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The last time that I was in Portland, I had a spirit-ed doughnut from Blue Star, the Portland chain that also has locations right here in Los Angeles.
Maybe Portland Cider will sell this “inspired by” cider down here to combine forces in SoCal too.
The second Portland stop is right on the…
This Montavilla area brewer and blender focuses on (4) styles: IPA’s, funky farmhouse, mixed-culture and bourbon forward stouts.
Here is what I would put in my taster tray:
Triticale Mass, dry-hopped farmhouse ale
Jens Bailed grisette
Brut Punch tart and refreshing IPA DDH w/Comet, Idaho 7, Simcoe and Sabro hops
Casimir The Great, imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels
Usually, I am a gin guy or in a Rye Whiskey mood but when you see that Re:Find has already sold out their first two batches of bourbon, it makes you think they may have something there. Personally, I would like to get a set of 1/2 size bottles of the Rye and the Bourbon as a set.
One of the benefits of having streaming services so hungry for content is that you can see documentaries that cover the spectrum of topics. Competitive baristas or a quick history of, say, Bourbon.
Neat – A History of Bourbon is beautifully shot. Stuffed to almost the breaking point with images of Bourbon being splashed into glasses. The film covers major points in Bourbon history such as the Bonded Act and Congress enshrining the drink as only Made in America followed by the creation of single barrel and small batch bourbons. Summarized a bit too much but still clearly expressed.
But the true heart of the story are two people who needed much more screen time, Freddie Johnson and Marianne Barnes. Johnson who is a third generation employee as a tour guide tour guide for Buffalo Trace speaks very eloquently especially about his father and relationships. Very touching stuff. Barnes is the master distiller for a new (as of filming) distillery, Castle & Key—a new Kentucky distillery. She is the first female master distiller in Kentucky since Prohibition and I would love to have heard more about her journey in Bourbon.
Beware, you will want some Bourbon on hand and you may want to make an Old Fashioned at the end.
No, I am not moving from beer to whiskey. But I am intrigued by it for many of the same reasons that I am amazed by beer. So I concocted a tasting (while the wife was out of town) of four random airplane/mini-bar sized whiskey bottles.
1/2 soda and 1/2 whiskey. Here are the results: (in order of my preference)
1. Bulleit
Sawdust. Caramel. Coconut. Barrel. Bit of burn.
2. Canadian
Fruity and perfumey. Mild. Smoothest.
3. Bushmills
Medium peat. Slight burn. Light.
4. Woodford
Smells hotter and thinner. Not much flavor.
I don’t think I will ever become a fan of peat smokiness. But it defeats the Woodford which was very thin to me and had nothing else to add. Canadian Club had by far the smoothest and least burn with some floral hints but was also kinda light to me. The winner by far was the Frontier Whiskey from Bulleit. Loads of wood character and some sweetness as well. Now I can explore that territory since it seems to be my initial flavor preference.
Are you ready for another big beer from Cismontane? Then you are in luck because Twilight is upon us….
A bourbon barrel aged stout that had some lacto and pedio visitors over to it’s barrel home. Part bourbon and part tart.
Would make a fine cellar addition if you resist drinking it right away.
Well, no phone calls or e-mail from Stone Brewing. SO it appears I was not one of the lucky ones to win the first offering in the Quingenti Millilitre series. But now the second is on it’s way…..
There will be an aged Bourbon Belgo as well.
I am sure these will sell-out and probably most will be aged even further by those lucky to get one.
If you have Tuesday, September 27th off and you want to get a jump on Christmas, head on down to Escondido and buy the almost on shelves history of Stone book with the very long title. Each book you buy gives you the opportunity to buy one of these three new Quingenti’s. Plus you can get them signed by Greg Koch, Steve Wagner and Randy Clemens.