Any regular readers know that, besides being a Guinness lover, my liquor of choice is almost always whiskey. And although I love a great number of whiskeys out there, including Canadian and Irish, my true favorites are the bourbons. (Yes Maker’s Mark, you’ll always hold a spot in my heart, and in my Manhattan, perfect, on the rocks).

The question is though, what makes a straight bourbon whiskey? How is bourbon different from other whiskeys? Dave shot me a link to William Litton’s article today, which did a rather good job of explaining key factors.

As Mr. Litton explains, bourbon is a corn whiskey that is aged in charred white oak barrels. This aging process, in these specific barrels, is what gives bourbon its distinctive coloring and tasty notes of honey, spice and floral, earthy complexity. There is however, a bit more to it than that.

In order to be labeled as an official straight bourbon whiskey, according to US federal law (it’s that big) whiskey needs to meet all of the following requirements:

• It must be distilled within the United States
• It must be made of grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
• It cannot be altered in any artificial way; no coloring, flavoring or special filtering allowed
• It must be aged for at least two years in new, charred white oak barrels
• It must be distilled to no higher than 165 proof, and introduced into the barrel at no higher than 125 proof

Bourbon brands’ tastes are as varied as their names, from sweet to fiery and everything in between. My favorite, Maker’s Mark, tends to be on the sweeter side but still with enough fire to know you’re drinking bourbon. Basil Hayden’s is a bourbon that I liken more to candy than any other. If you’re looking for pure heat and the classic whiskey-face, try Knob Creek—it may be the tastiest fire water you’ve ever thrown back.

Looking for a classic bourbon cocktail recipe? The Manhattan or Old Fashioned always do me well, but here’s something we haven’t posted yet… the Kentucky B & B.

Kentucky B & B
2 oz bourbon
½ oz Benedictine

Pour bourbon and Benedictine into a snifter and stir. Drink and repeat.

TAGS [ BOURBON | WHISKEY | BOURBON WHISKEY | KENTUCKY B & B | KENTUCKY BOURBONS | COCKTAIL RECIPES ]

Coffee and beer have so much in common. They’re used to either wake you up and keep you going during the day or to help you relax in the afternoon. According to this article, they even have a similar history. I found it quite interesting. More people choose beer over wine. Similarly, coffee is a definite beverage of choice in the morning.

For a few years now many brewers have been trying to create coffee stout. Coffee stout is a beer brewed with coffee added either during the boil or the fermentation. Dark roasted malts can give a bitter coffee flavor to dark beer. Some brewers will even add ground coffee and chocolate…sounds good.

I like the combination of beer and coffee. In fact it’s recommended that if you want to try this combo together, just pour a tasty stout into a beer glass and add fresh coffee (wait until it cools down). Try an equal ratio of one to one. Beer is fun to experiment with the possibilities are endless!

Cheers!

TAGS [ BEER | COFFEE | STOUT | COFFEE STOUT ]

This month marks the Bloody Mary’s 75th anniversary! Celebrate by heading out to your favorite cocktail bar or try your hand at making the classic at home.

Not sure which bar makes a superior Bloody Mary? Dale DeGroff shares his top 10 picks for the best Bloody Marys in America. See the article here, at USA Today (thanks for passing along the link, Ed!).

If you don’t happen to live in or around NYC, D.C., New Orleans or any of the others DeGroff listed, no worries - it seems every city has at least one great Bloody Mary joint. For example, the best I’ve ever had in Buffalo, NY are at Staples, a little bar in Allentown, made by Fritz. I believe I’ve mentioned this before :)

Not sure which establishment in your neck of the woods will make a better-than-decent Bloody? You can always make them from scratch at home - I’ll even get you started with a recipe! Or if you’d rather take the work out of it and still have a really smashing cocktail at home, try our Demitri’s Premium Bloody Mary Mixes, with ingredients so fresh no one will ever know you didn’t make it from scratch!

If you do want to try making on eat home without a mix, here’s a great recipe:

Bloody Mary
2 oz vodka
4 oz tomato juice
½ tsp horseradish
2 to 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
Pinch of coarse or sea salt, to taste
Pinch of pepper, to taste
¼ oz lemon juice
Pinch of celery salt or seeds, crushed
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish
Stuffed green olives, for garnish

Add vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and celery salt in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain over fresh ice into a highball glass. Garnish with a wedge each of lemon and lime, and a spear of green olives.

