"LeNell Smothers" news and stories

All the research Demian and I have poured into libation love here at Casa Cóctel has led to the launch of our own Casa blog, as well as two monthly newsletters -- one devoted to cocktails and one to whiskey. Follow our boozy blatherings by joining the email list on our website.

Yet as one thing begins, another comes to a close.This is my last post for the LeNell It All column. I've had a blast writing for Slashfood for the past year, and I'll still post news from the cocktail world front from time to time. For now, though, in the belief that there's truly a drink for every occasion, I leave you with some fun farewell cocktails.

Dave Pickerell left his post as the master distiller of Maker's Mark bourbon in April 2008 after about 14 years of making that signature red waxed-top whiskey. After 18 months of soul searching (or should I say warehouse searching?), he has launched a new rye label called WhistlePig. Oh, did I also mention that he was the distiller of the recently released whiskey made at the rebuilt George Washington distillery at Mount Vernon? Actually, Dave considers himself the Johnny Appleseed of American craft distilling, projecting that he will be involved in the production of more than 30 small distilleries in the next two years.

In December 8, 2009, Kentucky's Vendome Copper and Brass Works, which makes much of our country's distillery equipment, introduced Dave to an entrepreneur by the name of Raj Peter Bhakta who had bought a 500 acre farm in Shoreman, Vermont that he named WhistlePig. A few weeks later, Raj and Dave shook hands on the farm and spent three days socializing that ended in a decision to do business together.

More after the jump ...

Long before we gulped down something called sangria, sangaree was a favorite tipple -- made with wine, spirit, or beer diluted with water, sweetened with sugar, and spiced with nutmeg. Sangria could have easily evolved from sangaree.

The English loved their Bordeaux, which they often referred to as claret, and a claret cup punch (red wine, lemon, sugar, and sparkling water) traveled with them as they influenced the world. This punch sometimes contained various fruits, spirits, and spices depending on the location. In many Spanish speaking areas of the world, claret cup became clericot, a sangria-like drink made with white wine.

Throughout history, wine has been made more palatable by adding water, honey, herbs, spices, or fruits, but some cite the 1964-1965 World's Fair in NYC as the breakthrough moment for what we know as sangria. While it's true that Spanish concessionaires at the World's Fair introduced many people to the drink, records show sangria on Spanish restaurant menus in the US before 1964. And prior to the World's Fair, the New York Times had already reported on a social affair hosted by a Palm Beach socialite who fashionably served "Sangria, a red wine and fruit drink."

I often say that a bartender should be a little bit of a magician. Taking a fresh slice of orange peel and drawing out the oils from the skin via a lit match makes a nice spark in a darkly lit bar, and always captures guests' attention. Besides introducing flavorful orange oil into your cocktail, the trick also releases the delicious scent of orange into the air.

This trick is baby play compared to the antics of the grandfather of bartending, Jerry Thomas. To entertain his guests back in the late 1800's, he'd pour flaming high-proof whisky back and forth between two mugs. Cocktail historian David Wondrich (author of a book on Thomas' life, called IMBIBE) has taught many bartenders how to make a famous fired-up drink called the Blue Blazer. He even has an instructional video on You Tube. Slow Food NYC's Slow Drink Week has featured a Blue Blazer competition with some of the biggest names in the business, including Gary Regan, Dale Degroff, and Mr. Wondrich himself.

The only flamed drink I was taught in my early bartending days was a Flaming Dr. Pepper: A shot glass of amaretto topped with Bacardi 151 rum, lit on fire and then dropped into a glass of beer somehow tastes like a Dr Pepper soda.

In days of old, a son learning his father's craft was no major news, just an expected and traditional way to build a career. Now, many companies choose to highlight family teams in their marketing strategies.

Let's start in the heart of American distillation -- Kentucky. The largest distillery there may be owned by giant drinks company Fortune Brands, but the Jim Beam legacy is seven generations deep. The current master distiller is Frederick "Fred" Booker Noe III. He had a hard act to follow with the passing away of his beloved father, Booker Noe, who happened to be the grandson of James. B. Beam. Fred Noe has one son -- Frederick Booker Noe IV -- who, even at his young age, undoubtedly feels a little pressure to follow the family's legacy in the whiskey business.

Jim Beam doesn't hoard all the Beam family teams, however. Heaven Hill Distillery is Kentucky's largest family-owned bourbon producer. After prohibition, the Shapiro family jump-started this distillery with the help of the first cousin of Jim Beam, and ever since then a member of the Beam family has been in charge of distillation. Today Parker Beam and his son Craig make an incredible family team at Heaven Hill.