Konzelmann Estate Winery Vidal Icewine, 2008 Vintage

Recommended!

• Pear and olive
• Rich; tropical fruit and sweet apricot
• Pears and honey; sweetness lingers

Canadian wine from the Niagara Peninsula, may be difficult to get in US; 10% ABV.

Over the New Years break, we hosted a lovely Canadian couple at DnU HQ. Polite Canadians that they were, they brought down a bottle of Konzelmann Estate Vidal Icewine. Icewines are generally sweet dessert wines made from grapes picked after the first frost. Due to the unique process, these wines are expensive and often bottled in thin 375 ml bottles. As dessert wines, they’re served in smaller portions, and–get this–served with sweet dishes.

Vidal Icewine in a 375 ml bottle, just enough for one fun night.

Konzelmann Estates is not easy to find in American wine shops, but it is available online to ship to the US. Or one could just get their Canadian friends to bring a bottle down from the Great White North.

Not only is champagne fun to drink, but it’s a lot like a celebration in a glass. Even if you have nothing in particular to celebrate, it makes you feel like you do, and there’s nothing wrong with that. And while I have no problem drinking champagne straight up–and occasionally with a straw– it’s always fun to get creative. So add whatever you like, but here’s a breakdown of what I consider some highly successful and yummy creative champagne concoctions.

Popular Concoctions

These are some champagne fan-favorites. For those of us who love champagne (me!) or just simply don’t like beer (me too!), these creative, festive drinks are especially fun. There seem to be many variations, and new versions get added each New Year, but here’s a brief list of my all-time favorite favorites. If you haven’t tried one of these yet, I suggest you get started!

1. Poinsettia: Chilled champagne, about 3 oz cranberry juice (or POM is also yummy), a splash of triple sec or Cointreau. I’ve also heard a variation of this called a Pretty Woman (maybe because if you drink too many, you might end up in a bandeau tube dress in Richard Gere’s hotel room?).
2. Bellini: 2 oz peach juice or puree, 4 oz champagne–the colder the better so I suggest pre-freezing the peach juice in ice cube trays.
3. Frozen Bikini: Add 2 oz vodka, 2 oz peach schnapps, 3 oz peach nectar, 2 oz orange juice, splash of lemon juice to a chilled glass, then fill the rest of the way with chilled champagne. Drop in a strawberry if you’re feeling especially sassy.
4. New York City (AKA: Metro): 4 oz chilled champagne, 1 oz vodka, a splash lime juice, a splash Cointreau, and a splash cranberry juice. You’ll be singing New York, New York in no time.
5. Blushing Bride: Chilled champagne, peach schnapps, and grenadine.

Nameless (and faceless) Concoctions

Here’s a list of concoctions I’ve come up with on my own over the years; although, since everything old is new again, others have probably concocted the same or similar versions. Fair warning: These are simple but powerful!

1. Equal parts X-Rated Fusion liquor (it’s pink and sort of tastes like pink grapefruit juice) and pink champagne (Barefoot bubbly is my fave).
2. Champagne with just a splash of grenadine (or cherry syrup) and a lime twist (or squirt of lime juice if you don’t feel like twisting). I almost always love the taste of lime and cherry mixed together.
3. Champagne Jell-O Shots: These are popular and there are a ton of different recipes available. Here’s mine: Add 1 six-ounce box Jell-O (any flavor, I like strawberry with pink champagne or grape with white champagne) to 2 cups boiling water, stir until dissolved, and add 2 cups cold champagne. I use a turkey baster to divide the concoction into tiny cups–thin plastic cups or double up paper cups, which can be found at any party store. Chill to set. For stronger shots, add just 1 cup of boiling water, then add an extra cup of champagne once solution dissolves.
4. Chilled champagne is perfect all alone, but I like to add fruit–grapes or strawberries are perfect additions–and even a ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract to make simple champagne even better! Fruit is good for you!
5. Raspberry–or any fruit flavored–vodka and champagne. I don’t measure when I do this, but if I did it would probably be about a 1:2 ratio, give or take. So easy; so go easy.

Champagne Punch:

Great for parties of 2 or more, here’s a sampling of awesome punches I’ve discovered. Bust out your fancy punch bowl, or perhaps a less risky shatter-proof Tupperware or basic plastic bowl if your parties tend to get wild, and get to spiking!

