Drink Magic Hat, grab your video camera and get creative.
Magic Hat’s hoping you’ll do just that with its contest Footage of Fools. The contest goes hand-in-hand with the winter 12-pack, Feast of Fools, featuring the Odd Notion Winter brew, Braggot, along with Circus Boy, # 9 and Roxy Rolles.
The company is asking people 21 years and older to create a video featuring their concept of the “dog days” of winter. The video must have a dog and Magic Hat in it in some form.
The winner of the contest will get a Canon HV10 HDV camcorder. You can watch the videos on YouTube.
Oh yeah, and about the beer: Braggot was the only one in the 12 pack I hadn’t tried. I have yet to find a Magic Hat beer that I won’t drink, and the Braggot was no exception. The beer, which is a mix of mead and ale, was a crisp surprise for a winter brew, but it’s a big winner and a reminder of sandy beaches and warmer months as winter nears.
I recently got the chance to try the new 2007 Fat Bastard Chardonnay. I hadn’t tried anything by Fat Bastard before, but I had heard a lot of good things from other folks about this brand. I think I had gotten deterred by the name, and thought it was kind of ostentatious and rude.
But after tasting it, I think the name somehow works because it more describes the playful side of the wine. It’s certainly not negative. This wine is so easy to drink. I was having some difficulty figuring out the specific fruit notes though- information that came with the bottle mentions acacia flower and a clean citrus finish. Although I admit I don’t know what acacia flower tastes like in the first place, I got the citrus taste, and it is clean and crisp, but not overboard. The clean taste was what made me go back for more.
This chardonnay also has the right amount of dryness to it. There’s a bite, sometimes a bit strong, but okay. The bouquet was flowery and fruity with a bit of vanilla. And although it’s billed as fullbodied, I think the weight of it was more on the light side, which is appealing when you are drinking it with a lighter cheese or anything non-meat (makes sense).
Now that I’ve gotten over my this wine-must-be-weird-because-of-its-name thing, I plan to try a lot more Fat Bastard white wines to compare with this gem.
The first time I was mesmerized by midori was when I was 16. It wasn’t from drinking it. I was at a family dinner and my older cousin ordered a midori sour.
I remember the vivid green and thought when I turn 21 I’m drinking one of those. And when I turned 21, it was one of the first drinks I ordered at the bar.
I’m no longer 21 though and drinking something that sweet doesn’t always agree with my tastebuds, but cut it with something tart and you have a winner.
My roommate and I decided to go girly for Saturday night this weekend, which meant drinking sweet stuff and martinis. Our favorite of the night: the illusion shaker.
It’s 2 oz of Midori; 1/2 oz of triple sec; 1/2 oz of vodka; 1 oz of lemon juice; and a splash of pinapple juice.
The lemon adds enough sour to keep the drink from being too sweet.
And for the experimental, try a Q.F shooter. I was a little hesitant at first of this shot with 2/3 midori and 1/3 Irish Cream liquor but it was quite tasty. The Irish Cream is a little stronger and the midori adds a sweet aftertaste.
Drinking Magners is one of my favorite things to do while sitting on the patio at the Peddler’s Daughter in Nashua, especially on a stifling hot day and after long day of work. The air is getting crisp at night again and having a Magners is an outstanding way to bring yourself back to earth.The traditional rules need not apply when drinking cider. Feel free to drink it with ice (of course you’ll be at risk of being called a girl if you’re a dude, it happens to me regularly) or by mixing it with Harp for a delicious Snakebite. Be careful though, cider’s are infamous for not tasting like there’s any alcohol in them at all, most will taste like apple juice, so you can really slam them down if you want. If you’re not familiar with the alcoholic effects that come with drinking cider, walk to the bar…or take a cab. Chances are, you’ll find yourself in a pickle after a while.
Why go to just a wine tasting or just a spirits tasting when you can have both at once?
While on vacation in Maine last week, I took advantage of one of the rainy days to visit a few vineyards. Wine tasting is always fun but Sweetgrass Farm Winery and Distillery upped the anti with their spirits.
The winery, located in Union, makes vermouth, gin, rum and apple brandy. They didn’t have any of the brandy when I was there but the rest all had clean tastes and smooth finishes.
They also make their own vanilla extract.
I ended up buying a bottle of that and the rum, which I plan to make dark and stormies with.
