February 12, 2010

Banish the February Blahs with Bubbly
by Patricia Noonan

Post holiday season can be a time of financial trauma, with large holiday bills turning up and future income tax issues to contend with. (I've always looked forward to February for two reasons, though; because Valentine’s Day and my birthday are eight days apart.) For part of the month, there needs to be a moratorium on worry; champagne cocktails are the cure. Or, should I say, champagne-less cocktails.

You see, I wouldn’t dream of mixing the real deal with juices, bitters and other mixable. That’s the job for the work horse bubblies, like prosecco or champagne style wines from around the globe. Astoria Prosecco is excellent value, at only $12.45 a bottle! For those who enjoy the ritual of the classics, the next few cocktails are great aperitifs.

Champagne Cocktail
Chill flute glass
Place a sugar cube or 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar in flute glass
Dash of bitters
1/2 oz (15 ml) brandy
Top with 4 oz (125 ml) chilled champagne
Garnish with orange twist

Kir Royale
Chill flute glass
1/2 oz (15 ml) Cassis,
Top with 4 oz (125 ml) Champagne or sparkling wine

Chambord Royale
Chill flute glass
1/2 oz (15 ml) Chambord Liqueur
Top with 4 oz (125 ml) Champagne or sparkling wine

The famed Bellini was created in Harry's Bar, Venice. The peach puree can be made
from fresh peaches that have been peeled and muddled, or you can use peach nectar.

Bellini
Chill flute glass
1 oz (30 ml) peach puree
5 oz (150 ml) chilled Champagne or sparkling wine
Pour peach puree into chilled flute glass, then add sparkling wine.

The next drink is my creation based on the Bellini. I’ll be serving this one, among
several, at my ‘Banish the February Blahs’ cocktail party, with curried chicken and lamb
dumplings. It will also work with samosas and pakoras too. I call this…
 
Champango
Chill flute glass
1 oz (30 ml) mango puree or mango nectar
5 oz (150 ml) chilled sparkling wine

The next drink will have grissini (breadsticks) wrapped with prosciutto as a food pairing.This unusual and delicious cocktail was created at Via Allegro Ristorante, in Toronto. ‘The Supreme Whisky Award’ is their recognition by Whisky Magazine, for the best whisky list in the world.

Spaghetti Western
Chill flute glass
1/2 oz (30 ml) Bourbon (preferably Woodford Reserve)
5 oz (150ml) Prosecco

 Apparently, this cocktail was created at a party of famed designer Phillipe Starck. I’ll be serving this with spicy Asian noodles and satay.

Le Starck
1/2 tsp (5 ml) of grated fresh ginger to chilled flute glass
Squeeze a wedge of lime into glass
5 oz (150 ml) Champagne or sparkling wine

My late husband always bought me a bottle of bubbly and exotic flowers for Valentine’s Day. In the spirit of his memory, and to banish what had to be our most tragic Valentine's Day, that of 2008, when was hospitalized with cancer, I'm raising my glass to all of the lovers who end up separated by heartbreaking illness and push on.

* * * * * * * *
Spirits for the Holidays
by Patricia Noonan

Here are my reviews - good, bad and indifferent - for Holiday spirits from the LCBO General List (all out of ***).

Pravda Vodka Gift Package with two glasses
Clear, minerally with lemon pepper notes. Creamy and warm on the palate with nice clean, finish.  375 ml $24.95 **+ PN

Absolut Celebration
Big, sparkly disco bottle houses a clear, clean, bright vodka. Smooth, slightly prickly alcohol finish. 750 ml $25.95 *+ PN

Prince Igor Extreme Vodka w/ glasses Gift Pack
Clear, grainy, slightly minty aroma but light and silky, especially for the 45 % abv. Builds into a fiery finish. 750 ml $29.95 **+ PN Good value

Canadian Club Premium w/Scarf & Toque Set
A golden whisky with caramel, vanilla and sweet corn aromas. Smooth, silky lightness with gentle spice elements. . 750 ml $29.95 ** PN

Crown Royal w/glasses gift set
Pinky gold, grain, vanilla, baked apples with cinnamon aromas. Sweet, grainy replays on the palate and a creamy smooth finish. 375 ml $22.95 **+ PN

Johnny Walker Gold Label in Ice Box
Smokey peat notes with pears, baked, spice apples. Gentle oak smoothes out the blend with peaty replays and baking spices, especially cloves and ginger, into a lengthy finish.
Comes in a square icebox if you feel inclined to chill this and serve it with chocolates after dinner. 750 ml $119.25 *** PN

Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskey
A bright gold whiskey with a grainy,barley nose. Rich, perfumed vanilla cream biscuit
aroma develops. A bright, silky and balanced spice mix on the palate,with a gingery buildup for the finish. 750 ml $179.95 *** PN

Glenkinchie Distillers Edition
Medium gold with a delicate, lemony barley candy nose. Creamy on the palate with gentle spice flavours of fresh nutmeg, a little clove and ginger and cooling mint into the finish.
750 ml $79.95 ** PN

Glenfiddich Single Malt Whisky Collection Book
12 Year Old
Bright gold with a fresh honey, sweet dried citrus fruit nose. Creamy on the palate with a gently spiced, slightly minty finish ** PN

15 Year Old
Rich gold with honey, peach and spice aromas. Creamy, mouth filling and rich with baking spice flavours followed by a big lingering finish. **+PN

18 Year Old
Gentle, reserved, tightly woven oak spices. Heavy silk texture with a subdued, elegant dried fruit and spice finish. 150 ml gift pack $29.95 ** PN

