Big Bad Bourbon Tasting

It's been a while since I've posted. I know. I apologize. During my leave of absence there were rumors that I ran away, fell into a vat of Bourbon, drowned, pickled, jarred and then sent off to sea off the coast of the Orkney Islands in a Sherry cask previously used for Glendronach 1995 Pedro Ximinez Sherry Puncheon Single Malt Scotch. I don't know HOW you guys think of these things!

Truth is, I've been working my ass off here at the shop. I've been searching high and low for new spirits to bring into SG&G as well as setting up fun spirits tastings. The first of three tastings was Tuesday Nov 22nd. It was dubbed the Big Bad Bourbon Tasting. We featured 24 Bourbons and whiskeys, a homemade barrel aged Bourbon "Manhattan", an Imperial Stout from Laughing Dog Brewery that has been aged in Bourbon barrels, pretzels with a homemade Bourbon honey-maple dijon mustard and homemade Bourbon balls that were amazing! Our friends at Collyer Catering also brought some delicious rosemary flank steak skewers with spiked Bourbon reduction sauce and grilled shrimp with a Bourbon brown sugar sauce.

I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the actual event. It was just way too busy. I think we all had a good time that night. I'm definitely looking forward to next year's Bourbon Tasting. In the meantime, keep your ears open for our Holiday Scotch tasting.

Bourbon Manhattan

Low Gap White Wheat Whiskey + Basil Hayden's 8 yr 

Jefferson's representin'!

Willet Rye + Four Roses Yellow Label

Tuthilltown Rye + Baby Bourbon

St. George Breaking & Entering Bourbon,  Jim Beam Devil's Cut and Black

Buffalo Trace, Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Vintage Bourbon 17yr

Berkshire Bourbon & Corn Whiskey

Brekenridge Colorado Bourbon

Laughing Dog "The Dogfather" Imperial Stout

The "Cool Crowd" with Four Roses Small Batch on the left

9/11 CT United Memorial Ride

Last Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of a shocking and unforgettable moment in all our lives. The events that transpired on September 11, 2001 shook the world. In the weeks leading up to this, the 10th anniversary, my fiance and I were glued to the television, sucked in to articles on the internet and trapped within the headlines on newspapers' front pages as if we knew nothing about 9/11/01. I think we were lost in a trance of memories of where we were, what we were doing and who we were thinking of after we heard the first plane had slammed into the World Trade Center North Tower.

Lost in news reporters' frantic scramble to get the scoop first, we were filled with rumors that the White House was attacked, we were being attacked on both coasts, Air Force One was shot down and many more that proved to be incorrect mere moments after they aired. It was a fearful day for those of us that weren't actually experiencing the horror first hand in lower Manhattan.

Of the nearly 3000 victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, Connecticut was home to 152 of those innocent people. To honor those that lost their lives that tragic day, my fiancee and I decided to hop on our Harley-Davidson and join the CT United Ride, Connecticut's largest 9/11 tribute motorcycle ride. We arrived that morning at 10AM to register and get placement in the parade. There were a few words spoken over the loud speaker by several different people, bag pipes played Amazing Grace, a broadway singer belted out the National Anthem and we all did our best to hold back the tears. The energy was so intense that morning, everybody just couldn't wait to get on their bikes and ride. The rumble of tailpipes of over 3000 motorcycles were so powerful that they shook your soul. It was intense.

As we rolled out onto the street, we were cheered on by spectators waving flags and making peace signs with two fingers. This went on the entire 60 miles of the parade. Each fire department that we passed in each town had made a gateway with their ladder trucks, that bridged a massive American flag. With sirens blaring, people cheering, motorcycles rumbling and horns honking you couldn't help the tears welling up in your eyes. This isn't "a good thing" considering we were (a) on motorcycles, (b) only feet away from other motorcycles and (c) only feet away from other riders that had tears in their eyes as well. Coulda been messy. The sense of unity, togetherness and patriotism was all very apparent as we passed families huddled together on the front lawns, some waving flags, some holding signs heralding "God Bless America." The sense of patriotism was palpable, evidenced by the thousands of people came out to watch us ride by. A few people even came up close to the side of the road to give "high-fives" to the motorcycle riders.

