NEW SPIRITS: Rum & Vermouth

Article and Photos by Virginia Miller

Here are a couple noteworthy products that crossed my desk in recent weeks…

MOUNT GAY BLACK BARREL RUM, $29.99
Barbados favorite, Mount Gay Rum, recently released Black Barrel Rum, a rum finished in charred bourbon oak casks.

For American whiskey lovers like myself, it makes for a fine marriage of bourbon and rum, balancing caramel-vanilla-sweet notes from sugar cane molasses and wood with subtle hints of pepper and spice. Barbados’ acclaimed water, naturally filtered through coral layers, is said to contribute to the smooth taste of the rum.

Its subtle elegance especially works given the value. It can double as a sipping rum and elevates cocktails, like a simple mix of Black Barrel, lime juice and St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram.

ATSBY VERMOUTH, $44 each
Atsby is a newer artisanal vermouth out of Upstate NY. Atsby’s two, non-traditional vermouths are best enjoyed on their own.

Atsby Amberthorn is the lighter of the two, fresh and sweet with botanicals like French lavender, basil, Chinese anise, which intrigue though none dominate. It’s soft so a squeeze of lemon brightens it up.

Atsby Armadillo Cake (yes, there’s a story behind the name) makes a bit more of a statement with a dark caramel sweetness (from Indian Muscovado sugar) and complexity from cardamom and unusual botanicals like wild celery and Japanese shitake.

There’s little bitterness to either vermouths so they should both be approachable to a wide range of drinker. Though soft, they stand strong solo, but I have a harder time mixing them in cocktails as the unique botanical profiles of both aren’t an easy replacement in classic recipes. There’s a number of recipes on the website, though it’s the simpler ones that work better, like a twist on a classic Martinez using Bols Genever, the Armadillo vermouth, Maraschino Liquor, and Angostura bitters garnished with an orange peel strip.

The Most Expensive Thing I Ever Drank

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

The most expensive thing I ever drank may be one of only 12 bottles of Dalmore’s Sirius Scotch with Master Blender Richard Paterson, a blend of vintages all the way back to 1868… or maybe it was 1865 Rouyer Guillet & Co. cognac shared by Salvatore Calabrese at Tales of the Cocktail 2010. Most recently, however, it was Legacy by Angostura, valued at $25,ooo for one of only 20 bottles worldwide (3 coming soon to the US)… the first bottle sold for $40,000 with most of the proceeds going to charity.

Anyone who spends much of their days tasting knows that older doesn’t mean better… neither does more expensive. I cannot count the times I’ve sighed with delight over a mid-range spirit compared to a more expensive pour alongside it.

Though best known for the most famous of all bitters, Angostura Trinidadian rums are a pleasure. 1919 is the most popular, but my two favorites are the woody elegance of 1824 as a sipping rum, or the value of Angostura 7 year rum (usually around $25) which elevates a cocktail but works neat, too.

Tasting through the line with Master Distiller John Georges, who worked with Master Blender Robert Wong and crew over 6 years blending Legacy, we discussed Legay’s long finish, its liveliness yet signature elegance.

They went all out on an Asprey hand blown crystal decanter with Art Deco design and sterling silver stopper of a butterfly (their signature logo) atop sugar cane.

As for the product itself, I cannot imagine having a fortune and wanting to spend $20k of it on a bottle of anything. But for those who do, nosing Legacy’s whispers of tropical fruit and vanilla-clove is to be transported to the Caribbean, albeit a restrained, elegant vision of it. To taste, dried fruit, spice and orange zest comingle with subtle wood and tobacco notes. Consider it Trinidadian history (the youngest rum in the blend being 17 years old) in a glass.  

At Spruce in Laurel Heights, Brandon Clements recently crafted cocktails using the line of Angostura rums at a special dinner, including a 1919 rum-papaya-pineapple-pomegranate juice imbibement. He sets a thick pineapple wedge aflame, caramelizing demerara sugar on top. Clements’ house cinnamon-cardamom tincture adds a layer of spiced complexity.

My favorites were his elevated (tart, clean, yet lush) classic Daiquiri, and Island Heat, a decadent blend of expensive 1824 Angostura rum macerated with apples, spice added from pür orange spice liqueur, bitter ting from Gran Classico, a rinse of Black Bottle Scotch with two dashes of Angostura bitters. 

