Beer Wine Spirits Archives | Page 7 of 7

Maker’s Mark International Mixology Competition

November 13, 2010

It all started early in the week. My husband got an email from his Maker’s Mark Ambassador program that an exciting event would be held in Lexington on Thursday night. It was a first come, first serve type of emailed. Seventy-five tickets, you snooze, you lose.

We were notified that if we responded to the email quickly enough and were in, we’d get an email Thursday morning. We spent Thursday morning a little disappointed, assuming we’d been beaten to the punch. Well, you know what happens when you assume…

About 1:30pm we found out we were in and enjoyed a night of bourbon, snacks and cocktail judging!The event was held at the Bluegrass Aviation Museum which is pretty much an airplane hangar so it had a nice wide open atmosphere with warehouse character.

Once we arrived we were told there would be two rounds with a total of 15 bartenders, or mixologists, rather. We were given two Maker’s Mark wax tokens. Try all the drinks in round one, vote, try all the drinks in round two, vote. A winner overall would be awarded in the end.

The bartenders were from around the world and we later learned after talking to a few that they had won national competitions in their respective country and Maker’s Mark had brought them to the US to compete. It was nice to hear that this was the first trip to the US for some. We had a nice conversation with a French-born, now Australia-living competitor who was thoroughly enjoying Kentucky and planned to stop by NYC before flying back.

Each had a story with the cocktail and some had done some serious research on KY history, such as Chase Bickerton of New Zealand with his “The Perryville Cobbler.” The drink included Maker’s Mark, Luxardo Marachino Liquer, Sugar syrup, Homemade Musket Balls Reduction (black beer reduction) raspberries and an orange slice.

Ginger was a popular ingredient of the night. It seemed to overpower much of the bourbon in many of the drinks, but our favorite ginger-infused drink was the Cowboy 66 from Jordi Otero of Spain. This drink included Maker’s Mark, Mandarin Boiron and Top Ginger Beer.

I had a tie for my second place. The KFC Sazerac from Robert Montgomery of Canada was the perfect holiday drink. He was quick to tell us the KFC stood for – Kentucky bourbon, fig and caramel. This drink mixed Maker’s Mark, Caramel Liqueur, Fig Jam, Peychaud’s Bitters, Absinthe, Water and an Orange Twist. The caramel and fig had the power to really put one in the Christmas spirit!

The other second place favorite was the Loretto Dram from Ricard Enell of Sweden. This strong drink included Maker’s Mark, Grande Marnier, Pedro Ximenez, Sherry, Bitter Truth Pimento Dram, Xcoclat Mole Bitters and Orange Zest. The best part of the cocktail story was that the competitor bought the chocolate bitters online from a store in NYC, had them shipped to Sweden, and then ended up bringing them to KY for the competition. This was a chocolaty, spicy, bourbon treat.

So you are probably wondering at this point, which was our favorite. Amidst the ginger, caramel, licorice and even pumpernickel-infused bourbon flavors, our first place was a refreshing blend of cucumber and bourbon. Completely unexpected that those two would go together, right?

Alain da Silva of France made the MMcc with Maker’s Mark, Cucumber Syrup, Fresh Lemon Juice and a Cucumber Slice. It was the one drink that wasn’t all bourbon, but also didn’t lose the bourbon. It was the perfect balance and the best use of the bourbon in our opinion.

Not surprisingly, our pick was not the majority vote. The trophy went to Kenji Nakamura of Japan for the Beautiful Dream. It combined Maker’s Mark, Lejay peach liqueur, Monin Peach syrup, Fresh Lemon Juice and Acerola juice. (Remember acerola? I used to get it in Brazil.)

This cocktail came with a funny story as well. The bartender’s translator told the audience that he had mixed the drink earlier in the day. Why? Because cocktail making isn’t such a quick process in Japan. I love cultural differences! And I have to say, while I don’t think this drink was the best use of bourbon, it was one darn good fruity drink that I’d take by the pool any day.

Of course, as we tasted we had to eat. These are a few of the fun appetizers we sampled.

