Imbibe Mondays: How to Make the Mint Julep

Ode to the Julep:

"Then comes the zenith of man’s pleasure. Then comes the julep – the mint julep. Who has not tasted one has lived in vain. The honey of Hymettus brought no such solace to the soul; the nectar of the Gods is tame beside it. It is the very dream of drinks, the vision of sweet quaffings.

The Bourbon and the mint are lovers. In the same land they live, on the same food they are fostered. The mint dips infant leaf into the same stream that makes The Bourbon what it is. The corn grows in the level lands through which small streams meander. By the brook-side the mint grows. As the little wavelets pass, they glide up to kiss the feet of the growing mint, and the mint bends to salute them. Gracious and kind it is, living only for the sake of others. Like a woman’s heart it gives its sweetest aroma when bruised. Among the first to greet the spring, it comes. Beside gurgling brooks that make music in the fields, it lives and thrives. When the bluegrass begins to shoot its gentle sprays towards the sun, mint comes, and its sweetest soul drinks at the crystal brook. It is virgin then. But soon it must be married to old Bourbon. His great heart, his warmth of temperament, and that affinity which no one understands, demands the wedding.

How shall it be? Take from the cold spring some water, pure as angels are; mix it with sugar till it seems like oil. Then take a glass and crush your mint within it with a spoon – crush it around the borders of the glass and leave no place untouched. Then throw the mint away – it is the sacrifice. Fill with cracked ice the glass; pour in the quantity of Bourbon which you want. It trickles slowly through the ice. Let it have time to cool, then pour your sugared water over it. No spoon is needed; no stirring allowed- just let it stand a moment. Then around the brim place sprigs of mint, so that the one who drinks may find the taste and odor at one draft.

Then when it is made, sip it slowly. August suns are shining, the breath of the south wind is upon you. It is fragrant cold and sweet – it is seductive. No maidens kiss is tenderer or more refreshing, no maidens touch could be more passionate. Sip it and dream-it is a dream itself. No other land can give you so much sweet solace for your cares; no other liquor soothes you in melancholy days. Sip it and say there is no solace for the soul, no tonic for the body like old Bourbon whiskey." - Joshua Soule Smith

Mint Julep Recipe (1 Serving):

3 sprigs fresh mint

2-3 teaspoons simple syrup

3 ounces (roughly) bourbon

*There are a lot of weird recipes for the Mint Julep out there - most of them are the very first recipes which  showed up when I did a Google search. If a recipe suggest club soda, flavorings, powdered sugar, etc, then don't bother with it. This is a classic cocktail: sugar, mint, spirit. Keep it simple and your taste buds will be rewarded.

Step 1: Put mint leaves and about half the simple syrup over the leaves in a Mint Julep cup, old-fashioned glass, or similar vessel you may have. I suggest a 2:1 sugar to water ratio syrup. You can try it any way you like but this seems to generally be the best choice for allowing a little more sugar content and less watered down beverage.

Step 2: Lightly press and meld leaves together with the syrup. Using the muddler brush the mint and sugar oils along the sides of the cup, painting and coating the walls. This is not a heavily mixed drink so you want to allow as much area to hold these oils for when you add the ice and bourbon. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH: DO NOT BRUISE YOUR MINT. If this happens you will have a beverage with strong and unpleasant vegetal character.

Step 3: Fill glass with crushed ice till it cones on the top of the glass. Add the bourbon, pouring slowly over the top. Some recipes add the bourbon first, I on the other hand like the more traditional way of pouring the bourbon over the ice, allowing the bourbon to cool on its way down. Because the ice is crushed, there is little surface area, which allows for cooling to happen quickly without stirring.

Step 4: Taking an additional mint in your hand (enough to cover much of the top opening of the glass), slap the mint with your hand, shocking it and allowing it to stick straight up. Garnish on top. When someone takes a drink with a straw, if you have one, they will be placing there nose right in the middle of the mint, smelling the fragrance as they sip.  

Step 5: Enjoy!

Mint Simple Syrup Recipe:

2 cups unrefined sugar
1 cup water
1 small handful of mint

Step 1: In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

Step 2: Add mint and cold step for about 24 hours. 

Watering Hole Review: The Trappist

“Nunc est bibendum.” (“Now is the time for drinking”) – Horace, Odes

A Diamond in the Rough:

Just recently opened, The Trappist sits in the heart of downtown Oakland on 8^th and Broadway. This classically styled Belgium Beer pub and eatery claims to feature 28 rotating taps, over 100 specialty bottle and no corporate beer. Guineas or Fat Tire nowhere to be found, this bar was rated #17 best beer bar in the world, and #1 best beer bar in California by ratebeer.com.

