I think your name tag…said Gen-nay

Due to their unique and deviant taste from the more popular English dry gins, there are exceedingly few mixed drinks made from its older cousins, the genevers.  Aside from a random and relatively unspectacular old fashioned, I haven’t seen nor tried another cocktail using a Genever, so I decided to contribute something original to the mix, so to speak.

The Debra

2 oz. jonge genever gin (I used Genevieve)

1/4 fresh orange

1/4 tsp. honey

splash apricot puree/fresh juice (not from concentrate)

To a small shaker or mixing glass with NO ice, add the gin and a dollop of honey; swirl slightly, and add the ice.  Squeeze as much juice from the orange slice in as possible, followed by the splash of apricot juice/puree and shake vigorously.  Strain into a martini glass and serve with an organge twist as a garnish.

greetings!!! drink these.

Old Potrero (19th Century) Straight Rye Whiskey

I can’t say more good things about Fritz Maytag’s soiree (which has now become a deep rooting) into the spirit industry.  After mentioning his Genevieve gin in my last tasting post, his “Old Potrero” 19th century rye (named for the street the anchor distillery resides on) was next on my list of musts.  You all know it: I have a whiskey tooth.

In his 19th century rye - a young whiskey, aged 3 years in charred, new-oak casks - Maytag mentions his desire to ‘recreate’ the ryes of  the frontier by using purely 100% rye in the mash bill, and while I can’t knock the man’s commitment, I’m still debating with myself as to whether or not this is really how whiskey tasted back in the day.  Regardless of whether he accomplished this or not, it’s certainly unique.

As a warning: the flavors in Old Potrero are intense and could easily overwhelm each other.  After trying it a few times I personally found that a few drops of water or a cube or two of ice help disperse the notes evenly enough to appreciate them all.

The heat of the rye is immediate on the nose and backed by a strong, sweet and aromatic scent reminiscent of toluene and peppermint and actually reminded me of the Genever (I can imagine that they use the same rye in the mash bill as they do with the Genevieve, as well as the same copper pot still).  The sweetness permeates through the bite of the rye on the palate, but soon rounds out into smooth, earthy tones of cigar, wet leather and pepper.  White pepper and muscat grapes linger on in the finish, rounding out a truly unique whiskey.  When you sip this, just imagine yourself in the center of a father’s Victorian study: cracked leather and mahogany furniture; old books with worn lining; all sparsely illuminated by a desk lamp and crackling fire. That’s the image I got, at least…and for the record: I don’t expect this whiskey to illicit vivid associated images for everyone; just thought I should share, since it was a first for me. Stop looking at me funny.  ($50-60/0.75L)

Four Roses Bourbon (Single Barrel)

I had heard good things about four roses on numerous unaffiliated blogs, so after finding it in stock at my new favorite haunt (…for spirits! Irony!) I naturally picked up a bottle of their single barrel, 100 proof bourbon and brought it to the Schneiderman’s for a tasting.  New favorite bourbon: found. …for now.

The nose is ripe with fruit; weighty and warm with hints of citrus and molasses.  Smooth and velvety on the palate with tones of stone fruit rounded out by a very mellow bite of iodine that dissipates into lingering herbaceous and peachy undertones.  A medium-bodied, very well balanced (and affordable!) bourbon!  ($36/0.75L)

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned for a new ‘martini’ recipe for the Genevieve!

i have a’seven friends!

do it for you. do it for your country. do it for the world. …but at the very least: do it for neil patrick harris. <3

quickly, now….

if you’re an american who is still undecided towards or opposed to obama….you’re definately in the minority, overall.

see?

this guy gets it…whoever he is.

fear

it’s all that’s left for mccain to conjure up the votes he needs to win the swing states: call obama dangerous. suggest he’s a terrorst; use outdated and since-disproved rumors to support these claims you can’t admit to on television but can be heard clearly as mimiced by ‘your friends,’ interviewed after a Palin speech in ohio:

outrageous. not only has mccain emboldened the racist, ignorant masses to come out of the woodwork and into a public forum, but by doing so he’s ALREADY setting public thought and social progress back by half a century. THIS is his campaign strategy? watching the videos of these ’supporters,’ i feel like i’m watching a white supremacist convention. no, i’m not trying to sound dramatic.

