Drink

There are winemakers who make great wine. There are winemakers who advance the discourse on wine. It's not often that you get to offer wines from a winemaker that does both. It's even rarer when the wines are affordable enough for everyone to drink them. Today is one of those days when it all comes together.For those of you who don't know, I almost never offer American wine. This isn't because I don't think that good wine can be made in the United States but because I feel that most wine made in the States is not as good as European wine at the same price points. I taste hundreds of American wines but very few get over my bar for offering them to customers. So when I offer an American wine, I hope that you believe me when I say that it's worth drinking, even for Europhiles. I'm thrilled to be offering 2 wines today. The 2010 Cowan Cellars Bennet Valley Syrah "Moevani Vineyard" is a revelation for as little as $21.99 on a 6-pack. This wine is grown on steep slopes and made using traditional European techniques (no late harvesting or heavy oaking). The result is a wine with delicious fruit, savory Rhone gamey overtones and terrific balancing acidity. It can be drunk with food but also has the complexity that allows the wine geek to ponder it over the course of an evening. The wine can be drunk young but will also benefit from medium-term aging.The 2012 Cowan Cellars Pinot Noir Rose for as little as $12.99 on a 6-pack is an incredible wine. It has terrific, vivid Pinot Noir fruit to go with the traditional rose minerality. The quality is on a par with $20-$30 French roses but I'm offering it at a low price so that people buy 6-12 bottles.This e-mail could really be a short story or a novella as I have so much to say on so many subjects that could be covered in this e-mail. I will try and keep it short but I might go full bore on you If anybody is deserving of lavish praise it is the one, the only Florida Jim. Florida Jim, as I referenced in the headline is a force of good on the internet and ALWAYS has been. He is the antithesis to the Mao Tse Dong-style wine bulletin board bully. Never in the history of the wine internet has there been a man with such grace, such aplomb, such insight and such a calming effect on everyone he has interacted with. And Jim Cowan, known affectionately as Florida Jim, has finally taken the plunge and makes wine in California. Of course it is delicious. Of course it is authentic. I mean, look who is making the wines. Here is more about Jim, in his own words.That is why it just seems like such a natural fit for Florida Jim's wines from his estate Cowan Cellars, to be sold by me. Jim used to literally carpet bomb the internet with his tasting notes across, what seemed like 15 wine bulletin boards. E-Bob, Wine Therapy then Wine Disorder, West Coast Wine.net, Robin Garr's board and even more obscure boards I am sure I have never heard of. Jim was always the calming influence among much, sometimes, aggressive debates on everything and anything about the wine world. If you never have been on a wine bulletin board it does not take much for a discussion to get heated. But it's the same on most bulletin boards. I have a friend who is an occupational therapist for autistic children and the board he is on gets nasty. I have a sister who used to ride horses in competitions all over the US and horse boards were some of the nastiest stuff I have ever seen. Maybe that's why there is such a thing as Godwin's Law.Today I am offering two California wines from Cowan Cellars, that in my opinion are what California should be making at these price points but usually fails to. It's a damn shame as some of the best wines I have ever had in my life have been from California. Jim, when we chatted, told me he is trying to make European style wines (cool climate, moderate ripeness, high acidity, earthy/mineral wines with finesse and sense of place) in California. I laughed because I was booted off Robert Parker's

While in DC this week I recorded a couple podcasts. Here’s the first, with the Cato Institute’s Caleb Brown. In it we cover FDA regulation of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and cigars. One minor correction: We were only discussing these inhalable products, so I misspoke when saying that current FDA regulations only cover cigarettes. The agency regulates smokeless tobacco too.

