Black Forest Devil

A brand new distributor just showed up the other day. I love small, new distributors because they always have some sort of oddball interesting products that have never been in Maryland before. In this case we are talking about "Black Forest Devil" a traditional German liqueur from a family guarded 200 year recipe of 40 herbs actually from Germany's Black Forest. I guess the importer is hoping that if one traditional German herbal schnapps could be a huge hit in the US (that would be Jagermiester) maybe another one could too. there's even a traditional way to drink it. Set it on fire. Really. You're supposed fill glass (all the way to the brim to keep the rim from getting hot) and then light it (it's 102 proof), once you blow it out the the aroma is supposed to intensify. We only got it in yesterday and we have already sold quite a bit, granted, so far only to employees. But if the enthusiasm of our employees is any guide I am quite confidant that one day will sell it to an actual customer.

Vodka Snobs Are Not Crazy

Not completely crazy anyway. They seem to be responding to the different combinations of ethanol hydrates. "Even in the absence of 'taste' in the traditional sense, vodka drinkers could express preference for a particular structure." Good to know.

Brew Dog Paradox Macallan $13/12oz*****

I'm reposting this because we only have two bottles left if you want to try it now is the time.

There was just one case left in Maryland. Just one. So we bought it. Without ever tasting it. Simply because it was Brew Dog. And then...we tasted it. It's an Imperial Stout aged six months in whisky casks. Not in just any whisky casks but Macallan single malt whisky casks from 1987 that had previously used to age sherry. Wow, just wow. The beer is rich and thick and it almost has the mouth feel of port. for those who were wondering, yes you can taste the Macalan. Let me rephrase that, YOU CAN TASTE THE MACALLAN!! It is without a doubt the most interesting and different beer I have ever tasted in my life. If you are a beer nerd, this is the beer you need to taste before you die. If you are not a beer nerd it's worth becoming one so you can learn to appreciate this extraordinary work of art.

So What Are You Waiting For?

Way back in the year 2000 (which was either the last year of the 20th century or the first year of the 21rst, depending on who you ask) Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher who wrote the Wall Street Journal's wine column got tired of hearing people with a fantastic (and expensive) bottle of wine somewhere in their house refuse to open until an undefined "special occasion" that never seemed to arrive. So they did exactly what you would do in that situation--they created their own holiday. "Open That Bottle Of Wine Night", where the "special occasion" would be opening that wine. They scheduled it for the last Saturday night in February (which means of course that we missed it--but hey, I've only been doing this blog for less that two, weeks cut me some slack). It's a great idea but I don't think it goes far enough, every night is open that bottle of wine night. Hmm, maybe that goes a bit too far--not that I'd be averse to everybody buying a bottle of Duckhorn Vineyards Three Palm Vineyard Merlot 2001 $99 (one of my favorite wines in the world) every night after work, especially if they bought it from me, but what I mean is that people a messing up the price value ratio when they are talking about wine.

Say you you and three or four friends meet a bar or restaurant for couple of drinks to sit around and talk. Each one of you can easily spend 10 or 20 bucks on two or three glasses of wine or mixed drinks. for that kind of money you guys could have bought a bottle Duckhorn and sat around in someone's living room talking with your friends and drinking the best wine any of you have every tasted. Heck for less than $15 dollars per person you could try Chimney Rock Napa Cab. The purpose of wine (kinda like life) is to create memories. And aren't you going to create better memories at someones house drinking a spectacular wine then sitting in some booth somewhere drinking generic beer and eating chicken wings underneath a stuffed moose head that's wearing sunglasses? Well aren't you. So what are you waiting for?

By the way, I am aware that I'm not a disinterested observer in this as I am actually selling the wine we're talking about. But seriously, how many times have you balked at buying a $15 bottle of wine and the next day paid $10 dollars for a glass of wine at a restaurant? Add it up, I think my point will remain valid.

Sbragia Home Ranch Chardonay 2008 $25.99****

Whoa...is this ever a good California Chard. I mean really good. Most California wineries are moving away from the old fashioned oaky style that so many people complain about. But not Sbragia. For a while there is seemed like wineries were competing to see who could make the oakiest, most syrupy, most unbalanced Chardonnay. And people got sick of it and so wineries started changing styles. Well. Sbragia reminds us why that nonsense started--why lesser wineries started too much oak. They were trying to get the opulence, honey and honeysuckle flavors. The difference is those other wineries fail at it while Sbragia succeeds magnificently. 92 points Wine Enthusiast, 92 points Wine News, 92 points Wine Spectator. On sale for $20.99.

