[Flickr: edwardkimuk] Quince Brandy View the complete recipe here » A little over a year ago, inspired by the unexpected acquisition of a bowl full of beautiful fresh quinces—and imagining what their ethereal perfume and flavor would be like in a drink—I started a small project. After removing the core and finely chopping the quinces, I placed the fragrant fruit in jars and covered it with cognac. Adding a piece of cinnamon to one jar and a few cloves to another, I sealed the jars and stuck them in the back of my liquor cabinet. And though I blogged about it at the time, I soon moved on to other projects and quickly forgot about my jars of boozy...
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[Flickr: shiokuma] Since the autumn transition is now official, I’m taking a seasonal approach to my liquor cabinet. The white booze, like the white shoes, has been packed away until the warm months roll around again. OK, that’s not entirely true. Good gin is a year-round pleasure, and sometimes you need a daiquiri or two during the winter to remind you that summer does indeed exist. But now that the nights are cooler and the leaves are starting to change, I’m looking at aged spirits with renewed enthusiasm, and one style of spirit in particular: Calvados. In today’s Washington Post, drink columnist Jason Wilson touches on a theme he started last fall: the often-overlooked apple brandy from Normandy. He...
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Inside Ballast Point Brewery, from the Los Angeles Times. In today’s Los Angeles Times, Jenn Garbee contributed a story that’s sure to resonate with spirits geeks like me: “West Coast brewers pick up the distilling spirit.” Small-scale distilleries are on the upswing nationwide, as consumers take greater interest in locally sourced products and states reassess the tax revenue such operations can generate. And while many distilleries are truly independent startups, many talented brewers who have learned the business from making quality beer are either adding distilleries to existing operations, or working in tandem with like-minded distillers. Garbee spotlights Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego, which has been making beer since 1996. Now with a 600-square-foot distillery, the owners are...
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Apparently yesterday was National Brandy Alexander Day—if the cocktail isn't your thing, perhaps you'd like to try making it as ice cream? It's hard to say no to a recipe that involves whole milk AND heavy cream, let alone one that's got brandy and Godiva chocolate liqueur too!...
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Perique tobacco, 'the 'truffle' of pipe tobacco' according to wikipedia, can only be made in Saint James Parish, Louisiana, and is currently only cultivated on the 16 acres belonging to an old-timer named Percy Martin. Jade Liquors has begun flavoring brandy with it. Never thought I'd hear the words "terroir of the Mississippi river" used in a press release, but I must admit, it's got a tasty ring to it......
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