Hey Bartender

SINCE BECOMING A Richmond bartender, I've gotten a lot of requests for liquors and liqueurs that you don't see very often at your local bar. I shouldn't be surprised by this because our media-driven society tends to react to products endorsed by entertainment and sports celebrities. Obviously, if these people say something is good, then every bar should have it on hand in the unlikely event that one of them shows up for a drink. I'm always amused when someone asks if we have the latest thing they've recently seen on television. Trust me when I say that it takes more than clever marketing to sway the decision makers where I work to determine whether we'll have something new on our bar. Today, I'd like to look at a couple of things that have been requested lately. I think that people think these things are cool because their names contain the word black. This word tends to give things a certain mystique and allure. When I get requests for this latest trend in alcohol, I tend to giggle -- aloud.

Jose Cuervo Black Medallion is a super-premium Añejo Tequila. That means that it is aged for a minimum of one year, but less than three years in a small oak barrel. What makes it different is that the barrels are charred on the inside to remove impurities and give it a deeper oak flavor. It no doubt darkens the color of the finished product giving it the kind of appeal that Pepe Lopez could never imagine. Keep in mind that its color is not black, it's just slightly darker than gold Tequila. The marketers of this fine product claim that it's designed to appeal to your palate as it ages and matures. If that's the case, why do commercials depict it being consumed as a cocktail mixed with Coca-Cola when mature palates tend to drink aged spirits neat?

Not to be out done, Absolut has a product called Absolut 100. It's a smooth, super-premium vodka made exclusively with natural ingredients. It has no added sugar and is said to have distinct spicy notes that are luxuriously smooth and fresh with a velvety texture. Absolut 100 commemorates the 100th anniversary of Absolut Rent Bränvin, which was introduced by Lars Olsson Smith in 1879. It was made using a continuous distillation process that was an extreme deviation from the accepted practice at the time. The use of water free of impurities and winter wheat, a grain that grows under the snows of Sweden gives this unique vodka its distinctive taste. Oddly, only the bottle is black. The vodka is as crystal clear as most other vodkas, so it won't make your cocktails look cool or dark.

Snobby bartenders everywhere cringe when someone orders Cognac with Coca-Cola, ginger-ale, grenadine, or anything else. Sadly, Hennessy is promoting this trend with the introduction of Hennessy Black. Like Absolut 100, the bottle is black, yet the contents are not. It's made by blending 45 different eaux-de-vie that are aged for about two and a half years in mature oak casks. You may recall from previous posts that eaux-de-vie is a colorless fruit brandy that is produced by fermentation and double distillation. Raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and other fruits are used to make eaux-de-vie, but to make Cognac or brandy, grapes are used. Hennessy Black is the youngest Cognac that you can get your hands on. Its youthfulness lends itself to the types of cocktails it is used to make. Yes, this stuff was developed with the idea of mixing it with 7-Up, Coca-Cola, and fruit juices. When I sampled it, I was surprised to find hints of orange on the nose. It's quite light with grapes, citrus fruit and honey on the palate. It's not bad on its own, but I refused to mix it with anything, so I can't say whether it mixes well with the standard mixers. Quite a few friends have said that they liked it with cola. I'll just have to take their word for it.

By now you're probably wondering if any of these new black spirits are actually black. I finally found one that is at least dark. It's called Malibu Black. What sets it apart from its original namesake is a boost in alcohol content. For those who wonder why they were able to drink Malibu Rum like it was water, it's because its ABV is a meager 21%. Malibu Black raises the bar by weighing in at 35% ABV or 70 proof. It's amber in color with a hint of coconut. The idea was to introduce a stronger version of the original. I'm not a fan of coconut, but I tried it just for fun. Compared to the original, it is stronger and it gives all those cocktails that use Malibu rum the punch that it was always missing.

