Drinking The World

Where do you want to be on Friday October 14th? At the Ultimate Blast!

The Ultimate Beverage Challenge's second annual Ultimate Blast, a consumer, media and trade tasting event returns to New York City. Friday, October 14, 2011 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, 1535 Broadway @ 45th St., NYC.

Ever dream you could go to an amazing tasting where you would learn about the world’s best spirits, cocktails and wines? Where the host encourages you to try a little something from the rarest bottles on his bar – whether wine or spirits – AND he has trays of the most delectable specialty cocktails for you to sip and savor? That dream becomes reality when the second annual ULTIMATE BLAST consumer, media and trade tasting event returns this fall to New York City.

Hosted by Ultimate Beverage Challenge (UBC), the country’s foremost spirits and wine evaluation company founded by beverage expert and author F. Paul Pacult, this gala tasting event featuring spirits, cocktails and wines will take place on Friday, October 14, 2011 from 5:30pm - 9:30pm at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, New York City. Tickets to this can’t-be-missed event are available now at www.ultimate-beverage.com/blast-info. Through September 15, a 30% Advance Purchase Discount applies to all tickets.

This year at ULTIMATE BLAST, guests can once again look forward to not only being educated about the finest products the beverage alcohol world offers, but also a high-spirited party in a nightclub-like atmosphere. The famed Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis hotel will feature tables brimming with the best libations as well as branded lounges hosted by major spirits and wine companies that will be decorated to create special and unique ambiances – like a party within a party! Many of the beverages at Ultimate Blast are UBC Chairman's Trophy winners and finalists from the trio of Ultimate Beverage Challenges held earlier this year. All guests will enjoy:

o SPIRITS – hundreds of world-class whiskies, brandies, vodkas, tequilas, rums, gins and more, produced by the world’s finest mainstream and craft producers
o COCKTAILS – scores of thrilling cocktails, created by an array of the world’s best bartenders
o WINES – a bevy of the world’s most acclaimed Champagnes, wines and sparkling wines
o BOOK SIGNINGS – by some of the world’s pre-eminent spirits and cocktail authors
o LIVE MUSIC and FOOD

Says UBC founder F. Paul Pacult: “If you want to have fun this fall, you’ll come to Ultimate Blast and learn about world-class beverages. Period.”

For those of you who don't know, USBG stands for the US Bartenders Guild, the NY means the NY chapter, of which I have been a avid participant of for the past 18 months. Even when I was living up in Maine I attended as many of the NYC events as possible, and almost every one since I moved back here last September. I haven't written about any of them, but I think I will have to start.

Around 20 bartenders, mixologists, and one distiller, me, were treated to a day trip to visit Long Island Spirits, the distillers of LIV Vodka, and several fruit liqueurs. We were taken by luxury bus from NYC out to the east end of Long Island and treated to a day of food, beverages, a tour, a cocktail competition, and more. LIV Vodka is a very good product. I'm not a vodka fan, but this is an artisanal vodka crafted with care, from potatoes grown right outside the distillery. They also treated us very well, and gave a very instructive tour of the distillery, for many it was there first time and they learned a lot.

A new bartender friend of mine who I met yesterday posted on Facebook while we were on a bus ride to visit the distillery the following, "Long Island Distillery Tour with some crazy mixologists ohhh its gonna be a rough Monday..."

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While I was at Tales of the Cocktail I managed to miss one of the seminars I most wanted to attend, The Science of Shaking. I blame it on the extreme loss of brain cells. But thankfully one of the presenters wrote up the details. The seminar was about how ice and liquids react when being shaken in a cocktail, and the results were very different from what most of us in the industry had come to accept as fact. I won't try tore-phrase the post, instead you can read it here at Cooking Issues, the French Culinary Institutes Tech'n Stuff Blog. http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/tales-of-the-cocktail-science-of-shaking-ii/

Just the other day I had a delivery I had been waiting almost a year for. My copy of Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh's latest edition, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails - Deluxe Edition. I immediately pored over the book and found it to be even better than I hoped. The book is very well done. the graphics, writing, format, information, etc.

