A Meeting With the Ministry of Rhum

For the last several years Ed Hamilton has run a website called The Ministry of Rhum, which is an exhaustive compilation of information, product review, recipes and all things Rhum. In addition, he is an importer of several labels of Rhum Agricole, that is to say rhum distilled from fresh sugar cane juice from the French islands in the West Indies. But mainly he just knows everything there is know about rum

Ed conducted a staff training session this morning and cleared up a number of myths and misunderstandings.

Ed started his life designing and selling mechanical actuators for bombs until he realized that what he really wanted to do was live on a sailboat in the Caribbean. So he quit his job, worked his way around the world a couple of times and wound up on a 38 foot sailboat in the Caribbean. Since the longest distance between any island is about 80 miles, that was all he needed. He soon discovered that every island had their own rum and that prices varied widely and soon he was bootlegging good cheap rum to islands with bad expensive rum. Then he started asking questions and found that when he said he was writing a book, companies would just give him free rum, so that's what he did. And now he makes money because he knows just about everything there is to know about rum.

Which is a lot to know, because rum is "the most diverse of all distilled spirits." That's because it's different on every island and there is no governing body with strict regulations. We see some labelling standardization because of Federal laws and regulations. Except for the French islands, where production of Rhum Agricole is strictly regulated. There are lots of websites to go into all that. But it gives me tiredhead.

Several times Ed discussed methods of consumption and this interested me as we've been hitting three-digits on the themometer the last few days and cold rum drinks can be delicious and refreshing. And what I learned is this: 2 parts Rum, light or aged, 1 part simple syrup, 1 part lime. Repeat that several times until you can remember it.

• Daiquiri:  Combine in a shaker with ice, shake and strain straight up into a cocktail glass. Light or aged rum.
• Mojito:  Muddle 6 mint leaves with lime juice and syrup. Add white rum and ice, shake and pour in a highball glass, Top with 2 parts club soda.
• Rum Punch: Combine in a shaker with ice. Add dash of Angostura bitters, pinch of nutmeg. Shake and serve in a high ball glass. Use aged rum.

See how they are just variations? It's easy! Now Ed kept referring to Ti Punch all morning. You'll see why. It has nothing to do with tea.

• Ti Punch:  Short for petit. Proportions vary to taste. Speed is of the essence. Frequently used as a morning pick-me-up.  2 ounces Rhum Agricole Blanc, 1 lime wedge, 1/2 tsp sugarcane syrup. Squeeze lime into a tall glass, Add rhum and syrup. Stir vigorously, Ice as you like, enough to chill, but not dilute. Drink, don't sip.

                                                                                                                                                          

Memories of Flavor 1.0

The other day a customer was telling me about his memories of his first bottles of great wine. As it happened, they were Bordeaux. So were mine. In a different time, in a different economy.  Acquisition was based on knowledge rather than economic status. But I don't want to gripe about prices, I'm interested in memories.

What was driving my customer was his memory of the experience. That memory is there whenever he opens a bottle of wine. Flavor is part of the equation, but so it's mainly a kind of magic, a kind of time-travel if you will. I'm told Proust wrote a long book about it.

Memories like my customers drive me as well.

A number of years ago I was in the Bay area with my wife and one of my sons. We were driving through Berkeley when we passed Chez Panisse and on a whim we stopped to see about lunch and a little later we were seated next to an open window. We ordered plates to share. Some I can't recall, but I remember the depth of the salmon served with a fresh relish of corn and multicolored pepper. I remember this toasty discs of goat cheese on the mixed green and I remember the fresh flinty aromatics of the Pouilly-Fume that tied the meal together.

Many's the time I've created versions of that meal. Sometimes I get close.

Last Sunday was the most recent. I tossed corn cut from cob with red bell pepper, green onion,  tomato, fresh oregano from the backyard and dressed it with lemon juice and olive oil. I grilled a salmon fillet and we had a bottle of Chateau de Sancerre Cuvee Connetable, a barrel aged Sauvignon Blanc. Chez Panisse? No, but pretty damn good!

A Day of Tasting: Loire Valley to Peavy Road

Hi, my name is Dave. I sell alcohol. All types. In order to do this I consume and taste alcoholic beverages. All types.

Even on my day off.

I spent last Monday in an all-day Tequila seminar conducted by the CRT (the governmental agency which controls Tequila production) which culminated in a tasting featuring the Casa Dragones. See other postings about this fabulous tequila.

