Drinking The World

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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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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“I'll toss out a quick two cents about apple brandies. If I were to make a general statement about how North American apple brandies differ from French Calvados, I'd say that the NA ones are fruitier and less heady. In general they are 'cleaner' and, I think, more approachable than their traditional French counterparts. St. George's, Clear Creek's, several different Michigan ones I've tried. As a cidermaker, I suspect it comes down to fermentation practice, rather than cultivar or distillation. I grow the same apples - the biggest difference between French and American apples is in polyphenolic content, which stays in the pot. But the acetates and diacetyl that are distinct in Calvados are also present in a lot of cidre - at least compared to American cider. Slow, cool fermentations with native orchard yeast.”
-Charles McGonegal, Aeppeltreow Winery, Wisconsin-

JOE CORLEY is the head distiller at Germain-Robin Distillery.

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

JC:[/b] I really just know the four I mention on question 3 below... but I have had a chance to try many fine spirits being made across the country and I think most should be given "A" for effort and there are a lot of contenders for very good to great quality spirits, but there are a lot of ho-hum ones as well. One cannot make high quality spirits without the time element for brandies and whiskies. Ok, we were all astonished (at the whiskey tasting at the 2008 ADI Conference) by the "Scotch" quality from Amrut in India for their 3 year old, that is an unusual circumstance of environmental and other factors.

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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-

ALEXANDER DAY is a sought after consultant and award winning mixologist at, among others, Death & Co., NYC, where his creations grace their cocktails menus.

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

AD: Every night. Be it a true fruit brandy or a liqueur, fruit spirits have such a wide spectrum of flavors that they can either define a drink as a base, or augment by acting as a modifier. Some of the more pungent examples – Clear Creek Pear Brandy comes to mind – have such intense aromatics that they can easily be used in the smallest of quantities, enhancing the profile of a base spirit by picking out, and fiddling with, common flavors.

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G'Vine Nouaison Gin is 43.9% abv. / 87.8 proof. I wrote about G'Vine Floraison Gin and now have the pleasure to write about their new product which just rolled out in the US. Normally I let samples of spirits sit for awhile, but I was waiting eagerly to try this gin and had it opened the evening it arrived. G'Vine Nouaison contains nine main botanicals: ginger root, licorice, green cardamom, cassia bark, coriander, cubeb berries, juniper berries, nutmeg, and lime. Plus an additional botanical that their Floraison Gin is known fro, a small touch of grape vine flowers, but nowhere near the amount seen in the G'Vine Floraison

The aroma is elegant and refined, clean and pure, like how the air smells right after a Autumn downpour. Hints of ginger, lime, and juniper come through, with floral and spicy tones as well. A classic gin aroma, but with just a bit more oomph to it. Almost a metallic aroma at times, in a good way, like titanium and platinum. This is ginny, gin, gin. The taste starts off with a nice juniper hit, followed by hints of nutmeg and other spices, and lime. It's smooth, elegant, and in the classic London Dry Style, but with a slightly bigger and bolder, but not overwhelming, taste.

The G'Vine Nouaison Gin is a much more refined gin than the floral powerhouse of the G'Vine Floraison. This is a gin that seems made for sipping on the rocks, but even more so, for a classic dry martini, Just a little vermouth, and a lemon twist, or maybe a lime twist to bring out more of the light lime that's hiding in the background. I think you will see a lot of this gin in premium cocktails starting very soon, and from what I've heard it's sweeping the awards.