Gone are the days of the little wife having a cocktail waiting for her hubby after a tough day at the office or the cocktails all day at the office, Mad Men style. Remember the three martini lunch?
Just because we've seen the passing of that excess doesn't mean we don’t enjoy a good cocktail at home. During the week a glass of wine or beer is our usual, but some days a cocktail is what we desire. When friends are over a special cocktail is always on the menu.
Fall is a great time for beer lovers, with all the special beers that are released at this time of year. You have your Oktoberfest Beers, Harvest Beers, and the ever exciting Pumpkin Beers.
Making beer with pumpkin is a practice that goes back to early American colonial times. And while the thought of pumpkin beers may not appeal to you, and frankly some current pumpkin beers are not that good, there are many that are absolutely wonderful like Southern Tier Pumking Ale.You should give it a try.
We had this at one of our favorite beer places, The Shepard and the Knucklehead, in Haloden, NJ, where our waitress took it to the next level with an amazing natural sugar rim. This is what I call a delicious dessert.
You'd think finding a very good cocktail in this state should not be hard, but when you've been spoiled with world champions like New York City's Employees Only, Pegu Club, Flat Iron and the like it is a self imposed hardship.And, sadly many NJ bar tenders just don't have the skill to make a credible Martini.
Nevertheless, when Nell and I were looking for a spot for our regular Tuesday night out, which always includes a bar, I started to search. Found a post on Chow.com on "Unique Cocktails in NJ" that mentioned a good bartender and mixologist, Andrew, at Park West Tavern in Ridgewood, NJ.
I checked out the Park West web site, cocktail menu looked intriguing. We were on our way.
Cocktails were great and so was the atmosphere, service and food. We'll be back.
You know how much we love the High Line, it just keeps getting better and sadly on weekends often very crowded. We like to visit during the week or in the evening when it could not be better, short of more gentle sunny days and balmy dry nights.
One great new addition is Terroir at “The Porch” the latest outpost of the great East Village restaurant, Hearth. This is a sincere extension of their Terroir wine bars. There are now five around town.
Hanging over 10th Avenue with a view of the river and Hudson River Park, it is an outdoor oasis for great beer, food and wine. We took a day off on Monday and treated ourselves to a great lunch here.
I am beginning to think that Italian winemakers are very set on conquering the world of vino commercializzazione (wine marketing). It seems every month there is another contingent of winemakers here from one of Italy's many many unique wine regions.
Like a steady flow of loving Roman Legions they are slowly but surely magnifying their place in the world and luckily for us New York City is one the most important battlefronts. You see, while we enjoy greater access to a broad variety of Italian wines here than perhaps anywhere else, there are still very special wine regions we are missing.
Case in point, the tiny DOC region called Carignano del Sulcis in south western corner of the isle of Sardinia. This week I had the opportunity to learn that truely exceptional wine is made there.
Aging makes so many good things better, steak, wine, whiskey, cheese. Barrel aging is even better especially when it comes to Beer, it is so, hmmm what’s the word? Regal. The wood, the fire char, and the liquor that soaked the barrels before the beer add vast dimensions of flavor to beer. Case in point is this magnificent Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout that my good friend Will gave me for my birthday. Thank you will.
Anderson Valley Brewing Company is the highly regarded and very popular Boonville, California brewery and tap room. It sits in sensually beautiful region of California once inhabited by the Pomo Tribe which had a native language called Boontling that is still spoken by a few residents. AVBC has maintained a great respect for the land and nurtures their environment with great care using solar power, recycled materials, and goats to mow some of their pristine grounds.
For this beer they teemed up with the makers of Wild Turkey Bourbon to create a masterful beverage that you can enjoy alone or with many different foods. I had mine with some simple cheese, sliced turkey, grain mustard and Utz pretzels, very satisfying, and this beer would be magnificent, with grilled steak, bbq ribs, hearty chili or a robust stew or soup. It is reach in flavor but not overwhelming, well balanced and tasty to the last drop. The brewer suggests beef sliders with caramelized onions, pulled pork tacos, beer float with vanilla bean ice cream. I am definitely down with that last item.
The beer is made in a traditional stout fashion with well roasted barley, and malts including Pale Two-Row, Crystal , Munich, Chocolate, Oats as well fabulous Columbus and Northern Brewer hops. Anderson uses the best quality ingredients, the beer is then aged for three months in barrels that were used to age Wild Turkey Bourbon. The unique processes used to make this bourbon lend to the smooth flavors of this beer. Another treat is the elegant ebony and mahogany colors that are a pleasure to gaze.
There are many barrel aged beers and their popularity is made obvious by the fact that they many barrel aged beer festivals around the country are immediately sold out.
Want to be Badass, next time you are at your favorite bar, ask if they have any barrel aged beers. The bartender and your fellow drinkers will look upon you with awe and admiration. And either you will get a fabulous drink or be able to say with reproach, “Well Why Not?”
Men’s Journal suggests 6 Barrel-Aged Beers to Try Here including Brooklyn Black Ops, a personal favorite. Other greats are Elevation’s, of Colorado, Oil Man an Imperial Stout also aged in Bourbon barrels and others from that state, Four big barrel-aged Colorado beers to look for. We love Colorado beers.
In July of 2011, spirits from around the world descended on America’s most soulful city as Tales of the Cocktail® returned to New Orleans.
We are very excited to congratulate one of our favorite NY cocktail bars Employees Only for winning these awards:
Tales of the Cocktail is always held in July at various locations throughout the French Quarter. Some of the best-known local mixologists and noted bartenders from around the country assemble to shake, stir and pour their colorful concoctions.
Continue reading "Congratulations to One of Our Favorite Bars, Employees Only, New York City" »
Touring a good brewery is the grown-up version of touring Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Actually, it's far superior, because instead of crazy magical candy and violent lessons in morality from a reclusive lunatic, you get beer. And oftentimes food. Good food. And did we mention the beer? These seven breweries make us want to sneak in a cot and set up camp behind the fermenting tanks for good. Read more at Made Man.