Make Your Own Bourbon: Part 3 – Midnight Hobo
Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present to you...Midnight Hobo. It's been a long and lonesome road, but my bourbon journey is finally complete. Actually it was complete awhile ago, but I've only recently been able to sit down with some good fellows (friends, not mobsters) and get an unbiased impression of my booze creation. The name is inspired by my favorite webcomic of all time: Questionable Content (which does not need a link because it gets 1 billion hits a day but YOU should go there anyway because it's brilliant.) In said comic the voluptuous and sometimes-secretly-southern Faye requests a cheap, manly bourbon, a harsh bourbon, the kind of bourbon that knocks your socks off and then puts them back on for you again - Midnight Hobo. I first read this comic back in 2004 and we are just now getting a peek at the bottle - not quite the way I pictured it but I'm ok with that.
I know it doesn't look it, but this was VERY exciting for me.
The bottling took place about 7 weeks after our second post. Now, that isn't an exact time for aging your bourbon in a 1 litre casks - it's just when I felt mine was done. If you want to try this I suggest tasting your bourbon at least once every few days because with such a small cask it can get past it's prime very quickly. At first I thought I might have let it age a little bit too long because right out of the cask it tasted incredibly harsh, but after repeated tastings I think 7 weeks was just about right for me. The "angels share" (alcohol evaporation) wasn't too bad either. I started out with 1 litre of liquid and ended up with just enough to fill a 750ml bottle. I'm pretty happy with that.
Both distinctive AND classy.
So what does it taste like? Since I can't actually give you a taste I have to compare it to the other whiskeys I have on hand. I tried to pattern my recipe at least somewhat after Maker's Mark because it's one of my favorite brands. The level of flavor is actually quite similar to Maker's 46 (which is aged longer than the original with charred oak staves) but what it really reminds me of is a stronger and more flavorful Evan Williams. I'm actually quite happy with that. Evan Williams, in my opinion, betters a lot of more expensive brands and I think Midnight Hobo is actually a step above E.W. Yes, I completely and totally biased in this assessment, but some impartial parties who tried it agreed with my conclusions...to a point. The consensus from our little tasting was that Midnight Hobo is a bit harsh (something you'd want to drink with a bit of water), but that it was packed with flavor. It doesn't work nearly as well as Evan Williams as a mixing whiskey but was the clear choice for something you'd sit down, enjoy and contemplate. Since it's something like 100 proof, I'm willing to take the harsh statement, but I still think it works great in a Manhattan.
This was an awesome experience and something I'll definitely try again. I think the total cost for this project was somewhere in the neighborhood of $60. But who can put a price on having a whiskey you designed and aged yourself sitting on your bar? I highly recommend designing your label and giving it a name like I did - it really completes the experience. A special thanks goes out to the guys over at the homedistiller.org forums who helped with the recipe and gave us so many great comments on all our posts. If you're looking for a gift for the Whiskey lover in your life a barrel like the one we used from Oak Barrels LTD. is a great idea. Next time: Tequila!
Ten points to the first man who can name that Hobo.
Vodka 14 Review
This shit grows on trees. I'm totally serial.
Most people associate Vodka with Russia and to a lesser extend Poland. But in recent years vodka production has spread all over the world. Now we have vodka coming out of just about every country and even a number of these here United States. Vodka 14 is a "USDA Certified Organic" potato and rye grain vodka made in the mountains of Colorado with a strong bent toward what they call "drinking responsibly". By responsible drinking they don't mean handing your keys to the ugliest girl in the bar so you can make damn sure you'll call a cab. They mean that eco-friendly-hippy-tree-hugging kind of responsibility.
Vodka 14 is recyclable. Yeah, "so are most glass bottles", right? Wrong, punk. Vodka 14 is ENTIRELY recyclable. It has no stickers on the bottle displaying it's label. Instead the logo is actually made from a glaze which is baked on in a ceramic oven. The cork is recyclable. The freaking seal on the bottle is even made of a special kind of plastic just so you can be sure every damn piece of the package you throw out is bio-degradable.
