Great ad from Guinness in celebration of the holiday. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
TAGS [ GUINNESS | GUINNESS AD | ST PATRICKS DAY ]
Archive for March, 2010
Corpse Reviver #2: A Hangover Remedy Cocktail
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010Quick, jot down this recipe. You’ll probably need it Thursday morning, after partying on St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow. This cocktail is made to help cure your hangover and make you feel like you’re among the living once again. It’s a classic, passed to me by @tommarks on Twitter just today. Knowing that many of you will be out slamming Irish Car Bombs, Guinness and Jameson, I just had to get the recipe on the blog.
Corpse Reviver #2
Adapted by from Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh
1 oz gin (your choice)
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 drop absinthe
1 Luxardo maraschino cherry, for garnish
Shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Finish with a stemless maraschino cherry and enjoy.
To quote Ted Haigh (a.k.a. Dr. Cocktail) from his book himself on this cocktail, "To my amazement, it was the finest thing to ever pass my palate. I could taste every ingredient. It was subtle, it was fresh, it was complex, and it was delicious. My research and acquisitions continued with renewed vigor."
How could you not want to try making this, after sentiments like those?
Cheers!
TAGS [ COCKTAIL RECIPES | CORPSE REVIVER 2 | HANGOVER REMEDY | DRINK RECIPE ]
Handwritten Beer Tasting Journal
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010Journals are a way to keep the simple things in life more personal. The act of touching a pen to a piece of paper and gracefully curling, or forcefully pushing ink across a page is a dynamic action that invokes feelings of abstract expressionist painting, like action painting made popular by Jackson Pollock, if we peel back the layers of pomp and circumstance surrounding the art world. It’s a method of communication, through and through.
The pen striking the paper is an action that has been lost in this digital world. I don’t even know if I could pick out some of the most important people in my life’s handwriting at this point, as well as I could pick out their style of writing. I’ve seen love letters from my Grandparents courting each other in their youth and looking back on this simpler, more direct time, it seems to translate feelings and emotions through calligraphic looking sentences much better than the 16 or so, default web safe typefaces available to blog in.
The digital revolution gives us an opportunity to share information, quickly and efficiently with little to guess at a precise meaning, but some of the translation does get lost in the bits and bytes. Sometimes you just need to keep things to yourself or share with one or two people who are physically present.
A tasting experience is a very personal thing that deserves your full expression of emotions and full insight that might include doodles or scrawling not available on your laptop or phone. Sometimes you just need to write it down on a boundless page, without the confines of a 400 pixel wide column. For personal experiences let your feelings really flow. Short snippets on Facebook or Twitter don’t always give you the room you need to express yourself. For your life, get a journal. For tastings, get a beer tasting journal.
TAGS [ BEER TASTING | TASTING JOURNAL | TASTING NOTEBOOK | BEER TASTING BOOK | BEER REVIEWS ]
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010A classic version of the style, Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale is an English Brown Ale that’s easy to find and great for sessioning.
That’s me on the right, enjoying my Nut Brown with Marideth, who’s enjoying a glass of Ommegang Hennepin. As you can see, the Brown Ale poured a deep ruby brown with only a little head that dissipated rather quickly. Aromas of caramel, malt and brown sugar were present – this went perfectly with my BBQ chicken sandwich.
Its fresh, crisp carbonation made it very drinkable, yet it had a smooth, medium body… I’ll admit I was a bit surprised that it had a medium mouthfeel, since it’s only 5% ABV. It tasted of nutty malts, caramel with a slight bitterness in the finish. Really a lovely brew and one I’ll enjoy again. If you don’t believe me, see what reviewers on BeerAdvocate had to say.
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale even made Deron’s Top 5 English Brown Ales. Check out his post for history, characteristics and food pairings for the style.
Cheers!
TAGS [ BEER REVIEWS | BEER REVIEW | ENGLISH BROWN ALE | NUT BROWN ALE | SAMUEL SMITH ]
No Holds Barred Beer Tasting Party
Monday, March 15th, 2010On Saturday night, my best friend Margaret held her second (I’m sure of many more to come) beer tasting party; no theme, just tons of beer in pints and foods. It was a great party full of delicious brews we can’t always get here, since her brother brought some from California. The party was so good, in fact, I was unable to attend any St. Patrick’s Day festivities on Sunday… at least the weather was so cold and rainy I didn’t mind staying home too much.
