Keep Your Spirits Up - Cocktails, Alcohol Reviews & News

Great News! Researchers say: 'Moderate Alcohol Consumption Can Help Prevent Heart Disease'

2011-02-23T06:40:00.000-05:00

From the BBC:

Alcohol in moderation 'can help prevent heart disease'

"An alcoholic drink a day can help keep heart disease at bay, according to a review of 30 years of research.

The work, published in the British Medical Journal, showed a 14% to 25% reduction in heart disease in moderate drinkers compared with people who had never drunk alcohol.

Another article, by the same Canadian research group, showed alcohol increased "good" cholesterol levels... For many years, studies have suggested that drinking alcohol in moderation has some health benefits.

Scientists at the University of Calgary reviewed 84 pieces of research between 1980 and 2009.

One unit of alcohol in the UK, equivalent to half a pint of normal beer, contains 8g of pure alcohol.

This review showed that the overall risk of death was lower for those consuming small quantities of alcohol, 2.5g to 14.9g, compared with non-drinkers. The researchers also say regular moderate drinking reduced all forms of cardiovascular disease by up to 25%."

So I guess this means "bottoms up" ... in moderation of course ;)

¡Ay Dios Mio! The Worlds Most Expensive Tequila Up For Auction?

2010-11-30T08:24:00.000-05:00

Last month we mentioned the worlds most expensive whisky. Well this month is Tequila month at KYSU, ~~we'll try to get some tequila based cocktails and reviews in this December~~. *Update* we'll try to get some tequila based cocktails and reviews ASAP.

According to The Luxist a special bottle of tequila is supposed to be auctioned off in London, with the hopes that it will go for a bid of $3.5 million.The previous price record for a bottle of tequila was $225,000 for a bottle also made by La Capilla.

The Tequila called "The Law of the Diamond" or in Spanish "La Ley Del Diamante", crafted by by the Tequilera Hacienda La Capilla, comes in a diamond encrusted bottle. There are supposedly more than 4,000 diamonds in the bottle and about 2 1/2 kilos of Platinum, making this one heavy bottle of tequila (in more ways than one), weighing in at approximately 8 kilos.

Oh, and yes, it is a 100% agave tequila. No Mixtos here.

All I have to say is just wow! $3.5 could buy a lot of bottles of many other great tequilas but I guess that bottle must make a nice center piece. Just hope that your wife doesn't throw out the bottle when it's finished.

Is Grey Goose's Goose Cooked?

2010-10-31T08:58:00.000-04:00

Looks like the "Grey Goose Effect" might hopefully be wearing off, due unfortunately, to the current economic situation:

According to an article I came across today in the Hartford Business Journal Online Vodka trends are beginning to reflect the recession.

"Make mine a Vodka martini, but hold the Grey Goose.

Even liquor gets impacted by the economy with consumers searching out the best values when they head to their local liquor stores. That's why importers and distributors are targeting the retail market with super-premium vodkas at popular prices.

Case in point would be Wodka, a Polish vodka imported by Panache Imports of Brooklyn and distributed in Connecticut by Ace Distributing, a seven-year-old Plainvile company.

Panache president James Dale likes to brag that the days of people paying too much for overpriced Grey Goose that costs "for $50 a liter are over." His Wodka vodka costs about $13 a liter."

Later the article goes on to say that "people are sick of overpaying", us consumers can only hope that we will at least benefit from a new trend: quality spirits for a normal price.

Cachaca Review: Ypioca Ouro and Cachaca 61

2010-10-28T18:27:00.000-04:00

Today we are going to review two different kinds of Cachaca. Not only are they from different brands but they are different styles. One being gold, or ouro in Portuguese, which is usually aged. The other is Silver or Prata, usually, but not always, un-aged. Both are industrial brands. Gold Cachaca is more for sipping and silver is usually used in caipirinhas and Batidas.

We'll start with the Prata: Cachaca 61 is produced by Missiato in São Paulo, Brazil. Cachaca 61 should not be confused with Cachaca 51. Both are named after the year of the brands origin. 61 is 40% abv.

It is crystal clear, absolutely no color. This one has a sweet but strong smell of alcohol, grapes and figs and bit dusty. Its initial taste is slightly lost by the "heat" of the alcohol, powdered sugar followed by pepper.

