Strawberries and Vinegar?

I recently came across this post from Serious Eats for a Balsamic Strawberry Smash cocktail.  At first, putting vinegar in my cocktail didn’t seem that appealing.  My childhood memory of smelling it whilst dyeing eggs at Easter time quickly flashed before me.  In recent months, however, I’ve had the delight of using it in a nice vinaigrette dressing on a spinach and strawberry salad.  So why not?

I refer you back to Serious Eats for the exact recipe, but this cocktail is surprisingly easy to make.  Most of your time will be spent making the strawberry syrup.  If any of you have experience making simple syrup at home, or better yet, your own real pomegranate grenadine, then you will find what I think is an easier way of doing things.

Instead of waiting days for the strawberries to lend their flavor to the syrup, I altered the process by adding a little water to my strawberries, lemon peel and granulated sugar.   I felt it was necessary because after two hours, they had not lent any of their juice to the pot.  I applied heat as directed and I came out with a thinner, albeit still on the rich side, strawberry simple syrup.  I might add that you may wish to make a bit more of this syrup.  Once you taste this cocktail, you will be having another.

I muddled four large, plump strawberries with a thin slice of lemon.  Adding my strawberry syrup (made the night before) to the fruit along with the balsamic vinegar and bourbon to a cocktail shaker, I was ready to shake the daylights out of this one.  I mean, you really have to shake a cocktail like this.  As I mentioned before, my strawberry syrup came out pretty thick…almost like honey or agave nectar, if that will give you a frame of reference.

After shaking, I poured the drink into a pre-chilled cocktail glass using my cocktail strainer and fine mesh strainer, which I find is apperopos to use on shaken cocktails presented this way as to catch the shards of ice.  However, you will need it for the simple reason, you don’t want fruit pulp in this cocktail, much less those little seeds from the strawberry.  I found it necessary to use my bar spoon to keep the strainer clear and aid in the filtering of drink.

All of this work was definitely worth the effort.  The balsamic seemed to accentuate the strawberry flavor and helped balance out the cocktail.  I used Buffalo Trace bourbon on this one, because it has worked well in sweet drinks in the past.  I like sweet drinks, but not my favorite.  This cocktail seems to get the balance right, pleasing those that prefer sweet over strong flavors and vice versa.

I’ll definitely add this one to my favorites list to make when having company over!

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Forgotten Cocktails: The Blackthorn Cocktail

Awhile back, I started making my way through Ted Haigh’s book, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them, in a series of posts tagged The Forgotten 100.  My original intent was to mix through these recipes in the order which they are presented in the book.  However, due to some of the ingredients being obsolete, hard-to-find, etc., that seemed impossible.  There is good news on the horizon, though.  Thanks to some enterprising folks, a lot of these ingredients are now becoming once again, available to us.

Nevertheless, the first cocktail I made from this book was The Alamagoozlum, which contained genever.  Lo and behold, the folks at Lucas Bols brought Bols Genever to the United States and thus, my foray into the world of Forgotten cocktails had begun.

What is Genever?  Genever, simply put, is a type of gin.  In fact, in my opinion, it is the original juniper-flavored spirit.  However, unlike other types of gin (London Dry, Old Tom, Plymouth), it has a very subtle juniper flavor and is more malty in character.  Recent Twitter traffic and blog-speak has sparked my interest once again in this spirit, and prompted me to substitute Genever for recipes simply calling for gin.  Simply put, as you would substitute gin for vodka in many recipes….do the same for genever when gin is called for.

So…that leads us to The Blackthorn Cocktail.  Now there are many cocktails called Blackthorn, Blackthorne, The Blackthorne….most of which call for Irish Whiskey.  However, this particular recipe is one from Mr. Haigh’s book, and succeeds those previous recipes by seventy years or more.  In this version, we did substitute genever for gin.

