Kiddie cocktails a Japanese trend

Sangaria, a Japanese beverage company, is doing what in most countries would be unthinkable: manufacturing pretend beer and other such beverage products for children.

Japan's drinking culture, which includes educating young people in the practices, is well known and the company says using such products allows children to more fully participate in family celebrations.

"Kodomo no nomimono," for example, comes in cans, bottles and six-packs. It looks like beer, tastes like apple juice and foams in a glass. The product line also includes fake champagne, wine and cocktails.

There's even a TV ad you can watch featuring kids downing these drinks.

Ridiculous stuff.

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Oil shortage stops Islay whisky making

What's happening on the water has halted the making of whisky at the Bruichladdich distillery on the Scottish island of Islay.

Other distillers on Islay also face the possibility of a stoppage -- ironically in the midst of the island's annual music and whiskey festival -- due to a shortage of oil.

A pier extension was built on Loch Indaal to allow an oil tanker to dock, but low tides and silting have prevented it from visiting regularly and the company that supplies the oil said it could not guarantee deliveries.

In addition, bad weather prevented the tanker from unloading on Sunday,

With the tanker only only holding one-tenth of its possible load to keep it from going aground, the oil will last only until Wednesday.

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Irish spirits choices lighten up

If you think of Ireland as a brown spirits and beer sort of place, think again.

Despite the worldwide reputation of some fine Irish whiskies, a new study says 56% percent of all spirits sales in the Republic of Ireland are of the white variety -- gin, vodka and white rum.

Research and Markets says in its “White Spirits in Ireland 2007” study that Smirnoff is the top-selling vodka in Ireland, Gordon's the top gin and Bacardi the top white rum.

Also, say sthe study, "alcohol consumption as a whole is declining in per capita terms with average spirits consumption just below their 1998 levels."

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A Porch Swing in Manhattan

The great majority of cocktail "competitions" I come across usually are restricted to one establishment or one brand. New York, however, came up with a much more interesting one, its Sidewalks Cafe Cocktail Competition.

The city's Department of Consumer Affairs and the New York State Restaurant Association selected one winner each in the alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories in a competition at the Institute of Culinary Education.

The contest was for bartenders representing restaurants with sidewalk cafés, as licensed by the city. Fourteen of 25 competitors made it to the finals.

The winners, both from Manhattan:

• Alcoholic Cocktail: The Porch Swing, from the Blue Smoke barbeque restaurant on East 27th Street.

1 1/2 ounces of Hendrick's gin
1 1/2 ounces of Pimm's No. 1
4 ounces of fresh lemonade

Pour into a tall Collins glass. Add a splash of 7-Up. Finish with 10 finely sliced half-moon cucumbers.

• Non-Alcoholic Cocktail: Watermelon Lemonade, from Bubby's in TriBeCa.

2 ounces of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
4 ounces of fresh watermelon puree, strained through a course strainer to remove seeds
1 1/2 ounces of simple syrup
6 ounces of water

Shake and serve over ice with a big wedge of fresh watermelon garnish.

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Hpnotiq creator is back in the pink

Blue is for boys, pink is for girls. Unless you're Raphael Yakoby. Then, both will do just fine, thank you.

When he was 25, the Long Island, NY, native came up with a blend of cognac, fruit juices and vodka, made sure it was colored light blue, and slapped the name Hpnotiq on it. Through some deft marketing at hip hop clubs, awards shows after-parties and the like, it became a big hit. Yakoby went on to sell the brand for tens of millions of dollars.

Now, at 32, he's hawking a pink sparkling vodka liqueur he calls Nuvo, contained in a tapered square bottle that resembles a perfume bottle.

He makes no bones about it: Nuvo is aimed at the female market niche. Like Hpnotiq, the packaging was inspired by the perfume industry.

Why so long between products?

As Yakoby said in an interview with the New York Post: "In this business, you have to be so perfection-oriented in not settling for what you don't want. I must have tried at least 175 different blends and seen 75 different packaging concepts before deciding this is the right fit, the right look, the right feel. It takes incredible patience to get a product exactly right."

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The world of rum going prime time

While public television has been concentrating on a documentary about the history of beer in America and the upcoming "The Wine Makers" reality show set in an "Apprentice" mode, commercial TV has had something else in mind.

CBS has put "Cane" on its fall schedule. It deals with the conflicts of a Cuban-American family running a rum and sugar business. And, it will give plenty of work to Hispanic actors. Jimmy Smits (above) heads the cast, backed by such veteran actors as Rita Moreno, Hector Elizondo and Nestor Carbonell.

The characters will be multi-generational versions of two families who are rivals in business.

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Tequila twist may be boon to consumers

PHOTOS BY WILLIAM M. DOWD
(Double-click to enlarge images.)

Workers at the Casa Orendain distillery in Tequila, Mexico, cut and load blue agave plants into the cookers prior to distillation.

