A Tiki nod, with balanced vinegar, Saint Elmo's Fire: Denizen white rum, Amaro Averna, pineapple, coconut vinegar, allspice, lime

ENTER TRICK DOG

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

TRICK DOG, 3010 20th Street at Florida, 415-471-2999, open 3pm-2am daily (brunch coming soon)

Gypsy Tan: Rittenhouse 100 rye, Mandarine Napoléon orange liqueur, Fernet Branca, ginger, lemon, Erdinger Weissbier, nutmeg

The Bon Vivants (Josh Harris, Scott Baird, Jason Henton) need little introduction in the drink world, from humanitarian work with their Pig & Punch events (they’re featured in the Jan./Feb. 2013 issue of Imbibe magazine) to their unforgettable Bon Vivants’ parties.

Last Sunday, I walked through the unfinished space of their long-awaited bar Trick Dog. Though it appeared there was much left to be done, in 24 short hours the bar was looking all grown up and open for business, welcoming a slew of early birds and industry folk at 3pm on January 7th.

Light & lovely Baby Turtle: Tequila Ocho reposado, Campari, grapefruit, cinnamon, lime, egg white

Trick Dog buzz is already at fever pitch. The two-level space, designed by the Bon Vivants (they recently launched The Bon Vivants Design–Build) along with Wylie Price Design, boasts thoughtful details like iron bannisters from the original Warfield and a seating area upstairs overlooking the action for those who want to sit and dine.

The space is both industrial and warm, named after the vintage trick dog piggy banks spotted around the bar.

Possibly my top drink thus far, Alligator Alley: olive oil-infused Broker’s gin, Imbue vermouth, Tempus Fugit quinquina, Green Chartreuse

At the bar

While cocktails are the Vivants’ expertise, listed on a brilliant menu resembling a Pantone paint color guide/swatch (designed by Camille Robles/Ramble & Ride), there’s food from Chef Chester Watson, like a salt cod-wrapped Scotch egg and dreamy, minty Fernet ice cream laden with toasted cacao nibs. Soon I will have worked my way through the menus but for opening day, I tasted half of the 13 Pantone color-named cocktails ($10-$12), each a winner. There’s also $8 highballs (like amaro & Moxie soda), $7 alcohol-free drinks, $35 punches to share, and $8 “Neat with a Side” options, like George Dickel #12 Tennessee whiskey with dill pickle gelée.

Behind the bar, lined with Vivants’-designed sliding bottle shelves, a tight team of bartenders is already busy attending to opening week crowds. Here are my opening day highlights and cocktails in photos.

Straw Hat: Sutton Cellars vermouth, LeCompte calvados, chestnut honey, lime, hard cider, rosemary

For dessert, Vintage Photo: Flor de Caña 7 Year rum, Trick Dog banana cordial, West Indies tincture, bitters

15 Romolo's Solstice Sour - a light hand with rye whiskey, Cynar and sherry as part of their Sherry Christmas! menu

COCKTAILS & BITES:
Ringing in 2013 with Notable New Pairings

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

A celebratory or comforting drink is just what we crave at this time of year. With an excellent bite? Even better. Here’s a few of the most noteworthy drinks, winter cocktail menus and dishes in SF as 2012 passes into 2013.

AME, SoMa (689 Mission St. at 3rd St. in the St. Regis Hotel, 415-284-4040)

Toasted blowfish fin sake!

It’s not a cocktail, and its blowfish base has long been known as dangerous… but in skilled hands, is entirely safe. Ame Restaurant in The St. Regis is serving a Fugu (Blowfish) Fin Sake, the most adventurous drink on order this winter. Yes, it’s infused with an actual toasted fugu fin resting in the bottom of a ceramic mug ($15 for 6 oz.) filled with warm Honjozo-style “Karatamba” sake from Japan’s Hyogo prefecture. In Japan, tora fugu is considered to be of the highest quality, the fins traditionally roasted and steeped in warm sake. I couldn’t miss a chance to taste this rarity when it came on the menu a few weeks ago, available through February 2013. On a brisk, clear winter’s night, it warmed me from inside with rich, layered, funky, even umami, notes.

Cuttlefish & uni

EAT WITH: Sit at Ame’s small bar with a mug of blowfish fin sake accompanied by Ame’s now classic Lissa’s Staff Meal ($16.50), an artful bowl of cuttlefish noodles, appropriate soft and muscly, tossed with brightly fresh sea urchin and quail egg in soy and wasabi.

BLACKBIRD, Castro (2124 Market St. between Church & Sanchez, 415-503-0630)

Follow the Blackbird sign

Launched on December 17, Blackbird’s winter menu easily offers the most sophisticated, satisfying cocktails in the Castro. Owner Shawn Vergara has been filling this needed niche on Market Street since opening Blackbird in 2009. This brand new menu features some of their best drinks yet.

Poached Pear

I adore Italy’s sexy, sparkling red wine, Lambrusco. Here it’s a vibrant aperitif with pear-infused gin in Poached Pear ($8), balanced by honey and lemon. Crimson King ($9) is another rosy, cool sipper of hibiscus-infused brandy, house pistachio orgeat, cranberry and lemon. My tops on the new menu just might be Harvest Moon ($10), it’s a Bols Genever and Nocino (green walnut liqueur) base, sweetened with maple and pumpkin butter, balanced by lemon and Angostura bitters, softened with egg whites.

EAT WITH: Blackbird’s six different bar jars, smeared on crispy crackers, are playful snacks, whether smoked trout or deviled ham jars. I lean towards the pimento cheese jar laden with piquillo peppers and cheddar.

