How to Choose Wine for a Gift

In earlier articles of this series, we gave you a basic introduction to wine and talked about what you need to know to serve alcohol when you’re hosting an event. But what about when you’re the guest? What if you’ve been invited to an event and are wondering whether you should bring a bottle of wine—and, if so, what wine should you choose? In this article, we’ll discuss etiquette and tips for choosing wine for a gift.

We reached out to Ryan and Kaleb Crafts for their expert view on this topic. The two brothers are not only avid givers and receivers of wine; they’re also co-owners of Bacchus Bar and Event Services as well as The Tasting Room, the newly renovated wine bar in downtown Salt Lake City.

Photo credits Logan Walker

To Wine or Not to Wine?

“First,” Ryan says, “you have to know when wine is an appropriate gift and when it’s not. Sometimes a bottle of good wine can be a gracious, cultured way of showing your appreciation to your host, but not always.”

When is it probably not a good idea to give wine for a gift?

• If the host doesn’t drink. Here in Utah, a significant percentage of the population is opposed to alcohol and might not want it in their home. Whatever your host’s views are, it’s a basic sign of politeness to respect them.

• If the invitation specifies not to bring gifts. Some hosts prefer to handle the menu and drinks themselves. Respecting your host’s wishes is a better “gift” than a bottle they asked you not to bring.

• If you’re attending a wedding or formal event. In these cases, the hosts likely have drinks already planned.

On the other hand, there are occasions when a bottle of wine can make a fantastic gift, such as…

• When you know the host enjoys wine. If you are well-acquainted and happen to know that they’re a wine lover, they’ll likely appreciate the gesture.

• At a casual dinner party or gathering. By its nature, wine is a convivial gift that can be shared immediately, but be careful about giving wine in this context. Ryan and Kaleb both warn that you should never create an expectation or pressure on the guest to open your wine immediately. It’s a gift; they should feel free to do anything they want with it.

• At a birthday party, housewarming, or other celebratory (but not too formal) event. As long as you’re not interfering with your host’s plans, a bottle of wine can fit the festive mood.

• When you’re visiting someone’s home for the first time. A nice bottle can serve as a thoughtful “thank you” gift. And, if the recipient chooses to break it open right away, wine can help create a warm and amiable vibe.

How to Choose Which Wine to Give

With countless styles and selections to choose from, finding the perfect wine for a gift can feel overwhelming.  We asked Kaleb and Ryan to walk us through their thinking process when they want to give a bottle of wine. Here are their ideas.

Make It Personal

“When I’m invited to someone’s house and I’m bringing wine for the host, my first choice is always to bring something that I know they love,” Ryan explains.  If you happen to know, for example, that your host is a fan of Spanish tempranillo or has a sweet tooth for a Moscato d’asti or a sauternes, then your task is simple!

Even if you don’t know a specific label that your host is partial to, you may get some direction from the type of wine enthusiast they are. For example, if your host enjoys collecting rare or top-shelf wines, then a well-aged Bordeaux or a quality Champagne will likely make a welcome gift. On the other hand, if they are an adventurous drinker who loves to sample something new, then a great gift might be something from off the beaten path such as…

• an unusual grape variety like a French trousseau, a Greek xinomavro, or an Italian fiano.

• an orange wine like Channing Daughters (US), Orgo Rkatsiteli (Georgia), or Movia Lunar (Slovenia).

• a sparkling red such as an Italian lambrusco or an Australian sparkling shiraz.

What if I have no idea what my host likes?

“If I’m going to give a bottle of wine and I don’t know what the host likes (or I can’t find it out), I’ll generally choose something that I like,” Kaleb says.

Ryan agrees. “If I don’t know my host’s preferences, I can still make the gift personal by sharing a wine that I love. I know that when I’m hosting and someone brings me wine, I love it when they share one that’s meaningful to them—even better if it comes with a personal story or insight into why they love it! Not only does that let me get to know my guest a little better, but I might even get to taste a wine I’ve never tried.”

When you present a bottle of wine for a gift, an accompanying card or thank you note is a nice personal touch and an easy way to slip in a little info about why you love that label or style. Ryan recently gifted a Spanish vermouth that he discovered on his family’s trip to Barcelona. When he gives away bottles of 2003 Silver Oak, he tells the story of how he and Jen saved them for their 20th anniversary, but when the pandemic led to a much smaller anniversary party than they’d anticipated, they found themselves with extra bottles of this wine that meant so much to them.

“Wine actually tastes better when you know the story behind it,” Kaleb explains. “The same is true for food and other drinks too. We tend to enjoy it much more when we know something about what we’re consuming.”

You may have a personal go-to wine that you love, or you may have stumbled across a little treasure recently. If so, Kaleb suggests picking up an extra bottle or two, even if you don’t yet know who you’ll gift it to. Sure, you could just run to the liquor store and pick something off the shelf an hour on the way to the party, but that’s a missed opportunity. “The point is, it’s a chance to gift more than wine,” Kaleb explains. “Offering a little of myself is a way to make it personal.”

Should I try to pair the wine with the food?

The short answer is no.

“If I’m bringing wine for a gift to someone’s event, I’m almost never going to want to try to pair it with the food,” Ryan explains. “I don’t want to create any expectation that the host will open the bottle and serve it with the meal. Chances are, the host has already planned the food and drinks for their event. I don’t want to mess that up for them.”

On the other hand, it may be appropriate to bring a wine pairing if you’ve communicated that to the host beforehand. Kaleb says, “If I asked, ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ and they invited me to bring a dish, I might say, ‘Can I bring a wine to pair with that?’ As a guest, I want to be as helpful as I can, but most of all I want to respect the host’s wishes.”

