Bah, Humbug!

Christmas Ale

christmas-scotch-038

Bah Humbug.
This ale has a strong yeast flavour on the front of the mouth and a decidedly hoppy flavour after. As thier Christmas product this beer has cinammon added and this becomes more predonment as one gets closer to the end of the bottle, making this a beer that will definietly benefit from being dispensed into a glass. There definitely are (as the bottle suggests) hints of dried fruits as many yeasty ales exhibit.

Definetly worth a try next year (sorry for the late review), and quite reasonably priced. Three and a half shots out of five.

KLB Raspberry Wheat Beer

klb_raspberry_wheat1
This is one of my favourite beers, it is best enjoyed with the vegetarian Po’ Boy and sweet potato fries at Hot Belly Mama’s restaurant in Peterborough, although now available at the LCBO.

Review:
It has a lovely raspberry bouquet the raspberry flavour blends very well. It has a pleasant light hoppy aftertaste.

Whisky Explained

WHISKY TERMS

* Single Malt Whisky – A term coined in the 1970s during the malt whisky revival, used to define the whisky of one distillery made with 100 percent malted barley.

* Scotch – A blended whisky made in Scotland.

* Irish Whiskey – Whiskey made in Ireland, normally a blend of pot still whiskey with malted barley and grain whiskey.

* Bourbon – An American whiskey with 51 percent or more corn mash aged for two years in charred oak barrels.

* Tennessee Whiskey – a whiskey with no specific grain criteria but normally made with corn mash and charcoal filtering.

Vintages Online

https://www.vintagesshoponline.com/vintages/

Now you can order from Vintages and have your order sent to your local LCBO store.

Steven Page’s Wine Cellar

I read somewhere recently that there was an article about Steven Page from the band BNL at some point in Wine X Magazine so I loooked it up.
It’s from a few years ago.

Here’s the story.
by Bob Blumer
Magazine Issue: U.S. Vol. 4.3

“The usual drill for my Wine X celebrity cover stories is that the interviewee comes to my house, I cook dinner and he or she plunders my wine collection. So when Steven Page, lead singer of The Barenaked Ladies, invited me to sample his cooking and drink his wine, how could I refuse — even if he does live in a foreign, snow-bound country, 3,000 miles from my comfortable perch below the Hollywood sign.”

“A week after receiving the invitation, I embarked for Toronto and was met by a midwinter blizzard. An hour later the reception was much warmer as I was invited into Steven’s tastefully furnished, albeit modest-by-rock-star-standards, house. Steven, equally as unrock-star-like in his thick black framed glasses, tended to a pan of scalloped potatoes as he introduced me to his wife Carolyn, his two young boys, and to Steven Duffy, leader of the ’80s British band Tin Tin, known for their classic hit “Kiss Me.” Duffy was visiting from London for a couple of weeks, to co-write the forthcoming BNL album with Page. Over the course of the evening, the four of us feasted on a seemingly bottomless tin of 0setra caviar, a bottle of Schramsberg’s J Schram that I’d lugged with me, a magnum of Gosset 1989 Champagne, seared ahi tuna served with the aforementioned potatoes and a gloriously stinky collection of French cheese — all served with wines from Steven’s carefully assembled and very rock star-like 300 bottle temperature controlled walk-in wine cellar. The atmosphere was so homey and the host so relaxed, that as dinner started, I had to remind myself that I was there on a mission.”

Bartender Magazine

I just had to know if a Bartender’s magazine did indeed exsist after recently watching a Cheers episode where Woody tries to make up his own drink in an effort to create an original recipe for publication.

“Issued quarterly by the Foley Publishing Corporation in Livingston, New Jersey, the magazine is one of a number of services for the bartending and on-premise industry offered by Ray and Jackie Foley.

They also operate a website with still more drink recipes, bartending  job ads and instruction (for a fee) on all sorts of matters of interest.

Ray is the author of several books, including  Bartending for Dummies, Running a Bar for Dummies and The Ultimate Little Martini Book.  That last title features more than 1,000 martini recipes!”
Magazine Review: Bartender

ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Dear Mixologists…
by Francis Lam
Wine+Spirits+Beer @Gourmet.com

Drinks Around the World

Ring in the New Year 24 times over

Time Zone by Time Zone

Starting at the International Date Line and going west, or view all drinks at a glance.

This is a fun New Year’s Eve trip around the world from Chowhound. I think the Spiced Somalian Tea looks great, what a nice break in the boozy recipes. I remember seeing a recipe in the Toronto Star almost exactly like this one a few years back.

I wish I had an ice cream maker just to try this amazing Frozen Lambic Ice.

Lots of interesting new drinks I hope to try sometime soon.

Drink Recipe List

Holiday Mulled Wine

How to make Mulled Wine with Anna Olson.

made with one very curious ingredient; fresh rosemary.

Link to her recipe.

this is what we did;

Mulled Holiday Wine

1 750ml bottle red wine such as a Cabernet
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 whole orange, sliced
1/2 lemon, sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
2 star anise
3 black peppercorns
2 cups (approx.) apple cider

Slowly infuse, do not boil or simmer. Keep just below a simmer for 20 minutes.

It was fabulous paired with slices of frugal fruitcake.

Cranberry Sangria

This is what I plan to make for New Year’s eve this year. Keep in mind I haven’t tried this yet.

Cranberry Sangria

1 can frozen undiluted cranberry cocktail concentrate
1/2 can frozen undiluted lemonade concentrate
1/4 can frozen undiluted orange juice concentrate
2 tsp lime juice
1 bottle dry white wine
1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
3-4 shots of tequila

1 shot of sherry, if you like

Mix well. Chill overnight or at least 2 hours.

To serve, add lots of club soda, to taste.

Athol Brose

This is the recipe I made last year for Hogmanay.

Atholl Brose
Atholl Brose has been famous since 1475.

3-6 tbsp Rolled Oats (or Oat groats), heaped
450ml (¾ pint) Water
Glenfiddich (12yr. old) Scotch Whisky to make up 1.1L (2 pints)
2 tbsp Heather Honey

Put oatmeal into bowl, mix with water to create thick paste.
Allow to stand overnight in the fridge.

Strain liquid through a fine strainer or muslin into bowl.
Pressing with back of spoon to extract all of the liquid, discard the oatmeal (or freeze and add to your next loaf of homemade bread).
Mix liquid with warmed honey, stir until well-blended.

atholl-brose-020 Pour into quart jar, top up with Scotch whisky.
Shake well before using.
Blend well and let sit 1 day at least, in a cool place, for the flavours to marry.

Serve warm topped with sweetened whipped cream (plus, a touch of whisky) and then a sprinkling of quick-cooking oats.

Serves 4 – 6.

We really LOVED the Atholl Brose last year, it’s becoming a bit of a tradition for us now. Make sure to add a sprinkling of quick cooking oats to the top of the whipped cream for garnish.

« Older entries