Sampling a New York whiskey range

Bill Dowd photo

Tuthilltown Spirits, located in the lower Hudson Valley of New York, is the state's first licensed distillery since Prohibition.

I had the opportunity to sample four of its Hudson brand spirits during a whiskey-pairing dinner at Marché restaurant in Albany, NY, co-hosted by Tuthilltown co-founder and distiller Ralph Erenzo. Note the 375ml bottle, a Tuthilltown exclusive and the only amount in which its spirits are sold.

Go to Dowd's Tasting Notes for the rundown on Hudson Corn Whiskey, Hudson Manhattan Rye, Hudson Baby Bourbon and Hudson Single Malt.

Tuthilltown also makes several vodkas, a four-grain bourbon, a New York whiskey and a rye whiskey.

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Distiller releases first Texas bourbon

If you want to call your bubbly champagne, it better be made in the Champagne region of France.

If you want to call your aperitif port, it better be made in Portugal.

If you want to call your single malt Scotch, it had better be made in Scotland.

Them's the rules under international agreements, although there unfortunately are cases here and there of clear violations.

But, If you want to call your corn-based whiskey bourbon and you're making it in, say, New York or Texas instead of its home state of Kentucky, feel free to do so.

The federal rules for calling a whiskey bourbon is that it must contain at least 51% corn in the mash (most distillers use 70-85%), be aged in charred, new American white oak barrels for at least two years, and be produced at a maximum 160 proof and stored at not more than 125 proof.

Bourbon, first developed in Kentucky about 1789 by the Rev. Elijah Craig, has seen a growth spurt in recent decades and new versions of it are popping up around the country.

The newest comes from Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, TX, in the Hill Country. It is a limited bottling of 1,000 that is the state's first legal bourbon. At least for now, it is being sold only in Hill Country liquor stores for about a suggested $49 for the 375ml bottle.

Dan Garrison says he hopes to move into the Dallas market by fall when the distillery will have at least 120 barrels at two-year maturity.

Garrison's mash uses organic yellow corn from the Texas Panhandle, organic winter wheat and two-row barley from the Pacific Northwest and Canada. When the weather permits, the Garrisons grow their wheat on their ranch. Their water is "fresh Hill Country rainwater that we harvest and purify ourselves."

Why the limited pre-release? "The first 500 bottles are for the Blanco and Gillespie County electricians, plumbers, masons and construction workers who have helped us build the distillery,” Garrison said. “They deserve the first taste. We’ll give these away as gifts."

The bourbon was distilled at a proof ranging from 100 to 150. "The pre-release is like a rebellious kid with an attitude,” Garrison said. “It came off the still hot and you can taste it. Deep down inside, though, it’s a good bourbon, with a sweet nose and a warm, lingering finish."

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After 160-year drought, Lewis whisky shipped

The first whisky to be produced on Scotland's Isle of Lewis in 160 years was shipped off the island today.

However, the Abhainn Dearg Distillery's two-year-old spirit has to wait another 12 months before it can officially be called whisky.

Prior to releasing their first malt whisky in 2011 a small "Spirit Of Lewis" batch at 65% abv (130 proof) is to be bottled under a very limited release for malt whisky buffs.

MacSorley's Bar in Glasgow will also be the first bar in the world to sell the 2011 product to the general public and will be naming it the "Peacemaker batch." That's in honor of the bar's founder, Phillip McSorley, who founded the establishment in 1899 and blended and sold his own whisky, named "Peacemaker."

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Newest Hotspot in NY: Some Dude's Apartment

With a headline like that, you just have to read on. Which is what I did when I saw it on Gawker.com, my favorite snarky blog that concentrates largely on the Big Apple and passing celebrities.

Here's just a piece of the report:

"Over the last couple of weeks Mike's apartment -- it has no other title -- has hosted rockers like Guns 'n' Roses and Sebastian Bach of Skid Row and the soul singer Daniel Merriweather. An after party for the third anniversary of The Box (where a transsexual threw up on Susan Sarandon) came complete with boxers, debutantes, strippers and models. Promoters from Avenue, 1OAK and Greenhouse bring their crowds here in a steady stream, for pre and post club debauchery. As many as 150 people have crammed into the space.

"It happened because Mike has worked in the restaurant industry for nearly a decade. While developing a new nightclub project over the last few months he accumulated some fairly unorthodox nightlife friends -- who eventually started hosting impromptu parties at his place. 'I get text messages and phone calls whenever anyone wants to bring a crew through,' he explains."