None of that matters. Why? Because that's not why I like Vodka 14 and my entirely subjective opinion is all that matters. I am not Vodka 14's target market. I really don't care about whether a company is eco-friendly or profiting off the clubbing of baby seals. I buy my vodka based on two factors: price and taste. While Vodka 14 is more expensive than some big corporate brands like Smirnoff (who is practically giving their booze away at this point), at $30 it's pretty close in price to other large brands like Absolute and Grey Goose and in my opinion, it also tastes better.
On the initial sip, Vodka 14 has a silky and smooth texture that makes it incredibly easy to drink. After the first few drinks, a delightfully subtle sweetness began to unravel upon my palate. Even neat, this vodka has an outstanding flavor that easily surpasses many of it's competitors. It works great as a mixer as well. The Vodka Martini I mixed up showed Vodka 14 was not only a great stand-alone spirit, but that it mixed very well in cocktails.
As an eco-friendly spirit Vodka 14 has some very specific selling points for a very specific customer base. In a truly over-saturated vodka market Vodka 14 is trying to distinguish itself not only by whats in the bottle but with what goes into the bottle and also what happens to the bottle when you're done. But even if you're not part of that target market you'll still like Vodka 14 because it's just a solid vodka with it's own unique character. So, if you're tired of your go-to vodka, give Vodka 14 a shot. It's a high quality spirit for a relatively-reasonable price, and if it's not available at your local liquor store, order some online at vodka14.com
Grade: 4/5 Price: $30
Captain Morgan Tattoo – Rum Review
The Captain. He hung on your dorm room wall for four solid years promoting his tasty low-cost rum to the college masses. It's a good rum. A wholesome rum. The kind of rum you can take home to your alcoholic mother. But, you see, one day The Captain saw you had another booze on your wall; a younger booze, a prettier booze with a tight ass that you gave an affectionate nickname to and, well, The Captain got jealous...
When I first started drinking I looked upon this bottle longingly. It was the mystery of what might be contained within that drew me in. The old Captain that I loved had a new style and I couldn't wait to try it. Little did I know I already had tried it in a similarly black bottle except this one had a deer on it.
Alright, enough beating around the bush; I'm just going to say it. Captain Morgan totally ripped off Jaegermeister with this one and they did it in a bad way. Jaeger isn't exactly the kind of high class liquor you sip from a snifter but, damn could The Captain have gone any more wrong with this one? It's like they took all of the sweet herbal qualities out of Jaeger, while somehow leaving the bitter and then slapped the kind of bullshit name four Ad-Men from the 80's would dream up. OH! And are those quasi-tribal-tatts on the bottle? Why yes they are! Are their any lamer tattoos in existence? No, sir, there are not.
In my head, I imagine the original pitch for Captian Morgan Tattoo went something like this:
Smee - "Mr. President, I have some bad news, the kids aren't drinking as much Captain Morgan as they used to.
The Cap - "Shiver me fuckin' timbers, my profits be dwindlin! What be the problem laddy?"
Smee - "Tis a new whore at bay by the name of Jaeger; they say she does things with her one good arm that would make a man forget that thing on her neck"
The Cap - "Aye, there be only one thing to do. Steal me some Jaeger, add some of me rum to it and call it "Tattoo." That's what all the kiddies be drinkin' these days, aye?"
Smee - Arrrrr Captain.
The Cap - Arrrrr
Smee - Arrrrr
Yep, I bet that's exactly how it went. The thing is, I don't really mind rip-offs. If you can take something I like and make it better and sell it cheaper then I will buy it. I'm all for naked cut-throat capitalism. But if you're gonna rip off an established brand at least do it well. This is further proof that Captain Morgan has no real friends. Real friends don't let their friends release blatant rip-offs unless they're at least as good as the original.
F+/ $18 / Don't buy this unless you're a consumer-whore like me who just can't resist.
Booze Reviews: J. Witty Spirits – Chamomile Liqueur
Your first response upon hearing the words "Chamomile Liqueur" is probably a lot like mine, namely: "So THAT'S why grandma was always so much fun after her evening tea." No? Not really? Well maybe I just had a more interesting childhood than you did. Or maybe you need to take a second look at the forbidden pleasures of chamomile contained within J.Witty Spirits' Organic Chamomile Liqueur.
Show em' how it's done, Nana.