RUM TALES

Article and photos by Virginia Miller

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.

- 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).

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

TASTING SPIRITS

Photos (unless otherwise noted) and article by Virginia Miller

NAVY STRENGTH GIN REACHES US SHORES

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

PORTLAND DISTILLERIES

Article & photos by Virginia Miller

In my recent travels in Portland I trekked to three distilleries within city limits, two established, one brand new. My top priorities were Clear Creek and House Spirits which have been the best I’ve tasted historically of what is coming out of Oregon.

I also visited brand new Bull Run Distillery near Clear Creek, boasting a retro tasting room lined with vintage barware and paraphernalia, with plans for tastings and bartender parties. In tasting their light Pacific Rum, Medoyeff Vodka and Temperance Trader whiskey blended from Kentucky whiskies (which they aren’t allowed to name), unable to taste the Oregon whiskey they have begun to age (scheduled to release in 2015), thus far it’s hard to say there’s yet a standout spirit putting them on the national craft distilling map. Waiting for their Oregon whiskey to be released…

CLEAR CREEK DISTILLERY

On the one sunny afternoon during my week in Portland this May, I walked through the peaceful Alphabet District along leafy, tree-lined streets to Clear Creek Distillery. Housing four stills and smelling sweetly of apples, which they were distilling the day I visited, I spent the afternoon with Steve McCarthy, the gracious owner/distiller who started Clear Creek in the late ’80′s using fruit from his family’s orchard. He told me how he learned directly in the 1980′s from Northern California pioneers Jorg Rupf (St. George Spirits) and Hubert Germain-Robin (Germain-Robin), who pioneered the first US craft brandies on par with the best in Europe. McCarthy’s products are in that style, recalling Old World Europe. Utilizing local fruits and ingredients, he crafts everything from his best-selling pear eau de vie to grappas, an Oregon Single Malt Whiskey and Douglas Fir liqueur.

TRY: McCarthy said it and I agree: the traditional Williams Pear Brandy ($25.45 for 350ml; $40.45 for 750ml) is my favorite Clear Creek product, pure and intensely pear, on par with Poire Williams brandies I’ve sipped in France, Austria and Switzerland. I appreciate his elegant Cassis liqueur, akin to the black currant liqueurs of France, tart, sweet and ideal in a number of classic cocktail recipes. His Cranberry and Loganberry liqueurs are unique, particularly the bracingly tart, lush cranberry.

HOUSE SPIRITS

Spending a rainy morning at cozy House Spirits Distillery (launched in 2004) with distiller Colin Howard was a pleasure as we sampled future releases straight from the barrels.

House Spirits may be best known for Aviation Gin (admittedly a solid Dutch-style gin, though not one of my favorites) – they also produce Krogstad Aquavit and the small batch, limited edition Stillroom Series. Where I was particularly intrigued, however, was in tasting their upcoming Oregon whiskey (due Oct.-Nov.) and just-released rum. Howard exhibits a willingness to experiment, even play, that I admire in distillers and witness in the range of what House Spirits is creating.

WATCH FOR: As Oregon distillers pursue Oregon whiskey as a category, House Spirits is the more intriguing I’ve tasted, nuanced with spice and sweet, creamy grain, made from 100% malted barley, aged in new American oak barrels.

My taste buds were most piqued by their aged rum. It shines with a molasses sweetness from Barbados molasses, fermented with a Guadalupe Island yeast strain. Simultaneously, it exhibits a whisper of grassiness, an almost rhum agricole quality, that surprised and delighted me immediately, giving it greater character than a sweeter molasses rum. Aged in used, whiskey-washed barrels for 6-8 months, it’s smooth but stands apart with a welcome earthiness.

Two Willamette Valley WINEMAKERS

Though unfortunately this trip I did not have time to make it to Oregon’s famed wineries, I recently enjoyed long lunches with Oregon winemakers visiting San Francisco, tasting through either their entire line or in the case of Argyle, vertical tastings through vintages of the past 25 years. Both of these winemakers and wines impressed, produced with care and verve.

