Brew Hops & Wine Stops

Once again ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is very proud to host Tampa Bay’s favorite wine and food tasting event, Einstein on Food & Wine, which is held annually at MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) on East Fowler Avenue in Tampa.

This year marks the 20^th annual celebration and will be held on Saturday, January 17. There will be over 50 tables of wine and spirits to sample from, as well as food from over 30 of Tampa Bay’s best restaurants and caterers. Not to mention beer and cigars outside. Look for a lot of other surprises too!

Tickets   

$60 for MOSI members in advance

$75 for non-members in advance

$85 if purchased after January 10th

$125 for VIP tickets (including early access)

Time

7 p.m. - VIP admission to MOSI

8 p.m. - general admission

10 p.m. - indoor tasting finishes; everyone moves outside for beer, cigars, food, dancing and fireworks until midnight.

This event promises to be bigger than ever! All proceeds go toward MOSI and the wonderful work it does in the community. For further information, click here or call (813) 987-6000.

Why MOSI?

• MOSI is the nation’s 6^th largest science center


• MOSI is a national leader in experiential science education


• MOSI is the proud winner of the 2009 National Medal for Museums by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s highest community service honor for museums


• MOSI is the leading science center in the country in summer science camps


• MOSI is the only science center in the nation with a head start program


• MOSI is the only science center in the nation with a partnership school on campus

Einstein on Food & Wine has provided $2.1 million of funding to MOSI for science education programs and community scholarships. 

Thank you for your support of the 2015 Einstein on Food & Wine! 

Bill Stobbs, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills

This Friday marks the longest day of the year. June 21^st is the first day of summer, the Summer Solstice. And for some, that simply means a longer Friday night, but for others, it’s another reason to have a party. For those summer-ready celebrators, we’d like to offer a few cocktail ideas to make your Summer Solstice a twinkle in your eye that lasts for the rest of the season.

We’ve taken these cocktail ideas from our Pinterest page—these are the ones we’re dying to try as the sun sets this Friday:

Citrusy Champagne Sangria

This sweet cocktail is a combination of grapefruit juice, ginger ale, a few citrus fruits and of course, chilled Champagne. Click the photo for the full recipe!

Pear Bellini

Combine a slice of pear, some grappa and Champagne for a crisp and light cocktail. It’s refreshing and cool and exactly the type of Summer Solstice cocktail your guests will love. For more details, click the photo!

The Frenchy

This pear vodka cocktail includes pineapple juice and cranberry juice poured over a bed of ice for a pretty, sweet beverage. This would be beautiful by itself, or maybe with a thin slice of pear in the glass. Either way, the pale pink color makes us think of summer right away. (Click the photo for the recipe!)

Popsicles in Prosecco

It’s exactly what the title says:  homemade fruit popsicles (or store-bought, we don’t judge!) sitting in your (large) wine glass with prosecco poured over top. It adds a fruit flavor to your bubbly beverage and a little spike to your popsicle dessert.

Are there any summer cocktails you’re excited to try? How do you celebrate the coming of summer? Comment below and let us know!

Cheers!

Hannah and Meghan

Do you know what I wish I was doing right now?

I wish I was sitting at an outdoor café table watching the world pass by in all its curious shoes and slowly and happily sipping pastis. Perhaps I have a book at my side that I can glance at occasionally, or perhaps a good friend with whom I can amiably pass the time of day sits across from me. But most of all there should be pastis.

What am I talking about? Pastis–better known in this country under its brand names Pernod and Ricard, among others–is an anise and licorice root flavored liqueur and aperitif from France, usually about 40-45% alcohol per volume. It is hugely popular in France (where 130 million liters are sold each year, or over 2 liters per every single inhabitant) but is actually part of a tradition of Mediterranean anise liqueurs such as ouzo, sambuca, arak, raki and mastika.

For many years the French made their own pastis at home, but its success on the commercial market began 17 years after absinthe was outlawed in most of the western world. Indeed its commercial popularity seems to be a direct result of absinthe’s ban.

Absinthe, you may remember, was a very strong anise-based liqueur and was an immensely popular drink in 19^th century France, especially amongst artists and writers who believed that it could inspire them to be more creative. In fact it was often referred to as “the green muse.” The drink also contained the herb wormwood (Artemisia absinthium, from which it received its name) which was–incorrectly as it happened–blamed for hallucinations, violence, blindness and insanity. Wormwood, they said, is what drove Van Gogh to cut off his ear. It is what caused the poet Verlaine to shoot his friend Rimbaud. Not to mention the troubled lives of August Strindberg, Edvard Münch and hundreds of others of the great and not so great. Hence the ban throughout most of the 20^th century in much of the western world.

But in 1932–17 years after its ban–both the Pernod and Ricard companies decided to make a less strong version of absinthe without the wormwood and with a slightly different type of anise. Each producer thereafter developed their own secret recipe of herbs and spices in making their pastis so that personal
preference becomes the deciding factor in which you buy.

The rest is history.

