Gift Ideas for Dad: Fathers’ Day and all year round

What are the best gift ideas for Dad in Salt Lake City?  First: know your audience (your Dad).  Does Dad like cocktails, or does he go for simplicity?  If he has a bar, there may be opportunities for barware or glassware, but check out what he already has: try to find something he needs or can actually use.  If glassware might work, you can find new, modern glass barware at Salt Lake City stores like Sur la Table (10 North Rio Grande Street, in the Gateway), Pottery Barn(602 S 500 E, in Trolley Square), and Bed Bath and Beyond (six stores around Salt Lake City).  You can also shop flea markets and antique stores for something really cool that he will also use.  (Check out the glassware in the movie Midnight in Paris so you’ll know what to look for.)  An Absinthe fountain may not be the best gift for your Dad unless he is either a confirmed Absinthe drinker or into antique glassware. 

What if you’ve waited until the last minute and don’t have time to shop around?  In that case, it may be best to move in the direction of a simple (but not too simple) bottle of liquor, but first there are things to be considered.  If he’s not a drinker, liquor is not the right gift for him.  If he has a drinking problem, or if his doctor has told him not to drink, again this is not the right gift for him.  Finally, if you are not of legal drinking age, this is not the way to go.  If none of these obstacles are present, and if your father is a drinker, what type(s) of liquor does he like to drink?  What does he enjoy after a holiday dinner?  If he already has a multi-year supply of his favorite brand (thanks to prior gifts from you or your siblings), it might be time to try something different.  Sometimes tried and true gift ideas get tired, especially when you may have tried them too many times.  If not, let’s take a look at some spirit oriented gift ideas.

A tried and true, age-old gift idea for Dad is a bottle of his favorite hooch; this is true even in Salt Lake City, where the Utah DABC stores have a pretty god selection of items that might make Dad happy.  (If you’re trying to save a few bucks while making Dad happy, the Utah DABC stores usually cooperate during holiday months.  You can check out what’s on sale this month in Utah here.)  Here are some ideas to help get you thinking along the right lines. If you know your Dad’s brand (you do, right?) a good idea is to get Dad an “upgrade.”  If he is a whiskey drinker, gift the old man an older bottle, say the twelve year old version, of whatever brand he usually drinks.  If he loves Tequila, upgrade him to a Reposado; if he is into Rum, there are some excellent aged Rums and Añejos available.  (Appleton Estate® 12 Year Jamaica ($30) is a great example.)  On the other hand, if he loves to make craft cocktails, you might be able to locate a bottle of a hard-to-find ingredient that he would love to try out.  You could even get him something easy-to-find that he might not have tried, an aperitif like Lillet Blanc® ($18) or Campari® ($25), for example.

What to do, though, if your Dad is a Vodka drinker?  There’s not much available in the way of “aged Vodka,” so you might want to try going for something unusual instead.  Crystal Head® Vodka ($50) uses ancient glacial water from an aquifer in Newfoundland, Canada, and is filtered through 500-million year-old quartz crystals (known as Herkimer diamonds) after being distilled four times.  Containing “absolutely no additives,” Crystal Head is probably the purist Vodka around, and just about the smoothest I have had.  Just the legend of Crystal Head will impress Dad, and think of the Vodka Martini he will be able to enjoy as he contemplates increasing the inheritance of his favorite child.

Gin, like Vodka, is a spirit that is not normally aged.  (Citadelle Réserve® Gin, a limited edition Gin, is aged in oak for 6 months, but may be hard to find.  It’s not available in Utah.)  Be aware of the style of Gin your Dad enjoys, do a little research, and buy him an “upgrade,” especially if he’s into the Classic Martini.  If he’s a Scotch lover, you job is a little easier.  A variety of brands are on special price adjustment in June, with ages like 10, 12, 15, 16, and 18 years there must be something old enough for Dad to enjoy.  If he likes blended Scotch in, say, a Blood and Sand, he might like a bottle of Dewar’s® White Label ($22).

Casa Noble® Tequilas are, sadly, not available in Utah, but traveling Utahans and readers from other states have plenty of opportunities to enjoy their high quality, certified organic Tequilas.  Reading their website gives one an idea of the craftsmanship and care that goes into creating gold medal winning Tequilas like Casa Noble Añejo, from cultivating the blue agave to the aging in French oak barrels.  If Dad is a Tequila lover, he will certainly enjoy sipping a glass of Añejo.  Casa Noble even provides recipes for cocktails like the Skinny Margarita, that uses their Crystal.

Four Roses® Bourbons are another item you will want to look for as you move around the country.  Four Roses actually makes ten different Bourbon recipes that are aged in French oak barrels and blended into a variety of whiskeys.  That is dedication to the distillers’ art.  Their flagship brand, Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon, is a blend of all ten.  After enjoying an excellent Four Roses Mint Julep in Chicago (of all places), I’m hoping to see this Bourbon become available in Utah soon.