Score: 79

Now let's move on to the Ypioca Ouro (ee-pee-oka) is produced by the Ypioca group in Ceará, Brazil. According to the label Ypioca ouro has been aged for two years. Ypioca is 39% abv.

Pale, faded gold. In the aroma the alcohol is not as overpowering as the 61. Sweet grape aroma, banana and rosted nuts, praliné. Soft, gentle, caramel, praliné, fruits with a hint of pepper lingering on the tongue.

Score: 89

Now I truly understand why ouro is mainly for sipping and prata for mixing. Although I have tried both sipping the prata and mixing the ouro, the prata is a bit too rough and hot to be sipped where as the ouro is understated when mixed into a caipirinha.

Either way if you are a fan of Rhum Agricole, Daiquiris, Mojitos etc... you should give Cachaca a try by sipping an ouro or with some prata in a caipirinha or batida.

Saúde!

Cocktail: The Stork Club

2010-10-21T19:04:00.000-04:00

I assume that this cocktail, like its cousin who we reviewed earlier this week, The Pegu Club, was named after the club it was created in: The Stork Club. This cocktail is almost identical to The Pegu, except this one has some orange juice in it, the gin and cointreau are scaled back a bit and it is garnished with an orange twist instead of lime. I give you the Stork Club courtesy of Robert Hess:

The Stork Club

1 1/2 oz Gin

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 oz Orange Juice

1/4 Lime Juice

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel.

Very refreshing like The Pegu Club.

Cheers!

Video: Drinking and Driving Don't Mix!

2010-10-20T09:55:00.000-04:00

In my previous post, The Pegu Club Cocktail, I mentioned the renowned mixologist Salvator Calabrese, which reminded me of a funny commercial involving him making a cocktail while being driven by Formula 1 racer Michael Schumacher.

Here it is! Enjoy.

Pegu Club Cocktail

2010-10-19T18:32:00.000-04:00

Recently I stocked up on fresh limes and I have been trying to find new ways to use them in cocktails, like we did last week here at Keep Your Spirits Up with the Caipirinha. Usually, when I find a new ingredient that I am interested in using in a cocktail, be it a spirit, fruit or anything else, I search for recipes by ingredient in one of three places:

The Internet Cocktail Data Base: CocktailDB
Robert Hess' site: Drink Boy
"Classic Cocktails" by Salvatore Calabrese

After Plugging in lime I came across the usual suspects: The Margarita, The Daiquiri, Kamikaze, etc... Then one of them caught my eye... The Pegu Club Cocktail.

The Pegu Club Cocktail

The reason that the Pegu stood out for me is because in addition to lime juice it contains two ingredients which I really enjoy together: Gin and Cointreau (swappable w/ Triple sec & Curacao). In the past here at keep your spirits up we have wrote about at least two other cocktails which use those two ingredients: The Corpse Reviver #2 & The Jasmine Cocktail, both of which I recommend my readers and fellow cocktail enthusiasts try.

The Pegu Club Cocktail was invented at The Pegu Club (no, really?!), a Victorian style Gentlemen's club in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar). You know, where Rambo 4 takes place and kills half the country. This club was created for British Army officers and civilians after the British annexation of Burma in 1885 and was one of the most renowned clubs in Southeast Asia mentioned by Rudyard Kipling in his novels. There are many different recipes for this cocktail but below I am providing you with Robert Hess' recipe.

The Pegu Club Cocktail

2 ounces of gin
3/4 ounce of orange curaçao (or Triple Sec)
1/2 ounce of lime juice
dash of Angostura Bitters
(dash of orange bitters)

Stir with Ice. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime twist.

According to Hess if you don't have one of the bitters you can still make this cocktail but he himself feels that it will be lacking. I only used Angostura bitters because I do not have orange bitters at the moment.

People have claimed that this cocktail's taste is reminiscent of that of grapefruit juice, I am not sure if that is how I would put it. I felt that The Jasmine Cocktail tasted a lot closer to grapefruit juice. The Pegu was sweet, sour and bitter all at once. It is an excellent thirst quencher for hot or warm nights. Make sure to give this one a try.

Cheers!

What's Your Recipe for Homemade Baileys?