A spring roll filled with soba and a peanut sauce, a mini-bean taco dipped in salsa and guacamole, chicken salad filled quiche-cups, pretzel rolls and a make your own bruschetta station.

What a fun night! It has me ready to do a little holiday mixology myself.

Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games: Food, Bourbon, Beer and Horses

October 3, 2010

Happy October! As I write this the weather outside sums up everything I love about this month. There are cloudy skies, cool breezes, and just a touch of orange, red and gold colors among the trees and bushes.

As I mentioned earlier this week, a huge event taking place here in Lexington, Kentucky has consumed every second of our free time and I couldn’t be happier about it. The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games are still going strong and I had the opportunity to experience the opening ceremonies last weekend, an incredible black tie dinner with Irish tenor Ronan Tynan this past week, and plenty of equestrian events yesterday.

Keeping food and drink in mind, I thought I’d share with you a few of the highlights according to yours truly as well as some of the horse action I captured this weekend.

As we sat down to a very elegant dinner on Wednesday night my husband looked at me and said, “Of course, this would be the one time you couldn’t bring your camera!” He was right. It would have been inappropriate for me to be flashing away at this dinner, but the food was worthy of a full feature. I took a photo of the menu so you can get an idea of how outstanding it was.

The grounds at the Kentucky Horse Park are open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm with different types of equestrian sporting competitions taking place on different days. In addition to those, there are all kinds of booths and exhibits to browse.

As part of the Alltech Experience there is a Kidzone and an incredible educational garden area. All my garden foodie friends would absolutely love this. Plant boxes and pots fill the area and are overflowing with culinary herbs, bell pepper plants, cabbage, lettuce, and pumpkins and squash plants growing vertically up large wooden stakes shaped to look crayons and pencils. The selection of plants ranged from the local to the international with Kentucky mint to Thai peppers.

One thing I was happy to see throughout the grounds is decoration highlighting autumn in Kentucky. This is the first time the games have come to the US so I expected everything to be coated with our flag. While there is some red, white and blue what you see more of are mums, pumpkins and gourds. It really shows off what makes Kentucky unique this time of year.

The Kentucky Proud tent features local Kentucky products from candy to pottery. Here you will also find a tribute to the beverages of Kentucky – bourbon, beer and wine. Guests can buy tasting flights which include wines from the state, the three types of Kentucky Ale beer – Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Light and Bourbon Barrel Ale, or several different kinds of bourbon from Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam.

My husband and I closed our night out yesterday with a flight of bourbon. We decided on Baker’s, Maker’s 46 and Basil Hayden. We were surprised that we actually like the Maker’s 46 the best of the varieties we tried.

The games 2014 will be held in Normandy, France in 2014 so there is a booth devoted to area. What better to feature in France than food! I was able to sneak in quickly to see one of the cooking demos taking place. The chef was preparing a beef stew dish featuring Kentucky beer.

The equestrian event yesterday was the Cross Country. I have to be honest I knew absolutely nothing about equestrian events before we moved to Kentucky. Once you are here though, even if you didn’t grow up around horses, you can’t help but feel a part of it all.

The horses are athletic and powerful, and the relationship with their riders exemplifies how important animals are to humans. I grew up with a pony and even took some riding lessons for a short time when I was about 9 or 10, but I never understood how intriguing the horse is until experiencing Kentucky.

The Cross Country event takes place around the entire grounds of the horse park. In fact, if you are walking and hear the whistle blow, you better hustle it across the drive because the officials will be pulling up the ropes to block the way and horse and rider will be barreling down through the course less than a minute afterward.

There are difficult jumps some with water and steep drops. Honestly, I usually avoid watching the jumps because I have seen horses and riders fall one too many times. When I take photos I focus, then close my eyes when they jump. Sounds silly, I know, but I just can’t stand to see a horse or rider get hurt. Cross country is actually a very dangerous sport.

Aside from the events, the Equine Village arena offers a variety of presentations and I caught one yesterday with some amazing gypsy horses. These horses show the huge diversity in breeds. While every bit as fit, they are so much different than the horses doing the endurance events with their broad bodies, long, wispy manes, and furry feet.