1. Classic Champagne Punch: Add a 2-liter bottle of ginger ale, a bottle of champagne, and a container of orange sherbet into punch bowl, and serve.
2. Pink Punch: A bottle pink champagne, two containers frozen pink lemonade concentrate, two containers frozen cranberry or fruit juice concentrate, one bottle of chilled red wine, a quart of chilled club soda, and ice cubes.
3. Hawaiian Punch: A 2-liter bottle Hawaiian Punch, 2 cups Malibu rum, 1 cup Southern Comfort, a bottle of champagne, a 2-liter bottle of pineapple soda, a jar of maraschino cherries, a bag frozen pineapple (cubed), and ice cubes. Note: coconut shell bikini and grass skirt optional.
4. Sucker Punch: A bottle of champagne, 1 cup of vodka (vanilla flavored is nice in this), 1 cup of tequila, 1 cup of rum, 2 cups peach schnapps, one container frozen orange juice concentrate, one container frozen pineapple juice concentrate, one container frozen cranberry juice concentrate, two liters of tonic water, and ice cubes. Add club soda if the punch tastes too sweet.
5. Margarita Punch: A bottle of champagne, 4 cups blanco tequila, 4 cups triple sec, a bottle of either lime margarita mix or sour mix, two liters of lemon lime soda, 1 cup agave nectar (if available), 1 cup lime juice, 4 limes (sliced and quartered), and crushed ice. Serve in margarita glasses with salted or sugared rims as an option.

Champagne Floats

Add a scoop of mashed, sliced, or diced frozen strawberries, peaches, pineapples, grapes or berries to champagne, and it’s almost like a delicious, nutritious, fizzy dessert! Prep the fruit in advance, store in freezer bags and keep frozen until needed. It’s also fun to add a spoonful of sorbet—any flavor, I like raspberry—or water ice to a glass of your favorite bubbly. It’s kind of like a party punch, but for a party of one.

“My-mosas”

Who doesn’t love mimosas? I often joke with my brunch buddies and say they should be called “moremosas,” because I like them so much. Occasionally, instead of adding orange juice to champagne, I like to add any one of the following: mango nectar—it’s thick so just a splash will do; Welch’s grape juice—it’s like grape soda, only better; V-8 Splash—why not drink your veggies?; or cranberry juice—yummy, festive and good for the kidneys.

Born Again Virgins

Non-alcoholic “champagne” concoctions can be made by substituting anything fizzy (e.g., tonic water, ginger ale, sparking grape juice) for the champagne. I call these “Born Again Virgins.” When I host a party, I like to serve both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options so everyone can join in on the fun. It’s a nice way to include your designated drivers, people who can’t or don’t drink, pregnant and nursing women, and even kids/teens. Remember: You don’t need alcohol to have fun!

If you come up with or come across new yummy champagne or mock-champagne concoctions or cocktails, please share them by leaving a comment. I’d love to add more bubbly fun to my list.

Most importantly, please be safe and responsible! If you’re going to drink, don’t drive.

This article was adapated, with permission, from Toast(ed), by Valerie Zane. Valerie is a writer, blogger, and fellow imbiber. More of her writing can be found on www.valeriezane.com and on Facebook.

Singapore Sling

• 1.5 oz London dry gin
• .5 oz cherry liqueur
• .25 oz Cointreau or triple sec
• .25 oz Benedictine
• 4 oz pineapple juice
• .5 oz lime juice
• .33 oz grenadine
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients into shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an ice filled Collins glass. Garnish with cherry and slice of pineapple.

The next cocktail is simpler, but calls for Lichido liqueur, a French liqueur made from vodka, lichee and guava essence, Cognac, and white peach juice. If it isn’t available at your local liquor store, you can substitute lychee liqueur. The lychee is a nut that looks like a strawberry, but opening the shell reveals a white, sticky, sweet fruit. It’s been used throughout Asian cultures for millennia.

Red Lotus

• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1.5 oz Lichido (or lychee) liqueur
• 1 oz. cranberry juice

Combine ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an ice filled highball glass, and garnish with a lotus flower that you undoubtedly have laying around.

For Asian fusion fans, there’s the Negroni, which is Italian in flavor, but the color of Chinese New Year.

Negroni

• 1.5 oz sweet vermouth
• 1.5 oz Campari
• 1.5 oz London dry gin

Combine ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an ice filled highball glass, and garnish with an orange wheel.

Of course, we’ve made our own red creations: Hurricane Punch; Bloody Mary/Bloody Maria; and my own Melba’s Cranjack.