It's about as offbeat as they come. Treat yourself by clicking here for the full story.

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U.S. craft distillers get bigtime offer

The burgeoning craft distillery movement has prompted the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) to today announce a new affiliate membership program affordable to the small distillers.

DISCUS, the major industry trade organization that deals in lobbying, education, research and related matters for the spirits industry, says its new "Craft Distiller Affiliate Membership" program is designed to organize the growing number of small distilled spirits producers across the nation and alert them to public policy issues affecting the industry at every level of government. The number of small distilleries in the past decade has grown from several dozen to more than 200. The new membership is available to companies producing less than 40,000 nine-liter cases annually.

“The rapidly growing number ... represents an important grassroots base for communicating substantive messages about industry modernization, our strong marketing code and the important role distillers play in the hospitality industry,” said Peter Cressy, DISCUS president. “Together, we can educate public officials and pursue positive public policies that advance the interests of the hospitality industry and the jobs we create.”

The new membership group will be headed by an 11-member advisory council of distillers chaired by Fritz Maytag of Anchor Distilling in San Francisco. As a leadership body, its role will be to coordinate communications with the DISCUS policy teams, and engage and activate small distillers in their respective regions.

Other advisory council members:

• Scott Bush, Templeton Rye, Iowa
• Brian McKenzie, Finger Lakes Distilling, New York
• Robert Cassell, Philadelphia Distilling, Pennsylvania
• Jess Graber, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, Colorado
• Ted Huber, Huber Starlight Distillery, Indiana
• Brett Joyce, Rogue Spirits, Oregon
• Marko Karakasevic, Charbay Distillery, California
• Guy Rehorst, Great Lakes Distillery, Wisconsin
• Jorg Rupf, St. George Spirits, California
• Rick Wasmund, Copper Fox Distillery, Virginia

“I have long believed it is critically important for distillers of all sizes to work together to highlight the important and positive role we play in our communities,” Maytag said. “With the support of DISCUS’ public policy experts, small distillers can help ensure fair and equitable treatment for distilled spirits at the federal, state and local levels.”

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BarBot 2010 mixes drinks, devices

You may not be able to get advice or a sympathetic ear from them, because they neither talk nor have ears. But the devices some enterprising young inventors created for BarBot 2010, held at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco this week, sure could crank out the drinks.

The event was put on by the same folks behind the RoboGames (formerly the RoboOlympics) extravaganza, which will be held in San Francisco in April.

Here's just one example, a video that shows the debugging process of a robot bartender named Barnold. You can find several more on YouTube.com.



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French spirits and wine exports dip

• From the Associated Press

PARIS -- French exports of Champagne and Cognac suffered a record drop last year as people drank less and switched to cheaper brands in the United States and Britain, its biggest foreign markets.

Exports of wine and spirits fell 17% to $10.5 billion last year, according to figures released Thursday by the Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters.

It marked the largest ever one-year drop and first annual decline since 2004, said Renaud Gaillard, a spokesman for the industry group. France is the world's biggest wine and spirits exporter.

[Go here for the full story.]
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Jack Daniel's distiller breaking the mold

• From the Nashville Business Journal:

In many ways, Jeff Arnett’s job seems as typical as any other plant manager’s. The first one in the office at 7:30 a.m., he puts the coffee on, goes to his desk and waits for the first batch of quality reports to come in. He prepares budgets, assesses capital needs and has regular meetings throughout the week.

But Arnett’s job is anything but typical. He oversees production of the world’s most popular whiskey: Jack Daniel’s. Regular meetings in Lynchburg include the tasting panel he heads to sample barrels of whiskey before they go to market. Lab tests ensure the whiskey possesses certain characteristics, but taste is the most important test — and Arnett’s taste buds have veto power.

The 42-year-old Arnett is just the seventh master distiller in the 144-year history of Jack Daniel’s, which is an hour south of Nashville and the oldest registered distillery in the United States. An engineer by education who had 11 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Arnett took the job in the spring of 2008 after seven years with the company. A native Tennessean from Jackson, Arnett is the first master distiller who wasn’t born in Lynchburg and the third who isn’t directly related to the first, Jack Daniel.

[Go here for the full story.]

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Idaho spirits sampling bill flops

BOISE, Idaho -- Any hopes consumer and vendors had of being allowed to legally hold liquor samplings in the state were burst today.

The legislature's House State Affairs Committee had an 8-8 tie vote on State Rep. Jim Clark’s proposal to allow liquor sampling at Idaho distilleries, just as wine tasting already is.Thus, the house bill failed to move on.

