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Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, May 18, 2006 OREGON'S EMERGING PINOT-SCAPE: Winemakers define success on their own terms, Cole Danehower Two Buck Chuck creator ups the ante in wine feud, W. Blake Gray Bargain Wines: Simple styles for easy sipping, Leslie Sbrocco Spirits: New Scotch, without the bagpipes, W. Blake Gray Letters to Wine: 'Sommelier secrets' irks readers The rise of Oregon's signature flavors, Cole Danehower Pairings: Sear a sirloin for a Stroganoff worthy of a count, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Beef Sirloin, Stroganoff Style The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Napa Valley Meritage and Bordeaux-style reds, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: For easy grating, pick a Pecorino Romano, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Nile Cafe CRITICS' PICKS: ROSY FRUITS, Amanda Berne "It's no surprise that strawberries, with their conical beauty and perfect green caps, are part of the rose family. When buying them at the market, look for ones that are deep red all the way through, with little to no white near the top, and make sure to buy only the ones with the green tops to guarantee freshness." Dining Update: A16, Michael Bauer Dining Update: The Rotunda, Bill Addison

Well, phew, they got Zeitgeist and Vesuvio! And now I have to check out the The Owl Tree. I felt a bit bad about not getting to writing up my favorite San Francisco bars for this thread. Though, honestly, I didn't even remember they made mixed drinks at Zeitgeist. I've always stuck with the pitchers of delicious local beer.

One thing I will note, is that if you watch the credits of the show, you will see a disclaimer type thing that sez something like, "Bravo TV Staff may have provided input regarding the judges choices." As my wife pointed out, it wouldn't be a finale without a villain. Tom's blog may have said Tiffani came in second in two challenges; but, the way the show was edited, it seemed more like she came in third in two. Too bad the scoring isn't more transparent.

This seems like a good thread to revive with this article: New Scotch, without the bagpipes, W. Blake Gray They talk pretty extensively with John Glaser of Compass Box and also with Dave "Robbo" Robertson of Jon, Mark & Robbo's Easy Drinking Whisky Co., Ltd. Interesting to note that Glaser initially didn't even want to make a scotch in the style of his "Peat Monster". But, felt he needed to, "give the people what they want." I also didn't know his Hedonism was a 100-percent grain whiskey (no barley at all). Interesting stuff.

Interesting you mention that. 21st Amendment here in San Francisco has recently started producing cans of a couple of their beers. I'm not a big fan of their watermelon wheat; but, their IPA is pretty good. They've even got a blog advocating their point of view, "Take back the can from the big breweries!" The Beer Guys I'll give their canned beers a try; but, to me, aluminum has a very distinctive taste and smell. I have a thermal coffee cup that I thought was all stainless. However, after a couple times drinking water from it and thinking it tasted and smelled funny, I realized that the outside shell was stainless; but, the inside liner was aluminum. I had to throw it away.

You could turn Wray & Nephew into Bacardi... But, would your head hurt any less afterwards?

Cool! Well, I'd be glad to be proved wrong! What did you think of the bergamot 'cello? I've always held Earl Grey tea against bergamot oranges, so haven't wanted to try doing much with them. However, this year I had a very nice Bergamot preserve, which caused me to re-think my position on them. I'm also interested in trying a 'cello with Seville oranges, if I can ever find them at a half way decent price.

I'd give it a try; but, I think Arrack is even harder to find than Swedish Punsch! Maybe substitute a rum agricole or cachaca?

I'm fairly certain I remember seeing them at Genna's 20 years ago or so. But, then, my memory of that part of my life is a little, uh, blurry around the edges, so perhaps it was just the eggs. Warm, soft pretzels go so well with litres of Paulaner...

