Category: Drink

A different way to sparkle on Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day, and you want to create an amazing dinner for the one you love, but your food and wine skills need a little help. You want it to be special and not just a DoorDash or Grubhub delivery. You want to be themaster of the meal. After all, it is a special day that deserves that special meal, prepared, and not purchased by you!

For this special day, I chose to go to a venue to shop for that perfect dinner: Angela’s Pasta and Cheese Shop, on Chestnut Street in Manchester. I have patronized Angela’s since their very beginnings on Union Street in 1980, through their move to Chestnut Street in 1994, and I can’t begin to count the number of times I have been there. I have cultivated a taste for the different homemade fresh pasta, along with the variety of imported dried pasta.

If you can boil water, you can make pasta. Pick up a jar of sauce, or better, some Angela’s homemade sauce, fresh bread, and you are on your way! A salad or antipasto completes the meal, which can be finished with luxurious chocolates.

What kind of wine goes with pasta? A dry sparkling wine goes very well with a cream-based sauce like alfredo or if the pasta is simply dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan. A good cava from Catalonia is the perfect match for this dinner. The cava can be opened along with the antipasto course and will continue to pair well with the pasta. If there is a drop or two left in the bottle, it will work nicely with rich dark chocolate, as its minerality and high acidity will contrast nicely with the rich, creamy, smooth texture and intense flavor of the chocolate.

A 2019 Sumarroca Reserva Brut, available at Angela’s at $19.99, is the perfect accompaniment to this meal. This cava is made from 100 percent pinot noir grapes that grow in the Sant Sadurní d’Anoia region, just a few miles west of Barcelona, Spain.

According to the website for Bon Vivant Imports, a combination of several microclimates throughout the fields where Sumarroca wines come from, generated by warm climatic influences from the Mediterranean coupled with protection from the Montserrat mountains, and more than a dozen different soil types, makes for a wide range of still and sparkling wines from this region.

The bubbles rise in the glass, are persistent and tickle your nose. I agree with Bon Vivant’s description that the wine has aromas of wild strawberries, raspberries and slight floral notes of rose petals with flavors of cranberries and rhubarb. As advertised, this is a very crisp, dry and refreshing cava.

Featured photo: Photo by Fred Matuszewski.

I know that I don’t need to remind you of it, but Feb. 2 is National Tater Tot Day. I’m sure you’ve already put up the decorations and picked out your outfit, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to weasel out on you.

I was going to develop a Tater Tot-themed cocktail, made, of course, with potato vodka. I thought about infusing it with actual Tater Tots or french fries. I was working on some solid puns for names. I was even — and I admit this was a personal low point — considering using ketchup as the sweet element.

But ultimately I had to ask myself whether I wanted to subject you, myself, or even a good-quality vodka to this kind of gimmicky cocktail indignity.

So let’s take a big swing in the other direction and make an attempt at class and sophistication. I don’t know about you, but sophistication has proved somewhat elusive for me over the past couple of years. I’d like to explore a Zelda Cocktail.

You know, Zelda.

Zelda Fitzgerald.

The novelist, playwright and artist? She was married to F. Scott Fitzgerald?

No. Not the Legend of Zelda princess.

OK, when she’s remembered at all today, Zelda Fitzgerald is known largely for her struggles with mental health, alcoholism and a really dysfunctional marriage, but for a brief shining moment in the 1920s she was widely known as one of the most beautiful, brilliant and sophisticated women alive. And a cocktail dedicated to her is a little-known classic.

Like Zelda herself, this drink is delightful, with an unexpected challenge. In this case the challenge is bison grass vodka.

You might hear rumors about Żubrówka vodka being illegal — and it was, apparently, for several years — but it is available in liquor stores, if you look for it hard enough. If you aren’t up for a multi-state vodka quest, I’m going to make a substitution suggestion. If you muddle a sprig of thyme when you are muddling the mint for this drink, it will add a subtle herbal back-note that will make a guest stop and wonder what is going on.

Apparently the Zelda Fitzgerald experience was a lot like that — people would be overcome with delight in her presence, only to wonder, just a little, what they had gotten themselves into.

The Zelda

Several sprigs of fresh mint. (As I write this, I find myself writing the word “mink,” which I think would please Mrs. Fitzgerald.)

• 2 ounces Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka or the best-quality vodka you have, plus a sprig of thyme
• 1 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
• ¾ ounce orgeat (almond syrup)

Muddle the mint (and thyme, if you are including it) in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.