don’t be fooled that this is just another wacky, ill-fated ploy by the GOP to win one election, either. repercussions from this nasty fire the mccain camp has been stoking will persist. imagine if obama does win for a moment…what happens to all that anger and distrust in the supporters he’s wriling up now? chances are, some of them will look past the policies and logistics (as they must, now) and resort to physical violence. while i want barack to win, i worry that his entire term will be fraught with assassination attempts and that america itself will remain even further divided due to the ugliness this election has seen awake; a side effect of the desperate, petty, enormously irresponsible, pathetic, and dangerous campaign the republicans have been fronting.

i am beyond livid for so many reasons. i knew that the republicans had always been able to shamelessly draw on more support by tapping into pool of ignorant, uninformed voters; that’s always upset me. but propagating, feeding off of and allowing ignorant and racist propaganda to fly during a presidential election is more than vile. i’m quite sure we’re seeing history; both being made and relived - and it scares the shit out of me.

connoisseur’ing

Hello world!!

While my attempts to keep this blog coherent, up-to-date, and interesting are piss-poor at best (the audience zooms out to see me lecturing to an enormous wall in the middle of a war-torn and abandoned desert town), I’ve decided that I might as well put in some themed installations. this week: booze!

Two particular spirits I want to review today; each of them amazing, and therefore each deserving of a paragraph at least, so here we go:

#1 Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey

I had the privilege of sampling this for the very first time free of charge, compliments of Benjamin Katz (not the animated psychiatrist) almost half a year ago. I have not since been able to find a pinch of it anywhere else, despite actively searching for it at every outing…every twist and turn. (How’s “whiskey Dick Tracy” for a before and after puzzle on wheel of fortune?).

Luckily, my newest favorite downtown haunt had it (it should be noted that it also has - approximately - every bourbon and whiskey I’d have accidentally stumbled upon during my earthly existence) and I jumped for joy when I saw it on their shelves.  (Those who know me well enough immediately recognize that I would and did - in fact - jump with the giddy excitement of a little schoolboy…arms all tight to my chest, all shakin’ both fists).  Here’s what I experienced and what you should look forward to upon taking a sip of this - the best (essentially because it is the only) Colorado-made whiskey:

Richer and slightly more viscous than most rye, Stranahan’s hits the nose immediately with vanilla, cigars and barley (its mashbill is 100% malted barley, supplied by Colorado’s own Flying Dog Brewery).  Extremely characteristic on the palate; close to being a cordial, with hints of orange, chocolate but with an almost overwhelming overtone of coffee in the finish, which lingers long afterward. ($60/0.75L)

If watered down, the barley and roasted coffee flavor is brought entirely to the forefront; sipping almost like a scotch.

#2 Anchor Steam Genevieve (Geneva) Gin

The first time I read about this I was surprised for 2 reasons: a) “Anchor makes liquor!?” and b) the website specifically states, “not for martinis!” as it was specifically made to the specifications of ye olde tymes…which can also be read as, “I’m not privvy to the history of gin yet.”  If ONLY my AP American history class had a supplemental “Spirits of Colonial America” section to every chapter.

In any case: you have peaked my curiosity, Anchor. sold.

I got my first (and only sample, so far) at the much-anticipated Father’s Office in Culver city (Bikeable!!!).  I had it on the rocks, which along with being shaken over ice and served up was suggested on their website.  I can now attest that it is certainly NOT the gin for a martini or mixer.

Even during the pour, the gin picked up a slightly tinted, yellow opaqueness to it.  Not necessarily cloudy, but certainly not clear like any other distilled gin would have been.  Remember, this was being POURED, not shaken. the nose was almost like that of grappa, which is not surprising, as the mash of herbs, barley and juniper in geneva are initially fermented in oak casks in a similar fashion to the grape and fruit resins from wine.  The taste itself is a bit harder to characterize.  Much earthier and less acidic than any Old Tom’s or Plymouth; neither the barley NOR the juniper come to the foreground to take control; very much an amalgam of both gin, whiskey and a crisp ale or heavy lager, where honey, pine nuts and a light dusting of pear, juniper and cassis round out the malty body.  This is - without a doubt - my current favorite of ANY sipping spirit.  Perfect to whet the appetite or as a digestif, as the harsh citrusy overtones of normal gins are almost nulled completely. ($31/0.75L)

Unfortuantely, it’s been incredibly hard to come by 2/3 of these products (Stranahan’s has only just started shipping outside of Colorado within the last year and Genevieve are only made in very small batches, so is quite rare - though luckily not that pricey - even in it’s home town of San Francisco).  I’m going to be going to K&L in Hollywood this weekend as they advertise themselves as carrying everything I mention here.   This will be the first and most expensive booze run I’ve made since senior year of college.