The Orendain family has been an economic and political force in Mexico's Tequila city and Jalisco state since 1826.

That is when Don Eduardo Orendain Gonzalez founded his tequila empire, Casa Orendain. His three surviving sons run the current operation with a third generation already in middle management. The elders also have, in effect, taken turns being the mayor of Tequila and heading the powerful industry group known as the National
Council of Tequila, which their father also founded.

Now, international beverage giant Brown-Forman Corp. is taking over full ownership of Don Eduardo, Casa Orendain's flagship tequila brand, ending an eight-year joint venture with the family. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Brown-Forman, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., has owned the right to sell Don Eduardo outside Mexico since 1999. Orendain will continue to make its other spirits in its rather small Tequila facility, labels familiar inside Mexico -- Orendain, Puerto Vallarta, Membrillo and San Andreas.

Meanwhile, Brown-Forman will switch manufacture of the high-end but limited-production Don Eduardo brand to a larger factory in nearby Guadalajara that makes Casa Herradura tequila, a brand Brown-Forman acquired in January.

What does all this mean to American consumers? No doubt a wider availability of the stellar Don Eduardo tequilas and perhaps, just perhaps, a slight reduction in pricing the super-premium brand if increased production results in increased sales volume.

One of the difficulties with the joint venture was that the Orendains' facility was not equipped to supply a larger demand. That problem should be solved by the move to the Casa Herradura plant.

"We believe Don Eduardo, which is still early in its development stage, has excellent potential to continue growing in the expanding super premium tequila category,'' said Paul Varga, Brown-Forman president and CEO.

"Just as our many successful American whiskey brands fit nicely into our portfolio, our premium and super premium tequilas will complement one another, as each tequila brand is uniquely positioned and differentiated. Together these wonderful brands give Brown-Forman a strong hand in one of the industry's most exciting growth segments."

A jimador works at harvesting the pina (heart) of a blue agave plant in the hills of Jalisco state.





I traveled last fall to visit the Casa Orendain installation, journeying with its owners from their hillside fields where the spiky-leafed blue agave plants used to make tequila are grown, right through the distillation and packaging process. I quickly succumbed to the lures of their brilliantly made tequilas.

Checking back on my tasting notes from various sessions, I found these observations among others:

• Don Eduardo Reposada: "This silky drink tended toward notes of butterscotch from being aged for several months in oak.''

• Don Eduardo Silver: "This triple-distilled liquid is made from estate-grown blue agave, like all tequilas produced by the Orendain family. It has a slight and pleasing floral nose, an oiliness that is very smooth on the tongue and palate, with enough body to linger pleasantly even when sipped over an ice cube or two.''

Given Brown-Forman's reputation for maintaining, and in some cases improving, the quality of brands it takes over, I have no particular fears for the future of Don Eduardo tequilas. When a company produces the likes of such spirits icons as Jack Daniel's, the world's largest selling whiskey, Finlandia vodka, Appleton Estate Jamaican rum, Southern Comfort and Chambord Liqueur as well as a substantial line of wines with such popular labels as Fetzer, Bolla and Michel Picard, quality is pretty much a given.

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Indian firm buys Whyte & Mackay

For generations, India has been importing Scotch whisky to satisfy a strong demand created during the British rule over the nation. Now, the Indian company United Spirits Ltd., part of the United Breweries group headed by Vijay Mallya, has purchased Scotch maker Whyte & Mackay Ltd. for US$834 million.

Whyte & Mackay is a leading distiller of Scotch whisky, with such other brands as The Dalmore, Isle of Jura, Glayva and Fettercairn, plus Viadivar vodka. United Spirits also owns several other Scotch whisky brands such as Mackinlays, John Barr, Cluny and Clayrnore.

The Indian company -- which also makes and distributes beer, headed by its flagship Kingfisher brand -- now will also have better access to international distribution, and be able to export its brands. It sold 66 million cases of spirits for the year ended March 31. Whyte & Mackay, which was founded in Glasgow in 1844, sold 9 million cases and case equivalents in the past 12 months.

The aforementioned Vijay Mallya, a billionaire member of the Indian parliament, is one of his country's top entrepreneurs. His company also owns the Kingfisher Airline.

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What will they think of next? (June edition)

Having spent most of my life in daily journalism, I had it drilled into my skull for decades that press releases should rarely be used verbatim because they're designed to push a particular product or point of view and, thus, are suspect.

This is one of those rare occasions when a press release seems so full of useful and intefresting information, I'm passing it along as this month's edition of "What will they think of next?"

It's from the folks at Knob Creek Bourbon, who have come up with a lineup of summer recipes for food and drink, beginning with a trio of classic cocktails that are beginning to undergo a resurgence among young consumers.

Obviously, you don't have to use the Knob Creek brand in the recipes, but they'd be pleased if you do.