ARGYLE WINERY, Dundee, OR

As part of Argyle Winery’s Roadhouse Tour around various US cities, I attended a special media luncheon at Ame offering a vertical tasting of Argyle wines celebrating their 25th anniversary with head winemaker and founder, Rollin Soles. With quirky, knowledgeable insights (and timeless mustache), Soles led us through the tasting with laughter, commenting in depth on winemaking in the cool weather climate of the Willamette Valley: “We say, ‘It’s not Oregon wine unless it gets rained on.”

Soles says the climate as ideally suited not just for Oregon Pinot but for Chardonnay, Riesling and sparkling wine, all of which he produces from 650 acres of hillside slopes. His Rieslings sing with Asian-influenced dishes, like Ame’s gorgeous “Kaisen” sashimi salad, dotted with Japanese cucumber and tobiko caviar in a yuzu soy vinaigrette.

Naturally, the Pinots are beauties – Argyle’s Nuthouse, Spirithouse and Reserve Pinot Noirs exemplifying Oregon’s place as one of the world’s great Pinot-producing regions. I also savored a complex yet delicate 2007 Blanc de Blancs’ Brut (earthy minerality on the nose; tastes of white peach and hibiscus) and a meaty 2001 Nuthouse Chardonnay, lovely with cheese. A 2001 Extended Tirage Brut was aged 10 years in the bottle exhibiting a funky mushroom nose, crisp yet creamy on the tongue, while a 1999 Nuthouse Chardonnay is ripe with melon, vanilla, floral notes, and acidic bite.

STOLLER WINES, Dayton, OR

Stoller Vineyards boasts the distinction of being the first LEED Certified winery (with Gold rating) in the US. Stoller was founded by owner Bill Stoller, a third generation Oregonian on a 400 acre parcel of land – once Oregon’s largest turkey farm – which his family has farmed and lived on since his grandparents. It’s all volcanic soil above 200 feet, adding depth and earth to wines grown from clones Bill secured in Dijon, France.

Bill brought on a female winemaker in 2003, the lovely Melissa Burr, who I recently enjoyed a long lunch with at RN74. She looks too young to have been winemaking for over a decade, but has a rich history, from science major and intern at Cooper Mountain Vineyards to winemaker, her care apparent in the handful of Stoller releases. I was impressed hearing she’d just become pregnant when first interviewing at Stoller, and upon informing Bill, he welcomed it and brought her on board as winemaker, affirming his belief in a family-friendly winery and business.

A 2009 Chardonnay ($28) – again confirming the rise of Chardonnay production in the Willamette Valley – is crisp, barrel fermented and aged with enough acidity to be food-friendly. It’s pleasantly perfumed, tasting of light baking spice and mushroom. Though I enjoyed the expensive 2008 Reserve Cathy’s Pinot (merely 110 cases, $100), sourced from their oldest vines, I preferred the 2008 Pinot SV ($40), blended from their best 2008 barrels, its nose of plum and violets gives way to damp earth, dusty berries mushroom, and cardamom.

TEQUILA

DON JULIO 70 ANJEO CLARO

Don Julio 70 Añejo Claro is the 70th anniversary release created by Don Julio González himself. Yes, he is a person, who retired in 2002 but still creates anniversary recipes each decade (the last was his soft, elegant 1942 tequila released for their 60th anniversary).

At 80 proof, Añejo Claro sounds gimmicky at first: why would someone want to release a clear añejo, stripping out the color oak aging imparts? Don Julio was looking for an unexplored expression of tequila, taking on the challenge of creating his own custom filtration system to filter out color and gain clarity after the Claro is distilled, then aged at 18 months.

Hoping to illuminate the agave properties that often get lost in an añejo due to too much oak, the agave really shines through here (although it also does in some of the better añejos I’ve tasted).

The bottom line in sipping Añejo Claro is that it’s an elegant product: citrus, green apple, caramel and vanilla notes intermingle with bright agave. It goes down all too smoothly and is a welcome addition to the Don Julio line.

I came away convinced after an intimate media meal at one of our city’s great restaurants, Quince, where we tasted much of the line side-by-side, also sampling the tequilas in 5 different cocktails Quince created. My favorite was Julio Cesar Chavez, a classically-inspired beauty of añejo, Gran Classico, Dolin dry vermouth and Amaro Nonino. Our last cocktail, Don Guapo, was paired with Quince‘s juicy Liberty duck entree (glazed in honey and tequila, naturally), consisting of añejo, Meletti amaro, Pedro Jimenez sherry, and Bittermans Xocolatl Mole bitters.