Please don’t quote me on that.

alma [mutter]

i’m going to give you two different opinions from two different sources as to why john mccain decided to use my old middle school as the backdrop to his acceptance speech at the 2008 republican national convention, seen here:

reason #1:

“McCain messed up. He was talking about Walter Reed hospital, and he used our picture by mistake,”

-Joshua, 11-year-old student currently at Walter Reed Middle School

reason #2:

“[it was]…a way of illustrating the candidate’s call ‘for public education reforms that empower parents and students before bureaucrats and labor unions,’”

-GOP spokesman, Tucker Bounds (LA Times)

….

this is difficult:

on the one hand; we have the speculation of a pretty astute prepubescent kid in jr. high…

on the other hand, we have the man whose sole job it is to represent the republican campaign.

huh.

oil? slick.

nothing could have given me a cheaper thrill than seeing a gas station with unleaded at less than 4 dollars a gallon. really. it’s come to this.

not to be entirely complacent, i of course tried to rationalize how this could be: the war in iraq had not ended; our economy on a whole was not seeing a drastic revitalization; we did not discover an oil fountain hidden inOscar Wyatts’ garage…how could…oh jesus: it’s the GOP.*

of course big oil would be looking out for it’s favorite little sugar daddy (or would it be the other way around?…too early for effective metaphor) by strategically lowering gas prices during election season in order to make the fanciful yet otherwise futile suggested economic policies that McCain keeps sputtering look increasingly attractive to the gullible little herd out there, and especially to swing voters.  behold: the power of subliminal messaging. behold: the awesomeness of the word ’subliminal’. …sorry.

increasing consumption is NOT how we battle our own fuel crisis.  it’s hitting two birds with one stone as far as the highway trust fund and oil lobbyists are concerned.  business as usuall…but they can only keep it up for so long.
AAAAAAAUGH, so aggrevating to watch the oil industry push as hard as they do in lieu of depleting oil reserves.  picture a 90-year-old who’s in denial/too proud to admit not being able to drive safely anymore; you know it’s only a matter of time before they plow straight into a store window.  think about it.

*brilliant tagline

look both ways

uhm, rad. probably gonna go myself, this month.

PROBLEM:
bad-assness aside; while i AM excited and enjoy the idea of biking along side (and past) los angeles traffic to stress the point of fuel and economic efficiency; i’m not keen on the idea of weaving in and out of lanes like asshole motorcyclists NOR getting into the fast lane when traffic is moving at a relatively fast clip. why encourage road rage (or at least moderate annoyance) in the drivers we’re supposed to be winning over? more importantly, why is it the ORGANIZERS who usually take the overly-zealous road (punn har har). this fact makes sense, but it is - again - disconcerting.

in retrospect i’ve seen this in a lot of activist societies - left or right leaning - where members or followers forget to take into account the mindset of the general public who aren’t privvy or - in most cases - have NO IDEA what it is you’re trying to get across. in my experience, you can’t expect someone to sympathize with a concept they’re not used to immediately (probably not just my experience).

in light of this, it’s my belief that many participants (again, most often the organizers) of these events easily psyche themselves up and become too absorbed in the moment, forgetting about relating the message to the public and instead coming off as alienating…something i’d term as ‘abrasive activism.’ not to be interpreted that i’m opposed to activism or feeling passionate…i just worry that too many well-meaning and sometimes even philanthropic movements/activities fail in getting the message across and instead come off as rude and insulting for this reason.

then again, it’s always possible that some of the people who support good causes can very well be…yanno….jerks from the start.

getting back to the freeway ride:
i like the idea of handing lollipops to motorists as we pass by. thanks natalie!