Monthly Archives: December 2012

In all probability, eggnog with a little brandy was the first cocktail I ever tried. I was, after all, only 10 or 11 when my dad first presented me with this nectar, just before we opened gifts at Grandpa’s house on Christmas morning.

I still indulge in gloriously fatty, sugary eggnog each year, adding a touch to my morning coffee, or spicing it up with a splash of Cognac in the evening, should I be feeling extravagant.

But is this really the best way to enjoy eggnog? Could my eggnog pleasure be yet further increased? The possibility seemed remote, and yet too enticing to ignore. I got to work.

First, it’s important to choose the right eggnog. For my money, the most sumptuously thick comes from Oberweis, a local dairy. Should Oberweis be unavailable, choose an organic eggnog, made with real yolks and spices, rather than processed fat and artificial flavors.

A good eggnog can stand up well to a variety of different spirits, which means you can use whatever your favorite booze may be, and the drink will still turn out basically all right.

Whichever booze you choose, proportions are key. A 1:1 eggnog/booze ratio yields a perfectly delightful and very adult cocktail, but when I drink eggnog, I want the full fatty luxuriousness to envelop my palate. For me, a 2:1 ratio of eggnog to booze afforded a balanced drink that remained lusciously thick in texture.

If you have particularly thick eggnog, the booze likely won’t incorporate immediately. I recommend stirring, either in a pitcher or in the glass, rather than shaking in a shaker. Shaking the eggnog aerates it, and I want that thick texture intact. And worse, if you use ice in the shaker, you’ll end up diluting the nog. Not acceptable. The eggnog should be cool enough that you don’t need to use any ice. If it’s important to you that the drink be truly cold, put the booze in the freezer for 30 or 40 minutes before you plan on drinking.

I tried mixing eggnog with a variety of different spirits, and while none of these combinations proved to be offensive, some worked better than others. I used a 2:1 ratio in all cases, unless otherwise noted:

With Brandy: A classic combination. With no basic brandy on hand, I used Remy Martin VSOP Cognac, and it worked predictably well. But this was not my favorite combo. The vanilla and caramel flavors in the Cognac were too close to the flavors in the eggnog, making the cocktail a little one-note.

With Tequila: Unorthodox but successful. I used El Jimador Reposado tequila, and the result had a surprisingly dry finish, even with just a hint of smoke. I rather liked it even better than with the Cognac!

With Rum: Another classic combo, except that I used a Rhum Agricole clocking in at a touch over 100 proof. The bright, sharp finish might be a bit strong for some, or just right for others. It gave me an idea. Why not try eggnog…

With Bacardi 151: I keep this rum, with its unholy 75.5% alcohol content, on hand mostly because it’s so easy to ignite. In this case, it proves exceedingly useful because you can add half the amount and get the same alcoholic kick. With a 4:1 eggnog/Barcardi 151 ratio, you have an eggnog cocktail with unparalleled thickness of texture.

With Coffee Liqueur: Since I do enjoy a little eggnog in my coffee, I assumed a little coffee liqueur in my eggnog would taste just as good. I was wrong. It tasted simple, caramelly and way too sweet. It was dessert, not a cocktail. I couldn’t drink more than two sips. If you’re determined to go this route, make it more of a White Russian, using 1 part coffee liqueur, 2 parts vodka and 5 or 6 parts eggnog.

With Bourbon: My favorite combo of all. Again, I seemed to be out of inexpensive bourbon — all I had was some delicious Rowan’s Creek. I used it in this cocktail only reluctantly, assuming its flavors would be completely lost, as the Cognac’s flavors were. But what a delight! After the initial wave of eggnog flavor, I detected something herbaceous underneath. Then as the eggnog faded away, the bourbon really came to the fore, making for a wonderfully delicious finish. A memorable journey, and one I suspect I’ll be repeating many times between now and Christmas. It’s worth trying with whatever bourbon you may have on hand.

———

I also spent some time working up a more complicated cocktail, because after all, I wouldn’t be Odd Bacchus if I didn’t want to complicate matters just a little. I wanted to complement the nutmeg and cinnamon in the nog, and I hit on the idea of using orange and ginger, two similarly warm flavors. After noodling around with the proportions, I came up with a marvelous concoction I like to call:

SANTA’S HELPER

–4 parts Bourbon (I used Rowan’s Creek)

–1 part Triple Sec (Stirrings makes an “all natural” version of this orange-flavored liqueur)

–1 part Ginger Liqueur (A number are on the market, but Stirrings’ is much less expensive than most others)

–9 parts Eggnog (1.5 times as much alcohol)

Pour all the ingredients, ending with the eggnog, in your glass or a pitcher. Stir to combine, and serve in a lowball or rocks glass. Do not use ice at any point in the process. The eggnog, orange, ginger and bourbon all have their moment on your palate, making for a delicious and surprisingly complex journey.