  
Highland Park Single Malt Gift Pack
15 Year Old
Brackish gold with brine and gentle smoked vanilla perfume.
Cocoa and baking spice flavours lead into a complex finish with smokey replays.***PN

18 Year Old
Gold with greenish highlights. Briny, medicinal, gentle smoke, vanilla and nut aromas.
Smooth mouth feel with plenty of spice flavours into a dry finish.**+PN

25 Year Old
Briny, nuttiness mixed with lemon peel, spicy with oak age. ***PN

30 Year Old
Briny, medicinal and gentle vanilla cloaked with citrus peel. Floral honeysuckle perfume develops. Silky with restrained, gingery dry finish.**+PN

Clynelish Distillers Edition. Coastal Highland Malt
Soft gold colour with vanilla cream, perfumed smoke and subtle brine notes.
Creamy mouthfeel, with baked fruit and vibrant spice mix of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg.
Very feminine and elegant. 750 ml $99.95 *** PN

Talisker Distillers Edition, Isle of Skye
Amber, pink gold lights. Smokey, peat reek with ‘Dubbin’ boot polish aroma mixed with pear and almond notes. Full, velvety well structured with a powerful peppery spiced, lingering finish.
750 ml $90.75 ***+PN Good value

The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Single Malt
Burnished, buckwheat gold with amber lights. Buckwheat honey, marzipan, almond paste, cocoa rumball aromas with a big flavourful drying ‘spice cabinet’ elegant finish. 750 ml $349.00 *** PN

The Black Grouse
Pinky gold with a big, smokey Islay heart in this Scotch blend. Sweet vanilla upfront with a smokey sweetness to palate. Big, spiced clove finish.750 ml $32.95 **+ PN Great value

Appleton Estate Master Blenders Legacy Rum
Rich, amber gold with candied sugar cane sweetness with candied fruit peel. Smooth, velvety texture with good length. 750 ml $89.55 ** PN

The last three products weren’t tasted in the Lab.

The Macallan Single Malt 12 Years Old
Rich gold with vanilla,dried fruit and hints of oakiness. Richly smooth with sherried sweetness on the palate. Long finish with dried fruit, especially orange peel, ginger, cinnamon spice notes. **+ PN

The Macallan Fine Oak Single Malt 10 Years Old
Pale gold, almost straw, with citrusy, honey aromas. Soft and silky with a gentle spiced finish. ** PN

The Macallan Single Malt 18 Years Old
Amber gold with aromas of orange and lemon peel, candied ginger, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Rich, full flavoured; dried fruit mixed with spice. Long, lingering  finish replaying all the aromas and flavours. *** PN

Finally, a new release just in time for the Holiday rum drinkers…

El Dorado 6 Year Old Silver Deluxe White Rum
Brilliant and clear with intense brown sugar nose. Aromas of ripe banana with notes lime essential oil. Caramelized brown sugar sweetness up front with tangerine and spicy cloves. Great viscosity with a big velvety mouthfeel. Long, warming finish.  While this rum is crystal clear, it has been oak aged and double filtered to remove colour acquired from the ageing process. What remains is an extremely mellow rum. 750 ml $34.95 *** PN Great Value
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The Flavours of Anjou and Ice Wine
by Patricia Noonan

Sometimes, all it takes is the smell of something to evoke a memory. Baking, perhaps,
or biting into a luscious piece of ripe fruit....

At a recent launch for Grey Goose 'La Poire', I was told that a walk near an orchard brought the aromas of pear to maitre de chai Francois Thibault, of Cognac, France.
Then, it crossed his mind again. “I found my inspiration for Grey Goose La Poire when I tasted a delicious tarte poire from my local patisserie,” says Thibault. “The Anjou pears perfectly complement the rounded, buttery flavours of the pastry base. Pastry made from the same fine French wheat as Grey Goose original. I knew then that GreyGoose would be the ideal base for the essence of ripe, juicy Anjou pears.”

My inspiration for drinking martinis came from an article in Cosmoplitan Magazine when I was a mere teenager. Luckily, at this launch there were several interesting drinks to be had. The Peartini‘ was matched with a delicious almond-pear tart, courtesy of the AGO pastry chef, Christophe Measson.

Peartini
2 parts Grey Goose La Poire Flavoured Vodka
¼ part Disaronno Originale Liqueur
¾ part simple syrup
¾ part lemon juice

I thin pear slice for garnish

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a pear slice.

La Poire ‘Fifty Fifty’
Equal parts Grey Goose La Poire with dry, white Vermouth

Add ingredients to cocktail shaker filled with ice, stir until the outside of the shaker is  frosted. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a lime or lemon twist.

Another luxury vodka that stands out comes from award winnning distiller John K.Hall of Kittling Ridge, Ontario. Eight Below takes it’s name from the temperature needed for the harvest of icewine grapes. Speaking of biting into luscious fruit, ice wine has the ability to capture food memories with one luxurious sip. This vodka won a gold medal at the International Spirits Competition held in San Francisco.

Hall finishes the luxury vodka, which has gone through a quadruple distillation, with an ice filtration before charcoal filtration. The ice wine, in minute quantity, is added to soften the finish.

Eight Below Undressed

The only thing I would do with Eight Below is take the chilled bottle from the freezer, pour into a chilled glass and enjoy that luscious, velvety finish.

If you must dress it up, try this drink.

EIGHT BELOW PEACH SUNSET
1.5 oz. Eight Below Vodka
4 oz. Peach Juice
Squeeze of fresh lemon.
Drizzle 1 tsp grenadine syrup on top
Garnish with a maraschino cherry & peach wedge.

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