Owned and operated by Chuck Stilphen and Aaron Porter, The Trappist is all about excellence, serving only superior beer in the correct glass and at the correct temperature each selection necessitates. You can enjoy the beer in one of their two adjoining pubs: the Main Pub and the Back Bar. Watch out though, or you might pass the place without knowing it. Nestled into a 1870s Victorian building, both bars feature incredible architecture and woodwork throughout without being conceited, making it easy to get comfortable in the laid back environment.

With no hard alcohol, or wine, beer is king at The Trappist. All the employees at The Trappist regardless of their position are Cicerone certified, meaning, more or less, they are experts in their field; having passed an examination and having gained multiple recommendations from brewers, beer wholesalers, or beer retailers. 

I had heard from other experienced guest of The Trappist that the staff at times can be a bit snobbish, not unlike up here in Northwest-I-know-more-about-coffee-than-you-do Portland, OR, so I wasn’t too worried. However I was pleasantly surprised by the staff that day being more then friendly and spending time at our table to explain any and all questions (very honestly) we had.

That day I had the St. Feuillien Triple 8.5% ABV, and the Flying Dog Barrel-aged Gonzo Imperial Porter 9.5% ABV. I've wanted to try the Feuillien Triple for quite some time, and I was pleased with it despite the fresh and fruity makeup of the drink. Generally I am not too keen on the sweet stuff, but this being my starter beverage, the creamy delivery and light bitterness was great.

My second beer was going to be the Rasputin Stout since it’s my favorite stout to date, but on seeing the Flying Dog Barrel-aged Gonzo, I couldn’t resist. I had actually never had a barrel-aged beer before, and the thought of an imperial porter aged in Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey barrels was at least intriguing, despite my doubts that I wouldn't love it. Matured for about three months in the barrel, strong strains of oak were more apparent than the whiskey. If anything I could appreciate the thought behind the beverage. Flying Dog Brewery has always focused on “experimental brews and limited-edition one-offs” never sticking to anything conventional and the Gonzo embodies their mission. Nevertheless, this is something I wouldn’t have every day, much like a Deschutes beer made with coffee I once sampled. The Gonzo is simply a difficult brew to produce. Beer has an age life, and unlike whiskey, will keep aging once it’s in the keg. That said, being in a barrel longer than most brews are even in the keg, the Gonzo can hardly be considered a “fresh” brew (using fresh in the "tasting note" sense).

All in all, the experience was a good one – from the appetizers my brother, father, and I ordered, the diverse selections of beer we sampled, and the service we enjoyed, this is a place I will be coming to again when I’m in the area.

*Also, just finished was a wonderful patio area which will dramatically increase the square footage and capacity of their pub. They’re only waiting on the liquor license.   

An Education: Absinthe

"In all likely hood, if they're going to be honest about the color, they're going to be honest in just about everything else they're putting in it." - Lance Winters

Will you really cut your ear off when you drink absinthe? Is wormwood a poisonous substance? Will it make you hallucinate? No, no, and no. With absinthe recently being made legal and the hype it brings as Van Gogh's favorite drink, the legends and lore have grown and been proliferated by some bad producers racing to get in on the newly (re-newed) created market. With all the public confusion surrounding the spirit and since I just visited St. George Spirits, the first distillery in the United States to release absinth in about 90 years, I thought I would share this video (view below) of Lance Winters. One of the distillers at St. George, Lance explains the production process, the recent cultural phenomenon of the spirit, and his favorite way to drink it.

The St. George Distillery Tour: Home of Hanger One Vodka

"We can’t write like Neruda, paint like Cézanne, or dance like Jennifer Beals, but we can express ourselves through craft distillation. It’s our art form, our passion, and our way of making the world just a little more beautiful." - St. George Spirits

An unusual, but beautiful, view for a distillery:

St. George Bourbon, impatiently waiting to be released:

Their pet shark from the set of Deep Blue Sea (Link: Spoiler alert!):

In 1936 the City of Alameda, for the hefty sum of $1, transferred Alameda Point to the federal government of the United States. Known as the “Aviation Gateway to the Pacific,” Alameda Point was the perfect location for setting up an air force base in the tumultuous times of the 1940s. Decommissioned in 1997, the base became an ideal place for unassuming enterprises. One such enterprise was St. George Spirits who in 1997 moved into the beautiful 65,000-sqaure-feet Hanger 21 - though, 1997 was not St. George’s birthday. Jörg Rupf who had come to the Bay Area in 1979 to do post-doctoral work on a grant by the German Government started the company in 1982. Because of the lack of locally produced eau de vie, Rupf decided to leave his studies and open the first eau de vie distillery in the US. It was only in 2000 that Rulf and his new partner, Lance Winters - a former navy nuclear engineer and brewer, released their first bottling of single malt whiskey; and in 2002, their first batch of Hanger One Vodka, what would become their most praised and revered beverage to date. With 10 full time employees and 9 different products, each with multiple variations, St. George Spirits is a microdistilling powerhouse. 