Here’s all of the beers we tried Saturday night. Please note that there were usually between 2 and 6 of each kind but in order to fit them all in the photo, we only displayed one of each:
There were some interesting brews that I had never heard of, like Druid Fluid (a barleywine) and Red Rocket Ale (an American amber). Although I enjoyed most of what I sampled that night, the stand-out for me was Dogfish Head Midas Touch. I don’t know if it’s because it was so different from everything else I tried, but it certainly stuck in my mind.
According to DFH, their Midas Touch "recipe is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2,700-year-old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas." Made with barley, honey, white muscat grapes and saffron, it was one of the most interesting beers I’ve had in a while. I could envision myself enjoying this on a hot summer day or paired with Indian or Thai food. I really look forward to picking more up soon.
Along with all of the beer, we enjoyed Stone Ruination IPA Cheese Soup, IPA cheese dip (I believe that was made with Stone Ruination as well, come to think of it), fresh guacamole and a selection of fine brie and champagne cheddar.
We finished off the night with some chocolate and coffee stouts, paired with my tasty Guinness cupcakes, which I frosted this time with my very own Guinness buttercream concoction, instead of my usual cream cheese icing.
All in all, the party was a raging success and we can hardly wait to do it again. In fact, even my cousin’s girlfriend is interested in having a beer tasting party – I believe this one will be in May. I’ll be sure to regale you on it in entirety.
Cheers!
TAGS [ BEER TASTING | BEER TASTINGS | CRAFT BEER | DOGFISH HEAD MIDAS TOUCH | GUINNESS CUPCAKES | BEER REVIEW ]
Still Feeling Stout? Try Guinness Ice Cream
Monday, March 15th, 2010When I arrived this morning I was treated to an email from J2. Inside said email was a recipe for Guinness ice cream, that he had found on hungrymonster.com. Num num. If you haven’t yet had your fill of Guinness from St. Patrick’s Day celebrations this weekend, I suggest you give this a try.
Guinness Stout Ice Cream (Two 1-cup servings)
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
1 c milk
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 pt Guinness (reduced)
In a saucepan, bring the pint of Guinness to a boil and let it reduce to about half to concentrate the flavor. Set this aside. In a separate bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Set aside.
In another saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a boil. Pour the boiling milk mixture over the yolks, whisking continuously. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens just enough to coat a spatula. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
Pass milk mixture though a fine chinos strainer or two layers of cheesecloth. Cover loosely and quickly place in an ice bath. Whisk in the Guinness reduction. Place mixture into a churn or an ice cream machine and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
Thanks to J2 for finding and passing along this recipe. I can’t wait to try it myself – I may even try it with some Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout for a heavier chocolate flavor. If you’re looking for a sweeter Guinness ice cream recipe, check out this one.
TAGS [ GUINNESS | ICE CREAM | GUINNESS RECIPES ]
Cocktails: Easy Like Sunday Morning
Friday, March 12th, 2010Looking for an easy way to make a great drink?
KegWorks has just what you need. BAR-TENDERS INSTANT COCKTAIL MIXES.
I know you’re saying to yourself, no way am I using a powdered drink mix. But I’m here to tell ya these mixes taste just like what your bartender can make and they are really easy to use.
Take for instance my favorite, Lemon Drop. Yeah, Lemon Drop. Simple directions, just add 3-ounces of water, 2-ounces of vodka and contents of 1 pouch. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into your favorite glassware. Not too tart and if you add an extra shot, MAN. What can I say? A great drink.
Now the Mrs. likes the Apple-Tini, no extra shot, (sadly) but she actually prefers the Bar-Tenders brand better than some of the snooty places she drags me to.
We have 9 different mixes to choose from:
If you don’t have a shaker, hey, KegWorks gotcha covered there too.
Drink Happy! Drink Responsible!
TAGS [ COCKTAIL MIX | BARTENDER MIXES | BAR-TENDERS DRINK MIX | INSTANT COCKTAILS ]
