"Allow me to translate...Welcome to Casa Herradura The Best Tequila in the World"

Several years ago I was invited to a special tequila tasting at a local Mexican restaurant.  What I didn't know is the attendees were all owners of Mexican restaurants and the guest speaker was Ruben, the Director of International Development for Casa Herradura.  I had been invited because my liquor rep knew how much I loved this tequila.  During the tasting, Ruben began asking questions about tequila and its process from plant to bottle...I answered every question.  He then began asking questions about Herradura in particular...again, I answered all his questions.  At the end of the tasting Ruben approached me and asked why I knew so much about tequila, especially his tequila, afterall, I was just a bartender at a local steakhouse.  I had previously run a Mexican restaurant and had fallen in love with this particular tequila.  Ruben was so impressed he extended an invitation to come to Amatitan and see the operation first hand.  How fortunate I was that we were in the process of taking a family trip to see where our family had come from which is the neighboring state of Guanajuato.

Casa Herradura's story begun in 1870, when Felix Lopez officially registered San Jose del Refugio as a tequila-producing hacienda.  This is the only 100% hacienda-made tequila in the world.  Only five Mexican states can produce tequila: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.  The aging requirements are split into four categories:
1) Blanco/Silver/Plata: aged less than 2 months
2) Reposado "Rested": aged a minimum of 2 months, but not more than 11 months.
3) Anejo "Aged": aged a minimum of 1 year, but less than 3 years
4) Muy Anejo or Extra Anejo: aged a minimum of 3 years...typically tequilas are not aged more than 5 years.

*Weber Blue Agave, the only kind used by Herradura

*The armored doorway to the Hacienda...not pictured is the several heavily armed guards

*The families living on the Hacienda have been there for generations.

*The Jimador cleaning the agave and preparing it for the ovens

*Yours truly standing amongst the cleaned agave "pinas" ready to be heated in the massive ovens behind me

*Freshly cooked "pinas" 

*Fresh cooked agave tastes very much like sweet pumpkin

*Agave is pressed and shredded

*Agave nectar in it's purist form

*Time for distillation

*Finally the aging begins

*As part of their heritage, the old distillery is set up as a museum

*Thanks to Ruben we ended our red carpet tour with a private tasting of every Herradura product

Salud!

http://www.herraduratequila.com/default.aspx

"French Soul, Oregon Soil...Domaine Drouhin"

Oregon Pinot Noir's have always had a special place in my heart and much of their notoriety is given to a well known French family.  In the mid 70's there were a handful of families making very Burgundy-esque style Pinot Noirs and most was sold locally.  Then in 1976 a little known blind tasting occurred in Paris and the French were stunned.  Two little wine producers from Napa took First place in both the white Burgundy and red Bordeaux categories.  A few years later the French attempted to redeem their prowess by hosting a Wine Olympics.  The French prevailed, but one Pinot Noir from Oregon caught their attention.  The Lett family and their Eyrie Vineyards from Oregon did quite well.  Robert Drouhin, the patriarch of the family firm of Maison Joseph Drouhin, wanted to know what was in Oregon and why did their Pinot Noir taste so similar to his own.

At the time of the tasting Veronique Drouhin, Robert's daughter, was studying enology at the University of Dijon.  When she graduated in 1986 she asked her father to send her on an internship to California.  He suggested that she go to Oregon, where he thought the best Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy might someday be made.  She spent the 1986 harvest with the top three producers...Eyrie, Adelsheim and Bethel Heights.

By the end of her intership, Robert had sent word that he would be interested in purchasing property in the Willamette Valley.  David Adelsheim had contacted Robert by the early summer of 1987 and by Christmas time he had purchased 225 acres. 

A few years ago I had the opportunity to spend a day at this amazing winery.  Veronique makes beautiful Pinot Noir as well as Chardonnay.  If a lighter styled Pinot Noir is what you are looking for without the huge price tag...look to my Northern neighbor and enjoy the taste of the Willamette!  Cheers!

http://www.domainedrouhin.com/en/

"It's cold & flu season...make sure you take your Penicillin!"

Recently I read about a cocktail that was scotch based and it sounded quite delicious.  The drink was "Penicillin" and the bartender is Sam Ross.  As Ross tells it, in 2005 they had a bunch of scotch, but there weren't too many people drinking scotch cocktails.  He says that scotch was thought of as an "old man's" drink (his view...not mine) and he was looking for something new to pour at his then digs of Milk & Honey.

Penicillin in it's true form is an anti-biotic used to fight bacterial infections.  The ingenious part of the cocktail is that all of it's components have healing properties.  Ginger treats cancer, flatulence, motion sickness, arthritis, treats burns and more.  Lemon improves bowel movements, contains 22 anti-cancer compounds, rich in Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium and potassium as well as helps the body's metabolism.  Manuca Honey contains a lot of anti-bacterial properties and is used in treating burn victims.  Scotch...well it is a solution, not a problem.

*Sam Ross

I know it is getting cold in other parts of the United States, so make sure you get your daily dose of Penicillin!

