Tequila

It's no mystery that smells have a powerful effect on the brain, quickly bringing back memories. Last night, at another tasting dinner put together by Myrtlewood Liquors, the smell of fine tequila took me over. From 2005 to 2009 I spent about half my time traveling, and much of that was around Central and South America: Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Honduras all stamped my passport. The bars in that area tend to share a few characteristics, like spicy grilled meats, outdoor carts selling ice cream and bags of chili-spiced mango slices, cilantro-spiked seafood, and wooden tables seasoned over the years with dribbles of lime juice and tequila. Even a blonde-haired gringo can triple the quality of his service just by stringing together a coherent sentence in Spanish.

Tequila took me back to just such a place, those hot beaches, those alleyway bars, those carnitas y tostones. Three distilleries, three varieties each: Corazón, Pepe Zevada, and Tequila Ocho; blanco, reposado, and añejo. Dejame a mostrarlas.

First course:
Avocado and Mango Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Crumbled Queso Fresco.

This simple, no nonsense salad was a cool starter. Balance it right on your fork and each bite cuts a broad swath of textures and flavors, from creamy to crunchy, salty and sweet. It paired nicely with our blancos. I especially liked the full, sweet flavor of the Tequila Ocho Plata '08.

Second Course:
Ceviche Mixto.

Once again, I was thrown deeply back into my Latin American travels. I hadn't eaten a ceviche in about a year. I had it first in...I want to say Panama, but it could have been Ecuador. Here we have squid, scallops, onion, tomato, and cilantro, in tomato juice. Every ceviche is different, and there will be regional preferences wherever you go. I prefer mine heavier on the citrus, but this was still pretty good.

This course rounded out the blancos, and took us well into the reposados, my favorite of which being the Pepe Zevada. I loved the sweet, fruity aroma of grape, apple, and sugar; the Z just opened up with big, bright flavor, like ripe summer fruits and flowers, finishing with a mild spice. I may have been the oddball of my table, but Pepe Z was my distillery of the night, and this was my favorite tequila. It may not be straight-up traditional, and I wouldn't reach for it to make margaritas, but if I were back at the hotel gardens in Santa Rosa, watching the boaters on Lago Atitlan, this is the tequila I'd sip on.

Main Course:

Spiced and Skewered Chicken over Cabbage Cole Slaw.

These skewers came with the 19-month aged Pepe Zevada Añejo. I was lured in with a sweet vanilla aroma, and then given a nice little spank from this surprisingly forward and spicy tequila. It finishes with a lingering warmth, nicely complimenting the chicken. This was followed by the Tequila Ocho Añejo: with a more classic "tequila" aroma, the Ocho's bold, fruity flavor really made it stand out.

Dessert:


Roasted Plantains with Goat's Milk Caramel.

A perfect menu selection. Plantains are a classic Mexican dessert, one that I first found in Guatemala. I've tried to make them myself a couple times, and it takes some effort to get the starchiness out of the plantain and make it into something palatable (hint: it's not a banana, so don't treat it like one.) This came with a shot of Reserva del Señor Almendrado, an almond-infused dessert tequila, sort of like Amaretto. The rich, syrupy taste of cherry and chocolate was just decadent. I drank some, and poured the rest on my plantains, and promptly went insane from the amazing sweetness.

As the night went on, I was amused at how much the restaurant started to resemble a Mexican bar. All the smells of the tequila and the rowdiness of the diners came together just as they should. Vaya, corazón.

Whiskey In The Jar

Tina called me on Monday with an invite to go drinking on Tuesday, and I never pass up the chance. The evening was full of whiskey tasting, guided by Master Distiller Steve Beal. Nobody could have made the night more enjoyable or informative. With the night put together again by Myrtlewood Liquors, they spared no opportunity to set the mood:


We started with Bushmill's 16-Year scotch - lightly sweet with a some woodiness - a good opener. It was followed with grilled prawns over a corn and saffron risotto, and a bit of Dalwhinnie 15-Year.


