Explore this new liqueur from Giffard made from a marriage of Giffard Triple Sec and 100% agave nectar. This creation by Bruno Giffard, Simon Difford and Nick Gillet is filled with characters of mandarines, clementines, honey and spices. Giffard Agave Sec is bottled at 40% ABV.

Here’s a refreshing and aromatic cocktail made from one of my favourite ingredients which is popularly used in chinese cuisine ….dried Wolfberry aka Goji! Apart from being a ’superfood’ packed with nutrients, wolfberry provides a sweet, fruity and aromatic character to culinary creations. This fruit is commonly used to be infused into chrysanthemum or chinese pu-er tea.

WOLFBERRY WHISPER

Bottling : 5.2.09

Barrel No. : 315,      Warehouse : H,      Rick: 28

Tasting Notes:

Pale light amberish colour with a tinge of green. An interesting nose with traces of warm spices, sweet vanilla and prominent tones of orange rind…(an almost ‘cognac’ like aroma). Take a sip and the bourbon opens up with a sweet start and then a rush of spices. It gently melts away to a herbaceous finish with a rather strong dose of bitterness in its aftertaste. At 49% ABV Blanton’s Silver is a decent bourbon with a rich and heavy character.

As a bartender, I’ve never really been a big fan of vodka, but it’s probably one of those spirits that I do use quite a fair bit in my drinks. Reason being that it’s a popular tipple today that drinkers prefer. However you’ll also notice a prominent revival in the enjoyment of gin, rum and tequila in some parts of the world lately.

Anyhow as mentioned, I’ve never been a big fan of vodka but I’ve got to give a thumbs up to the guys at Skyy Vodka for coming up with probably one of the best ‘flavoured’ vodka that you did get in the market…the Skyy Infusion Passion Fruit!

Unlike other flavoured vodka, the Skyy Infusion Passion Fruit is extremely refreshing and flavourful. It has a distinctive tropical aroma; lots of passion fruit and somewhat hints of ripe mangoes. On your first sip, you’ll notice a great deal of fresh passion fruit rushing to your palate. Sweet fruits with a well balanced acidity while maintaining a rich body true to the word ‘vodka’. You’ll find strong fresh flavours of passion fruit due to the fact the fruit is being infused into the vodka. Skyy Infusion Passion Fruit was launched in 2008 and is available at 70 proof. The Skyy Infusion range is also available in Grape, Pineapple, Cherry, Citrus and Raspberry

In 2009, I’ve intensified my search for great whiskies (Scottish single malt in particular) both for interest and work. I honestly have tasted quite a fair bit (although I don’t really think its enough!), and have placed labels such as Ardbeg, Springbank, Glenmorangie, Makers Mark, and Old Rip Van Winkle as personal favourites. In late 2008 I’ve discovered a great Scottish single malt that is truly unsual and has left a lasting impression on my palatte ever since….it’s the Glenmorangie Signet. Time over time, I’ve tasted this great whisky…and take my word for it… a wee dram is never enough! Here’s some information of the Glenmorangie Signet and my take on the whisky:

Glenmorangie Signet

The Signet is crafted from Glenmorangie’s archive of ancient whisky with the oldest dating back to 1974.The whiskies employed in its creation derives from aging in ex-bourbon barrels, olorosso sherry casks and virgin ’slow growth’ designer casks. Glenmorangie uses Single Estate Cadboll barley that is only produced two weeks in a year for this unique creation.

Tasting Notes

This is a seductive whisky with spices and dark chocolates that dominates the air. Have a quick whiff again and there’s soft underlying hints of caramel and rich mocha. The Signet is rich and dominating on the palate with a twist of orange rind, fresh espresso and warm spices (I suggest you enjoy this one neat). A velvety finish and an aftertaste of ground coffee.

* You’ll find that the Signet has a dominant chocolate, roasted coffee and bitter character mainly deriving from the usage of the ‘chocolate malt’ in its creation. The ‘chocolate malt’ is a highly roasted malt that is both rare and expensive which is only malted in small batches.

Artisanal and ’small batch’ handmade products are gaining more popularity behind the bar. The research done by many bartenders and ‘enthusiats’ into the historical background of cocktails and drinks has brought about a revival of age old cocktail/drinking practices and products. ‘ The Bitter Truth‘, a range of bitters/flavourings being produced by two members of the infamous Travelling Mixologist; Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauek is a testament to the great effort taken to revive age old practices.

