Summer 2015 Highball

Highball S P I R I T S

Accidental Vodka Guru:

T I TO ’ S R I S E TO C RA F T S P I R I T FA M E

Rum so pure, it’s criminal BOURBON FOR BRUNCH

M A G A Z I N E

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S U M M E R

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Get your shakers and strainers ready — this issue is chock-full of summer cocktail ideas and smooth spirits.

Highball is a quarterly publication of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. Copyright 2015 ABC Liquors, Inc. All rights reserved.

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THE ROBIN HOOD OF RUM

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BLOODY BOURBON

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TALKING TO TITO

Not all products are available in all stores. If the product you’re looking for isn’t available, ask us to order it for you!

Meghan Guarino Editor meghang@abcfws.com

Public enemy #1 brought us some of the purest rum around and we’re still drinking it 95 years later

Swap vodka for bourbon for a more complex Bloody Mary

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SHAKEN, STIRRED OR SMASHED? Grab your muddler and get to work— you’ve got some fruit to smash

DRESS UP YOUR SPARKLER WITH ST-GERMAIN Light and delicate, this elderflower liqueur is just what you need for summer celebrations

How Tito Beveridge accidentally became the first craft distiller in America

Allie Smallwood Contributing Editor allies@abcfws.com

Lorena Streeter

QUICK TIP: MUDDLING

Contributing Editor

Summer calls for fresh ingredients and fruity refreshers. The best way to incorporate seasonal fruit is by muddling. Muddling releases the juices and pulp, allowing the flavors and color to fully contribute to your cocktail.

Become Lord of the Grill Win a cow’s worth of beef, a freezer to put it in and best of all, a year’s supply of Lord Calvert Whisky.

Enter now through September 7 for your chance to win.

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WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Mixing glass Muddler

WHAT TO MUDDLE Fresh fruit Fresh vegetables

WHAT NOT TO MUDDLE Herbs Even though commonly regarded as acceptable, muddling ingredients like rosemary, basil or mint will bruise the herbs, causing them to contribute unwanted bitter flavors. Instead, add these ingredients just before shaking to get the fresh aromatics you desire.

GET STARTED

abcfws.com

Place your fresh fruit or vegetables in your mixing glass. Press down and twist the flat end of your muddler on your ingredients until they are limp and mushy. Add any herbs, spirits, ice and other ingredients, then shake. Strain into a glass to keep any pips and pulp out of your smooth-drinking cocktail.

See page 7 for refreshing cocktails, muddler required.

Get more online at abcfws.com, keyword: muddle!

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The Robin Hood OF RUM

A L L I E S M A L LW O O D

Imagine hopping in a boat, sailing out to

expensive car. He and Bill began chatting, as

sea about 3 miles, and floating next to an ABC

friends do, and Bill discovered that this man

Fine Wine & Spirits yacht in order to buy your

was profiting on the transportation of illegal

favorite liquors. If that sounds mildly fun to

alcohol. Bill knew then and there he could do

you, then you would’ve loved living during the

it better, as he was bright, hardworking and

heyday of rum running in the Prohibition era.

a mariner.

Even if boating to gather your liquor doesn’t

Setting sail for the Bahamas, he and his brother

sound bothersome, you would then have had

sought liquor. Rum running had begun and

to worry about the quality of your rum.

neither the Coast Guard nor the government

Perhaps it was cut with a little turpentine,

saw it coming.

diluted with a pint of wood alcohol or prune juice. An entire league of harsh chemicals often adulterated spirits in those days.

Bill registered his boat as British, since there was no Prohibition there, and acquired duplicate transit papers stating that he could legally

Enter: Sea Captain William (Bill) McCoy,

move liquor from one port to another. The US

a tall, dapper, ethically sound gentleman.

government and Coast Guard had no grounds

Also known as the most wanted man of

to interfere. Yet.

the Prohibition era.

He’d made $15,000 in two weeks; much more

A copper pot still at Four Square Distillery

moral ethics, inspired the name of the rum, “The Real McCoy.”