Lillet Royale: something different in summer coolers

The long, cool spring in Salt Lake City has produced a bumper crop of Mint in the yard of the Utah Mixologist (for information on growing your own mint, check out this article).  Now the problem is how to make good use of all that mint in your cocktails.  You can, of course, try the warm weather classic Mojito, an always delicious blend of Rum and mint.  Then there’s the springtime classic, the Mint Julep that you probably enjoyed while watching the Kentucky Derby.  The more adventurous may have tried David Wondrich’s variation on the Mint Julep, the Prescription Julep, a sublime combination of Rye Whiskey and Cognac.  There’s also the Blueberry Mint Cooler, a refreshing blend of Vodka and (of course) mint.

These tried and true cocktail recipes are great summer coolers, but what if you’re ready for something different? And what if you have a bottle of Lillet Blanc® in your bar that you’re working your way through at, let’s say, half an ounce at a time making Vesper Martinis?  And what if you have a load of fresh mint?  Maybe it’s time for a Lillet Royale.  The lime juice offsets the sweetness of the Lillet while the Angostura adds a little bitters to the herbal tones of the Lillet.  A great variation on this cooler is to leave out the ginger ale and serve it in an Old Fashioned glass.

Lillet Royale

3 oz Lillet Blanc
½ oz freshly squeezed Lime juice
1 dash Angostura® Bitters
5 fresh Mint leaves
Ginger Ale (cold)

Pour the Lillet Blanc into a shaker half full of ice and add the bitters and lime juice.  Shake briskly while humming La Marseillaise until the shaker gets frosty, then let it rest.  Crush the mint leaves, rub them around the inside rim of a chilled Collins glass, and drop them in.  Fill the Collins glass 2/3 full of ice cubes, strain in the contents of the shaker, give the glass a quick stir to mix in the mint leaves, and top off the glass with cold Ginger Ale.  Garnish with a lime wheel, a sprig of mint, or both.

Cocktail ingredients Utah update – June 2011

It’s June in Salt Lake City. Summer is upon us and a new set of “Special Price Adjustments” is in effect at the Utah DABC State Liquor Stores.  If you like Appleton Estate® Rums, you will like the Rum deals this month.  Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaica Rum®  (CS# 042020) (a blend of 20 Rums, each aged a minimum of 8 years in used Jack Daniels® oak whisky barrels) is coded as discontinued and priced at $13.51, a reduction of around 50%.  Appleton Estate Special Gold Rum® has also been discontinued and is on sale for $8.10.  The Reserve is an excellent sipping Rum, and goes especially well in a Rapture cocktail.  At this price, it will move fast, so be sure to call ahead to check availability if that’s all you plan on buying.

There is a good variety of Gins marked down this month: there are offerings from Tanqueray®, Beefeater®, and even Bombay Sapphire®.  My favorite “economy Gin”, New Amsterdam®, is also marked down.  Sounds like a good time for a Classic Martini. 

There seem to be even more Scotch Whiskies than Gins available this month.  SPAs include 12 year old offerings from: Glenlivet®, Glenfiddich®, Dewars®, and Chivas Regal®.  There are four different Glenlivets available, and the 12 year old is the youngest of the bunch.  These are all good sipping Scotches, if you’re looking for something to put in your Blood and Sand, you might want to try the Dewars® White Label, also on SPA.

Tequila lovers may be disappointed this month at the smaller than usual number of Tequila SPAs.  El Jimador® Reposado is marked down, but less than 10%.  If you’re looking for a good Silver (or Plata or Blanco) for your Margarita, Sauza® Tres Generaciones Plata or 1800® Silver might be worth a try.

As to any other sale or clearance items, if you see anything good at your local state store, post a response to this article.  See the following list “Suggested by the author” for information on how to use the Utah DABC website.  You can check out what else is on sale (e.g. the wines etc.) by clicking through to the “SPA Product List” to open a price book in PDF format that shows all of the markdowns for the current month.

Suggested by the author:

·         UtahDABC Secrets 101: Part 1 Revised – Where to go?

·         Utah DABC Secrets 101: Part 2 Revised – What do they sell?

·         Utah DABC Secrets 101: Part 3 Revised – Reading a price list?

·         Utah DABC Secrets 101: Part 4 Revised – What’s on sale?

Negroni Sbagliato: nothing more than a messed up Negroni?

When the Negroni is one of your favorite cocktails (you can usually tell that it is when you pre-mix six of them in an old Campari® bottle to save time when you get the urge for an aperitivo), your senses become supernaturally attuned to any mention (even in print) of the word “Negroni”.  This happened just the other day when there was a long, but fascinating, article on the Negroni Sbagliato.  Sbagliato is Italian for a mistake or a screw-up, so what turns the Negroni Sbagliato into a screwed-up Negroni?  The substitution of dry, sparkling wine for the Gin.  Now don’t confuse the Negroni Sbagliato with the Sparkling Negroni that contains both Gin and sparkling wine, this is a substitution.