15 ROMOLO, North Beach (15 Romolo Place at Broadway, 415-398-1359)

Gardner's Delight

Running through the first week of January, 15 Romolo‘s Sherry Christmas! explores the wonders of sherry in cocktails that don’t taste merely of sherry. The impressive range is no surprise from what has consistently remained one of the best cocktail menus in San Francisco – with damn great food, too. The menu features all sherry styles, from fino to oloroso, acting as shining star or subtle unifier. Manzanilla sherry subtly backs gin in Gardner’s Delight ($10) next to celery bitters, Dolin blanc vermouth, lemon and a house thyme shrub… a lively “delight”. White Elephant ($9) illumines white port, sherry vinegar and spiced liqueur with manzanilla sherry, a dash of absinthe tying this refresher together. Typically, when I see rye whiskey, Cynar (one of my favorite classic Italian bitter aperitifs) and the likes of amontillado sherry together, I get a musky, fall-spiced drink.

White Elephant

In the case of a Solstice Sour ($10), these elements are mixed with a light hand, touched with lemon and cinnamon syrup, a cocktail that manages to capture winter in an almost spring-like way. Here’s hoping these sherry beauties stay on past January.

EAT WITH: Chef Justin Deering added on a few Spanish inspired dishes to accompany sherry cocktails or half bottles of sherry, like gambas a la plancha (shrimp in garlic and lemon), juicy albondigas (beef-pork meatballs), or sherried mushrooms ($5-8).

JASPER’S CORNER TAP, Downtown/Union Square (401 Taylor Street at O’Farrell, 415-775-7979)

Genki: togarashi-spiced mezcal & tequila

Bar Manager Kevin Diedrich and crew produced another all-star cocktail menu this season at Jasper’s Corner Tap. One of the most unusually fun, savory drinks you’ll run into anywhere is Diedrich’s Genki ($13), inspired by a dish he recently had at Makoto in DC.  With a base of Del Maguey Vida Mezcal balanced by Partida Blanco tequila and Combier orange liqueur, Diedrich adds Togarashi syrup, lime, egg white and Matcha salt. Genki is simultaneously spicy, perky, refreshing.

Here Comes the Fuzz!

Though there’s many a beauty (don’t miss the creamy-but-light, floral Rum Shaker – $10 – seamlessly mixing Bacardi 8 Rum, Shipyard Pumpkin Ale, lime, pumpkin syrup, cream, egg white, orange flower water), one of the most playful drinks on the current menu is a bottled Here Comes the Fuzz! ($11). Charred peach is infused in Jasper’s house bourbon, bottled with Manzanilla sherry (sherry dominates this season!), honey, lemon, pomegranate molasses, peach bitters and Angostura Bitters. Fizzy and vivacious, charred peaches and sherry imbue a gorgeous, nutty hue.

EAT WITH: With the invigorating drinks above, a trio of deviled eggs ($8 or $4 each) is appropriately light but satisfying.

Though deviled eggs seem to be everywhere the last couple years, this trio stays fun with these flavors:  heirloom caprese, ”Caesar salad”, chipotle-romesco.

Blackbird's silky Harvest Moon

Jasper's addictive Rum Shaker

NEW YEAR SIPS

Article by Virginia Miller

Ringing in the new year is all about celebratory imbibing, but the sometimes dreary days of January likewise call for a cheering pour. It’s a month of planning towards a new year, reaching out for fresh horizons… good reasons to have something quality in the glass, whatever the category. Here are a few worthy bottles, from sake, wine, whisky, even cocktail bitters.

Bitters

Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters (photo source: www.brooklynbitters.com)

Medicinal and mixable, the glut of bitters released the last few years had  oversaturation has been achieved. But Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters ($21 per bottle) stands out in recent years. Made in Brooklyn, the focus is on seasonal flavors like popular Meyer lemon, rhubarb or Sriracha. Heat radiates from their savory-sweet blackberry mole or spicy charred pineapple bitters, or a brisk, bitter chill from Icelandic bitters. These are some of the more inventive, elegant bitters on the market.

A couple additional stand-out bitter flavors: The Bitter End’s vibrant curry bitters ($24) made in Sante Fe and put to perfect use by  Mike Ryan at Sable Kitchen and Bar in Chicago in his Short Circuit cocktail with cachaca, manzanilla sherry and Kalani coconut liqueur. From Canada, Bittered Sling’s plum root beer evokes a sweet sarsaparilla.

Whisky

Nikka Whisky is blessedly and finally distributed in the US through San Francisco’s Anchor Distilling, just releasing two new Nikka imports – hopefully many more to come. My favorite of the two, Yoichi Single Malt ($129), is a splurge-worthy, 15 year old whisky distilled on the island of Hokkaido from pot stills heated with finely powdered natural coal, a rare traditional method. Though more akin to a Highland-style Scotch, it nods to Islay with a hint of peat alongside a balanced brightness. On the more affordable side is Taketsuru Pure Malt ($69.99): a 12 year pure malt whisky blended in vats from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. The mountain air and river water humidity of the northern Honshu region where Miyagikyo is produced adds silky, ripe pear dimensions.

This November’s Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza in San Francisco (held in 13 major markets), offered tastings of expected Scotches. A few special drams were the fabulous Scotch Malt Whisky Society‘s 8 year Ardbeg Cask No. 33.113, a salty, smoky Scotch young with exotic fruit. The Single Malts’ Auchriosk 20 year Scotch exhibits tropical vividness, though a classic beauty. It was a joy to taste The Balvenie Tun 1401/Batch #6, the youngest whisky in its blend being over 20 yrs old. This rarity expresses layers of fruit, vanilla and spice, lively despite age.