Just from walking around this place one can see this distillery is not like the “rest of them.” From its giant shark, the mermaid hanging down from the mash tanks, and the tour guide which would fit better in a comedy club, St. George Spirits has a personality of its own. Is it exactly my taste (no pun intended)? Maybe not, but when push comes to shove I don’t really care about the personality of the distillery and the character of its staff. All I care about is the quality of the spirit. Is it made with care? Does it hold up when you begin comparing it with other similar products of quality? Not to mention, there is a place for diversity. One shouldn’t expect a loch outside the window of every distillery, or their water to flow in from the iron-free Cave Spring. There is a place for everyone and, as I just said, when it comes down to it, the product is left. There is room for novelty, but I don’t think this is the source of St. George's passion, practicing and refining the art of distillation is.

So what of it then? How did the tasting go? It was interesting. In fact, I hardly remember it. Why? Because after trying 15 different spirits in one sitting, by the time I actually tasted their bourbon my palate was ruined. If this was the "basic training" I would hate to see what it’s like for the "special ops." Why in the world, if you make an aqua perfecta eau de vie, multiple selections of vodka, a single malt whiskey, aqua perfecta fruit liqueurs and an absinthe verte, would you have someone taste them all in one sitting? I don’t have an answer. Coming out of the tour and tasting I almost felt like I was being swept through the place rather then feeling like a valuable customer who they wanted to educate about their product. 

So what am I saying? Am I giving a negative review of the place? No. The guided tour was a terrific and hilarious experience. One whole hour for a free tour is something you don't get every day - and you come out having learned a lot. The only issues were the excessive amount of spirits for the tasting and the server seemed a little inexperienced - I would say it was a noticeable problem when she didn't even know there was bourbon set to be released, stacked directly behind her in the adjacent room (only having been in the barrel for the last 5 years!).

My suggestion for the tasting would be to limit it to about four or five spirits at the most and provide more time for discussion on the actual tasting of each individual drink, allowing for each participant to not only learn about the spirit, but also to gain a valuable experience in tasting. You don't need to show someone everything on God's green Earth to get a customer to come back. Show them the quality of a few products and allow them to recognize the quality, and from there they will not only keep coming back to St. George Spirits, but they will also be more wiling to try the larger selections St. George offers. Rushing a group through all of them will leave a person with little to go back to - overwhelmed and under appreciated. All in all I would still recommend you visit the place if you're in the Bay Area.

In 2007 St. George released the first absinthe in the U.S. since 1912:

Imbibe Mondays: Spiced Rummed Cherries

"He who likes cherries soon learns to climb." - German Proverb

The more cocktails my wife and I make at home the more maraschino cherries we have been going through. So naturally the progression to homemade maraschino, brandied, and rummed cherries was inevitable. Rummed cherries won out as the first experiment mostly because there was still a bit of Kraken Spiced Rum left on the bar. The Kraken, which I am sure I will review at some point based on its sheer novelty factor, really complements these cherries because of the spices present within. Not to mention, despite the branded image it exudes (quite brilliantly, if I may add) and the fact that it is more often than not mixed with cola rather than drank neat; it is quite a flavorsome and well made product, but more on that some other time.

Rummed Cherries:

½ cup soft demerara sugar
½ cup water
1-2/3 oz fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Half scored vanilla pod
1 pound sweet pitted cherries
1 cup aged rum (I used the Kraken)
6-6, 8 oz short canning jars

Rummed Cherries Directions:
Step 1: Wash and pit cherries. I had never pitted cherries in my life and I didn’t have a cherry pitter, so I searching youtube for a how to guide to pitting cherries I found Nedah from Leankitchen.com. She used the “paper clip method,” which somewhat tedious, allows for just one hole in the cherry without cutting it all the way open.
Step 2: In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except the cherries and rum and bring to aboil. 
Step 3: When liquid begins to boil, reduce heat to a light simmer, add cherries and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Remove from heat, and add rum to cool everything down. Add to Jars.  You can either keep jars in the fridge or can them (directions below). I suggest leaving two jars in the fridge for easy access and canning the rest.
Step 5: Enjoy in a cocktail or on top of cake!

For Canning Cherries: Heat a large stock pot of water to a simmer. Using 8 oz short (half pint) jars, fill with finished rummed cherries and close with lid and band tightly. Place jars in boiling water for 10 minutes, covering jars in one inch of water. Here is a Ball Brand preserving guide if needed.