The Blackthorn Cocktail (Modified)

• 2 oz Bols Genever
• 3/4 oz Dubonnet Rouge
• 3/4 kirshwasser

Stir with ice in a mixing glass and strain into pre-chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry (I used ones I made at home, macerated in kirshwasser and simple syrup).

The drink turned out to be very nice indeed with a beautiful color lent to it by the Dubonnet aperitif and a subtle cherry flavor from the kirshwasser, rounded out by the mouthfeel of the malty genever.  Give this one a try.  If you prefer a little drier taste to the drink, a nice London Dry Gin would work great.  For drinks with a good juniper punch, I like to use Bombay.

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Review: New Amsterdam Gin

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, but I can’t think of a better subject than one of my favorite spirits…Gin.

Gin is very much in revival.  Like it’s colorless cousin, Vodka, it was once very much en vogue, serving as base spirit for a myriad of classic cocktails. The Martinez, The Aviation, and The Martini are just some examples.

Due very much to the sensitive and unadventuresome palates of the drinking public, who’d rather slosh down a good ole batch of something mixed in an ice chest, (let’s face it, we’ve all been there),Vodka slammed on the scene.  With the advent of good, clean distillation and not without much help from mainstream billboard and creative advertisements, the shelves of liquor stores are filled mostly with vodka.

Now, with the revival of a true blue Cocktail Culture, drinkers are demanding something more..flavor.  Subtle flavors.  Citrusy, fruity flavors.

Gin, however, has been touting the subtle flavor of a host of botanicals for years…first to hide the harsh taste of bad distillation.  These days distillation has become somewhat of an art form, yielding some very interesting product.  This ain’t your grandpappy’s white lightning, ya’ll.

Okay, all of this social commentary on drinking vodka and gin does have a point.  And the point is a review of New Amsterdam Gin.

I normally do a bit of reading on the product I’m reviewing before I taste, but to be honest with the folks over at New Amsterdam, I did not.  I was jonesing for a Martini, and by that I mean a drink made with GIN, DRY VERMOUTH and garnished with a tasty olive or two….or three.

So, I found on the shelf the sample of New Amsterdam Gin I received.  I make my Martinis 2 parts gin to 1 part dry vermouth.  Shaken or stirred, it’s a toss up and I leave that debate behind like discarded ice.

My first impression was…oh, man…this is Gin in its truest sense.  I love Gin, and normally drink Bombay or Beefeater…preferably one with a little bit of juniper bite.  While my first taste of New Amsterdam Gin left me with no doubts of that bite, I detected a lot of citrusy flavors in the background.  As I made my way through the drink, I found that it really didn’t suit my personal tastes as far as a Gin for making my traditional Martini or Gibson.  Instead, I found it more suited for something like a Gin Rickey….a gin drink with juice of a citrus fruit in it.  I can see where in a drink like that New Amsterdam Gin would really shine and add depth to those drinks.

I did some reading and looking at the website for New Amsterdam Gin, and found the recipes there were geared toward exactly those sorts of drinks.  Mind you, there is nothing wrong with fruit juice in a drink. As a gin drinker, I can and do enjoy other gin-based drinks.  While I didn’t have the opportunity for this review to sample them, I am sure that they are delicious.  I even think that New Amsterdam would be great as a substitute for vodka in a Bloody Mary perhaps lending a fruity undertone to the spicy nature of that drink. Hell, a good Tom Collins sipped on while around the pool sounds, even in the dead of winter, inviting.

All in all, I appreciate the effort of the distiller’s efforts here in creating a very versatile spirit in New Amsterdam Gin…with, I believe, a true effort to compete with the fruity-flavored vodkas on the market, lending a hand in furthering the gin revival of present.  At around $15 for 750ml, New Amsterdam has a definite place behind your bar.

 

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Review: Don Q Mojito Rum

Oops! I know back when I reviewed two delicious products from the Don Q Family of Rums, Cristal and Limon, that I said at the end of that post that Don Q Gold would be the next up. Well, trust me it is coming!