As part of Chinese New Year, it is a tradition to make peace and forget all grudges. So get out there, gather your friends together, put a glass in their hands, and wish them all health and happiness!

Samuel Adams 2011 Infinium

Recommended!

• Malty
• Malty and effervescent
• Mild sweetness

10.3ABV; limited availability

We ended 2011 with Samuel Adams, and we’ll start this year with a triple review of more offerings from the Boston brewery. A quick note about the 2012 Infinium, which tastes slightly different than last year, where I rated it “Enjoyable.” The 2011 vintage is maltier and richer—still very effervescent, and not as cidery as last year’s. The richer flavor pushes this year’s vintage into “Recommended!” territory; although, bottles are still fairly expensive, my major complaint last year.

High marks, too, for the 2011 Beer Lover’s Choice winner, Mighty Oak Ale, available in the Brewmaster’s Choice 12-packs. My only quibble with this beer is that there are just two of them in each pack. Samuel Adams ages the beer in oak barrels, giving the ale subtle notes of vanilla and caramel. It’s also malty, not overly so, and the hops—including my favorite to say, “Fuggles“—are perfectly balanced. I would dare say that they took one of their unjustly unsung varieties, the little-seen-outside-of-Boston, Boston Ale, and aged it in an oak barrel just to see what would happen. The color of the oaked ale is similar to Boston Ale, dark reddish amber, and they share the same rich backbone.

Mighty Oak Ale, photo by Mrs. Ferment

Since then, Sam Adams tweaked the name to Mighty Oak Ale, but the recipe remains the same. It’s a rich, malty ale with those notes of vanilla. I was reminded of Innis and Gunn barrel-aged beers, but where Innis and Gunn is super-aggressive with the flavor of the vanilla and caramel esters, the Mighty Oak Ale is subtle, not sweet. I’m enjoying the Mighty Oak Ale and surely buying another 12-pack of the Brewmaster’s Choice to get a couple more.

And when I do get that 12-pack, I’ll also have two more Alpine Spring bottles, which are also conveniently sold in their own 6- and 12-packs, as Alpine Spring is now the spring seasonal from Samuel Adams. Alpine Spring, a lager, contrasts nicely with the Mighty Oak Ale. Alpine Spring is pale yellow and effervescent, has a spicy hoppiness, and has the aroma of a classic German Marzen—referred to by Melba as “the bong-water smell.” It’s not too spicy, though. Most of the hops are bound up in the nose and not on the tongue. I’ll admit that I prefer it that way.

Alpine Spring, photo by Mrs. Ferment

There might be other beers in the Brewmaster’s Collection. If I get beyond the Alpine Spring and Mighty Oak Ale, I’m sure to write about it.

Samuel Adams Griffin’s Bow

Essential!

• Carmel, esters of apple and honeysuckle
• Sharp with a burst of spice and brown sugar, apple
• Bitter and smooth

Limited edition brew in 22 oz. bottles. 11.5% ABV

Where has this been all my life?

I continue to be impressed by the beers Samuel Adams puts out. I know many of my fellow craft-beer aficionados are a bit reluctant to admit enjoying Sam Adams, but I find it to be one of the most consistently excellent craft brewers. Samuel Adams has obviously managed its growth very well. The latest proof of this is their limited edition Griffin’s Bow.

I'm Welsh, too, so I mean, I have to like something called Griffin's Bow

Okay, caveat: This is a barleywine. All barleywines are bitter from their malts, as well as getting bitterness from the hops. They’re sharper than most beers, and some folks who dig IPAs or dry hopped beers still don’t like barleywines because of the bitterness. But folks who enjoy dubbels or Trappist beers would probably enjoy a barleywine. Barleywines are on the intermediate level of beer enjoyment.

Having said that, I’d still recommend Griffin’s Bow to those that haven’t enjoyed other barleywines. The barrel-aging and unique brown sugar flavor to this beer may be a perfect entry into the challenging barleywine family.

But back in 1821, Pierce Egan was looking for a way to popularize his new play when it came over to America. He added brandy to a traditional eggnog recipe, warmed it, and called it the Tom and Jerry. This drink became a huge fad in the young America, and remained that way until Prohibition where it became a bit too complicated for the speakeasies. In 1932, Damon Runyon wrote “Dancing Dan’s Christmas,” where he describes the Tom and Jerry:

This hot Tom and Jerry is an old time drink that is once used by one and all in this country to celebrate Christmas with, and in fact it is once so popular that many people think Christmas is invented only to furnish an excuse for hot Tom and Jerry, although of course this is by no means true.

