MULLED WINE!

I remember this one from when we used to go skiing in the Swiss Alps – if it wasn’t hot wine (gluhwein), it was something they called hunter’s tea (Jaegertee) which was more like a hot grog.  Both warmed you up – the latter just knocked you out a bit quicker.   Neither were supposed to be consumed by anyone under 18 (18 in Europe not 21!) – both were great lessons in tempering your drink consumption.

The thing about all these hot drinks is they’re sweet and they go down really easily – especially when it’s below freezing outside.

My grandmother’s family moved from Switzerland before she was born – however one of the traditions that got handed down and that was the recipe for the Gluhwein – I remember being so happy when I discovered that I didn’t need to travel back to Switzerland every time for a great mulled wine.

The secret she always told me was not to use bad wine or light wine! 

SAZERAC - HAPPY MARDIS GRAS!!

Declared the official cocktail of New Orleans on June 23 2008, the Sazerac is synonymous with New Orleans  - what’s less known is that the main ingredient that it’s supposedly named after “Sazerac de Forge et Fils” was a cognac – not a whiskey as we now expect in a Sazerac. (this may have something to do with the fact that Sazerac is now the name of a company that produces Rye Whiskey!)

Other ingredients in the Sazerac include Peychaud bitters originally created by Antoine Peychaud, a Creole apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Dominique, now Haiti and Absinthe, the liquor that got banned for so long but is now making a comeback – without the wormwood!

The Sazerac has made many movie & TV appearances – think Treme and the curious case of Benjamin Button.

KIR ROYAL JARNAC! - HAPPY VALENTINE'S WEEK!

Bubbly, Cassis and a dash of Courvoisier – Happy Valentine!

Ahhh Courvoisier – the brandy of Napoleon! – a Cognac is a brandy but not all brandies are Cognacs. I had that ingrained into me whilst growing up in the Cognac area.  Brandy comes from the German “BrandWein” which translates loosely as cooked wine – that’s to say distilled wine which is of course is fermented fruit (not necessarily but generally grapes)!

So there’s a lot of product out there that qualifies as brandy – what makes Cognac special is that is comes from the Cognac area of France, it’s made from specific grapes, distilled twice and has various age & geographical restrictions…blah blah blah – it does mean though that you know what you’re drinking is good J

Why Courvoisier and not any other Cognac?  No reason really except loyalty to the smaller Cognac producing town of Jarnac and a company that I once worked for as a tour guide!

WHISKEY SOUR - IN CELEBRATION OF LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY

So, we all know that Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky – what some of us don’t know is that his father worked in a distillery and that in 1811 his family moved from Sinking Spring Farm to Knob Creek – Hmmm that sounds familiar! – I  always wondered where that name came from and why anyone thought it would make a good name for a bourbon.

Lincoln wrote “My earliest recollection however, is of the Knob Creek place.” He was saved from drowning in Knob Creek (the river that is!) by his schoolmate Austin Gollaher – perhaps we should name a drink the Gollaher to celebrate his birthday! 

In honor of Abraham Lincoln’s Kentucky distillery roots – lift a glass to celebrate his birthday this week.