GRAPPA

In a recent tasting of 12 grappas with spirits industry friends, we concluded the obvious: there are some experimental, even lovely grappas being made in the States, but the finest examples of this pomace-based (grape skins, stems, seeds, pulp) brandy are often from Italy. The best of the day, bar none, was one I’ve had on my shelf for months:  La Grappa di Pino Zardetto, made about 40 miles outside Venice. It exhibits all those floral, fruity, subtle earthy notes of the best Italian grappas… with smooth, exquisite body.

Stillwater Spirits, a tiny Petaluma distillery I’ve visited a few times (they make a surprisingly flavorful single malt vodka), makes an intriguing Cabernet Sauvignon Grappa. Maple mixes with salty olives, gentle fruit and vanilla spice, and it keeps evolving as it sits.

Peach Street Distillers in Palisade, Colorado, makes a rather heavy-handed Muscat Grappa, but also a bright, fruity Viognier Grappa, with notes of apple, cream, even chocolate.

GIN

DARNLEY’S VIEW

Darnley’s View is a new gin made in London but produced by the Scottish Wemyss family who date back hundreds of years as vintners and spirits merchants. The gin mimics the London dry style in honor of Mary Queen of Scots’ union with Lord Darnley (a Scottish/English marriage) in 1565. Four times pot distilled, it is made with six botanicals: juniper, coriander, elderflower, angelica root, orris root, lemon peel and elderflower, the latter adding a softly floral dimension. It works as a mixing gin in cocktails.

RUM

St. LUCIA RUMS

I’ve been sipping rums from St. Lucia, an island roughly 20 miles south of Martinique in the Caribbean, claiming both French and English influences. St. Lucia’s Chairman’s Reserve is a blend of rums averaging 5 years in age, sweet and honeyed but not lacking in tobacco and spice to balance it out. The Spiced version sees nutmeg, clove, and citrus, to me subtly recalling wassail, which my family always makes at Christmas time. In some ways, I almost prefer the cheapest Chairman’s Reserve Silver (to the Gold or mainstay Reserve) as here sugarcane, coconut and spice come through with simple clarity.

I find their Castries Crème, a peanut cream that liqueur made from roasted peanuts with St. Lucia rum, rather a guilty pleasure. Creamy, yes. But not too heavy, offset with hints of vanilla and spice. It’s dessert cocktail time with this liqueur.

Hotels, Coffee and Rum in KAUAI, HAWAII

Kauai… dreamy island respite, painfully beautiful, truly relaxing (other than East side traffic!) Last issue, I covered restaurants and cheap eats on the island. This time it’s best places to stay and drink (read the 5/15 issue for best cocktails on Kauai).

HOTELS

GRAND HYATT KAUAI, Poipu Beach – Do yourself a favor and stay at Grand Hyatt Kauai. A resort in the full sense of the word, it is its own escape and world unto itself. From lava rock waterways and multiple levels of pools (including a salt water/sand pool) to its world class spa, Anara (go for the open air couples cabanas), you leave here feeling as if you’ve truly had vacation.

Dinner at Tidepools, pina coladas sipped poolside, taking in the sunset from the deck of your room with a bottle of wine, conversing with the parrots in the massive open-air atrium, taking in live bands and a scotch in Stevenson’s Library… its all unforgettable.

Yes, it will cost you, but service is impeccable and the experience ranks up there (or better) with the best I’ve had anywhere – that includes Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons. The unreal setting, balmy by day, lit by tiki torches at night, is unbeatable.

OUTRIGGER WAIPOLI, Kapaa – My initial take on Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort wasn’t strong. On a busy, strip mall-lined stretch of East Kauai in the town of Kapaa, its appears fairly generic from the outside, while kids swarm the lovely pool area (modeled loosely after Grand Hyatt’s incredible pools and waterways – the one spa for adults was overtaken by 8 children).

Walking down a non-descript hallway to our ‘room’, the door opened into what felt like our own private beach house. Two bedrooms, three bathrooms, spacious living room and kitchen, each room had sliding doors opening up onto the lawn running to right to the beach.