So, there you have it, black -- unfaded!! The point of this post was to prove once again that cool packaging and celebrity endorsements don't make things good. I love the way the Hennessey Black and Absolut 100 bottles look, but no amount of marketing is going to make them taste better than similar products that I already enjoy. Of the four products that I discussed, only Malibu is an improvement over its predecessor. But like anything else in life, only you can decide what tastes good to you. Just don't let the fancy container or the cool person you'll never meet convince you that it's the best thing since the invention of ice cubes. As always, whether you imbibe black or otherwise, please do so responsibly. Until next time...prosit!!!

MY LOCAL AREA has been abuzz in recent weeks with news that beer produced by New Belgium Brewing Company is finally available. The excitement is usually followed by amazement when those not familiar with New Belgium learn that it's located in Colorado rather than Europe. Questions like Why did it take so long for a beer that only has to cross the Mississippi to get here when the Atlantic Ocean would seem to be the more serious obstacle, abound. The border wars that go on between distributors warrants its own blog, but I refuse to dignify that sort of silliness by actually documenting it. I'll just spend this week welcoming New Belgium to our area.

New Belgium Brewing Company is located in Fort Collins, CO. Legend tells the tale of founder, Jeff Lebesch, riding his mountain bike through European villages known for their beer making prowess. Jeff returned from his journey with a plan to brew beer in his basement. He decided to take his passion for home-brewing to the next level in 1991. In 2010, New Belgium was listed as the third-largest craft brewery and the seventh-largest brewery overall in the U.S. That's quite a bit of passion.

Jeff's passion is summed up quite clearly in the New Belgium Brewing Purpose Statement. It states that they want to operate a profitable brewery which makes our love and talent manifest. It also has a list of core values and beliefs. As near as I can tell, they adhere to each of the ten items on the list. The fact that having fun is on the list makes them an instant favorite for me. In 2008, they were recognized as the best place to work in America by Outside magazine.

For those who support companies that are eco-friendly, New Belgium has set a goal of becoming an entirely wind-powered facility. In addition, about 10% of the brewery's power comes from methane gas, a byproduct of their on-site water treatment facility. They also use a Steinecker Merlin Kettle to heat the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of their beers. This particular kettle heats twice as quickly as most other kettles, providing a significant savings to the brewery by reducing their consumption of natural gas.

Anyone who has ever heard of New Belgium is probably familiar with their signature beer -- Fat Tire Amber Ale. The name of the beer is a reference to the tires on the mountain bike Jeff road during his Belgian beer pilgrimage in 1989. It is one of two beers that he developed upon his return to Colorado. The other is the Abbey Belgian Ale. Fat Tire weighs in at about 5.2% ABV and is quite amber in color when poured into a glass. The nose reveals hints of malt with small overtones of fruit. The palate has caramel, herbs, and some lightly roasted malts. It's surprisingly light, but not thin. The finish is crisp and clean with no bitterness. It's also very drinkable.

I also had the good fortune of trying their Trippel Belgian Style Ale. This is my kind of beer. It has a deep golden color when poured into a proper glass. I instantly smelled dried fruits like apricot and banana with hints of wheat and brown sugar. Coriander is the first thing that I tasted. There's also lemon, pepper and hops. It's light and crisp and pretty darned tasty. It's definitely worth trying.

The good news is that New Belgium produces quite a few excellent beers. If you include their Collabeerations and Seasonals, there are approximately twenty-five in the current catalog. The bad news is that I have no idea how many of them will be available in my area. I hope that as time passes, I'll get a chance to try a few more without having to travel all the way to Fort Collins. Although, now that I think about it, that could be a nice road trip.

So, there you have it, New Belgium Brewing Company -- unkegged! I was really excited to hear that New Belgium would finally be available locally. Friends who have traveled west have quite often made it a point to boast that they've been able to enjoy these fine brews. Now that I can enjoy these twenty-two ounce bottles of frosty delicious goodness, I tend to wonder what other great beers are being kept away from me by turf wars being waged by a bunch of greedy distributors. I guess that for now I'll just be happy that one less beer is being kept away from beer lovers like me. As always, whether enjoying a Fat Tire or any of the other find beers produced by New Belgium alone or with friends, please do so responsibly. Until next time...prosit!!!