I was exploring the small downtown of Rangeley, Maine, on Route 4 recently. The trip was meant to be more outdoorsy (fishing, kayaking) but as it was raining and windy, spending time on the water was not desirable. So hanging around downtown it would be.
Rangeley has a quaint downtown. Too quaint for its own good it seems- there were several stores, including an old-time pharmacy, that appeared to be in working order, but were actually closed down, and it appeared that no one knew what to do with them beyond that. A book store, one bar, and a couple gift stores rounded out the street. One place caught my eye though-Wilderness Wines. Although the store was in a rather nondescript house, it had a colorful poster with its name on the front of the house, with “Home of specialty beers and ales” written on it. I was curious, especially since there wasn’t much else to see downtown.
Inside, the shop was tiny, enough for barely 10 shoppers to fit comfortably. It had white painted tin ceilings. Unfortunately, the service was not so good. I waited a while to cash out, due to the fact that the owner must have been on an extremely important phone call; there’s only so many times you can walk back and forth across a such a small room. On display there was a decent range of Scottish, British, and German beers; a lot I’ve never seen. It had a couple of bargain bins for wines, but the prices weren’t all that great. They also had a “sparkling” bin, “easily approachable” Chilean wines bin, a section of port, and dessert wines (I saw a few Muscatels in there; maybe another time.) There was also a good selection of reds.
The beer I picked up was organic, called Wiesen Edel-Weisse, and it’s a hefeweizen-style beer, one of my personal favorite types of beer. It’s Bavarian, produced by a brewing company founded in 1872. The owners are directly descended from the first, Georg Schneider. I found it kind of heavy, and the taste of it didn’t totally appeal to me. I like beers that are more spicy. There was a strong aftertaste as well that wasn’t entirely pleasant.
The shop was preparing for a move down the street to a bigger store, so maybe the new location will bring about an improvement in their friendliness.
The store is located at 2419 Main St., in Rangeley, Maine.
You can visit http://www.rangeleymaine.com/shops.shtml for a listing of other shops in the Rangeley area.
I can’t go too long without one of my favorite drinks.
OK, so one of my favorite drinks is milk.
I used to drink many a White Russian, which I loved for its creamy taste. Not too long ago at a bridal shower, I discovered the Sombrero, which is the same drink, but without the vodka. (Much yummier!)
On my recent vacation, the Sombrero was my drink of choice, as I bought a bottle of Kahlua for the beach house, and it quickly became what I ordered as my free drink in Atlantic City casinos. (It might be tasty, but it sure wasn’t lucky. I came back with a little less money in my wallet!)
As I don’t buy a lot of drinks that are non-beer for my home, I was happy to find out that Kahlua also sells the drink in a Ready-to-Go four-pack — appropriately named Kahlua with Milk. This one is much better than some of Kahlua’s other Ready-to-Go drinks I’ve had in the past, in my opinion.
So as I try to get away from ordering all my drinks in a bar and instead make more of them at home, what other milky mixed drinks should I look into? Maybe it’s not the typical fruity summer drink, but it’s something tasty to cool off with!
It’s Independence Day, a day of reflection, of appreciation and, of course, of beer drinking. So despite my having to work while most are outside firing up grills and gobbling down hot dogs, I’ll celebrate as well with a beer.
But it’s the Fourth of July, so it’s got to be a little special, right? OK, here is a beer I had to go to Pepperell, Mass., to get: Orlio Organic Seasonal IPA from Vermont. But really, this one is worth it, and worthy as well of honoring the Founding Fathers.
First, IPA, or India Pale Ale, is arguably the best suited to summer heat and humidity. Just take a look at its history: It was brewed with more hops and higher alcohol content in the mid-1700s to withstand the long journeys from England to India, where the British East India Company had set up shop and attracted troops and employees thirsty for suds. So if it could hold up in the hold, it could in that Igloo cooler next to your cousin Frank.
Second, this is no ordinary IPA. It’s a healthy, copper pour with a fragrant, but not perfumy, nose. As with all IPAs, this one is hoppy, but the secret here is balance. We’re not talking drama here. Orlio’s brewing process includes dry hopping, which means more hops are added to casked, unfiltered beer. The result is a full-flavored beer with a floral, slightly nutty bitterness, finishing with echoes of tangy citrus.
It is truly one of the freshest tasting beers I’ve tried, though whether this is “organic” – meaning the grains are grown without chemicals or pesticides – speaking, no one can be sure.