I was surprised with the opportunity to review this rum, as I was not expecting a professional sample from Don Q. (Thanks @jaejr! ) I hadn’t written anything in a while. In fact, I hadn’t had too much to drink in quite a while. I wasn’t planning on having folks over, but I got this message via facebook (where else) from my older sister proclaiming Mojito Mondays were back!

I think the Mojito was one of the first drinks I made for visitors to the home bar, and I just so happened to have this lovely bottle of Don Q Mojito Rum sitting precariously on my shelf. I couldn’t resist. What better way to sample a Mojito-flavored rum than with a Mojito.

Adapting the traditional Mojito recipe, I omitted the fresh mint (shock). Keep in mind now, folks, I had yet to lay a lip on this stuff. I added a 1/2 oz of lime juice, an 1/2 oz of simple syrup, and 2 oz of Don Q Mojito Rum. Whiz bang! Topped off with a little club soda with lots of ice and hey, I was serving mojitos. I would have loved to have the mint handy to add as a lovely garnish and to enhance the flavor of mint subtly hidden within the bottle. The drink was a hit. I tasted it, and so did others. Nice and refreshing! That’s what a Mojito is supposed to be. Like a good gin is to the Tom Collins, good rum is to the mojito. Don Q Mojito did not disappoint!

So, I told you I hadn’t properly tasted this rum. Quickly pouring myself a shot, I sipped the rum. Simply delicious! I didn’t feel the burn of alcohol in the least, but instead a slightly sweet taste. I could detect the presence of lime and mint flavors, which are subtle. I know it makes a hell of a good Mojito as it’s name implies, but also could be used as the base for other rum-based drinks, adding a new dimension to some old favorites.

Wherever you live, go to your liquor store and demand Don Q rums….I’m quite sure they’ve an edge over the competition! After all, Don Q is the #1 rum in Puerto Rico and in other areas of the globe.

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Review: Kahula Coffee Cream

As far as coffee goes, I’ll admit I am not a huge fan.  I work at a place where coffee is the expected as soon as you walk in the door, with myself often making the coffee and serving it to visitors and employees alike.  However, I never understood the reason why I should drink something hot when it’s already hot outside, at least in Louisiana. 

My dislike for coffee itself as a beverage of choice should not be construed as I hate the flavor of coffee.  Give me coffee ice cream or whip me up a mocha frappacino and I’m a happy man. 

Having already a good coffee liqueur in your home bar is a must, however, and mine is no exception.  I’ve made many cocktails with that black elixir for those coffee drinkers out there that bleed the stuff.  I was thrilled to receive, although it’s been quite awhile, a sample of the limited edition Kahula Coffee Cream. 

In a word, it’s delicious.  It’s like a frappacino with a little umph.  Silky smooth on the palate with the great flavor of coffee you’d come to expect from Kahula.  It’s a cream liqueur that remains shelf-stable for quite some time, however, it’s recommended that you refrigerate it after opening to help in the shelf-life of the product.

Last night just so happened to be one of the times where family comes over and I get the chance to flex my mixology skills by whipping up some tasty libations.  Armed with a full freezer of ice and some good-looking citrus, I was prepared.  As the night progressed and the hummus and blue corn chips and mojitos (more on a wonderful product there), the focus turned to a coffee based cocktail or two.

Here’s what I came up with:    

Move Over, Mudslide!

Move Over, Mudslide!

• 2 oz strong coffee (I used a Senseo brew)
• 2 oz Kahula Coffee Cream
• 2 oz Half-n-Half
• 1 oz Rich Simple Syrup
• Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker.  Shake the devil out of it, until you can’t hold the shaker anymore.
• Strain through a mesh strainer, as to help cut down on the amount of foam you serve.
• Serve in a pre-chilled cocktail glass

There you have it.  Yes, I know it’s incredibly sweet and quite tame for a cocktail.  But, allow yourself to tweak it a bit for your audience, perhaps with a clear, tasteless spirit of your choosing, and I’m sure everyone will be quite happy.