TAGS [ BLOODY MARY | BLOODY MARYS | BLOODY MARY RECIPE | COCKTAIL | RECIPES ]

The air is crisp, the leaves are starting to change colors and football season is in full swing. For me, nothing says, "fall" like a steaming hot bowl of hearty homemade chili. I’m a big fan of making a huge batch on a Sunday morning, having it for the game that afternoon and enjoying leftovers all week long.

My dad has a stellar recipe that I like to use but when I came across a recipe for Guinness Chili I was too intrigued not to try it.

Turns out it makes a thick and tasty blend with just enough spice. Add a little Frank’s Red Hot on top and it’s pure chili perfection. Try it for yourself!

Guinness Chili
1½ lbs beef chuck, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp ancho powder
½ tsp ground cumin
1 onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
Bottle of Guinness
2 oz bittersweet chocolate

In a Ziploc baggie or a bowl, marinate the beef in 2 tbsp of the olive oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, ancho powder, and cumin. Marinate at least 4 hours.

Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Brown the beef (with all the seasonings) and add the onion and garlic. Pour in the tomatoes and the bottle of Guinness. Bring up to a simmer and stir in the chocolate. Adjust seasonings to taste—you’ll probably need more salt and pepper and maybe some more chili powder. Simmer 2-3 hours on low heat.

**If you would like to make this in a crock-pot, just add all the ingredients to the crock-pot and simmer on low for 4-5 hours or until the meat is tender.

TAGS [ GUINNESS | CHILI | RECIPES | AUTUMN | FALL ]

Well, thanks for the helpful hints on my last post. I ended up trying out a couple of these drinks and found that it is the company that you keep that makes it a manly drink.

Some of the more sophisticated guests thought that a dirty martini at a grand art deco ballroom was absolutely "dapper." However, a few blue collar friends of mine wouldn’t let it go until I had a beer in my hand. Guess it pays to know your audience.

Looking for a great Dirty Martini recipe? Look no further.

Dirty Martini
3 oz vodka
1 oz dry vermouth
½ oz olive brine
Olives, for garnish

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice. Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an olive, and serve.

TAGS [ MANLY COCKTAILS | MANLY DRINKS | DIRTY MARTINI RECIPE | COCKTAIL RECIPES ]

Image from Wikipedia

Mai Tai is a popular cocktail that was invented at Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California back in 1944. "Maita’i" is the Tahitian word for "good." The story goes, that one evening while Trader Vic was entertaining his friends from Tahiti he created the Mai Tai. The Mai Tai cocktail is fantastic and simple to create.

Mai Tai
1 oz dark rum
1 oz light rum
1 oz triple sec
½ oz lime juice
½ oz grenadine
½ oz orgeat syrup
Pineapple wedge, for garnish
Cherry, for garnish

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake well with ice and strain into an old fashioned or highball glass over ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Make other cocktails from our featured recipes on the blog!

Enjoy!

TAGS [ MAI TAI | MAI TAI COCKTAIL | MAI TAI RECIPE | COCKTAIL RECIPES | DRINK RECIPES | SUMMER COCKTAILS ]

Last night was my second visit, ever in my life, to the Erie County Fair (a.k.a. America’s Fair). We had an absolutely fantastic night of farm animal petting, people watching and game playing, all interspersed with heavy doses of meats-on-a-stick (oh corndogs, how happy I am that you exist). Fritz even won me the biggest stuffed bear I’ve ever seen, shooting a masterful game of pool!

One of our favorite fair picks, though, was the Raspberry Sangria Wine Slushy (dubbed a Fair Tradition, not that I would know either way). It was so good I had to find a comparable recipe to share with you. Next time you’re thinking chilled wine spritzer or sangria, have a hand at this instead.

Raspberry Sangria Wine Slush
1 bottle Merlot or Syrah
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 pint raspberries

Add wine, juice and berries to a blender. Blend until smooth and freeze. The alcohol will keep your slush from becoming a brick of wine-ice. For faster results, blend the ingredients in an electric ice cream maker until desired slushiness is achieved. Delicious!

TAGS [ WINE SLUSH | WINE SLUSH RECIPE | SANGRIA SLUSH | SANGRIA SLUSH RECIPE | AMERICA'S FAIR | ERIE COUNTY FAIR | DRINK RECIPES | COCKTAIL RECIPES ]