2010-10-18T11:33:00.001-04:00

Recently I had a wonderful homebrew of Baileys Irish Cream. Some searching brought up this recipe from Chowhound. It looks pretty good, and I think I'll give it a try.

For those that know and enjoy Baileys, what's your favorite homebrew recipe?

Missing: The Worlds Oldest Whisky

2010-10-18T08:50:00.000-04:00

I was pondering yesterdays article about the worlds most expensive whisky when I came across another interesting article.

According to the Luxist, the worlds oldest whisky, a 70 year old malt bottled by Gordon and MacPhail from the Mortlach Distillery in Dufftown has disappeared at the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival.

This 70 year old whisky was bottled in very limited quantities. A 700 ml bottle fetched about $16,000 and there were also a few 200 ml sample bottles which were going for around $6,000 a piece.

The Importer, Symposion International, thinks that it was stolen towards the end of the show and is asking for help tracking it down. We wish them good luck in finding it.

I wonder what all these 60 and 70 year old spirits taste like?! They better be really darn good but even so $16,000-$160,000 a bottle is just insane. You'd have to be out of your mind or just have so much spare cash just lying around... *sigh*.

Sláinte!

The most expensive whisky in the world?

2010-10-17T04:26:00.000-04:00

According to the National Post, Dalmore has just sold two bottles of its Trinitas 64 year old whisky for £100,000 (or in US Dollars ~$160,000) per bottle. These are supposedly the first bottles of whisky to be sold for six figures. One bottle was sold to someone in the US and the other to someone in the UK, the third and last bottle will be sold at a whisky show in London in October.

The distillery claims that if this whisky were to be sold by the glass it would go for about $32,000. Plus, if you do buy this whisky you get a cabinet with documents that prove the stuff is real as well as a lock and key so your friends can't down the stuff when you let your guard down to go to the bathroom.

Man oh man! That better be some damn good whisky, cause if it isn't it just proves the Grey Goose Effect to the X power.

Bottoms up!

Weekend Cocktail: The Caipirinha

2010-10-14T18:31:00.000-04:00

Last time we left off we had spoken about Cachaca. The most famous cocktail which utilizes Cachaça and happens to be the national cocktail of Brazil is the "Caipirinha". This cocktail is a good gateway drink to experience Cachaça, which may be hard to find, but, if you can get your hands on some Cachaca all you need is sugar, a lime, some ice, a low-ball glass & a muddler.

There are tons of recipes out there in regard to the proportions so I would like to share two which I have tried and enjoyed.

The first is from a book my wife got me as a birthday present, it is called "Classic Cocktails" by Salvatore Calabrese ("The Maestro"), who claims to be "one of the worlds leading bartenders".

Salvatore Calabrese's Caipirinha:

50 ml Cachaça
1 small fresh lime
1 1/2 spoons of powdered sugar (I used granulated)

Carefully wash the lime and remove the tips from the top and bottom, to remove some of the pith. Cut the lime in to wedges (going from top to bottom). Place the lime wedges and sugar in a low ball cup and muddle the lime so the juice comes out and mixes with the sugar until it is dissolved. Add the Cachaca and Ice (I like to crush my ice cubes) and stir. Place a straw in it and your ready to go.

According to "Drink Boy" Robert Hess:

2 ounces of Cachaça
2 tablespoons of sugar
Half of a whole lime quartered

Same as above but stir after adding the Cachaca and stir again after adding the ice.

Additionally, according to Hess: "if Cachaca is unavailable in your are you can substitute it with a good white rum". I dunno about this, with out Cachaca its not really a Caipirinha, more like a Daiquiri. Maybe if you use a rhum agricole like we spoke about in last post it would be some what closer. Still... Rum and Cachaca are different, the later is aguardente, not rum.

After discovering this cocktail courtesy of my wife it has really grown on me. Recently my wife went out with my sister and ordered a Caipirinha. Either the bartender botched it or had some other recipe that was the the equivalent of Winston Churchill's "dry Martini", where he waved a bottle of vermouth over the glass of gin, just substitute the gin with Cachaca.

I really recommend the Caipirinha to anyone who wants to experiment with Cachaca or who are fans of Mojitos, Daiquiries and rum to give this one a try.

Saúde!