Recipes for the Negroni Sbagliato abound on the web. All start with the basic ingredients of an Americano: Campari and sweet Vermouth, anywhere from 1 to 1 ½ ounces of each (always in equal proportions).  Many specify prosecco, but feel free to use any decent (but not too expensive) dry, sparkling wine like a Domaine Chandon® or Barefoot Bubbly®.  Campari lovers will go for the larger portions, but that demands a slightly larger glass.  Pre-chilling the Campari and sweet Vermouth by stirring with ice before straining into the Old Fashioned glass is highly recommended, and will produce better results than building this cocktail directly in the glass.  If you like your cocktails dry and a little bitter, you will love the Negroni Sbagliato.

Negroni Sbagliato

1 oz Campari®

1 oz sweet Vermouth (try Vya®)

2-3 oz dry, sparkling white wine

Combine the Campari and sweet Vermouth in a mixing glass with ice and stir briskly.  Strain into a pre-chilled Old Fashioned glass 2/3 full of ice.  Fill with dry, sparkling white wine.  Garnish with orange peel (or better yet, a flamed orange peel), kick back, and imagine yourself in a café on the via Veneto on a balmy, late night in Roma.

Memorial Day marks the start of cocktail cooler season

One of these days the heat of summer will (must!) arrive in Salt Lake City, even if that day may still seem far away.  Memorial Day is the first long week-end of summer (although it’s hard to tell since May has been cool and wet (snowy?) so far). It is also a chance to get together with family and friends for the traditional cook-out on a beautiful, partly cloudy day.  More importantly, though, it is a time to remember those who have died in the service of our country so don’t forget to remember the reason for the day…   

When the heat does arrive, and memory tells us that it will one of these days, we will need to be prepared to cope with the heat with some nice summer coolers.  When that happens, you should have the ingredients for a selection of summer cooler cocktail recipes available to mix and enjoy as you sit and contemplate the yard work you should be doing.  When you plan your next summer cook-out, have the ingredients for two or three of your favorite coolers available for your guests. 

Be sure to pay attention to how much you’re drinking, though.  Remember that these coolers may not taste strong, but they have as much alcohol as any other cocktail.  Cook-out reminder: drink responsibly and don’t play with fire!

Below are links to ten favorite summer cooler cocktails for the Memorial Day week-end and the rest of the summer.  Browse these articles to find a cooler you like the looks of, and these and a couple more ideas are in this slide show. 

El Diablo

Mai Tai

Rum and Coke

Dark and Stormy

Gin and Tonic

Margarita Cooler

Tequila Mojito

Gin Rickey

Piña Colada

Hurricane

Flags fly over the graves of Civil War veterans in Montpelier, Vt. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

The Rapture cocktail will carry you off to heaven

Salt Lake City cocktailians will be relieved to know that the Rapture scheduled for 6:00 PM Saturday is based on local time (according to MSNBC), not Eastern Time or the even more remote (and early in the day) GMT.  That means that there is a whole hour between the official beginning of Cocktail Hour (5:00 PM local time) and the official beginning of the Rapture (6:00 PM local time).  Wise readers will be prepared to make good use of this time whether they expect to be raptured or, like the Utah Mixologist, suspect that it is more likely that they will be left behind. 

Developing a Rapture cocktail recipe required many decisions.  First, should it be shaken or stirred?  This was a tough decision because during the giant earthquake that will follow quickly on the tail of the rapture, you will not have to do any shaking; just strap your shaker to the bar and the earthquake will shake up anything you have prepared with no effort on your part. Oh, frabjous day, self-shaking cocktails!  So let’s go with stirring, just to be contrary.  The next decision was the base liquor: Gin, Whiskey, and Rum were under consideration.  Demon Rum in close association with Judgment Day might give rise to some uncomfortable thoughts, so it was selected.   Campari was chosen to represent the bitterness to be felt by those left behind, while Cointreau® Orange Liqueur was chosen to echo the sweet happiness of the elect.  Sweet Vermouth was included because of the botanicals; Judgment Day calls for natural ingredients redolent of the Garden of Eden.  Here’s hoping that your first sip of a Rapture cocktail will carry you away.

Be sure to be prepared when Cocktail Hour rolls around tomorrow.  Use your best liquor (feel free to “top shelf” this recipe, but do not downgrade the Rum), and if you don’t have all of the ingredients, charge them on your credit card.  Remember, you deserve the best, and this may be your last chance to enjoy it.  Speaking of the best, you might want to get started tonight on drinking up “the good stuff” in your bar tonight, no reason to let it go to waste.

Rapture

• 2 oz Appleton Estate® Reserve Rum
• ½ oz Campari®
• ½ oz Cointreau® Orange Liqueur
• ½ oz sweet Vermouth (try Vya®)
• 1 dash (1/8 tsp) Regans’® Orange Bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice.  Stir briskly like the Devil himself is after you ( he probably is).  Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass.  Serve with an orange twist, and enjoy!  Remember: this may be the last cold drink you ever have.