22 Oct
Ethanol is part of our every day lives. It’s mixed in with gasoline, used for cleaning, and of course, consumed in copious amounts. For those of us in the bar world, we know it a bit more intimately than others. As we delve ever deeper into the world of flavor and the science there of, let’s take a moment to recognize the amazing properties of this little cluster of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.
31 Aug
The column still is a pretty tricky device. A basic understanding of how it works is relatively easy to obtain. As I learned in Puerto Rico, even a slightly more technical understanding of the mechanics of one can be pretty elusive. We got a crash course from Don Q’s Liza Cordero, from which I walked away with many answers but a lot more questions. One thing I feel pretty confident about is an understanding of what some key differences are between the process of distillation via a column versus a pot still.
18 Jul
I learned a lot about Canadian Whiskey on our trip to Canadian Club. Some from our gracious host, and some supplementally from the ever-wise Mark Gruber. For me, one of the most distinctive things about the process is how the whiskey is aged.
17 Jul
Most people who know me are well aware that I’m a pretty huge dork. In this post I’ll be delving into one of my favorite dorky pursuits and breaking you all off a little bit of flavor science. Many of you who were along for the ride in France may have heard me rambling about this subject, but it’s time to learn a little bit about Anethole.
5 Jul
I can pinpoint the exact moment when I decided my blog topic reflecting our adventures of this trip. I’ve been on many distillery visits before, and I’m beginning to know the lay of the land pretty well. Any among us who are interested enough to read a detailed blog entry on the production of cognac can probably say the same. We can all spot a column still from a mile away, and have laid eyes on many a mashing tank.
When we entered the Frapin facility I had no idea what I was looking at. The closest thing to it I’d ever seen was a dressed up race car engine, except this was several times larger than the race car itself.
We’ll return to our mystery equipment in just a moment, but it was then I realized that cognac production differed from all other processes I had ever seen. And not just at points, but at every single step of the way. Let’s start at the beginning.
14 Oct
Hey folks, here are some very belated pics from our Kentucky trip! Pics from the chefs garden are soon to come…
27 Sep
Sorry about the delay in the photos, but I’ve had a lot going on and I’m just now getting caught back up. These final three sets of images round out our European experience:
The Glenmorangie House:
Edinburgh Scotland:
London:
31 Aug
Here are some snaps from the Glenmo Distillery. Make sure to check out the ones of Ubi and Lisa in a barrel.
I also got a chance to take a quick picture of our fearless leader, Bridget Albert:
24 Aug
For those of you who weren’t able to join us on our journey, we took a cruse across Loch Ness, high-fived Nessie, and then toured the ruins of Urquhart castle. The castle dates back to the 13th century, and was one of the largest castles in medieval Scotland. Click here to check out some more pictures of the lake and the ruins.
24 Aug
Driving through the Scottish countryside, I was awestruck. Never before have I been to a place with such geographic or meteorological dynamism. I took a series of pictures with nearly identical perspectives, each revealing what seems to be almost a different place and time. Many of the photos in this series were taken only a few minutes apart, yet they look as though they span a great deal of time and distance.
Here is a link to the entire series of photos.
