Blog de Blogs

Our regular round-up of the blogosphere returns with a bit of closure debate, a little history lesson and a bit of asparagus love.

Basic Juice

http://basicjuice.blogs.com

On his Basic Juice blog, Beau Jarvis last week dipped into the cork vs screwcap debate, admitting that while he is a sucker for the romanticism and theatre of popping a cork, bad experiences with corked wines have left him with a boot in both camps.

In wishing for a solution that could end the need for wine lovers to choose between “faulty” corks and “sterile” Stelvins, he pines for a closure which can both look the business and do a proper job of keeping the wine fresh.

“Thank the cosmos for Vino-Lock,” he exclaims. “This glass stopper is much prettier than a Stelvin and, of course, more reliable than cork oak bark cylinders.

“Just a few weeks ago I took home the first glass-stopped wine to appear in the wine shop. I loved it. And the wine wasn’t too bad either.”

Incidentally, the wine in question was a bottle of Cusumano IGT Sicily Merlot 2006.

Cask Strength

http://caskstrength.blogspot.com

The Cask Strength boys last week ventured to Scotland for the annual Spirit of Speyside festival and, upon their return, lamented how the event has become overshadowed by higher-profile festivals such as Feis Ile, Islay’s Festival of Music and Whisky.

With Speyside containing the biggest collection of active distilleries in the whole of Scotland, the boys are firstly impressed with the organisational skills involved in bringing such a sprawling whisky region together.

“For those of you who have never been, Speyside covers a large area of the Scottish Highlands and has around 40 single malt distilleries open or mothballed and many others, which live on through rare and unusual bottlings,” they write.

“This makes the idea of bringing them all together for one week of festival fun a rather daunting task, but kudos to the people running the organising committee, as well as to the array of distillery owners and managers who have come together to make this work.”

The schedule the pair faced was pretty daunting: one mountain, two 12km walks, five distilleries and numerous drams all to be fitted in around the Royal Wedding celebrations.

Those of you who know Joel and Neil will not be surprised to learn they took it all in their stride and came away adamant that the Spirit of Speyside festival deserves to be ranked up with the very best whisky industry events.

“Speyside is undeniably the home of whisky and as such, the festival should be lauded as much as any event in the whisky calendar,” they said.

Spittoon

http://www.spittoon.biz

Being in the middle of the British asparagus season – 24 April to 21 June according to the British Asparagus Growers Association website – it seemed appropriate to find a blogger offering serving suggestions.

Andrew Barrow of Spittoon was intrigued enough to make a small experiment after purchasing some local asparagus and coming across a jar of Mary Berry’s Hollandaise sauce.

He asked: “Asparagus needs Hollandaise. But does asparagus with Hollandaise need wine?”

The wine he chose was Dominique et Julien Frey’s Riesling Vieilles Vignes 2009 from Alsace. The tasting note noted it as being: “Dry but weighty. Mineral and floral. Little of that ‘petrol’ edge that some find attractive, this is all fresh fruits and soft lime flavours. Alcohol is only 12.5%. Refreshing.”

And with the dish, it was “just about perfect. Just go easy on the Hollandaise, that vinegar component isn’t going to do any wine much good. Even with Mary Berry’s deft touch.”

Mark Sexauer’s Cocktail Blog

http://marksexauer.wordpress.com

How many db readers knew that yesterday (5 May) was the Mexican festival of Cinco de Mayo? It’s alright – we didn’t know either. In fact, we’re not even really sure what it’s all about anyway.

Thank heaven, then, for Mark Sexauer, a cocktail aficionado plying his trade as a bar supervisor at Milagro Cantina in Kirkland, Washington, US. Being a Mexican restaurant, Sexauer is well placed to educate his readers in what exactly Cinco de Mayo is about.

“Napoleon the third brought together the French army and a prince named Maximilian to invade Mexico,” he explained. “Not concerned with interference from the United States, which was caught up in the civil war, the French proceeded toward Mexico City.

“The Mexican Army was waiting under the command of General Zaragosa. On 5 May 1862, the Battle of Puebla was a turning point for the Mexicans as they won a very unlikely victory against the very well equipped French army that was over twice the size.

“Union forces rushed ammunition and weapons to the border to ensure a victory and expel the French. This in turn kept the French from supplying the Confederates, helping the Union forces to win. Some Americans even fought side by side with the Mexicans to fight a common enemy.

“Cinco de Mayo has slowly been embraced by Americans to celebrate the brotherhood of our two countries that have such an intertwined history.”

Got that? Good. Anyway, keen not to turn his blog into a history lesson, Sexauer soon gets to his point.

“If drinking Mexican beer and margaritas is your way of celebrating this incredibly momentous occasion of our countries history’s (it is for me) then find a good bar that makes a good margarita and enjoy celebrating Mexican history. If you’re staying home, try my recipe:

Tequila Daisy, Old School

1.5 oz Reposado, try Don Julio

.5-.75 oz orange cordial, I use Cointreau

.5 oz lime juice, freshly squeezed

.5 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed

.25 oz agave syrup 1:1

“Combine all into a shaker and shake like a Maraca. Strain into a double old fashioned or highball filled with ice.

“Garnish with a lime wedge so people can add acidity if they desire.”

db, 06.05.2011