2009 2Fly Vineyards - shiraz

This bottle was recommended to me by longtime friend (and wine guy) Charles Bissell of Charles Fine Wines in Glastonbury. The wine itself, a medium-bodied red, is imported from southern Australia by a company based right here in South Glastonbury.

The history of shiraz in Australia is, as wine goes, not very long. James Busby, an immigrant to Australia from England, brought Spanish and French vines over to Australia in 1831. Some of the vines were planted in the Sydney Botanical Gardens and later that decade some vines were imported to southern Australia, a region that today produces the majority of Australia's wine. I've had Yellow Tail shiraz before (as well as their chardonnay) and while I don't care for white wine, I found their shiraz to be OK. But most of the wines I drink / review are from Europe, so I was interested in delving right into a New World vintage.

So after pouring a splash out, recorking the bottle, volatizing it, and then pouring out my glass, I let it sit for 10 minutes and then gave it a shot. This was the best bottle of shiraz I have had in my life - it was deep and plummy but not overly tart or dry. The wine was fruity, but did not have the same fruit-forward punch that some of the jammier wines have (I'm looking at you, Grenache.) That's not to say I don't LIKE those kinds, but I wouldn't look for that in a shiraz. The nose wasn't sharp at all but very nuanced; plum was the biggest note I could identify. Plum and berry flavors play a huge role in this wine.  It was peppery and ripe but wasn't rough either on the initial glass or on the succeeding four glasses.

The color was positively purple.

The finish was smooth but the flavors did linger; I actually like that in this wine. It's a wine I will definitely seek out again and would pair very well with heavier dishes...I had mine with a very mild Indian meal of lamb saag, garlic naan, and jasmine rice. Hats off once again to Charles for recommending a winner - I believe this wine cost $15 for the bottle and was definitely worth it!

Rogue Brewing Co - Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon Ale

I heard about this beer online a while back but had never seen it in the stores. The other day while browsing at Whole Foods I came across it and couldn't resist. From the bright pink Pepto-Bismol-colored bottle to the undeniable appeal of maple and bacon, I knew I had to give it a shot.

The beer itself is a 5.6% ABV brown ale, brewed with a laundry list of special ingredients such as maple syrup, real bacon, and several specialized kinds of hops and malts. Given both my New England heritage and my recent review of a maple beer, I looked forward to exploring even further the inclusion of maple syrup into beer.

I cracked open the beer and poured it into a chilled pint glass. It has a nice smoky amber color that is cloudy. The head was a yellowed-white color. The nose was pungent and slightly sweet. The pour was a little thick and syrupy, with minimal carbonation.

And, then we come to the taste. I can see what Rogue wanted to achieve here - a smoky mix of bacon and maple reminiscent of pancakes with syrup and crispy bacon - but sadly the actual taste does not meet that goal. Instead of a milky-smooth, flavorful brew, Rogue has succeeded in crafting a beer that is overwhelmed by a sickly-sweet alcoholic taste. The notes of maple and bacon I was expecting (and hoping for) are present, but vaguely so, and sadly overpowered by a harsh caustic burn. The aftertaste is one of dark, burnt malt.

So, I guess I can't recommend this ale in good faith. For $13, I was expecting something much more well-crafted and polished. Instead the beer falls flat as a drinkable beer. In their quest to make a crazy, unique, flavored beer, Rogue has forsaken all drinkability. It's not that I don't like maple or bacon - I very much enjoy both (especially bacon. Yeah, bacon) - but I feel that this beer simply did not combine these ingredients well into a beer. In my opinion, the primary goal of a brewmaster should be to make a beer that's drinkable, and work out from there. Perhaps Rogue needs to return to the drawing board and start over to make this beer work. 

Peak Organic - The Maple Collaboration

So I must confess: I love good beer, too. There's something about a nice hoppy IPA or a deep Belgian witbier or a delicious porter that really makes life worth living. And I've been spoiled: I've never lived anywhere that does not have easy access to a Whole Foods or a beer distributor, so I've had a chance to try dozens and dozens of tasty brews. Some not-so-tasty ones have crossed my pallette, but let's not talk about those. Let's talk about a tasty one.

So today I'm going to review Peak Organic's "The Maple Collaboration." Being from New England, sweet maple syrup is practically irresistible for me this time of year. Luckily, the Portland, ME-based Peak Organic Brewing Company delivers.

Their Maple Collaboration is made with Vermont maple syrup and a healthy dose of malt. Now, looking at this beer both in the bottle and in the glass...

...one might think it tastes sweet. Like maple candy. But it's actually not super sweet, but strikes a nice balance between malty and sweet. It tastes more like maple cotton candy in terms of sweetness - it's sweet, but the maple does not kick you in the teeth like maple candy does. It's very smooth, with notes of oat and maple sugar. The pour was easy, foamy, and has lots of carbonation. The beer has a nice sugared aftertaste. Some beers leave you gasping for air (or dealing with a harsh aftertaste - I'm looking directly at you, IPAs) but this beer simply invites you to have another taste. The cost was also a factor: it was just shy of $9 for the 22 oz.-bottle, so very affordable. I'd love to know how well it cellars, because if it's able to be bottle-conditioned I'd love to grab a half-dozen and hang on to them until next year.

So the verdict is that this beer is worth trying. If you like maple and the taste of fall, give it a spin. It's probably a dessert beer, though, because of the sweetness. Definitely worth a drink!

Drew Estate Liga Undercrown

So for my first cigar review, I'd like to take a look at a relatively new favorite: the Liga Undercrown. Drew Estates, the maker of this cigar, has made some pretty spectacular cigars and has a very popular line of flavored cigars. I first tried this cigar when I attended a rooftop congressional campaign event; one of the guests was a rep for Drew Estate and thrust a few of these in my hand. I ended up liking them so much I bought a few more come summer. I believe they were around $45 for 5.

This cigar has always impressed me with the depth of flavor. Unlike some smokes that are light on flavor (or worse yet, flavored with some stupid sugar casing like cherry or vanilla), this maduro leaf cigar has no problem providing some strong, dark flavor. The cigar itself, as evident by the dark leaves, was deep, lush, smoky, and sugary sweet. The wrapper itself is a Mexican tobacco, the binder a Connecticut Habano, and the filler a mix of Nicaraguan and Brazilian leaves. It lights up well (easy draw) and produces a heady white smoke and, as pictured below, a bright white ash.

It managed to survive most of the way down, maybe 3/4, before it started to burn a bit rough. Throughout the life of the cigar it maintained flavor, burned evenly, and did not fall apart.

Smoke this if you're looking for a nice maduro cigar that has some strength to it but still retains the nice sweetness. The cost may be a bit prohibitive for novice smokers, and certainly the strength of the cigar is also a bit much for novices, but this cigar is definitely worth giving a try. As with all my reviews, I am not paid or compensated in any way by these brands.