I go to one of the Hahn's Hibachi pretty regularly, and think it is pretty good food. Hahn's Hibachi However, I don't know enough about Korean Food to know if it is authentic, and it certainly isn't fancy. I've heard good things about the Brother's BBQ places from Korean students at the university I work at; but, have never had a chance to try them myself. I'm looking forward to hearing about and trying some of other folks' recommendations! ~Erik

In order to play along, I picked up a copy of the Beard edited version of Mr. Duffy's Mixer's Manual. Strangely, while most of the above recipes above are in it, I couldn't find the Hugo Bracer. Gave the formulation of the Pegu Club a try last night. 2/3 gin (Beefeaters)* 1/3 Curacao (Clement Liqueur Creole)* 1 tsp lime (I used persian limes this time) 2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's) 2 dashes angostura bitters Nice refreshing cocktail for a hot night. The additional juniper muscle of the Beefeaters does add quite a lot to the cocktail. *Revisiting my math with morning eyes, I believe, I was closer to 3/4 gin, 1/4 Orange Liqueur.

I gave Anchor Distilling's Old Potrero Single Malt Hotaling's Whiskey a small taste last night. The Hotaling's comes on pretty strong out of the bottle. Kind of a rough and tumble nose, befitting its Barbary Coast roots. Given that it is 100 proof, it's also not surprising it's a little hot on the tongue. There's a bit of vanilla and good, clean rye flavor. Aside from savoring the nose of the spirit in the glass before drinking, one thing I like to do is enjoy the smell a spirit leaves in the glass after it is gone. The Hotaling's leaves behind a haunting and almost wine like complexity. I hope this isn't a one off for Anchor, because, I believe they have created a new American classic. ~Erik

To add to your list of hard to find rye whiskies, Anchor Distilling bottled 30 cases of an 11 year old version of their 100% rye whiskey called, "Hotaling's Whiskey". Old Potrero Hotaling's Whiskey

I guess I was a bit off topic. Strangely, I can't even think of any bars in San Francisco that have bar snacks. To me, Tapas bars in Spain have this down. When my parents visited China, they were quite enthusiastic about a snack they remembered. They described it as salty potato chunks served in a tongue blisteringly hot, still hardening, sugar syrup. Sort of potato brittle? I think there are also any number of similar sweet, salty, spicy, seasoned cashew and peanut snacks served. When I was growing up in the midwest, jars of pickled eggs or pig's feet wouldn't be uncommon. Never quite had the courage to try them, myself. Whatever it is, you need to be able to eat it with one hand. edit - typo

Shaken and Stirred in today's NY Times covers the 200th birthday of the cocktail, talks about the branch of the Museum of the American Cocktail in NY, speaks to Mr. David Wondrich, and includes a recipe for his Improved Holland Gin Cocktail. Cocktail, the Bicentennial* *Link requires registration, and will probably expire after a couple weeks.

Given that Mr. Alchemist started this thread, I'm tempted to post, "Food! Pah! That just gets between alcohol and my blood stream!". However, <sigh>, I have, of late, tried to make an attempt to limit my pre-prandial drinking. The usual suspects, cheese and crackers, are the most common snack. Not so much interested, myself, in "bar snacks", per se, as actual food and cocktail pairings, if such a thing is possible. Sure Buffalo Chicken Wings and Long Island Ice Tea are fine... What else can we do? ~Erik

Pedro Ximenes sauce! Did Chef Kinch anticipate your party after reading eGullet? Looks fantastic, even though I am only part way through. Look forward to hearing more about your trip. ~Erik

May 13th is the 200th anniversary of one of the first published uses of the word "Cock tail" to refer to a mixed drink, ("Cock tail, then is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters it is vulgarly called a bittered sling,") in The Balance. The anniversary will be celebrated by the Museum of the American Cocktail with events in New York and Las Vegas. Cocktail 200 Sadly, I won't be making it to either of those events, and missed the Absinthe's "Bar School" event celebrating it here in San Francisco last thursday. I believe I will serve Sazeracs before dinner, though. How will you celebrate? ~Erik edit - add link to absinthe bar school.

Underhill Special 2 oz bourbon (Weller 12 yr.) 1/2 oz dry vermouth (Noilly) 1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Noilly) 1/4 oz Chile Chocolate something or other (Not sure about substitution. Are there any not painfully sweet bittersweet chocolate liqueurs available? Black Mozart liqueur?) Stir to chill in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into glass. Twist lemon peel over glass, scent rim, and discard. Has anyone else thought of putting a bit of bitter chocolate in a manhattan-like bourbon cocktail? At least in this application, you can't really taste the chocolate, per se, it just adds a richness and depth to the cocktail. I really recommend it. edit - add instructions and substitution.

