Today was distillates day! What are those, you ask? Distillation is the evaporation of an alcoholic beverage to distill alcohol. Also alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than alcohol and once distillation is done, leaves you with an alcohol level that is anywhere from 20-99%. Most distillates are clear when the distilling is done. The color comes (usually) from aging in oak barrels.
After a hardy breakfast burrito (filled with eggs, potatoes, chorizo and cheese), fruit, yogurt, granola and coffee, down we went to the Wine Cellar to learn about Cognac, Armagnac, Scotch, Whiskey, Grappa, Calvados, Tequilla and Absinthe.
Cognac is made from brandy, which is distilled from grapes. Cognac, like champagne, can only be called cognac if it comes from Cognac, France. Armagnac is also a brandy but comes from Gascony in France. It is similar in taste to cognac but is aged longer so a darker color develops. Have you ever seen VSOP on the back of any of these bottles? I have but never knew that it means "Very Special Old Pale". I would not have come up with that! We tasted both of these. To get past smelling only alcohol when drinking these, do not swirl your glass. Also, do not put the glass up to your nose, but rather open your mouth, hold the glass near your mouth and inhale with your mouth open. It gives a very distinct aroma. Both burn going down due to their high alcohol level. Next was Calvados, a spirit made from apples. It is made in Normandy where it is too cold to grow grapes. In Normandy they grow apples, raise cows and make wonderful cheeses! An Alambic still is used in the distillation of all three of these spirits. An alambic pot still is a BIG copper still used to heat the spirits so that they can separate the water from the alcohol portion of the grape. The water goes down the drain, the alcohol is collected in another container and then placed in oak barrels to age.
I had to write a paper and give a report on grappa. The Italians did not want to waste any portion of the grape skins/seeds/stems when making wine, so began using the "pomace" (grape skins, seeds and stems) to make a crude form of alcohol similar to the grain alcohol made in the Midwest decades ago. Then in the 1960's, one woman, whose company had been making grappa since 1897, decided grappa needed to be made from a single grape, rather than throwing all the leftovers into the "pot" so to speak. She did eventually gain followers and changed the history of grappa for Italy. If you haven't tried it for years, you might try it again, it has improved! We sampled a plain grappa and then a grappa mixed with camomile. Mixed with camomile it tasted great! Who'd a thought?! Debbie had a "grappa" story to tell us. She said she was on a wine tour in Napa/Sonoma when she was a wholesaler. After a particularly long day, her friend said, I need to stop by a friend's house to drop off some wine, then they were going to go out to dinner. What her friend did not tell her was that his friend was Frances Ford Coppola! She said he welcomed them and offered them some grappa he had just gotten. Of course, they sat down with him to give it a try. Soon Mr Coppola's mother came downstairs and apparently started "hitting hard" on the grappa. Mr Coppola took the bottle away from her, saying, "Please, mamma, slow down!" To which "mamma" replied, "Oh, Frankie, shut up, you've never been my favorite!" We had a good laugh over that!
Next Kim, our resident teacher talked about Scotch. Once a teacher, always a teacher--she had all of us gather in a circle and toss back and forth, a soft spikey type ball that lit up. When you caught the ball you had to read a quote she had handed out to everyone. Mine was a quote from Igor Stravinsky that read: "My God, so much I like to drink Scotch that sometimes I think my name is Igor Stra-whiskey!"
We all ended up laughing, so it was a good exercise. She must have been a very good teacher (besides being a very cool lady)! Most scotch comes from Scotland and is made using barley. Scotch is also often called whiskey or bourbon. Bourbon is made from corn and most of it is made in the United States. Corn is what gives it a sweeter taste than Scotch. Americans, Canadians and the Irish make Whiskey from almost any grain-wheat, rye and oats. They also blend grains to get particular flavors. We sampled McCallan Scotch from Scotland and a blended Scotch from Ireland. All interesting tastes but not my drink of choice!
True Tequilla comes from Mexico and is made with agave. It is also mashed, fermented and then distilled before being bottled. To be a pure Tequilla, it must be made from 100% agave and not blended. Also not my choice of beverage but I was brave and tried them all!
Last we tried Absinthe made from the bark of wormwood as well as anise and a few other things. You dilute it with water in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio. Tastes like black licorice.
After a lunch of fajitas (did they say this was a school that specialized in French and Italian cuisine?) we took a field trip to the Leopold Brothers Distillery just outside of Denver. They make FANTASTIC (I tried a little of everything they made and it was much better than I expected it to be, lol) whiskey, vodka, fruit liqours and fruited whiskey. They are a very small producer and so distill spirits the same way it was done 100 years ago, AND by the way, use an alambic pot still. I was certainly sold! Nice, nice people. Their fruit liqours (apple, orange, cherry, blackberry and cranberry) are just like drinking pure fruit, not too sweet, just fruity. Leopold Brothers has also won many awards and been written up in the Wall Street Journal as well as other publications related to their profession.
Then it was home (after a stop at Whole Foods). I baked a French Spice Cake tonight. It is a recipe that dates back to the 15th century. We'll see how people like it!
"Claret is liquor for boys, Port for men, but he who aspires to be hero must drink brandy." --Dr Johnson
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