Sake

Sake produced in a town outside Portland? SakeOne is a range of affordable sakes (those mentioned below $13-15)  made from rice grown nearby in Sacramento, CA. There’s Momokawa organic sakes, like a clean Junmai Ginjo or creamy Pearl Sake redolent of banana and coconut, or the smooth, balanced G Joy Sake.

Sangria

Despite low quality bottled sangria you may have tried before, Eppa (found at Bay Area Whole Foods and numerous shops across the country, $12 a bottle) is a refreshing mix of pomegranate, acai, blueberry and blood orange juices with Mendocino Cabernet and Syrah. Trying it chilled over fresh cut fruit this holiday season with family, it tastes homemade,  lush and dark, not too sweet, but just right.

Indy Spirits

It was the best year yet at the San Francisco Indy Spirits Expo last month. A number of newcomers merely await West Coast distribution but are available online. With a slew of “craft” tonics released lately, each using real cinchona bark (quinine) without the natural color removed, Tomr’s Tonic is one of the better I’ve tasted. 100% organic and made in New Jersey, Tom Richter’s lively tonic combines citrus, herbs, cane sugar, with cinchona. The tonic mixes beautifully with a number of gins I sampled it with at home.

Fabrizia Limoncello is produced in New Hampshire with California and South American citrus by two Italian-American brothers. Balanced, fresh, tart (unlike their sweet Blood Orange liqueur), this limoncello is a step up from most. SW4 London Dry Gin, produced in the Clapham neighborhood of London and imported through Luxe Vintages in Florida, is a smooth, solid gin made from 12 botanicals, including lemon peel and cassia.

Wine

Craving the sparkling especially at this time of year, two great value bottles ($15 each) are Nino Franco’s Rustico Prosecco, dry yet lively, clean and tight, and Coppo’s Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont, Italy, its vivd effervescence cutting through intense sweetness, vibrant with brunch or spicy food. For after-dinner dessert wine, Donnafugata’s “Ben Rye” ($45 for half bottle) from Sicily, gives off a rich, raisin-like hue in the glass, made of Zibibbo grapes from the island of Pantelleria. To taste it’s lushly elegant, with a balanced sweetness and nuttiness.

At an industry tasting this fall with Sommelier David Lynch at his restaurant St. Vincent, we explored wines of the fascinating, warm-weather Consorzio Tutela Morellino Di Scansano region of southernmost Tuscany (established as a D.O.C.G. in 2007). I learned the region requires its wines be made with a minimum of 85% Sangiovese grapes. A 2010 Tenuta Pietramora di Collefagiano stood out, unusual at 100% Sangiovese. Its pleasantly funky nose gave way to cherry, even chocolate/earthy notes, balanced by soft acidity.

10 Best Spirits Releases of 2012

Article by Virginia Miller, Press photos/from brand websites

Each year holds a range of interesting spirits released from around the globe. As the craft spirit industry continues to explode, there are many exciting newcomers this year. Here are some of the best of what’s crossed my desk in 2012.

FORD’s GIN ($27) -  The 86 Company is a new venture from spirits and cocktail world stars Simon Ford (former International Brand Ambassador for Plymouth Gin), Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric (owners of New York’s Employees Only bar, authors of Speakeasy). Just last month, they released Caña Brava Rum (a Panama rum, aged 3 years), Aylesbury Duck Vodka, and Ford’s Gin. It’s the gin I’ve been mixing with at home in every kind of cocktail from a basic gin and tonic to complex Ramos Gin Fizz. The gin’s bright citrus-juniper properties shine in each – and the price is right. Master Distiller Charles Maxwell, of Thames Distillers, worked with Ford to develop Fords Gin, made with nine botanicals, including juniper, coriander, cassia, jasmine, bitter orange, grapefruit peel. A nice, local connection (and environmental plus): distilled gin is shipped in bulk to and bottled by our own Charbay in Napa, cut with fresh Mendocino County water.

HIGH WEST CAMPIRE WHISKEY ($54) – Though I’ve been partial to Balcones Brimstone when it comes to a wild and wooly American smoked whiskey (in Balcones’ case, a corn whiskey smoked with Texas scrub oak), High West’s new Campfire continues in that rugged vein,  smoky with Old West charm. Bourbon, rye and smoky single malt are blended together in a spicy, woody, sweet, floral whole that makes me crave BBQ.

IMBUE PETAL & THORN Vermouth ($27) - From Portland and the creators of bittersweet vermouth Imbue (Derek Einberger, Neil Kopplin, and Jennifer Kilfoil), Imbue’s Petal & Thorn is a gorgeously bitter gentian liqueur using homegrown beets for color, alongside cinnamon and menthol – a truly unique elixir that’s lovely with soda on the rocks, in twists on classic cocktails like the Negroni, and on its own.

TEMPUS FUGIT KINA L’AVION D’OR ($35) – Fresh off the heels of their unparalleled Crème de Menthe and Crème de Cacao last year, Tempus Fugit does it again with Kina L’Avion D’or. Reminiscent of Lillet and Cocchi Americano but with a more intense flavor punch and elegant bitter quotient, it’s made from a hundred year old recipe from a Swiss distillery… a shining beauty in the quinquina family of aperitifs, distinct with quinine bite.

1512 SPIRITS Poitín ($39) – Poitín is a rare Irish spirit made in this case from potatoes and barley (the word poteen refers to small pot stills in which the liquor is historically made). Clear, bold and light, it evokes cucumber and Summer, with the spirit of an eau de vie and robustness of a white whiskey. There’s nothing quite like it.