What if I’m asked to bring a wine, but I have no idea what to choose?

“If your host wants you to bring wine and you know they’re planning to open it at the event, then you can use the occasion of the party as your guide,” Ryan explains. Depending on the type of event you’re attending, here are some generally appropriate wine choices.

• Summer BBQ or picnic: something light like a rosé or a lambrusco is refreshing.

• Casual dinner party: a pinot noir or a chenin blanc is versatile and food-friendly.

• Anniversary, birthday, or other celebration: If there’s going to be toasting, you can’t go wrong with a quality Champagne or sparkling wine. Ryan likes to give Pol Roget since it’s one of the best value Champagnes on the market and one of his personal favorites.

• Winter holiday gathering: a deep and spicy syrah/shiraz can feel perfect on a chilly day.

There are online resources that can give you ideas about wines to buy, but you have to be a bit skeptical. “Vivino is a very popular site with a lot of wine reviews, but some of those reviews are highly personal and unreliable,” Kaleb says. “Even the scores given by professional wine critics reflect their personal tastes and may vary widely. The most reliable judge of wine is always going to be your own palate, or the palate of the host you’re giving it too.”

If you’re going to rely on online reviews, Ryan recommends Wine Folly, a site that is “simple enough to be accessible for most drinkers but doesn’t oversimplify their reviews to the point of not being useful.”  

Of course, the best way to get advice is to go to the pros. “If you’re planning to give wine for a gift and you’re looking for specific recommendations, we’re more than happy to talk with you,” Ryan adds. “Drop by The Tasting Room anytime and let’s chat! Tell us what your criteria are, and I’m sure we can guide you to something exciting.”  

The Good Girl’s Guide: An Introduction to Wine

Photo credit Elisha Braithwaite

We often have clients, friends, and neighbors ask us for an introduction to wine.

Some of them are new to drinking and are curious about what they’ve been missing. Others may be experienced drinkers, but wine has never been their thing. Sometimes they want to branch out and try different varieties or experiment with food pairings. For one reason or another, they’re looking for someone to guide them through the wide, wild world of wine.

Look, we get it. The topic of wine is vast and as old as human history! For at least 6,000 years, people have been inventing, experimenting, and refining wines, so there is a lot to learn. New vineyards, labels, and blends are popping up all the time. It’s hard to know where to begin!

 So begin here.

The Good Girl’s Guide: An Introduction to Wine will set you on your way in your exciting adventure into the world of wines. 

Photo credit Sparkle Photography

WINE BASICS

Where does wine come from?

Alcohol can be made from the sugars in any number of different foods (apples, potatoes, sugar cane, figs, etc.), but wine is specifically made from grapes.

The process of winemaking involves growing and harvesting particular types of grapes, then crushing them to release their juices. To make white wines, the skins of the grapes are removed, whereas red wines are made with skins still in the juice. A specific type of yeast is then added which digests the grapes’ natural sugars and converts them into alcohol in a process called fermentation. The wine is then allowed to age in barrels (often made of oak) or tanks to further develop the flavors. Finally, after the desired amount of aging time, the wine is bottled. Champagne and other types of sparkling wine undergo additional steps that give them their characteristic bubbles and fizz.

Simple enough, right? But here’s where it gets interesting.

What is terroir?

Let’s talk about a little concept called terroir (pronounced tehr-WAAR).  

The terroir of a wine refers to all the environmental factors involved in its creation, from the soil and rainfall in the vineyard to the elevation, sunlight, temperature, and more. Every aspect of a wine’s terroir can affect the final product, which is why a highly trained wine enthusiast can distinguish not only the vineyard where a glass of wine originated but also what year it was made. Of course, most of us don’t need to know all that. What we care about is which, of all the infinite terroirs out there, will give us the wines that we will come to love?

What are the different kinds of wine?

In general, there are five categories of wine. Bear in mind that within each of these categories, there is such a wide range of individual wines that you’re likely to find something you’ll enjoy.

• Red Wine – Because red wines are fermented with their skins and seeds still present, they tend to taste richer, more full-bodied, and more complex than other wines. For some beginning wine tasters, the complexity and dryness of many reds may be too much. For others, the interesting layers and interplay of different flavors may make reds their favorites.

• White Wine – Made from green or yellow grapes and fermented after the skins have been removed, white wines generally taste lighter and fruitier than reds. Tart and refreshing, with a higher acidity, whites are more palatable for many new drinkers.

• Rosé – A rosé (pronounced rose-AY) typically falls somewhere between a red and white in color but is similar to a white in flavor profile. Many rosés have fruity flavors like raspberry, strawberry, cherry, or citrus.  

• Sparkling Wine – Sparkling wines (which include Champagne as well as prosecco, cava, and many other types of bubbly) are often used for celebrations and toasts. Their carbon dioxide gives them a lively mouthfeel similar to soda. High acidity gives them a crisp, refreshing taste, but like all categories of wine, they can vary widely in taste, dryness, body, and other aspects (all of which will be explained below).

• Dessert & Fortified Wine – As their name implies, dessert wines are typically the sweetest of the wines and are usually enjoyed with a dessert. Fortified wines are wine that has had a spirit, like brandy, added to it. Fortified wines have a higher alcohol content and can be enjoyed either with dessert or as an apéritif.

Photo credit Claire Marika

How To Taste Wine

One of the aspects of wine culture that we love is that it teaches us to slow down and appreciate what we’re consuming.

American fast-food culture has trained us all to wolf down our food before rushing on to our next task. But many cultures pay much more time and attention to enjoying food. A bottle of wine has often been in the making for years or decades; it would be a shame to down it thoughtlessly.

