Holiday Spirits

Christmas is almost here, and I thought I would spend some time writing about a few spirits I think would either make great holiday gifts or beverages worth enjoying with family and friends during this holiday season.  Personally, I love brown spirits during the cold winter months.  Scotch, bourbon and cognac make wonderful gifts or are simply great as after dinner drinks.

One of my favorite new scotches is Kilchoman.  It is made in an Islay distillery that was established in 2005.  In fact, it was the first distillery built on Islay in 124 years.  Even though their whisky is young, it is of exceptional quality and impeccably balanced.  This whisky is so skillfully distilled and blended you would never know that the whisky in the malt is only 4 to 6 years old.  I am generally not an Islay fan because most are so smoke and peat driven they become too overbearing for my pallet. However, Kilchoman is so well balanced that the smoke or peat doesn’t dominate the flavor profile.  If you are seeking a more traditional Islay, I recommend Bruichladdich 12 year or Arbeg 10 year; they offer excellent cost to quality ratio. Continue reading Holiday Spirits

Summertime Sangria Recipe

This recipe comes to us from Iberian Wines importer Gary Kline.  He calls it his ‘kick ass’ sangria recipe…

  • 1 btl (750ml) Sierra de Viento Tempranillo
  • 1 oz Bacardi Limon Rum
  • 1 oz Gin (good stuff)
  • 1 oz Cointreau
  • 1 oz Cognac
  • 16 oz Orange Juice
  • 12 oz ginger ale
  • 1 Orange…Cut skin off 1 orange, leaving some flesh on the inner skin.  Cut orange skin into small squares and add to the sangria.  Squeeze the juice from the orange into the sangria.
  • 1 Lemon – treat same as the orange

Add an apple, and a few strawberries or any other seasonal fruit to the sangria, cutting them into small squares.

Mix, taste, and add more OJ or a bit of sugar for your taste and enjoy!

If you have any other questions about the recipe you can ask Gary for yourself when he stops by next Saturday the 18th from 3:30 to 7pm for the second part of our Grill & Chill event!