Whiskey Wednesday: Irish Time - Connemara

In an ideal world, I wouldn't wait until St. Patrick's Day to write about Irish Whiskey, because anytime is the right time for a good Irish, and most Irish Whiskey consumed on St. Patty's Day is drowned in coffee and cream anyway. But come on, if you're a serious whiskey drinker and it's St. Patrick's Day, you're not going to be pouring yourself a Scotch.

This St. Patrick's Day, I'm excited to try something from the newest and only independent distillery in Ireland: Cooley. Cooley was established in 1987 at a time when the only other Irish Whiskey distilleries (Midleton and Bushmills) were under common ownership, and since that time, it has proved a force for innovation in Irish Whiskey.

Among Cooley's most popular products is Connemara, a peated, single malt whiskey. Yes, you heard me correctly, a peated, single malt Irish Whiskey. You see, Ireland is swimming in peat, but unlike in Scotland, there was no surviving tradition of using peat to make Irish Whiskey. Connemara has set about to change all of that. They currently have three versions of their peated whiskey: one without an age statement ($40), a 12 year old ($85-$90) and a cask strength($55-$60). I tried the no age statement Connemara, which also was the least expensive of the three.

Tasting

Connemara, Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey, 40% alcohol.

Well, not surprisingly, Connemara tastes very much like a peated, single malt Scotch. Distinctively peaty, though not a monster; it's along the lines of a Caol Ila or less in terms of peating.

As I drink it though, I can't help but think that there is something missing. This is often true of peated whiskies from newer ventures, including McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt and Bruichladdich PC5. These distillers seem to think that, in terms of flavor, peat alone will carry the day, but the peat needs some character, even in heavily peated malts. I'm thinking of the sweetness of some Ardbegs, the intense smoke of Lagavulin or the medicinal qualities of Laphroaig. These whiskies are not just intensely peated, they have a more profound, more developed flavor; sometimes that flavor even intensifies the smokiness, but there is always more than just smoke.

With the Connemara, I kept sniffing and sipping and liking the initial burst of flavor, smoky but smooth, but then missing something, that extra burst of flavor or character that would provide the perfect balance and make this whiskey complete.

I think they are close to having a great whiskey here, but I'd like to see the good people of Cooley continue working it. Still, it makes a fine St. Patrick's Day drink, just don't pour it in your coffee.

Whiskey Wednesday Prelude: Octomore in LA

If you're a whiskey geek and particularly a peat head, you have no doubt been waiting for the arrival of Bruichladdich's new Octomore, famously touted as the peatiest Scotch ever made. I haven't seen it on any shelves in LA yet, but K&L Wines carries it in their Bay Area stores, and you can order it on-line either for home delivery or to be picked up at the Hollywood store. Unfortunately, the price tag on this five year old is a gasp inducing $200, but it's going fast, so if you want some, order right away.

Expect my review in a couple of weeks.

UPDATE: Alas, it appears that K&L is now out of stock. We will keep our eyes out and let you know when new Octomores are found in the LA area.

A New King of Dim Sum: King Hua

My family are dim sum fanatics, and we head to the San Gabriel Valley once or twice per month for a dim sum fix. For years, my favorite dim sum in the San Gabriel Valley has been the elegant Sea Harbor restaurant in Rosemead. Lately, we've also been spending some time at Elite Restaurant as well as our traditional cart-palace favorite, NBC. Lately though, I've yearned for something new, so we recently tried King Hua, a relatively new Alhambra dim sum restaurant with chefs who came from Sea Harbor.

Upon entering King Hua, it's impossible not to notice how much the place looks like Sea Harbor. It's an almost identically sized restaurant with an almost identical layout, so much so that one of my dining companions who I had recently taken to Sea Harbor asked me if this wasn't the same place.

The similarities don't end when you sit down. The menu looks almost exactly like the Sea Harbor menu. Not surprisingly, the food is also similar, though everything is just a little bit better. The flavors are a bit sharper, the shrimp a bit plumper, the sticky rice a bit more saturated in meat juice, the spare ribs a bit more garlicky. Shen jian bao (Shanghianese buns) are one of my favorite dishes anywhere, but King Hua's were especially good with a more flavorful porky filling than some other dim sum versions.

Given that King Hua was not only fabulous, but also a bit closer to me than Sea Harbor, I'm guessing this will enter the regular family dum sum rotation.

King Hua Restaurant, Inc.
2000 W. Main St. (between Fremont and Atlantic)
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 282-8833

Brandy Friday: California Cognac - Germain Robin

Did you know that deep in the wilds of Northern California, they are making Cognac? Well, it's not technically Cognac because it's not from Cognac, France, but in Mendocino County, Germain-Robin has been making their Alambic Brandy since the 1980s.

The origination of the distillery is the stuff of legend. In 1981, Ansley Coale picked up a couple of French hitchhikers off Highway 101 in the California wine country. One of the hitchikers was Hubert Germain-Robin, the scion of a long-time French Cognac making family which had been recently swallowed by industry giant Martell. Germain-Robin yearned to make brandy in the small, artisan tradition that seemed to have been all but abandoned in France.