A fizz glass, of course! I think a collins glass or champagne flute would be acceptable, as well.

10 Hours! Holy Crap. Well, Tiffany's freak out and the extreme drunkeness of most of the contestants makes a lot more sense to me now. Anyone catch what they were drinking? Looked like some sort of sparkling wine; but, I didn't recognize the label. ~Erik

I've been kicking the idea of an infusion based on some of the ingredients in Mexican Mole sauces for some time now. Finally got to making it. 1/2 cup whole cocoa beans, roasted at 250F until fragrant, crushed 1/2 cup pumpking seeds, toasted 3 sticks mexican cinnamon, crushed 2 whole cloves 3 ancho chiles, seeded and toasted until fragrant 1/2 cup dry apricots, briefly blanched 4 cups vodka 1 piloncillo 1/3 cup water Combine dry ingredients in clean container, cover with vodka, and steep for 3 weeks. Pour through cheesecloth covered sieve, and return to container. Dissolve piloncillo in water and add to filtered mixture. Let stand for two more weeks. Pour off liquid, leaving any sediment in container. Bottle in a clean container. Not quite sure what it is. Bitter chocolate-chile liqueur? Not quite sweet enough. Chile-chocolate bitters? Not quite bitter or medicinal enough. It's mostly bitter chocolate with a hint of spice and chile. No cocktail applications as yet. I was hoping it would be an interesting addition to an Ace of Clubs; but, the spices don't play nice with the lime and the chocolate flavor is too strong. I'm thinking something like a Manhattan with Bourbon or a rich rum might be nice.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, May 11, 2006 SOMMELIER SECRETS: How to tame the terror of ordering wine at a posh restaurant, Stephen Yafa How a wine gets on the short list, Stephen Yafa The Cocktailian: This martini rocks, Gary Regan Receipt: Austrian Martini Books: Sake guru pours expertise into guide, W. Blake Gray "Sake: A Modern Guide", Chronicle Books, 120 pages, $18.95 Recipe: Fettuccine with Shiitake Mushrooms & Pancetta Letters to Wine: Organic confusion cleared up Wine Business Insider: Bronco is still in Napa with another kind of Ridge, Cyril Penn California wine producer Bronco Wine Co. is scheduled to announce the launch of a new brand next week...Australian wineries face continuing massive losses unless they move now to address structural and distribution issues to adapt to the changing marketplace...Andy Beckstoffer was named "Grower of the Year" last month by Napa Valley Grapegrowers...The Sonoma County Grape Growers Association is presenting Duff Bevill of Bevill Family Vineyards and Bevill Vineyard Management with its 2006 Viticulture Award of Excellence... Benefit: Roundup for Livermore auction Pairings: Drink pink wine for Mother's Day, Lynne Char Bennett Recipe: Croque Mom-sieur The Chronicle's Wine Selections: Imported Rosé, Linda Murphy The Cheese Course: From dull to superb in three months, Janet Fletcher 96 Hours Bargain Bite: Uncle Frank's BBQ Restaurant and Catering, Miriam Morgan CRITICS' PICKS: Fried chicken, Amanda Berne "Restaurants around the Bay Area are putting their best wing forward with their versions, which in true California style can mean garam masala-spiced chicken at Foreign Cinema, or Amish fried chicken at the bar at Michael Mina." Dining Update: Florio, Michael Bauer Dining Update: Station House, Miriam Morgan

It's just as well. According to the Food and Wine Magazine's "Cocktails 2006", Tomato Water is totally 2005. Cheers, sounds fun! Good luck. PS. The coolest and most effective way I've seen to freeze high proof sorbet is to use liquid nitrogen.

My wife and I have found we can't drink coffee made from almost any of Peet's beans without getting "acid stomach" after. One country whose beans we have been enjoying lately, though, is Peru. First discovered it when I mail ordered it on a whim from the nice folks at Ancora Coffee in Madison, WI. We have since tried it from a few other places, and have so far found it to be a pleasant well rounded cup. ~Erik