Monthly Archives: October 2012

This time of year, big orange squash are inescapable, whether you’re beset by pumpkin scones at Starbucks or pestered by pumpkin-flavored beers at the bar. I admit, I get into the spirit of things a bit, ordering an annual pumpkin spice latte (one a year is enough) and occasionally even making pumpkin crème brûlée, which gives me an excuse to use my kitchen blow torch.

Now, here is where I would ordinarily start writing about how I experimented with various recipes for pumpkin cocktails to serve at your Halloween party, and how I discovered a fantastic recipe. Alas, I had neither the time nor the palate to do anything of the kind. Perhaps I’ll come up with something original for Halloween next year, but in the meantime, I’ve assembled a collection of other people’s pumpkinlicious cocktails sure to tickle your gourd. Why carve a pumpkin when you can just drink one?

TheSpir.it always has commendable cocktail recommendations. For your Halloween pleasure, you might start with some homemade pumpkin vodka.

But then, why make your own pumpkin vodka when you can just buy some at the store? After all, it’s a little late to start this stuff from scratch.

Now that you’ve obtained your pumpkin vodka one way or the other, it’s time to start mixing. I recommend consulting TheSpir.it’s list of five pumpkin cocktails, most of which sound actually rather good.

Or better yet, invest in a bottle of Corsair Pumpkin Spice Moonshine. This white whiskey is apparently “great in a Manhattan,” and heck, goodness knows I’d drink it. You can also find Corsair’s recipes for Pumpkin Spiced Punch and a Pumpkin Pie Martini here.

But this being Halloween, you’ll want to drink something really, really scary. I’ve sipped a lot of scary things over the years, but surely pumpkin wine ranks among the very scariest.

Boo!

Although it’s started to have a following in the United States, mezcal has yet to invade the popular consciousness the way tequila has. Everyone knows tequila, whether they like it or not, and almost everyone who drinks has tried a margarita at least once in their lives. But what does mezcal taste like? And what’s the signature mezcal cocktail?

The answer to the second question is easy: There isn’t one. At least, not yet. And that’s because of the answer to the first question. Mezcal has a much smokier, less cocktail-friendly flavor than tequila, because the piña, the heart of the agave plant from which mezcal is fermented and distilled, is roasted underground for about three days. (The piñas used for tequila are baked, not roasted, and they come only from the blue agave plant.)

While staying in Acapulco recently, I had hoped to explore the world of mezcal more deeply. But as a single traveler staying at a property well outside of town, it felt uncomfortable and inconvenient to bar hop in the city itself. Fortunately, my hotel had an excellent mezcal for me to sample, an Amores Reposado made in Santiago Matatlán (in Oaxaca) from espadín agave. As with tequila, “reposado” indicates that the spirit was aged in oak barrels for a minimum of two months.

Amores distills its mezcal reposado three times and ages it for eight months, instead of just two, and the extra care shows. It had a red, smokey aroma, and it felt strong but surprisingly smooth, with smokey notes tempered by something sweet. It tasted particularly good paired with orange wedges dipped in chili powder.

Unfortunately, I failed in my quest to sample mezcal pechuga, which is mezcal distilled with a variety of fruits as well as a breast of chicken suspended in the still (you can read more about the process here). I found a bottle of Del Maguey Mezcal Pechuga in a liquor store in Acapulco, but it cost an eye-popping 1,950 pesos, which works out to about $150! Even for a mezcal distilled with a chicken breast, that seemed a little steep. I consoled myself with some bottles of wine from Baja instead.

Mezcal won’t appeal to everyone, but if you happen to like tequila, it’s definitely worth a try. Fans of scotch, which can also be a bit smokey, should also consider investigating mezcal. Your liquor store should carry at least a few examples. Go for a reposado or an añejo (aged one to three years in oak). A quick search of Binny’s website revealed 36 options priced anywhere from $18 to $230 per bottle. And hey, if you’re looking for a Christmas present to send to Odd Bacchus, Binny’s carries the Del Maguey Mezcal Pechuga for a cool $200.

As is often the case, the name of this liqueur sounds better in Italian. “Liquore di mirto” has more power to stir the heart than “myrtle berry liqueur.” Myrtle berry liqueur sounds like something I might try for the blog, since I haven’t the faintest idea what a myrtle berry even tastes like, but it’s not something I would see in a liquor store and snatch off the shelf. I tend to be suspicious of berry-flavored liqueurs — they’re usually just too syrupy and sweet, occasionally veering towards the medicinal.

But on a cruise this past April, I had a port of call in Sardinia, the Mediterranean’s second-largest island. I knew of three Sardinian specialties. First, wine made from the Cannonau grape, which one can find in the U.S. fairly easily. Second, Casu Marzu, a cheese made more… ripe? is that the word? …by allowing fly larvae to grow in the cheese and partially digest it. The cheese is typically consumed when the larvae are still alive. I consider myself strong of stomach, but after seeing a video of this cheese in action, I knew this option was out.

That left mirto, and I was determined to find some. Our guide, after showing us some mysterious megalithic ruins and picturesque resort towns, took me to a supermarket in a strip mall, and I procured a bottle. It was worth the effort.

I opened it recently with Scott, who assisted me with the Cherry Pie Martini, and we took a sip, not really knowing what to expect. It tasted of ripe cherries, something herbal, like eucalyptus perhaps, and cinnamon on the finish. It was positively delightful, both at room temperature and chilled (how it’s usually served).