If I was going to attempt to make a liqueur of my own at home I think it would taste a lot like this. Something you don't know about me is that from time to time I really enjoy a nice smoke. But not just any smoke, it's got to be a clove cigarette (a vice I picked up in college.) That was the first thing that came to mind with my first taste of J. Witty's Chamomile liqueur. Somehow these flavors just make me feel at home. Not just in the strange drinking-with-grandma-way. It's the fact that my mother used to fill our home with these smells around holidays. All of these things have given me a strong affinity for any kind of spiced spirit and this one really hit the spot.
Maybe the best thing I can say is it doesn't taste like sugared-up-tea and vodka. This is not a boutique version of the now ubiquitous sweet tea vodka; this is an entirely new liqueur that combines chamomile flowers with herbs, spices, agave nectar and cane juice. From start to finish it's made in small batches with entirely organic ingredients. If I had the time (or could steal the recipe) this is exactly what I'd be making in my bathtub right now.
WE'RE GONNA BE RICH I TELL YA!
So, yeah, I like this one quite a bit. It's great by itself and it stands up well in a cocktail. My personal favorite was the Cherry Blossom which combines J.Witty, Gold Rum, Cherry Heering and Peychaud's bitters. It can be found among the 30-or-so original recipes on their website. The only bad thing about J.Witty is that since it's a small company their products aren't yet available on too many shelves (unless you're in California or Oregon). Luckily you can purchase it online and if you own a liquor shop or have the ear of someone who does, it's available for shipping to most states. Give it a shot if you get a chance. I don't think you'll be dissapointed...and if you are get ahold of me. I'll be happy to dispose of it for you.
Our Grade: ***** (Highest Recommendation) Price: $24 www.jwittyspirits.com
Reviews: U’Luvka Vodka
The story goes that Sigismund got tired of the low class hooch his barmaids were slinging and told his cheif alchemist, Sendivogius, to make a vodka that would be slightly less vomit-inducing. The resulting recipe may even have saved his life! Now maybe, just this one time, an alchemist actually made something useful, but my bet is that Siggy was a raging alcoholic.
This might actually happen...
Note: My bottle spent just a bit too much time in the cold and in the middle of the night the cap actually blew off. Not to say that this is a common occurrence, but you might not want to stare directly at the bottle.
U'Luvka's got serious style. Coming in at around $60 a bottle, it ought to. My personal buying habits tend more toward "bang for the buck" brands, but if I was going to splurge on a vodka, U'Luvka would be near the top of my list. Sure the bottle looks like...something reproductive...but it's also going to stand out on just about any bar in the world. What's inside is also 1st class. The vodka itself is completely smooth, no burn, and it actually has flavor to it. These days most vodkas, even high-end brands, are distilled to death and loose all their flavor as a result. Bottom line: If you can afford it, you won't be disappointed.
Our Grade: **** (Highly Recommended) Price: $60 www.uluvka.com
Reviews: SNAP (and a second look at ROOT)
Finding a category for spirits like ROOT and SNAP is difficult. They're closest to flavored rums since they are distilled from sugar cane, not aged, and then flavored after distillation with herbs and spices (and molasses in Snap's case). Art in the Age, it seems, would like them to be viewed as entirely original, stand-alone spirits. They are very nice products, but until AITA starts distilling from something other than cane sugar and/or aging they are going to remain flavored neutral spirits in my book.
This is my second time taking ROOT for a spin and I'm significantly more impressed with it than I was last time I reviewed it. I'm a BIG root beer fan. I collect bottles from around the world and it is my soft drink of choice. ROOT still doesn't live up to my high expectations for what the ultimate root beer flavored booze should taste like, but they seem to have remedied the overpowering smoked birch and sassafras flavor in the last sample I got which makes it much more enjoyable. Before I would have said ROOT was at a 2 out of 5 star rating whereas now I would upgrade it to a cautionary 3 to 3 1/2 stars . (Cautionary because it still ain't rootbeer and it still is $35 a bottle)
SNAP is inspired by old fashioned ginger snap cookies. The kind your great grandmother would have made with molasses and dirt AND YOU WOULD'VE EATEN IT GLADLY! Actually, a ginger snap cookies is almost exactly what SNAP tastes like. It's uncanny how much it smells like fresh ginger snaps. The taste is pleasant but not too sweet. I think this one has some cocktail potential but it's going to have a hard time dethroning Domaine de Canton on most bars. They're different animals, but a similar product nonetheless.