It’s traditional to top your eggnog with some freshly grated nutmeg, but that’s a pain, and there’s already plenty of nutmeg in most store-bought eggnogs. I prefer a little cinnamon powder on top of my nog. If you want to get fancy, top your eggnog with a touch of cinnamon and a sprinkle of ginger powder. Even fancier, top with a bit of ginger powder and garnish with a whole cinnamon stick.

Cheers!

Although many of my posts touch on the reasons why I gravitate towards the unusual and the obscure, I realize I’ve never distilled (if you will) the purpose of this blog in a single, concise post. So:

Why am I making such a fuss over the unusual and the obscure? I touched on the most practical reason in this post: Value. As wine writer Lettie Teague noted in a recent column for The Wall Street Journal, “The obscure and the uncurated will almost always cost less than the well known and well placed. If you don’t know what a wine is, you’re unlikely to pay a high price for it.”

I am constantly in search of good wine values, and most of the wines I describe on this site pack a lot of flavor for the price. Like most people, I’m on a budget, and usually I want tasty wines that cost $15 or less. But it can be daunting to weed through the huge array of inexpensive unusual wines. It’s my goal to single out the wines that are not merely unusual, but unusual and delicious. Because it can be difficult to find a specific wine if you’re not shopping in exactly the same stores I am, I try to highlight entire regions and wine varieties to watch out for whenever possible.

As important as price is to me, there is another reason much dearer to my heart: Sticking up for the little guy. By definition, most of the wines and spirits I write about are made by small producers without big marketing budgets. For just about all these winemakers and distillers, I suspect their work is a labor of love, and I like to think that’s something you can taste. Most of us would surely much rather drink something made with real heart than something concocted in a lab, but too often, we’re afraid to leave our comfort zones and try something new. Drink fearlessly, my friends! You’ll discover some incredible stuff, and you’ll be helping small businesses.

You’ll also strike a blow against flavor homogenization, helping ensure that the vast world of wine and spirits available to us today continues to be gloriously, wonderfully diverse. And what fun it is, at least for me, to learn about all these fascinating little nooks and crannies which are making tasty wines and spirits. Taste and smell are two of our most powerful senses, and every now and then, a drink transports me right back to its home, or even back in time. Bottles of something unusual and obscure almost always come with a great story.

Some of you may also be wondering: Why wines and spirits? Most blogs focus on either just wine or just spirits/cocktails. That keeps things nice and tidy, but that’s not how most people I know drink. To be sure, there are some of us who only drink one type of alcohol, but if you’re like me, sometimes you want some wine, sometimes you want a cocktail, and sometimes you want a beer. (I don’t write about beer, because, well, I had to draw the line somewhere.) I see no reason to deny ourselves the pleasure of mixing it up, and I want this blog to be somewhere you can go whenever you’re in the mood to taste something new and different.

So as you’re doing your shopping, consider picking up something unusual and obscure to bring to that holiday party or give your friends as a Christmas present. (My top gift picks are listed here.) Seek out a bottle of cheer with a story, crafted with love, rather than just another bottle of booze made in a factory.

‘Twas the night before a blog deadline, and all through the bar, Odd Bacchus was stirring some cocktails bizarre.

The booze was poured in the shaker with care, but the result would only be drunk on a dare.

Being a seasonal kind of guy, I planned on extolling the virtues of the Chimayó in this blog post. This cocktail, first brought to my attention by former Wall Street Journal cocktail columnist Eric Felten, combines tequila, unfiltered apple cider, crème de cassis (black currant liqueur) and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. I had all the ingredients on hand, and what could go wrong?

Well, something unpleasant happened between the shaker and the glass, because lovely though this cocktail to the right may look, it tasted like sour menthol smoke berries. My theory is that the gold tequila I used was inappropriate for this drink, and that silver might suit it better. But who knows? I am bereft of silver tequila at the moment, and Mr. Felten doesn’t specify the type of tequila in his article. Come on, Eric! I expected more from you.

Having completely failed at making a palatable Chimayó, it was time for Plan B. I took out a jar of vodka I’d infused with lemon-thyme, a wonderful herb a coworker gave me from her garden. Doesn’t that sound tasty? I poured a little in a glass and took a whiff. “Lemon Pledge” was the first thing that came to mind. A sip confirmed it: I’d made a jar of Lemon Pledge vodka.

