Whiskyfest San Francisco was Friday. There were a lot of men in kilts, but they were outnumbered by bottles of whiskey–200 different kinds available for tasting. We got a shot at tasting some that weren’t available to the general public. Throughout the next week, we’ll be sharing detailed reviews of our favorites. To whet your appetite, here are some of our picks from this year’s festivities:

Ardmore 30 — a truly layered and unique single malt available only in the U.S. Only 230 cases produced! Distillery manager Allistair Longwell (one of the men in kilts) shared this with me in a private tasting, and I was impressed by how the peat smoke came in gently and carried the other flavors one by one for a strong finish.

Duncan Taylor Lonach Glendronach 42 – The oldest scotch I tasted, though one of the more subtle and light. A little bit of nut taste and subdued finish were pleasantly surprising.

Ardbeg Supernova — Don’t like peat smoke? Then this isn’t the scotch for you. I like ‘em peaty, and this is a scotch that will punch you in the face … twice. But you know, in a totally awesome way.
Pappy VanWinkle 23 — A great limited edition bourbon that balances sweet brown sugar notes with a little bit of citrus. The finish has a little lingering heat.

Yamazaki 18 — A sweet honey and floral nose, followed with a mild melon flavor and pepper finish made this Japanese whiskey a standout.

We had the pleasure to attended the recent Manhattan Cocktail Classic, held at the Astor Center. The day we spent was amazing, arriving around noon, I was immediately greeted be an amazing bar full of fresh ingredients and rare spirits.

I chatted for a bit an then headed into a session titled “Choosing the right glassware” lead by none other than Dale de Groff. If you don’t already know, Dale is a bartending legend and responsible for championing the cocktail revolution going on today. Mr. de Groff dazzled the crowd with an amazing collection of vintage barware, each with a different purpose. As he talked about the different glasses, Dale told us a history of their evolution. Then things got fun, we started making cocktails! Taking volunteers from the audience, we made 1/2 a dozen cocktails using a variety of glasses. Yours truly had the honor of making a Coffee Cocktail for the class. Think there is coffee in this one, guess again, this coffee cocktail is made from port, cognac, Simple syrup and an egg with a bit of nutmeg on top. Shaken well the egg gives it a bit of foam and the drink taste like, you guessed it, coffee. After several more cocktails were made the whole class was treated to Dale’s famous Irish Coffee.

Next, I was off to “The History of the Cocktail in New York City” with Professor Dave Wondrich. We were all taken back to the origin of the cocktail in the Hudson Valley and through it’s evolution in New York Cities greatest Hotels and Bars. From the famed City Hotel of the early 1800s to and all the way through prohibition, Professor Wondrich wove the tale of what was always the hotbed of cocktail innovation, NYC. We were also treated to some vintage cocktails to help us channel the past.

After a bit more schmoozing and cocktails at the Astor Center Bar (and a short nap), I was ready for the closing gala. It was held in the main hall of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue. All I can say is WOW! This event did the room proud. Attended by over 1000 guests, the night featured a big band, great food and of course, cocktails poured by some of Americas best mixologists. James and Estaban from DonQ are pictured below mixing up a wonderfully fruity rum concoction.

This just being the preview, I can’t wait until the full event in May 14 -18, 2010.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic

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Taking place this weekend Oct. 3-4, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic is two days of history, culture and art of the cocktail. The Astor Center has put together an impressive line up of speakers, including Dale DeGroff, Gary Regan and David Wondrich, on topics such “Sherry: The Cobbler and Beyond” and “How Do You Choose the Right Glass for a Drink?”.

If you are a cocktail geek like me this is an event not to be missed. Saturday features a Tales from Behind the Bar at various locations including Colver Club, PDT, and Pegu Club. The event will close with a gala Sunday night at the New York Public Library.

For more information - Manhattan Cocktail Classic

Continuing the celebration of the 250 years of Guinness this week’s drink is a wonderful twist on the average pint that was introduced to me by my friend Jason. Yes, it is simple and wonderful a bit of fine port combined with a well poured pint of Guinness. This drink would certainly make Arthur Guinness proud, although I have a feeling he may have tried this himself.

Midnight

1 oz. Port
1 pint Guinness

Add the port to a pint glass, if you got a rounded Guinness glass even better, then fill with Guinness.

