Category: Food

A crisp bubbly drink in red or white

Spritzers are quite common in Europe, where their name began as Gespritzer, a noun derived from the German past participle of spritzen, or “to squirt.”

Popular in central Europe, spritzers have gained worldwide attention as ready-mixed in cans, with their low alcoholic and caloric content. They are the perfect afternoon beverage for a hot summer day for anyone wanting relief from the hot sun without the prospect of dulling their senses or imbibing unnecessary calories.

Spritzers should not be confused with wine coolers, which contain fruit juice and sugar, or sangria, which lacks carbonation but also contains a fair amount of carbohydrates. Spritzers should just be a simple combination of wine and carbonated water or club soda, with perhaps a slice of orange, served in a tall glass of ice. Both the wine and the soda should be well-chilled.

Originating in the 19th century, spritzers were traditionally made with white wine, but a full-fruited red wine can also be employed. Your imagination should be your guide, but remember, keep it simple! We bought our own SodaStream sparkling water maker a couple of years ago. I daily thank the esteemed scientist Joseph Priestley, who in his limitless energy discovered many gases, including oxygen and nitrous oxide, but most importantly invented carbonated water. Keeping a bottle of the sparkling water in the refrigerator makes preparing a spritzer an exercise of just a minute!

We have two spritzers to try. Our first is made with an imported Chablis. Antonin Rodet 2019 Chablis (originally priced at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $28.99 and reduced to $13.99) is in my estimation an excellent selection of a white wine for a spritzer; others include sauvignon blanc and riesling. Some acidity in the wine is important, as it works with the sparkling water to quench one’s thirst. Our wine comes from Chablis, in the far northern regions of Burgundy. Produced from the chardonnay grape, it is bone dry while not harsh, steely with mineral notes but not austere. It is rich, but not buttery like California chardonnays. Its color is the lightest of straw with a slight green cast. It has a tart lime-like nose, with an even yellow plum and minerality to the tongue; this is not the chardonnay that many would disdain. It is a perfect wine to mix with sparkling water for that thirst-quenching beverage.

Our second spritzer is made with Australia’s Limestone Coast Greg Norman Estates 2015 Reserve Shiraz (originally priced at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $49.99, reduced to $19.99). It is the perfect fruity-red wine for a spritzer! This vintage has been rated in the top 10 percent of all wines from this region. Like a rich Australian grenache, this shiraz has abundant fruit with soft tannins. It has a rich, dense red color, with bold plum fruit to the nose and palate.

This is a wine that, if you take advantage of the price and purchase several to set some aside, will cellar well for several years to come, netting repeated summers of red, healthy spritzers. Like the Chablis, this red should also be chilled prior to mixing.

So cool off this summer with some healthier alternatives, spritzers made with excellent red and white wines, crisp and clean, low in alcohol and calories! Simple to make with a 2:1 ratio of wine to sparkling water, poured over a tall glass of ice. Add a slice of orange for additional fruit and vitamin C!

As I left the house for my weekly outing to the flea market, the nightingale-like voice of my wife called out after me.

“Don’t buy anything stupid!”

This advice seemed misguided to me for two reasons: (1) buying something stupid is the whole point of a flea market, and (2) after 19 years of marriage, the idea that I could refrain from that kind of stupidity is optimistic to the point of fantasy.

To my credit, I kept a cool head for the first 20 minutes or so of browsing. But then I found this beauty — a tapered glass decorated with a grouse. You can tell, because it is labeled as such: “Grouse.”

In much the same way as some people talk about making eye contact with a puppy at an animal shelter and instantly bonding, the Grouse Glass and I shared an instant emotional intimacy. It fluttered its way into my heart.

Which is how Grouse Glass came home with me. Now, at this point, you are probably expecting a rambling story about my spirited defense of Grouse Glass to my wife, or a pun on the fact that “grouse” rhymes with “spouse,” but you will be disappointed, because I snuck it into the house when she was busy and hid it in with the other glassware in our dining room. Now, Grouse Glass is mine and I am its and a practical matter needs to be sorted — to wit, what to drink from it.

A brief internet search for grouse-themed cocktails was unexpectedly successful. As it turns out, there are a number of whiskeys named after grouse — Famous Grouse, Naked Grouse, etc. — largely connected to the image of tweedy aristocrats shooting them. In consequence, there have been a number of cocktails named after them.

I took a recipe that was weird as snake sneakers to begin with and started playing with it. I ended up with something that is solidly good but that no self-respecting grouse would have anything to do with.

Grouse With No Self-Respect

This is based on a drink called the Dirty Bird. I have made a great number of changes and substitutions. Clearly the Grouse is not the only one lacking in self-respect.

Ingredients:

2 ounces Doritos-infused Irish whiskey (See below. No, really. It will be OK.)

¼ ounces dry sherry — I used amontillado

1/3 ounce fig syrup (see below)

3 dashes (30 drops) cardamom or Angostura bitters

1 dash (10 drops) Tabasco sauce

Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until thoroughly chilled and a little diluted.

Pour everything, including the ice, into a chilled Grouse Glass. If you do not have a grouse glass, a rocks glass will do.

Garnish and serve on a plate with Fig Newtons.

OK, you’re going to have to have a little faith on this one.

The original recipe called for infusing a grouse-named whiskey with kettle corn. I tried it — and it was fine — but it was understated, and this does not seem to be an understated drink. I got to thinking, “The corn idea is solid, but is there a way of giving it some oomph?” Hence, the Doritos.

Stay with me; we’ll get through this together.

The fig syrup is the secret star here. The whiskey hits your palate first, followed by the — believe it or not — somewhat subtle Doritos flavor, but the fig aftertaste is what makes this drink really interesting. It leads to a second sip, then a third. The bitters keep it from being too sweet, and the Tabasco adds a tiny amount of zing that keeps it from tasting a little flat.

Self-respect is overrated.

Doritos-infused whiskey

Combine one 1-ounce packet of Nacho Cheese Doritos and 6 ounces of Irish whiskey in a small jar.

Seal and store someplace cool and dark for one week, shaking it twice per day.

Strain and bottle it. (Don’t stress about how little whiskey you end up with. You like whiskey; it turns out that Doritos like whiskey. They deserve a little something for the sacrifice they have made.

Fig syrup

Combine two parts fig jam to one part water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Boil until the jam is as dissolved as possible. Depending on what brand of jam you are using, there may or may not be chunks of fig left, after it is syruped.

Strain and bottle. Don’t worry about any tiny fig seeds — that’s what helps keep this figgy — but actual chunks of figs would probably be off-putting in the final cocktail.

Featured photo: Grouse. Photo by John Fladd.