Fun with Cachaca and the Caipirinha Cocktail Part 1

2010-10-07T19:21:00.000-04:00

Hi folks! We are back and gonna be better than evah!

Between papers for college and university plus work it has been very hard to post. Now things are getting back to normal at KYSU so we hope all you loyal fans (if there are any ;) will continue to follow us here

We have not touched on the subject of cocktails for a while on this blog. The last one I reviewed was "The Corpse Reviver". Since I have been away I have been trying some different cocktails which I hope to add soon.

Most recently I fell back in love with the "Caipirinha" after finding Limes in the neighborhood grocery store. Unfortunately by me Limes and good Cachaça are hard to come by. About two years ago I picked up a bottle of Cachaça 61 and tried making a Caipirinha with lemons... just plain wrong. Occasionally I would have some Cachaça & Coke, but as far as sipping goes 61 is an industrial Cachaca and just doesn't cut it. Although it does make a decent Caipirinha.

Some background on Cachaça for those who are not familiar

Picture by Phil Gomes @ cachacagora

Cachaça is the Brazilian equivalent of a rhum agricole. Both of which are made out of fermented sugar cane juice as opposed to molasses, such as rums like Bacardi and Captain Morgan are made.

On a brief side note, recently I had an encounter with rhum agricole thanks to my father and enjoyed it thoroughly. I tasted La Favorite blanc, which is bottled at 50% abv, good for mixing and vieux (aged rhum) 40% abv , and good for sipping. rhum agricole is usually, but not always, made in the French West Indies with La Favorite being made in Martinique.

Which reminds me...

LA COMPAGNIE CREOLE - CA FAIT RIRE LES OISEAUX
Uploaded by rawestern. - See the latest featured music videos.

But back to our issue at hand...Cachaca... Also known as "aguardente de cana" or fire water is produced primarily in Brazil. According to USA TODAY "396 million gallons are consumed in Brazil annually". There are two types of Cachaca: artisanal and industrial as well as Silver (Prata) and Gold (Ouro) the difference has to do with the barrels and aging. Some of the well known industrial brands include: Ypioca (which we plan to review in the near future), Pitu, Cachaca 61 and the famous Cachaca 51 that most are familiar with due to their large market share. These industrial Cachacas are generally more for mixing in Caipirinhas and Batidas and less for sipping, although I have heard that Ypioca Ouro is sip-able. There are many artisanal/premium brands like Leblon, Cuca Fresca, etc... but the ones I'd really like to taste are the home made specialties.

My friend, Marcio from Rio de Janeiro, wants to invite me to try some hand made Cachaca he brought back from a four day trip out to the sticks in the country side of Brazil where the Cachaca is supposedly the best. He's really my kinda guy, I mean four days for some killer Cachaca... Awesome!

Tune in next time for Part 2 "The Caipirinha"...

It's good to be back :)

Anchor Steam Beer

2010-08-08T11:52:00.000-04:00

I recently tried Anchor Steam Beer, and I must say I really enjoyed it.

The worlds priciest beer and burger

2010-02-02T05:53:00.000-05:00

Samuel Adam's Utopias beer will cost you about $150. Is it worth it? I wouldn't pay that much that's for sure. Here is James Norton's review on Chow.com: Let's not forget the worlds most expensive burger, £95 (~ $150):

KYSU linked to on Examiner.com

2010-01-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

Nicholas Krieger, from 'Houston Spirits Examiner', links to our article, "The Grey Goose Effect", in his article Grudge match: Tito's Handmade Vodka vs. Grey Goose Vodka. We are honored here at Keep Your Spirits Up that Mr. Krieger linked to us .

According to Mr. Krieger, Tito's wins out in terms of taste and price in the end:

"With all of the above tallied, Tito's bests Grey Goose in price and taste, but fails to beat Grey Goose in its presentation. The problem with this for Grey Goose is that price and taste are all that matters when a spirit enthusiast goes to purchase a product to enjoy. The clear winner here is Tito's Handmade Vodka. I implore anyone who is biased towards spirits and their perceived quality because of high price or brand recognition alone to please do yourself a favor and try Tito's. "

So, according to this it looks like all that glitters is not gold, Don't judge a book by its cover, etc... To sum up the Grey Goose article, basically go with what you like, and if you like the taste of Grey Goose, well stick with that. Next time your at the checkout counter don't always think that if you pay more you get more for your money. A lot of times all you are paying for is prestige, cooler packaging and expensive advertising campaigns.