Add five or six ice cubes and the other ingredients to the shaker. Shake vigorously.

Strain into a coupé glass and drink while it is very cold.

Featured photo: The Zelda. Photo by John Fladd.

How to squeeze a lime

(Or a lemon, or an orange, or a tangerine, but limes lend themselves to being squeezed; they have the fewest inhibitions of any citrus fruit.)

Method 1 – Pure brute strength

Wash your hands.

Carefully place the lime on a cutting board in front of you. Carefully cut the lime in half.

Center your thoughts, then pick up half a lime, hold it over a bowl, and crush it.

The key here is rage. Naked, blind fury, if you can manage it. If you are a sports enthusiast, or a middle child, this should be fairly easy for you. The pain from previously unknown cuts on your hand will only make you angrier, eliciting even more juice.

Method 2 – An improvised reamer

A fork works well for this. So does a pair of kitchen tongs.

Cut the fruit in half, as before, but this time retain your composure. Insert the business end of the fork or tongs into half a lime, then twist it around, while squeezing with the hand that’s holding the lime. Tell the lime, “You might feel a little discomfort.”

You should be pleased with the result.

Method 3 – A hand-held juicer

Sometimes called a hand-juicer — though that implies that it actually juices hands — this looks something like the love child of a pair of pliers and a tea-strainer. It’s usually yellow or green — depending on the size of the fruit you intend to squeeze — and some models have a second squeezing cup, so you can tackle lemons and limes. It seems very gadget-y and might not fill you with confidence at first glance. It does a shockingly good job of squeezing citrus, though, and has become my juice extractor of choice.

A note on fresh orange juice

If you only need a few ounces of orange juice for a cocktail, a very good option is squeezing a couple of clementines. They have a fresher, zingier taste than orange juice from a carton, and they are roughly the same diameter as a lemon, so they are relatively easy to squeeze. I have found that after I have juiced both halves of a clementine, if I stack the spent carcasses of the two halves in the larger bowl of my hand-held juicer and squeeze them again I can extract a little more juice and theoretically a little citrus oil, which will intensify the flavor of the juice.

A very juicy cocktail

This is an adaptation of something called a Tangipahoa Planter’s Punch that I found in an extremely distressed copy of 1937’s Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix ‘em:

Ingredients

• 2 ounces pineapple/mango juice. Could you use plain pineapple juice? The Fruit Police, or possibly the Tangipahoa Parish Liquor Commission, would probably not come crashing through the window, if you did.
• 2 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice (see above)
• 2 ounces fresh squeezed clementine juice. Could you just use Tropicana? That’s between you and your conscience.
• 3 ounces white rum
• ½ ounce raspberry syrup (see below). Could you use grenadine instead? I suppose so, if you were a COWARD!
• 5 to 6 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, and shake until the ice starts making “I can’t hold it together much longer, Captain” sounds.

Pour into a pint glass and garnish as you see fit.

A lot of tropical drinks have a sort-of generic, yeah-there’s-some-fruit-in-here background flavor. The nice thing about squeezing your own juices into this one is that you can taste each individual ingredient. The lime, clementine and raspberry all step forward and raise a hand if you look for them. The rum stands in the back with hands in pockets, humming to itself.

You know those miserable winter days when all you want to do is sit by a fire, read a book and eat soup? Alternate that with drinking this and lying on the couch and watching game shows. You’ll feel 12 percent more optimistic about life.

Raspberry syrup

Combine an equal amount (by weight) of frozen raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan.

Cook over medium heat. The ice crystals in the berries have already punctured the cell walls, and you will be surprised at how much liquid they give off.

Bring to a boil, to make sure that all the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat.

Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, and store in your refrigerator for about a month.

Feature photo: Tangipahoa Planter’s Punch. Photo by John Fladd.

Warm up with the flavors of Portugal

Planning on doing a little cross-country skiing — that is, once we really have a little snow? Or how about a little pond skating once it gets cold enough to freeze the water? Staying indoors? Why not curl up with a good book? These are all great wintertime activities, whether you’re huddled around a fire in the backyard pit after skiing or skating, or curled up under a comforter, when enjoyed with a glass of port.

What is port? It is a fortified wine that originated in Portugal and emerged into a worldwide market with an ever-growing complexity of wine varietals, growing regions and environments, all contributing to a vast array of color, noses and tastes.