I could write a book on just the emotions that overwhelmed us all that day but I know you get it. So, I'll start to wrap this up.

I"ll end by saying that not only were the spectators amazed at what they were seeing, WE were amazed at what we were seeing. Every rider we talked to said that they'd never seen anything like it. If you do the math; say the average motorcycle length that attended was 7 feet long, if you lined them up tire to tire, the length of the motorcade would be roughly 4 miles long. We were told to try to keep 10 - 20 feet in between each bike. That would mean the parade could have possibly stretched to 15 miles in length. That's just crazy. It was a sight to see. If you missed it or if you would like to ride in it next year, check out the CT United Ride. They also have a Facebook page.

These are some of the pictures we took before and after the ride. The map of the route we took as well as the directions are at the end of this post.

Our 2007 Harley-Davidson FLHX Street Glide

 

• Motorcade from Norden Park to Rte 136
• to Rte 33 through Westport
• to Wilton Rte 7
• to Rte 107 Georgetown
• to Rte 58N Redding
• to Rte 302 Bethel
• to Newtown Rte 25 through Monroe
• to Main Street Trumbull
• to Old Town Rd
• to Park Ave in Fairfield
• continuing into Bridgeport and straight down to Seaside Park with Bpt's Fire Rescue 5 leading the Motorcade.

Earthquakes and Tequila

Today, August 23, 2011, the East Coast experienced an earthquake that registered a 5.9 on the Richter scale. It was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the region. The record is a 5.9 earthquake in Virginia in 1875. Mother Nature loves to show off how powerful and scary she is. It's almost as scary as the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse, which is scheduled to begin later on this year. I don't know about you guys, but I've been working on my chainsaw and baseball bat swinging skills. I'm not EVEN going to get into the whole Rapture thing.

Naturally, since this is the end of the world, I decided I needed a drink. I had to ask the question. I said, "Self, what would you drink if it were the end of the world?"  I answered, "Partida Elegante Tequila." Perfect! And at around $350 a bottle, why not?

It comes in this fancy, high falutin package. It's quite impressive with a leather strap wrapped around the neck, sporting a sterling silver Partida Spirit Bird, that can be worn as a necklace. The bottle itself comes with a glass stopper so you can reuse the bottle as a decanter (my fiancee will be thrilled!). The color is a tarnished copper reminiscent of a fine cognac, largely in part from aging in American oak for 36 months. It's impressive without even taking a sip.

After pouring it in my glass, I immediately get notes of caramel and madagascar vanilla bean. Then sugar and spice, dried peach mango and just a touch of cupcake. On the palate the first to hit you is the sweet roasted agave. Then black pepper, cinnamon, light oak and hints of vanilla shine through. The finish is long and fascinating to the olfactory, lots of black pepper and spice wrapped in sweetness. Just a touch of spicy burn on the mid palate that diminishes after about one minute. It creates a conundrum. You want to let the final flavors do a dance on your palate. But you want to take another sip because it's so damn good.


This is simply amazing tequila. I couldn't have found a better bottle to experience Armageddon unfolding right in front of my eyes. As the sun begins to set, I shall proclaim that this has been a fine day; now a mighty fine day in my opinion. Thank you Partida.

P.S. I consider myself a fair guy so I must admit that I stole the "end of the world" pictures from someone elses' blog. 

Rico's Pizza v. Colony Grill

Within recent months there has been war declared between two pizzerias in Stamford, CT. The infamous Colony Grill, on Myrtle Ave., is accusing a new pizzeria, Rico's Pizza, on  Selleck Street, of stealing their recipe and serving the same exact pizza. These were just rumors bouncing around town until the good folks at Colony decided to take out a newspaper ad and make it public. Then all hell broke loose between pizza lovers in Southern Fairfield County. For us, the old battle used to be Pepe's v. Sally's? Now we are hearing Colony v. Rico's? Journalists and bloggers alike are attacking this story from every angle. Being a loyal fan of Colony for the last 30+ years, I decided to make the comparison myself and finish this once and for all.