Cheers!

After a really long absence... We are back!!!

2010-01-25T08:21:00.000-05:00

We just wanted to let you know that we are back :)

Belgian Beer: Duvel

2009-02-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Hey, We are back!

Duvel is produced by the Duvel Moortgat Brewery (Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat), which was founded in Belgium in 1871. The brewery's best and most renowned product is its Belgian strong golden pale ale: Duvel, which in Brabantian Dutch means Devil. This beer packs a punch at 8.5 ABV. The brewery also purchased the Brasserie d'Achouffe in 2006, which produces La Chouffe. Additionally the Duvel brewery produces a line of abbey beers: Maredsous

According to wikipedia this is how Duvel got its name:

To commemorate the end of World War I, the Moortgats named their main beer Victory Ale. But during the 1920s, an avid drinker described the beer as "nen echten duvel" (a real devil) - perhaps in reference to its formidable alcohol content (8.5% ABV) - and the name of the beer was changed to Duvel.

In any event it is a devilishly good beer and I love the bottle.

All hail to this ~~dark~~ prince of beers.

Presentation- Small brown 330 ml bottle with freshness date on back label.

Appearance- Golden with lively carbonation, a thick foamy white head, excellent retention and a lot of patches of lacing.

Smell- Malty, Grassy, yeast, citrusy.

Taste- Sweet at first balenced by a slightly bitter finish, yeast, malty, fruity with hints of citrus.

Mouth- Light, smooth, crisp and clean.

The bottom line: Duvel is an amazing beer, so enjoyable let it speak for itself. Outta this world.

***** (out of 5 *)

Noilly Prat to change its U.S. formula

2009-02-15T12:51:00.000-05:00

I personally have never tried Noilly Prat, but, for any of our readers here who are fans of this renowned dry vermouth should be aware that its makers are planing on changing their formula in the U.S.. I don't know if this is a wise move by the company. But people always know how to ruin a good thing I guess.

"according to the company, the dry vermouth is merely a return to the "original recipe," which has been the version sold in Europe all along. Unfortunately, the version sold in Europe has never been produced with Martinis in mind...the new Noilly Prat is meant to be "served straight and chilled or on the rocks with a twist of lemon." The company claims to have enhanced "the bouquet, color, and flavor of the wine," producing a "sweet, floral blend." Uh-oh."

For more: Bad News for Martini Drinkers

Belgian Beer: La Chouffe

2009-02-10T06:26:00.000-05:00

The Brasserie d'Achouffe, founded in 1982, is a Belgian Brewery based in Achouffe. In September 2006 the producers of Duvel (which we will be reviewing soon), Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat purchased the Brasserie d'Achouffe.

Brasserie d'Achouffe produces a number of different styles of beers, amongst them are:

Belgian Dark Ale, 6.5% ABV: Chouffe-Bok
Belgian Strong Dark Ale, ranging from 8%-10% ABV: McChouffe, N'Ice Chouffe
Belgian Strong Pale Ale, 8%-8.5% ABV: La Chouffe, Kwelchouffe

This time we tried La Chouffe, Bière blonde D'Ardenne, 8% ABV. This beer is unfiltered, it is re-fermented in the Bottle or Keg.

Presentation: La Chouffe comes in a 750 ml green glass Champagne like bottle with freshness date on back label.

According to wikipedia:

"The beers have gnomes on their label, a play on the town name Achouffe, since Chouffe means gnome or dwarf in a Walloon dialect."

The company website explains why such a large bottle, as La Chouffe only comes in 750 ml and up:

"The size of the bottles encourages people to share the beer with friends and families, which is very sociable!"

and share we did.

Appearance: Cloudy gold with streams of small champagne-like bubbles. A Nice thick, coarse, bubbly white head which leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass.

Smell: Grain, fruity, spice/herbal, yeast, citrus.

Taste: Fruity sweetness which is balanced with the slightly bitter finish, honey, cloves, spicy, citrusy.

Mouth: Bubbly, live carbonation and light bodied, kind of like champagne.