Our Ratings - SNAP: *** (Recommended) ROOT: ***1/2 (Slightly More Recommended - Much better than last time) Price: around $35 each. www.artintheage.com
Reviews: Forty Creek Barrel Select
John K. Hall: Wine, Whisky and Mullet Enthusiast.
Forty Creek Whisky is the brainchild of John K. Hall who has been creating wine for over 30 years. In 1992 he decided to try his hand at making a brand new Canadian Whisky. Instead of simply following the well trod path of other small batch whisky makers, he fell back on his wine making skills. His crazy idea was to age barley, corn, and rye whiskies separately in whichever way was best for that particular grain. For Forty Creek he aged each whisky in a separate barrel with a different level of char for between 6 -10 years. After that John blended the results and then finished the aging in his own sherry casks. What he's given the world is a well aged whisky that really tastes like nothing else in it's class.
There are 6 of these videos...I recommend blowing the next 20 minutes of your life on them.
I think I was so thrown by Forty Creek in the beginning because it offers flavors that I've never tasted in a whisky before. I went into it expecting something closer to a bourbon. Forty Creek's flavor has Bourbon's vanilla, oak and spice, but also includes apricot, honey, and (most surprisingly) walnuts. The entire thing is wonderfully smooth and it even plays nice in a cocktail as you've seen from this previous post.
As I said before, I'm really excited now to see what else Canada has to offer in the way of whisky. I'm almost sad that I started with what some say is the best Canada has to offer. It really is going to be a tough act to follow. Overall Forty Creek is not at all what you might expect when you hear "whisky" and that's a very good thing.
Our Grade: A+ Price: $20 Find Forty Creek online at www.fortycreekwhisky.com also www.kittlingridge.com
Review: Original Cinn
When you're a blogger sometimes you look around the room at all the half-empty bottles; at the dirty glasses of old scotch...and you wonder if anyone is listening. You look at your numbers day in and day out and ask yourself: "what's the point? WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?"
Then you recieve a package like this:
This is not mine. I tore mine apart before I could take a picture. Please go to Drink of the Week and look at their website, they took this picture, because they have more patience than I do.
...and you realize that what you do MATTERS! Because some low-level unpaid intern had to take a hot glue gun and stick fake ivy all over those bottles JUST FOR ME! Some poor bastard has blisters all over his hands now for my sake. Because of him, I know that I matter. I'M A REAL BLOGGER NOW!
As stupid as all that sounds I have to admit that when you're new to the blogging-game the first few times you get a bottle of something to review in the mail that you have the distinct urge to preform sexual favors on the PR firm that sent it. Luckily that feeling fades after the first few packages and you settle into a nice sense of pride, snobbery and cynicism. On the foundation of those virtues you can build a moderate objectivity that will guide you into the joys of burning bridges by means of bashing brands that once brought you joy. To that end...
This is DeKyper's Hot Damn Burst. What you may or may not know about me, is that I am what's known colloquially as a "Cheap Bastard." It's something I'm quite proud of actually. But from time to time it does get me into trouble. Hence my discovery of the 2nd worst thing ever to pass my lips: Hot Damn. I don't really have a problem with DeKyper's brands in general but this bottle is the epitome of how NOT to make a cinnamon flavored booze. Imagine for a moment if you chewed 5 packs of Big Red and spit each piece into a big ol' mason jar. Then imagine you fill that jar with cheap vodka and a pound of sugar. Congratulations! You have just made your very own homemade Hot Damn.
Thankfully, Original Cinn went with a more natural infusion of Cinnamon that induces neither vomiting nor buyers remorse. I'm, thankfully, past the stage of wanting to blow all the people that supply me with liquor to write about so I can be totally honest with you: This is the kind of bottle you're probably going to buy once a year. It's not something you'll use all that often and when you do it will be mostly for dessert cocktails. That's not a bad thing. It definitely has a place on your bar and what it does it does VERY well. What I think it does best is replace that bottle with the gold flakes that's slowly giving you heavy metal poisoning - and for about $15 less too.
