THREE GREAT TASTINGS THIS WEEK:
Wednesday night: Pumpkin and Octoberfest Beers
Thursday night: Compass Box Scotch Whiskeys
Saturday afternoon: Italian Wines, Ron Atlantico Rum, and Olive Oils
Pumpkin and Octoberfest Beers
Wednesday, October 12th
A free tasting
6pm - 8pm
The fall season inevitably brings warm gatherings of friends and family. It's also the time of year when America and Germany's brewers release long-awaited winter seasonal beers. From craft beers aged on oak, to spice-infused ales, some of the finest beers in the world are just waiting to be savored by the fire with friends or while watching the game.
Two of the most popular seasonal style of beers are Pumpkin Beers and Octoberfest Beers.
Why is there only one time of year - as goblins, ghouls, and ghosts frolic on front lawns - when we embrace the fear? Whatever THE FEAR is that consumes you, embrace it, along with Pumpkin Beer! Anything with the scent of pumpkin or cinnamon just makes us want to grab one of our comfy sweaters and just give the season a giant bear hug. We recommend washing down fall's bounty (maple, cloves, allspice, oh my!) with a tasty and refreshing pumpkin beer.
In March 1872, over 60 years after the first Oktoberfest, Spaten brewer Josef Sedlmayr attempted to brew a beer similar to the then popular Vienna style lager. His creation, called Maerzen by some for the month it is brewed and Oktoberfest by others for the festival when it is tapped, was a hit. As everyone knows, Oktoberfest is far more than a beer style. Every year Munich devotes about three weeks from about mid-September to early October to this massive festival. The overall impression left by a good Oktoberfest beer should be malt but not in the nutty, bready way of a British Brown; after all this is still a German style lager. These beers lay down a broad but light malt character. With only enough hops to balance, the malty character is dominant in the aroma and flavor without being overwhelming. The body should be light brown with a white head.
Join us tomorrow night for a free tasting of new arrivals in the best of Pumpkin and Octoberfest brews!
THE EVENING'S SELECTIONS:
Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin (Brooklyn, NY)
Brooklyn Oktoberfest (Brooklyn, NY)
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Easton, PA)
Hofbrau Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
Spaten Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
Erdinger October Weizen (Erding, Germany)
Shiner Oktoberfest (Shiner, TX)
Shipyard Pumpkinhead (Portland, ME)
Buffalo Bills Pumpkin (Hayward, CA)
Ayinger Oktoberfest (Aying, Germany)
Thursday, October 13th
Compass Box Scotch Whiskeys
With special guest, Robin Robinson, Compass Box Ambassador
A free tasting
6pm - 8pm
CompassBox is one of the leading small producers in the world of Scotch whisky. Award-winning, forward-thinking and passionate, they produce a complete range of Scotch whisky styles. Their belief in using only the best quality oak casks for aging their whiskies sets CompassBox apart from others in Scotch whisky. This practice gives their whiskies a richness, sweetness and softness that is equally appealing to the Scotch novice as it is compelling to the connoisseur. Natural color and free from chill-filtering, these six whiskies offer you a complete spectrum of tastes.
Asyla Malt & Grain Whisky
$44.99 a bottle 750ml
An ideal aperitif whisky. A splash of water reveals delicate flavors of vanilla cream, light pear and sweet oakiness. The secret to this award-winning blend is the use of 100% first-fill American oak barrels, high proportion of malt and superb grain whisky. This whisky achieves a level of quality beyond what's typically thought possible in a Blended Scotch.
"BEST SCOTCH WHISKY OF THE YEAR" For ASYLA, Food & Wine Magazine
Orangerie Scotch Whisky Infusion
$44.99
An infusion made of smooth, sweet Scotch whisky infused with the hand-zested peel of Navalino oranges and subtle accents of Indonesian cassia bark and Sri Lankan cloves. "Orangerie...decidedly alluring." Florence Fabricant, The New York Times
Oak Cross Malt Whisky
$49.99 a bottle 750ml
Notes of clove spice and vanilla accent a sweet maltiness and subtle fruit flavor. Equally good as an aperitif or digestif, and lovely with a cheese course (served slightly diluted with cold spring water.) The spice and sweetness is imparted by a deft use of new French oak in the aging process, something uncommon in Scotch whisky. This is an excellent example of American ingenuity in a typically traditional product. "Editors Choice" Whisky Magazine, 2007
The Spice Tree Malt Whisky
$79.99 a bottle 750ml
"The original Spice Tree created quite a following due to its flavour profile, so after the Scotch Whisky Association forced us to stop making it, I was determined to find a more 'acceptable' way to achieve the same style," explains Compass Box founder John Glaser. "It's taken almost four years, but we've done it." The 2009 version of The Spice Tree is again a blended malt whisky from northern Highland distilleries, most notably Clynelish, and according to a Compass Box spokesman, "The whiskies are all a minimum of ten years old, primarily from first-fill American oak casks, before being re-racked into bespoke barrels with heavily toasted new French oak heads for up to two additional years." The result is a whisky which offers lively spice notes on the nose, apples and pears, vanilla and mild ginger. The palate is spicy and malty, with fresh oak, cloves and nutmeg. The finish is medium in length, with freshly-cut logs, drying to dark chocolate.
Read about the story here
The Peat Monster Malt Whisky
$55.99 a bottle 750ml
$149.99 a 1.75L (Limited)
For those who love big, rich smoky-peaty malt whiskies, this is your whisky. Peat Monster combines very smoky and peaty whiskies from the island of Islay with rich, medium-peated Speyside whisky. The result is a balanced, very drinkable peaty malt.
"The Peat Monster...a bullish classic." Details Magazine
Hedonism Grain Whisky
$89.99 a bottle 750ml (Limited)
Hedonism is our seminal and award winning Scotch grain whisky. We bottle it once or twice per year, depending on our ability to source the quality of casks we require typically over 20 years in age. Rare and old, it's something special for the collector or the new whisky enthusiast.
Winner - "World's Best Grain Whisky" World Whiskies Awards, 2008
about John Glaser:
John Glaser is the founder and whisky maker of Compass Box. Formerly a Johnnie Walker Global Marketing Director, John also spent several years in the wine industry in both America and France. Scotch whisky is a passion for John. In 2000, this passion led him to leave Johnnie Walker and start Compass Box from the kitchen of his west London home. His idea was simple: create whiskies of unassailable high quality in a style that is more in line with the tastes of today. From the beginning, his vision has been to create one of Scotland's finest and most exciting whisky companies, re-establishing the standards for quality and style in the industry.
Compass Box has won the "Innovator of the Year Award" four times from Whisky Magazine, an unprecedented feat, and the "Pioneer of the Year Award" twice from the Malt Advocate. Compass Box whiskies have been awarded over 60 medals and prizes in its short history. John, an American, has lived in London since 1998. He resides with his wife and two young boys in Kew, on the Thames River.
quotes about John Glaser:
"The enfant terrible of the whisky world." Michael Jackson
"The whisky industry's free thinker." Whisky Magazine (UK)
"John Glaser is an artist." Saveur Magazine (US)
"A new star among the whisky gods." Stern (Germany)
Saturday, October 15th
New Arrivals from Italy
Ron Atlantico Rum
Giangrandi Olive Oils
A free tasting
12pm - 4pm
THE WINES:
2009 St Michael Eppen Pinot Grigio (Alto Adige)
2010 La Cadalora Traminer Aromatico (Trentino)
2009 Centonze Nero d'Avola (Sicily)
2009 Mori Chianti (Tuscanny)
2008 Santadi Grotta Rossa (Sicily)
2005 Seghesio Barolo (Piedmont)