WAHAKA MADRE CUISHE MEZCAL ($80) – New to the US this year, Wahaka Mezcals are solid across the line, from an affordable Espadin Joven ($30) to an award winning Tobala ($80). I especially appreciate the earthier Madre Cuishe ($80), made from the wild agave plant of the same name, evoking fresh earth, cigar ash, citrus even fresh, green vegetables. If you get a taste of their Real Matlatl Tobala Mezcal ($125), it’s blissfully like sucking on a stone, intensely earthy, fascinating – for the mezcal aficionado.

CHATEAU de LAUBADE BLANCE ARMAGNAC ($55) – From a Gascon, family-run Armagnac house established in 1870, this clear, refined Armagnac has more in common with an elegant grappa or pisco than beautifully rough and ready Armagnacs. Airy yet substantial with pear and floral notes, the lack of color is due to it being an unaged Armagnac. The purity of the base, made from 100% Folle Blanche grapes, shines. Consider it the cleaner, lighter side of brandy.

LEOPOLD BROTHERS FERNET ($35) – First tasting Leopold Brothers’ Fernet straight from the vat as it was fermenting when I visited their family-run Denver distillery in Sept. 2011, its release this year yielded a lighter, layered fernet-style amaro, where ginger, mint, cacao and floral notes peek out alongside the menthol bitterness Fernet is known for – the brothers (Todd and Scott) added sarsparilla root and molasses for a distinctly American touch.

GLENFIDDICH MASTER MALT Edition ($90) – This limited-edition whisky was released in September from the classic distillery, one of only four in Scotland still owned and run by the same family since the 1800′s. At 18,000 bottles, it’s small production for Glenfiddich, celebrating their 125th anniversary. Malt Master Brian Kinsman crafted this double-matured whisky, which spent roughly 6 to 8 years in used Bourbon barrels, then 4 to 6 years in sherry casks. Sherry characteristics hit first but don’t overpower, with accompanying brine and spice.

FOUR ROSES 2012 Limited Edition SINGLE BARREL BOURBON ($90)  – A bracing bourbon at 100-114 proof, depending on the barrel, with only 3600 bottles released, Master Distiller Jim Rutledge has personally selected these uncut, unfiltered 12 year bourbon barrels for special release this year, among the more noteworthy whiskey tastes of 2012.

Sipping volcano bowls at Tradition

RUM TALES

Article and photos by Virginia Miller

Jasper's new Rum Shaker on the fall menu

Rum bears a rough and tumble history, whether as the Royal Navy’s spirit of choice, or on a grim note, benefiting from the slave trade. Despite its dark days, rum thrives as the spirit of the Caribbean where, along with Latin America, the majority of the world’s rum is produced. Legend swirls throughout rum’s history, as with the story of Admiral Horatio Nelson whose body was preserved in a cask of rum after his death in the Battle of Trafalgar en route back to England. Upon arrival, the cask was empty of liquid, the rumor being his crew drank it in hopes of ingesting Nelson’s courageous spirit. From this comes one of rum’s many nicknames, “Nelson’s blood” or “tapping the admiral”.

Despite a sometimes grizzly past, rum is likewise associated with island breezes, relaxation, the good life. Whether an airy white rum or a sweet, spiced dark, there’s more complex rum variances than many initially suspect. Though no hard and fast rules apply to all rum, here’s a quick rundown of categories:

- Light/silver/white rums are often smooth, sometimes sweet, mixable rums, ideal for cocktails, made from both sugarcane and molasses. Typically aged briefly, they maintain a colorless look aged in stainless steel, neutral oak or having color filtered out.

- Gold/amber rums are typically medium-bodied rums, generally aged in wood barrels – the halfway point between light and dark rums.

- Dark rums are molasses-based, aged in charred barrels, at times quite sweet and silky, other times complex, for mixing or sipping.

Comal's Black Daiquiri

- Other categories: Spiced rums have spices and even caramel added in. Flavored rums are infused with a wide range of flavors. Overproof rums are high proof spirits well over the standard 40% ABV. Premium rums are essentially the more refined category of sipping rums. Cachaça is essentially Brazilian rum made solely from sugarcane juice.

In addition to styles, regions determine rum characteristics. Spanish-speaking Caribbean (namely Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) and South and Central America are most regarded for a smooth añejo style. English-speaking islands (like Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Saint Kitts, Trinidad) are best known for full, dark rums, including demerara rums made from natural, unrefined demerara sugar. French-speaking Caribbean islands (including Haiti, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Martinique) are famed for agricultural rums (rhum agricole), produced solely from sugar cane juice, which are refined, complex, even grassy and funky.

RUM BARS

Smuggler’s Cove: One of the greatest rum selections you’ll find anywhere, the standard-setting menu at Smugglers offers over 200 rums with flights and pours grouped by style or region and a Rumbustion Society encouraging (and rewarding) exploration. On top of being a rum haven, Smugglers honors the roots of Tiki (Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s paraphernalia intact) in its intimate, three-level layout. The cocktail menu is extensive with sections on Cuban cocktail favorites from Havana’s glory days, to modern interpretations of Tiki drinks utilizing flavor profiles like Jamaican jerk tincture (in the Port Royal cocktail).

Kona Kope at Tradition

Tradition: This new bar offers themed booths (called “snugs”) around subjects like New Orleans, Pre-Prohibition, Scotland, each boasting vintage ads, signs, and barware in keeping with the theme. An artistic menu is likewise themed around each category – with a reservation at the bar or in a snug you can order from the whole menu (there’s plenty of room for walk-ins with a shorter menu). One theme is exotic/Tiki, a page of mostly rum-based cocktails. For a unique rum experience, there’s an extensive house-blended and barrel-aged spirits program, including all manner of spirits finished in house barrels, like Flor de Cana rum in Pinot Noir or sweet vermouth barrels, imparting unexpected wine notes to the rum.