Enjoy a bit of video from yesterday’s Arthur day celebration in Dublin.

more drink of the week cocktails

Today, September 24th 2009 marks the day 250 years ago that Arthur Guinness started the great brewing tradition that is Guinness. The folks at St. James Gate are planning a world wide party to celebrate with such acts as the Black Eyed Peas, Tom Jones, and Sean Paul. The party starts at the St. James Gate Brewery and continues with live music throughout Dublin and in other cities such as Lagos and Kuala Lumpur.

The party continues west to the USA with over 5000 pubs celebrating and hoisting a toast at 17:59 (5:59pm) local time to honor Arthur’s achievement.

The events of the day will be telecast on Direct TV channel 101, with feeds from Dublin and pubs around the US.

So tomorrow at 5:59 pm, grab a Guinness at you local pub and relish in the gift that Arthur Guinness has given us.

For more visit Guinness.com

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At the recent SF Chef’s food, wine and cocktail extravaganza, Skyy held a cocktail competition. The competition was held over 3 days and featured 6 top San Francisco bartenders. Each day featured spirit and secret ingredient, Iron Chef Style. The semifinals pitted 3 bartenders from a larger field of 15, the six would vie for a spot in the Finals. The finalists and winner would be picked by a panel of 3 judges. Cocktails would be judged on balance, presentation, use of the secret ingredient and other attributes.

Enjoy this day be day account.

Semifinal 1: Spirit - Whiskey, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Herbs

Drink 1 - Brandon Skaggs of Cortez - Irish Peach (Tullamore Dew, Cynar, peaches, sage, bitters, honey)
Drink 2 - Nick Varacalli of RN74 (Wild Turkey Rye, American honey, honey, canton, thyme) winner
Drink 3 - Joel Baker of Bourbon & Branch (Russels Rye, Luxardo, lemon juice, peaches, mint, Curaçao, bitters)

Semifinal 2: Spirit - Skyy Infusions, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Cherries, Apricots & Peaches

Cocktail 1 Carlo Splendorini of Gitane - (Skyy citrus, canton, ferlum, peach, orange, hot salt, chartreuse, ferlum) The Bouquet winner
Cocktail 2 - Scott Baird of Romolo 15 (Skyy passion fruit & pineapple, ferlum, cherry and more)
Cocktail 3 - Borys Saciuk of Zapatistia - The Passionate One (Skyy pineapple & passion fruit, peaches, apriocot, cherry, allspice dram & more)

Finals: Spirit, anything from Gruppo Campari, Secret Ingredient - Peppers

Nick vs. Carlo

Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

1.5 oz. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
0.5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liquer
0.25 oz. Orange Curacao
0.25 oz. Velvet Falernum
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
Dash of Orange Bitters
Muddled Red Pepper

Carlo Splendorini of Gitane Restaurant & Bar

1.5 oz. Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Malthilde Pear Liqueur
0.5 oz. Green Chartreuse Liqueur
1 tbsp. Honey
¾ oz. Lemon
Jalapeño

and the winner is …
Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

photos & recipes courtesy Skyy Spirits

Today, August 16th, we celebrate Rum, the wonderful spirit that is the base of many classic cocktails including the Daiquiri, Mai Tai and Pina Colada. Rum was instrumental in the growth of the American colonies, Australia and was a staple for British sailors until 1970.

So what is rum?

It is a spirit distilled from molasses, which is a by product of the sugar manufacture. There are a few instances where Rum is made from straight cane juice. Rum is produced just about any where people grow sugar cane, but it’s true home lies in the West Indies. The style of Rum differs from island to island, with lighter rums coming from Spanish speaking islands, darker from English speaking islands and cane juice based from the french speaking islands.

Rum is produced in 3 main styles. White, Gold and Dark.

White Rum, the best coming from Cuba or Puerto Rico, are unaged and are create base for many cocktails.

Gold Rum, is basically white rum that has been been barrel aged giving it a but more flavor and character.

Dark Rum, is aged the longest in heavily charred barrels. This type of rum is synonymous with Jamaica and Bermuda, but some very fine Dark Rums are now being produced in Nicaragua and Honduras. Dark Rum is also used in cooking quite often.

There are also seveal other types of rum that are really variants of the main 3, including Spiced Rum, flavored and the oh so scary 151, which is an over proof rum. Many distilleries are also making super premium Rums that compete with fine Cognac and Whiskeys.

Interestingly, Rum is the base of many “Polynesian” drinks found in Tiki bars around the world. Still, most of these drinks originated in the Caribbean or in the case of the Mai Tai, Oakland, CA.

Rum is a now experiencing a Renaissance, much like Bourbon and Tequila before it. There is som much more to it that Coke.

Rum cocktails

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