I knew that there was one page I wanted to take a look before reading the book cover to cover. I opened to the index and went to "P", and saw Penobscot Bay Distillery pointing to page 153. There I read about what I am working on developing. A product that should be available this Fall. American style, dry, aged Peach Brandy. I thought that was pretty cool. (Although Doc, you mis-spelled my last name with two R's. That's OK, it happens.)

I've become friends with Doc over the past year or so, after he wrote me an email and gave me a call when he heard I was opening a distillery. Specifically, that I wanted to recreate, and improve upon, "Gilded Era" pre-prohibition style spirits, especially to make real, aged, Peach Brandy. After that first phone call, we would chat every now and then, as well as email, and soon we got to meet in person a few days before Tales of the Cocktail 2008.

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Drinks in the 1600’s? I saw this seminar title on the list for Tales of the Cocktail 2009 and said to myself, what the heck were they drinking back then? It sure wasn’t whiskey, when was gin invented? Rum? Brandy? More probably wine or beer was the drink of choice because this was centuries before cocktails came about. Modern stills hadn’t been invented yet and liquor was more likely medicine or tonics… than libations. Spirits were hard to make, hard to get your hands on, and much was unknown about them.

I had to know more, so I got in touch with the presenter, Darcy O’Neil, and asked him what it was all about.

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photo by Dan Peterson

JIM MEEHAN is a world-renowned, award-winning Mixologist & spirits expert. Bar manager at PDT NYC, he also edits "Food & Wine Cocktails 2007 & 2008" and the latest and best version of the best selling Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide.

JMF: Do you use any North American fruit spirits in your cocktails?

JM: Yes, I've used Clear Creek Eau de Vies in at least one cocktail on every menu for the last year. We always have an Apple Brandy drink (or 3) on our menu from October till March. We carry Germain-Robin Brandy, but Cognac is our go-to brandy. If I opened a PDT in California, I would mix with G-R.

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DANIEL EUN, award winning mixologist at PDT, one of the world’s best cocktail bars located in NYC.

JMF: Do you use any North American fruit spirits in your cocktails?

DE: I have a cocktail on the PDT menu right now that uses Pear Eau-di-Vie.

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“I believe the production of these spirits is wildly important. When a distillery opens up it is very important to bottle as quickly as possible, because alas, money must be made in order to stay in business. While the standard is to create vodkas, I think the pioneers playing with fruit brandy are a wonderful alternative. I have tried a number of them, and each one shows great character. As far as I am concerned Steve McCarthy (Clear Creek Distillery) out of Oregon is the pioneer in this field, and my go to guy. I also think Lance Winters (St. George Spirits) is at the top. The average consumer does not know much about these and it will take a lot of effort, but the exciting part is that the quality is already there, so that is the most important thing.”
–Ethan Kelly, Brandy Library, NYC-

TED HAIGH, known as “Dr. Cocktail”, author and mixologist, is one of the world’s top experts on vintage cocktails and spirits from the early 1800’s to present.

JMF: What are your thoughts on artisanal fruit brandy and spirits made in North America?

TH: I think the re-invigorated American brandy distilling trends are very valuable indeed. Though I am not particularly nationalistic about the spirits I enjoy, the research and willingness of domestic craft distillers to experiment, create new things, and revive old ones I find heartening... even exciting.

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“If I was to make one comment on this subject (American fruit spirits) it would be that micro distillers need to focus on more unusual ingredients than fruit. Why is all this effort being put into making American versions of European classics? Mette in France is making asparagus and hop eaux de vie, Hans Reisetbauer is throwing carrots into the still , why aren't we ? Dave Arnold at FCI is throwing all kinds of crap into a roto-vap and coming up with some really original ideas… isn't that what America is all about?”
-Eben Freeman, Tailor, NYC-