Bourbon Country Kentucky

At the end of March, we will travel to Kentucky Bourbon Country. The bluegrass region of Kentucky is home to dozens of small bourbon producers. It also happens to be a scenic area perfect for biking. We hope to visit three or four distilleries and stay in a bed and breakfast. Do any of you lovely readers have recommendations?

Kinkead Ridge 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

On the night before Valentine's Day we shared a bottle of Kinkead Ridge 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($18)with my mother. We were waiting for the right time to open it because Kinkead Ridge is one of the most "local" wines we have. It's made here in Ohio. That's right, Ohio wine.

Our last experience with Ohio wine was on the drunkard's dream island of Put-in-Bay. The barely fermented grape juice was so sweet and tasteless that we compared it to Kool-Aid. We literally poured out the second half of the bottle because it was undrinkable.

So we approached the Kinkead Ridge 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon with some hesitation. We decanted the bottle and later poured three glasses. The nose was strong with cherry and berry scents. The body was full and well balanced. Color was deep red and clear.

Kinkead Ridge bills themselves as an ultra-premium Estate Bottled wine maker. Based on this initial tasting, we are eager to try more and visit their vineyard sometime soon.

Moral of the story: Drinking local can have surprising results!

Summer Dreams

In a little over 5 months, it will be summer again. I'm not one to usually yearn for June, but today I was. Why? Could be spending the afternoon watching the Ohio State Women's hockey game at the ice rink... or because tonight the temperature is supposed to drop to nearly 0 deg. F... or the frozen Ohio summer strawberries I found in the freezer.

At any rate, when I went to make myself a drink tonight, I wanted to taste summer. So here it is: Summer Dreams

6 strawberries 1 ounce vodka 1/2 ounce orange flavored liquor 1/2 ounce blackberry syrup (homemade if possible)

Muddle strawberries in cocktail shaker. (Better alternative would be to juice and strain the berries.) Add liquors and syrup. Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass.

Stout Comparison

Tonight we are comparing three stout beers: Rogue Chocolate Stout (Oregon), Bell's Special Double Cream Stout (Michigan), and Goose Island Oatmeal Stout (Illinois).

Why these three? They were the only stouts available tonight at the unusually understocked Pace Hi, our nearest fine beer carryout.

First Impressions (head, aroma, and color) Rogue: Clean chocolate smell. Not much hop on the nose. Dark, near black color. Foamiest head. Bell's: Slightly chocolate, dark malt nose. Dark brown, cloudy color. Foamy head that remains throughout the drink.

Goose Island: Malty, medium hopped nose. Black, clear color. Least head that quickly dissipated.

The Drink (taste and palate) Rogue: Strong chocolate and heavy malt flavors with a heavy hop finish. Medium carbonation and light mouth feel. The chocolate was so strong that I asked "Does this have flavoring?" After digging the bottle out of the recycle, we found the ingredients list, including 'natural chocolate flavor'. Over the whole of the beer, the chocolate became overwhelming.

Bell's: Well balanced, mellowed malt and hop flavors. Low carbonation and smooth, easy drinking mouth feel. Like other Bell's beers we've tasted, this one is hard to complain about. Well balanced seems to be the name of their game.

Goose Island: Malty, low hop flavor. Low carbonation and rich creamy mouth feel. (Oatmeal provides this mouth feel every time.) Nice, non-challenging easy to drink stout.

Overall We will not buy the Rogue Chocolate Stout again, instead dreaming of January 1, 2009 when we allow ourselves another purple and orange beauty: Young's Double Chocolate Stout (brewed in the UK). We will choose the Goose Island when we are introducing someone to stout, or want something non-confrontational. It would pair wonderfully with a rich stew or meat dinner. The Bell's was lovely. We will certainly buy the double cream stout when looking for a sweet smooth stout to pair with a dessert or for a special occasion.

RIP Yellow

For her second birthday in September, our daughter was given an aquarium containing two danio fish, whom she quickly named Yellow and Red. This morning while I was cooking breakfast, she poured her milk in the tank. "It looks cloudy," she said. I took the fish out, but sadly Yellow did not survive. (He has not been looking healthy for the last week anyways.) What does this have to do with alcohol?

Well, after Alex came home and we gave Yellow a proper flushing in the toilet, we honored his life with a drink. Here is the recipe for our creation: Yellow Danio, an adaptation of a Delilah.

1 ounce gin 1 ounce citrus ginger flavored vodka 1 ounce orange flavored brandy 1 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce simple syrup

Shake with ice in cocktail shaker and pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with a lemon slice.

The Yellow Danio is pictured at left, in front of the clean tank and Red.

First Toast of 2008

With what did we toast the New Year? Saketinis. Of course Sake is Japanese in origin, but there are several quite nice American sakes available. Most of them come from California. The recipe:

1 ounce vodka (Skyy) 1 ounce sake (Ozeki) 1/4 ounce vermouth (optional depending on your taste)

Shake with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glasses. The taste is very mild and nicely refreshing.

Last Foreign Drinks

We are having some of our last foreign drinks until 2009. Last night we had friends visit from Cincinnati, so we went for something special. First was a very nice Brut Champagne from France followed by an Italian Prosecco (sparkling wine) and finished by Lindeman's Cassis Lambic from Belgium. I also picked up a 4-pack of La Fin Du Monde by Unibroue of Quebec, Canada. I'll miss all these drinks in the coming year, but there are some nice American equivalents. Champagne and Italian sparkling wine - Several excellent sparkling wines are available from the wonderful vineyards in California. Korbel is common, but actually quite good in their Extra Dry variety. It is also not too expensive for those worried about cost.

Belgian Fruit Lambics - Lambic is tricky, and I have had no great success trying to create it in my homebrewing practices. Domestic Lambics are available, but they tend to be fairly different from their European counterparts. A good alternative are any of the fruit wheat beers produced by American breweries. They tend to be less sour, but are fruity and refreshing like a Belgian Lambic.

La Fin Du Monde (End fo the World) - This is a Belgian-style Trippel brewed in Canada. Several US breweries make Belgian Trippels. My two favorites are Ommegang and Allagash. Ommegang is located in Cooperstown, NY, and Allagash comes from Portland, ME. Both breweries distribute their beers widely and maintain excellent quality in their entire product line.