Tis the season....

I must admit, I am not the most festive holiday sort of person, I usually grow tired of having Christmas songs shoved down my throat, ridiculous schedule requests, the flu, etc...

I guess the only saving grace are some of the flavors of the holiday season that somehow make it all go away, offering some respite from the madness and even the occasional bout of nostalgia.

If it comes with an ABV, all the better...

So, I introduce to you our latest round of special holiday beers:

From Germany:

Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock, a light to medium body, mildly spicy, easy drinking holiday lager. 6% abv. 500ml

Weissenohe Monk's Christmas, Medium to full bodied, toasty, warming lager with a lingering, hoppy finish. abv unknown. 500ml

From The UK:

Hook Norton Twelve Days, Medium to full bodied strong ale, malty, nutty with a hint of dried fruit and floral hops. 5.5% abv. 500ml

From Norway:

Nogne O Winter Ale, sweet porter, rich chocolate, coffee, caramel, woody aromas. Viscous, sweet and malty. 8.5% abv. 500ml

From California:

The Bruery's Two Turtle Doves, strong, dark, Belgian style ale. Nutty, dark chocolate aroma and flavors, dark fruit and malt, well balanced hoppiness, complex. Warming, lengthy finish. 12% abv. 750ml

Also on draft, for a limited time:

Life and Limb, a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head brewery, this beer is made with estate grown barley from Chico, maple syrup from Massachusetts and birch syrup from Alaska.

Cheers and happy, um, holidays...

Primal, this Saturday....

This Saturday, November 7th

This is going to be awesome.

Details and tickets at

http://www.artofthebutcher.com

Hope to see you there.

A word from our sponsors....

It's an exciting week for whisk(e)y lovers here in San Francisco, this Friday's Whiskyfest event brings spirit lovers and makers from all over and events abound.

Here at Alembic, we've got some fun stuff happening, love to see y'all for a sip.

This Wednesday, we've got a special (and sold out) private dinner with High West whiskey from Utah. The good news is, we open to the public after 9pm and plan to have a little extra to share.

Here's the menu:

Crispy ocean trout w/ turnips, gnocchi, carmelized onion dashi

- High West Rendezvous rye

Tamarind glazed sweetbreads w/ tart apple, cranberry beans, horseradish

- High West 16yr rye

Foie gras terrine w/ huckleberry, caramel corn, cashew, upland cress

-High West 21yr rye

On Thursday, it's a happy hour with Heaven Hill. Come taste Evan Williams single barrel and Elijah Craig bourbons, and indulge in $5 Old Fashioned or Manhattans. It's only from 5 to 7pm so come early.

On Sunday, it's Savoy time! We are going to be doing some special $7 whiskey drinks featuring Rittenhouse rye. 6pm till late.

Hope to see you there!

D.

2007 York Creek Touriga

Admittedly, wine is not the biggest horse in our stable, but every once in a while I get excited about it and have to run my mouth a bit, not that I consider myself an expert or anything....

Touriga Nacional is a somewhat unusual varietal from Portugal, usually used to make fortified wines. It tends to be a fairly muscular grape, producing wines with intense black fruit and firm tannins. I definitely expected a monster out of this wine but was pleasantly surprised with it.
There is definitely some rich, dark fruit but also some really nice floral notes as well. It's just a tad chewy, but with a nice acidity. Medium to full bodied and a modest 13% abv, I think it makes a nice sipper as well as a good workhorse for pairing with our eclectic menu.
We liked it so much, we bought all of it. So if you want to try it, better come over here (or down the street at Magnolia) where we will be pouring it by the glass until it runs out.

Cheers.

Turn your back on the bar for a second and.....

Delicious happens.

My favorite purveyor....

I just get a little excited everytime I see this. It's great when you can take something from the ground to the table in a matter of hours, and inspiration is as simple as a walk in the backyard.

Nearly finished product...

So the tomato infusion turned out pretty good, not entirely happy but pleasantly surprised.

I had a few bottles of Sagatiba Pura hanging around, so I tossed in some sun dried tomato. Within an hour, the color and aromas were already starting to assert themselves, which should have been a warning, but I let it roll for 2 days to really fortify itself. Looking back, I should have been periodically tasting it and maybe pulled it a little earlier. Nevertheless, it has a deep, rich tomato flavor, even a touch of saltiness that I don't find entirely unpleasant.

The resulting cocktail: A simple mix of the infused cachaca, little shot of cane syrup and a thick chunk of lime.

The verdict: Not a failure by any means but I was looking for something a little lighter, maybe a bit drier and more refreshing. What I got is a deep, sweet and savory concoction. Enjoyable, but I would probably sip one slowly, maybe not take another.

Next step: I may just cut it with some straight cachaca and back off on the sugar, but really I think the next batch will just infuse a little less time, I also want to try oven drying some heirloom tomato and attempt the same process. Or just serve it with in a little glass of ale, which was quite delicious as well.

I can think of a lot of ways to take this one. Come by and try some.