According to publications by Taylor Fladgate, a respected port wine house, Portuguese port is made from grapes grown along the Douro River, where they have been cultivated since the Roman conquest of the third century B.C. These grapes produced enough wine for an export market. The Portuguese discovered that adding a small amount of grape spirit, or brandy, after fermentation not only increased its strength but kept it from spoiling. This technique evolved into the addition of the brandy during fermentation, keeping the wine’s sweetness and adding to its robust qualities.

In the early 18th century, the business of trading wines emerged, and with a long history of trading alliances between Portugal and England, the British merchants dominated the market. During this time the shape of the wine bottle changed from the short bulbous form to a long, uniform cylindrical shape, allowing the wine to age in the bottle to become even more complex in nose and taste. Port pioneered aging vintage productions.

The six most widely used grapes for red port wine are touriga franca, tinta roriz, tinta barroca, touriga nacional, tinto cão and tinta amarela. Port is a blended wine and therefore the blend is subject to change with each vintage. These grapes are principally Portuguese, unique to the Iberian Peninsula.

Our first port is Taylor Fladgate 2016 Late Bottled Vintage Port (available at the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets at $22.99, reduced to $18.99). Produced from wines from a single harvest, it has a complex rich fruity character. The color is a deep and opaque ruby red, befitting its moniker, “ruby port.” There is an elegant light floral nose along with dark cherries and cassis. On the palate the fruit continues, joined by notes of dark chocolate along with a touch of leather, with reserved tannins.

Our second port, Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Porto (available at the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets at $27.99, reduced to $22.99), is a rich tawny port that is fully matured in seasoned oak casks for 10 years, with each cask holding 630 liters (about 150 gallons) of wine. Aging in barrels brings delicate wood notes to combine with mature fruit. It is bottled for immediate drinking. It has a deep brick color. Its nose is of ripe dried fruit with a slight nuttiness and chocolate secondary notes. It is smooth and silky with rich jammy flavors with a long finish.

These two distinctly different ports, made by the same family-owned company since 1692, are readily approachable and very affordable. One note: Once these bottles have been opened, they should be stored in a wine fridge or standard refrigerator. Ruby port can be stored for four to six weeks without any trouble; tawny port can last for up to three months. But by all means, enjoy them this winter!

“I’m an attractive person,” you might say. And you’d be right.

“And,” you might add, “I tip well. I don’t ask for anything complicated when we go out — a gin and tonic, or a sea breeze — something fast and easy to make. So why aren’t the drinks I get at the bar very good?

“I mean, they’re all right: gin, tonic, lime; or vodka and cranberry juice. There’s not much to mess up there. They just don’t taste as good as when I make them at home. Why is that?”

This is a good question.

It isn’t about the competence of your bartender. Trust me, she knows what she’s doing. And it isn’t that she doesn’t care; I’m sure she’s a conscientious professional who wants you to have a good drink.

The problem is that you’ve been ordering something utterly forgettable.

Don’t get me wrong. Classics are classics for a reason. There are very few things in life better than a properly made gin and tonic. The laughter of a small child is a petty and grating thing compared to the piney, slightly bitter dance of gin, quinine and lime.

But look at it from your bartender’s position.

There’s a good chance she didn’t expect to be working at all tonight, but Sheila called in sick, so she was stuck. She was able to get a babysitter at the last minute, but this is the first time she’s left her kid with this new sitter, and she’s not sure she trusts the large numbers of facial piercings the girl had.

Then, there’s Stanley, at the end of the bar. He tipped her an extra 50 cents once, a year ago, and ever since then he’s felt entitled to her attention, even during rushes.

Plus, it’s Thursday, which means that there aren’t as many customers as on the weekend, but somehow the bar moves just as much booze, which brings its own set of issues.

All of which is to say, your margarita, rocks-no-salt, probably didn’t benefit from her complete focus and attention.

You know how sometimes you pull into your driveway at the end of the day and have no memory of driving home? That’s how she just made your completely reasonable, utterly forgettable cocktail.

So, what’s the solution?

For the sake of everything Good and Decent in the Universe, please don’t order something obnoxious with a cutesy name. Or anything with 17 ingredients. Or anything that will involve dusting off a bottle from the back of the bar.

What you want is a gin sour.

And what is a gin sour, you ask?

It’s a gimlet, but with lemon.

I sense that you are still staring at me, waiting for further explanation.