It seemed a shame to mix it with anything, but when alcohol is involved, shame is a feeling I can easily overcome. Gin seemed the most obvious place to start, since its botanicals would likely work well with the herbal qualities of the mirto. We came up with a very simple and absolutely delicious cocktail, which we dubbed, for better or worse, the Mirtini.

MIRTINI

2 parts gin (I used Death’s Door)

1 part mirto

1/2 part fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Combine the above in a shaker filled with ice, agitate, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon, if you’re feeling extra fancy. The drink starts with bright notes from the botanicals in the gin and moves into the more grounded, darker notes of the mirto before finishing with a flash of brandied cherries and cinnamon. The lemon holds it together, providing necessary texture and enhancing the flavors.

We thought the cherry notes of the mirto could also work with something brown, in the manner of a Manhattan. Cognac seemed like a good place to start, since brandy and cherries seem made for each other. Here we used mirto in the place of sweet vermouth in a Manhattan, and came up with, if you’ll forgive us, the Mirhattan.

MIRHATTAN

2 parts Cognac

1 part mirto

3-4 dashes orange bitters

Combine the above in a shaker filled with ice, agitate, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange peel, if you like. Scott remarked that the cocktail smelled “like expensive soap,” and I was hard pressed to disagree. Nevertheless, it tasted round, rich, spicy and sweet. It was great fun, and perfect for the cooler weather.

If you can get your hands on some mirto, by all means buy it. It’s delightful by itself, and I have a feeling the two cocktails described above are only the beginning of its mixological potential. Type in the words “mirto liqueur” into a search engine, and you’ll find some U.S. retailers which sell it, typically for $25 to $30.

On the off chance you’ve read a few of my other posts about wine, you may have noticed I usually write about bottles that cost less than $15. Because I focus on the unusual and the obscure, most large wineries and PR firms aren’t interested in sending me free samples. I buy what I drink, like most of you, and therefore I have a keen eye for value.

You can perhaps imagine, then, me standing in Binny’s on Marcey, faced with a $22 bottle of Turkish wine. On the one hand, I’ve never reviewed a wine from Turkey on this blog. But good heavens, doesn’t $22 for a wine from Turkey, of all places, seem a little steep? I’ve been to Turkey — it’s a spectacular country, and I enjoyed myself immensely. We even did some wine tasting there and discovered a few gems, such as a wonderfully minerally Narince (pronounced approximately “nahr-IN-jeh”) from Cappadocia. But I can’t remember a single red I really liked.

Even so, I was in an extravagant mood. The bottle said “Single Vineyard,” which gave me some confidence, and it was the very last bottle in the bin. I knew I would kick myself if I didn’t try it — I’m one of those people who tends to regret not drinking more than drinking — so I plunked down the cash and brought it home.

What a revelation. The 2008 Kayra Vintage Single Vineyard Öküzgözü “Collectible Series #5” from the central Anatolia region was not only the best wine I’ve had from Turkey. It was one of the best wines I’ve had all year. A deep, opaque purple, it smelled like an aged Cabernet: rich and jammy with a bit of (not unpleasant) dust. Dark, luscious fruit revealed itself on the palate, tempered by dusky tannins and some pumpkin pie spice on the finish. There’s structure and restraint there too — it’s not just some fruit bomb. My drinking companion called it “very festive” and “perfect for the holidays.” And he was absolutely right — this was a suave party guest of a wine.

But what the heck is it? I consulted my books, and discovered that Öküzgözü is one of Turkey’s indigenous grape varieties, noted in passing as a popular variety in Anatolia, but not listed among the most promising varieties. I trust that error will be corrected in future editions of The Oxford Companion to Wine and The World Atlas of Wine. But perhaps these books deserve some slack. As the Companion notes, Turkey may encompass the very birthplace of viticulture itself (around Mount Ararat), and “the region is therefore rich in indigenous vinifera vine varieties, of which between 600 and 1,200 have been identified but fewer than 60 are grown commercially.” That’s a lot of varieties to keep track of.

Öküzgözü isn’t noted at all in The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, but this book does note that Turkey’s terroir exhibits great untapped potential. Anatolia, where the Kayra Vintage comes from, has cold winters but very sunny, dry summers, making it a challenging but potentially very rewarding region for viticulture. And the Turks certainly know how to tend a vineyard. The country is the world’s fourth-largest producer of grapes, but most are eaten fresh or as raisins. Only 2.5% make it into wine. Why?

Most Turkish drinkers seem to prefer raki (like ouzo) and beer to wine, meaning there isn’t much of a local market. Tourists pick up some of the slack, and some wines are exported, but because Turkey lacks a reputation as a quality wine producer, I have to think that selling exports can be a tricky business. And if those barriers aren’t already high enough, international investors might feel skittish about putting a lot of money into a winery in a Muslim-majority country, however moderate it may be.

The Kayra Vintage Single Vineyard Öküzgözü could stand on its own in any case, but it’s all the more impressive for succeeding against these formidable headwinds. And at just $22, it packs a ton of flavor for the price, as well as quite a pedigree. The “single vineyard” referred to on the label is Şükrü Baran, located in the Elazığ region near the Euphrates River. Vineyards have been cultivated there for some 4,000 to 6,000 years. When you drink the Kayra Vintage, you reach back into the very heart of winemaking itself.

SUMMARY

2008 Kayra Vintage Single Vineyard Öküzgözü “Collectible Series #5”: Dark and lusciously fruity, with supple tannins and a unique finish of sweet spices. Pair with autumn dishes such as duck, turkey or pork stuffed with dried fruit. Chill in the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Note that because it’s unfiltered, the last glass of wine may contain some harmless sediment.

Grade: A

Find It: I purchased this wine at Binny’s for $22.