Whiskey Sour
1 ½ ounces bourbon
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon superfine sugar
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the bourbon, lemon juice and sugar. Shake well and strain into a whiskey sour glass. Garnish with the orange slice and cherry.

Old Fashioned
½ orange slice
1 maraschino cherry, stem removed
3 dashes bitters
1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon superfine sugar
1 ½ ounces bourbon

In an old fashioned-glass, combine the orange slice, cherry, bitters, water and sugar. Using the back of a teaspoon, muddle the ingredients, dissolving the sugar and mashing up the fruit somewhat. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add the bourbon and stir gently.

Bourbon Sidecar
1 ounce bourbon
½ ounce triple sec
½ ounce lemon juice

Combine all ingredients with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon wedge.

COOKING WITH BOURBON

Bourbon & Brown Sugar Cocktail Sausages

3 lbs. cocktail sausages
2 lbs. sliced bacon
2 ½ lbs. brown sugar
2 ½ oz. bourbon

Wrap cocktail sausages with a small piece of bacon and skewer with a toothpick. Place in a crock pot and cover with brown sugar. Cook on low setting for four hours until sugar melts. Add bourbon and continue to simmer for one to two more hours.
Serve warm from the crock pot.

Bourbon Bleu Cheese Dip

6 oz. quality bleu cheese (Maytag, Roquefort, etc.)
3 oz. package cream cheese
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp. bourbon
1 cup whipping cream, well chilled
1 cup walnut halves, toasted*
Fresh pear and apple slices

Place the cheeses and butter in the food processor. Process until well blended and fluffy. Pour in the bourbon and process to blend well. Whip the cream until stiff. Stir a large spoonful of whipped cream into the cheese mixture to lighten the mixture, and then fold in the remaining cream. Spoon the mousse onto a serving plate and arrange the toasted walnuts on top. Spread onto the pear and apple slices. Serve as an appetizer or as the cheese course following the meal.

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
2 cups ketchup
4 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
4 tbsp. cider vinegar
¾ cup bourbon

Combine ingredients and enjoy.

Bourbon Barbecued Shrimp

2 lbs. large (16 to 20 count) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp. fine sea salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
The Sauce:
1 stick butter
2 cups finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup bourbon
1 cup bottled chili sauce
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. sea salt

Make the barbecue sauce according to the directions below. This may be done a day ahead. Cool the sauce, cover and chill. Reheat before the shrimp is added to it. Place the shrimp in a gallon-sized plastic bag. Add the salt and peppers and toss to coat well.

Heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet. Sauté the shrimp, turning once for about 5 minutes or until pink and lightly browned. Add to the hot barbecue sauce. Allow to sit for a few minutes and serve with crusty bread.

To make the barbecue sauce: melt the butter and sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring often.

Bourbon Marinated Flank Steak

1 large flank steak (approximately 2 lbs.)
½ cup light soy sauce
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
¼ tsp. hot pepper sauce
½ cup Knob Creek® Bourbon

Trim all visible fat from the flank steak. In a heavy duty, gallon-size plastic bag with a zip top, mix together all of the marinade ingredients. Add steak. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or as long as 24 hours.

Cook on hot grill for 8 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side for a medium-rare steak. Increase the cooking time according to taste. To serve, cut across the grain into 1-inch wide strips. Serves 4-6.

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Ikon changing its image

Ikon True Russian Vodka, a top-seller in the low-end of the price spectrum at $9.99 or so for the 750ml bottle, is putting on a new face.

The quadruple distilled and filtered vodka that has won plaudits in all sorts of competitions and various tastings is changing its label to the one seen here that had been used only in Canada. It is, says a company press release, "a shrink wrap label which will better enhance the premium quality of Ikon to retailers and end consumers. This package ... will be phased into the U.S. market."

Ikon was created in 1862 when merchant Vassil Vassilivitch Alexandrov was awarded an Imperial license to produce vodka for the Russian nobility.

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New distillery goes for the green

(Double-click on map to enlarge.)

An Aberdeenshire, Scotland, businessman is entering a very old business in a very new way.

Euan Shand has announced he will construct a US$6.9 million green distillery in Huntley to produce malt and grain whiskies, vodka and gin.

The distillery will be powered by woodchips supplied by local firms who will replace the trees used in the process to give it a carbon neutral rating. It also will also have a "living" grass roof.

The operation, expected to employ about a dozen workers when completed in 2008, will be on a two-acre site formerly occupied by a dairy farm. Shand, who runs Duncan Taylor & Co., bottler and seller of rare whiskies, also plans to have a visitors center, bottling plant and warehouse on the site.

Due for completion in June 2008, the project includes copper pot stills for single malt distillation, as well as a four-column neutral grain plant and a single experimental still. Production will be 750,000 litres of alcohol, making the distillery a similar size to Oban and Springbank.