The Dalwhinnie 15 had a deep sweetness, very smooth and rich. Tatsy as it was, the Dalwhinnie Distiller's Edition blows it away: sweet and very woody, it seemed to stay on the tongue forever, with a constant infusion of cinnamon and peat.

The next course was baked brie en croute:


This came with the first offering from Talisker, their 10-Year whiskey. This island-produced whiskey brought forth everything that I like best in the craft: a full peat aroma, rich and earthy, with a deep and lingering smokiness. I was swept up in it. I don't mean to suggest that the night peaked early but this was probably my favorite. Some of my drinking companions insist that the Talisker Distiller's Edition was the better whiskey, but I hold true to the 10-Year. The Distiller's is delightful with its sweet & smoky note, but it felt just a bit fleeting to me. We could all agree however, that if you're picking up something from the Talisker distillery you really can't go wrong.

A Gelnkinchie 12-Year came next - light, smooth, and buttery. Fruity and refreshing, this could be the back-porch Summer whiskey of the night. Up next were two from Oban, and a duck egg roll:


Both the Oban 14-Year and the Distiller's Edition were mellow and easy to drink, with a good honey flavor. I recommend the DE, even if both the whiskeys were overpowered a bit by the spicy red sauce that came with the egg roll.

Main course:


Lamb chops with a coffee/chocolate sauce. Tender and rich, even if I found the meat a bit gamey. With another shot of delicious Talisker at hand, I couldn't complain.

Dessert:



Bread pudding with a sweet whiskey sauce, paired beautifully with the Tom Bulleit bourbon. Simply decadent. The bread pudding came out tender in the middle with a crispy caramelized edge, full of raisins, cinnamon, and warm, tender, milky goodness, and just oozing puddles of sugary whiskey sauce. Adding to the toothache was the perfect Tom Bulleit: clean, sweet, and bright, with a bit of vanilla. Another high moment.

For after-dinner drinks there were the Crown Royal Cask 16, Johnnie Walker Gold 18, and the famous Johnnie Walker Blue.


All tasty, but I felt that some of these big boys were being shown up by their lesser-known brethren. I enjoyed the peatiness of the Blue, maybe a little more than the taste itself. It's a wonderful late-night drink, but I think it proves a point from Mr. Beal: the age, rarity, or price don't matter nearly as much as how you enjoy it.

Candy Everybody Wants

With things trending towards a dryer and warmer NoCal, I met with Molly Mayhem on Sunday for a day out. We tripped on the cosmos as presented by the Academy Of Sciences, and took a cruise further down the coast. Her friends were throwing a little birthday dinner, and I was just lucky enough to show up. Molly has been working with candy lately, and here is one of her latest concoctions:

Blood Orange Caramels

I've severely cut my candy intake since I was a young'un, but this caramel is a more developed take on the classic. The incorporation of blood orange pieces and nuts gives it a multidimensional flavor and texture. Where a typical caramel is just straight sugar up in your grill, these little treats shift from their sweet caramel exterior to a slight tang from the blood orange, and then counters itself with a toasty, nutty crunch. Delightful. I'm not the only person who'd like to see these for sale somewhere.

Moving on to Molly's friends' place, we were treated to a fantastic sangria and raw oyster appetizer. Molly wanted to point out this one in particular for its sheer beauty and form:

Dinner was grilled sausage, peppers, onions, and mushrooms, roasted asparagus, and spiced fingerling potatoes. While that was all delicious and refreshing, I have to emphasize the birthday cake for just how balls-out crazy it is in concept, and yet totally the cake you've always wanted to make for yourself. Witness the Bacon Cake:




The basic recipe as I understood it is a typical yellow cake, but swap out a third of the flour for cornmeal; this makes the cake a little denser, like a light cornbread. Between layers of cake are layers of crisp bacon covered in a brown sugar glaze. The cake is coated in a typical sugar frosting, with a bit less sugar so it doesn't overpower the savoriness of the corn cake and bacon. Finally, it's decorated with more strips of glazed bacon. Now would be a good time to sponge the drool off your keyboard.