Maker's Mark Announces Their First New Product in 50+ Years

I can't wait.

What's New

It's Friday again and we are doing our weekly Friday wine tasting and this Friday we have brand new wines to taste:

Shaya Old Vine Verdejo 2009 $14.99, 90pts. WA---A traditional Spanish white with refreshing minerality and dry fruit notes making this a perfect summer wine.

Botani Moscatel Seco 2008 $17.99, 90pts. W&S---The Moscatel (also known as Muscat) is a grape you may have heard of and tried but only as a sweet desert wine. Botani is not that wine. Oh, it has residual sugar but instead of being sweet it translates into a heavy mouth feel but with reserved citrus notes and a wonder spiciness that lends itself pairing with food wonderfully.

Venta Morales Tempranillo $9.99---An pleasantly inexpensive Tempranillo from Spain (La Mancha to be exact) rich, ripe, and what I like to call "gulpable"---order a pizza, pour it into a water glass and have a great great evening.

Tarima Monastrell $9.99---Did I say pleasantly inexpensive? Well, Tarima is insanely inexpensive. Because this wine is AWESOME. If you've never had a Monestrell (and you should have had a Monastrell before because I push Jaun Gil ($17.99 91pts. WA) on just about anyone that comes into the store. Tarima is just a good and only $9.99! Dark violet notes rich chocolate and one of the best price to value ratios in the store.

Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale 1pt 9.4oz. $11.99 ***

The New York Time had an article the other day about a new trend in craft brewing under the headline "Sour Beer is Risky Business, Starting with the Name" This, just two weeks after I brought in a Flemish Sour Ale that I was just blown away by (Ladies and Gentlemen it is official,...I am a trend-setter). Of all the Sour Ale's I have Monk's Cafe is without a doubt the best. Admittedly, of all the Sour Ale's I have tasted Monk's Cafe is without a doubt the only one I've tasted. Still, having tasted Monk's I am really excited to taste my next one. This just a great and unique style of beer.

Now I'm going to have to pause a moment and agree with the NYT that the word "sour" is problematic when trying to sell this beer to Americans who have never heard of, much less tried the style before. Were I the PR flack for the world brewing industry I might advise them to use the word "tart" instead. But since that isn't a real job much less on I am qualified for I guess we are stuck with "Sour". But anyway "sour" is the traditional word in Belgium and Monk's Cafe is a traditional Belgian ale. Did I mention I was blown away by it? A blend of old and young ales light bodied with an amazing apple cider vinegar aroma and long, very refreshing, sweet and sour (I mean "tart") finish. If you are a beer nerd, TRY THIS BEER.

The Pickleback Cont.

Okay, I'm back and I tried a Pickleback. And it's......not bad. In fact it's actually almost...pretty darn good and really surprisingly (if oddly) refreshing. I tried first the way it was invented as a shot bourbon with a shot of pickle juice as a chaser (also known as a "back", hence the name). Now normally when I drink whiskey neat I do not bother with chasers, first I tend to avoid what is know as "rot gut" so I don't want to obscure the flavors of good spirits and second, I am also quite good at drinking "rot gut" so the whole chaser thing is unnecessary (What can I say? Practice makes perfect). But in the cause of science I changed my normal pattern.

The pickle juice was surprisingly enjoyable, and the salt and herbs of the juice complemented the wood flavors of the bourbon very well. And if I found myself in funky bar in Brooklyn (where it seems to have been invented) I could see myself having quite a few of these. But as I said I'm not much on chasers but, like Max Watman, I do like the occasional cocktail and that's what I was interested in. Max calls it Bourbon and Brine but quite frankly I think Pickleback is such a cool name that I'm just going to keep using it to refer to the mixed drink too (Max is not the boss of me!).

So, here's my recipe:

two parts...bourbon

one part..pickle juice

on the rocks

fantastic

Okay, it's not going to be my new favorite cocktail. But it sure as heck is not going to be my last one either. Try it. You will be surprised how much you like it. And how refreshing it is. This is definitely going into my Summer cocktail rotation.