Category: Spirits, Wine & Cider

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Super Nectar

Instead of going dry this month, I am widening my beverages. Not only N/A but ciders and now highlighting meads. Super meads from Nectar Creek Meadery.

Super Cyser: “Back by popular demand, Nectar Creek Meadery and 2 Towns Ciderhouse are proud to reintroduce Super Cyser, a regal mead from 10 years ago, breathing new life into this time honored masterpiece.  This warm, rich cyser is made with Pacific Northwest apples and local blackberry honey. Fermented and aged in white wine barrels, Super Cyser boasts a rich, aromatic profile, perfectly balancing the acidity of crisp apples with the sweetness of honey.”

Super Mure: “With a respectful nod to tradition, Super Mure revives the classic melomel style reminiscent of Medieval times. This royal nectar combines blackberries and blackberry honey fermented in oak barrels. It delivers just the right balance of tannin, oak character and warm honey sweetness. At a commanding 14% alcohol by volume (ABV), this indulgent creation offers a sensory journey that is nothing short of extraordinary.”

Reviews to follow later this month!

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Featured Cider Review – Crimson Bliss from 2 Towns Ciderhouse

Got some C’s for you today. Cranberries and currants from 2 Towns Ciderhouse.

Bliss pours the requisite red, would have been weird otherwise. I like that the aroma is still primarily apple. It needs to be cider with flavors, not just flavors. There is a really nice tartness here. I get the currants more than cranberry but I have a feeling that each drinker will perceive the two in different amounts. Very zippy with a nice hit of carbonation. I can see this paired with a salad with blue cheese very easily.

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Spirit Day – Haunted

Disney has been slowly moving into liquor from their California Adventure park to EPCOT to cocktails at in the Star Wars universe.  But the one attraction that I thought could really capitalize on drinks has been missing, Haunted Mansion.

I am not going to ever recommend a cruise but I will be looking out for more information about the The Haunted Mansion Parlor styled to “resemble a first-class drawing room of a classic cruise liner from the golden age, invoking inspiration from the original Haunted Mansion with a nautical twist.”

If the floating parlor is successful, maybe it will come to the parks and who knows with the Disneyland Haunted Mansion slated for refurbishment all of 2024, maybe a ghoulish cocktail will be a possibility in Anaheim.

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Spirit Day – Chilled

I generally don’t cool whiskey.  Sometimes a splash of water but that is about it.  But since the Nesh Whiskey Chiller can take a liquid from room temperature to 36 degrees in 15 seconds, It just might solve the issue of recently purchased beer that has warmed up on the way home from purchasing.

The science is that “the area around the coils is frozen solid – exposing your whiskey to 3 feet of ice as it pours through while remaining isolated in a stainless steel tube. This significantly reduces the temperature of the spirit without directly exposing it to ice or water.”

Might be interesting to experiment with.

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Another Capistrano Christmas – Cocktails

I love me a hotel bar. Something about the charging of a drink to your room gives me a charge. And the Inn at the Mission in San Juan Capistrano has a really nice one. This year there was even nightly free hot cocoa with marshmallows.

This year my goal was to splurge on a smoked cocktail….

I will circle back to it at the end but first I had to try their signature Mediterranean Old Fashioned with Old Forester bourbon and a sprig of burnt rosemary for a touch extra. I could order these by the case. That initial whiff of flame and herbs is great.

I also partook of two selections from their Heritage Classics section of the cocktail menu and I will start with what could be a new favorite drink for me, The Aviation (not the Deadpool gin) with a combination of gin, maraschino liquor and creme de violette. Soft and floral and each flavor component got a turn but none wore out their welcome. I sipped from coupe next to a Christmas tree while watching guests check in.

The other classic was my first ever Brooklyn which is rye whiskey, maraschino liquor and dry vermouth. It was just fine but far too close to a Manhattan in my limited cocktail experience book.

As promised, the smoke. I went the Gin route. The presentation was great. Smoke piped into an empty tequila bottle, then the drink was mixed separately and then added into the smoke. Wait for the two to meld, then poured. Mine tasted of, you guessed it, smoke. Nothing but smoke. I smelled smoke all night, it was on my pillow in the morning. Yikes. The rye drink was better but still the balance was tilted to the smoke.

Despite that, I was glad to have tried it because now I know a bit more about my tastes and what will be more successful choices in the future.

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Holiday Season 2023 – Day 28 – Smoke Wagon Christmas Limited Edition Bourbon

I needed to add a bourbon to the season and have headed for the popular Smoke Wagon and their special Christmas edition….

“Embrace the holiday spirit with the Smoke Wagon Bourbon Christmas Limited Edition 2023, a special release that captures the essence of the festive season. This limited edition from the renowned distillery is a holiday delight for bourbon enthusiasts, offering a unique blend of grains and botanicals that result in a smooth, full-bodied flavor profile.”

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Holiday Season 2023 – Day 8 – Christmas Gin from Old Curiosity

Let’s take a beer breather and look at my favorite spirit, gin. Specifically Old Curiosity Christmas Gin.

“The Gin is distilled with ginger, cinnamon and cardamom which gives the undeniably familiar smell of Christmas and provides a festive spicy flavour. The drink is infused with mallow petals to provide a distinctive festive colour which transforms to a vibrant pink when mixed with tonic water; the perfect showstopper for any Christmas party.  The seasonal gin is smooth and elegant with a light base. For a real festive feel, garnish with a slice of dried orange peel, a cinnamon stick and a dash of tonic to witness the glorious colour change”

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Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice

Mixologists are seen, in general, as a white dude.  Even though the history of cocktails is not that limited at all.  Which is why it is great to see much lauded author Toni Tipton-Martin puts the history of Black mixology back where it belongs.

The book is Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice and it “spotlights the creativity, hospitality, and excellence of Black drinking culture, with classic and modern recipes inspired by formulas found in two centuries’ worth of Black cookbooks.”  

You can find drinks like the Absinthe Frappe, Clover Leaf Cocktail, Jerk-Spiced Bloody Mary and the Gin and Juice 3.0.  Sounds like a treasure trove of cocktail ideas.