Our Rating - 5 out of 5
(Limited, yes. But I think this is the best that cinnamon liqueur gets)
Price: $11
Booze Reviews: Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum
Flavored rum is nothing new. Vodka has been trying to disguise its tasteless self under layers of sugar and artificial fruit for decades. In fact, flavored vodka has saturated the market so much that brands like Smirnoff are now left with crappy flavors like "Twisted Pear Vodka." (Mmm, pears, I was just dying to put that mushy pear twist on all my favorite girly-drinks.) Anyway, rum makers like Bacardi were watching vodka make all this money off people who like their booze to taste like, well, anything other than booze and decided to get in on the action. Thus we have their newest flavor: Dragon Berry Rum.
If you were to travel to your grocery store right now you'd find approximately 95 million flavors of rum. The only flavor they don't carry is "ass" but I hear that's coming out next fall. I have to give Bacardi some props for not taking the easy way out by just walking around the fruit section and saying "what kind of disgusting fruit flavors haven't we made yet?" (LIKE PEARS! SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL?) Dragon fruit isn't something most people are familiar with, so Bacardi made the wise decision of cutting it with something everyone is familiar with - strawberries. It comes out tasting like strawberry rum with a little something extra in the background that you can't quite place - dragon fruit. Which looks something like this:
Like a disturbing sex toy stuffed with 101 Dalmatians.
The question is: is it worth buying as a standalone rum and does it actually add anything to existing cocktails? As I showed you last week, it can be used to create some fairly tasty beverages and I actually do like Bacardi's suggestion to drink it with ginger ale. But I don't think this is going to be anything cocktail-nerds wet themselves over. It's just too sweet and doesn't play nice enough in classic cocktails. I don't expect this one to become a classic but nobody expected Midori to last this long either. You'll just have to find out for yourself if strawberry/dragonfruit is a winning combination for your own palet.
Let's be honest, nobody is going to start ordering Dragon Berry straight-up. I think this is just another fun bottle you can pick up for $15.99 and play around with. Try it with ginger ale...see how the night goes...and if you end up with your pants on your head in the morning don't feel too shameful that Dragon Berry stole a piece of your innocence. I certainly don't.
Our Rating:
Out of 5
Reviews: Bluecoat Gin
Bluecoat Gin is missing out on the greatest marketing idea since those weird inflatable guys they have in front of car dealerships. (You frighten me floaty, dancing-man...and yet I can't help but want to buy things from you.) You see, the unexplainable urge to give the finger to our British allies when they aren't looking is as much a part of American culture as apple pie and whacking balls with giant phallic symbols in totally non-gay displays of manliness. That's why Bluecoat Gin needs to hire Boozeblogger to improve their advertisements. I did this with just 5 minutes and a bit of seamless photoshop magic.
"This 4th of July, declare your independence with Bluecoat Gin and celebrate how we kicked Great Britain's collective ass with a bunch of farmers and absolutely no help from the French."
Americans have been making their own Gin for a long time. Back in the 60's, when the driest of the dry martinis were all the rage, ad men started writing copy that speculated whether a British dry gin could possibly be dry enough to accommodate our Martini. We've come a long way since the bathtub gin of prohibition and Bluecoat shows we've learned a lot from the British gins that still dominate the market; in my opinion small batch, independent spirit brands like Bluecoat are poised to take a much larger share of that market.
THIS GUY is just about ready to make-out with the damn bottle.
Dear Bluecoat, I would also wear a shirt that has "Bluecoat" on it. HINT! HINT!
I like Bluecoat....yep. I can't freaking help it. The bottle taps into my latent sense of patriotism and the Gin itself is just plain tasty. Whether or not it rivals all it's British counterparts is another question and one I don't think I can answer for you. What I can say is that the taste speaks for itself as a truly original expression of Gin. Like Drinkhacker I immediately picked up the mint character that really is rare to find in any gin. I like mint in most anything so I'm only more fond of this gin for it. Another nice thing is that the juniper is there but it's not punching you in the face. Speaking of...at 94 proof you'd expect a little face-punching but Bluecoat is actually smoother than many other gins that have a lot less kick.
I give it 4 Mel Gibsons in The Patriot (the good kind of Mel...you know...before he went insane)
Price: $30 Check it out online: www.bluecoatgin.com