First we covered Gin and Rum. Our third base liquor is Brandy. Brandy is distilled wine, i.e. brandy comes from grapes and can be produced anywhere in the world where grapes are grown. Some of the best brandies in the world are made right here in the USA, France and Greece.

American manufacturers usually start out with distilled grape wine that's close to 170 proof - and they bring this value down to around 102 by adding water. Then the product is aged in white oak barrels, and caramel is added to increase the color. Brandy must be aged a minimum of two years, but is more commonly aged from three to eight.

Brandy may also be produced from wine made of other fruits beside grapes. You can have cherry brandy, apple brandy (very popular), blackberry brandy etc. If it's a fruit, you can make brandy from it. Then you also have fruit flavored brandies, which differ from fruit brandies in that the former is flavored with the stated fruit in the bottle.

Cognac is nothing but fine, french brandy. However not all brandy is cognac. Huh?

Read the rest of this entry »

So far we've covered Gin, Rum & Brandy. Next up is Vodka ...

Vodka’s [wódka] first written record dates to the early 15^th century in Poland and about the same time, in Russia, a group of monks returned from Italy (always with these monks and alcohol) with secrets of distillation that allowed them to begin producing a similar ‘water of life’ from which the term ‘vodka’, a diminutive of ‘voda’ (water), derives. Some cite the skimming of lighter and pure alcohols off of vats of frozen wine in the 9^th (!) century as the first incidence of vodka production. As far as whether the Poles or Russians first developed what we think of as vodka today, I’ll let them sort it out; they’ve been fighting for centuries anyways. If you happen to be a Pole or Russian, maybe you can set the record straight in the comments section ….

For many years vodka was used primarily as a medicinal substance and was often, and still is, infused with many herbals, fruits, and botanicals; especially in Poland. Several traditional flavors you’ll find in vodka’s native lands include:
Read the rest of this entry »

..what's a Sopranos addict to do to fill that wide gaping void in your life every Sunday night from 9 - 10pm? Here's one suggestion - pour yourself a Negroni and light up a Boss Sopranos Cigar from CAO International.

The Sopranos Edition family comprises three sizes, each available in boxes of 20: Associate, at 5 x 52 (standard robusto); Soldier, at 6 x 54 (toro); and Boss at 7 x 56 (double corona). In my opinion the jewel of the trio is the Boss - I've had the associate and soldier and like Bevilaqua and Big Pussy, these ones are better laid to rest.
Read the rest of this entry »

At the Casoni Bar in Florence, Italy around the 1920s - Count Camillo Negroni asked his bartender to add gin (our kind of guy) to the most popular drink at that time, the Americano (1 oz Vermouth + 2 oz Campari). The Count reportedly wanted something with a little more kick. Like all wise bartenders, his reached for a bottle of gin and made history.

A Negroni is one part each of gin, red vermouth and Campari. It's traditionally served on the rocks in a tall glass, but it's much better prepared in a martini fashion.

The Negroni is a wonderfully complex drink that will knock you down if you try to have more than 3. It's an all out slugfest from the botanicals in the gin vs the spicy
Read the rest of this entry »

Zyr Vodka

Vodka is probably the most disliked or hated spirit by serious mixologists - myself included. Then there are some mixologists who like vodka but they appear to be in the minority.

Perhaps Zyr russian vodka will make you reconsider vodka as a spirit worth taking seriously and not "Gin without pants" as Gabe over at Cocktailnerd says. I received a review sample of Zyr vodka a short while ago and let me tell you this - Zyr Vodka is one damn fine vodka.

Zyr [ZEER] Vodka is made from a unique combination of wheat and rye which comes packaged in a distinctive light blue bottle. What made me sit up and take notice was the rye, as gin happens to be my overall favorite base spirit.

The Rye imparts a somewhat sweet and spicy profile to the wheat vodka which makes for a spirit that is better off used for sipping vs mixing in a cocktail - we've got Smirnoff for that. Zyr vodka is produced in an area outside of Moscow and I was pleased to learn that Zyr oversees the entire chain of supply from harvesting the grain to bottling. That's dedication, people.

Personally, I enjoyed Zyr vodka the most by sipping it neat - ice cold. I also tried it in a cocktail and it blended effortlessly, disappearing into the background, like a really great vodka should. It's almost as if it wasn't there, which is exactly how the base liquor in a well crafted cocktail should be. Zyr has received nods from the Robb Report, Playboy and the Wine Enthusiast to name a few.

Best enjoyed ice cold, on the rocks. Sweet and spicy. Please don't waste this vodka on people you hate - this is delicious vodka. MSRP of $32 for a 750 ml bottle.

Distribution for Zyr Vodka appears to be mostly on the East coast at the moment, but if you have the opportunity to sample some, come back and tell us about it in the comments.

In case you haven't heard by now, but I'm sure you soon will - Starbucks has released a trio of coffee flavored energy drinks called Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Drinks. The flavors are French Vanilla, Mocha and Coffee and the initial response has been overall very favorable. We recently had the opportunity to sample the entire trio and let me just tell you this, these drinks are very delicious ...

I'm surprised Starbucks waited this long to come out with a coffee based energy drink - this would seem like a no brainer especially given the success of other energy drinks out there such as Red Bull, Rockstar etc. The Doubleshot Energy drinks add ginseng, guarana and vitamins into the mix for a smooth, milky, sweet taste. My favorite was probably the Mocha, but again the Vanilla and Coffee are really good.

So in honor of a job well done, A Grandiose Blog has created a cocktail in honor of the new Starbucks Doubleshot Energy line - the Starbucks Doubleshot Cocktail.

• 2 oz Starbucks Doubleshot Energy Drink (coffee flavor)

• 1.5 oz Vodka (we used Zyr Vodka)

• 1 oz Milk (1% lowfat milk - hey I'm influenced by the vitamins and ginseng)

• 1/2 oz Grenadine

Shake all ingredients well in a Boston shaker filled with ice. Strain into a martini glass.