So how do you go about enjoying pastis? Well, first of all relax. Put the worries and cares of the day behind you. For preference you should not be alone in a room but rather somewhere where you can, even if alone, watch and enjoy the social or the natural world in all its glory.

Now, to one part pastis add about five parts cool spring water. (Pastis can be served with ice if you must, but is not traditional.) Watch how the liquid turns hypnotically from dark transparent yellow to a soft milky yellow/white with the addition of the water. Sip it slowly, take a deep breath, smile inwardly to yourself and remember that troubles may come and troubles may go but life itself is a fine thing when you know how to enjoy it. And pastis is there to help.

Santé!

Bill Stobbs, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills

We’ve done it again. We’ve tackled another Pinterest project, this time in Jell-o form. Say hello to these babies.

Peppermint Schnapps and Hot Damn! twisted into a shot glass to make candy cane Jell-o shots. And did we like them? YES.

When we started the recipe, we realized we didn’t have the audience (or permission) to make several dozen shots. Ergo, we cut the recipe in half. Following the instructions closely, we mixed the boiled water and cool water and gelatin powder and condensed milk and, of course, the alcohol until we had two separate mixtures, one red and one white.

1.4 ounce shot glasses.

We used these 1.4 ounce shot glasses, so layering was a puzzle to be solved before jumping in. We spooned a layer of the peppermint schnapps using a disposable plastic spoon—they were flexible and made it easier to spoon each layer into the glass without it dripping along the sides.

But here’s the thing: each layer must set separately before you add another on top of it. For 15-20 minutes each time. Needless to say, it’s a time-consuming project, especially if you’re thinking about making them for a large crowd. Our finished products were a-fricken-dorable. Things to remember:  have a can opener on hand to open your sweetened condensed milk. Also, make sure there are a couple co-workers nearby to help taste test, just so your results aren’t biased. The tasting group agreed that the sweet, cherry taste of Jell-o very nicely complemented

"Then I traveled through the seven levels of the candy cane forest..."

All in all, we dub this project PIN-POSSIBLE. Make them for your Christmas party. Make them for
yourself. Give them out to your nearest and dearest.

Just make sure you’ve set aside at least two hours for this Pinterest-inspired project.

Happy shooting (not violently, of course),

Meghan Guarino and Hannah Grantz

Cheers!

I love rum. Kind of in the same way I love Scotch--taste aside (and to me, rum tastes much better than Scotch), there's a whole romance associated with it that appeals to me...pirates and palm trees and rum runners--oh, my. Plus, there's summer and beaches.

History we'll save for another day--right now, let's talk beach drinks!

Palms is one of the best values around (under $15 for the 750ml bottle--but on sale until June 4 for $9.99 here or in our stores). And there's a flavor for every drink: try the Pineapple, Coconut or Banana in orange juice or make a quick pina colada with the Coconut and pineapple juice...or a PC shot with Coconut and Pineapple flavors layered.

One of my favorite drinks is the Painkiller (originally made with Pusser's). Almost any good dark rum will do, but adding an ounce of flavored rum to the mix is a tasty addition. I generally make it with 2 parts dark rum, 1 part pineapple or coconut rum (if desired), 4 parts pineapple juice (from the original recipe), 2 parts orange juice. Pour into shaker and shake until blended--or whip up in the blender--and pour over ice. The kicker is the nutmeg. This drink is garnished with grated nutmeg over the top, and it is worth the trouble to freshly grate your own.

You can also jazz up an ordinary pina colada with Charlie Noble spiced rum and some Michael's Irish Cream. Whatever recipe you generally use, swap out the rum for the Charlie Noble Spiced, and add another 1/2 part Irish cream (so if you use 2 oz. rum, add another ounce of the Irish cream).

Don't bother with a calendar--summer's here! (Just remember to celebrate responsibly.)

Color: golden orange both clear, brilliant, and deep. Polished pennies. Thick layer of tears upon gentle swirling. Nose: spiced boozy sweet apricots and peaches followed by oak and cracked pepper. Saffron wafts by upon a gentle breeze. Touch of flambéed banana in the middle – bananas foster comes to mind. Candied pineapple chunks. Heat is a gentle tease in the back. Palate: sweet then oily then spicy and hot, with the heat growing softly and slowly in the back of my throat and just before it becomes too much, it levels out. Peppercorn and embers. Bananas foster and flambéed banana peel. Saffron and cracked pepper in the breath. Boozed, stewed, succulent peaches and apricots. Finish: long, lingering, and mischievous. A dry spiced raw oak heat warms the chest and invites long lingering nights lounging in a lazy chair by the fire before finishing with a soft soothing honeyed kiss. Certainly not the black sheep of the Bushmills family by any means, the venerable spunkerific Black Bush was welcomed into the family fold in 1934 as the “Old Bushmills Special Old Liqueur Whiskey”. That tongue twister has since been shortened down to the aforementioned Black Bush. Featuring a generous malt whiskey content, the finished distillate is aged in specially selected previously used Spanish Oloroso oak casks mature to add further complexity to the malt before it is blended into a much lower ratio of sweet single grain whiskey, hence the nice spicy kick to one’s tastebuds. Yowzum! Innovation. Tradition. Soul. Pride. Many more prophetic adjectives could be used to describe the enduring legacy of Bushmills with my words being yet another offering to the angels share and everything in-between and after. It is privilege to savor Black Bush and every time I pour a dram and share a dram, the great legacy of Bushmills lives on. Liquid history. Know it. Share it. Drink it. Cherish it.