There is so much more to cover and I will be attending next weekend as well so hopefully I will have more photos for you. For now, I leave you with an example of the beautiful artwork all around the horse park, this a glass sculpture hanging high in the entrance to the Alltech Experience. Even if you can’t get here for the games, put Kentucky on your travel list because I promise the food, bourbon, beer and horses will not disappoint!

Cherry Margarita

July 14, 2010

For a person who loves a good cocktail, I tend to do very few posts on the subject. I think perhaps it is time to change that.

I have cherries in mind and I’m not alone. It seems they are all the rage around the food blogging world and for good reason. Although they are popular in other countries, after being in South America I’ve come to strongly identify cherries with the US. Yes, all you lucky people who live in the Michigan and Rainier growing regions of the northwest.

Fortunately cherry trees do grow around Kentucky and Indiana, they are just in limited supply and they tend to be done bearing by early summer. I did pick up a bag from the Farmer’s Market back in May, but now I have to resort to the Bing cherries in the supermarket if I want them. Otherwise, I can go for cherry juice.

A few months ago Cheribundi sent me some samples of tart cherry juice to try. Its arrival motivated me to do some more research about the benefits of tart cherries. My Dad swears by it for reducing inflammation and arthritis. Well, okay, he rarely swears, but you know what I mean.

For tart cherries and health it is all about the anthocyanins, those plant substances that give cherries their deep, dark red color. Tart cherries are linked to a reduction in the inflammation that is related to heart disease and diabetes. These anti-inflammatory properties may also be why many people claim that cherry juice eases their arthritis pain.

For all my runners out there, a study in 2009 found that drinking tart cherry juice resulted in faster recovery after marathon running. (I sent my husband this study back in April during our training and after two days the bottle of cherry juice which I had been rationing in our fridge for about a week was gone.)

Tart cherries are beneficial in just about any form – fresh, dried, juice. Just make sure that the dried variety isn’t loaded with sugar or other sweeteners.

The sweet cherries such as Bings which are so plentiful here right now don’t appear to have as much of the antioxidant anthocyanins. However, they still deserve plenty of attention for their health benefits.

After drinking the first bottle of TruCherry, which was very good by the way, I knew I wanted to create something with the second. No rack of lamb with a cherry reduction here, I was thinking cocktail! I decided to combine fresh lime, fresh Bing cherries, tart cherry juice and tequila.

I rimmed the glass with ground Pink Himalayan sea salt which is a new favorite ingredient of mine. Just go easy because a little goes a long way!

Now, I’m not advocating you drink all your cherry juice as a cocktail, but this was one good margarita!

Cherry Margarita

¼ of a fresh lime
3 Bing cherries, pitted
1 oz tequila
2 to 3 oz tart cherry juice

In a cocktail shaker or glass mull the lime and cherries together, extracting as much juice as possible. Pour in the tequila and cherry juice. Add some ice cubes and shake or stir until chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass of your choice. Rim the glass with salt if desired. Makes one drink.

References:

University of Michigan Health System (2008, April 10). Tart Cherries May Reduce Factors Associated With Heart Disease And Diabetes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2008/04/080407114647.htm
Howatson et al. Influence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 2009

Disclosure: Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice was sent to me free of charge. I was not under any obligation to write about it and I did not receive any compensation for doing so nor did any factors influence my opinion.

Mexican Tapas in Geneva, IL

July 9, 2010

It wasn’t until this past weekend that I realized there are some really enticing small towns that reside along the river outside Chicago. With their boutique shops and attractive landscaping, the main streets are overflowing with restaurants. It was on one of these streets in the small city of Geneva, IL that we had the pleasure of experiencing Bien Trucha.

My brother-in-law and his wife had told us about the place prior to our arrival so the anticipation had been building for a while. This little restaurant and its Mexican tapas are in high demand. Apparently the restaurant began with about six tables and has since expanded to twelve or so.