Cheers!

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Review: Partida Anejo Tequila

It’s been awhile since my last post, but I thought I’d kick this off in grand style with Partida Anejo Tequila.  When I first heard of Partida, and it’s founder and creator, Gary Shansby, I was intrigued.  The packaging was just gorgeous, but the allure of another premium 100% Blue Agave tequila was really what got me.

Unlike other tequilas, Partida is an estate-grown product.  Just like wineries have their own vineyards, Partida has it’s own agave fields.  With more than half a century of experience in cultivating blue agave, the Partida estate is an excellent source of the blue agave that Partida Tequila utilizes to create their product.

The color of Partida Anejo is golden with copper tones.  Upon opening the bottle, the nose of the tequila was faint and subtle, as if the 18 months in the American Oak barrels had tamed it’s fiery heat.  In the glass, the nose opens up to warm aromas reminiscent of ripe fruit. The taste reminds one of pineapple and honey.  Warm on the palate, with more heat present from the alcohol than I thought than hinted in the aroma.  However, it finishes clean and very smooth, with a silky fullness.

In cocktails, Partida Anejo also shines.  Using the accompanying recipe for the Partida Margarita, I used 1 1/2 oz of Partida Anjeo Tequila, 3/4 oz of Agave Nectar, 3/4 oz chilled water, and 1 oz of freshly squeezed lime juice.  As specified I used no garnish, no salt.    I found that the caveat, “Taste for Balance” that came with the recipe is necessary especially with the Anejo.  The Anejo is very flavorful, and the nectar made this margarita too sweet for me.  I think it would have worked better with more lime juice to balance things out a bit.  As with any aged spirit, true enjoyment can be found by drinking Partida Anejo Tequila with as little “messing around with” as possible.

More information about Partida Tequila, it’s product line, including the Blanco, Reposado, and Extra Anejo Elegante Tequilas, can be found by visiting www.partidatequila.com.

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The Forgotten 100: The Alamagoozlum Cocktail

I began a series of posts began a while back, when I made the  announcement that I was going to make all one hundred or so cocktails in the book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh.  This is one of the first books which really thrust classic cocktails onto the scene and started what might be called as an obsession with the rest of us.  Now in it’s second edition, the book is simply enchanting.   I think I’ve waited long enough to start mixing these concoctions, so here goes!   Without further adieu, from recesses of time, comes forth The Alamagoozlum Cocktail.

According to the text, this drink first appeared in  Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask by Charles H. Baker, Jr. in 1939.  Purported to be the creation of one illustrious banker, J.P. Morgan, it packs a wallop but with a sophistication unparallelled in many drinks out there.  The recipe is as follows:

The Alamagoozlum Cocktail

• 1/2 egg white
• 2 oz   Genever
• 2 oz water
• 1 1/2 oz Jamaica Rum
• 1 1/2 oz Green or Yellow Chartreuse
• 1 1/2 oz gomme syrup
• 1/2 oz orange curacao
• 1/2 oz Angostura bitters

This drink calls for some hard-to-find ingredients, but thanks to some enterprising minds out there spirits like Genever are now readily available.  The most difficult ingredient for me to locate was the gomme syrup.  In the book, it suggests using a very rich 2:1 or 3:1 simple syrup.  However, gomme syrup is a simple syrup made with the addition of gum arabic, which gives it a silky feel on the tongue.  There are several good recipes for gomme syrup on the internet.  At A Mountain of Crushed Ice, Tiare Olsen demonstrates a great recipe which I found to be easy to follow and replicate.   The only difference from Tiare’s recipe and the one we made was the addition of a little grain neutral spirits (vodka) to serve as a preservative.

