A Time To Every Purpose Under Heaven
In the last month or so there has been some friendly exchanges between a couple of the Infinite Monkeys and us on the topic of cocktails, and in particular Martinis. A few weeks ago Monkey Ben tried to move the debate toward resolution by observing that Martini season is over, while also offering further advice on the proper Martini recipe:
After posting the item below on the Manhattan, I paid a visit to our friends over at Fraters Libertas. There I discovered that the Elder is stuck on our Martini debate of a few weeks ago. The Elder comes down in favor of a 30-to-1 ratio of gin-to-vermouth, while misattributing to me a preference for a 3-to-1 ratio (in fact, I go for a 3.7-to-1 ratio, but, in a pinch, I'll round up to 4). In the spirit of comradely good fellowship, I would urge the Elder to revisit the classic martini recipe. But rather than mixing up the bathtub stuff he may be accustomed to, I would encourage him to seek out some top-flight gin (or, barring that, Boodles) and some decent vermouth. Quality ingredients make all the difference.
The point is, gin rules. Unless it's autumn. Then you should be drinking whiskey anyway.
Bathtub gin? Do you think me a rube? I tend to agree with Atomizer that nothing quite compares with the taste of Bombay Sapphire. I also like to indulge my gin appetites with a bottle of Plymouth on occasion. And those of you who believe that the Brits have cornered the market on gin should give Germany's Schlichte Steinhager Dry Gin a whirl. It is quite good as well.
Ben first mentioned his seasonal drink theory in this post:
For every drink there is a season. Spring and Summer are the seasons of white liquor. Rum. Vodka. Tequila. Blessed, blessed gin. The gin-and-tonic. The gimlit. The Negroni. And, above all, the Martini.
But now, it's Autumn. As the leaves turn, so does our liquor. Autumn, therefore, means whiskey.
While I do agree with his comments that your drink of choice should vary by season, I don't believe that the Martini ever goes out of fashion. The gin and tonic? Definitely a warm weather pleasure. The same goes for almost any rum concoction with the possible exception of a hot buttered rum tottie. Tequila in the winter? Don't be silly. But I can enjoy a Martini any time of the year. It is the classic pre-dinner cocktail and is appropriate for any and all of the seasons.
That being said, I wish to concur with Ben that with the onset of Fall, real men drink whiskey. My preference runs to single malt Scotch. And while I can appreciate a good Scotch any time of year, it is best enjoyed during the cooler months. Which here in Minnesota can mean anywhere from mid-September to mid-May. There's no better way to cope with a long Northern Winter than by laying in a healthy supply of Scotch.
If I may I would also like to expand upon Ben's seasonal drinking concept to encompass beer as well. (By the way, next time you sit down to enjoy a glass of Scotch try pairing it with a hoppy ale. The combination, passed on to me by JB Doubtless, is sublime.) Perhaps even more than liquor beer is intimately linked to the seasons:
SUMMER: Lighter, thirst quenching beers are my preference during the hot months of summer. Although not appreciated by all, I love a good wheat beer or hefeweizen. Paulaner is the best of the hefeweizen bunch with Widmer not far behind. North Coast Brewing's Blue Star Wheat, Hacker Pschorr, Tabernash Weiss, and Two Brother's Edelweis are also excellent examples of wheat beers. Bell's makes a smooth tasting "sun beer" called Oberon Ale and Red Hook's new Sun Rye Ale are both good selections for drinkable summer brews. Sam Adam's Summer Ale is probably my favorite of the many varieties they brew. And of course there is always the easy drinking Mexican beers such as Sol, Tecate, Pacifico, and Corona. Another good choice for a lager for summer is Moosehead.
FALL: One word on fall beers. Oktoberfest. Local St. Paul brewer Summit now puts out a nice Oktoberfest, although I almost prefer the Dusseldorf style alt that used to be their fall seasonal beer. Paulaner features a very tasty Oktoberfest Marzen if you prefer the authentic article. Full Sail, Capital Brewing, Leinenkugels, and Schell's also brew up decent Oktoberfest selections.
WINTER: The best time of year for beer. The first time I see the appearance of the six packs of Summit Winter in the local liquor store my heart skips a beat:
"My darling, how I have missed you!"
"Sir, please don't be kissing the bottles of beer before you have paid for them. Thank you, come again."
There isn't anything better than winter beer. Summit's brew is a hearty taste treat, but there are so many good ones out there. Where to begin? Full Sail's Wassail, Goose Island Christmas Ale, Pyramid Snow Cap Ale, and Red Hook Winterhook are all excellent. Then there's Sierra Nevada. Each year Sierra Nevada brews a new winter beer called Celebration Ale and it always is outstanding. The only type of winter beers I don't like are the ones that have nutmeg or some type of fruit flavoring. Sam Adams used to make a Cranberry Lambic and Pete's makes some type of fruity winter beer that tastes awful.