Determined to salvage this unfortunate infusion, I tried mixing it with the unfiltered apple cider, a bit of lemon juice and some crème de cassis. Lemon and black currant can go really well together, and since this was a modified version of Felten’s Chimayó recipe, I had high hopes. My optimism proved to be unfounded, however. This cocktail, despite its entirely natural set of ingredients, tasted like chemical lemon candy and purple. Yes, its flavor was revolting enough to induce momentary synesthesia.

With single-minded but sadly misguided zeal, I soldiered on and made one more attempt to create something someone — anyone — might want to drink. I simplified the recipe, using just the lemon-thyme vodka, lemon juice and crème de cassis. The result stunned me with the sheer power of its noxiousness. How could so simple and natural a drink be so overwhelmingly disgusting? I gingerly tried another sip. Indeed, there was no denying the abhorrent flavor, an abomination which I took to be some sign of the End of Days. I spat it into the sink, followed by a spew of unholy expletives unprintable in a blog viewable by the general public.

Although I discovered no new cocktails to recommend on this blog, I did develop a new-found respect for professional mixologists. Tip your bartenders well, dear readers — their job isn’t as easy as it looks.

If you, like me, have only just begin to contemplate making your holiday shopping list — let alone actually buy anything — do not despair. If your circle of family and friends, like mine, contains quite a few drinkers, all you need to do is make one trip to your favorite local wine/spirits shop, with this list in hand.

I’ve suggested mostly regions or categories of wines and spirits, rather than specific brands, so that you’ll have a better chance of finding them. The links go to fascinating, beautifully composed blog posts with additional information:

ODD BACCHUS’S TOP 10 GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS:

(In no particular order)

1. If you’re buying a gift for someone who really knows their wine, someone you would like to impress, a Grower Champagne is an ideal choice. Produced (theoretically) by the people who grew the grapes in specific vineyards, this Champagne will likelier reflect its terroir more than a Champagne made by a négociant, which buys grapes from an array of vineyards in the Champagne region. A Grower Champagne will be indicated by “RM” (Récoltant Manipulant) on the label, usually in very small type, as opposed to “NM”, which stands for Négociant Manipulant.

2. One of the best white-wine values out there is Savennières, a Chenin Blanc produced in the Loire Valley. Haven’t heard of it? That’s one of the reasons it’s such an excellent value.

3. Another excellent white choice would be a wine from Pessac-Léognan, a sub-region of Graves, which is a sub-region of Bordeaux. “Pessac-Léognan” may not roll right off the tongue, but its luscious tropical flavors and voluptuous texture will thrill the palate. This was probably my favorite white I drank this year.

4. A less-expensive but still-delightful gift would be a Furmint from Hungary. I just had a very fine example a couple of nights ago at Big Jones, with up-front pear flavors followed by a spicy, almost fiery finish. It works beautifully with a range of foods, and typically doesn’t cost all that much. If you have a bigger budget, go for some Tokaji Aszu, the justly renowned Hungarian dessert wine (the more “Puttonyos,” the more concentrated the flavor).

5. One of my favorite odd red wines of the year was St. Laurent (pronounced “Sahnkt Lorent”) from Austria. This variety tends to make rather sexy wine, with dark red fruit, velvety tannins and a touch of earth.

6. Good wines from famed Tuscany tend to be rather expensive, but Morellino di Scansano has yet to be discovered. These Sangiovese-based wines from a corner of the nearby Maremma region tend to be better values than their Tuscan cousins. The one I tried had deep, enticing fruit and some real finesse.

7. I’ve had great experience with Massaya, a well-regarded winery in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Its wines made quite an impression on me, both red and white. If your wine shop carries vintages by Massaya, don’t pass them up.

8. For the spirit drinker, you can hardly go wrong with Ron Zacapa, a fine rum from Guatemala. Smooth and complex, this rum is made for sipping, not mixing with Coke. Go for as old a rum as you can afford.

9. If you don’t find Ron Zacapa, look for Flor de Caña instead. This Nicaraguan rum also impressed me with its refined character and rich flavors.

10. For the mixologist who has everything, seek out Crème Yvette. This floral, violet-based spirit  went out of fashion in the 1960s, and when it stopped being manufactured in 1969, it looked to be lost forever. But production was restarted in 2009, and once again, we can mix proper Aviations and Blue Moons. Not inexpensive at about $50, but sure to impress.

Happy Shopping!