Today I put on a clean shirt and headed downtown to the Mansion on Turtle Creek for a seminar and tasting of wines from the Loire Valley. Let me start by saying that warm late spring days are perfect for Loire Valley wines. As a whole, they are clean, crisp and driven by minerally acids. Nuanced flavors differ by appellation. The wines can best be described by what food they go best with and that would be shellfish and goat cheese.

The tasting was a little disappointing in breadth. It was sponsored by the Loire Valley Wine Bureau and promised to feature wines that were locally available. Too often, these trade association tastings feature a vast selection of wines that will never be available through local wholesalers. So today we saw the limited variety of what is available in the wholesale market. Their literature lists 46 Loire Valley appellations. The tasting had wines from 7 appellationsfrom 7 different suppliers, most of whom showed a Sancerre, a Vouvray, and a Muscadet. We have wines from 10 appellations in our store.

Sancerre was represented by 7 producers, Pouilly-Fume by 3 producers. All selections were lean, a couple were flat and grassy. My favorite was the  Pouilly-Fume Selection Silex by Domaine Vincent Vatan. Brilliant flashes of citrus were embedded in the flinty aromatics of the silex.

Muscadet was represented by 5 producers. All were sur-lies (aged on the yeast cells) which gives the always surprising hints of richness to these clean citurs, mineral driven wines. A few are great, almost all are serviceable, they should never be expensive.

Vouvray is always a mystery. Is it sweet or is it dry? Sometimes demi-sec bottlings are labeled, but not always. Ask your salesman or waiter before you order. Both versions can be delicious. Domaine Pichot is not labelled demi-sec, maybe it should be labeled demi-demi-sec. A hint of sweetness barely cuts the dry edge of the wine. The demi-sec Chateau de Montfort provides a richness that would be fabulous with spicy Asian dishes.

There was just one lone red wine, Chinon Marie de Beauregard from Saget et perriere was textbook Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, bright red cherries with a hint of darkness and tobacco leaf. But light and clean with no overwhelming oakiness.

And that was it: no Cremant, no Savenierres, no dessert wines, no lines of Sauvignons from Touraine lined up like infantry. But it was a great reminder of how delicous these wines are and how valuable they can be in the months ahead. They are wines best drunk cold when the weather is hot.

And then I went to Goodfriend on Peavy Road in way East Dallas for a burger and a couple of beers. The amber Avery Karma was perfect with the meaty burger and best waffle fries ever. The Karma was rich and precise beyond everything our local favor amber bock ever dreamed it could be. Stone Imperial Russian Stout was its infinitely deep dark self that just got deeper and darker as the day ground to a halt.

Then home for the daily meds, maybe a small glass of Amaro and that's it 'til the next one.

BT #8: A Gathering of Eagles

Well, this tasting was so long in the scheduling, it needed an impressive title.


Five of us gathered a week ago in a back room at Urbano's to enjoy an evening of blind tasting. And enjoy we did. 


Bradley went to the cooler at Jimmy's deli next door for a bottle of Coquerel Sauvignon Blanc. Crisp and cold, grassy with a kiss of citrus, it was the perfect beginning. 


d1:  We decided to order some appetizers to start with and get the evening underway.  I brought a white wine, so I pulled the cork and we poured away and were met by a wall of citrus aromas, smokey notes of rich tropical fruit and a creamy wall of acid and mineral. "Wow, full malolactic, but young." "It's really not a question of what it is but what appellation." I assumed that everyone else assumed it was white burgundy of a significant order. Puligny? Chassagne? No, Meursault. Domaine Guy Fichet, Tesson, 2008. Fichet is a young vigneron. Instead of blending less than premier cru into a 'village' wine, he makes wine from single parcels that have blinding precision.


The wine was terrific with our appetizers: Mussels in a tomato sauce, Caprese Smores, Risotto balls. 


sepi1:  Roses, cherries and hints of tar and acid wafted from the glass. Everyone wanted to go Italian and I thought it had to be Nebbiolo until I tasted the wine and was floored by the lack of tannins. That left Burgundy and that's what it was. The wild cherries and berries took my memory back to Gevrey Chambertin and that's what it was. Harmand-Geoffroy Gevrey Chambergin Vielles Vignes 2003. Pure, focused and delicious. "Gee, I thought I knew Burgundy..." lamented Scott. (BT's are a humbling thang!)


As Bradley pulled out the next wine, he announced that he had shown serious restraint and had only brought one wine. 


"What, you brought another wine?" he said when I announced that I had brought another bottle. 