The bottom line: An excellent beer, sweet but not overly-sweet, fruity yet balenced with hints of spice, very enjoyable. Although you may want it all for yourself, you will soon feel the effects of the 8% ABV considering how easilly La Chouffe goes down, so like they said, this one is nice to enjoy with friends and family.

**** 1/4 (out of 5 *)

New Release: Jameson Signature Reserve

2009-02-09T06:40:00.000-05:00

I missed this article, posted back in June '08. Apparently Jameson has released a new whiskey, Jameson Signature Reserve. As of now it is available at duty free shops in England and Ireland. Eventually it will be available across Europe as well. Another newcomer is Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve.

Here is a forum discussing Jameson Signature Reserve, and another article about the release at the "Moodie Report".

If any of you have tried either of these new editions to the Jameson Reserve Series, drop us a line by leaving a comment, let us know what you think about these whiskeys.

A Guide to Belgian Beer

2009-02-06T03:51:00.000-05:00

Over at Chowhound they have an interesting detailed article on Belgian beers:

Belgian Beer Primer: Decoding the world’s most acclaimed (and confusing) brews

Belgian beer has mystique: Some of it’s made by monks. Some of it tastes really, really weird. Some of its labels show elves and devils. People who know beer are sometimes unable to resist blowing huge chunks of cash on it. It is, said famed beer writer Michael Jackson, the “Disneyland of beer.”...

There is more on "How it's served".

“Belgian beer is really about the bottles, not the draft beer,” says Chuck Stilphen, co-owner of the Trappist, a Belgian beer bar in Oakland, California. Nearly all Belgian craft beer is bottle-conditioned. Consequently, in the United States you’ll find most Belgian beers offered in 150 different bottles. bottles. “Belgians on draft tend to be flatter and more one-dimensional,” says the Spuyten Duyvil’s Joe Carroll. When sharing a big bottle, some beer-lovers fight over who gets that last, sludgy shot: The yeast contains lots of vitamin B, which is good for hangovers.

It's worth looking this article over if you like beers in general or are a fan of Belgian beer.

Any way... we will be reviewing some more Belgian beers over here at "Keep Your Spirits Up", including Duvel and La Chouffe. So stay tuned.

Cocktail: The Corpse Reviver

2009-02-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Well all this talk of Pastis has given me a hankering to discover some cocktails which put it to good use. One of my favorite ways to go about discovering new cocktails is by using the Cocktail data base's search engine. Their search engine allows you to enter either a cocktail's name and/or main ingredient, in my case pastis, and then it gives you all the relevant results.

After entering "pastis" in to the engine, I received 293 results. How do I go through all of these results you ask? well each cocktail has the ingredients listed next to it so I go down the list and picked out the ones which I had all of the ingredients for, or at least most of them, then I try to find an adequate substitute for missing ingredient.

Lets see...looking through the results I come across: A La Française, already tried it in the last review. Absinthe American, nah, almost the same as A La Française. I tend to stay away from cocktails with raw eggs, not my bag. Then I saw it, The Corpse Reviver #2. I remembered reading about this cocktail, people raved that it was their favorite, how it has the perfect balance of diverse ingredients. So I thought to my self why not give it a whirl.

I went to check if I had the ingredient for it: Pastis (Phénix), check. Cointreau, check. Gin (Bombay Sapphire), check. Fresh lemon juice, check. Lillet Blanc, nope, but I had Cinzano Extra Dry vermouth on hand. Now, I am sure Cinzano is not the best substitute, and I know someone will say "oh! how could you do that! substituting Cinzano for Lillet is a sacrilege." but hey, that's what I had on hand. I was also missing the cherry for garnish so I used a lemon zest instead.

Now onto some background about the Corpse Reviver:

According to a post by Robert Hess over at spirit world:

"The Corpse Reviver was in truth more of a "family" of cocktails, than an individual cocktail itself. The corpse reviver was no doubt intended as a morning after pick-me-up (aka. Hair of the dog), and besides that, there seems little to provide an indication of what specifically separated such a drink from one of the other well-known categories, such as a cocktail.

Of the various corpse revivers that were once floating about pre-prohibition, only two appeared to pop out the other side, and were listed in Harry Cradock's "The Savoy Cocktail Book", which is where we encounter what he simply listed as "Corpse Reviver #2".