Molly's present was a sweet all-copper sugar pan, so the fun is sure to continue. She sent me home with more cookies and berry pies than I can handle myself. I think I have some bored fellow office workers I need to make happy.

Gnarly Wine

It's been a bit of a week, and I thought it would be nice to chill out with a Cappuccino Stout. Turns out I've missed it by a matter of days. But life's not all bad...


...Not in the least. "Tis the season for barley wines, and Lagunitas' Gnarly Wine is on deck. I'm having it with some chicken and a mushroom-asparagus-tomato risotto. This rich, high-gravity brew looks and goes down like candied cherries. My photo doesn't really do it justice, but you owe it to yourself to hold a pint up to the light and admire it before enjoying every velvety sip.

3:1 is Good Odds

Wow, it's been a little while, hasn't it? The New Year comes and goes and I have nothing to say about it publicly, even though I did find a new brain-dead easy recipe for hot wings (or hot whatever-fits-in-a-quart-Ziploc-bag.) Let me try to make it up to you.

I've just opened a very thoughtful Christmas present. Clay and Tina were nice enough to give me a Hendrick's Gin gift box, with a large bottle of gin and accompanying cocktail shaker. Upon uncorking the inky black bottle, it sheds a soothing aroma of flowers and berries. I poured half a jigger and sipped it; the gin pops as soon as it hits the tongue with mellow sweetness and just a little mint. Very nice. After the first taste I was ready to go all the way...

Toby's Preferred Martini:

• 3 parts gin
• 1 part dry vermouth
• 2 jalapeño olives

Liquid ingredients should be poured over a copious amount of cubed ice in a cocktail shaker and shaken vigorously - violently - put everything you've got into it. The cubes agitate the concoction and enhance its flavor. Strain out into a chilled martini glass and introduce the olives on a skewer. You should see slivers of chipped ice on the surface - tiny floes hovering over a sea of fire water. I like mine just a little dirty; the brine sticking to the olive as it's transported from the jar to the drink is plenty. I also recommed using jalapeño-stuffed olives; the added spice stimulates the taste buds, making the flavor brighter and richer.

The Hendrick's in particular takes a dramatic turn in a martini. While Bombay Sapphire keeps some of its sweetness, Hendrick's develops a deep smokiness, as if its floral bouquet had been pressed and dried inside a leather-bound book. It might not replace my Bombay, any more than oranges have replaced my apples. I'll savor it.

Having It My Way

I felt an unstoppable craving for burgers tonight, and I had to indulge. Not the first time I've explored this subject, but it is the first time in a while that I've made a burger of my own, and I think the results are worth attention:

Isn't she a beaut? I took a style cue from John Yobo and mixed some garlic into the meat, along with some chopped mushrooms. I'm having it on whole wheat toast with pepper jack cheese, stone-ground mustard, and fresh spinach. Watch your broiler times; mine came out a bit underdone at first. I'm sure the fine people at Burger King might have some tips for that. In the end, it was succulent and delicious.

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

Since moving to Sonoma County, I've developed a wonderful new relationship with the Lagunitas brewing company. Put simply, what they brew, I drink. I'm experiencing a lot of their seasonals for the first time this year, and when I saw this the other day I couldn't resist:


Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. How thoughtful of them to combine two things I love into one. Like chocolate and peanut butter, they go together so well. I enjoy stouts, and at first pour I was lost in the oppressive blackness that threatened to jettison my glass from the universe.

The brew is beyond rich. The pale-brown head and bittersweet aroma truly invoke a fresh cappuccino. The beer goes down full-bodied, creamy, and just slightly sweet. I know that coffee beers are nothing new, but this Cappuccino Stout is so finely crafted that it can't be overlooked. Before you have one, I recommend you clear your calendar; it's worth lingering over.

That's a pastrami sandwich on focaccia next to the stout. I don't know why, but lately I've been craving only things like sandwiches and burritos. What does this obsession with lunch mean?