Classi Daiquiris at Bar Agricole

Bar Agricole: Though not a rum bar per se, Bar Agricole, with impressive modern design and a bar backed by dramatic photography, is named after French Caribbean rums, boasting a strong selection of rum. Agricole perfects classic rum drinks – chat with bartenders on which version of a classic daiquiri you might want to try – they’re well-versed on each. Imbibe lesser-seen classics like a Martinique Crusta from Charles Baker’s Gentleman’s Companion, this particular recipe dating back to 1840 of agricole, lemon, bitters and Maraska, a Croatian maraschino liqueur.

Additional rum-centric bars: for dive bar rum and cheap rum punch, Hobson’s Choice in Haight-Ashbury; other notable Tiki bars include transporting East Bay classics, Forbidden Island in Alameda and Conga Lounge in Oakland, and out-of-the-way Tiki Haven in SF’s Outer Sunset.

BEST RUM COCKTAILS THIS YEAR

Jasper's new Haymaker

Among the best rum cocktails all year? Brand new to Jasper’s Corner Tap fall menu is frothy, light beer and rum beauty, Rum Shaker (a cheeky reference to the 1990′s rap song, Rump Shaker): Bacardi 8 Rum, Shipyard Pumpkin Ale, lime, pumpkin syrup, cream, egg white, orange flower water recall a classic Ramos Gin Fizz. Also new to the menu is bartender Taylor White’s Haymaker, allowing Appleton Reserve Rum to shine a fabulously musty, spiced way with Combier orange liquuer, chai tea infused Punt Mes vermouth, Angostura and orange bitters.

Maven's Nauti’ Mermaid, creamy with housemade hazelnut orgeat

An after dinner sipper at AQ this summer was Senegal at Dusk ($10), a mixture of Lemon Hart rum, coffee and a blissful cardamom banana cream. At Tradition, Kona Kope stands out from an entire book of cocktails. Sweet Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum and barrel-aged spiced rums intermingle with coffee syrup and a touch of coconut cream, evoking lively coffee-tinged tropical breezes. For a milky rum stunner, try Smuggler’s Cove‘s Jamaican Milk Punch, reminiscent of traditional Brandy Milk Punch, smooth, frothy, spiced.

Lower Haight’s Maven is not a rum bar, but they offer one winning rum cocktail, the Nauti’ Mermaid mixing Jamaican rum, lime, orange, coconut and housemade hazelnut orgeat, substituting orgeat’s typical almond base for hazelnuts. In downtown Berkeley at Comal, a refreshingly unique expression is a Black Daiquiri mixing Pampero Aniversario Rum, Averna, lime, sugar, and Chiapan coffee tincture for a tart, bitter, sweet and robust imbibement. Coffee notes don’t dominate but add a hint of earth and body.

RECOMMENDED RUMS

Brugal 1888 (photo: Brugal website)

Sophisticated Sipping: One of my all-around favorite rums is Brugal 1888 ($54.99), from five generations of family distillers in the Dominican Republic. First aged in American white oak barrels, then finished in Spanish oak, it’s a blend of rums aged 5 to 14 years, hitting the nose with spice, coffee, dried fruits, then to taste, bourbon-like caramel, wood, spice, a hint of earth, with a complex finish. An affordable sipping rum is Appleton Estate Reserve 12 year ($34.99) from Jamaica, blended by female master blender Joy Spence. It’s bright and bold, but also nutty and buttery. If you get your hands on Appleton 21 year, it’s a beauty of fascinating grassy notes, nuts, orange blossom, molasses.

Banks Five Island Rum (photo: Banks website)

Sweeter Sips: Ron Zacapa 23 year ($37) is a Guatemalan classic, smooth with toffee and spice, crafted by a female master blender, Lorena Vasquez. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva ($35) is lushly sweet with caramelized brown sugar, a spice-redolent Venezuelan dark rum. Botran Solera 1893 Gran Reserva ($24), a Guatemalan anejo rum, is an affordable and different side of the sweet coin. A blend of 5 to 14 year old rums, is balanced vs. cloying, tasting of caramelized banana and coconut.

For Mixing: Shellback is a new release of two affordable ($17 per bottle) Barbados-blended rums, ideal for cocktails. The silver is clean with vanilla smoothness and whispers of tropical fruit, while the spiced is medium-bodied with cinnamon bark, ginger and clove oils, nutmeg, cassia.

Appleton Reserve (photo: Appleton website)

White Rum For Aficionados: Possibly my top white rum, Banks Five Island ($25.99) is rife with character, funk and elegance – a blend of rums from five islands (hence the name), it’s reminiscent of the Asian/Indonesian sugarcane spirit Batavia Arrack. Banks recently released Banks 7 Golden Age Blend ($30), 23 rums sourced from seven places, which is likewise complex, dry, nutty, tropical and rich.

For Agricole Fans: Rhum agricole is my favorite style of rum – often funky, grassy, complex, elegant. I adore the floral, fresh spirit of Clement Martinique Rhum Blanc ($30) and their VSOP ($35), exhibiting spice, coconut, apple, earth. Rhum Clément. Already a fan of their elegant rhum agricoles, they just released a fresh, smoky 6 year old ($56), and a cinnamon, wood, vanilla-inflected 10 year old ($73). For a splurge, I adore the unique, cask strength (though still reasonably under 100 proof) 10 year Rhum J.M. Millesime 1997 ($130), unfolding with toasted nut, lemon, sage, cinnamon. Another agricole recommend is La Favorite Martinique Rhum ($38 Ambre, $29 Blanc).