Breezes flowed through the space, which felt private and removed from a hotel structure. Dishware, wine glasses, coffeemaker, everything we could need was in the kitchen, making it feel like a home away from home. It was the one part of the trip where we could cook and watch movies (“Blue Hawaii”, thank you very much) on flat screens in each room.

Though the location is not near as idyllic or removed as Grand Hyatt on Poipu Beach (certainly more affordable), inside our room we felt secluded, rested and as if we could settle in for weeks.

DRINK

KAUAI COFFEE PLANTATION, Eleele - Originally McBryde Sugar Plantation back in the 1880′s, Kauai Coffee is Kauai’s one and only coffee plantation, encompassing over 3000 acres right up to the ocean. A more striking setting I could not envision. A half day personal tour with their amazing sales manager, Marty Amaro, was a highlight in Kauai. We off-roaded in his truck over red dirt roads, through coffee fields, next to ocean rocks where we watched sea turtles lolling.

They do everything locally themselves. I toured the factory, climbed atop a coffee harvesting tractor, witnessed bean roasting and bagging (on a vertical form, fill & seal machine), and, of course, sipped Kauai Coffee. Amaro makes a mean iced mocha, let me tell you what. I was envisioning a sweet, chocolate-ly drink but it’s a bracing, coffee lovers delight, refreshing and cool on a hot, island day.

Kauai Coffee grows farm varietals of Arabic coffee: yellow catuai, red catuai (both high acidity for medium-bodied coffee), typica (medium acidity for medium-bodied coffee), Kauai Blue Mountain (medium acidity and full-bodied), and Mundo Novo (low acidity but full-bodied).

They run the largest drip-irrigated coffee estate in the world, sourcing waters from a nearby dam in the foothills, roasting over 600,000 lbs. of coffee a year: an amazing feat when you see the size of the room it all happens in. Similar to wine seasons, harvesting happens annually (around September through November) when staff double in size to get it all processed.

The coffee club is monthly cost of the beans, a reasonable $15.25 for one 10 oz. bag or $29 for two. Besides some of the elegant estate coffees, I find the newer Big Braddah a real representation of Kauai spirit: casual, familial, playful. Definitely NOT a flavored coffee type, I am pleasantly embarrassed to admit I was taken with their Hawaiian Coconut Caramel Crunch coffee. They painstakingly hand-flavor each batch and this one was not at all sweet, particularly integrated and nutty.

Kauai Coffee should be a stop on any visit to Kauai.

KOLOA RUM, Lihue – Koloa Rum is a bit of a ‘mixed bag’. The setting is memorably Hawaiian: a traditional sugar plantation-style tasting room on the grounds of the delightful Kilohana Plantation (a former sugar plantation preserved as it was in its 1930′s heyday). Their elegant packaging reflects the setting, making for a strong first impression.

Staff are gracious and aim to please. But complex Hawaii liquor laws are such that tastes remain exceptionally tiny, cannot be shared, and though they have created a mai tai mix, they cannot mix alcohol or make a cocktail of any kind.

Using a 1210 gallon copper pot still originally used for Kentucky bourbons post World War II, their white, gold and dark rums work best as entry points to rum. I know some who find it flat or not as nuanced as other rums, yet each one has won bronze or silver medals at esteemed rum tasting competitions like the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.

I expected to find the Gold ($30.95) and Dark ($32.95) rums too sweet given their somewhat unnatural coloring, though they tell me this comes from crystallized sugar and molasses. They were more balanced than I expected. The one I’d be most inclined to drink is the White ($29.95): clean and light, appropriate for cocktails. They recently launched their Spiced Rum.

If in the area, it is a worthy stop as a local venture, using the last of the little sugarcane even left from the island and pure mountain rainwater of nearby Mt. Wai’ale’ale.

JAVA KAI, Kapaa – The best coffee I had in Kauai, the bracing coffee at Java Kai is a local favorite for a strong cappuccino or espresso. Java Kai doesn’t have the friendliest staff (unusual for Hawaii in general), but it’s no matter when coffee is prepared right. It was my regular morning stop on this side of the island (PS – it’s ideal iced, too; next door to Mermaids Cafe).

KALAHEO CAFE, Kalaheo - On the South shore of Kauai, this casual cafe would be at home in any hip small town. Kalaheo Cafe has a healthy, locals vibe and is packed for breakfast. Eat in or take out, stand-outs include straight-from-the-oven baked goods (apple coffee cake, for one).