Penicillin

2 oz of Balvenie 12 year

3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Fresh Ginger Juice

3/4 oz Manuca Honey Syrup (2 parts honey to 1 part water)

Shake all ingredients and chill and strain over a large ice cube

Top with 1/2 oz Balvenie 17 year Peated Cask and zest of lemon (discarded) and garnished with candied ginger

Thank you Sam!  Cheers!

"I see your Martini and raise you a Martinez"

The other day I was training my cousin who is working towards his Sommelier Certification and we were going over their cocktail portion of the program.  I came across a note card with the heading "Sweet Martini"...I was curious and thought what it could be...before I turned the card over I guessed it was a "Martinez"...sure enough, the recipe was a crude rendition of this classic cocktail.

The classic "Martinez" is the precursor to the Martini.  Credit is given to Jerry Thomas who is said to have made this drink for an imbiber that was on his way to Martinez, California.  Most classic recipes call for Old Tom Gin, but each bartender is allotted a little lee-way...here is my rendition of this classic cocktail.

Martinez the Barragan way

2oz Plymouth Gin
1oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
Dash of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
2 dashes Regan's Bitters
garnish with a lemon zest

Cheers!

"When life gives you lemons...grab a Hefe Weizen...it's a Radler!"

While we are still in the grasp of Oktoberfest, lets take a look at a popular summer month thirst-quencher...after-all it is 100 degrees today in Los Angeles.  In Bavaria there is a long standing tradition of drinking a particular Biermischgetrank (mixed beer drink) known as a Radler.  A radler simply translates as "cyclist".  During warmer months people ride their bikes and are known to stop and have a refreshing "beer cocktail" comprised of half German sparkling lemonade and a Hefe-Weizen.

The invention of the Radler has been widely attributed to the Munich gastronomer Franz Xaver Kugler in 1922.  This is disputed by other sources that claim to have been mentioned as early as 1912.  Whatever the true source is...a huge thank you for this tasty beer cocktail!

Prost!

"Drink like a Norse God"

*Walhalla by Max Bruckner, 1896

In honor of Thors Day (Thursday for you and I) we are delving into Norse Mythology and the love they have for beer.  Valhalla was a Viking paradise where chosen heroes fought and feasted from dawn to dusk.  Wounds healed overnight and mead and meat flowed freely.  The hectic round of combat ensured that heroes stayed in fighting form, fit for the final battle at Ragnarok.

The great hall of Einherjar "heroic dead" was built in Asgard by Odin.  The hall had over five hundred doors, each wide enough to allow up to eight hundred men to march through abreast.  These wide doors were designed to allow the chosen warriors to pour forth at the first sign of Ragnarok.  The warriors would fight alongside the gods in a great battle on the Vigrid Plain.

Once inside this great hall there was a magical cauldron, Aegir's Brewing Kettle.  As mythology tells, Thor had asked Aegir to brew some ale for the gods, but Aegir claimed to not have a cauldron big enough for the task.  Upon being declined the brew, Thor acquired a vast cauldron from the frost giant Hymir.  In fact, it was so big that when he hoisted it onto his shoulders, the handles reached his ankles.  Hymir tried to stop Thor from taking his cauldron, but the Thunder god's hammer said otherwise.  As a result, a humiliated Aegir had to accept the cauldron and supply Asgard with Ale.

*Aegir and his daughters brewing in their magical cauldron

The etymology of Thursday refers to the Old English Thunor's Day which is influenced by the Old Norse, ,meaning Thor's Day.  Thor derived from the Proto-Germanic god Thunraz, god of thunder.

*Thunor (Thor) by Marten Eskil Winge, 1872

time to celebrate the way Thor would want us to...Skal!

"Do you Michelada?"

The Michelada is found all over Mexico, but there is quite a wide variety of this cerveza preparada (a prepared beer cocktail).  It is typically served with a salted or spiced rim, usually some kind of citrus, beer and sometimes tomato juice, Clamato Juice or even spices.

The origins are vague on the creation of this beer cocktail, but it is known that the popular term for a beer in Mexico is the word "chela".  When you ask for a "chela", you are asking for a cold beer; it is a shortened version of "mi chela helada" or "my cold beer".  A second popular tale comes from San Luis Potosi's Club Deportivo Potosino.  Michel Esper, a bartender at the club used to serve a beer with lime, ice and salted rim in a special cup called a "chabela", as if it were a beer lemonade.  The members of the club started asking for "Michel's lemonade", eventually shortening to "michelada".

Recently I had a discussion with a chef and he told me about his personal recipe.  I was intrigued because he said he likes to use Clamato Juice and Negra Modelo.  I typically drink Bohemia or Negra Modelo when it comes to Mexican beer so I present you with two classic approaches to enjoy a Michelada.

Lagered Lime Michelada

Kosher salted rim, juice of half lime, ice and a lagered Mexican beer (Bohemia)


Clamato Spiced Michelada

Begin with creating the spiced mix.  Small can of Clamato Juice, 1/2 oz Worcestershire sauce, bar spoon of Tapatio, 1/2 tsp Tajin, juice of 1/2 lemon, dash of salt, pepper and cayenne.  Mix 1/2 tsp of Tajin and 1/2 tsp of Kosher Salt and rim glass.  Combine mix and Negra Modelo over ice.

*for a beer spin on your guacamole add an ounce to liven it up a bit!

Salud!