FURTHER EDUCATION

Rhum J.M. Millesime 1997

Ministry of Rum: Started by rum expert and all-around great guy Ed Hamilton, Ministry of Rum is a key resource for all things rum. Find reviews and discussions on just about every rum in existence, glossaries, rum basics, and rum events worldwide, including the annual Ministry of Rum tasting held in the Bay Area. www.ministryofrum.com.

Rum for All: Rum For All is a project started by F. Paul Pacult (publisher/editor of Spirits Journal) and industry expert Sean Ludford. Their website is an online resource of rum primers, select producer profiles and cocktail recipes. I recently went to their touring seminar when it was in SF, offering an impressive range of rums to sample side-by-side: the best way to get educated. www.rumforall.com.

View from Anchor's rooftop bar

Inside News from Anchor Distilling: A New, Clear Hops Spirit, Line of Japanese Whiskies, Rooftop Bar, World’s Most Extensive Cocktail Book Library, and More

Article and photos (unless otherwise noted) by Virginia Miller

Anchor Distilling is a local treasure. Fritz Maytag pioneered craft beer and craft spirits in America long before most were even thinking about it. Tracing back Fritz’ brewing days to the 1960′s puts San Francisco squarely on the map as a leader and trendsetter in beer, while in spirits Fritz alongside Jorg Rupf at St. George, and Hubert Germain-Robin of Germain-Robin, were all pioneering American craft spirits here in Northern California decades before the current renaissance.

Anchor's cozy rooftop bar and lounge

Though I was sad to see Fritz retire and sell Anchor in 2010, I’ve been encouraged to witness the care invested by the new owners. Conversing with Anchor President David King is a pleasure. He came from London and Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR), an iconic name in spirits and wine, now partnered with Anchor Distilling, with a historic shop in London’s posh St. James’s district (which I visited last year in my London explorations). King oversees all imports in their growing portfolio and Anchor’s spirits catalogue, maintaining a humble yet visionary mindset behind the company’s growth.

In keeping with Anchor and Fritz’ legacy, he’s been working to create a spirit different from any before it. It will be the first Anchor spirit to be releases since Genevieve years back: a hops-based spirit, appropriately named HopHead. Though King and Anchor brewmaster (of 41 years) Mark Carpenter long ago passed the conceptual stages, there’s still the waiting game of TTB approvals, including classification of the spirit. As King explains to me, HopHead is made in Anchor’s alembic still used to craft their whiskies, but it is produced like a gin, though made solely with hops in neutral grain spirit vs. gin botanicals.

Hotalings whiskey

Because it defies typical classification, it may even end up being categorized as vodka, which would be a mental hurdle for countless of us cocktail geeks and industry folk who have helped spur on the cocktail renaissance of the past decade plus. But HopHead is not flavored vodka. I’ve tasted numerous hoppy whiskies (a shining example being Charbay’s R5 made from Bear Republic Beer), but this is quite different. As King expressed, the goal is to have the taste of fresh hops without the bitter finish. It’s unexpectedly clean, smooth, vibrantly hoppy but with no lingering bitterness. Granted, IPA lovers and hops fanatics crave the bitter, but I find this a fascinating expression of hops, illuminated from other angles when chilled – unique cocktail creations are waiting to be made from this one. The HopHead label is designed by the same Sausalito houseboat artist who has designed Anchor’s Christmas beer labels for years.

Nikka founder, Masataka Taketsuru, and Taketsuru 21 year whisky (photo source: www.nikka.com)

Months back I visited Anchor’s new rooftop bar, a window-heavy respite with chic yellow couch, wood bar, and striking views of downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. They are close to finishing a deck which will function as a beer garden of sorts, surrounded by herbs and hops. They’ve recently acquired bartending legend Brian Rea’s cocktail library, considered to be the most extensive in the world. King says they plan to have a library room on the top floor of Anchor near the bar where industry folk can peruse vintage books (cozy on the couch with those views) and try them out at the bar with the extensive collection of Anchor spirits and imports. It will be one-of-a-kind as an industry space.

Anchor's bar

On top of this, Anchor Distilling continues to sell a number of exciting imports in an ever-growing catalogue, like Glenrothes‘ brand new release of the first in a line of Extraordinary Casks from the 1960′s and ’70′s, and elegant, refined Hine Cognac, the standout being Hine Antique XO poured at this year’s WhiskyFest. Especially exciting is the import of Nikka whiskies from Japan. We have had to stick to Nikka when overseas and in general, there’s not close to enough Japanese whiskies being imported into the US compared to what is available in Japan. King says he’s hoping in to soon have five or six Japanese whiskies from the Nikka portfolio here in the States, including Yoichi and Taketsuru. We sipped the latter while I learned of the compelling story of its namesake, Masataka Taketsuru. He worked in various distilleries in Scotland, married a Scottish woman, Rita, eventually returning to Japan and founding Nikka as a company (initially named Dai Nippon Kaju K.K.)

We ended our chat with a pour of 16 year Hotaling’s single malt whiskey, Anchor’s crowning beauty (and rarity – this release at only 274 bottles), which I have been privileged to taste a few times. With the view of San Francisco before us, it seems our city’s entrepreneurial, visionary spirit continues to inform Anchor’s direction, just as it has with Fritz Maytag since the 1960′s.