Prohibition started on January 16, 1920, and

than he could make in five years as a boat

began as an effort to morally realign Americans.

builder. And as long as he stayed in interna-

With flavors of vanilla, toasted caramel, honey

By the early 1900s in the United States, 20

tional waters, he was never going to break any

and bourbon aged wood, The Real McCoy

gallons of hard alcohol were being consumed

US laws. Several thousand cases here, 2,800

Rum, to this day, is a pure and unique blend

per person; that’s eight times the amount con-

cases there, Bill McCoy was fueling the parties

of blackstrap molasses and fresh Bajan spring

sumed today. Domestic violence, poverty and

of the Roaring Twenties. Rum row was pulsing

water, with no added ingredients.

disease were running rampant due to out-of-

with action, and it spanned the waters from

control alcoholism, the government suspected.

New Jersey to Long Island, with ports in

It was a time of wet versus dry and the wets felt coerced into sobriety under harsh government.

The country was in turmoil and so was Bill McCoy’s life. Death of both his parents, his wife leaving him and a sluggish economy shifted this optimistic man into new business ventures. One day, while working on his boat, a man dressed to the nines pulled up in an

Miami, Norfolk and Boston.

The idea of being an outlaw in the name of innovation is a strong fiber in the thread of the American tapestry. It started during

It was a floating city of bootleggers and gangsters.

the Revolution and has carried on through

Jazz bands were hired to play on the boats,

pioneering Americans (criminal or not).

and girls along with fine food were imported

I’m just glad we get some good rum out of it.

into these floating cities. Life was good for honest Bill, whose pure rum was a symbol and testament to his completely genuine moral compass. His business motto, based on honest

Four Square Distillery where The Real McCoy Rum is made, Barbados

BLOODY BOURBON M E G HA N G UA R I N O

Ditch the vodka and bring out the bourbon —your Bloody Mary deserves another layer of complexity. By swapping spirits, you’re adding a touch of sweetness that balances out an otherwise

ABC recently had the pleasure of hosting

highly acidic cocktail. While vodka is the traditional choice for this iconic brunch sipper, it only

an Instagram contest for a chance to win

brings one thing to the table: alcohol. Instead of hiding your liquor behind a Bloody Mary’s

dinner with Fred Noe, master distiller

other ingredients, choose a spirit that will enhance this cocktail’s flavor profile: bourbon. The

of Jim Beam, the parent distillery of

spicy combination of hot sauce, bacon, tomato and citrus are especially complemented by Basil

Basil Hayden’s. Winners were treated to

Hayden’s pepper and honey nuances.

a lavish private dinner with Noe, who

4 oz

Tomato juice

1 ½ oz

Basil Hayden’s Bourbon

1 ½ tsp

Fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp

Horseradish

½ tsp

Worchestershire sauce

½ tsp

Fresh cracked black pepper

½ tsp

Salt

Hot sauce, to taste Ice Celery, green olives, crispy or candied bacon, lemon wedges and/or pickles to garnish Combine tomato juice, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and

readily told hilarious stories of growing up in Kentucky, attending college and getting into the bourbon business behind his father and grandfather. For more opportunities like this, follow us in all the right places.

@abcfinewinespirits

facebook.com/ abcfinewinespirits

@abcwinecountry

pepper in a mixing glass. Stir well. Fill a highball glass with ice. Add Basil Hayden’s Bourbon,

then pour tomato juice mixture in and stir to combine. Garnish with celery, green olives,

@abcbeercountry

bacon, lemon wedges and/or pickles. Enjoy!

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pinterest.com/abcfws

Highball 5

Talking to Tito M E G H A N G UA R I N O

Tito Beveridge is known to jump on the bandwagon, which strangely explains how he accidentally started the first craft distillery in America.

As a graduate from the University of Texas, Tito became a geophysicist and got into the oil game. Until it tanked. Then he got into the mortgage business. Until the rates went up. So when he was addressed as “the vodka guy” at a keg party one night, he took it as a sign and looked to Booker’s and Baker’s as guidance for starting a craft distillery. Until he realized those brands are actually made by bourbon giant Jim Beam.

“I wouldn’t have done it if I had known,” he joked, because in 1995, diving into the liquor business wasn’t easy. After going back and forth with the state, he finally got all the permits he needed to start Tito’s Handmade Vodka. He sold his first case in 1997.

But before opening a full-fledged distillery, he made a name for himself as “the vodka guy” by infusing cheap vodka with oranges, habaneros— you name it—for his friends’ Christmas gifts. These flavored vodkas were the first he tried to market to retailers and distributors, who refused to make shelf space for another set of bottles to collect dust.

