The Restaurant Guys

The Spirits Project: The Macallan "Rare Cask" Scotch Whisky

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $319
  
• This Thursday at 6:30 p.m., we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $11
  

Situated on a ridge above the banks of the River Spey, the Easter Elchies House has been the spiritual home of The Macallan for over three centuries. In 1820, Alexander Reid began renting the home from Sir Lewis Grant of Grant. Reid was a farmer, and soon after he sowed the fields surrounding the home with barley, Reid established the first licensed distillery on the estate, which he named Macallan after an ancient church that had been destroyed by fire during the 15th century. In the winter – when there was little activity on the farm – Reid would ferment and distill his excess grains into whisky, which was often drunk straight from the still or sold to travelers passing through the town.

Today, the Macallan Estate encompasses 370 acres, 95 of which are devoted to the production of the Macallan Estate’s Minstrel barley (a single acre produces about 2.5 tons of barley each year, enough to yield 1,800 bottles of The Macallan). In addition, the distillery contracts with farmers to purchase barley that is low in nitrogen and high in starch, resulting in a rich and oily whisky.

After the barley is harvested in late August and early September, it is malted before being mashed in one of The Macallan’s two mash tuns, a process that takes between four and eight hours. Then, the barley is fermented with a specially cultured yeast before being distilled twice through The Macallan’s copper-pot stills, some of the smallest stills in all of Scotland, produce a whisky with a heavy, oily flavor.

Following distillation, The Macallan distillers remove the heads and tails of the whisky and collect only about 16% of the spirit to fill into casks for maturation. This cut, among the smallest of any Scottish distillery, results in a more full-bodied and and rich whisky. Macallan Rare Cask Single Malt showcases two of Macallan’s most fundamental pillars: natural color and sherry oak casks. Master Distiller Robert Dalgarno hand-selected the casks in which to mature this special edition whisky. Thursday, we will open one bottle at 6:30 precisely. When it's gone, it's gone.

Next Week In The Spirits Project Glenfiddich 26-Year Scotch

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Byron Kosuge's California Pinot Noir: November 7

Byron spent the first fifteen years of his wine making career, as winemaker at Saintsbury in Carneros. Since 2001, he's been on his own, making complex and delicious Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in California. In his own words: "I could never be a “rock star” winemaker... I’m most comfortable knocking around in the vineyard or the cellar, trying to improve my craft." Sorry Byron, you're a Rock Star! We're lucky to have him and to have dinner and pour his wine. We will serve five Pinot Noir and one Chardonnay.

Hors d'Oeuvres
Champagne Cocktails

Scallop
Charred Romaine, Preserved Jersey Tomato,
Pork Belly, Warm Garlic Aioli
Chardonnay 2012; Sonoma Coast

Quail, Duck, Pumpkin Ravioli
Fennel, Red Wine, Chanterelle Mushrooms
Pinot Noir 2012; Sonoma Coast
Pinot Noir 'The Shop' 2012; Carneros

Lamb Loin
Jamon, Beet, Pearl Onion, Spaetzle, Bacon
Pinot Noir, 'Hirsch Vyd' 2012, Sonoma Coast
Pinot Noir, 'Hirsch Vyd' 2006, Sonoma Coast

Nectarine and Blood Orange
Blood Orange Thyme Ice Cream
Pistachio Mint Pesto & Brittle
Coffee

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Dinner with Byron Kosuge

Spring Ramps, Morels, and Wines by Paul Hobbs

The Brunello of La Fiorita with Roberto Cipresso: October 24

Roberto Cipresso is widely known in Italy as one of Tuscany's greatest winemakers, wine writers and wine educators. Over there, he's the smartest man in show business. Here in America, not so much...yet! He was the winemaker of the famous Brunello of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, a wine we've carried for almost 20 years (when we can get it). Roberto, with a couple of partners, founded La Fiorita in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, a small town in southeastern Montalcino. The wines are amazing. We will pour wines from '07, '06, '04, '03 and '01. 

Reserve here or at 732-828-4444

Hors d'Oeuvres
Autumn Bellini

Duck and Root Vegetable Pan Roast
Rosemary and Austrian Pumpkinseed Oil
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2003

Kentucky Fried Pheasant
Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Garlic Gravy
Brunello di Montalcino 2007

Roasted Veal
Smoked Polenta, Shibumi Farm Mushrooms, Pancetta
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2006
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2004
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2001

Applejack Poached Pear
Smoked Pear Carmel with Lemon Cream
Coffee

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Thanksgiving and the Wines of Fall

Autumn Swings in New Brunswick

We've really jumped right into the autumn season here in New Brunswick, and things are swinging. This past weekend, Rutgers gave an admirable performance in the first Big 10 game ever. The town was abuzz for the weekend with many out of town guests. It was a cold and rainy night. They wore blue. We wore red. There's a little heartbreak at the beginning of any love story...and this is just the beginning. Here's a great clip that features Mark talking about how great this is for our wonderful little city on The Raritan. The rest of the world finding out about things you knew all along.

