskeys.
• Wayne Curtis, a man who knows a thing or two about rum, shares his thoughts on Hot Buttered Rum, one of my favorite drinks. He recommends the batter method, which has its advantages. Here's my Hot Buttered Rum recipe.
• David Wondrich tells you how to make the least fussy cocktail. The secret? A little booze, a little something else.
• Serious Eats discusses the difference between single malt and blended whisky. (In short: a single malt whisky is the product of a single distillery. A blended whisky is a mixture of different whiskys from different distilleries.)
• Camper English writes about how Hendrick's Gin is made.
• I've yet to try a beer cocktail, but according to the Los Angeles Times they're popping up on menus all over the place.
• In CLASS magazine, Simon Difford reviews five clear peach liqueurs. The highest-rated are DeKuyper's Crystal Clear Peach Liqueur (a different product, I think, from their American version) and Teichenné Peach Schanpps from Spain.
• Over on Forbes.com, Chris Milligan muddles over muddlers. (I use a basic wood muddler that seems to do the job just fine.)
• Andrew Strenio lists three American Rye Whiskeys you should try. They are: High West Double Rye, Sazerac Rye and Hudson Manhattan Rye. I think Rye is one of the world's great spirits. Remarkable stuff. (We had a review recently of High West Double Rye.)
• There's a new website (and newsletter) dedicated to the world of beer, put out by the same people who publish The Daily Sip (about wine): The Weekly Pint.
• SF Weekly picks the 10 best bars in San Francisco. Coming in at #2 is Smuggler's Cove, Martin Cate's palace of rum and Tiki.
• Robert Hess shows you how to make a Biter Cocktail (Gin, Chartreuse, Lemon, Absinthe). And he's also found a new juicer -- but it doesn't look promising.
• Pisco, a brandy from South America, is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. Now Peru and Chile are fighting over who really owns it.
• The Spir.it rounds up the Top 5 Gin Cocktails. (Good picks!)
• One from the archives: Eric Felten, writing in the Wall Street Journal, muses about Valentine's Day cocktails.

Valentine's Day Cocktails

Valentine's Day is upon us once again. Some adore this celebration of love. Others find it the most depressing holiday of the year. Either way, you're going to need a drink. Here are a few suggestions for cocktails to mix up for your sweetie -- or yourself.

Champagne is probably the perfect drink for Valentine's Day. It's simple, delicious and elegant. You can find a good bottle of Taittinger or Charles Heidsieck for around $30-40. If you prefer California sparkling wines, several types of Domaine Chandon can be had for under $20.

Maybe you're tired of the bubbly, though. (If you're tired of Champagne, you're quite possibly tired of life. But I digress.) But you can always try that sparkling wine in a cocktail.

Crème de Cassis is a sweet liqueur flavored with blackcurrants. You can substitute Crème de Framboise, which is flavored with raspberries. As far as that goes, you could try using any fruit-flavored liqueur that you favor.

 

Kir Royale

5 oz Sparkling Wine (chilled)
1/2 oz  Crème de Cassis

Build in a Champagne flute: wine first, then liqueur.

 

I've always thought that lavender was one of the most romantic colors. (The color scheme of our wedding was based on lavender.) So here's a lavender-colored drink: my award-winning creation, the Antixodiant Cocktail.

 

The Antioxidant Cocktail

1 1/2 oz White Rum
8-10 Fresh blueberries
1 oz Pomegranate Juice
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice

In a mixing glass, muddle the blueberries with the rum. Next add the remaining ingredients. Shake with ice, then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

Here's a little something hot and sweet. (Insert lewd joke here.)

 

Cupid's Cocoa

1 1/2 oz Appleton Estate Rum
2 1/2 oz Hot Chocolate

Combine in an Irish Coffee glass. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

 

Layered or pousse-café-style drinks are somewhat déclassé in today's hip cocktail culture. But they shouldn't be. They're rather romantic, especially when made with Parfait Amour, a purple liqueur made with a Curacao base.

Layering is achieved by pouring slowly over the back of a spoon held against the inside of the glass. (Here's a video of Jamie Boudreau demonstrating how to do it. Note that he's making a different drink.)

 

Angel's Wing

1 oz Cherry Liqueur
1 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1 oz Parfait Amour

Layer the ingredients in the order listed above in a pousse-café or large shot glass.

 

The Valentino is named after St. Valentine's Italian cousin. (Or maybe not.) It's a take-off on the Negroni; an ideal variation for those who aren't too fond of the bitterness of Campari. (You can make this with Vodka instead of Gin, if you insist.)

 

Valentino

2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Campari

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

 

Chocolate and strawberries are a classic combination. Here's a cocktail that uses them both to good effect. (Apologies for the name.)

 

Choco-Berry-Tini

2 oz Vodka
1 oz Chocolate Liqueur
3 Strawberries, sliced
1 oz Half and Half

In a mixing glass, muddle the strawberries and half and half. Add the remaining ingredients and fill with ice. Shake and fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

Finally, you knew I was going to include a Tiki drink. I considered several choices, including the Suffering Bastard. (Heh, heh.) But I decided to go with something easy: the Hurricane. Why did I select the classic New Orleans cocktail? Because it has passion fruit in it, of course.

 

Hurricane

3 oz Gold Rum
1 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1 1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with crushed ice and pour unstrained into a Hurricane glass.

 

I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with romance and booze -- and no hangovers on either score. Cheers!

Buffalo Trace Distillery's Single Oak Project

Buffalo Trace Distillery, one of the world's most prestigious producer of whiskeys, recently announced the fourth round of their Single Oak Project bourbon. This ongoing experiment tests how a set of different factors affects the development of whiskey.

The project started in 1999 when Buffalo Trace selected 96 oak trees, which were then crafted into 192 different barrels, each made from the same section of the same tree. Some of the barrels were thicker than others, some were aged more, and they were charred to two different levels. The distillery filled each of the barrels with either wheat or rye recipe bourbon, at one of two proofs, and aged the barrels on different floors of two separate warehouses.

In this way, they created 192 slightly different whiskeys, each with at least one factor different from all the rest. This allowed the distillery to track how the various factors affected the flavor of the resulting bourbon.

Buffalo Trace is now releasing the whiskeys in batches of four and asking consumers to vote on them. (This whiskey ain't cheap, as you'd imagine. But it's not ridiculously expensive -- around $46 for a 375ml bottle.) At the end of the project, they'll select the winner and bottle it under the Single Oak Project label.

The first three rounds of whiskeys were released last year, and they received some very good notices.

Now comes the bad news: I haven't tasted any of these bourbons! The quantities are very limited, not surprisingly, and I haven't been able to find any of them. The state-run liquor stores in Virginia carry a decent selection of bourbon, but they're not strong on the exotic stuff like this.

If anyone has tried these whiskeys, please let us know.