When you’re getting to know a new wine, it’s helpful to keep these Five S’s in mind.

• See: Hold the glass up to the light and notice the color and clarity.

• Swirl: Swirling the wine in the glass releases aromas by aerating the wine.

• Smell: Let your olfactory sense get involved by holding the wine to your nose. Does it have fruity, floral, spicey, or earthy notes? With practice, you’ll notice more of what different wines offer.

• Sip: Take a small taste and move it around your mouth. Notice its sweetness, acidity, tannins, and body.

• Savor: After you swallow, pause to notice the aftertaste (finish).

How to Talk About Wine

Before we dive into looking for the right wine for you, let’s go over some terms that will help you understand and talk about wine.

• Acidity – A wine that’s high in acidity has a crisp, tart, fresh quality that makes your mouth water. Wines with high acidity include some whites like rieslings, sauvignon blancs, or chardonnays, as well as some reds like pinot noir or schioppettino.

• Aftertaste: The taste that lingers in your mouth after swallowing wine is called the aftertaste or the finish. Aftertaste is generally described as short, medium, or long.

• Body: The body of a wine refers to its weight and texture in your mouth. A wine’s body is generally either light, medium, or full-bodied.

• Balance: Balance refers to a wine’s harmony between sweetness and acidity. A well-balanced wine may be described as velvety, silky, or smooth.

• Mouthfeel: The overall physical sensation of wine in your mouth is the mouthfeel. Mouthfeel is a broad term that includes body, balance, texture, and aftertaste (finish).

• Nose: The aroma of a wine is referred to as its nose (also called the “bouquet” for aged wines). The way a wine smells is an important aspect of the tasting experience. 

• Palate: A wine’s “palate” is every aspect of the wine that affects your palate (i.e. your tongue, taste buds, and olfactory sense). So the combination of how a wine tastes, smells, and feels in the mouth is the wine’s palate.

• Sweetness: The amount of sugar remaining in a wine determines its sweetness. Sweetness ranges from dry (not sweet) to off-dry (slightly sweet) to fully sweet.

• Tannins: Tannins are natural compounds that come from the grape skins, seeds, and stems as well as from oak barrels. High tannin content gives the wine a slightly bitter, astringent flavor and a dry, gritty mouthfeel.  Red wines tend to be high in tannins.

• Texture: Texture is an element of mouthfeel that refers to whether a wine feels prickly, ropy, or smooth.

How to Approach Wine

If you want to have an enjoyable experience trying a new wine, here are our suggestions:

1.       Start with What’s Easy to Love

Like cheese, coffee, beer, dark chocolate, and many other foods and beverages, wine is often an acquired taste. There’s nothing wrong with easing into the world of wine. For most wine newcomers, a smooth and approachable wine will make your first experiences more enjoyable. Look for:

• Whites: Riesling, moscato, pinot grigio, or sauvignon blanc are generally light, fruity, and slightly sweet. A Chablis is also a great choice because it is light and smooth, not oaky like its younger brother, a chardonnay. For beginners, our Bar and Beverages Service Director Bojan recommends a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. “It’s the fruitiest, has low alcohol content, and pairs very well with appetizers, cheeseboards, and salads.” If you opt for a pinot grigio, Bojan says, ‘The best varieties are grown in Italy.”

• Reds: Pinot noir, Beaujolais, merlot, or red zinfandel are soft, light-bodied, and not too tannic.

• Rosé: An off-dry rosé is a great in-between option, not too sweet and not overpowering.

• Sparkling: Prosecco or lambrusco are safe bets.  You may have already tried prosecco in a mimosa, bellini, or Aperol spritz.

2.  Choose a Relaxed Setting

• Wine Bar or Tasting Room: A comfortable, unrushed setting with helpful, knowledgeable wine experts is ideal. The newly renovated Tasting Room in downtown Salt Lake City is the perfect place to learn about wine and find one you love. Utah Women and Wine holds a monthly event at the Tasting Room, so look them up and come to an event! Or just drop by on your own and let their expert staff help you have a great introduction to wines.

• At Home: If you already know a wine or two you want to sample, pick up a bottle, grab a friend, and try it in your own cozy space.

3. Pair It with Food

In Utah, if you drink alcohol in a restaurant or bar, you have to have food at the same time. That isn’t only the law; it’s smart practice. Food will greatly reduce the risk of intoxication or hangovers, and a well-paired wine with your meal will increase your enjoyment of both the food and the wine. Don’t be shy to ask for specific wine pairings, or follow this general guideline:

• White wine → cheese, chicken, seafood, creamy dishes or light salads.

• Red wine → pasta, steak, grilled meats, or chocolate.

• Rosé → salads, light pastas, brunch foods.

4. Go Slow & Trust Your Taste

• Use the five S’s described above (see, swirl, smell, sip, and savor) to fully enjoy your wine. The experience of a good wine changes minute by minute as it’s exposed to air, temperature changes, and interactions with your food. Pay attention, and don’t be in a rush.

• Don’t stress about “right” and “wrong” tastes—just find what you enjoy. Other people may have their own opinions about wines, and it may be worth hearing their input, but their palates are not yours.

• Drink plenty of water, not only to cleanse your palate and enhance the taste but also to stay hydrated. You’ll have a better experience if you don’t have a headache the next day

Photo credit Branson Maxwell

5. Have Fun

• Try different wines to discover what you like, and don’t be afraid of experimenting! Ordering a wine flight is a fantastic way to taste and compare several different wines in one sitting.

• Visit a winery for a guided tasting experience. Old Town Cellars in Park City offers private tastings.