“The distillery comes at an exciting time for the industry, with India and China opening up,” Shand said in an interview with Drinks International. “Europe is also a dynamic marketplace that is rediscovering Scotch whisky and we want to be at the fore of this renaissance. Duncan Taylor has established routes to market which will facilitate the growth of the new brands.”

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What will they think of next? (May edition)

The return to classic drinks, or at least some classic ingredients, is the hottest thing on the American cocktail scene this year. Here is a look at several examples.

• Audrey Sanders, who owns The Pegu Club in New York City's SoHo neighborhood, has a growing reputation among cocktailians. Not only does she provide imaginative, fresh ingredients for her lengthy line of drinks, she's picky about the size and density of her ice cubes (1.25-inch squares, frozen very hard to keep drinks from getting watery), and she provides a condiment set to patrons who can add a touch of sweet, citrus or aromatic flavors to their drinks.

Sanders is big on gins, which I've noted in previous stories are making a distinct comeback in American cocktail circles, with about 30 brands on hand. Here's one of her recipes:

Star Tested

2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. orange curaçao (or Cointreau if you omit bitters)
1 or 2 dashes orange or Angostura bitters

Put all ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

• In Washington, D.C., the iconic McCormick & Schmick's recently introduced a Great American Cocktails menu that lists drinks by their years of creation. It also includes a brief history of each drink. A few examples:

1874 Manhattan: Gentleman Jack, sweet vermouth, Regan's No. 6 Orange and Angostura bitters.
Moscow Mule (1940s): Stolichnaya vodka, lime, ginger ale and soda.
Drambuie Fizz: Drambue Scotch liqueur with muddled limes, spiced honey, served over crushed ice.

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Buffalo Trace creates micro distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery has been making a name for itself in the past several years, with a trio of “Distillery of the Year” awards and a pair of “Distiller of the Year” honors twice since 2000. It also has collected more than 150 awards for its various premium whiskies.

Not content to rest on his laurels, master distiller Harlen Wheatley (right) has announced creation of a micro distillery that will go on line in the fall.

The project is targeted at speeding up the pace of Buffalo Trace's experimental whiskey program, the distillation of new ultra premium vodkas, and further development of the company's organic spirits line.

"Our yeast room, sitting between the fermentation building and still house, is of a size to easily accommodate the new micro distillery. It is also perfectly located for connection to our existing systems," Wheatley said.

"We are very excited about the flexibility the micro will give us. We will now have the ability to run very small batches of experiments. Fundamentally, we will be able to distill anything."

Buffalo Trace Distillery is a family-owned company based in Franklin County, KY, dating back to 1787. The distillery is listed on the National Historic Register.

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A vodka that's good for the planet

An "Earth friendly" vodka is being introduced by McCormick Distillery, a Weston, MO, facility thought to be the oldest U.S. distillery west of the Mississippi River.

McCormick was founded in 1856 by Ben Holladay who went on to found the Pony Express and the Overland Stage Line. Its current portfolio includes such brands as McCormick Vodka, Tequila Rose, Tarantula Tequila, McCormick Irish Cream Liqueur, Wiser's Deluxe Canadian Whisky and Polar Ice Vodka.

The new product, 360 Vodka, is described as "an All-American spirit" to compete in the super premium category.

Ed Pechar, chairman of McCormick Distilling Co., located near Kansas City, says his company is crafting 360 Vodka through a unique, eco-friendly packaging program that will allow his company to support environmentally friendly groups with a "360 Close the Loop Program."

In addition to using American grain, 360 will be offered in a bottle using 85% recycled glass and a green-friendly packaging. Pechar said McCormick will set aside $1 for every closure returned to the "360 Close the Loop Program" to recognized environmental organizations.

"We are proud to introduce a totally All-American product that will be distributed in a totally environmentally friendly package," Pechar said, "and we will be able to give back to the community. American consumers no longer have to go overseas to enjoy a super premium brand vodka."

That last part may make for an interesting sales pitch, perhaps, but it doesn't give credit to a variety of super premium American vodkas, such as Peconika (New York), Cirrus (Virginia), 44˚North (Idaho), Ocean (Hawaii) and Cold River (Maine), among others.

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Nice work, so keep it up fella

From: Carla Griffin, Louisville, KY

No entry in the Spirits Notebook since 4/23! How am I to stay current without your insight? Please come back.

Dear Carla:

Thanks for the nudge. I've been posting with great regularity in my other notebooks (wines, brews, etc.) but I just put up a new entry in Spirits with several more waiting in the wings for completion.

Mr. Dowd:

I do enjoy your other blogs as well -- the one about cider was enjoyable -- it's just that your Spirits blogs are so informative. It's nice to have them back, and one on Kentucky as well!

Thanks for all the hard work you put into your research; they are well received by many here in KY.

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