My fiancee and our friend, DJ, decided that we should try the exact same pizzas from both establishments at the same time. We chose one plain and one half meatball and half pepperoni and onions, 2 pies from each restaurant. First of all, driving from Stamford to Westport with those four pizzas in the car was treacherous. The temptation to just pull over and start stuffing my face was, what I imagine to be, equal to the chinese water torture. The bumper to bumper traffic didn't help either.

I called Colony at 1:44pm on Saturday. They took my order and told me it was going to be 25-30 minutes. It took three calls to Rico's to actually have someone pick up the phone at 1:48pm. The girl on the phone told me it was going to be a 35 minute wait. Colony's pies cost $22.85.  Rico's pizzas were $21.27. Colony had about 15 people between the bar and the tables in both rooms. Rico's had one table of two elderly gentleman and three young kids running around that didn't seem to belong to anyone. Anyone that was in the restaurant, that is. Hey, I knew they weren't mine.

To make this easy Colony is in regular typeface and Rico's is in bold. 

Left: Rico's Right: Colony

The first one we tried was the meatball pizza.
Colony's had their famous grease just oozing all over my fingers. It had a good covering of cheese but the meatballs were bland and unappealing. The crust was soggy and pretty thick.
Rico's was virtually paper towel free. The cheese was tasty and full of flavor. Their crust ended up being crispy and sweeter and didn't bend under the weight of the toppings, which is always a bonus. 

Next up was pepperoni with onions pizza. 
Colony had some pepperoni slices spread out with long slices of onion swirled around on top. The amount of pepperoni was perfect for us. It was also a bit light on the sauce. The onions were perfectly sweet. So. Good.

Rico's pie was covered with pepperoni so that you could barely see the cheese and only had a few diced onions on top. The onions were hardly noticeable in any of the bites. I thought they were a bit heavy handed with their sweet sauce, too. I think I like their sauce better though. 

Left Rico's Right: Colony

Last we tasted the plain pizza.
Colony's sauce was a dark color and it had a burnt taste to it. It tasted like it was sitting on the stove a few hours too long. The crust was bland and chewy underneath the greasy and salty cheese. This was pretty "not good", shall we say?
Rico's was fresh with just the right amount of sweet sauce below flavorful cheese. The crust was crisp and fresh. This pie turned out to be more like a Colony pie than Colony's pie. Weird, huh?

All in all, we liked the pepperoni and onion from Colony but Rico's won the meatball and the plain pizza vote. I must also note that the pepperoni and onion pizza from Rico's was different than the first two times we tried it. This time it had too much pepperoni and just a sprinkle of diced onions. The served it the previous times just like a Colony pie. I don't understand the inconsistency. Maybe they hired someone new?

This battle, in my humble opinion, (that's IMHO for you interwebtube people) was won by Rico's two out of three. It didn't feel to us that Colony was on their game today. Maybe that's the problem? Is the quality at Colony slipping? Or is it simply that a new restaurant, using the same techniques, but newer equipment and seemingly fresher ingredients, is more appealing? Frankly, if we were to order different pies and do this again, the results might be different. It really is a close call and I believe there's room for both in the pizza world. After all, Pepe and Sally have managed to coexist quite nicely in New Haven without turning into the Hatfields and the McCoys. Let's hope Colony and Rico manage the same truce.

Yes. I drink beer, too.

I'd like to clear the air. There must have been some confusion last week with one of my posts. Somehow a wine snuck into a post on this blog. Some of you were shocked. I know. I must apologize for the abrupt, shocking and scandalous news. It is true. I drink wine. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Are you sitting down? Brace yourselves...

I drink beer, too. I know. It's crazy, huh? Totally.