• Join a wine-tasting class or club if you enjoy it and want to learn more.

Build your palate over time. As with many great foods and beverages, from cheese to cocktails to caviar, it takes time to learn to fully appreciate wines. That’s okay! There’s no wrong way to enjoy wine so long as you’re staying safe and having fun.

How much should I drink?

One glass (or one flight of smaller portions) is probably enough to experience the pleasant buzz and warm feelings of wine without any of the negative effects of overdrinking. In Utah, a standard pour of wine is 5 ounces. If you’re a newcomer to alcohol, you may be affected by wine more strongly than a more experienced drinker would be.

Bear in mind that Utah has the strictest DUI law of any state in the US, but if you follow the guidelines above (having food with your drink, taking your time, and drinking plenty of water), you should be well under Utah’s 0.05% BAC (blood alcohol content) within an hour after your drink.

Also, be aware that Utah’s 0.05% BAC limit applies to riding bikes as well as driving cars. If you haven’t finished your drink and want to take it home, remember that it’s illegal to have any open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Keep your eye on this space for more suggestions on The Good Girls’ Guide to all things alcohol!

Harvest Gin and Cider Cocktail

‘Tis the season for fall flavors: pumpkin spice, maple, cinnamon, cranberry, and—best of all—apple cider! This month’s beverage, the Harvest Gin and Cider Cocktail, is one we love serving at events around this time of year, and it is always a hit.

The star of this recipe is, of course, the fresh apple cider. But before we dive into the cocktail, let’s get our ciders straight.

TYPES OF CIDER

• Sweet Cider: This is the cider you remember fondly from childhood, sweet and delicious unfermented apple juice. Serve it up to the kiddies and the rest of us sweet-fiends, or use it to liven up an amazing beverage like our Harvest Gin and Cider Cocktail. You can buy sweet cider off the shelf, but we recommend the fresh stuff made locally by Rowley’s Red Barn. (Click here for a virtual tour of their cider-making process!)

• Sparkling Cider: Add carbonation to non-alcoholic cider and you get the bubbly, refreshing beverage used in a traditional Utah “champagne” toast. Martinelli’s makes the most popular version.

• Semi-dry or Semi-sweet Cider: These ciders are partially fermented, so they have a bit of alcohol but also some residual sweetness. When choosing foods to pair with semi-sweet ciders, think “salty, savory, or hot.” The little bit of sweetness in the cider tastes terrific with a charcuterie, or it can balance out the heat in lots of Indian or Thai dishes.  On the other hand, a semi-dry cider’s tartness can also be perfect to balance the sweetness of autumn desserts like caramel apple pie.

• Dry Cider: If you allow almost all the apple sugars to ferment, you end up with dry cider which is less sweet and more tart. Dry ciders pair wonderfully with cheese, especially sharp cheddars and blue cheese. A fatty meat like pork or a rich cream-based dish like alfredo pasta works well with the acidity of a dry cider.

• Hard Cider: This is fermented cider with an alcohol content similar to beer. However, unlike beer, most hard ciders use no malt in the fermentation process, so apple ciders are naturally gluten-free.  While hard ciders generally have an alcohol content around 4-7%, some can be as high as 12%.

UTAH’S CIDER SCENE

For a long time, the cider options in Utah were pretty much (a) sweet cider from a gallon jug, (b) sparkling cider from a bottle of Martinelli’s, or (c) hard cider from a can. But in the past few years, that has changed. From locally-brewed ciders to cider bars popping up around the state, the ways to enjoy a delicious apple (or pear, or pineapple, or blackberry, or cherry…) cider are multiplying.

Our state may be known for its tee-totaling culture and unusual liquor laws, but we are also a trailblazer in the new craft cider scene. The popularity of cider has grown as an alternative to beer, and a couple dozen cider bars have sprung up around the country, with several here in Utah. In Salt Lake City, you can enjoy unique cider flavors at Mountain West Cider Company, Scion Cider, Six Sailor Cider, or Thieves Guild Cidery. In Layton you can find the Hive Winery and Spirits Company, and Millcreek boasts the Second Summit Cider Company. Even the little town of Torrey down near Moab gets into the action with Etta Place Cider.

CIDER UP YOUR HOLIDAY TABLE

The autumn harvest is the absolute best time to enjoy the tang and taste of cider, so spice up our holidays with cider. For the non-drinkers among us, try milk-washing your cider to give it a silky smoothness that’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted. 

And for those who want to add a dose of liquid cheer, give this cider cocktail a whirl.

HARVEST GIN AND CIDER COCKTAIL

Ingredients

4-5 blackberries (divided)

1 oz. gin

1 oz. fresh apple cider

0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice

club soda

1 sprig rosemary for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1.       In a cocktail shaker, muddle 2-3 blackberries

2.       Add ice to shaker, plus gin, fresh apple cider, and lemon juice.

3.       Shake to combine and chill, then strain into a rocks glass of fresh ice.

4.       Top with club soda.

5.       Garnish with 1-2 blackberries and/or a rosemary sprig.

 Cheers!

Gin and Tonic

With International Gin and Tonic Day coming up on October 19th, it’s time to raise a glass to this quintessentially simple, yet endlessly complex, cocktail.

But is a gin and tonic even a cocktail at all?

For all you mixology purists out there, yes, a G&T is a proper cocktail. True, it has only two ingredients while a traditional cocktail, by definition, has at least three: an alcoholic spirit, sugar, and bitters. But tonic water has both sugar and bitter quinine in it, so yes, we think a G& qualifies as a true cocktail

What’s in a gin and tonic?

Gin.

And tonic water.