Tasting craft beers alongside (expensive) Scotch at Highland Park & The Beer Chicks fantastically fun seminar at WhiskyFest SF 2012 (photo: Daniel Stumpf)

TASTING SPIRITS

Photos (unless otherwise noted) and article by Virginia Miller

NAVY STRENGTH GIN REACHES US SHORES

photo source: Plymouth Gin website

Unforgettable: my journey to the south of England in the town of Plymouth and its legendary distillery with Master Distiller Sean Harrison. Possibly the most beautiful distillery I’ve yet visited, I relished drinking Plymouth Navy Strength ($34.99) while in the UK, a bracing version of their classic gin at 57% ABV/114 proof, the preferred gin of the British Royal Navy. Though still smooth like Plymouth gin, Navy Strength packs a greater botanical punch, enlivening cocktails.

The good news is it finally arrived to the US merely weeks ago in September so drink up. It radiates in a classic Pink Gin (2 parts Plymouth Navy Strength, 3-4 dashes of Angostura bitters, lemon twist to garnish), which I enjoyed in the hills above Plymouth made by Harrison using fresh drops of reservoir water from the reservoir we enjoyed tea alongside. 

RECAPPING WHISKYFEST 2012

The sassy, lovely Beer Chicks (photo: Daniel Stumpf)

This year’s WhiskyFest was another memorable one. The hilarious Martin Daraz of Highland Park and the uber cool Beer Chicks, Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune (their book, The Naked Brewer, just released), killed it with their laughter-packed seminar. There wasn’t enough room for all who wanted to attend their tasting pairing Highland Park whiskies, all the way up to the glorious 30 year (still a favorite every time I taste it) with well-chosen craft beers selected by the Beer Chicks – a number of pairings went shockingly well together. This seminar should definitely return next year, giving all those who missed it a chance to partake of the joys.

Get him a stand-up comedian gig already! Highland Park's hilarious Brand Ambassador Martin Daraz (photo: Daniel Stumpf)

Digging further into the independent distillery line of BenRiach whiskies with international Brand Ambassador Stewart Buchanan was a highlight, whether the affordable steal of 10 year Curiositas, a robust, elegant 1995 Pedro Ximenez Cask #7165 (at cask strength, 52.3%) or the otherworldly, perfectly balanced 25 yr. The BenRiach line is a nuanced alternative to an Islay Scotch. Though peaty, these whiskies corner balance, letting the peat shine alongside other layers.

Photo source: Ben Krantz

On the American side, the standout was St. George’s 30th Anniversary XXX Single Malt Blend, a layered blend of whiskies from three generations of St. George distillers, Jörg Rupf, Lance Winters, Dave Smith. This new release (only 715 bottles) is a rare blend of whiskies: Winters’ first single malt distillation, his 1999 single malt aged in Rupf’s pear brandy barrels, a small portion of Lot 12 whiskey, and a whiskey distilled in 2007, aged in a port cask made of French oak. Pear notes shine in this bright whiskey as does ginger, butter, banana, hazelnut and orange peel.

Another Scotch standout was Classic Malts’ Glen Spey 21 year, a limited edition whisky maintaining a lively profile in spite of age from bourbon casks with notes of coconut, caramel, toffee.

THE FIRST SF CRAFT SPIRITS CARNIVAL

My favorite new taste at Spirits Carnival: Rhum J.M. Millesime 1997

Held this weekend in the massive Fort Mason, the first SF Craft Spirits Carnival was yet another opportunity for the consumer and industry to sample a wide range of international spirits. Though burlesque felt off in the middle of the vast space, acrobatics were more in line as we explored a US craft spirits-heavy selection with a good mix of Scotch, tequila, rum and the like from around the globe surrounded by gorgeous Bay and Golden Gate Bridge views.

While a number of my usual favorites were there (Highland Park, St. George, Old World Spirits, Charbay, Rhum Clement), there were quite a few new releases to taste. Charbay started importing beloved Tapatio tequila earlier this year, one of the best values out there for quality tequila, and at the Carnival, poured Tapatio’s just-imported Reposado and Anejo tequilas. Finally in the States, both are green, bright beauties thankfully allowing the agave to dominate over barrel wood.

Local distiller Don Pilar just released a refined Extra Anejo (aged a minimum of three years). Though I am typically not a big Extra Anejo – or sometimes even Anejo – fan when it masks agave properties with too much oak, Don Pilar manages complexity with agave liveliness.

Spirits tasting in a massive Fort Mason pavilion

Greenbar Collective’s (aka Modern Spirits) spiced rum ($30) from downtown Los Angeles could have been too sweet – as their fruit liqueurs were for me – but the spiced rum is subtle, nearly dry, aromatic with allspice, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest, redolent of fall.

Michter’s from Kentucky (I’ve long appreciated their 10 year bourbon and their rye) poured their two brand new releases out this month, a decent Sour Mash (86.6%) aged over 4 years, mixable more than sippable, and a robust, cask strength (114.2%) 20 year single barrel bourbon, aged over 20 years with a definite rye spice, although they can’t disclose any information whatsoever on the grain make-up or distilling location.

Tapatio's just imported Reposado & Anejo tequilas

The tasting highlight of the weekend belonged to Rhum Clément. Already a fan of their elegant rhum agricoles from Martinique, they just released a fresh, smoky 6 year old ($56), and a cinnamon, wood, vanilla-inflected 10 year old ($73), both aged in virgin and re-charred oak.

In addition, Rhum Cément Cuvee Homere is aged in French Limousin barriques and re-charred bourbon barrels, smooth with tastes of biscuits, almond butter, hazelnut, chocolate, black pepper, while the stately, pricey Clément XO Rhum, is a Cognac-reminiscent treat blending rhums from highly regarded vintages, like 1952, 1970, 1976, complex with fruitcake, toffee, tobacco, leather. My favorite ended up being a cask strength (though still reasonable under 100 proof) 10 year old Rhum J.M. Millesime 1997, unfolding with toasted nut, lemon, sage, passion fruit, white pepper, cinnamon.