Lunch service began at noon and we arrived early to avoid a line which we’ve heard is the norm. Surprised to be the first ones at the door at 11:45 am, it took a mere 30 seconds before others started filing in. By the time the restaurant opened the line was long enough to fill every table inside.

The atmosphere was an inviting mix of quaint, cute, rustic and authentic. The dining room gave hints of a romantic evening ambiance, but at the lunch hour it was bustling with couples, friends and families, loud conversation and few cocktails round the tables.

I was still trying to soak everything in, with my camera in hand of course, as we were quickly asked for our drink order. I barely had time to look at the menu as the waiter rattled off several margarita selections. A quick glance and three were ordered at our table – Pinasada with grilled pineapple, Pepino or cucumber, and the Flor de Jamaica with hibiscus flower extract. The water of the day was also ordered which was mango.

My drink was the Pepino and the rim came adorned with a chili-type salt that melded the flavors together. It was refreshing with that familiar tequila kick. Yes, cucumber is a wonderful ingredient in a summer cocktail.

The menu boasts a creative list of appetizers, soups, salads and tortas, but the real draw are the tacos. Each order comes with four, tapas-style, served on a wooden platter.

Before we took on the tacos, we began with the guacamole of the day. What distinguishes the guacamole of the day from the traditional guacamole is that it is topped with fresh fruit. Ours had grapes and apparently watermelon has been the fruit of choice on other visits. For me, the texture was perfect as far as guac goes. Creamy, but still slightly chunky and the sweet grapes added a nice contrast with the slight heat of peppers and tart lime.

Still not done with starters we continued to look over the menu. My husband immediately noticed the ceviche. We weren’t sure how our hosts would feel about it, but fortunately they were game. I say fortunately because the ceviche was delicious, not to mention beautifully plated.

While the standard selection on the menu was with tilapia there was a special the day we were there. Our choice was the ceviche with shrimp, strawberry and melon with an avocado mousse. I’m not extremely experienced in ceviche, but this creation was outstanding.

We chose three different varieties of tacos, and with four people at our table this meant that we all got one of each. The Pescado came highly recommended by our family and included beer battered, fried tilapia topped with a red cabbage slaw made with chipotle-morita aioli. Crispy, crunchy, spicy, creamy – these tacos had it all. The red cabbage really added to the presentation as well.

As a side note, I was unfamiliar with morita. It turns out that Chile Morita is a small reddish-purple chile. It can literally be translated too small blackberry pepper.

Next up were the Pastor tacos with ancho-guajillo marinated pork, morita salsa and a piece of grilled pineapple. As you can imagine the sweet pineapple tasted wonderful with the mildly spicy flavor of the meat and salsa.

The grand finale was the Bien Trucha taco. These had both grilled skirt steak and homemade chorizo. The salsa was roasted tomatillo-serrano. What a way to end our meal! The chorizo really made this one for me. There was just a little bit added, but the flavor took over in a very good way.

To be honest, there is no way I could pick a favorite. Each item we sampled had its own appealing characteristics and individual flavors. Visiting Bien Trucha reminded me how much I crave authentic food which we tend to have very little of where we live unless you want a southern favorite.

There is little if anything on the menu that has been altered to appeal to the US American palate. Even the style of service from the refilling of water to serving sodas in a can was incredibly Latin American.

Bien Trucha is the type of place where you adapt to the food, the food doesn’t adapt to you. The type of place that makes this former expat think – perhaps this whole repatriation thing isn’t so bad after all.

Bien Trucha
410 West State Street
Geneva, IL 60134-2104
(630) 232-2665

Nutty Grain Beer Bread

July 29, 2009

Oats, wheat berries, ground flaxseed, sesame seeds and walnuts. These are a few of the things I had sitting around the apartment that were begging to be used. When I stopped by the supermarket on Monday and walked past the beer aisle I caught a glimpse of what all these ingredients had the potential to become – whole grain beer bread!

Much of the dark beer here in Brazil is Malzbier. It’s very low alcohol and some compare it more to root beer than traditional beer. I used to enjoy it when we first arrived, but it is rather sweet. I can’t even think of anything that equates to it in the US. It can be enjoyable as a dessert, but lately I’ve found that it’s just too sweet for my preferences. However, I have learned it is a great addition to beer bread.