“HB 393 is a small-business jobs bill,” Clark told the committee, pointing out that there are distilleries in Boise, Rigby, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Caldwell and Eagle, and one proposed for Kootenai County.

However, several committee members voiced concerns about the higher alcohol content in distilled spirits compared to wine.

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Siragusa joins celebrity vodka parade

As the long-ago entertainer and actor Jimmy Durante used to say, "Everybody wants to get into the act."

From well-known to nearly-anonymous people, that certainly is true in the world of commercial vodka.

The latest celebrity to get behind a new vodka is former pro footballer Tony Siragusa (right), seen regularly on cable TV's "Man Caves" shows and strolling the sidelines as a commentator for National Football League games.

Iconic Brands Inc., headquartered in Lindenhurst, Long Island, today formally announced a product Siragusa already mentioned on sports talk radio -- YO Vodka, by Tony Siragusa.


YO? Yep. With a capital O. It will be available in six flavors: gooseberry -- a nod to Siragusa's "Goose" nickname, black cherry, orange, grape, root beer and Damiana.

Damiana? Yep, with a capital D. It's an herbal shrub native to Mexico and Central and South America and, in some forms, is considered an aphrodisiac of sorts. That's probably why all the flavors are infused with it.

YO is expected to be available nationally by April.

Siragusa played in the NFL for a dozen years, and was a starting lineman for the Baltimore Ravens when they won Super Bowl XXXV.

Of course, celebrity vodka isn't the only new stuff coming on the market. Tiny craft distillers keep joining the flood.

One of the newest is Ghost Vodka Detroit, cooked up by two Dearborn, MI, residents to honor their state. Every ingredient, plus the bottle design, is from Michigan.

Jim Burgess and Kelly Callahan, who are a couple, are making their vodka from red wheat, two row barley and corn purchased from Michigan farmers They have partnered with Valentine Vodka in Webberville, MI, for bottling and distilling. The bottles are designed by a company from Grand Rapids.

The name? Burgess said that's a nod to the proliferation of all kinds of shows about ghosts on TV, and his own past association with ghost hunter teams. In fact, he is so wrapped up in all things ghost that he is inviting anyone with a ghost story to share it on his business website.

I suppose that shoots down my theory that he was referring to the current status of financially bereft Detroit, now a modern ghost town of sorts.

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Toasting in the Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, which this year falls on Thursday, February 18, is a perfect time for cocktail aficionadoes to try something not widely known about that culture. It has a cocktail-friendly atmosphere.

So, no matter your heritage, try these at your own New Year's celebration.

RED LOTUS

Rhonda Parkinson, About.com's Chinese food guide, came up with this one from her research. It is popular in China itself as well as worldwide, in slightly varying forms.

1½ ounces vodka
1½ ounces Lichido Liqueur
1 ounce cranberry juice

Pour the vodka, Lichido (a lychee-flavored liqueur) and cranberry juice into a cocktail shaker with fresh ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass filled with ice or into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with pitted lychess on a cocktail pick or with a lotus blossom.

WIZARD OF OZ

This is a currently popular concoction at the new Lantern Club which opened last month in Beijing at the busy 3.3 Mall.

1 part vodka
1 part Midori or other melon liqueur
1 part fresh pineapple juice

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with fresh ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. (For a sweeter drink, use canned pineapple juice and don't strain the mixture). Garnish with a green melon slice.

CHINESE MARY

Lila Voo, Chinese food editor of the woman-oriented BellaOnline, offers this twist on a familiar Western favorite.

1½ ounces vodka
3 ounces sweet-and-sour sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 drops Tabasco
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 pineapple wheel

Put the vodka, sweet-and-sour sauce, Worcestershire, Tabasco and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, pour over fresh ice in an Old Fashioned glass, garnish with the pineapple.

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Screech gets an Olympic shout-out

If you were paying close attention to the opening ceremonies at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, you heard mention of something called "screech."

And, if you are like most non-Canadians, you wondered what they were referring to during the Newfoundland punk tap dancing fiddler portion of the heritage showcase.

Well, screech is an eastern Canadian sort of moonshine, often illegally made but also refined and sold in the state-run liquor stores.

Around the globe, some form of home-made, generally unregulated and untaxed -- and therefore illegal -- whiskey or whiskey substitute is made from many base ingredients and goes under many names.