Over the years I have been slowly creeping away from the world of malted barley and hops. I'm not quite sure what the reason is. Maybe it's the blurred lines of demarcation between styles. It could be the unspoken challenge to out-brew the other guy with alcohol content and/or IBUs. Or it might be the rise in craft brewers becoming available that has me overwhelmed to the point where I can't keep up with the times. It seems that every time I turn around there is a new craft beer that I just HAVE to have. Frankly, it's exhausting. This is why I'm enjoying my old favorites, the old standbys. My comfort beers.

Brooklyn Lager

I was introduced to Brooklyn Lager in the early to mid 1990's when I started working in liquor stores. It quickly became one of my favorite beers after the first couple of sips. It's rich and malty with a great balance of floral hops. It makes for an amazing pairing with homemade/hand packed burgers. It's also rumored that I've been caught drinking this beer while grilling a spice rubbed New York Strip steak on my little 21" Weber grill in the back yard (that's four minutes each side and then let it sit for a few before slicing it into strips). The pairing is delectable.

Cisco Indie Pale Ale

I have never had anything I didn't like that comes from Cisco Brewers on Nantucket. It seems like they have the right formula for everything they make. I must admit that it is hard to choose just one beer from Cisco for the sole purpose of this blog post. In any case, I chose their Indie Pale Ale. What I like about this beer is its citrusy hop flavors that balance out the malty fruit. Indie is a great beer to grab if you're having Mexican, spicy Indian or even some Cajun BBQ. The higher level of hops seem to cool the heat of spicy dishes for me. It's also a great thirst quencher on a hot summer day if you're on an island somewhere off the coast of Cape Cod, my home away from home.

Thomas Hooker Blonde Ale

Since I seem to be "supporting the locals" this go around, I decided to stick with the theme and tell you about Thomas Hooker Brewing Company in Connecticut. It's located in Bloomfield, just outside of Hartford, if you were heading Northwest. Hooker makes some solid beer. They range from an Imperial Porter to their Old Marley Barlywine and then back to a Watermelon Ale that is just fantastic to beat the steamy summer heat. My favorite in the line up is the Blonde Ale. It's malty and creamy with just the right amount of hops to make it a crisp and clean brew.

Now that it's public that I drink wine and beer, you can be rest assured that I will still continue to tell you about amazing spirits. No worries. I think I'll just wait until the summer temperatures recede a little before I post another Scotch review. It's just too damn hot for that stuff. I'm done bellyaching now. You can return to your regularly scheduled program.

The Joys of Summer

OMG!

We bitch all Winter long about how cold it is. "It's the humidity that cuts right through you," we like to say as we slip  on the ice. When we thaw out a bit, we wonder where Spring went because we jump from 30-40 degree days one week to 80 degree days the next. Today it's damn near 100 degrees, 115 degree heat index with horrendous humidity, that YOU have to cut through. Stepping out of the air conditioning into heat like today is somewhat comparable to flying down a Slip-n-Slide right into a brick wall. Ahhh, the joys of Summer.

2009 Dr. Thanisch Riesling 

Even to a diehard spirits guy, if the day is so hot that a cocktail won't cool me down, I reach for a Riesling.


Without getting into too many confusing details about German wine labeling, I like Rieslings with a little bit of residual sugar. In most cases the cheat sheet is right on the label. Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese would probably be the most common classifications of varietal ripeness found on wine shops shelves that don't necessarily specialize in Germanic wines. Generally speaking, Kabinett would be the driest, next would be Spatlese leaving Auslese to be the "sweetest"of the bunch. Look at the alcohol content. If you find one that has Spatlese or Auslese on the label, you might just find my hands wrapped around it.


Here are a few points why I love Riesling in the summer:


1. Ice Cold - There isn't anything else that compares to the pure refreshment. Just think of the kid in the picture above before he hits that brick wall. He looks likes he's beating the heat. 


2. Lower Alcohol Content - Any alcohol on a hot day can make you feel hotter. With Riesling you can actually have a glass or two without feeling uncomfortable, that is, if you enjoy it responsibly. You... sitting there at your computer. You know who I'm talking about.


