In preparation for an upcoming nerd conference (this year’s is in DC), I’m nerding out. Here’s something I’m sure you’re all desperate for – an Austrian residual sugar chart!
| Austrian Term | English Translation | Amount of Residual Sugar |
| Trocken | Dry | Up to .9%…provided that the total acidity is no more than .2% less than the residual sugar content |
| Extra Trocken | Extra Dry | Up to .4% |
| Halbtrocken | Semi Dry | Up to 1.2% |
| Lieblich | “Charming” | Up to 4.5% |
| Süss | Sweet | Over 4.5% |
Filed under Wine
We’ve been submitting L’Ecole’s wine list to Wine Spectator since 2007 and this year we got bumped up to their second-tier award. Here’s what their website says:
Best of Award of Excellence
788 winners
Our second-tier award, created to give special recognition to restaurants that clearly exceed the requirements of the Award of Excellence. These lists typically offer 400 or more selections, along with superior presentation, and display either vintage depth, with several vertical offerings of top wines, or excellent breadth across several wine regions.
Who else has this award you may ask. Oh, Jean-Georges and Gramercy Tavern. You know what they didn’t get, though? A green highlight, indicating a good value list.
For an upgrade on this iPhone shot, pick up a copy of the August edition, available now.
Filed under Wine
Frank Bruni’s Tipsy Diaries article was about the Bloody Mary this week.
It was great to see folks moving beyond plain-old vodka as the base. Bruni found everything from gin to rye to whiskey to oatmeal stout.
Celery and lemons aren’t exciting enough anymore, either. House-pickled vegetables are taking over; radish, asparagus, kohlrabi, the list goes on.
One of my favorite bases for the Bloody Mary is unaged corn whiskey, a.k.a. white dog, and I was surprised that none of the bars he visited have caught on to how well the corny-goodness matches the sweet-tart tomato.
Filed under Alcohol in the News, Cocktails
Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, of the Italian winery Tenuta San Guido, was the inspiration behind the “Super Tuscan”. Not officially recognized by Italian wine law, these wines emerged in the 1970s as a result of restrictive wine laws, and decreased quality of and demand for Chianti.
By the late 1960s, Chianti was suffering from overproduction, poorly situated vineyards, sub-par varietal clones, and over-dilution with white grapes. Not wanting their wines to only be purchased for their straw-covered bottles, some producers thought they could do better by ignoring the wine laws. Instead of the traditional Sangiovese-Canaiolo-Malvasia-Trebbiano blend, producers began experimenting with Cabernet Sauvignon and other varieties.
Incisa della Rocchetta made Cabernet Sauvignon from vines sourced from Château Lafite in Bordeaux and aged his wine in French-oak barriques, as opposed to the old, large-format Slavonian oak, which was common at the time. He called it Sassicaia, dialect for place of stones, and his production was tiny. Fortunately, his cousin Piero Antinori (the head of another centuries-old winemaking family) got wind of what Mario was up to and created Tignanello, the first well-known “non-Chianti Chianti” (thanks, Karen MacNeil).
Piero’s younger brother, Lodovico Antinori, went on to make Ornellaia, sourced from grapes planted right next to the ones used in Sassicaia. Many other producers have since followed suit. To this day, these three Super Tuscans are rich, juicy, incredibly sought-after, and go to show what can happen when you combine the right grapes with the right site.
Filed under Alphabet Soup, Wine
Oh, yes. Effective this week, FreshDirect is carrying Seneca Drums Gin! Here’s what they have to say about it:
This tasty gin is one of our favorite elixirs from upstate NY’s Finger Lakes Distilling. Named for the lake above which their distillery operates, the Seneca Drums Gin starts as a base spirit derived from three local wine grape varieties, Niagara, Concord, and Catawba, before being infused with a proprietary recipe of botanicals that give this refreshing beverage its distinctive aromas and flavors. Boasting explosive aromas of juniper, citrus and spice, this gin has richly textured flavors of sweet sap, petrol, and mineral undertones that shine with tonic and lime. Great in gimlets and martinis as well, this spirit pairs well with summer hors d’oeuvres such as endive and tuna salad, or savory grilled shrimp cocktails.
Filed under Spirits
Jeremy Hsu, a staff writer for Life’s Little Mysteries, recently addressed this question and asked yours truly to comment. View the story here.
Filed under Alcohol in the News, Spirits
Jason Wilson weighs the merits of drinking before 11 am in the article, “Spirits: Corpse revivers, the original energy drink” in today’s Washington Post.
Wilson’s early morning choice was the Corpse Reviver No. 2, a more exciting selection than the typical bloody mary, Irish coffee or pint of beer.
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the gin, Lillet Blanc, orange liqueur, lemon juice and absinthe. Shake well, then strain into a chilled cocktail (martini) glass. Garnish with the cherry.
He based his recipe on The Savoy Cocktail Book
If you’re interested in indulging in a morning tipple and flying under the radar afterwards, this cocktail might be more up your alley.
Filed under Alcohol in the News, Cocktails
David Flaherty, author of Grapes & Grains
David Flaherty pens the blog Grapes & Grains, and recently posted, “Channeling the Spirit of the Finger Lakes“, highlighting his favorite offerings from Finger Lakes Distilling.
Go visit him (and have a cocktail) at Hearth or Terroir in NYC.
Filed under Spirits
This past Monday night we attended a “Yelp Elite” event, where Yelp rewards its most-frequent and best reviewers by throwing them a little shindig. Finger Lakes Distilling donated some Glen Thunder to the party that was held at the 8-week-old Traif, in South Williamsburg.
Noah and I hijacked a table and brought some additional samples for the Yelpers to try. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Lozovzky.
Heather, manager and co-owner of Traif, created some stellar cocktails with the corn whiskey. My favorite was the Red Pearl and Heather was kind enough to send me the recipe.
Red Pearl
1.5 oz Glen Thunder
1 slice of jalapeno (add or take away for desired degree of spice)
3 leaves of thai basil
4 cubes of kiwi (skin off, cube-like shapes)
.25 oz of citrus sour (sour mix–our mix is a combination of lime, lemon, orange, simple syrup and water)
.25 oz simple simple syrup
Muddle the jalapeno, thai basil and kiwi. Add ice, Glen thunder, citrus sour, and simple syrup. Shake all together in shaker. Sip and Enjoy!
Just when you thought it was going to be too spicy, the kiwi would kick in. This cocktail was a perfect complement to the porky dishes. Photo credit same as above.
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A Thirsty Spirit 