"White wines don't count," I said.


b1:  Bradley's wine exploded from the glass with cherries, fresh tobacco and blackberries, cut with cedar and vanilla. Then John launched into a rhapsody about 'boozeberries.' A Thanksgiving treat made by soaking cranberries in sugar and cognac and then popping them in a microwave. As we sat in awe of the wine in our glasses, we entreated Bradley just to unveil the damned thing. "I don't want to think about it," I said. "I just want to drink it. Kapcsandy 2006 Estate Cuvee. State Lane Vineyard. Napa. 


As our first entrees of the Beef Tenderloin and a special request of a Mushroom Risotto were being delivered, I explained my problem. I was concerned about the viability of the wine I had opened. It had been totally brown and devoid of any notion of red fruit. It did not taste flawed, but just very dried out, thin and oxidized. I didn't expect much, but wanted their input before opening another bottle. 


d2:  As I poured and everyone examined the wine, it was evident that my fears were unfounded. The silky rich flavors danced between dried fruit and fresh fruit and the tannins and structure were firmly in place creating space for the aromas and perfumes. Not unlike stained glass in a cathedral. The wine did not provide much challenge for blind tasters. Old Bordeaux? No doubt. 1990 Pape-Clement. 


41:  John's bottle announces itself: it's a hefty piece of glass. And a magnificent wine, intense black fruits with a kiss of smoke that just goes on forever. There has to be a mountain of tannin somewhere in this wine to keep it going, but it never makes itself evident. The group is confused trying to place the wine. New world? Old World? Certainly not California or Australia. Too ripe for Italy or France and where in Spain would this wine come from? NCZ, I ventured quietly. John nodded. Parker said it was like Lafite in a good year. 2004 Catena Zapata, the flagship Malbec/Cabernet blend from Nicolas Catena. 


Our second round of entrees arrive (we were passing them family style) another order of Tenderloin (duh!) another mushroom risotto and a seared duck breast. Oh. And more wine.


Sepi2: (I wasn't the only one to bring two) Another big glass bottle, another big massive wine. Distinctive notes of tomato leaves and tomato jam float over the dense mass of black fruit, big oak and truffle. Oh my. It's Napa all the way. 2005 Bucella Merlot. "Vinyl rocks and poly-phenols, it's just singing!" Sepi says with a big smile. Hmm. Might be starting to get a little late thinks I.


But wait, Scott has a bottle too! And it's not Pinot!


Scott1:  "Cali Cab, 06 or 07" announces Brad, on the basis of second hand aromas revealed when Scott pulls the cork. The wine in our glasses correllates his astute evaluation. Wow, what extraction. Wow, what integration. It's too dark in the restaurant for photography, but it's not too dark to see the the rich colors dancing on our white napkins. It's even better to taste: screaming blackberry cream with dark bing cherries in the background eventually culminating in a mouthful of tannins. #4 declares emphatically, "I'm a sucker for oak and fruit. I will stand and salute you!!!" And he did. And we did. Araujo 2006 Eisele.


And did we have something chocolate for dessert? Seems like. We did pull out cell-phones and everyone committed to a date for the next event. Like in a month or two instead of a year or two.


Great tasting. THANKS TO MITCH AND HIS GREAT STAFF AT URBANO!!! 

Petite Sirahs Back to Back

Two Thursday meetings with Petite Sirah to close each meeting. For wine guys, it's a high water morning when the waves of fruit are followed by tannic saturation at 8:45 in the morning. (For professionals only. Do NOT try at home.)

First up was Carver-Sutro, tiny production from the ancient Palisades vineyard in the northeast corner of Napa Valley. The first vines were planted by the Dominico Barberis family who settled here in 1902 after moving from Italy. He and his family farmed the vineyards for 90 years, Denis Sutro and Anne Carver are the current custodians.

The Petite Sirah is textbook. Rich and dark, with blue-black fruits leading to a massively meaty mouthful of wine. The flavors brood dark on the palate. As the fruits begin to fade the substantial tannins keep them alive through the long finish. Exciting wine, and very limited. Available in New York, California and Sigel's. We received just 4 cases of the 2007 vintage.

Then we met with Jesse Inman who now makes the wine at August Briggs. In years past the Briggs Petite Sirah was sourced from the Black Rock Vineyard in Lake County where the fruit was ripened by the heat from the black obsidian in the volcanic soil. The next release will be from the Frediani vineyard, also found the the northern corner of Napa Valley. The Frediani family holds some of the Calistoga areas great treasures: old-vine Zinfandel, Charbono that used to go the old Inglenook Charbono's of yesteryear and the Petite Sirah that goes to August Briggs. The old vines still speak through the elegant, polished style of the Briggs wines, simultaneously silky smooth and gnarly tannic with rich layers of dark fruits and berries.
Previously available only through the Briggs tasting room or the wine club. We just have a few cases to sell.

