bringing drinks to life

The last few weeks have been pretty full on for b&t and there have been some chances for me to try new products such as the 2010 release of Bushmills 21 year old, as well as to reacquaint myself with some old favourites like Benedictine and Drambuie. So now seems like a good time to talk about what we’ve been drinking!

 

 

I have a feeling that we’ll have to do a similar thing with ‘where we’ve been drinking’ too, as there seem to be quite a few new bars popping up at the moment, but I’ll save that for another day. For now here are a few of our favourite spirits from the last month.

 

 

We’ve had a flood of tequilas arriving over the past few weeks in anticipation of part two of our tequila blog, but I’ll keep those for that blog. Also up soon will be Drambuie 15, hopefully something new from Four Roses, Makers Mark 46 and whatever else we stumble across, but for now here are a couple of liqueurs, a whiskey and a cachaca that have been tickling our taste buds!

 

 

 

2010 is the 500^th birthday of Benedictine and I think you’ll agree that’s a pretty amazing milestone for any product. As they were celebrating during London Cocktail week, we went along to the chapel at St Barnabus in Soho, to see how exactly this liqueur has survived the test of time.  The setting was perfect for showcasing Benedictine, a dramatic venue, candle lit and with the herbal sweet scent of Benedictine in the air.

 

 

There is a proud history behind the brand, based in the alchemy practiced by Benedictine monks that resulted in this wonderfully herbal liqueur, which gained instant popularity with the French court, guaranteeing its success 500 years ago. Over the years it has risen and fallen in popularity but never faded away, and with the invention of the cocktail it was only a matter of time before it made its way into an iconic drink (or two).

 

 

To celebrate they were serving up some of the signature serves that have defined Benedictine as a modern cocktail ingredient. Probably the most famous of these was the Singapore Sling, which has guaranteed its continued presence in bars across the world, but to my mind it is better showcased in some of my favourite, if slightly less popular, cocktails. The Widows Kiss, for example, celebrates the herbal and honey notes in Benedictine as does the Bobby Burns and the Vieux Carre. These cocktails seem to show off the complexity of this liqueur and give it the starring role in the drink.

 

 

We’ll certainly raise a glass to the next 500 years of success for Benedictine, as this is definitely one liqueur that deserves its place on back bars everywhere.

 

Speaking of iconic liqueurs, I have also been enjoying Drambuie over the past few weeks, not least because I was invited to create a drink for an informal cocktail competition held up in Glasgow recently. You see I was invited to tag along on a bartenders trip to experience Drambuie and discuss how it can be used in cocktails other than the Rusty Nail. It seems that this is a product that has become a bit pigeon-holed, as it is constantly associated with just one cocktail.

 

 

Drambuie has a great story behind it, and while production methods may have changed over the years, the secret formula (known rather romantically as the elixir), remains the same as that alleged to have been passed down from Bonnie Prince Charlie, following the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. While this isn’t quite the 500 years of history enjoyed by Benedictine it is still an awfully long time for any brand to survive!

 

 

As far as I’m concerned with both Drambuie and Benedictine the success comes down largely to the quality of the liquid in the bottle. Drambuie is a wonderful liqueur that is rich with honey sweetness, complexity from herbs and spices and a lovely whisky base that acts as a backbone to carry those characteristics. Last year they changed the packaging and it is one of the few products that I think has benefited from this process (don’t get me started about the Chambord bottle!!!). With a new modern looking bottle, a great liquid and a fantastic story behind the brand, this is a product that deserves to have a resurgence!

 

 

As for what happened when they let an amateur get involved in a cocktail competition, you’ll be able to read about that and the fantastic new Drambuie 15 year old in our next update!

 

Possibly one of the best invitations we have received recently was to join Helen Mulholland, the Master (or should that be Mistress?) Blender from Bushmills Irish Whiskey as she opened the first bottle of the 2010 release of Bushmills 21 year old. I think they were also unveiling the new packaging for their single malts, but after the merest mention of trying their 21yo I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

 

 

In all seriousness the new packaging does look great and really emphasises the premium nature of the Bushmills single malts range. But it should also be said that the liquid was the star of the show again, and as Helen talked us through a little bit of the background of Bushmills and the Single Malts, we learned that finally the 21 is going to be available to purchase in the UK which is great news for fans of Irish Whiskey.

 

 

The Bushmills 21 year old is a lovely complex whiskey that has the influences of three barrel types contributing to its rounded character. Firstly the whiskey is aged in former Oloroso Sherry casks and Bourbon seasoned casks for a minimum of 19 years, before being transferred to Madeira casks for the final two years of maturation. The result is a backbone of traditional Irish Whiskey that has subtle influences from all three woods; there is a dry nuttiness that I always associate with Sherry, an upfront sweetness and a hint of maple that comes from the Bourbon and toasted raisin and dried fruit notes from the Madeira casks. This is an elegant and subtle whiskey whose complexity slowly unfolds sip by sip.

 

 

Bottle number 0012 currently takes pride of place on the b&t back bar!

 

Last on our list for this update is Abelha Gold cachaca, which we have been meaning to talk about for some time, but something always seems to come up before we can get to it. For those that don’t already know, Abelha produce two organic cachacas, a ‘silver’ and a ‘gold’. Both are great examples of small production cachaca where care is taken to produce an exceptional spirit.

 

 

The sugar cane is organically grown by small hold farmers, who harvest at the height of summer, (when the sugar content is highest) and press the sugar cane to release the juice within 24 hours of it being cut. The juice is then fermented using naturally occurring yeasts that grow on the green sugar canes before being distilled in traditional copper stills. Only the heart of the distillate is retained as this is the smoothest most flavourful part, and it is then either rested before being bottled as Abelha Silver or put into 250L garapeira wood barrels to be aged for 3 years before becoming Abelha Gold.

 

 

Abelha Gold has the traditional pungent vegetal nose associated with cachaca, with a hint of ripe bananas and toast. It is smooth and sweet with a dry nutty character balancing the cane sweetness. This is a cachaca that cries out to be mixed in cocktails, and not just the traditional caipirinha but maybe something a bit more classic in style?

 

 

Abelha have also changed their packaging recently (although we still have one of the old labels) introducing new labels for both the silver and gold expressions. The new labels still sport the bee (Abelha is Portuguese for bee) but now comes with either ‘nice bee’ or ‘angry bee’. Importantly though the liquid remains the same as ever!