Kristyn Lier, Vero Beach (20th St. ABC Fine Wine and Spirits) -- read more of her reviews and musings on her website: beerambassador.net.

Appearance: copper with hints of blood orange and ruby.

 Nose: honey and spiced orange heat tickles in the back much like a wintry flame crackling in the chill night air. Peaches and apricot. Honey on crunchy cornbread. Wild rye husks and seeds.

 Body: swirls oily, thick, and sticky. Full and mouth-coating. Sticky lips. Dry in the back.

 Palate: sweet up front, dry in the back, heat, and then lingering spice. Honey along the sides. Cornbread is a faint afterthought, mostly crust. Rye seeds in the middle, sweet and caramelized in honey apricots. Orange oils and zest.

 Finish: grips the middle of my chest and never really lets go, lingering and teasing with sweet spicy heat. Finish is dry with raw rye seeds and husks in the back. Somewhere a fireplace is crackling.

My first dip into the newly rediscovered world of rye whiskey, a brand new venture I thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy. While (ri)1 isn’t the most complex rye whiskey, brimming with depth and individual character, I found it more than satisfactory. Considering my overall curiosity when it comes to flavor generally speaking and spirits specifically speaking, my journey is far from over…if it will ever be over at all. I damn well hope not for as rewarding is the destination, so too is the journey itself. Since my virgin baptism (ri)1 style, I’ve sampled a few other rye whiskeys and it pleasures me greatly to know there are many more. In fact, with the resurgence of interest in rye (both in whiskey and beer) and the ever expanding embrace of small, artisanal, and local, methinks this is a journey without end and I am quite alright with that.

 But just what is it that makes rye whiskey so special? Well, it really is all in the namesake and that is rye. Whiskey is nothing new, though always something special, and as American is bourbon, so too is rye. Our own island of austerity and unapologetic character, rye’s flavor is dry and spiced, sweet and heat, fruity and husky. Rye is not an easy character to deal with; from mash to wort to distillation to barrel, rye fights each and every step in a robust proclamation of its individuality and proud declaration to stay that way. Side by side by side, rye is neither bourbon nor scotch nor Canadian whiskey nor moonshine.

 Truly unique and truly delicious, in my not so humble and proud of it opinion, rye continues to enjoy its flavorful boom, and so will I. Ask your liquor store clerk, your bartender, or your local cocktail geek (for every cocktailarian is equally a spirit geek) for some rye. Have a taste or three. Savor the horizons and never once stop being curious. The spice of life? Maybe not THE spice of life, but definitely one of integrity and respect.

Kristyn Lier, Vero Beach (20th St. ABC Fine Wine and Spirits)

Friday we introduced our new blogger: Kristyn Lier (your humble editor apparently can't spell--sorry, Kristyn!). Kristyn will be blogging on beers every other Friday, and on spirits once or twice a month as well. You can find her at our Hwy 60 Vero Beach store for in-person recommendations.

Bowmore Legend Islay Scotch

Color: copper and gold deep in the middle with lighter hues of sun-kissed straw and hay along the side.

 Nose: salty smoke, seaweed, and a hint of iodine. Wet sod. Honey baked grains. Band-Aids. Pervasive smoke.

 Palate: medium light weight, full in the middle with a fast finish. Salty smoke holds everything together. Sweet and dry golden hay. Leather in the back. Iodine mixed in salt and smoke in the breath, lingering long and growing Band-Aid notes. Simple but good.

Finish: salty smoke with a hard bite of iodine and Band-Aids underneath. Fast.

Bowmore. I had less than stellar expectations for the single-malts from Bowmore of Islay (pronounced “eye-la”) on the eastern shore of Loch Indaal, expectations which I should know by now are just plain silly. The Islay Legend is Bowmore’s core classic single-malt of no age denomination which, for me, is a first. Age denomination aside, she had plenty of flavor and classic Islay character to satiate. Everyone’s palate is different so flavors will weigh differently on each tasters palate, such as mine, where lemon zest was non-existent. The perennial sea salt, iodine, smoke, and leather were clean-cut and at full attention.

I loved it. A daily quaffer if I ever savored one.

And I shouldn’t be surprised. Bowmore has been around since 1779. To add a bit of perspective, Bowmore has been around as long as the now United States of America, minus three years, of course. Now that is living drinkable touchable tasteable history – a dram timeless. With a Standard range that includes a 12, 15, 18, and 25 year, Bowmore also boasts a Travel Retail line of 5 different malts and a USofA specific range that boasts a whopping 10 different malts. The Islay Legend which I savored above shares her home with both Scotland and America, a mutual relationship of dram drinking burgundianism.