In the U.S. it’s old-fashioned moonshine from corn. In Ireland it’s poitin, or poteen, from grain or potatoes. Langkau from rice in Malaysia. Raki or rakia from plums or grapes in Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and the Serbo-Croatian region. Filuferru from grapes on Sardinia. Siddiq from sugar water in Saudi Arabia. Mampoer from peaches or marula fruit in South Africa. Boukha from figs in Tunisia ... You get the idea.

Well, in Canada's Newfoundland province, screech is the potion of choice for many traditionalists, as well as those trying to shock visitors.

It actually is a form of rum, originally imported from Jamaica in colonial times. The legal version today is made in Newfoundland by the Newfoundland & Labrador Liquor Corp. It also is sold in at least three U.S. states -- Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, all of which abut Canada.

The original screech was made by using boiling water to melt the sweet molasses sediment that built up in barrels, then either fermented and distilling it or mixing it directly with grain alcohol. The result, as you might imagine, is a potent bit of firewater.

The name "screech," legend has it, came from visiting American servicemen during World War II who used it to describe the vocal reactions of visitors upon trying their first taste of the spirit. The national Liquor Board eventually adopted the name officially.

Although Newfies, as Newfoundland residents are called, often drink legal or illegal screech in a rum-and-Coke or in a rum-and-ginger ale, there are numerous cocktails in which screech is the main ingredient. Here are a few for your consideration:

SCREECH NIGHTCAP

1¼-ounce Screech
1 or 2 teaspoons brown sugar
Coffee
Whipped cream

Combine screech and brown sugar in a mug or coffee cop. Pour in hot coffee, stir until sugar melts. Top with whipped cream.

SCREECH METROPOLITAN

2 ounces Newfoundland Screech Rum
2 ounces cranberry juice
½ ounce triple sec or blue curacao
Juice of one lime
Club soda

Mix all ingredients, except the club soda, in a cocktail shaker filled with fresh ice. Pour the mixture into a martini glass. Top it off with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a lime wedge.

SCREECH PUNCH

1 ounce Newfoundland Screech Rum
1 ounce coconut rum
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce cranberry juice

Pour all ingredients in the order listed into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

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Scotch on the rocks -- for a century

A New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team restoring an Antarctic hut used more than a century ago by the renowned polar explorer Ernest Shackleton has made what promises to be a delicious find.

Five crates of MacKinlay’s Rare Old Scotch whisky and two crates of brandy left behind in 1909 were uncovered. Al Fastier, the team leader, said ice cracked some other bottles but these crates have intact bottles.

The Scottish distiller Whyte & Mackay. which bought the MacKinlay’s company, financed the attempt to recover the Scotch. The goal: to test it and decide whether to relaunch the now-defunct spirit.

The brandy was made by Hunter Valley Distillery Ltd. of Allandale, Australia.

Other restoration workers had found the crates under the hut’s floorboards back in 2006, but they were too deeply embedded in ice to be removed. Although the New Zealanders freed up some of the bottles, the remainder must, by conservation guidelines of the 12 Antarctic Treaty nation members, remain.

They were part of the provisions for the SS Nimrod expedition that ran from 1907 to 1909. Shackleton (above left) ordered evacuation of the site as encroaching sea ice put the crew in danger.

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World's biggest vodka bottle on U.S. tour

Ah, the curves. The svelte shape. The alluring inner beauty. The attention-riveting outer appearance. And, the vodka bottle isn't bad either.

Oscar-nominated actress Sandra Bullock (right) was the first celebrity signer of what is being billed as the world's largest bottle of vodka, to be auctioned off for charity.

It's a marketing idea from Chopin, the maker of the super-premium Polish potato vodka named for the composer-pianist Frédérick Chopin (3/1/1810 to 10/17/1849).

The 200-liter bottle was made to mark the 200th anniversary of the iconic Polish composer's birth. It was unveiled this week at the Santa Barbara (CA) International Film Festival. Bullock, incidentally, won the festival's American Riviera Award, presented by Chopin.

The signed bottle now is being sent on tour across the country before being auctioned off with proceeds going to The GRAMMY Foundation's Music Preservation Project.

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A new rum from a land of lobsters

There's a new American-made rum heading to market, and from a place most of us probably wouldn't expect.

Folly Cove Rum is made at the Ryan & Wood Distilleries facility at the Blackburn Industrial Park in Gloucester, MA, on Cape Ann just north of Boston.

The company was founded by Bob Ryan and Dave Wood, two local men who say they were inspired to get into the business after reading a story about a Vermonter making vodka from distilled maple sap.