Couldn’t be simpler.

Except…it’s not really that basic. “For a drink with just two ingredients, a gin and tonic is an incredibly elevated cocktail,” points out Bacchus’ mix master Anne McGarry. The drink has earned a high status because of its depth of flavors, and the range of variation you can do with a G&T make it infinitely entertaining.

The Basics

1.      Fill your glass with ice. Whether you’re using a highball or rocks glass or a wider copa or wine bowl type of glass, make sure you have plenty of ice in there to keep your G&T cold.

2.      Add 1.5 oz of gin.

3.      Top it off with 3 oz of tonic water.

Voila! You’ve got a basic gin and topic.

BUT…here’s where the fun begins. From this point, there’s an infinite number of ways to play around with elements of a gin and tonic. And once you start experimenting, you’ll understand why this cocktail is the go-to beverage for so many drinkers.

Welcome to the G&T game!

Here are the rules:

There are no rules!

What there are, though, are endless possibilities. For example, you can…

• Change out your gin.

When we set up a gin bar at one of our events, we love to feature some of the best Utah local gins such as Beehive, Ogden’s Own, Alpine, Holystone, Hammerspring, New World Oomaw, and Waterpocket Temple of the Moon. As for world-wide brands, when you’ve experimented with the old standards like Hendricks, Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater, and Tanqueray, you might want to branch out to try some extraordinary gins like Monkey 47, Botanist, Roku, or Drumshanbo.

• Play with your tonic.

It’s easy to overlook, but the tonic water can make a significant contribution in a great tonic and gin. Since tonic water makes up more than half of your cocktail, it’s worth choosing a good one. Of course, tastes vary, but we would point you toward some quality brands like Fever-Tree, Franklin & Sons, Betty Buzz, Fentimans, or Q.

• Make it sweeter.

From basic simple syrup to lavender syrup, elderberry syrup, strawberry syrup, rhubarb syrup, or spicy chili syrup, you have dozens of fun ways to sweeten up your G&T.

• Make it more bitter.

Or, if you want to take it the other direction, there’s a whole world (or at least several store shelves) of bitters to choose from. With flavors ranging from citrus to celery or berries to bourbon vanilla, just a drop or two will give your G&T some bite.  

• Bring on the garnishes.

When you add a garnish to your G&T, you aren’t just making it pretty. A well-chosen garnish can add an aromatic component to the drink, which is a whole new level of experience. A slice or wedge of lime may be the most popular garnish for a gin and tonic, but you should also have fun with oranges and grapefruits, juniper berries, peppercorns, rosemary, vanilla pods, star anise, rhubarb sticks, lavender, basil, or a raspberry or two. To heighten the aromatics of a drink, sometimes we spray a little mist of rosewater, vanilla, or some other fragrant spritz. Using a kitchen torch to singe a strawberry before dropping it into a G&T adds a fun theatrical element as well as an intoxicating sweet and smoky smell.

No matter how you choose to play the gin and tonic game, have fun with it!

And have a happy International Gin and Tonic Day.

Americano

A few months ago, we talked about apéritifs, the family of preprandial drinks intended to “open” your appetite and prepare you to enjoy your food. We promised to follow up with an article about one particular aperitif, the Americano.

So let’s do it!

Origins of the Americano

First of all, let’s be clear that the Americano we’re talking about here is a cocktail. Do not confuse it with the coffee drink of the same name.

The Americano (the cocktail) is a very simple recipe that belongs to the family of apéritifs known as quinquinas. It dates back to the 1860s when it was invented in Milan, Italy. Originally, it was called the Milano-Torino because of its two main ingredients. (Campari was made in Milan and sweet vermouth came from Torino.) The name gradually changed because the drink became so popular with Americans visiting Europe, especially during the period of Prohibition when good cocktails were hard to come by in the U.S.

But it wasn’t only Americans who loved the cocktail. It became popular all over Europe and much of the world. In fact, when the fictional spy James Bond was introduced in the first book in the Bond series, Casino Royale, what is the first cocktail we see the iconic drinker order? It’s not Mr. Bond’s famous Vesper martini. It’s an Americano.

What makes the Americano special?

The reason we chose to highlight the Americano is that it’s a terrific introduction to the world of aperitifs, and to the family of quinquinas in particular. If you haven’t already developed a palate for bitter cocktails like Negronis, Napoleans, and Boulevardiers, they can be a bit overwhelming. The Americano is a much smoother, milder drink than other cocktails with Campari in them. It’s a delicious way to dip your foot in the ocean of apéritifs.

Americano Cocktail

(serves one)

Ingredients

1 ½ ounces Campari

1 ½ ounces sweet vermouth

Soda water, chilled

Orange peel twist

Instructions

1. Fill a glass with ice. Add Campari and vermouth. Stir well.

2. Top with the soda water and give it another gently stir. (Don’t stir too much or you’ll lose the fizz.)

3. Express an orange peel twist over the drink and add as a garnish.

Pro Tips:

• James Bond preferred a lemon twist instead of orange in his Americano, but if you are training your palate to enjoy bitter cocktails, the orange is very helpful. Its sweet, citrusy aroma and flavor balances the bitter Campari beautifully.

• This is one cocktail where it pays to use quality ingredients. The Campari, of course, is standard, but don’t skimp on the vermouth. Make sure it’s fresh and a good quality brand since it makes up almost half of the drink. Even the quality of the soda water can make a big difference in this drink. You can substitute a mineral water or seltzer, but club soda is generally used.

• Once you’ve mastered the Americano, it only takes slight tweaks to the recipe to venture into a whole family of other aperitifs, including the Boulevardier, Rosita, Negroni, Campari Spritz, Aperol Spritz. Enzoni, and Old Pal.