Flavored vodkas weren’t popular then and, according to one retailer Tito tried to sell his vodka to, the market was saturated with standard vodka anyway. But the liquor store owner did offer one good piece of advice. “If you can make a vodka that is really smooth that you can drink straight, you might have something,” he told him. So he did.

This ultra-smooth, Texas-born vodka is now the fastest growing spirit brand in the US. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is distilled six times (“If you distill it seven times, my friends can’t tell the difference but if you distill it five times, they can,” Tito laughed) in old-fashioned, copper pot stills—the first pot still he ever built has been taken apart and welded into a bigger version.

With a silky body and a sweet corn aroma, this vodka exhibits notes of charred grain and cracked black pepper. Tito’s team only bottles the heart of each batch—it’s the part with the fullest, smoothest mouthfeel that goes down the easiest.

Sip Tito’s with a splash of water and a twist of lemon, like Tito himself, or mix it in any cocktail. This clean, clear vodka only adds another element to your usual drinks, leaving you pleasantly surprised that a spirit can be this polished.

Highball 6

SMASHED LORENA STREETER

A smash, the earliest reference of which dates back to a book published in 1862, is a combination of sugar, water (or sugar water, aka simple syrup), spirits (generally gin, rum or whiskey), mint or another herb and seasonal fruit. If this sounds more than a little familiar, it is. The Savoy Cocktail Book, dating to 1930, says “the ‘smash’ is in effect a julep on a small plan.”

What that means is this: A julep is a cocktail made with simple syrup and alcohol, typically used for medicine; a smash requires a few more ingredients.

That’s the difference. Take, for example, the mint julep. This classic Southern cocktail is famously made with bourbon, simple syrup and mint. What it lacks is fresh fruit. But as soon as you muddle a few berries or citrus wedges for the occasion, your mint julep can suddenly be considered a smash. Try a blackberry mint julep to get the best of both worlds.

Understandably, there are countless variations on the theme, but one of the most famous examples is the mojito. This refreshing cocktail originated in Cuba and is made with simple syrup, rum, mint and lime. Muddle strawberries for a seasonal twist on this old favorite, or substitute dark rum for a dirty mojito with deeper flavor.

A smash is a perfect summertime quencher, with plenty of ice, juicy fruit and flavorful spirits. Don’t be afraid to mix it up—strain the ice, add sparkling water or double the fruit! The smash is open for interpretation and your imagination. Here are a few recipes to get you started.

Add your own ideas to the mix and show us the results on Instagram using #abcfws!

WHISKEY SMASH

MOJITO

BLACKBERRY MINT JULEP 2 oz

Woodford Reserve Bourbon

1 ½ oz Bacardi Maestro

2 oz

1 tsp

Sugar

7 oz

¾ oz Simple syrup

1 tsp

Water

2 tbsp Simple syrup

4

Fresh lemon wedges

6

Mint leaves

½ Lime

6

Mint leaves

Club soda

Fresh spearmint leaves

Woodford Reserve Bourbon

5 Blackberries

12

Muddle blackberries in a mixing glass. Add

Gently crush mint leaves and lightly squeeze

ingredients and fill with ice. Shake and

mint, sugar, water and bourbon. Fill with ice.

lime in a highball glass. Pour simple syrup to

strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed

Shake until cold then strain into a glass filled

cover and fill glass with ice. Add rum and club

ice. Garnish with mint.

with crushed ice. Garnish with a blackberry

soda. Stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge and

and sprig of mint.

a few sprigs of mint.

Muddle lemon in a shaker. Add remaining

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Highball

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S P IR IT

TO

S I P:

C O LOR :

B O D Y :

light gold O N

TH E

NOSE :

sweet and bright with evident notes of elderflower blossoms TA S TE:

delicate and subtle hints of passionfruit, candied grapefruit, pear and lemon tied together by elderflower nectar Visit our Facebook page on July 15 for a chance to win a St-Germain bike!

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St-G ermain

smooth and sweet F I N I SH :

lingering with notes of exotic fruits P R O O F :

40Ëš

S ERV E:

with a dry wine, especially Champagne with a lemon twist