“The advantage to using organic ingredients in beer is a simple matter of creating continuity from farm to glass,” wrote Susan Evans, spokeswoman for the Orlio Organic Brewing Company in South Burlington, Vt.
Well, I like what’s in the glass.
Third, it’s from Vermont, which means it’s probably more American, and thus more appropriate for July 4 than that made-in-China flag on your stoop or those illegal fireworks you’ll shoot off later tonight.
There is one drawback: It’s not easy to find. There’s Ray’s Package Store in Pepperell center and Harrington Wine & Liquor in Chelmsford. Supposedly, Hannaford’s in Nashua and Hudson have the Orlio Common Ale, but I have yet to see it. If you want to taste it from the tap, try TJ Finley’s in Bayshore, N.Y.
One more thing: It’s not around for long. Being seasonal, once the leaves start falling, it goes into hibernation until next spring.
Evans says the company is trying to get people talking about Orlio as part of its plans to expand.
So find some Orlio IPA and celebrate our independence. Oh, and start talking because I want to see it at Peddler’s Daughter before next year’s fireworks.
I received two bottles of new Sam Adams craft beers to try out for its Beer Lover’s Choice contest. One was the Blackberry Witbier, and the other was the Coffee Stout. Beer drinkers can go online and vote for their favorite of the two, and the winner will be added to the 12-pack Brewmaster’s Collection. (Have you tasted the Irish Red Ale? That was last year’s winner.)
I tried Sample A, the witbier. I immediately noticed the aroma. For a second, I thought I was about to drink a wine! I could definitely notice the berry scents that came from my glass. I liked it, and I looked forward to the taste.
Unfortunately, when I did take my first sip, I felt the taste did not match the scent. I barely noticed a hint of berries; in fact, it tasted very plain to me. I drank a few more sips and decided I couldn’t finish the rest. However, my tasting partner didn’t mind it and finished it all.
I was on to Sample B, the coffee stout. I have to admit right off the bat that I am not a coffee drinker. I kept an open mind, though, as I went in for the taste. The aroma wasn’t as strong as Sample A’s, but it was noticeably a coffee drink! It even looked like coffee — it was almost pitch black.
But as I went in for the taste, it was just too much. It was so rich, a little too rich. It basically tasted like coffee that had been sitting around all day and someone poured in a little beer. One sip of this was enough for me; the same went for my friend!
So unfortunately, neither of these beers was a hit with me. (Am I allowed to vote for that Irish Red Ale? A six-pack of that in my fridge went pretty quickly this winter!) I was disappointed, as Sam Summer has been my drink of choice at the bar lately. Maybe next time the Beer Lover’s Choice contest will include something I’d want to drink more regularly!
Want to try out these beers? Check out the Sam Adams Web site in the coming weeks to see when tasting events are taking place.
Just like every other female on the planet, when I heard the Sex and the City movie was finally hitting the big screen I made plans with some of my closest girlfriends to celebrate by dressing up, drinking martinis and heading to the theater.
The biggest problem was finding the correct drink. Do you choose cosmos because they were made mainstream by the show or do you go for more edge?
I think it was summed up perfectly in the movie when Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha are sitting in the bar cosmos in hand. One of them says, “These are good. Why did we ever stop drinking them.” And another responds, “Because everyone else started.”
I’m glad we had already decided at home to go the trendier route with an apple-thyme martini. It sounds strange but tastes refreshing.
(Me and the roomies with the martinis)
They were a hit with everyone and the smell of the thyme reminded me of fresh baked pizza. A weird thought when you’re drinking something.
Here’s the recipe from the Food Network:
Ice 10 ounces vodka 6 ounces apple juice 1/4 cup thyme syrup, recipe follows 1 large apple, peeled 4 fresh thyme sprigs
Special equipment: melon baller
Chill the martini glasses.
Fill the shaker with ice. Combine the vodka, apple juice, and thyme syrup in a martini shaker. Shake for about 10 seconds. Divide between the 4 chilled martini glasses.
Use the melon baller to scoop out small balls of apple. Place 3 balls of apple and 1 sprig of thyme in each glass for garnish. Serve immediately.
Thyme Simple Syrup: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 5 large sprigs fresh thyme
In a saucepan combine sugar, water, and thyme over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and cool the syrup. Any extra cooled syrup can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