A week ago, I had my introduction to this wonderful range of bitters/flavourings (pictured above) that has an interesting variety:

Grapefruit Bitters, Lemon Bitters, Orange Bitters, Celery Bitters, Aromatic Bitters,

Jerry Thomas ‘Own Decanter Bitters’, Orange Flower Water, Xocolatl Mole Bitters (chocolate & spices)

A personal favourite is the celery bitters and orange flower water with truly fresh flavours of both celery and orange peels and a well structured character. The Bitter Truth also produces sloeberry blue gin, 24 y/o Kentucky Straight Rye whisky and liqueurs (i.e. creme de violette and pimento dram).  The Pimento Dram (pictured below) liqueur (also a personal favourite) is an smooth addictive sip filled with aromatic spices mainly of clove and cinnamon.

Sainsbury’s UK has recently released its gin based drink named ‘Pitchers’. This has got drinks giant Diageo launching legal action against the UK’s supermarket giant for infringement of intellectual property rights. Notice several  ’similarity’ between Pimm’s (by Diageo) and Pitchers?

In July I’ll be showcasing some Malaysia inspired cocktails at Skybar, Kuala Lumpur. There’ll be some interesting cocktails made from local ingredients such as mangosteen, rambutans, lemongrass and spices ready to excite your taste buds! See you there!

By the way, we’ll also be setting up the Fluidalchemy official website soon..so do check back in September when we launch it…complete with resource page and industry news updates!

Cheers!

Pernod Ricard has recently announce the sale of its Wild Turkey bourbon portfolio to Gruppo Campari for a whopping US$ 575 million. This transaction includes American Honey liqueur, bourbon making facilities in Kentucky and bourbon collections. This comes as part of Pernod Ricard’s non-strategic plan for asset disposal. Other related brands that was previously disposed was Glendronach, Cruzan & Bisquit.

International Virtual Competition Cocktails

Seeking communion among professionals in bars around the world, we are pleased to present the 1st International Virtual Cocktails Competition EL JUEGO DE LA COPA (The game of the Cup)

Main purpose of the competition: develop and share our knowledge with the world. The idea is to share the culture of bartending. Make known what we do and know they do in other parts of the world.

Awards: publication and dissemination of our work not only in the blog http://eljuegodelacopa.blogspot.com/ but also in local and international media.

Scope of competition, it is global. Evaluating a winner by continent, and among them a champion. At the same time and in parallel to develop a competition in Argentina.

Classification: you have time until April 15, 2009. Twenty five (25) bartenders were selected for competition in Argentina. And 15 per continent (Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe and America). That\’s why Bartenders from Republica Argentina will have two evaluations, one for nacional competition (25 participants) and one for competition in the American continent (15 participants).

Mode competition: month to month Bartenders selected must submit a cocktail based on certain guidelines that will be published every month. The recipe shall be presented with a photograph of the cocktail and a photograph of the participant. They will be evaluated by professionals around the world, and that score will be added every month.

The information will be published soon by professionals who will judge, all members of severals Bartenders associations around the world.

Rating: The Cocktails were assessed as follows:
Taste: 30/100
Nose: 15/100
Visual: 15/100
Flavor: 30/100
Originality: 10/100

It will be very important the photography, and Garnish used.

Juror:
The Jury for Argentina are: Martin Hagberg – Matias Merlo – Pablo Ayos – Isla Ñ – Border Line

The International Jury to date are:
Dimitris Zappaz
Member of the Bartenders Association of Greece
Thorsten Schulz
Member of the Bartenders Association of Germany
Colombian Association of Bartenders
Freddy Nicolas Meirelles
Member of the Bartenders Association of Uruguay
Larry Naylor
Member of the Bartenders Association of New Zealand
Veer Gopal
President of the Bartenders Association of Mauritania
Ben Ng
Member of the Bartenders Association of Malaysia

Bases: Cocktail to create for the qualifying stage will be a long drink which should have a tea (infusion) and a syrup.

The recipe must be expressed in parts 10/10 and drops may be added and Dash.
The Garnish be edible.

The recipe must be submitted by mail as a Word file attachment. Accompanying it with a photo of the competitor and cocktails, in the same file. Such mail should be addressed to eljuegodelacopa@hotmail.com

Data must be: Participant Name – Address – Country – Continent – Mail Workplace – Position Name Cocktail – Ingredients – Glassware – Preparation Method Preparation