In 2010, Mrs. Ferment read “Dancing Dan’s Christmas” and asked me to make one. But we lost some enthusiasm when we read the recipes for it the drink included undercooked eggs. Here’s Martha Stuart’s recipe for six servings:

There are proper stemmed mugs for this, but surrounded by Christmas tree lights, our only clear mug full of Tom and Jerry looks festive.

Tom and Jerry

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3.5 oz. of dark rum
• 3 Tbs sugar
• .25 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground allspice and clove
• 1.5 cups of milk
• 6 oz. brandy
• Fresh grated nutmeg, for garnish

Whisk egg yolks with .5 oz. of rum and all the sugar. Stir in cinnamon, allspice, and clove. Whisk egg whites with an electric mixer in another bowl until egg whites are stiff. Gently but thoroughly fold whites into yolk mix. Meanwhile, heat milk in small saucepan until simmering. Divide egg mixture amongst six mugs, about .25 cup each. Slowly pour .5 oz. of rum into each mug, stirring constantly to avoid curdling, then add 1 oz. of brandy. Pour .25 cup of hot milk into each much and top with nutmeg. Serve immediately.

Now, despite the undercooked eggs, this is a great recipe to start with, and the recipe allows for more milk, which, when we eventually braved making it, we totally needed. It’s very strong with over 1.5 oz. of alcohol per mug. We found a balance with a bit less brandy and more milk, which meant equal amounts of rum and brandy (.5 oz. each) and at least .5 cup of milk. The creamier the milk the better, so I heartily recommend whole milk.

But about those eggs. Well, we tried to find pasteurized whole, fresh eggs, but we couldn’t, even at our local Whole Foods. So we followed two other rules-of-thumb, which I DO NOT RECOMMEND to anyone, anywhere, because there is no way to know if eggs are tainted with Salmonella, according to the FDA. However, my feeling is that cage-free chickens don’t lay Salmonella-tainted eggs, since cage-free chickens don’t eat their own shit. Mrs. Ferment believes that the alcohol will prevent Salmonella from blooming in the gut. There’s some support for this. Again, I do not recommend anyone rely on these. The FDA doesn’t want anyone eating eggs that haven’t been brought to 160°F. Eggs and alcohol have had a long tradition of going together—any drink that was called “Fizz” had egg whites to create the foam. But since the Salmonella scare, that tradition has been lost.

Yet the Tom and Jerry is quite delicious, if one is daring enough to make it. Our first serving was the high-octane recipe, which was creamy, rich, and was perfectly winter-friendly. The spices were warming but not overpowering. When there was less brandy in the second serving, the rum and brandy nicely sweetened the drink. We couldn’t make ourselves drink our third serving, because we were already tipsy and full. The remaining egg mixture, known as the batter, kept in the fridge, which I combined with milk, cold, and microwaved for two minutes the next day. It was creamy and custardy.

There’s eggnog aplenty on our grocery shelves, but the Tom and Jerry is unique in flavor and a great treat to make and serve, as long as one is willing to trust his fresh eggs.

Sam Adams Black & Brew

Recommended!

• Coffee and cocoa
• Mild bitterness, subtly sweet coffee, chocolate overtones
• Sweet and mild

Seasonal available in the 2011 Samuel Adams Winter Collection

Coffee in beer isn’t as odd as it may initially seem. I initially dismissed the idea of it when it was presented in The Drew Carey Show as Buzz Beer, possibly the first popularization of a micro/craft brew on television. At that time, I felt that adding caffeine to beer was a recipe for disaster as it would make drinkers feel more awake while being just as sloshed. Of course, now in the days of Four Loko, the idea of adding coffee to beer seems quaint.

It's a dark stout. Photo by Mrs. Ferment.

The stout is rich and dark and has slight bitter tones, which would be expected from both a stout and coffee, but Samuel Adams makes Black & Brew easily palatable, and the bitter is mild. Like their Chocolate Bock, more of the flavor comes out when it is served a bit warmer than the fridge will make it, so it may be beneficial to keep it out a half-an-hour or so before pouring. Also like their Chocolate Bock, Black & Brew is a seasonal beer, and is currently available only in the Winter Collection 12-pack. To add the Black & Brew, Samuel Adams removed something that I can’t remember. Possibly the White Ale, which is no longer in this collection? I don’t remember, but the Black & Brew is definitely a winner, so I think we’ve gained on this season’s collection.