Using local coffees like Kauai Coffee, they serve robust espressos and cappuccinos. There may be no third wave, artful foam atop that capp, but rest assured it will wake you up. For one picky about coffee and how it is prepared, I didn’t feel like I had to suffer for good coffee on the sleepy island of Kauai.

My favorite events this month…

MEATPAPER’S PIG PARTY at Camino

The setting couldn’t be more ideal for a pig party: wood floors, beams and chandeliers, long tables, and a roaring hearth fire with counter big enough to hold a massive pig and all array of homemade sausages, pig tails and terrines. It felt akin to a rustic, British home where we’d come for a heartwarming feast.

Celebrating the Spring issue (pig-focused, natch) of Meatpaper, the definitive meat magazine, the food/drink spread is well worth the $35 fee, though good luck snagging a table and making your way through a body-to-body crowd in the sold out event. I hate things that packed, but the vibe was convivial and Camino’s staff stayed upbeat throughout, even when descended upon coming out of the kitchen carrying Ryan Farr’s gourmet Corn Dogs with mustard sauce (I guiltily admit to being a descender).

Camino’s patient bar staff made a couple house cocktails using sponsors, like Leopold Brothers gin and St. Barths‘ Batiste Rum, while wines (from Pacific Edge), beers (Trumer Pils) and a mild hibiscus juice flowed.

Leif Hedendal created some gorgeous vegetarian offerings in the midst of all the pig, like a bright Snap Pea/Blood Orange salad, Potato Salad and one of my tops, a bright Pea & Mint Crostini. Fatted Calf’s Taylor Boetticher cooked juicy, grilled Crepinettes with Becker Lane Organic Pork wrapped in. His Pork Terrine with spicy mustard on toast was nuanced. Staffan Terje of Perbacco laid out charcuterie, but better was his one-of-a-kind Bacon Marshmallows. Camino’s chef, Russell Moore, made Green Garlic & Herb Sausages (using Prather Ranch pork), and Ryan Farr’s famous Chicharrones were piled in bowls around the room. Smart move. No one could stop eating them.

With quarterly release parties for each issue of the magazine (check their website), there will be more chances to indulge in such a feast. But back at the party, butchery of the hog commenced, its head sitting proudly on the counter, overseeing the festivities.

MINISTRY OF RUM at St. George Distillery/ Hanger One in Alameda

Ministry of Rum… what is that, friends asked? Some cool ministry of spiritual significance, roping in followers with fine rum? Well, that’s not too far from the truth. An event focused on education in cane spirits, specifically rums and cachaças, in the massive airplane hanger of incomparable St. George Distillery, Ministry of Rum tours the country, its focus on “the noble spirit”. Mainly attended by spirits cognoscenti, it was one fine taste after another through the bustling hangar. Thanks to a well-paced crowd, I could talk reasonably with and hear from vendors about their rums, sampling different ages and styles. I heard stories of distilling processes, or in the case of delightful Sergeant Dave Classick himself, of his family who are all involved in running their distillery – his daughter and son poured tastes and mixed cocktails as we chatted.

Despite a number of highlights (El Dorado distills some beauties), I was pleased, as a Bourbon lover (who hasn’t yet met a spirit she didn’t find some good qualities to), to discover a number of sipping rums that would stand beautifully alone, paired with a fine cigar (as the Renaissance Man continued to point out). My tops at first sip: Zacapa’s rum, aged in bourbon, sherry and wine barrels, each barrel imparting another layer to the nuanced rum grown from Guatemalan sugar cane. The color of rich mahogany, it’s dense with woody, vanilla and spiced notes. Another favorite was Mount Gay’s Extra Old Rum from Barbados, one of the oldest rum distillers in existence since 1703. Aged 17 years in toasted oak barrels, it’s smoky but smooth with notes of molasses and oak on the nose.

A major perk of the evening was having some of SF’s best mixologists serving drinks made from each vendor’s rum. The line-up was stellar and they were often educating on the rums they were working with: Martin Cate, Erik Adkins, Brooke Arthur, Thad Vogler, Duggan McDonnell, Marco Dionysos, and so on. Reason enough to go, but all in all, a richly informative night… and sensory delight, the lights of San Fran twinkling in the distance. All this in an airplane hangar.