OK — a gin sour is one of those very basic cocktails that is a cinch to make, takes 45 seconds and is truly delicious. It has three ingredients: gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It uses the same proportions as about six other cocktails: two ounces of alcohol, an ounce of citrus, and three quarters of an ounce of something sweet — the same as a margarita or a daiquiri or a lemon drop.

The difference is, nobody else has ordered one this week.

So, just like stopping for your dry cleaning on the way home makes you pay more attention to your commute, making a gin sour will be just out of the ordinary enough to grab your bartender’s full attention. It’s not difficult, but she will have to keep her mind on what she’s doing.

And you get a very nice drink.

So nice that you will probably start making it for yourself at home.

Gin sour

• 2 ounces gin (see below)
• 1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ¾ ounce simple syrup

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.

Shake.

Strain.

Drink.

So, the question you are probably asking yourself right now is, what kind of gin?

Wanting to give you the best possible information, I made three gin sours last evening, identical except for the variety of gin. The floral gin was exceptional, truly delicious. But so was the version with gunpowder gin; the lemon really played a leading role. The dry gin was slightly more astringent, which gave it a delicious booziness on the back end. You would really have to make a deliberate effort to mess this drink up

And after three of them in quick succession you will be astonished at what sparkling conversationalists your houseplants are.

With dry red wines from Austria

Winter started at 4:48 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year but also ushers in (at least) two months of cold days, only to be outdone by colder nights! With its roots in paganism, the solstice aligns with the modern holiday season of Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s. These holidays are celebrated in Northern Europe for weeks with fairs and markets in almost every town and city. Hot wine punches are served at these fairs and markets, ideal for warding off the winter chill.

German glühwein is traditionally served at stalls at Christmas markets across Germany and Austria to keep people warm as they shop and socialize. “Glühwein” literally translates to glow-wine, describing how you feel after you’ve been drinking tiny mugs of it outside over the holidays. The recipe is simple, and the most important rule to follow is “Do not let the wine boil, or you will boil off the alcohol.” Added to the dry red wine are an orange, granulated sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Weihnachtspunsch is a traditional German Christmas punch of tea, red wine, rum, fresh lemon and orange juice and spices. While the name translates as “Christmas punch,” this punch is ideal for any cold winter night.

Feuerzangenbowle is a festive German Fire Punch. This is an interesting punch in that in addition to the heated red wine, joined by slices of lemon and orange, along with the traditional spices of cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries and ginger, the ingredients include a lit sugar cone, soaked with rum that is poured over it, as the cone is perched on tongs, balanced on the ridge of the hot pot. That is impressive! Note that this concoction involves the handling of alcohol and an open flame! Extreme care should be exercised in the creation of this libation.

Now, about the wine! Recipes for these punches call for a dry red wine. Therefore, a bottle of cabernet sauvignon, Chianti, zinfandel or merlot will do, but I believe that if we are about to make a German hot punch, a German dry red wine should be used. However, I encountered a small “speed bump.” My quest (albeit perhaps not exhaustive) for a German dry red wine met with some disappointment in the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets. So I purchased two Austrian dry red wines.

Our first wine is a 2015 Höpler Pannonica Blaufränkisch Zweigelt Pinot Noir, priced at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $12.99. What an incredible bargain! The color is a dark ruby hue. To the nose there are dark blackberry notes, along with a little plum. The nose carries through to the tongue with flavors of blackberries, along with some gentle spices and very soft tannins. This is an Austrian blend of 40 percent blaufränkisch, 35 percent Zweigelt and 25 percent pinot noir. The Zweigelt variety was created in the 1920’s by Professor Fritz Zweigelt, by crossing varieties of blaufränkisch, St. Laurent and pinot noir. Zweigelt is the most widespread red wine variety in Austria.

Our second wine is a 2017 Anton Bauer Zweigelt Feuersbrunn, priced at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $17.99. Another great silent bargain! This 100 percent Zweigelt has a color that is a bit more purple than the first wine, along with the nose and tongue also ever so slightly more intense than the first bottle. This wine hails from the Wagram viticultural region of Austria, on the banks of the Danube. Known to produce excellent Grüner Veltliner, the region is ideal for the production of this superb red varietal.

So gather round a fire pit and enjoy the crisp winter cold with a cup of any of these hot wine punches, and if you lack the ambition to flame a rum-soaked sugar cone, you can curl up in front of the fireplace with a glass of either of these fine, light, dry red wines! You will delight in these new experiences.