Hungry for a nutty, grainy bread to complement my breakfast, and as a base for my overconsumption of goiaba (guava) fruit jam I decided it was time to use of my stash of ingredients and see what would happen.

I did a quick search for a beer bread to guide me and found Peanut Butter Boy’s Whole Grain Beer Bread. This got me off to a good start.

I used mascavo sugar (unrefined cane sugar) and cut back on it a bit due to the sweetness of the beer. Then I soaked my steel cut oats and wheat berries for a ½ hour. Threw everything together and let ‘er bake.

A definite winner. I’ll be making this one again and again. However, I would suggest soaking the grains a bit longer, perhaps 45 minutes, because there were still some rather hard bites to be found. I guess you could choose to sprout them as well, but I didn’t go that far. Also, any dark beer will do.

Fresh from the oven or toasted with jam the bread is full of crunchy texture with the mild sweetness of the dark beer. Hearty, healthy and filling – exactly what I was going for.

Nutty Grain Beer Bread

Adapted from Peanut Butter Boy’s Whole Grain Beer Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 T mascavo sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
2 T sesame seeds
¼ cup chopped walnuts
2 T ground flaxseed
1/3 cup steel cut oats (soaked and drained)
1/3 cup wheat berries (soaked and drained)
1 can (350 ml beer)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, gently mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the sesame seeds and flaxseed. Next pour in the oats and wheat berries. It is fine if a bit of the soaking liquid goes in to add moisture. Mix well and then begin pouring in the beer a little at time as you stir until the can is empty. Then stir until the dough is well combined.

Pour into your baking pan, spread evenly and bake for 45 min to 1 hr. Once browned and baked through, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. De-pan and enjoy!

Mango Caprioska & Challenge Reminder

May 4, 2009

I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of Brazilian cocktails. This is simply because, in general, the quality of liquor here isn’t top notch. Well, unless you are drinking Johnny Walker, but that is because it is among the varieties that are imported.

There are a lot of name brand liquors here, but if you check the back label you find they are manufactured in Brazil. To put it nicely, let’s just say that the country does rice, beans, red meat and a myriad of desserts much better than it does alcohol. Of course, limited quality alcohol is a small price to pay for all those wonderful things the country does do well, but it is for this reason that I often stick with beer.

This brings me to that ever popular drink, the Caipirinha made with the sugarcane liquor, cachaça. (Note, it is nothing like the rum of the Caribbean, also made of sugarcane, because it typically isn’t aged). I’ve had a couple of these drinks and I have to say I enjoy the variety of fruits you can add. Both the kiwi and the passion fruit options are great. The one thing I don’t like about the drink is the cachaça.

Before we moved here I enjoyed it, but now I really can’t stomach the smell. You see, the smell of this liquor is the same smell you get when you open a bottle of rubbing alcohol often used to clean the equipment in the gym. It is also the same smell you get when you pull up to a filling station to top the car off with alcool instead of gasoline. So needless to say, I’m not a big fan of sitting down to a drink with the same aroma as all of these things.

Not to put a damper on the Caipirinha, or its rich history, it just isn’t my thing. My advice is that if you drink cachaça go for the high quality (read: more expensive) stuff.

If I do order a cocktail, I lean towards the Caprioska. This is the same drink, but made with vodka instead of the cachaça. During our time at the beach, in honor of the all the mango business going on around here, I treated myself to a Mango Caprioska.

They are easy to make yourself and you can substitute any fruit for the traditional lime. Pineapple, passion fruit, kiwi and mango are all popular here.

Mango Caprioska

Half of a ripe mango, cubed
1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar
Crushed ice
Vodka

Add the fruit and sugar to the glass and mull together. Fill the glass with crushed ice and top off with vodka.

Speaking of mangos, have you entered the Mango Challenge yet? I’ve gotten some great entries so far and it is going to be a tough competition. I can’t wait to see what you can do with mango! The deadline is May 22nd.

