Cooking
I'm just back from Bourbon Street, and I have bourbon on my mind. Of course, in New Orleans I drank Sazeracs, and the flavor of the city is really herbsaint as far as I'm concerned. But I'm thinking about bourbon and the young people I met in Louisville last Spring who told me that bourbon was what their granddaddies drank. It took them a while to come around to it, but they have now embraced it as their own.
Even though my father doesn't drink it, bourbon just seems like the quintessential spirit for dad. In my visit to bourbon country, I learned the distilleries were all pretty much family ventures, though now mostly owned by conglomerates. Even if you don't drink bourbon, a visit to this beautiful part of the country outside Louisville is a treat. I was a guest at the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto which feels more like a national park than anything else. Historic wooden buildings with touches of their trademark red are set against a lush green backdrop. The tour of the distillery is very worthwhile. It's so old fashioned and small scale you might be surprised, I loved seeing the buckets of yeast and beautiful copper distillation pots.
Maker's Mark is made from corn, barley and local wheat. It is smooth and has featured prominently in my recipe development efforts. It has a sweetness and rich caramel and toffee notes with a hint of citrus. If you like Marker's Mark, try 46, which is also made from Maker's Mark, but is aged with more specially charred oak staves, it's a bit higher proof but still mellow and has more spice and vanilla to it.
There are lots of ways to enjoy bourbon, but if you are drinking it straight, by all means, check out the gorgeous American whisky glassware from Villeroy & Boch. The feel of these heavy glasses in your hands and the way the aroma builds and wafts up to my nose convinced me, these glasses are a must for bourbon purists. Villeroy & Boch make a whole line of whisky glasses for a range of whiskies and cocktails so you can get just the right glass to go with your drink. My thanks to Villeroy & Boch for sending me some samples to try out.
My favorite bartender in Louisville, Joy Perrine wrote the definitive book on bourbon cocktails, The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book. Her recipes are layered and balanced and introduced me to so many new ways to enjoy bourbon. She combines it with everything from amaretto to vermouth. The section on creating bourbon infusions explaining how to use herbs, spices and fruits to flavor bourbon is particularly intriguing.
- Cherry Vanilla Balsamic Shrub Recipe
Once again, I’m a Canbassador. That means I receive a couple shipments of stone fruit, more than enough to preserve, and I share my results and recipes with you. I already received a large box of dark red cherries and will be working on peaches next....
- Spirit Works Barrel Aged Gin: Drinks On Friday
Barrel aged gin has been gaining popularity the past couple of years. It started perhaps with Seagram’s Distillers’s Reserve and then a handful of craft distillers got in on the act and more recently Beefeater began producing one. Some distillers...
- Favorite Things Victoria's Kitchen Almond Water
I first encountered Victoria's Kitchen almond water at the Winter Fancy Food Show this past January. I was struck by how refreshing it was. It's not creamy like almond milk, but thinner and lighter and not too sweet. It has no artificial flavors...
- My Picks For Sf Cocktail Week
I'm super busy this week trying to get stuff done before heading off on another trip. But if I had more time on my hands, I'd be going to lots of SF Cocktail Week classes, seminars and events. The fifth annual SF Cocktail Week has an extremely...
- Favorite Things: Sonoma Syrup Co. Vanilla Crush
Vanilla is intoxicating. It has a warm, relaxing bouquet that is heady and lush. A pantry staple it is traditionally combined with chocolate but it also rounds out citrus flavors and even provides a counterpoint to seafood. Like saffron, vanilla is so...
Cooking
Bourbon for Father's Day
I'm just back from Bourbon Street, and I have bourbon on my mind. Of course, in New Orleans I drank Sazeracs, and the flavor of the city is really herbsaint as far as I'm concerned. But I'm thinking about bourbon and the young people I met in Louisville last Spring who told me that bourbon was what their granddaddies drank. It took them a while to come around to it, but they have now embraced it as their own.
Even though my father doesn't drink it, bourbon just seems like the quintessential spirit for dad. In my visit to bourbon country, I learned the distilleries were all pretty much family ventures, though now mostly owned by conglomerates. Even if you don't drink bourbon, a visit to this beautiful part of the country outside Louisville is a treat. I was a guest at the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto which feels more like a national park than anything else. Historic wooden buildings with touches of their trademark red are set against a lush green backdrop. The tour of the distillery is very worthwhile. It's so old fashioned and small scale you might be surprised, I loved seeing the buckets of yeast and beautiful copper distillation pots.
Maker's Mark is made from corn, barley and local wheat. It is smooth and has featured prominently in my recipe development efforts. It has a sweetness and rich caramel and toffee notes with a hint of citrus. If you like Marker's Mark, try 46, which is also made from Maker's Mark, but is aged with more specially charred oak staves, it's a bit higher proof but still mellow and has more spice and vanilla to it.
There are lots of ways to enjoy bourbon, but if you are drinking it straight, by all means, check out the gorgeous American whisky glassware from Villeroy & Boch. The feel of these heavy glasses in your hands and the way the aroma builds and wafts up to my nose convinced me, these glasses are a must for bourbon purists. Villeroy & Boch make a whole line of whisky glasses for a range of whiskies and cocktails so you can get just the right glass to go with your drink. My thanks to Villeroy & Boch for sending me some samples to try out.
My favorite bartender in Louisville, Joy Perrine wrote the definitive book on bourbon cocktails, The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book. Her recipes are layered and balanced and introduced me to so many new ways to enjoy bourbon. She combines it with everything from amaretto to vermouth. The section on creating bourbon infusions explaining how to use herbs, spices and fruits to flavor bourbon is particularly intriguing.
- Cherry Vanilla Balsamic Shrub Recipe
Once again, I’m a Canbassador. That means I receive a couple shipments of stone fruit, more than enough to preserve, and I share my results and recipes with you. I already received a large box of dark red cherries and will be working on peaches next....
- Spirit Works Barrel Aged Gin: Drinks On Friday
Barrel aged gin has been gaining popularity the past couple of years. It started perhaps with Seagram’s Distillers’s Reserve and then a handful of craft distillers got in on the act and more recently Beefeater began producing one. Some distillers...
- Favorite Things Victoria's Kitchen Almond Water
I first encountered Victoria's Kitchen almond water at the Winter Fancy Food Show this past January. I was struck by how refreshing it was. It's not creamy like almond milk, but thinner and lighter and not too sweet. It has no artificial flavors...
- My Picks For Sf Cocktail Week
I'm super busy this week trying to get stuff done before heading off on another trip. But if I had more time on my hands, I'd be going to lots of SF Cocktail Week classes, seminars and events. The fifth annual SF Cocktail Week has an extremely...
- Favorite Things: Sonoma Syrup Co. Vanilla Crush
Vanilla is intoxicating. It has a warm, relaxing bouquet that is heady and lush. A pantry staple it is traditionally combined with chocolate but it also rounds out citrus flavors and even provides a counterpoint to seafood. Like saffron, vanilla is so...