Single Oak Redux

You knew there might be more of these...


Joined up this evening with the Reverend Doctor to share tastes of the third release of Buffalo Trace's Single Oak Project. And while we were at it, we revisited a couple of other releases along with Eagle Rare 10 and 17 (Buffalo Trace Rye Recipe) and a recent release of Pappy Van Winkle's 12 year Lot B. I think I was able to keep it all straight.

We started with the Eagle Rare 10 yr old to gear the senses for the upcoming onslaught of strong spirits. And it was quite nice. Spicy cinnamon and burnt oranges, honey and caramel, round, smooth and spicy, with a lot of earthy vanilla. All typical notes for rye recipe bourbon.


As it turns out, it set a strong pattern for three of the Single Oak bourbons. Bottles 3, 8 and 67 were all rye, with 125 entry proof. They were all very similar. In fact they showed the same flavor descriptors as the Eagle 10 with nuanced differences between the three. But the quality was much higher than the 10. The texture was totally different and the brilliant flavors shifted like a kaleidoscope as the thick luxurious liquid rolled around the tongue. 

To the differences. Barrels 3 and 67 were very similar flavors, 3 was lighter, 67 was buttery. Barrel 8 was very similiar, but had a distinct earthiness. When I compare the facts on the Single Oak website, all three bourbons are virtually identical, distilled on the same day from the same recipe. Barrels 2 and 3 were made with wood from the tops of the tree with a slight variation in tightness of grain. Both were aged on the 7th floor of the same concrete floored warehouse. Barrel 8  was made from the bottom of the tree and was aged on the 3rd floor of a wooden warehouse.  Yikes, a difference in barrel and a difference in flavor. Was one better? I think it's up to the taster.

On the Single Oak website, there's a video shot in the Ozark forest as these trees were being felled. It's fascinating to hear Ronnie Eddins talk about how the sugar level is affected by grain, growth rate of the tree, and whether the tree was grown on the top of a hill, in a valley, or on a hillside. Of course the sugar level of the wood affects the caramelization of the barrel and thus the terroir of the barrel has great affect on the final whiskey.


Barrel 104 on the other hand was totally different. And the only difference was the recipe. The flavoring grain was wheat. The whiskey was dry and elegant with notes of grass, honey and smoke and a hint of anise. I have also tasted Barrel 36 which is wheated. My notes show a sweeter whiskey with more vanilla and hints of fruit. Again, the bourbons are identical in DNA except that 104 was aged in a concrete floor warehouse and the 36 was in wood.


Now to the ringers. The Pappy 12 year has slightly darker color and definitely has a sweeter finish and more burnished citrus fruits than the 104.  But it is definitely finished with wheat and not rye, and it is 4  years older than the 8 year old Single Oaks.


The age of the Eagle Rare 17 is a definite trump. Oh, my it's silky. Big wood sits down with a thump of vanilla. And then the same rye flavors begin creaping out around the edges and hanging on through the long finish.


I'm exhausted. That was a lot of really good whiskey to keep track of, and the similarity of most of whiskeys made it even more difficult. Overall, there were differences were age and recipe. Wheat vs rye. 8 vs 10 vs 12 vs 17. Nuanced differences based on warehousing and grain. The most notable difference of all was between the Eagle 10 and every other whiskey. They were just on a different level of quality.

Dreamcrusher Double Rye IPA

Anticipation has been high for the second custom bottling from the fledgling Deep Ellum Brewery and  the Dreamcrusher Double Rye IPA does not disappoint. Aromas of bright citrus, pine resin, orange peel and coriander are in your face the moment you pour the Dreamcrusher into a glass. The pine yields to rich citrus as the beer opens up in the glass, revealing warm rich flavors of broiled grapefruit. The bitter hoppiness forms a protective arch through the long, rich creamy finish while the rye gives a crisp dryness which keeps Dreamcrusher light on its feet.  The balance is quite remarkable and surprisingly smooth for such a big boy. Dreamcrusher clocks in at 9.7% ABV and packs 100+ IBU’s. In two words, powerful and delicious!

At this point Deep Ellum does not have a bottling line. All beer goes into kegs and is sold at local brew pubs. Dreamcrusher is their second custom 'hand' bottling and will be available exclusively at Sigel's Texas Fest, Saturday March 9 at Sigel's Elite at the intersection of Cole and Fitzhugh in the Uptown neighborhood.