Winter is also a great time for other beer styles that are a little more heavy and full bodied. Porters and stouts for example. I'm probably a bit partial to the local guys but I think Summit's Great Northern porter is excellent. Red Hook's Black Hook , Sierra Nevada (almost everything they brew is top notch), Portland Brewing's Haystack Black, and Great Divide's St. Brigid's are also good choices for porter. When it comes to stouts, there are some that you can drink all year (Guinness, Murphy's, and Beamish for example) while others are best reserved for winter including Goose Island, Lake Superior's Sir Duluth, Oasis, Red Hook's Double Black Stout (blended with espresso!), Sierra Nevada, and Young's Oatmeal Stout.
SPRING: Spring isn't a great season for beer. It does herald the appearance of bock beers, of which I am not overly fond of. I usually pick up a couple of six packs of bock each year but it's far from my favorite. That being said I heartily endorse Schell's Bock if for no other reason that their annual Bock Fest celebration in New Ulm, Minnesota. Drinking beer around a fire, eating sausages, and looking for Bock heads in the woods? Yes, that is what we do for fun here in the Upper Midwest in the Spring (late February actually). James Page, another local brewery, makes a decent bock as does Wisconsin based Leinenkugels. Texans like to brag about Shiner Bock but like most things about the state, it's virtues are highly exaggerated. Summit also puts out a Maibock (or at least they used) which is easily the least desirable product that they offer.
ALL YEAR ROUND: There are of course beers that can be enjoyed any time of the year. I've already mentioned Guinness, Murphy's and Beamish Irish stouts, which I can imbibe just as easily in July as January. Same goes for red or brown ales. The best reds include Capital Brewery's Wisconsin Amber, Full Sail Amber, Goose Island's Kilgulbin Red Ale, Portland Brewing's Amber Ale, and Rogue Amber Ale. What of Killian's and Leinie's Red? Add red food coloring to Miller Lite and you couldn't tell the difference. As to the browns I would suggest Red Hook's Nut Brown Ale, the old classic Newcastle, Oregon Nut Brown, Goose Island's Hex Nut Brown Ale, James Page Brown Ale, and Full Sail Nut Brown Ale. But the best of the bunch is easily Big Sky Brewing's Moose Drool Brown Ale. Mmmmm...Moose Drool...
Then of course you have your bitters, usually labeled as ESB or extra special bitter. With the tragic closing of Sherlock's Home last year, I lost access to their wonderful hand pulled Bishop's Bitter and frankly I'm still a little bitter about it. You can't come close to replicating the taste of good bitter in a bottle but if you insist, try Full Sail's ESB, Oasis ESB, or Red Hook ESB. If anyone can recommend another selection in this category I 'd love to hear it.
There are also a few miscellaneous ales that I don't believe are pale ales but don't fit into other groups and deserve a mention. Mendocino Brewing Select Ale and Red Tail Ale (not a red ale), Bell's Two Hearted Ale, Rogue Dead Guy Ale (a good Halloween beer), and Victory Brewing Hop Devil Ale.
Now to the pale ales. Delicious hoppy nectar. Within the wonderful world of the pale ale there is the even hoppier subset of the India pale ale or IPA. There are a number of quality IPAs out there including Wild Goose, Two Brothers, Red Hook, Summit, Oregon, Pyramid, Pike, Portland Brewing, and Full Sail. The leader of the pack has to be Anderson Valley Hop 'Ottin IPA whose taste more than lives up to name.
Then there were the pales. There are some many pale ales out there it's tough to whittle them down, much less pick the top dog but I'll give it a shot. Runners up include Bell's Pale Ale, Great Divide Denver Pale Ale, Lake Superior, Smuttynose, and yes Summit. I probably drink more Summit Extra Pale Ale than any other single beer due to the fact that, a.) it's damn good and b.) it's widely available on tap here. But for the top pale ale I can't go with the local favorite. I have to go with my taste buds and they tell me that Sierra Nevada makes the best pale ale out there bar none.
So as there is a liquor for every season so too is there a beer (or several) for every season. Speaking of beer I do believe that it's about time for me crack one open. Boy, this writing's making me thirsty.
THIS writing's making me thirsty.
This WRITING'S making me thirsty.
This writing's MAKING me thirsty.
This writing's making ME thirsty.
This writing's making me THIRSTY.
