Archive for May, 2008

Most bartenders have a style of drink, if not a specific drink, that they consider to be their best offering.  Regulars know this drink is a great choice for a beverage.  The drink menu even may direct new customers toward ordering this drink.

So, if the patrons at Bar A believe their bartender’s drink is the best, and the customers at Lounge B believe their mixologist’s beverage is the best, how is one to know which drink is the best in their area?  Well, if you live near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, you are in luck!

On Sunday, June 1st, from 5 - 8 p.m., the 2nd Annual Portsmouth Cocktail Competition is being held at a variety of participating restaurants and bars.  For $30 per person (only $20, if purchased in advance), you can sample complimentary cocktail tastings at 8 different venues.  At 8 o’clock, there will be a wrap-up party and voting for the favorite signature cocktail.

For an evening of fun, visit Portsmouth Cocktail Competition to purchase your tickets!

According to dictionary.com, a bartender is, “a person who mixes and serves alcoholic drinks in a bar”. This may be true for many bartenders who make your typical assortment of drinks, such as cosmos, mudslides, and pina coladas. However, much to my delight, there are bartenders who are more akin to artists.

I have had the great fortune of knowing such a bartender. I first met Jared a year and a half ago at a local martini bar. Whenever I visited that bar and Jared was working, I was assured that I would receive a delicious beverage. His drinks had excellent flavors and garnishes. Because of his drinks, my boyfriend and I began to frequent that bar for drinks and dinner.

Sadly, one evening last fall we went to our favorite spot, and Jared wasn’t there. Not fully realizing his talents as a bartender, we returned to the martini bar a couple times, but each time we grew more disappointed. This place no longer offered excellent drinks, and the number of patrons began to dwindle.

Luckily, we knew that a new restaurant had opened in the area. Wondering if our favorite bartender had moved to a new location, we ventured there after work one evening. Much to our delight, our favorite mixologist was behind the bar! Since that day, we have a new favorite place to dine and partake in beverages.

Having been to many fine dining establishments with extensive wine and beverage lists, I have decided that there are a few things that make a bartender excellent:

• The flair for creativity. As I mentioned earlier in the article, bartending can be an art. A talented bartender will strive to make new concoctions and research new ingredients.
• The ability to listen. A good bartender gets to know his or her patrons’ likes and dislikes.
• The desire to decorate.  An excellent drink should be pleasing to the mouth and eyes.

This week an American legend in American wine making , Robert Mondavi, passed away at his home in Yountville, California at the age of 94. The son of Italian immigrants, Bob Mondavi (which is the name he preferred to be called) is credited with introducing European wine making techniques to the United States. He also was one of the first Americans to make the point that wine is an integral part of fine living.

For his vision and persistent marketing efforts, anyone that lifts a glass of great California red wine should give a moment of thanks to Bob Mondavi.

Beer has its connoisseurs, just like wine and fine spirits. Most Americans would tell you that a microbrewed beer will always be better than a “big” beer, such as Bud, Coors, and Miller. Our European counterparts would tell you that Bud, Coors, and Miller are a-okay, as would a huge majority of regular beer drinkers.

But for those who really go for nuance in beer — and there are a lot of folks like this — microbrews are the way to go.

You can pay a lot for microbrewed beer, far more than what you pay for the Big Three. But you can pay a lot and get an inferior product, an inconsistent product, or something you just plain hate. There are a variety of great microbrewers out there, but Samuel Adams remains the gold standard.

Why? Well, they’re bigger than the average microbrewer, which would seem contradictory. But for all their size, they maintain excellent, and strict, quality. Sam Adams made sure to make their original brew perfectly, time and time again, before they branched out into other brew types. Now they’ve got well over a dozen, many of them seasonal. And they’re all perfect, each and every time. For example, Samuel Adams manages to make as good a winter brew as any other microbrewery — then goes beyond and makes another one, and another — each different, each great.

Price-wise, they fall between the Big Three and the more expensive microbrews, meaning you can normally enjoy a six-pack and still get chips and dip for about ten bucks. For the price, and the taste, if you want to branch into the world of microbrews, start with the award winning Samuel Adams. You may never need to go any farther to find the best microbrews available.

I have a good friend who’s an asthmatic. Asthmatics never know when they’re going to go into an attack, and while most of them carry inhalers and even pills, sometimes those aren’t enough to stop an attack dead. What does this have to do with hard alcohol? What a lot of people don’t know is that 40-50 years ago, asthma medicines had a high alcohol content.

My friend, and a variety of her asthmatic friends, have discovered a “natural cure” to knock attacks out. Strong alcohol. One shot of tequila, scotch, or whiskey can burn through the “crud” that is causing their shortness of breath. Two shots, and usually they’re cured. It takes about an hour or two to feel the full effects.

The positive, for those asthma sufferers over age 21, is that a shot of tequila, for example, doesn’t make you shake like a palsey sufferer. Most asthma medications today have a great deal of adrenalin in them. The adrenalin works, yes, but it causes shaking, a feeling of both hyperactivity and lethargy at the same time, and an inability to sleep. A shot of tequila usually just relaxes the drinker.

Now, I’m not a doctor, and before you try this, you should verify that your own doctor thinks it’s at least an okay idea to try. And, as a reminder, this doesn’t work with every kind of alcohol. White and sparkling wines cause things to get smaller and close up — meaning it’s harder to breathe if you’re drinking a white or sparkling wine and going into an asthma attack. Liqueurs, particularly cream-based ones, will help create phlegm, which creates huge problems for asthmatics.

If you can’t handle hard alcohol, red wine (not rose) also works to help clear the breathing passages. It’s slower than a shot of hard alcohol, though.

There’s a common misconception among what would be called the ‘uneducated wine drinkers’ that the older the wine is, the better. This is true in any wine created to age in the bottle — but especially these days, not all wines are. There are a huge variety of wines of all types, from all regions, that are made to be drunk immediately, or within two years, tops, from their bottling age. While a wine made to age in the bottle tastes better the longer you let it wait, an immediately drinkable wine tastes better right now. The longer you let an immediate wine sit, the worse it gets.

One of the easiest ways to tell if you’re buying a wine that should age or should be drunk right now is to ask for assistance. However, that’s not always possible. So, read the labels. Most drinkable wines will have wording that gives you some indication that the wine makers expect you to drink the wine right away — phrases like “enjoy it now”, “best within X years”, and “perfect for your dinner table” are polite ways of telling you that this wine was made to imbibe today, not years from now. Price can be a factor as well but not the only determinant. You can spend a small fortune on a wine that should age, yes, but you can spend a lot on a fabulous wine to drink at tomorrow’s dinner party, as well.

In particular, when you receive wine as a gift, take a careful look at the label. Is it one that you’ve seen in grocery stores or in liquor departments priced “reasonably”? Best bet is that it’s a wine to drink tonight, or, worst case, next time these folks visit. If, however, someone delivers a bottle of wine in a crystal case, chances are good it is something to preserve and save for you baby daughter’s wedding.

Remember — drinkability is all in the winemaking. A wine you can drink today can be as wonderful as one you age for twenty years. Just be sure you’re not saving a wine meant to be drunk in 2005 for that wedding planned for 2025.