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Inventory for June 18th, 2017

Welcome friends! This week we have the first ever whiskies and aquavit to be made from Greenlandic iceberg water, Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards announces its longlist and (shocker) you’ll recognize pretty much every name on it, Punch tries to find the ultimate Daiquiri recipe and also tackles the story of New York’s punk wine bar Terroir. Enjoy!

If you’re anything like us, you’ll either be an avid home cook yourself or you’ll be interested in reading about home cooks. Last week, Epicurious released its list of the “100 Greatest Home Cooks” and there are some gems amongst them, including a personal chef to the President who managed to affect change in policy due to her stance. The list is well worth a read.

World’s First Whiskies made from Iceberg Water hits UK Shelves

The Spirits Business reports: “Created at Denmark’s Braunstein Distillery, the new launches join Isfjord’s gin and vodka offerings as the first spirits created using water farmed from the Ilulissat ice fjord in western Greenland.” The ice is anywhere between 10,00 and 180,000 years old as is said to have a “soft and crisp” taste, leaving the ensuing whisky “smooth and complex.” In addition to the two whiskies, the Danish brand Isfjord also launched an aquavit made with iceberg water,a sweeter style of the traditional Scandinavian spirit, featuring malt, Danish honey, and cane sugar.”

Both whiskies are aged between eight and nine years, the aquavit is finished within six weeks. Isfjord’s founder Morten Kelsen says: “the water from the melted ice is fantastic for making spirits. It contains no pollutants or pesticides, it’s very very pure. Most distilleries use tap water, or sources similar to tap water. The iceberg water binds the spirit together, and it makes it taste better. In a 700ml bottle, around 200ml of that is iceberg water.” The whiskies will retail for £80 (€91/$102).

Tales of the Cocktail 2017 Spirited Awards Longlist

It’s that time of year again! The Spirited Awards just released their longlist of nominees. Many, many familiar faces made the list and once again, the only German bar nominated remains Hamburg’s Le Lion. It is interesting to see, how time and time again it’s the same people being nominated for these awards. Thankfully, Europe has its own awards to diversify and put us on the map.

In Search of the Ultimate Daiquiri

Daiquiris are one of those drinks that get a bad rap, but they’re so, so good when done right and pretty damn horrid when done wrong. Punch author Robert Simonson took it upon himself to find the best recipe for a Daiquiri, he asked 20 “top bartenders” to submit their finest Daiquiri recipe then blind tested them all to find the cream of the crop. As he says, “among classics, the Daiquiri is arguably the sour held in highest estimation in cocktail circles. A child of Cuba (it takes its name from a beach near a coastal mining town), it took the tropical triptych of rum, lime juice and sugar and brought it to its apex. Credit, perversely enough, typically goes to an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox, who worked in Santiago de Cuba near the dawn of the 20th century and liked to entertain with pitchers of rum sours. Some local bartenders eventually helped to finesse the concoction.”

The cocktail recipe with the highest score ended up being one of the most traditional versions. “Submitted by Pietro Collina of The NoMad Bar, it contained two ounces of Flor de Caña 4-Year Extra Dry rum, one ounce of lime juice and three-quarters of an ounce of rich cane syrup (2:1). It was the one drink that, during the first round of tasting, was immediately embraced by the entire panel as full-flavored and perfectly balanced.”

Second place was made from two ounces of Denizen rum, and three-quarters of an ounce each of lime juice and simple syrup (1:1). Third place came from “Alex Day, of Proprietors LLC, which owns several bars, including Death & Co. and The Walker Inn. Day managed to sneak a quarter ounce of Neisson Blanc Rhum Agricole in the mix and still please the judges. This was balanced out by one-and-three-quarter ounces of Diplomático White Rum, one ounce of lime juice and three-quarters of an ounce of simple syrup (1:1).”

The Life and Afterlife of Terroir

“Paul Grieco’s Terroir wine bar helped usher in America’s wine revolution. But what does a revolutionary do when the battle is won? Jon Bonné looks at the evolution of New York’s ur-wine bar, and its punk sommelier in chief.” The article tells a tale of a New York that was deep in the throes of the 2008 recession, which is when Grieco opened up his wine bar. Back then, wine culture was tepid. Hard to imagine with the orange/natural wine craze currently happening, but alas – the times, they were a changin’. Terroir went on to set a certain “rock’n’roll” tone for the future of wine (forgive us for using this term, it simply fits the bill perfectly), and Grieco acquired a reputation as the first sommelier punk.

The bar soon found its audience in the East Village neighborhood. “A safe space for those disenfranchised wine nerds to congregate—not much different than Dead Kennedys or New Order shows had been in the ‘80s. Grieco…was claiming winemaking, and wine drinking, as radical acts.” But what happened next, after the revolution changed everything? As designer Steven Solomon says, “that’s the problem. Once you win the battle, then you look ordinary.” The piece finishes on a lighter note: it’s okay that Terroir is no longer as edgy as it used to be. After all, it got the job done. “Terroir today is still a place to drink classic if slightly off-kilter wines and watch Elvis videos on large-screen TVs as Morrissey plays—or, to think of a visit not too long ago, to watch the final presidential debate over a bottle of 2003 Emmerich Knoll riesling.” And maybe that’s as it needs to be.

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Foto: Photo via Shutterstock.

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