IT HAS BEEN noted that I have been slack in my coverage of wine this summer.  With that in mind, I'm going to dedicate this week's post to the finest but rarest of the French white wine grapes -- Viognier.  The best description of Viognier is as follows:  If a good German riesling is like an ice skater (fast, racy, with a cutting edge), and chardonnay is like a middle-heavyweight boxer (punchy, solid, powerful), then viognier would have to be described as a female gymnast -- beautiful and perfectly shaped, with muscle but superb agility and elegance.  For those familiar with this great wine, this description says it all.  For those unfamiliar with this particular varietal, let's look a little deeper.

Like any other fine, yet rare thing found on our great planet, the actual origin of Viognier  is unknown.  It is presumed that it's an ancient grape, quite possibly brought to the Rhône region from Dalmatia by the ancient Romans.  Legend suggests that this was done by the Emperor Probus in the year 281 of the Common Era.  The origin of the name Viognier is also shrouded in mystery.  It is thought that it is derived from the Roman pronunciation of the name of a place located just outside ancient Jerusalem known as Gehennae or the Valley of Hell.  If this is true, then the name is probably an allusion to the difficulty in growing Viognier.

The reason for the difficulty in growing Viognier stems from the fact that it is susceptible to a fungal disease known as powdery mildew.  Luckily, this disease is easy to spot because infected plants display white powdery spots on its stems and leaves.  In addition to powdery mildew, Viognier suffers from low and unpredictable yields.  Moreover, it should not be picked until fully ripe.  If harvested too soon, it will fail to develop the full range of flavors and aromas.  If harvested too late, the resultant wines tend to be oily with far less perfume.

The best examples of Viognier come from France, specifically the appellations of Condrieu and Château-Grillet, which are both located on the banks of the Rhône River, just south of Lyon.  These wines are sold as Vin de Pays in the Languedoc.  For those unfamiliar with Vin de Pays, it's a French term that means country wine.  It refers to wines that are just a step above those classified as table wine.  The Languedoc is a former province of France that exists in the modern-day regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France.  In the Rhône wine growing region, Viognier is blended with Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache blanc, and Rolle.  In the Côte-Rôtie AOC, up to 20% of red wine blends can legally include Viognier.  This is done to stabilize the coloring of the red wines that the Côte-Rôtie is known for.

As I mentioned earlier, Viognier is rare.  At one point, it was grown almost exclusively in the northern Rhone region France.  In 1965, it was almost extinct.  Fortunately, it's popularity spurred a rise in the number of plantings, not just in France, but around the world.  Argentina, Chile, and Brazil are among the South American countries currently producing great wines made from Viognier.  In Australia, producers in McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, and Murray River have begun planting this wonderful grape.

Surprisingly, Viognier grows very well in Virginia.  Despite the difficulties experienced in many wine growing areas around the world, Virginia and Viognier are a perfect match.  The tough vines withstand the early spring frosts while the shape of the grape clusters allows air to circulate among the individual berries reducing the chance of rot considerably.  These conditions allow winemakers in Virginia to produce wines that are comparable to the best wines from Condrieu and Château-Grillet AOC.   

When it comes to pairing food with Viognier, you really can't go wrong.  Personally, I like to recommend it to people who are new to drinking wine with meals.  The complex flavors and aromas go well with just about anything from lobster bisque to turkey sandwiches and from chicken marsala to roast duck.  It's about as versatile as a wine can be.  It's a go to wine for me when there is a question as to what wine pairs with a diverse selection of foods.

So, there you have it, vee-oh-NYAY -- uncorked!  If you haven't tried Viognier and you're interested in expanding your wine horizons, then this wine should make your list.  There are quite a few options, so take the time to speak with your local wine expert about the differences among the many countries, regions, and wineries that produce wines made from this varietal.  As I mentioned, Virginia produces some very fine Viogniers.  Barboursville, Horton, and Williamsburg Winery have all produced award winning wines from this ancient grape and all are worth trying.  As always, whether drinking Viognier alone or with friends, please do so responsibly.  Until next time...prosit!!!