They have attempted to honor the Cape Ann maritime heritage in their products. The Folly Cove rum is named for a rocky-bottomed cover that claimed numerous sailing ships over the years, particularly when they sought shelter there during rough weather. In more recent times, it has become a popular spot for lobster fishermen and sport divers.

Distiller Jim Cook already oversees Ryan & Wood's production of Knockabout Gin and Beauport Vodka, the latter being released just last summer.

The rum, bottled at 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof), is made in small batches in a German-manufactured alembic copper pot still, then aged in white oak barrels.

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Major marketer buying Cutty Sark

The Edrington Group has bought itself another whisky.

The Scottish marketer of The Famous Grouse and The Macallan has reached agreement with Berry Bros. & Rudd (BB&R) to buy its Cutty Sark Scotch whisky brand and handle all distribution.

Under the deal, BB&R will acquire the Glenrothes single malt brand from Edrington. Edrington also signed a long-term supply agreement to provide whisky fillings and stocks to BB&R, with Edrington retaining ownership of The Glenrothes distillery.

The deal is expected to be finalized in April.

BB&R, which was founded in the 17th Century, is Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant.

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These are a few of my favorite ... aphrodisiacs

Valentine's Day is one of the biggest days for cocktail lounges around the nation.

If you and your significant other are wondering about what constitutes romantic, aphrodisic or just mellow-inducing alcoholic drinks, bartender Louis Motamedi of McFadden's Pub in New York City shares this rundown with us.

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Something to toast Benedictine's 500th

Unless the topic is coal or oil, it is not often one can write about a 500-year-old product.

That's one of the very special things about Benedictine, the herbal liqueur developed purportedly during the Renaissance by the Venetian monk Dom Bernardo Vincelli in the Abbey of Fécamp from 27 plants and spices.

It gained popularity and was produced by the Benedictine monks until the late 18th Century. Historians say the recipe became lost during the turmoil of the French Revolution, then was rediscovered by a Fécamp resident, tucked into a 16th Century manuscript he had purchased.

The formula used today was refined in 1863 by one Alexandre Legrand, whose family eventually sold the Benedictine company to Martini and Rossi, which in turn sold it to Bacardi.

A celebration of the liqueur's 500th anniversary was held this week at the Hearst Tower in New York City, in partnership with Hearst's Esquire magazine. Part of the gala was a competition among a group of highly-regarded bartenders to be named the "Alchemist of our Age" by coming up with creative uses for the liqueur.

The winner was Damon Dyer (above, in a Nike Communications photo) of New York's Flatiron Lounge and Louis 649. Here's his recipe:

MONTE CASSINO COCKTAIL

¾ ounce Benedictine liqueur
½ ounce Yellow Chartreuse
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce Rittenhouse Rye

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coupe or small cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

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Jack Daniel's quality in the wood(s)

The folks at Jack Daniel's pay a lot of attention to the quality of the wooden barrels in which their whiskies are aged. But, that wood comes from what has to continue to be a renewable resource.

Thus, the distiller has entered into a tree-planting program in conjunction with American Forests' reforestation efforts. The program will launch in April, Earth Month, accompanied by a special collectible bottle.

American Forests, a non-profit leader in planting trees for environmental restoration, will plant a tree with the purchase of each collectible Jack Daniel’s 750 ml bottle at a suggested retail price of $39.99.

According to American Forests, the approximately 100,000 trees it expects to be planted from the sale of more than 100,000 bottles will sequester at least 33,000 tons of CO2 as they grow. That is the equivalent of taking nearly 6,000 cars off the road for a year or conserving 3.3 million gallons of gasoline.

"At its core, Jack Daniel’s is a product of the environment and so it’s vital that we do our best to make the most of our natural resources," said Jeff Arnett, Jack Daniel’s master distiller.

"The health and sustainability of America’s forests are essential to maintaining the quality of our whiskey, which draws color and flavor from the wood barrels used to mellow and mature it. Jack Daniel’s would not be the same product without these special woods that are used in the making of our whiskey, and we are honored and obligated to help preserve our forests."

The Jack Daniel Distillery has long been geared toward sustainability. The company says, "Overall, less than 1% of the waste generated at the distillery is sent to landfill, and most of the by-products are reused by other businesses.

"For example, local farmers feed their livestock spent mash from the distillery, thereby making good use of a valuable byproduct. Used charcoal from the signature charcoal mellowing process is converted into smoking pellets for use by backyard grillers. The white oak barrels used to mature the whiskey are reused by scotch and tequila distillers as well as manufacturers of furniture and planters."

Consumers who register the collectible bottle at the JD website will receive a free copy of American Forests magazine.

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