The Alamagoozlum is a strong drink.  This was my first time using Chartreuse in a cocktail.  I was delighted.  The  two ounces of Chartreuse and the healthy dose of Angostura bitters gives this drink a strong herbal bite which gently warms as it goes down. Perhaps the drink would serve well as a winter drink because of its warming properties.  The spiciness reminds me of winter.   The recipe above made two decent sized drinks, perhaps 6 oz each, instead of the three mentioned in the book.

Another first was the egg white.  There are many drinks which call for egg, but I’ve never been brave enough to do it.   I keep going back to memories of the film Rocky, when Sylvester Stallone’s character gulps down a breakfast of raw eggs.   However, through some encouragement from Dr. Cocktail, I went for it.  Never again will I leave egg out of a drink.  Never.    The egg white not only gave this drink a nice ring of foam on top, it also gave it a silky feel in the mouth.

While I tried to be as true to the book and the recommendations that it gives in regards to spirits, I will admit that I did not use Jamaican Rum.  I decided to forego another trip to the liquor store and use Don Q Gold Rum in its place.  I’m not sure if using a true Jamaican rum like Myers or Appleton Estate  would have made a significant difference in the taste, however, because of the herbal intensity of this drink.    This question will have to go unanswered for now.

I suppose you are wondering what’s next.  If you have the book, which you should definitely get (see my previous post on the book), you know the answer.  For those of you who don’t, shame on you.  You’ll just have to hang around awhile.

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Review: Don Q Cristal and Don Q Limon

I have a problem with rum.  I love it for it’s drinkability and it’s taste.  So it has been no chore in doing this review of Don Q Cristal and Don Q Limon Rums.  First however, let’s get a little history on the company and it’s products, which will be reviewed in upcoming posts.

Don Q Rum is the number one selling rum in Puerto Rico.  It is produced in the municipality of Ponce by the Serailles Family, who have been producing rums since the early to mid 1800′s.  In 1930, they launched the Don Q product line and now export to the United States and many other countries around the world.

The Don Q line-up includes many different products from new to anjeo rums.  Among those being reviewed on this site are Don Q Cristal, Don Q Gold, Don Q Anjeo, Don Q Grand Anjeo, and Don Q Limon. There are several other flavored rums by Don Q not reviewed here such as Mango, Mojito and Coconut.

Don Q Cristal is the first up for review, as it should be, not only because it is the first mentioned in the Don Q line,but because this crystal-clear spirit is the youngest of rums.  Clear spirits like this are not aged in wood barrels, and therefore, are the clearest and lightest in color and taste than aged spirits.  So naturally, I expected Don Q Cristal to be as its name implies, clear as crystal.

The aromas of Don Q Cristal are slightly fruity, perhaps with a hint of pineapple and citrus, with a strong alcohol smell. Tasting Don Q was a similiar experience in that I got the slight citrus taste with an astringent finish.  There was quite a lot of burn with Don Q Cristal on tip of my tongue.  Overall, I can say that Don Q Cristal  is distilled very nicely and gives me what I expected from a young rum.

I decided to make a classic Mojito with it, and found that it worked out extremely well.  In fact, I can say it was probably one of the best Mojitos I’ve made or tasted.  Because Don Q Cristal is so light and well-distilled, it allows for the subtle flavors of lime and mint to shine through.  I’ve made mojitos with Captain Morgan Silver Spiced Rum and Bacardi Silver Rum, and found the former  too sweet compared to Don Q Cristal.  Don’t get me wrong, these products are just fine. For my taste, they didn’t work as well.  Perhaps they would work better with stronger flavors.  On the other hand, I don’t think that Don Q Cristal would be my go-to rum for say, a Cuba Libre (rum and coke), due to it’s astringency and lightness in flavor.  Personally I like richer tasting rums in drinks like those.  Making a Daquiri or Mojito for your next party?  If so, Don Q Cristal is your new favorite spirit. The recipe I used for the Mojito is below:

2 oz Don Q Cristal Rum

1/3 oz Light Agave Nectar (I use this because of it’s low glycemic index)

1/2 a lime, cut into four quarters

10 mint leaves

In a mixing glass, add lime quarters, mint, and agave nectar.