We've got quite a few interesting things planned for the rest of the year. We're thinking outside the box, even for us! We've got two amazing winemakers visiting in October and November. While we don't normally do wine dinners in the fall, we just couldn't resist the opportunity have these two guys in. On Friday, October 24, Roberto Cipresso will be here with a lineup of amazing Brunello that goes back to 2001. These are classic, old-school, masculine, sexy Brunello that drink well when young and also age with grace and power. Byron Kosuge will make a triumphant return on Friday, November 7. He is a master of California pinot noir and his last dinner here proved to be very popular. The wine dinners are $169 and $139; but if you attend both, it's just $269. It's an unorthodox move to schedule two wine dinners so close to each other, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to bring these two great winemakers to you...and you may not have noticed, but we're rather unorthodox fellows.

The Spirits Project: Rhum Clément X.O.

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $145
  
• This Thursday at 6:30 p.m., we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $5
  

Martinique has long had the reputation of having the best terroir for sugarcane cultivation. It became a rich and lively island on an economy based on the export of sugar. But in the 1880's clouds rolled over this beautiful island. The introduction of sugar beets and the increasing availability of cheap South American sugar lead to the collapse of the Martiniquean economy. Many planters were out of work and took to the streets rioting against the bankrupt plantation owners.

Homère Clément was a popular member of the Martiniquean community and the mayor of Le Francois. In 1887, at the height of the sugar crisis, he stepped up and purchased Domaine de l’Acajou, one of the most respected plantations on the island. It was 43 acres just 3 kilometers from the center of town.

His idea? Rhum! As it turns out, it was a good one. He had the planters return to the fields to harvest sugarcane once again, not for refined sugar, but refined rhum agricole. His idea was to press his quality estate grown sugarcane to extract first-pressed aromatic and flavorful sugarcane juice to distill into pure rhum. Homère had studied in Paris and had always loved great Armagnac. He borrowed from their methods of distillation and aging and his choices were informed by his early experience in France. The result was a truly refined spirit.

Rhum Clément X.O. is the top of the line. It's a blend of old aged rhums including the highly regarded vintages of 1976, 1970 and 1952, which have been recognized to be the finest ever in Martinique. Each vintage brings to the bottle different spice, toffee, and tobacco flavors. Thursday, we will open one bottle at 6:30 precisely. When it's gone, it's gone.

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The Spirits Project: Glen Garioch 23 Year 1990 Scotch (Signatory Vintage)

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $289
  
• This Thursday at 6:30 p.m., we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $8
  

Regular readers of this email/blog will have heard me refer many times to "merchant whisky." Generally a merchant whisky is not released directly from the distillery owners, but it's a barrel or a selection of barrels purchased by a merchant, bottled to the merchant's specifications at the time of the merchant's choosing and then released with that merchant's name added. In ancient times, most whisky was sold and transported by the barrel, not in glass. It would often be bottled in the back room in whatever saloon or shop was its final destination. As you might imagine there was ample opportunity to adulterate and stretch the product in this system. Sealed glass bottles were a welcome safeguard.

Most often, merchant whisky remains in the original distillery until they are bottled under contract from their owner. For a merchant to bottle it's own whisky in Scotland, it must have a facility and a license from the government. "Signatory Vintage" has such a licensed facility. In fact, it is one of only three independent bottlers in Scotland. Andrew and Brian Symington started the company in the late 1980's. They moved to Newhaven (Edinburgh) in 1992 (the same year Stage Left opened her doors) and began a tradition of truly independent bottling. They also release whisky under the names Scottish Wildfire, Dun Eideann and Prestonfield. They also own Scotland's smallest distillery, Edradour.

Glen Garioch is the easternmost distillery in Scotland. The name is pronounced Geery in the ancient Doric dialect still spoken in Oldmeldrum, near Aberdeen, where Glen Garioch has been producing whisky since 1797. They are known for a classic Highland style of whisky and excellent quality. Much of the production is sent to Japan, where it is very popular and highly regarded. In fact, the distillery has been owned by Suntory since 1994. I am positively thrilled to see what the Symingtons have done in their custom bottling facility with this single barrel of whisky that was distilled when Glen Garioch was still in Scottish hands.

Thursday, we will open one bottle at 6:30 precisely. When it's gone, it's gone.

Next week in The Spirits Project
Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1

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My Favorite Season

As I sit writing this from home on a Monday evening, it is quite cool. Not trendy-fashionable cool, but Aran knit sweater and a cup of tea cool. And before you ask, yes there is a drop of whiskey in the tea; helps to ward off the chill.

It was only last evening, I was enjoying Stage Left's very successful last cookout of the summer with a Lobster Roll and drinking a Porton Pisco Sour on the sidewalk cafe. I understand this weather will be with us for several more days. I do not recall a more abrupt arrival of Autumn in my lifetime.