Tea Information: Leaf Type:  Oolong Where to Buy:  T-Oolong Tea Tea Description: This quality Hsin Chu Oriental Beauty Oolong (#3) is from a very experienced tea farmer. This tea is all natural, handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Qingxin Dapa varietal grown in Hsin Chu county in Taiwan. The aroma and taste of this tea is very fruity, rich, complex and satisfying, and the aftertaste is fruity, sweet and long lasting. It is a very enjoyable Oriental Beauty we recommend. Learn more about this tea here. Taster’s Review: While Ali Shan tends to be my favorite type of Oolong tea, I’m still rather fond of Oriental Beauty Oolong teas, and I’m really enjoying this Hsin Chu Oriental Beauty Oolong #3 from T-Oolong Tea.  I love the fruity quality of this Oriental Beauty!  So sweet and delicious! It is a delightfully complex Oriental Beauty, with delectable fruit overtones that are reminiscent of a sweet, tree-ripened plum, bursting with juicy flavor.  There are very subtle hints of earth and wood to this cup as well, and I like the way these notes add to the depth of the overall cup.  My first few sips, I could have sworn I tasted a vague smokiness to the tea as well, but, now that I’ve finished my first cup (infusions 1 and 2) and working on my second cup (infusions 3 and 4) I find that the smokiness has disappeared, and it makes me question whether or not I actually tasted a smoky tone or if it was just my imagination. I love how the flavors develop with this tea.  The first cup was light and smooth, and the second cup seems to be richer in flavor.  It is still remarkably smooth though.  It has a silky mouthfeel.  The aftertaste is sweet and lingers.  The third cup (infusions 5 and 6) is smoother than either the first or second cup, and the flavors seem to have married into a more seamless kind of taste. Each new infusion brings a new adventure, and that is why I love Oolong teas.  This one is definitely worth trying – and it is one I’d recommend to those that tend to shy away from Oolong teas because of their strong floral notes.  This one is much more fruit-like than floral.  It’s a beautiful, contemplative cup. The post Hsin Chu Oriental Beauty Oolong #3 from T-Oolong Tea appeared first on SororiTea Sisters.

A review of the Louis de Sacy Brut Rose Champagne and the Talisker 25 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled in 2005. By Joshua E. London and Lou Marmon Washington Jewish Week  May 15, 2013 We recently had some reasons to rejoice and, as our readers would expect, there were a few bottles opened with family and friends. With a wide range of excellent wines available at all price levels, choosing the best celebratory wines was a bit of a challenge. We started by considering a few wines stashed away for “special occasions” including a couple of vintages of the Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, several wines from Domaine du Castel, Capcanes and Adir as well as some kosher Bordeaux wines. We then looked at some of our favorites from the past year from Golan Heights, Hagafen, Recanati and Dalton. After much contemplation, we ended up opening a bottle of sparkling wine. Sure, it is a bit of a cliche. And we have long bemoaned the tendency to save sparklers for merely special occasions. Their variable flavor profiles range from sweet to bone dry, from light to full-bodied and from fruit forward to more restrained – all of which make sparklers some of the world’s most food-friendly wines. Since we enjoy sparkling wines throughout the year (try a “blanc de blanc” with an omelet), it seemed okay to pop open an exceptional one to celebrate our blessings. The Louis de Sacy Brut Rose Champagne is produced by a family that has farmed grapes since the 1600s. The winery is named after a distant renowned relative whose bewigged portrait serves as its logo. This non-vintage, gracious and elegant wine opens with strawberry, cherry and floral aromas. The complex frame of spice, green apple and raspberry is accented with minerals, hazelnuts, citrus and blackberries and leads into a bright, long and satisfying finish. Spirits-wise, we had the same dilemma: what to crack open for that special occasion? The immediate answer is, really, anything that underscores that notion of “special” or “distinguished” will service nicely for the moment. So, really, anything that is not your usual libation. If you rarely drink a l’chaim, then having one marks the occasion as special. (Though if you rarely drink a l’chaim, you are probably NOT still reading this.) As we’ve said a great many times before, greater expense does not necessarily translate into better distilled spirits. The higher price-tag does, however, constitute a distinguishing or even elevating characteristic to the spirit, if for no other reason than that the price tag means neither you nor your guests are likely to drink such a whisky all the time. Expense, thus, can instantly convey special status to your beverage simply because the cost takes it out of the sphere of normal or usual. Sometimes the price tag is all about marketing (such as with the more expensive Macallan single malt Scotch whiskies-these are uniformly good whiskies, sometimes even great whiskies, but they are marketed as “luxury” whiskies and priced accordingly). Sometimes the price tag is high to cover the high costs bringing the beverage to market, such as the production or importation of rare spirits or spirits from far away places. If you shop wisely, the high price tag will acquire you something truly special in every sense. Single cask single malt whiskies, for example, are usually the best way to spend a few extra bucks when it comes to whisky. As we’ve noted before, absolutely fantastic single cask, single malts, with minimal marketing nonsense, can be had from the membership-based Scotch Malt Whisky Society (smwsa.com) and from the membership-based Jewish Whisky Company’s Single Cask Nation (singlecasknation.com). In this particular instance, one of us had an addition to the family. As Judaism is simultaneously a family-centered as well as belief-centered religion, a simcha for one Jew is a celebratio