3. Sweet Joy - I love sweet drinks in extreme heat. The residual sugar keeps my mouth watering. So. Ridiculously. Delicious.


4. On-The-Cheap - You can find some seriously good quality Rieslings for reasonable prices. A great range for some amazing wines is right around $15-$20.

"this guy"

In the end if you want my advice, the next time that you feel like "this guy", grab an ice cold bottle of German Riesling and join the club. Kick back, relax and get ready to chill out. Literally. 


P.S. I stole the slip-n-slide picture and the sweaty guy picture from the World Wide Intertubenetwebs if that wasn't already blatantly obvious. 

KAH - Fun With Tequila

Fancy bottles are fun. We like to look at them. We like to hold them. We like to remark about them. It is rare, though, that we like to drink what's inside of them. It's usually a low grade spirit or cheaply made wine that's disguised in some nifty little packaging designed by some marketing "guru". In any case, I bought into one brand blindly. KAH tequila just looked "too cool" to pass up.

The Blanco comes in the white skull. Reposado is painted yellow and their Anejo is an eery black skull. A good rule of thumb is that if you want to test the waters of a brand of tequila, try the blanco first. If the blanco is good, there is a good chance that the rest of the line is pretty tasty as well. Now, don't get me wrong. There ARE some exceptions to this rule. There are also a lot of things that a distiller can do to screw up what would be a perfectly acceptable tequila.

 I'd like to make a side note before I begin. It's a cool bottle. But, it is damn near impossible not to spill this tequila all over your friggin' table. So, grab some paper towels and get ready.

KAH Blanco

The Blanco is quite aromatic offering notes of sweet agave engulfed by grassy tones and hints of herbs. It's also viscous on the palate. I am underwhelmed with the initial lack of flavors on the front palate. Then it all creeps up on me in the middle. I get citrus, grass and alcohol. The finish leaves just a reflection of grass and herbs and a dusting of alcohol. To be honest, I thought this was better the first time that I tried it. If I remember correctly, it had more rich agave sweetness and it was more well balanced on the palate. Maybe I was thinking of a different tequila.

KAH Reposado

Okay. On to the Reposado. Yellow Skull = coolness. You have to admit that the yellow skull with the angry devil-demon-dragon thinger on its forehead it pretty serious. It's taunting you to indulge in its devilish libations within. So, as you irrigate your soul with this mighty Reposado, I must warn of it's alcohol content. The Reposado weighs in at a hefty 110 proof. There. I warned you.

If you can get passed the overwhelming aroma of alcohol, you might be able to find some spicy, herbal and floral notes hanging around and some vanilla over there in the corner. The palate seems to prove just as alcoholic as the nose. Once you get over that initial bite, honeysuckle, cinnamon and vanilla run over your tongue. The finish eases up a bit and exits with faint hints of citrus flavors.

I'm the kind of guy who doesn't need a crutch when drinking tequila. But, I bow down to this one. I doubt I'll be drinking this neat in the future. I'll be adding a few drops of water at the very least and possibly using this for a Cadillac Margarita. I'll let you know how that goes.

KAH Anejo

The black skull contains the Anejo. This is my favorite of the three levels. It's a welcome change to the heat of the Reposado. The Anejo is bottled at an easy to handle 80 proof. On the nose you can get more sweet agave, rich caramel, with notes of vanilla oak. The first sip reveals gentle oak and coffee followed by roasted agave with a lacing of sweet chocolate. The finish isn't incredibly long. It does tend to linger, though.

This line of tequila is definitely fun. If you are a bottle collector, you might want to pick up a bottle or two of these hand painted skulls. You could play pranks on your family and friends. May I suggest leaving one of them in your spouse's sock drawer? How about "forgetting" about the one you left in the spice cabinet to ward off the evil spice-eating-monster-troll-things? A friend of mine actually suggested mounting one on the hood of his truck for a hood ornament. There are a lot of fun things you can do with KAH Tequila. Be original and drink responsibly.