GENTLY MUDDLE

Add rum.

Fill shaker tin with ice and shake well for 20 seconds.

Strain into an ice-filled highball glass (you may want to use a fine mesh strainer as well to double-strain the drink to get the small bits of mint. As you can see, I didn’t). Top with no more than 4 oz of club soda and garnish with a mint sprig.

Next up is Don Q Limon, one of the flavored rums from the Serailles Family.  I chose this rum to review alongside Don Q Cristal because it too is a young rum.  However, it is infused with lemon flavor.

The aroma of Limon is up-front lemon, although not quite the same as fresh lemon.  Perhaps that is due to the alcohol smell which accompanies it.  I tasted this spirit and found that the lemon flavor overpowers any of the other aromas found in sampling Don Q Cristal.  Overpoweringly LEMON, but without the tartness associated with that flavor.

I decided to make a traditional Daquiri cocktail.  The drink was very good.  The lime juice and flavor of the Limon really pumped up the citrus flavor, yet still very crisp and light.  Here’s the recipe:

Don Q Limon Daquiri

2 oz Don Q Limon Rum

1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz Light Agave Nectar (again for the low glycemic index)

Shake vigorously over ice and strain into an pre-chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon spiral.

Like the Cristal Rum, I found Don Q Limon to work well in drinks where you naturally want to accentuate the citrus component of the other ingredients.  I would be curious to try this instead of vodka in a Cosmopolitan.  I think it would work well in this application because of the clean base spirit and the citrus flavors normally found in that type of drink.  Both Don Q Cristal and Don Q Limon work well in certain drinks, and not well in others.  Of course, your bartender should know better.  If not, perhaps you can make a suggestion to him.

So far,  only two of the Don Q family of rums have been reviewed.   Next up, is Don Q Gold.

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Ultimate Cocktail For A Cure

Amateur and professional mixologists, cocktail enthusiasts, and bartenders are working hard this week to meet the August 31 deadline for the Ultimate Cocktail for a Cure Contest.   The contest benefits the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation, which raises funds for breast cancer research and awareness.

The event is sponsored by brands like SENSE Rose Nectar, Hendricks Gin, Absolut 100 Vodka, Grand Marnier, Milagro Tequila, Sagatiba Cachaca, and Sonoma Syrup Company.

The contest is relatively simple–You MUST use SENSE Rose Nectar!  For other details, please see the rules on the website.

Let’s be honest.  You know someone who has been affected by breast cancer.  I do.

I decided to dedicate my entry to my friend, Mary, who was recently diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  Mary is currently undergoing chemotherapy which thus far, has been very successful.  Along with her husband and two sons, I offer my prayers and good thoughts that her treatment continues on this successful path.

So, without further ado, I give you one of my entries:

There’s Just Something About Mary

• 2 oz Bols Genever
  
• 2 oz SENSE Rose Nectar
• 1/4 oz LaFee Parisienne Absinthe
• 3 healthy dashes of Fee Brother’s West Indian Orange Bitters
• 1/4 oz Sonoma Company Vanilla Almond Syrup
• Shake well with lots of cracked ice
• Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass
• Garnish with one star anise pod
• Sip to health and think of Mary

This drink starts off sweet with a hint of vanilla, almond, and rose petals.  The finish is herbal with anise in the front.  Without the anise from the absinthe, this drink would be incredibly too sweet.  I liken it to a Cosmopolitan with has a harmless appearance, but can pack a wallop if made correctly.  I thought the star anise pod was a fitting garnish because it symbolizes hope.

With that said, the best thing is to sit back and enjoy.  You can find the SENSE Rose Nectar and the Vanilla Almond (oregat) syrup from Sonoma Company by visiting The Ultimate Cocktail For A Cure website.