This drink illustrates one of the important aspects of the craftsmanship of a well made drink. The balance of the ingredients listed here is so precarious that each one needs to be carefully measured to make this drink properly. The lemon juice also needs to be fresh, and you can't substitute common triple sec for the Cointreau." (I'm sure he'd disapprove of my substitution of Cinzano for Lillet, but hey, what can you do.)

Jay, over at "Oh Gosh" has more on the subject. His ratio's are the same as the other recipes I've seen so far, Plus he has the "Corpse Reviver #1" recipe.

Corpse Reviver #2

3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc (or in my case Cinzano Extra Dry Vermouth)
3/4 oz lemon juice
According to Hess: 1 drop absinthe (or absinthe substitute, such as Pernod)
According to Cocktail DB: 2 drops (1 dash) Pastis (I made mine according to this version, next time I'll try it according to Hess.)

Shake with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

There are variations on this cocktail in terms of the ratios. If you scale back the lemon juice and cointreau it becomes the "Miracle Cocktail".

This cocktail is complex yet balanced. It is sweet, sour and Bitter. There are the sour notes from the lemon, a botanical and herbal flavor from the vermouth and gin and some sweetness from the cointreau. The finish is slightly bitter and you get that hint of the pastis anise/réglisse goodness. The color can be described as a cloudy-white with a yellowish hue to it, similar to that of diluted pastis. Certain flavors came to mind, such as the "White Lady" and the "Dry Martini".

I see this as being a refreshing summertime cocktail. In fact after drinking it I must say I felt very refreshed. Now I know why they call this a "Corpse Reviver". I personally enjoyed this cocktail and recommend that you give it a go.

Israeli beers: Maccabee & Goldstar

2009-02-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

Tempo (טמפו) is Israel's largest brewing company. Tempo produces Maccabee, Goldstar and Nesher Malt non-alcoholic beer.

Maccabee (מכבי), is a 4.9% abv Pilsner which began production in 1968 and is sold in Israel, Europe and the US.

Presentation 500 ml green glass bottle with freshness date stamped below the neck.

Appearance- Light gold with a thin bubbly head which leaves a little lacing on the glass. Big bubbles cling to the side of the glass along side streams of little bubbles

Smell- Malty, Grainy, hint of sweetness, Bitter, grassy.

Taste - Crisp, grainy, malty with a hint of sweetness balanced by a "hoppy" bitterness, a hint of smoke and a slightly metallic taste.

Mouth- thin-medium body, low-medium carbonation

Bottom line: a decent beer which can be consumed easily in quantities. I remember Maccabee being worse, very watery, I recently tasted it and it either has improved or I got a lucky with that specific bottle.

** (out of 5 *)

Goldstar (גולדסטאר), is a 4.9% abv Munich Dunkel Lager which has been in production since the 1950's. Each year Tempo sells 30 million bottles of Goldstar

Presentation- 500 ml brown glass bottle with freshness date marked on the glass just below the neck.

Appearance- Produces a nice thick white creamy head which lasts for a short while and then becomes close cropped and thin. There is some lacing. The color can be described as dark amber. Lots of tiny bubbles.

Smell- Malty, some hops, grassy and some bitterness.

Taste- Malty sweetness, some hops, bread, slightly bitter finish.

Mouth- Lively, lots carbonation, medium bodied with a nice creamy feel.

Bottom line: Not outstanding, but, it lives up to its expectations as a beer which was meant to be consumed in large quantities at Mangals (Israeli BBQ s). I cold have a few of these along with some kebabs and skewers of meat.

** 3/4 (out of 5 *)

These two beers were not outstanding but neither were they horrible by any means. They work well as an accompaniment to grilled meats and fish but would not be sipped on their own. I would like to try some other Israeli offerings such as Layla and Dancing Camel should I come across them.

Pastis: Phénix

2009-02-01T09:02:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, after writing my last article, Pastis vs Anisette, I came across a bottle of pastis produced by the Phénix/M.G. Taieb company. Phénix is known for their Anisette, which was originally produced in Algeria by Moïse Taieb and is currently made in Roanne, France. Pastis is a new addition to the line of Phénix products, it has a 45% abv.

Presentation: It comes in a slender, brownish-green 700 ml bottle.