The term "Alambic Brandy" which Germain-Robin had to get special permission to use, refers to the Alambic stills (pot stills) which are used to make the brandy. This differentiates it from the big California brandy producers (Gallo, Korbel, Christian Brothers, etc.) which use continuous stills.

Ansley Coale, the co-founder of Germain-Robin is a passionate advocate for his product who insists that it's better than any Cognac out there. Chief among the reasons is the use of delicate Pinot Noir grapes grown in Mendocino County and enjoyed by many wine lovers. In contrast, the grapes of Cognac are grown in bulk and aren't fine wine grapes. Germain-Robin landed on Pinot brandy after much experimentation. Cabernet Sauvignon apparently makes lousy brandy because of the tanins, but Coale likes Sauvignon Blanc and uses some Zinfandel.

Coale prides his operation on being 100% transparent and was happy to answer even the most probing questions. He says they use a "trivial amount" of caramel coloring (1/10 of 1 percent) to maintain consistence and occasionally a trivial amount of sugar syrup, depending on the batch. They never use boisé flavoring (added wood chips) and eschew over oaked brandies.

Germain-Robin makes a number of brandies; I sat down with the well-regarded XO to see how this California upstart stacks up to the Frenchies.


Tasting

Germain-Robin Alambic Brandy, Select Barrel XO, 40% alcohol ($100-115).

The XO is 80% pinot noir, with the remaining 20% being comprised of a number of varietals, including Semillion and the traditional, though underutilized Cognac grape Colombard.

This brandy is big, bold and complex. The nose is beautiful and dry with subtle grape notes. There is less sweetness than the Cognacs I've had, only a touch with some oak and a dry wine flavor. You can taste the pinot; the brandy tastes more like red wine and less like raisins than the Cognacs we have tasted. A beautiful drink that is certainly comparable to the best Cognacs I've tasted.

It's wonderful to see brandy of this quality being made with this much care right here in our home state. Cheers to Germain-Robin.

Next Friday: Back to Cognac

RIP Indo Cafe

It was only last week that I had to break the sad news of the demise of my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Fassica. Now, more bad news with the shuttering of Indo Cafe, a great West LA Indonesian spot with amazing lamb satay, great noodle dishes and one of my favorite fish cake dishes anywhere. Yet another great LA hole-in-the-wall lost. Another sad week.

Whiskey Wednesday: Who Owns My Whiskey? -- Beam Global

We are back, again, to our occasional series, Who Owns My Whiskey? Since we've been drinking a lot of Jim Beam products lately, we will take a look at Beam Global, which is part of Fortune Brands, a large Illinois-based company which has divisions specializing in golf equipment and home hardware as well as spirits.

The namesake whiskey distillery of Beam Global, of course, is Jim Beam. The Jim Beam distillery makes not only Jim Beam but also Knob Creek, Baker's, Booker's, Basil Hayden, Old Crow, Old Grand-dad, Jim Beam Rye, Old Overholt rye, and the new (rī)¹ (Rye One).

In addition to the Beam distillery, Beam Global owns the following major whiskey brands:

Bourbon
Marker's Mark

Scotch
Ardmore
Dalmore
Laphroaig
Teachers Blended Scotch

Canadian Whiskey
Canadian Club

Other Spirits
Courvoisier Cognac
Cruzan Rum
DeKuyper Schapps
Gilbey's Gin/Vodka
Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry
Sauza Tequila
Starbuck's Coffee Liqueur
Wolfschmidt Vodka

There are more spirits and whiskies, particularly a number of obscure Canadians, which I haven't listed here, but overall, Beam Global has an impressive portfolio. Even though they only have three single malt distilleries, they are very high quality, and Laphroiag and Dalmore have made huge in-roads in the US in the past few years, while Ardmore is just starting here. Jim Beam, itself, is of course the dominant player in Bourbon and Maker's is hugely popular among the premium Bourbon set.

Skip the Burger and Go Straight to the Cupcakes: Bouchees Bistro in Long Beach

Bouchees Bistro is a Father's Office style burger pub right next to the Blue Line stop on Long Beach Boulevard and Sixth Street in Long Beach.

I wasn't excited by the burger, which comes with your choice of upscale toppings and condiments. I did love their version of the now mandatory sweet potato fries which were nice and crispy and had the perfect sweet and salty contrast.

The secret of Bouchee's is that they have what may be, with the demise of Leda's, the best cupcakes in Los Angeles County. Far from the giant sugar bombs available at places like Crumbs and Sprinkles, Bouchees cupcakes are simple; moist flavorful cakes are topped with a lighter-than-air buttercream frosting that I just can't get enough of.

They make only one kind of cupcake per day, but each one I've had has been a gem. Strawberry had chunks of strawberry in the cake and a lovely, strawberry tinged buttercream. Mocha was probably my favorite with a great coffee flavor, but I also loved the Butterfinger which a sprinkling of the candy mixed in.

I'll eat the burgers, I like the fries and they also make a good homemade gelato (again, only one flavor per day), but these days, I just go to pick up cupcakes.


Bouchees Bistro
515 long beach blvd
long beach, CA 90802
(562) 951-8222