• Don’t go overboard on the soda water. Start with just enough to give your drink a nice fizz, then give it a taste. If it’s too strong, you can always add a little more soda, but you can’t take it away.

Cin cin!

Chocolate Negroni

There’s a reason why the late Chef Anthony Bourdain referred to negronis as “the perfect drink.”  

It’s a “a grown-up drink,” Chef Bourdain explained, and while that first sip might be a bit bitter and off-putting, “it grows on you.”

In honor of Anthony Bourdain Day which is coming up on June 25th, we want to give you our take on classic cocktail, the chocolate negroni.

What’s a negroni?

According to tradition, the negroni cocktail was invented in 1919 in Florence, Italy when Count Camilo Negroni asked a friend to stir things up for him. At Count Negroni’s request, his bartender friend replaced the soda water in a standard Americano cocktail with gin, and thus was born a new classic!

While there are countless variations on the basic formula of a negroni, the standard recipe is simple: equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and a bitter liqueur called Campari. That’s it. Served over ice with a slice of lemon (or, better yet, orange), it is a favorite apéritif all over the world.

What’s so special about the negroni?

The appeal of the negroni can be summed up in two words: “big” and “complex.”

The bitterness of the Campari—the sweetness of the vermouth—the juniper and other botanicals of the gin—these are not subtle flavors. They are big and strong, and none of these ingredients would be especially pleasant on their own. Yet somehow, blended together, they form a mixture that’s intriguing and complex. They arouse your tastebuds and awaken your attention, which makes the negroni a fantastic apéritif.

The quest for a better negroni.

The negroni is a personal favorite drink for both of our owners, Ryan and Kaleb Crafts. Over the years, Ryan developed a tradition of serving negronis at his house every Christmas, and he was always experimenting with ways to improve the cocktail. He tried different types of gin and vermouth, even replacing the sweet (red) vermouth with substitutes like Lillet blanc and cocchi Americano. But no matter what variation of negroni he tried, he usually found himself sipping it with the glass in one hand and a bite of chocolate in the other. The flavors of chocolate and negroni go together so well that Ryan finally asked himself, “Why not just incorporate chocolate into the negroni itself?”

Why not indeed!   

But his early attempts weren’t all that successful. Various recipes use chocolate bitters, crème de cacao, or other chocolate liqueurs, but Ryan found that these were too sweet, overpoweringly chocolate, and/or muted the complex flavors that make a negroni a negroni. Then he hit on the idea of infusing the gin with cacao nibs.

What are cacao nibs?

Cacao nibs are small pieces of crushed beans from the cacao tree. You can buy a bag of cacao nibs at Harmons or other high-end grocery stores (next to the coffee beans), but we like to get ours directly from local chocolatiers Ritual or Amano.

How to infuse your gin

First, you want a start with a gin that’s juniper forward and not overly floral. Several local Utah gins work great, including Alpine, Madame Pattirini, and Beehive Barrel Reserve. However, our favorite gin for making a Chocolate Negroni is Holystone Bosun’s Navy Strength.  

1.       Combine one cup of cacao nibs and one bottle (750 ml) of gin. You can use any glass container that’s big enough, but we like to use a leather goatskin bota bag. (You have one of those lying around somewhere, right?)

2.       Seal your container tightly and allow the ingredients to steep for a month or more. If you’re using a glass container, it’s virtually impossible to age your gin too long, but if you’re using a goatskin bota bag, you’ll need to taste the infusion periodically to make sure you don’t overo it.

3.       When you’re done aging your gin, fish out the cacao nibs, place them in cheesecloth, and squeeze them tightly to recover as much as you can of the liquid they absorbed. As they steeped, the cacao nibs inevitably soaked up some of the alcohol in your gin. Squeezing the nibs will restore part of that lost alcohol. (One of the reasons we prefer to start with Holystone Bosun’s Navy Strength gin is because of its unusually high alcohol content—it’s 114 proof.)

4.       If you can’t wait to taste your chocolate-infused gin, you can enjoy it straight or over ice. But if you’re ready to make a fantastic chocolate negroni, read on.

Chocolate Negroni

Ingredients

·         1 oz chocolate-infused gin (see above). Don’t worry that your infused gin looks brown; the Campari and vermouth will give your negroni its characteristic reddish hue.

·         1 oz Campari (Substitute Aperol if you prefer something sweeter and fruiter)

·         1 oz sweet vermouth (It’s worth using a quality vermouth for your Negroni since there’s nowhere for a bad vermouth to hide among these flavors.)

·         Orange peel or wedge for garnish 

Instructions

1.       Pour gin, Campari, and vermouth over ice in a mixing glass and stir well.

2.       Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice.

3.       Optional: grate a few flakes of quality chocolate onto the surface of the drink. (This is not for taste so much as to increase visual appeal and the aromatics of the drink. If you get a nice nose of chocolate when you lift the glass to your lips, the first sip will be all the more delicious.

4.       Garnish with the orange and enjoy.

Alla nostra, and Happy Anthony Bourdain Day!

Mother's Day Mocktail: Elderflower Grapefruit Collins

With Mother’s Day (May 12) and World Cocktail Day (May 13) both approaching, it seems like a great time to focus on something delicious for the wonderful women in our lives.

Specifically, mocktails.

We’ve written before about the growing trend toward alcohol-free beverages. We’ve even shared mocktail recipes such as our virgin mojitos (pictured above) or booze-less versions of our witches’ brew, pea blossom gin and tonic, and garden party cocktail.