Color: Pale yellow-brown, after adding water it changes to a cloudy off-white color with a slightly yellowish hue.

Nose: Réglisse, anise, peppermint, slight sweetness.

Palate: at first mint which gives away to réglisse and anise. Sweet but not cloying, bitter but not overly.

I Thoroughly enjoyed this new offering from Phénix/M.G. Taieb. I liked that it wasn't overly cloying and the taste was to my liking, Anise and réglisse with some minty notes.

*** 3/4 (out of 5 *)

Pastis vs Anisette Updated

2009-01-28T03:49:00.000-05:00

I am very familiar with the whole anise flavored liqueur family since my father-in-law was very fond of Anisette. I have tried the offerings from various countries including Absinthe, Arak, Ouzo, Pastis and Anisette.

For those who are unfamiliar, here is a little background on Pastis and Anisette.

Pastis is an anise flavored liqueur and aperitif from France. It is one of the most popular beverages in France. Pastis is especially popular in the south of France where it is associated with Provençal lifestyle along with Pétanque (a game similar to Bocce) and drinking rosé wine.

The story of pastis began when absinthe was banned in France. The producers of absinthe decided to create a drink that resembled absinthe, but with out the wormwood, which was the ingredient which got absinthe banned in the first place. It was to have a more robust anise flavor, using star anise, sugar and a lower alcohol content, between 40%-45% abv whereas absinthe is usually between 45%-75% abv. Voila, pastis was born.

Pastis has a transparent yellowish-brown color when undiluted. It is meant to be diluted with cold water before drinking. I learned this the hard way of coarse, I drank it straight... from what I have heard in general it is supposed to be a 5:1 ratio of water to pastis, but to each his own, so it is usually served along side a jug of cold water and ice cubes (optional), which if used should be added only after the water has been added to avoid crystallization.

I tried Pastis Juvanis (45% abv) with a 4:1 ratio of water to pastis, when the water is added to the pastis it goes from transparent yellow to an almost opaque milky white-yellow (see the first image in the post). The palate had notes of liquorice (réglisse), anise and fennel. It is not overly sweet or cloying, which I liked. The addition of water really helps bring out the flavors.

I remember vividly when I went to visit Southern France, we would go explore a small town each day. On our way in we would pass a small brasserie or a café and there would be some elderly gentlemen sitting around the table with a bottle of water and pastis sipping and chatting. Hours later when we finished sightseeing in that town we would see the same gentlemen sitting around the table with their cloudy coloured pastis in hand, still sipping and chatting.

Anisette (aka Anis) is anise flavored liqueur mainly consumed in the Mediterranean area including France, Spain and Italy but may be found in Portugal and Mexico as well. Anisette tends to have a lower alcohol content (well not with the anisette I tried for this post) and be sweeter than other anise flavored liqueurs, such as Pastis. Similarly, anisette was created as an alternative to absinthe. Anisette is made primarily with aniseed unlike pastis which is made primarily with star anise. Anisette can be drank straight or prepared in a similar way to pastis with water. I reccomend adding water.

The anisette I tried for this post was Phénix (45% abv), originally manufactured in Algeria by Moïse Taieb, it is now produced in Roanne, France.

According to Arabic Liqour:

"Anisette Phénix originally is an Algerian Jewish aperitif now produced in France. It is particularly associated with Jewish pieds-noirs, European colonists with French citizenship in Algeria. At some point in time in the twentieth century production moved from Algeria to France due to the unstable situation in Algeria, especially for Jews...According to the bottle it is made by macerating anise grains in a neutral grain spirit and subsequently distilling it. It is very sweet because of the added sugar (it is sweeter than pastis; arak is unsweetened) and it should be diluted with water."

I have also tried Anisette Marie Brizard but it was so long ago I can hardly remember how it tasted.

The anisette had many of the same flavors as the pastis: liquorice (réglisse), anise, fennel and additional hints of coriander and mint, but it was much sweeter than the pastis. When water is added to the anisette it becomes cloudy white, but not as opaque as pastis.

Bottom line:
I personally liked the pastis better than the anisette, in the end it is a matter of taste. If you like anise and liquorice in general try sampling both pastis and anisette before going out to buy a bottle. This way you can see if you like anise flavored liqueur at all and if you do which one you prefer.

à la tienne!