Author: John Fladd

The label on the bottle reads “Buchanan’s Pineapple.” It’s a brand of scotch flavored with pineapple and citrus fruit. Yes, the fruit flavors cover up the whiskey’s more subtle nuances, but let’s face it, if you were super-concerned about subtly nuanced flavors, you probably wouldn’t be playing around with pineapple-flavored scotch.

Which is not to say that it isn’t delicious. It’s actually very tasty — a little sweet, a little, er, scotchy — and has a lot to bring to a mixed drink. No, you won’t sit in a leather armchair, drinking it out of a snifter and reading poetry in classical Greek (or, for all I know, maybe you will), but it can act well in an ensemble cast.

Which we’ll get to in a minute.

There is something else on the bottle’s label — a signature that reads “James Buchanan.” If that name sounds familiar, it’s the name of the president in office just before Abraham Lincoln. Most historians rate him pretty poorly as a president; a combination of poor judgement, bad luck, and rumors of a — for the time — scandalous personal life led to a rough four years in the White House. He left an ugly mess for Lincoln to deal with, and we know how well that turned out.

Now, I’m not saying that the James Buchanan on the label of this pineapple-flavored scotch is the same Buchanan who was partially responsible for the Civil War. But it would be foolish to discount the possibility.

OK, actually we do know it wasn’t the same guy, but I like to imagine Buchanan moving to Scotland for a fresh start after leaving office and going into the whiskey business. Which is why we’re calling this week’s cocktail:

Jimmy B’s retirement lemonade

• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 ounces Buchanan’s Pineapple

Combine the lemon slices and sugar in a cocktail shaker. Muddle them thoroughly — really grind them together for a full minute or so. Then, add the whiskey and five or six ice cubes.

Shake enthusiastically, until a line of condensation forms on the shaker or you hear the ice start to break up into small shards.

Do not strain this drink. Pour everything directly into a rocks glass, and drink it with an open mind and a light heart.

Does it taste like lemonade? Yes, a little.

Does it taste fruity and boozy? Definitely.

Does it taste of questionable choices? Perhaps, but it’s springtime, a time for impulsive decisions. You will not regret this one.

Probably.

Featured photo: Jimmy B’s retirement lemonade. Photo by John Fladd.

Bow Beer Garden offers picnic vibes

Some dreams are realized all at once; others happen one step at a time.

Dan Thomas from Hoptimystic Brewing (71 Main St., Sunapee, hoptimysticbrewing.com) has wanted to open a new brewery and restaurant in Bow for several years.

“We have been working on it for like three years,” he said, “and we finally got something to fruition. We were hoping to open a full build-out of a brewery and restaurant, but we hit a bunch of hurdles and this is what we could do — we created a completely outdoor space here in Bow, right on South Street.”

The Bow Beer Garden will have a definite picnic theme this first year, Thomas said.

“It’s 100 percent outdoors. It’s definitely an outdoor New Hampshire rustic vibe. It’s a wood chip base, and we’ve got picnic tables. We’ve got some shade, some sun. We have a modified shipping container that has a concession window in it, so everything is ordered right out of there. You order your beer, your pizza, all of it, in a one-stop shop, right out of the container. We’re using the food truck more as just a mobile kitchen. Although it’s there, the customers won’t really interact with that at all. It’s definitely a very, very low-key casual vibe. You’ll walk away with your beer, but if you’re getting pizza you’ll get a buzzer. And when your buzzer goes off, come up to the window, grab your pizza and off you go.”

The food side of the Beer Garden will be addressed by a local pizza institution, Thomas said. “We found a great partner in 900 Degrees from Manchester. We’re doing the beer and we’re offering a very limited menu from 900 Degrees, but it’s the pizzas that folks already know. We have six different pizzas available — all 10-inch pizzas.”

On the beer side, Thomas and his staff plan to serve some proven winners.

“We came up with a beer for 900 Degrees called the House Pie Pilsner,” he said. “That’s something that we’re brewing for them. We’ve had that on tap since Day 1, and that’s been a huge hit for us. It’s a nice, light, crisp, refreshing beer. It’s not the hoppiest beer for real craft beer enthusiasts, but it really attracts the masses. Then, one of my personal favorites, more for the craft beer enthusiasts, is our Smooth Operator IPA. That’s one we’re excited about. The thing about us, and we do this in our other tasting rooms, although we have a couple core beers that stay on tap, we’re constantly changing. So you’ll see in a couple of weeks we’ll have a couple of sours. We’ve got a Creamsicle IPA that we do once a year, which is super refreshing and popular. I think the thing about us is not so much that there’s one beer that defines us. We’ve had folks posting on some social media about how they appreciate the fact that we have variety.”

Thomas said that he has a good feeling about the new beer garden. “We’re still a work in progress for sure,” he said, “but we’ve got heating, we’ve got cold beer, and we’ve got hot pizza. Some of the aesthetic stuff we’re still working on. Every week, when you come, it’s going to look a little better. We’ve done a couple things this last week from when we opened, from the week prior. This week we’ve got a couple more things coming, and next week we’ve got a few more things coming. Every week we’re getting a little bit better. It was important for us to get open. And when folks come down, we’re happy to serve them.”

The Bow Beer Garden
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.
More: Visit the Beer Garden’s website at hoptimysticbrewing.com/new-page, which is also a work in progress.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

• LaBelle happenings: There are several events on the schedule for LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com).

LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) will host a four-course wild game dinner on Friday, June 12, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. The menu will include duck, wild boar and elk. According to the LaBelle website, “This intimate gathering celebrates rustic elegance, sustainable sourcing, and the adventurous spirit of the outdoors.” Tickets are $95 each, through labellewinery.com/public-winery-events.

There will be a Greek-god-themed murder mystery dinner at LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) Saturday, June 13, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. According to the LaBelle website, guests will “immerse themselves in a world of divine glamour, hidden secrets, and shifting alliances as they step into the role of powerful immortals, uncover clues, and unravel the truth.” The mystery will be accompanied by a three-course Mediterranean dinner. Tickets are $84 each through labellewinery.com/public-winery-events.

Also at LaBelle in Amherst,on May 18, the winery announced a new dog-friendly menu at both its restaurant locations. “Pups on the Patio [is] now available at The Bistro in Amherst and Americus in Derry,” the announcement read. “The menu, developed by executive chef Justin Bernatchez, features chef-prepared entrees and desserts formulated specifically for dogs, with no added salt, spices, onions, garlic, chocolate or artificial sweeteners.” Visit the LaBelle website.

• Pints, pipes and a podcast: Twins Smoke Shop and Lounge (twinssmokeshop.com) will host an afternoon of Nørding pipes, a live recording of the Not Just Blowing Smoke podcast and a tobacco tasking, Saturday, June 13, from noon to 4 p.m. at 603 Brewery (42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com). 603 Brewery will offer a $30 Beer & Brat Bar, and there will be a 4th Generation bulk tobacco tasting. Visit the Twins Smoke Shop website.

• Bubbles and boas: Unwined Wine Bar (1 Nashua St., Milford, 213-6703, unwinednh.com) will host a Corks and Queens drag brunch Sunday, June 14, at 11 a.m. Tickets are $28.52 through the Unwined website.

• Share and Pair: Sundays through July 5, Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) will host Share and Pair Sundays. Relax in Averill House’s outdoor living room with up to seven friends. Each two-person ticket includes tastings of four Averill House wines or a wine slushy and a curated charcuterie board. Knowledgeable associates will be on hand to talk wine. Tickets are $59.

• Hot wax and bourbon: There will be a Maker’s Mark Dipping Event and Seminar at the NH Liquor & Wine Outlet Store No. 69 (25 Coliseum Ave, Nashua, 882-4670, liquorandwineoutlets.com) Sunday, June 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants will see a demonstration of hot-wax dipping and have a guided tasting of three Maker’s Mark whiskeys. Each guest will receive a live-dipped rocks glass to take home, and a $3 coupon for selected purchases of Maker’s Mark products. Tickets are $12 through Eventbrite.com.

• Mozzarella stretching is the best kind of stretching: Learn how to form and stretch curd into a shiny mozzarella ball at a Hand-Stretched Mozzarella and Pizza-Making class at Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) Wednesday, June 17, at 6 p.m. You can use your fresh mozzarella as a topping on your own hand-stretched pizza dough or take it home to enjoy later. Guests will also get to choose from a selection of house-made artisan ingredients. Tickets are $69.89 through tuscanbrands.com/cooking-classes.

This isn’t the type of pudding you’re thinking of. It’s an old-fashioned, British-style steamed pudding adapted from a 1930 recipe booklet put out by a baking powder company that I found at a yard sale this spring. It’s like a dense cake, but steamed in a pot on the top of your stove, instead of baked in the oven. This sort of pudding goes back to pre-Roman times and makes a lot of sense if you think about how difficult it must have been to keep an oven at a consistent temperature. Using steam to cook would keep the temperature at a steady heat, so once you’d worked out the timing it would be an extremely reliable recipe.

Pudding

• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (about 5½ Tablespoons or 75 g) butter
• ½ cup (99 g) sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup (227 g) whole milk
• 1 cup (170 g) dried, sweetened cranberries

Rhubarb Sauce

• About 3 cups (333 g) frozen, chopped rhubarb
• An equal amount, by weight (333 g), sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon

Whisk the dry ingredients together — the flour, baking powder and salt — in a bowl, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together with your electric mixer, then beat in the egg. Add the milk and the dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating between the two. Stir in the cranberries by hand.

Fill a “mold” with a cover with the batter. Back in the day, every kitchen would have a couple of pudding molds. If you have a small Bundt pan, that will work well. Crumple up some waxed paper or parchment paper, then cover the pan, and tie it on with twine. (Yes, I know that sounds like Too Much Trouble, but it really isn’t.) Alternatively, I used a 1-quart glass bowl with a plastic lid, and it worked well.

You probably have a steamer in one of the drawers in your kitchen, but you’ve never been sure what it is. It’s really easy to use. Look up “How to steam a pudding” online and you’ll find any number of short videos that will demonstrate it for you. If everything seems too complicated, place a couple of bricks in the bottom of your largest pot, then pour an inch or so of water into the bottom. Place your mold on top of the bricks, and that will work just as well.

(My only steaming hack is to wet a tea towel and drape it between the top of the pot and its lid, and use it to make a tight seal, so the steam is trapped in the pot.)

Steam the pudding over low heat for two hours.

Meanwhile, cook the chopped rhubarb and sugar together over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Remove it from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice. This makes a sweet but tart sauce that goes spectacularly well with your steamed pudding — and, if you are so inclined, a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Featured photo: Steamed pudding with rhubarb sauce. Photo by John Fladd.