WHISK(E)Y FALL
Standout New Releases & WhiskyFest

I’ll take whisk(e)y year round… but as summer evolves to fall, it seems all the more appropriate enjoyed on crisp nights, preferably fireside. Thankfully, WhiskyFest approaches this Friday, October 5, in the usual massive, underground Marriott ballrooms. Recapping past years, VIP early pours of rare whiskies and seminars tend to be highlights. There’s another seminar this week with the legendary, delightful Parker Beam, exploring Japanese Whisky with Suntory Brand Ambassador Neyah White, and I’m particularly looking forward to beer and single malt pairings with Highland Park Brand Ambassador Martin Daraz.

There’s a number of  new pours this year (list here), including Glenfiddich Malt Master which I review below, Parker’s Heritage Collection release for 2012 – the Master Distiller’s Blend of Mashbills (Parker Beam’s annual, limited edition releases are among the most exciting American whiskies made), and for the first time ever Nikka Japanese whisky, which I’ve long had to enjoy when in Europe as you can’t get it here in the US… until this fall, thanks to our very own Anchor Distilling here in SF. They are importing Nikka with, as Anchor President David King told me recently, a few more Japanese whiskies to come – a huge win for whisky lovers like myself who’ve been longing for more imports from Japan. I sampled Taketsuru 12 year, which will also be poured at WhiskyFest, while Anchor will soon import Taketsuru’s 17 yr and 21 yr whiskies.

If you aren’t going to WhiskyFest, or even if you are, here are three recently-released American whiskies and two Scotches worth seeking out:

American Whiskey

High West American Prairie Reserve Whiskey ($40; 46%/92 proof) – Besides being a real value at $40, I’d deem Prairie Reserve (named after the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48 states, a 5000 square miles reserve in the works in northeastern Montana) another winner in High West’s Utah-distilled catalogue. With 10% of all sales going to this reserve, High West expresses its love of Western land through whiskey – a blend of two bourbons, to be exact: 6 year old Bourbon from the old Seagrams plant in Lawrenceberg, Indiana (a corn-dominant whiskey at 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% barley malt), and a 10 year old Four Roses Bourbon (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% barley malt). Orange spice dominates on the nose, there’s the expected bourbon characteristics of vanilla caramel, and sweet, nutty, dark cherries to taste. Though not made from a High West mashbill, it is in keeping with their style, is an elevated cocktail base, yet also a pleasure sipped neat.

Balcones “1″ Texas Single Malt Whisky ($69; 52.7%/105.4 proof) – This new release from the always interesting Balcones Distilling feels Texan namely in its robust character. You could call it a Texas whiskey for the cowboy set but actually their Brimstone smoked corn whiskey, which goes down like a campfire of scrub oak, exhibits a greater ruggedness. The Single Malt, though bracing, is simultaneously smooth, even silky, unfolding with pear, cinnamon spice, even dusty earth. Even though I find Master Distiller Chip Tate’s Brimstone more grab-you-by-the-cojones fascinating, his Texas Single Malt is ultimately more sophisticated and balanced.

WhistlePig TripleOne

WhistlePig TripleOne ($111; 55.5%/111 proof) – The splurge, out this month at a limited 1100 cases, is WhistlePig’s TripleOne rye whiskey from Master Distiller Dave Pickerell, who you may know as Maker’s Mark master distiller for 14 years. As Pickerell said, I was the very first to try TripleOne at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this July. TripleOne is WhistlePig rye but at 111 proof (vs. 100), aged 11 years (vs. 10). The bracing TripleOne doesn’t boast quite as long a finish as the flagship rye, but it’s even more complex, surprisingly akin to applejack or Calvados at first sip, opening up into spicy rye body with citrus and chocolate notes. It’s a beauty showing the elegance possible in rye whiskies.

Scotch Whisky

Balvenie DoubleWood 17 year ($130; 43%/86 proof) – Balvenie’s new DoubleWood release has been aging 17 years (vs. their classic 12 year), or essentially 17 years in bourbon casks and 3 to 6 months in Oloroso sherry casks. I prefer bourbon cask liveliness in my Scotch and with the sherry finish there’s merely a whisper of sweet muskiness. Nougat and apples unfold, caramel peeks out, but the body is light and smooth, while still standing up with a hint of briny robustness.

Glenfiddich Master Malt Edition ($90; 43%/86 proof) – This brand new, limited-edition whisky was just released in September from the classic distillery, one of only four in Scotland still owned and run by the same family since the 1800′s. At merely 18,000 bottles, it’s small production for Glenfiddich, celebrating their 125th anniversary. Malt Master Brian Kinsman crafted their first double-matured whisky, which spent roughly 6 to 8 years in used Bourbon barrels, then 4 to 6 years in sherry casks.

Sherry sweetness hits first on the nose but thankfully doesn’t overpower the whisky though sherry characteristics dominate (of course there are devotees on both sides of the bourbon or sherry cask-aged whisky spectrum). With whispers of brine, fruitcake and cinnamon, Mitch Bechard, Glenfiddich’s Brand Ambassador West, said over lunch that it, “Goes down like a penguin in a wet suit”… that is to say, smooth.

If you find a way to taste it, I especially love the new, but already sold out in the States (only 1000 bottles) 1974 edition ($800; 46.8%/93.6 proof), a cask strength single malt, that is surprisingly bright for such age, with pear, vanilla, even passion fruit notes, and a long, spiced finish. A drop of water brings out briny, salty characteristics.