But today, we want to share the perfect Mother’s Day Mocktail, something sweet, refreshing, floral, and pleasantly pink.

But first, in deference to World Cocktail Day, let’s try to figure out the age-old question of how cocktails got their name.

How did cocktails get their name?

By the early 1800s, the term “cocktail” was starting to enter American English. A letter to the editor of a New York paper in 1806 asked for the meaning of the term. In reply, the editor explained that a “Cock-tail…is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.” The editor went on to point out that a cocktail is also an excellent tool for any candidate for public office because “a person having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow any thing else.”

But where did the word come from? That’s a bigger mystery than what ingredients the Carthusian monks put into a batch of chartreuse!

There are a lot of theories, but here are the most plausible.

The New Orleans Theory:

One version of the story claims that the term came from New Orleans where a Creole pharmacist named Peychaud (the creator of Peychaud’s bitters). He was famous for making a mixed brandy drink and serving it in a French egg cup called a coquetier. Over time, the name of the drink supposedly evolved into “cocktail.” 

The French Theory:

A simpler explanation is that the term derived from the French word coquetel, which meant “mixed drink” in Bordeaux.

The Dregs Theory:

Another plausible explanation is that bartenders used to take the last dregs from barrels of spirits, called the “tailings,” and pour them all into one barrel. The contents of that barrel were then sold at a discount to anyone who ordered a pour from that spigot, which was called a “cock.” Thus the “cocktailings” came to mean a drink of mixed spirits.

The Horse Theory:

An older use of the word “cocktail” had to do with horses. If a horse had a docked tail, which made it stand up like a rooster’s, that was a sign that the horse was not a thoroughbred. A cocktail thus referred to an ill-bred horse or, by extension, to an ill-bred person who put on airs of sophistication but was not a true gentleman. The word “cocktail” thus came to have a connotation of adulterated or lower quality as well as the sense of “mixed,” (as in “a fruit cocktail” or “a cocktail of cancer drugs”). It’s easy to see how certain mixed alcoholic drinks could come to be labeled as cocktails, since they combine the elements of being mixed, impure, unsophisticated, and of lower quality.  Indeed, during American Prohibition, cocktails became popular precisely because they disguised the poor quality of the illegal alcohol that was available.

No one knows which origin story is right. There may be some truth in any of these theories about the origin of cocktails, but it’s certain that the stigma about cocktails being unsophisticated or inferior has disappeared. Today, cocktails (and their non-alcoholic mocktail versions) are welcome anywhere.

Which brings us back to our Mother’s Day Mocktail, the Elderflower Grapefruit Collins.

Elderflower Grapefruit Collins

Our recipe is modified from a Peak Beverage recipe you can find here.

The original version is a variation on a classic Tom Collins, which is a traditional cocktail that combines gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda. The recipe from Peak Beverage substitutes lime juice for the lemon, replaces the simple syrup with elderflower syrup, and drops the gin in favor of grapefruit juice. For the most part, these substitutions work to give a very floral, refreshing alcohol-free drink.

The problem, unfortunately, is that grapefruit juice can’t really replace the complexity and interesting taste levels of gin. The result is a drink that, while pleasant, lacks much depth. It’s not something you’d go on sipping and savoring like a true Tom Collins.

Our version makes a few changes to restore some of that depth and complexity.

Elderflower Grapefruit Collins

Ingredients

1.5 oz pink grapefruit juice

0.5 oz lime juice (preferable fresh-squeezed)

1.5 oz elderflower syrup

0.5 oz ginger beer

2 oz sparkling water

Garnish (A twist of orange or grapefruit will work, or you can jazz it up with colorful edible flowers. A sprig of rosemary or thyme or a spritz of rose water or orange blossom water will heighten the herbal and floral scents.)

Instructions

1.      Add grapefruit juice, lime juice, and elderflower syrup to a shaker and shake well.

2.      Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice.

3.      Top with ginger beer and sparkling water.

4.      Garnish with orange or grapefruit peel or use any of the alternative garnishes described above.

5.      Serve with a straw so your guests can blend the drink after they’ve enjoyed seeing the pleasant color gradient.

Happy Mother’s Day and World Cocktail Day!

Apéritifs

More than just a drink, an apéritif is a social event, an attitude, a time of day, and an integral part of French, Italian, British, and other cultures.

Read on, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the apéritif, a time-honored tradition that is starting to catch fire here in America.

What is an apéritif?

An apéritif (pronounced a-peh-ruh-TEEF) is a drink enjoyed before a meal in order to rouse the appetite. In fact, the name comes from the Latin word aperire, which means “to open”—the idea being that an apéritif opens the stomach and readies it to fully enjoy the food that follows.

A wide range of drinks can be enjoyed as apéritifs (apéros for short), but most of them have a few characteristics in common:

1.     Apéritifs tend to be light and refreshing. Champagne or sparkling wine, vermouth, fino, or Aperol spritz are popular and refreshing apéritifs.

2.     Apéritifs usually have a relatively low alcohol content. Recent trends have even included apéritifs with no alcohol at all.

3.     Apéritifs are usually dry rather than sweet. While sherry is a popular apéritif, it’s usually a dry sherry rather than something sweet like an oloroso. Sweet beverages are reserved for after the meal.

Often served with finger foods like crackers, olives, or cheese, apéritifs aren’t meant to make you feel full or tipsy. Remember, the idea is just to whet the appetite and get you ready to eat.

How are apéritifs and digestifs different?

The most obvious difference is that apéritifs are enjoyed before a meal while digestifs are taken after diners are done eating. Where apéritifs are thoughts to “open” the appetite, digestifs are intended to aid in digestion.