I also wanted to address the comments of disappointment I have received and I sincerely apologize that I can’t make this challenge worldwide. If it were simply a book I was giving away or a small item, I would certainly change the rules, but this box is going to be quite heavy to ship. I hope sometime in the near future I can offer an international competition, but right now I have to keep this one for participants with a US address.

You can check out the original announcement for full details, but here are a few highlights.

Be sure to email your submission to lori(at)fakefoodfree(dot)com (I will respond that I received it) and include the following information:

First Name:
Recipe Name:
Blog url:
Blog post url:
Picture: (about 450 x 340 px)

Feel free to use the logo above in your blog post. (If you don’t have a blog, just send your name, recipe and a picture.)

All entries are due by Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 12:00pm CST.

I Have a Confession…

December 10, 2008

I like fruitcake.

Yes, those unwanted holiday bricks are welcome at my house. I will say that I don’t care for the store-bought version. It has to be homemade. The kind I make weeks before Christmas and baste with good ol’ KY bourbon.

I decided with all my travel that I would opt out of making a batch this year. Fortunately, I was thumbing through a cookbook by Ina Garten at the library and found an amazing recipe for Fruitcake Cookies. Just what I needed to satisfy my fruitcake craving without all the labor.

First let’s talk about the health of things. I just can’t pass up cookies during the holidays, but I do my best to make them with real ingredients skipping all the shortcuts and mixes.

I do have one bummer to report. These cookies call for candied cherries. Unfortunately, after label inspection I realized they were made with none other than high-fructose corn syrup. I wasn’t really surprised, it is everywhere. If you know of a brand without it let me know.

The recipe actually calls for sherry, but I substituted bourbon. You’ll need to start the night before to allow the fruit to marinate and then the dough will need a few hours in the fridge before slicing into cookies.

The combination of the smooth bourbon and spicy clove is perfect in these cookies. As my Dad said last night as he finished up a couple – they kind of melt in your mouth.

So don’t give up on fruitcake! You might just like it in the cookie form.

Fruitcake Cookies

Modified from Barefoot Contessa at Home

1 cup raisins
1 cup candied cherries, chopped
1 T honey
2 T Kentucky Bourbon (I used Jim Beam)
1 T lemon juice
¾ cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts and pecans)
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ t ground cloves
½ cup white sugar (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 ¾ cups flour

In a bowl combine raisins, cherries, honey, bourbon, lemon juice, nuts and a pinch of salt. Cover and allow to marinate overnight at room temp.

Cream butter, cloves and sugars until smooth. Mix in egg. Slowly add flour and ¼ t salt. Mix just until combined. Stir in fruit and nut mixture with liquid.

Divide dough in two and place each piece on wax paper. Roll into a log using the paper. Refrigerate several hours until firm.

Slice into ½ inch cookies and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.

And check this out. I took the cookies to the screened-in porch to get some natural light for the photo. Look who decided to hop up on a nearby ottoman so she could get a closer look.

Have you found any different recipes this year that you are going to try for Christmas?

I’m making a couple new things and couple standards. My husband is bringing back some goiaba (guava fruit) jam from Brazil for me so I’m going to spice up my ordinary thumb print cookies with that this year.

Healthy Beer

August 21, 2008

A beer with all the benefits of green tea?

Maybe.

I stopped by a great restaurant today called Cafe Mao. It was a neat Asian-fusion inspired spot that seemed like a cross between fast food casual and modern café.

On the menu they advertised a new beer called Iki. After reading the description I just had to try it.

According to a Japanese recipe, it is brewed with green tea and the Yuzu fruit. It is supposedly very high in antioxidants. Iki is Japanese for life.

It tasted very good. It was light, but with a fruity accent.

So what about this healthy beer? Overall, I personally feel alcohol in moderation is a healthy habit. If you can add some more disease fighting antioxidants to the mix, why not?

Sure, curling up with a cup of green tea is comforting, but cheers to partying a little healthier too. I’d definitely have it again.

Oh my dinner was Yellow Vegetable Curry. It was amazing!