Truth be told, it is my favorite season of the year. It's wine tasting season, and over the course of the next three days I'll be at professional tastings checking out what will be hitting our market over the next year. Friday, Mark and I invite all of you to come to our tasting of the 25 wines we're most excited about thus far this year.

Saturday, we'll have the New Brunswick Jazz Festival from 1-6 PM right in front of the restaurants on Monument Square. We'll be open for lunch and seating in the sidewalk cafe.

Also on Saturday, Rutgers plays Penn State in the first home game of Rutgers in The Big 10. If you're going to the game, we're opening early so you can dine with us beforehand. We'll have the game on the television in the Catherine Lombardi bar at 8 PM if you would rather watch it remotely with a New Brunswick Cocktail in your hand.

As we look at the coming season, we hope you will choose to dine with us on the holidays. We'll be open Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. This year will be the biggest ever Fireworks Display at Midnight on New Year's Eve.

I know it's early, but I hope you will keep us in mind to host your holiday parties. Our dining rooms are great for getting together with loved ones. Private dining rooms are available and perfect for office parties or get-togethers of 15-20 to 75-125. We have a great deal of flexibility and you know we bring the food and wine and cocktails like no one else. Catherine Lombardi can also cater an afternoon party off-site.

Sorry for the early plug, but a lot of folks plan early and the Christmas season is VERY short this year, due to a late Thanksgiving. That can actually be a nice thing, but it does take a little extra planning. If you're considering booking a holiday party (or any other party) or would like information about parties at Stage Left or Catherine Lombardi, call Alex Hall 732-828-4444 x200 or [email protected].

Stay warm my friends and here's to a wonderful Autumn season.

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Walk-Around Wine Tasting

The Way the World Drinks Fine Wine Is About to Change

Coravin is the most important invention for wine consumers in my lifetime. It is the future. It will change the way the world drinks fine wine. It is a revolutionary modern tool for wine enthusiasts and restaurateurs alike. After reading the opinions of experts we trust and experimenting ourselves with vintages from our cellar, we believed in the ability of the Coravin to withdraw portions of a corked bottle of wine, while leaving the rest of the wine in near perfect condition. Now I'm sure beyond doubt.

 

Greg Lambrecht (Coravin), Francis Schott, Christy Canterbury MW, Charles Curtis MW

 

 

Tuesday, I was lucky enough to participate in a small blind tasting arraigned by Greg Lambrecht, the inventor of The Coravin. Greg, two Masters of Wine (our friend Christy Canterbury and Charles Curtis), tasted different wines in blind flights of freshly opened control bottles alongside bottles that had been opened six months ago. We tasted a 2010 Grand Cru Burgundy that had been accessed 15 months prior. We were all amazed at the freshness of these wines.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a game-changing device. Greg is charming, intelligent and engaging. He will be here on Friday September 12. We will pour several wins preserved with Coravin as part of our fall tasting. We will also demonstrate the device and also have some for sale. Henceforth, we will have a selection of reserve wines from the finest parts of our cellar (including Bryant Family Vineyards) for sale by the individual portion. Please come and meet the inventor of this most important device. You can drink a glass of any bottle in your cellar without wasting the rest of the bottle, or just check on it's condition!

The device, of course is secondary. The wine is what matters, and we always deliver great juice. On Friday, September 12, from 5-8 PM, we will host a Walk-Around Wine Tasting featuring twenty-five great wines (some preserved by Coravin).

Tasting will be $29 - credited towards the purchase of your first case of wine. Wine Club Members - Free Admission. We will offer Coravins for sale. We will have a great array of carefully curated wines for your tasting pleasure and your consideration in stocking your cellar this fall.

Make a reservation by emailing [email protected] or by calling 732-828-4444

The Spirits Project: Dr. Mario Montanaro Italian Brandy "Acquavite di Vino" 1964

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $139
  
• This Thursday at 6:30 p.m., we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $5
  

Montanaro makes some of the best grappa you will ever have. Located in Piedmont, they make singular spirits, aged in old, old barrels. Check out this video. It speaks volumes of the quality and unique character of this tiny distillery.

Francesco Trussoni, from Gallo d’ Alba, is historically one of the most important figures in the history of grappa. In 1885, he created Grappa di Barolo, the first single grape Grappa in history. The company was taken over by Mario Montanaro and his wife Angela Trussoni in 1922. With their son, Giuseppe Montanaro, they perfected the production processes by adopting steam alembics. Their Grappa di Barolo, are considered among the most sophisticated of all spirits if Italy. Today, there are a total of six people working this distillery--SIX!

Here is a rare offering from Dr. Montanaro. This is not a grappa but a very old brandy. Brandy "1964" is a selection forgotten for more than forty years in barrels of an old distillery in the Val di Susa. It's distilled from local wines in an era long-past, bottled by a guardian of history.

Tonight, we will open one bottle at 6:30 precisely. When it's gone, it's gone. I hope to raise a glass with you this evening.

Next week in The Spirits Project
Glen Garioch 23 Year 1990 Scotch

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