Digestifs characteristically have a higher alcohol content than apéritifs and are considerably stronger and/or sweeter. Cognac or brandy are popular digestifs, as are whiskey, scotch, and various dessert wines.

Why are apéritifs significant?

If you’ve spent time in Europe and seen how apéritifs are enjoyed there, you know that they’re much more than a drink; they’re part of a dining tradition that goes back farther than the ancient Greeks. Today, in Italy, the period between 6 pm and 9 pm is known as the “apéritivo hour” when bars, restaurants, and cafes serve light foods and drinks before patrons begin their main meal. (If you’re bothered by the fact that this so-called “hour” actually goes on for three hours or more, you’re missing the point!)

In cultures that have embraced apéritifs, the whole idea of dining is different from our American customs. In Paris, Madrid, London, or Rome, for example, meals aren’t meant to be rushed through. Dining is seen as an opportunity to enjoy the company of friends and family as well as great food and drink, and Europeans are in no hurry to end the meal quickly. In France, l’heure de l’apéro  (the apéro hour) signals the end of the work day, time to sit down and relax with good company, a few appetizers, and a cold apéritif to get the evening rolling.

It's easy to see why the apéritif is a treasured part of so many cultures.

Where does the aperitif come from?

Vermouth

Historically, the apéritif goes back thousands of years, but the history of the modern apéritif really began in 1786. That’s when an Italian distiller named Antonio Benedetto Carpano infused white wine with over 30 herbs and spices to create a drink he called vermouth (after the High German word wermut, meaning “wormwood”). Unlike similar concoctions that other distillers made, Carpano didn’t market his drink as a medicine. Instead, he used a high-quality wine and marketed it as a drink for the upper class. He began selling it from his shop directly opposite the Royal Palace in Turin. He even sent a crate of his creation to King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia who loved it so much that it was adopted as the official royal apéritif.

After that, the popularity of Carpano’s vermouth exploded. All over Italy and France, distillers began to experiment with their own versions using different local herbs and spices. Eventually, vermouth divided into two main types: French vermouth (which is white and dry) and Italian vermouth (which is red and sweet). Today, vermouth is a key ingredient in many cocktails including martinis, Manhattans, negronis, and Rob Roys, and Carpano is considered the father of the modern apéritif.

Quinquinas

Sixty years later, the development of modern apéritifs took another major turn.

At that time, France was fighting a war in North Africa, and thousands of French Foreign Legion soldiers were dying of malaria. It was well known that drinking quinine could help prevent malaria, but quinine tastes nasty. The French government offered a prize to anyone who could come up with the best wine-based drink that contained quinine, so they could get their soldiers to drink it.

That prize went to Joseph Dubonnet, a French chemist who invented an apéritif that not only masked the taste of quinine but actually tasted good! The apéritif would go on to become a favorite drink for many, including Queen Elizabeth II who enjoyed a Dubonnet with gin every day. Out of Dubonnet’s drink developed a whole family of apéritifs called “quinquinas.” Keep your eyes on this page, and soon we’ll feature a special quinquina apéritif, the Americano.

What are the most popular apéritifs?

The world of apéritifs has grown far beyond what we can cover in one article, but here’s an overview of some of the most popular apéritifs today.

Campari

This Italian apéritif has come to be so popular that you can recognize its signature bright red color on any bartender’s shelf. Although its ingredients have been a closely guarded secret since its invention in 1860, its distinctive bitter taste is well-known. It is a key component of many popular cocktails, including the negroni, Napolean, boulevardier, and Americano (which, as we said, we’ll be featuring soon).  If you aren’t accustomed to bitter drinks, it can be pretty strong taken straight, but mixing it with chilled soda can make it pleasantly palatable

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made in southern Spain. There are several different varieties, but the drier kinds like fino or manzanilla make the best apéritifs. Their various levels of flavor, from savory to herbaceous, are wonderful for waking up the tongue.

Port

Port is another fortified wine (traditionally from Portugal) and is often a sweet red dessert wine. However, white and tawny ports make excellent apéritifs..  

Lillet

Lillet is considered a quinquina since it originally contained quinine, but ever since it was reformulated in 1986, it’s not clear whether Lillet still has quinine in it. Still, it’s very popular and was a favorite of fictional character James Bond. This wine tastes fruity but not especially sweet, so it’s great for arousing your gustatory curiosity.

Aperol

Made by the same company that produces Campari, this Italian bittersweet liqueur is orange instead of red and is less bitter-tasting than its brother. It tastes more citrusy and has a lower alcohol content, so it arguably makes an even better apéritif. Aperol has been called “Campari with training wheels.” Mix it with Prosecco and club soda and you have yourself an Aperol spritz. Or check out Bacchus owner Kaleb Craft’s favorite Aperol cocktail, the Aperol enzoni.

Absinthe

Absinthe tastes like black licorice, so some people love it and some hate it.  Either way, it has a wild history that certainly makes it one of the most interesting apéritifs.

Sparkling Wine 

From kir royales to mimosas to spritzes to bellinis, the range of apéritifs you can make with sparkling wine or champagne is immense.  

Beer

If you’re a beer fan, there’s nothing wrong with choosing a light beer for your apéritif party. The acidity of the bubbles and the bitterness of hops can wake up the palate. Most dark beers are going to be overwhelming at the beginning of a meal, though, so steer away from anything malty, barrel-aged, or with a high alcohol content.

If you really want to turn heads with your apéritif choice, consider a beermosa or some other beer cocktail.

Whatever apéritif tickles your palate, we hope it will help bring you the joy of the the “apéritivo hour”—no matter how many hours it takes.

Saluti.