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Review: Tabasco Spicy Tequila

Aiyeeee! It’s about time!  TABASCO® Spicy Tequila is here!  I consider myself very fortunate to share with you my thoughts on this unique spirit.

The word Tabasco is synonymous with “hot” and “spicy”.  It is one of those products like Coca-Cola that has become such an integral part of Americana that when someone says “give me some Tabasco”, we reach for the nearest hot sauce.  The same thing happened with Coca-Cola.  When someone asks you what do you want to drink and you reply, “Just give me a coke”.  You actually mean, soda.  It doesn’t have to be a cola, either.   You see, a brand like this never dies.  You can put that brand name and logo on anything and it will sell.  For example, there have been Coke jeans, shirts, ties, coasters, etc.  Tabasco has done this as well including various other flavors of hot sauces, barbeque sauces, Bloody Mary mixes, and even ties.  I own quite a few myself.  In fact, my kitchen is decorated with Tabasco art.  Marketing, however, does not make a good product.  It sells product.  Fortunately for us, a brand like Tabasco doesn’t appear on anything that doesn’t reflect the same quality that the makers of Tabasco, the McIlhenny family, have committed themselves to for over one hundred years.

Tabasco was developed and made by Edmund McIlhenny some 140 years ago.  Since then, the product has been sold in nearly every corner of the world.  In April of 2009, the McIlhenny Company received the Royal Warrant for Tabasco, which can now appear on each bottle produced, as an award of excellence for supplying either HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, or HRH The Prince of Wales with the goods or services.  You may have seen this seal on another product which is Laphraoig 10 yr. Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Tabasco to me, brings into mind things of the present, from the artwork on my walls to the ties hanging in my closet to the bottles of fiery red pepper sauces in my refrigerator.  It also brings to mind things of my past–my childhood in South Lousiana, where some of the relatives of the McIhenny’s lived next door to me,  the field trips I went on as a child to Avery Island where Tabasco is made, and the pride I have in Louisiana as the birthplace of a brand that is famous throughout the world.  I was simply thrilled to hear that there was a TABASCO® Spicy Tequila. Considering the fact that one of the most important steps in making the pepper sauce is the aging of  pepper mash in whisky barrels, it seems as if it was destined to compliment spirits.  Also, considering the pepper species used to make TABASCO® pepper sauce comes from Mexico and Central America, that it would compliment the agave spirits of Mexico.

Now we should get something straight.  Tabasco Tequila is not made by the McIlhenny Company.  It comes from a source that you know well in the spirits business, Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., who have among their brands names like Rittenhouse Rye, Evan Williams, Christian Brothers, Hypnotiq, and Two Fingers.  The folks at Heaven Hill worked very closely with the McIlhenny family however, in the production of TABASCO® Spicy Tequila.  Yes, it is REAL tequila, made in Mexico, as all tequila must be.

I received for National Tequila Day two bottles of TABASCO® Spicy Tequila from the good folks at Heaven Hill.  Upon opening the packages I noticed that the tequila in the bottle has a golden-reddish hue about it.    The label had the diamond-shaped Tabasco label on it with flames coming out of it.  The label said “Premium gold…Hecho en Mexico”.  These statements tell me two things.  First, the tequila is a gold tequila, which means it is a mixto, which contains tequila plus other colorings and spirits.  Secondly, it was in-fact genuine tequila, made in mexico.  Being a mixto however, I knew it probably wasn’t as smooth as other 100% Agave tequilas.    I knew it would be best when mixed in cocktails.   I admit, I was a little scared to drink it, afraid I’d be getting a snoot-full of  hot pepper and sending myself into a fit of coughing and sneezing.    I’ve read a lot about pepper extract, and was concerned that this tequila may have too much heat.