Bacardi Black is a traditional dark rum. As such it achieves a major portion of its flavour, aroma, and colour from the special ingredients (caramel colour for sure) which are added to the final blend prior to bottling. The Black is apparently blended from rums which have been aged up to four years; but, it would be a mistake to believe that the maturation of the rums in the blend have anything but a small role in the rich dark colour we see or the strong collection of aromas that we sense above the glass. Bacardi Black appears to be disappearing from the shelves of the liquor stores in my locale, and even Bacardi has dropped any mention of the product on its US-based website. It appears to have been replaced by Bacardi Select, which is a similar style of rum although I do not know if it is actually the same blend as the Bacardi Black. Although this review is perhaps a little belated, if you click on the following excerpt you can read my full opinion of Bacardi Black: Review: Bacardi Black “… The initial aroma above the glass is full of butterscotch, molasses, vanilla, and candied caramels. There are hints of licorice, some noticeable maple, and sweet sticky canned fruit (apricots and peaches). If I strain my senses, I also sense some dried fruit in the form of currants and dates and perhaps even a touch of cocoa. The aroma is not unpleasant, although there is very little evidence of oak aging in the breezes …” Included in the review is a nice summertime deck drink, the Lemon Cola Cooler. Enjoy the review! Tagged: Bacardi Rum, Black Rum, Cocktails, Dark Rum, Lemon Cola Cooler, Rum Review

A couple of weeks back you might remember me waxing on about the Keys to the Clan minis program (programme, for my friends on the other side of the pond). Here’s the link to the post, just in case you missed it. In short, there have been 48 different Clan minis released into the US market and our friends over at ImpEx were kind enough to send me three minis.  All from a different clan. Thanks to ImpEx, SF and EK for the samples! Being a New Englander and basically growing up knowing this and that person who knew or was related in some way to the Kennedy family (as in JFK, RFK and Teddy of the famous Chappaquiddick incident) and having a life-long crush on Jackie Kennedy Onnassis… I decided to open the Kennedy mini. Note: all of the minis contain the same juice, I just wanted to drink a Kennedy under the table.   Here are my notes: On the nose –  Young yet pleasant.  I know it says single malt but it almost has the vibrancy of a nicer high-malt-content blended Scotch whisky; orange creamsicle, pears, sherbet and the slightest hint of smoke.  (The smoke could be my imagination playing tricks on me.) A bit of pineapple cake in here as well and then some sugary angel food cake.  This is quite the dessert-like dram so far. All this fruit makes me think of Balblair a bit, to be honest. On the mouth – As to be expected with 40% ABV, there’s very little attack upon entry which is just fine for the newbie whisky drinker as it’s quite fruity and very approachable (no burn). That touch of smoke returns, yet the fruit doesn’t go away.  But now there’s something sour in here that I can’t quite place my finger on.  Not offensive, just sour-like. Oat cakes lead us in to the finish… Finish – Shortish finish with slight pepper and that sour element I caught on the palate. In sum – While this is not really a “sit and ponder” sort of whisky, it holds it’s own well enough. All I can picture is 200 Kennedys at a wedding or something like that and toasting to the husband and bride. Mazel Tov, I mean, Kampai, I mean Slainte!! Tweet#call_to_action h4{padding:0px 6px;}The post Keys to the Clan – 50ml mini bottles of Single Malt Scotch Whisky – and now, to taste the whisky! appeared first on JEWMALT WHISKY ? REVIEWS.

The next gen of frozen cocktails moves well beyond the margarita machine. It’s time to treat yourself to this delicious deep-freeze trend.

Eat light and stay cool this summer with this chilled English pea-and-fava-bean soup with Dungeness crab salad.

craig.camp posted a photo:

We’re almost there… just another seven weeks or so to go until Baby P 2013 comes into this world. She’s been so active in Tracie P’s belly that sometimes we feel like she’s already here! I’m certainly not the one who does the heavy lifting at our house these days: Tracie P is such a great mother and a mother-to-be (again), diligently regulating her diet so that she can maximize nutrition in these last months when it becomes challenging for expecting mothers to consume all the calories she needs. In seven weeks or so, the world is going to change for little Georgia P, now seventeen months old. She really doesn’t know what’s about to happen but she loves to kiss and blow raspberries on her mommy’s pancione. After my trip to NYC a few weeks ago, I’m officially grounded for the duration and it’s been wonderful to take over more of the shopping and cooking duties (and it’s SO great not to have to travel). We’re so excited for Georgia P to have a little sister but we’ve also been enjoying these last months as a family of three, with our lives centered on a precious, beautiful, sweet little girl, who’s always ready to share a kiss, a hug, and a smile. They are my tender grapes. And as tough as it can be to get up at 3 a.m. to change a diaper or soothe a teething toddler, my life has never been so rich… I love them so much… Thanks to everyone for the notes of support and the thoughts and wishes! They mean so much to us. Thanks for sharing our joy…