By Billy Sanchez
It is time we gladly say farewell to the copious amounts
of snow and ice. As the sun begins to
melt winter’s frigid breath, we welcome new beginnings and fresh starts. Now, no longer confined and housebound, we
are free to relish life.
This is how I picture my release into summer.
The beach is my heavenly escape. I plunge my toes beneath the sand, allowing
each toasty grain to analyze me as it absorbs me like a second skin. A glowing sun hangs lazily atop an endless
sea of blue sky. My skin is alive with
the warming touch of the sun’s golden fingers. My nose soaks up the salty breath of the ocean, rejuvenating my body
from the inside as I recognize it as the scent of pure freedom. The sparkling and foamy waves crash out an
infectious melody of fizzing bubbles. I
cling to its hypnotic song like a helpless child dependent on its mother. A few seconds pass, but feel like an eternity
of subliminal bliss, I begin to realize I am missing something. That something is an enormously crucial
element, what should I be drinking? So I
must ask you, are you summer ready?
No
matter how you celebrate summer, that flawless drink will enhance any
environment.
Renzo and I have
relentlessly tasted and rated beverages at work and on our free time for your
future enjoyment, which ensures you see the best bottles on our shelves.
Sometimes trying eight up to twenty spirits
in one sitting can be a palate-wrecking burden, but when a spirit attracts our
attention, we are overjoyed and cannot contain our excitement.
We are proud to announce this year’s picks to
set you up for a successful and tasty summer.
The following choices will make you summer ready. Cheers!
Renzo and I have daily discussions about which coast makes
the best IPA’s (stand by for a blind West vs East IPA tasting blog in the near
future). Living in San Diego,
I am a believer in West Coast hop usage for their beers. Renzo obviously stands behind the East Coast
breweries and their fine beers. Maybe we
can meet half way and agree, say the Mid-West?
First on the list is Stone’s Go To IPA.
Stone Go To IPA
$10.99 a 6 pack
Stone did a great job with this session IPA and it is
clearly reflected by the name. This new
release (March 2014) has 4.5% alcohol and 65 IBU’s and will be a big hit at
BBQ’s and beach drinking. The nose
brings many floral notes mixed with big fruit a spritz of lime, which is
Renzo’s favorite part to this beer. The
body is refreshing to the point your taste buds ask for more, which is unlike
Stone and their philosophy of big and in your face. They clearly showed restraint with the hops,
and we see it is a perfect day drinker.
My favorite part was the finish, which is mellow and elegantly lingers. It lacks an over the top big resin and hoppy
finish, super subdued and clean.
Lambrucha by
Vanderg & DeWulf 750ml $11.99
For those who are unable to visit the beach this summer,
here is a beer that has beach components to jump-start your summer senses. This spectacular beer blends the marriages of
two yeast strains, Kombucha and Lambic. The nose brings fresh cut jalapeño
rind, rosemary, and beach mist. Your palate feels refreshed with crisp tartness
and sour components of lemon zest, and Cedar. It finishes with a subtle spicy
bite.
Previously, this had been my Beer Pick of the Week, so I
naturally had to revisit it. Like an old
friend, I was not let down and it once again showed amazingly. I found a perfect cheese for pairing, which allowed the best flavor profiles of the beer and cheese to
be highlighted and not restrained. Comté is a firm, raw cow’s milk from the
Jura Mountains of France. The Comté carried
by Fairfield Cheese Company is aged by the affineur, Marcel Petite. Traditionally this alpine style cheese is
sold aged under a year, but this particular wheel is a special reserve that has
been aged out 2 years. The small batch
of wheels lucky enough to be chosen undergo continual testing to make sure that
they will further develop, like wine; cheese can often have a flavor peak. Descriptive notes: nutty, brothy, creamy, savory with the
protein crystals. Walk next door and
pick this Comté to set up your own pairing.
Fortaleza Blanco $48.99
Throw all other tequila experiences from your memory and
try this gem. The artisanship shimmers from within and outside the bottle.
Packaged in a masterfully contoured and textured hand blown glass bottles with
a Pina as the bottle topper. Attention
to detail oozes out of every facet. As
soon as you touch and handle this bottle, you feel a part of something
special. It hails from the lowlands of
Tequila country, and spends its whole life on the estate. The 7-8 year old blue agave is harvested and
cooked in meter thick brick ovens for 36 hours.
Once the agave is ready, it moves onto the mill and crushing portion of
its journey, where it is washed with the pure spring mountain runoff from the
Volcan de Tequila (Tequila’s very own volcano).
The remaining agave fibers are fermented for 5 days in small wooden
vats. This leads to a minor dry wood
taste on the palette. The nose is chock full of lightly salted fruit, mainly
pear, apricots and dried pineapple. It
flows down ultra-smooth and leaves no bitter aftertaste. The finish is silky smooth with hints of
pepper and no harsh alcohol punch. This
great sipper blows other Blanco’s out of the water. If you are using it as a mixer, your
margarita will reach a new rung of deliciousness. Especially with margarita season begging to
enter the rotation, Fortaleza
has impeccable timing.
Zafra 21yr Rum $48.99
My friend who works at a high-end wine and liquor store in Los Angeles sent me this
bottle. As soon as he tasted it, he sent
me a text, followed by a phone call, and finally a box with a bottle of Zafra
was at my door 2 days later. I opened up
the bottle for Renzo, Patrick, and I and we fully understood why my friend
loved the rum. We were floored by its
overall flavor that we looked up the distributor to place an order for Harry’s
shelves. This spearheads the main reason
why Renzo and I drink. The feeling we
get when friends and strangers can come together to share any type of alcoholic
beverage. We are beyond ecstatic to
include this to our summer list. This
rum is the sole representation from Panama within the store. Upfront,
the nose is nutty and caramelly. Once it
opens up, vanilla makes a light appearance.
On the tongue, you experience chocolate, cocoa powder, and fine brown
sugar. Once you are finished, your
confused taste buds ask you, was that rum or was that a bourbon? That is what we love about this bottle, it is
deeply three-dimensional. Paired with smoked Gouda, the rum backbone is coaxed out and
comes through with sugar and coffee.
The desert side is uncovered with their Black Lava Cashews, where it
travels to a sweet, desert dimension of Amaretto. Our advice, take this bottle home for one
week and come back in and tell us what you think. We have pairings that will give your bottle
diversity and legs for the long run.
Downeast Cider 4 pack $8.59
I cringe every time someone suggests drinking cider, be it
male or female, but this was a pleasant and an eye opening surprise, regardless
of your
gender, you will agree.
The cider is unfiltered, raw, and is gluten
free.
Coming in at 5% alcohol, it is
crisp, refreshing, and light; this will quench your parched tongue. Not overly
dry nor sweet, it is super balanced.
Being
in cans, it begs to join you to the beach.