The promotional materials found on the website at www.tabascotequila.com, state:

Created from premium tequila flavored with the authentic and iconic TABASCO® brand pepper sauce, TABASCO® Spicy Tequila is the unique and perfectly balanced infusion of authentic  premium tequila with the hot, spicy and bold Tabasco kick.  TABASCO® Spicy Tequila offers a new twist on shots and traditional cocktails like the margarita.

As a shot or in a cocktail, TABASCO® Spicy Tequila will… heat up the night.

Well, now, that’s marketing, right?  How does this stuff really taste?   Hold on a minute…let’s not put the cart before the horse, okay?  Smell has everything to do with taste.  I don’t care what your mother told you.  If it smells bad, it probably tastes bad.  I don’t know anyone who can separate the two, except maybe Andrew Zimmern.  So, let’s start with smell.

Upon pouring a sample, I smelled at first the familiar tequila smell–cooked agave, citrus, and a hint of spice.  I also smelled a slight twinge of Tabasco smell.  Fortunately, I did not smell vinegar, which is a huge component in the pepper sauce.

The taste was much of the same as the smell–hints of agave, pineapple, citrus, pepper, and a familiar Tabasco heat.  The alcohol burn was there too, but only on the front side, near the tip of my tongue.  A medium-bodied spirit, the finish of this tequila is a little sweet with a pepper bite at the end.

As much that is said for mixtos  being inferior product, this one is not.  This is a good spirit, well-distilled and balanced.  It tastes like tequila, but with a bite at the end.  If you swirl this stuff around awhile, you’ll get a bit of that pepper burn all over your mouth, but not in a way that you cannot stand it.  I don’t think I could sit around and sip this, as I would an aged tequila, but can definitely see it in cocktails.  I made three total for this review– a Martini-style drink, a Margarita and a Bloody Maria.

Creole Tequila Cocktail by Jeff Johnson

1 1/2 oz TABASCO® Spicy Tequila

1 1/2 oz Martini and Rossi Dry Vermouth

3 dashes Fee Brother’s Orange Bitters

Stir with cracked ice until ice cold

Strain into pre-chilled cocktail glass

Garnish with a green pepper

This drink worked out extremely well.  In fact, I think it is the best of the three in showing the true flavors of the spirit and allowing for the peppery hot finish.  As I said earlier, the pepper burn is definitely there but not so much as to affix a “not for wusses” warning label on the glass.

Margarita Bites Back by Jeff Johnson

2 oz TABASCO® Spicy Tequila

1 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz Lime Juice

1/4 oz Agave Nectar

Shake with Ice Vigorously

Strain into small glass with salted rim

Garnish with Lemon or Lime Wheel

If you’re brave enough, eliminate the Agave Nectar altogether or cut back on the Grand Marnier.  While definitely a margarita, the tequila and it’s bite don’t show through as much as I’d like.  Still, you get that little bite at the end, though.

Bloody Maria

2 oz TABASCO® Spicy Tequila

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

2 pinches or very healthy shakes of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

2 turns of freshly ground black pepper

1/4 oz Lemon Juice

6 oz V8 Juice

Build over ice in mixing glass and roll ,Strain over ice into highball glass with salted rim

Garnish with Green Olives, Cocktail Onions, and Green Pepper

Shake a little Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning on the surface

This is a variation on a classic Bloody Mary recipe.  Notice I left the TABASCO® Pepper Sauce out.  I wanted to see if I got any heat from the TABASCO® Spicy Tequila itself.  I got very little. You must remember it is hard to overpower the flavors of tomato, Worcestershire and black pepper.   While this is a good Bloody Maria recipe as is, I personally like additional pepper and spice to my Bloody Mary drinks.  So, consider this drink a work in progress.  I have some good ideas that just haven’t worked themselves out yet.  Can you say pico de gallo, salsa, mexican spice and heat?

I recommend TABASCO® Spicy Tequila as a great mixer/shooter tequila.  If you haven’t planned one yet, why not throw a big LSU football tailgate party with TABASCO® Spicy Tequila?  What could be more Louisiana?

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