In retrospect this is a pretty straight-forward homemade cherry liqueur, but it was actually inspired by a drink from Normandy called pommeau. To make pommeau, Normans combine two parts fresh apple juice with one part Calvados (apple brandy), then age the resulting mixture in barrels for several months before bottling. You can purchase this traditional, aged pommeau at fine liquor stores, but fresh pommeau made with just-pressed cider and consumed without barrel-aging has become one of my favourite parts of the cider season.
This formula (two parts fresh juice, one part spirit made from that juice) occurs in a number of other places. Pineau de Charentes is another famous example, made with grape must and Cognac.
Some shameless self-promotion: if the type of information contained in this post interests you at all, I’m going to be hosting a tasting of sparkling wines on Thursday, February 11, as part of Little Brick’s Home School series.
I’ve been meaning to write about Austrian wine for some time. Years, actually: ever since I wrote this post on Heurigen, which are rural taverns that serve young wine and cider.
Last week the Elm wine group did a tasting of Grüner Veltliner, the national grape of Austria, so I thought I would finally put down some info on Austrian wine.
If you haven’t had Austrian wine before, you’re not a freak or a philistine: there isn’t a whole … Continue reading.
In the ancient world drinking vinegar was for the destitute and god-forsaken. In fact, it was the last thing Christ drank before he gave up the ghost.
So it is interesting that in North America, before we had access to cheap lemons and limes, we made several thirst-quenching drinks with vinegar. The most famous of these was probably switchel, a mixture of apple cider vinegar, molasses, and ginger, diluted with cold water. Switchel was often given to farmhands during the hot harvest season.
I know drinking vinegar sounds really weird, but with balancing sweetness and … Continue reading.
Aperitivo is the Italian word for aperitif. Ostensibly it is a drink taken before dinner.
In practice it is both drink and food. The fundamental idea of Italian aperitivo is that you order a drink and receive complimentary food. That food may be a fistful of olives, or it may be a no-kidding smorgasbord. Isn’t that amazing?
Let’s talk about drinks, then about food.
A Simple Bar for Aperitivo
Amari. If you can buy only one bottle of liqueur for aperitivo, it should be Campari. Campari is a bitter liqueur of about 25% ABV, flavoured with obscure herbs and fruit (eg chinotto, the myrtle-leaved orange tree). It was invented in Novara, Piedmont, by Gaspare Campari. It was first … Continue reading.
Rye whiskey makes the band sound better,
Makes your baby cuter,
Makes itself taste sweeter. Oh, boy!
-The Punch Brothers
I have friends that get mad when I say this, but Canadian whisky is not necessarily rye. Unlike, for instance, Bourbon, which has very specific requirements for the grain bill (at least 51% corn), Canadian whisky is not highly regulated. Actually you can read everything that the Food and Drug Regulations have to say about Canadian whisky in about 90 seconds, here. Basically to be called Canadian whisky the drink needs to be made of cereal grain (no mention of specific types like barley or rye), it needs to be at least 40% alcohol, and it needs to … Continue reading.
Spirits are distilled beverages, made by concentrating alcohol and other volatile, aromatic compounds to make heady, shelf-stable drinks.
The sheer number of different types of spirits available in most liquor stores can be confusing. What, for instance, is the difference between Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey? Or tequila and mezcal? Why is all Cognac brandy, but not all brandy Cognac? These questions can be answered by knowing a few things about how liquor is made.
All spirits can be classified using the following four pieces of information:
region of production;
ingredients, including the base fermentable material and any other flavourings like spices or caramel;
distillation details, including type of still used, number of distillations, and other nuances;
Amarone is the most fashionable Italian wine in North America. I’m in no way qualified to make such a sweeping statement, but I think the shelves of boutique wine shops offer ample testament. The wine is rich, concentrated, age-worthy, and expensive. It is by its very nature more pricey than most other wines: made from partially-dried grapes, it requires more kilograms of fruit to produce a litre of wine. The absolute cheapest bottles in Canada cost about $40, but most mid-level bottles sell for around $60. My first taste of Amarone was in the home of a self-impressed eye doctor. It was delicious.
Amarone is from Valpolicella,[1] a small region in northeast Italy, just outside Verona. Valpolicella is an … Continue reading.
I like lemons. Tarte au citron and lemon meringue pie are two of my favourite desserts. A quick squeeze of lemon adds friendly punch to everything from salads to roasted chickens and pots of tea.
However.
To me lemons are the epitome of our thoughtless dependence not just on imported ingredients, but imported cuisine. Every week of the year the happy yellow fruits are shipped by the ton into our city to spread the insidious influence of Mediterranean and Californian food.
What is frustrating about our lemon dependence is that our region and its local plants do “sour” very well. We are awash with tart, flavourful ingredients like … Continue reading.
This week I am giving a presentation at Eat Alberta about how to make cider. I’m not an expert by any leap of the imagination: I’ve only been making cider for three seasons, and truthfully everything (everything!) that I know I learned from Kevin and Chad and a handful of websites.
The preamble to my presentation is called “Why Cider Matters”, and I thought I’d share the gist of it with you.
Backyard cider-making is the single most exciting movement within our local food scene. A bold statement, I know. Of all the burgeoning activities related to food production – gardening, fishing, visiting farms, joining CSAs, foraging mushrooms, hunting – cider-making may be the most accessible, and the most … Continue reading.
Toddy, or hot toddy, is a Scots drink of whisky, sugar, and hot water.
I’ve read that the name refers to Tod’s Well, an ancient spring that once gave Edinburgh its water.[1] In other words it is yet another instance of the charming tradition of referring to whisky as water.[2]
Ancestral wisdom tells us that taking a mug of toddy in bed before sleep will cure many ailments.
The traditional toddy recipe I have calls for equal parts whisky and water. Modern recipes are more likely 2 parts whisky to 3 parts or more of water. They also typically use citrus and spices. Though not traditional, I think the citrus is essential, as the sweet, boozy cocktail absolutely … Continue reading.
The personal website of Edmonton chef Allan Suddaby
In retrospect this is a pretty straight-forward homemade cherry liqueur, but it was actually inspired by a drink from Normandy called pommeau. To make pommeau, Normans combine two parts fresh apple juice with one part Calvados (apple brandy), then age the resulting mixture in barrels for several months before bottling. You can purchase this traditional, aged pommeau at fine liquor stores, but fresh pommeau made with just-pressed cider and consumed without barrel-aging has become one of my favourite parts of the cider season.
Spirits are distilled beverages, made by concentrating alcohol and other volatile, aromatic compounds to make heady, shelf-stable drinks.
