Travel Daydream: The Spirits of Mallorca

These days, I am doing most of my traveling in my mind, but when I am able, I will be on the next flight to the Spanish island of Mallorca (sometimes called “Majorca” in English). Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands are located about in the Mediterranean Sea, 150 miles/240 km of the coast of Spain.

In addition to the pristine beaches (check out Cala Agulla on the island’s east coast), the cities (check out the sophisticated capital—Palma de Mallorca—or the old town of Alcúdia), and a plethora of amazing activities (you can catch an underground concert in the Caves/Cuevas del Drach)—Mallorca has an amazing local food scene. You’ll want to try Sobrassada (spicy sausage), Trampó (a salad made with local tomatoes, green peppers, and olive oil), and Ensaimadas (a spiral-shaped sweet pastry enjoyed at breakfast or as a snack). The island is also known for several specialty spirits, including two that have been recognized as iconic products of the region.

Here are some details on the spirits of Mallorca:

Palo de Mallorca is a bitter liqueur with a protected geographical indication (GI) for Mallorca since 1989. It is typically served as an aperitif with a bit of soda water and ice. This popular tipple is known as Palo con Sifón, as in “palo with sparkling water spritzed from a siphon.”

Palo de Mallorca is made from an infusion of the quinine-containing bark of the Cinchona tree (quina) and gentian root. These botanicals are bitter-tasting and flavorful, and known to be a preventative and remedy for fevers, malaria, and other maladies. Like most bitters, Palo de Mallorca was first produced as a form of herbal medicine. Sweeteners and caramel coloring were added by later generations to make it more palatable and led to its popularity as an aperitif and for use in cocktails.

Palo de Mallorca is bottled at a minimum of 25% abv and is intended to have a bitter taste balanced by sweetness. It is dark brown-to-almost black in color and shows aromas and flavors of licorice, dried herbs, and caramel. At last count, there were eight brands of Palo de Mallorca in production. Of these, the best known include Tunel, Limsa, Dos Perellons, and Vidal. Alas, to purchase Palo from a store, you’ll most likely need to travel to Europe (but it should be available via online retailers).

The name—palo—translates to “stick,” but is based on palo quina—the island’s traditional name for quina bark.

Herbes de Mallorca is produced using a base of an anise-flavored spirit and infused with other aromatic plants grown on the island of Mallorca. Typical flavorings include lemon verbena, chamomile, rosemary, fennel, and lemon balm as well as local citrus fruit (lemon and orange). Herbes de Mallorca was awarded a protected geographical indication (GI) for Mallorca in 2008.

Herbes de Mallorca may be bottled unsweetened (dry), or with varying degrees of sugar (up to 300 g/L). Dry versions are bottled with a minimum of 35% alcohol by volume, while sweet versions require at least 20% abv.

Herbes de Mallorca has a clear appearance with colors ranging from amber to vivid green. Aromas and flavors are typically described as a combination of anise (licorice), green herbs—fresh and intense), citrus (lemon and orange), and mild floral undertones.

The production of spirits infused with herbs on Mallorca. It is believed that it can be traced back to the establishment of a series of Christian monasteries all around the island in the 13^th century. The popularity of the drink soared in the 19^th century, when just about every farmer—and many householders—produced their own versions of Herbes de Mallorca.

These days, Herbes de Mallorca is enjoyed as an aperitif or digestif—often on the rocks, with or without a shot of soda water—or as a shot (chupito). A popular cocktail known as Agua de Mallorca combines it together with kiwi fruit (grown on the island) and soda water. Figs—another specialty of Mallorca—are often dried and soaked in Herbes de Mallorca to make a well-preserved and tasty snack.

Herbes de Mallorca is available in the larger wine and spirits markets of the United States or via online retailers. Popular brands include Tunel, Morey, and Mezcladas de Mallorca.

Note: Herbes de Mallorca is the Catalan spelling; the Spanish verion—Hierbas de Mallorca—is also used.

While they are not widely seen outside of Europe, Mallorca also produces a good deal of wine. Check back next week for a post about the wines of Mallorca!

References/for more information:

• Techincal File – Palo de Mallorca – English
• Technical File – Herbas de Mallorca – English
• https://www.tasteatlas.com/hierbas-de-mallorca
• Palo de Mallorca | Local Herbal Liqueur From Mallorca, Spain | TasteAtlas
• https://www.mallorquiner.com/spirituosen/palo/

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

Blast from the Past: Appellation d’Origine Réglementée par Decret

If you google-search images of old-timey French spirits such as eau-de-vie, various forms of Marc, and old bottles of Cognac, you are likely to come across the label term “Appellation d’Origine Réglementée par Decret.” I have always wondered about this term, but not quite enough to embark on a search for its true meaning. I assumed it was yet another archaic term used sometime and somewhere in the long and ever-evolving history wine and spirits. So be it.

Until…I started coming across the term used on contemporary bottles. For example, while trying to find a bottle of Marc de Bourgogne for sale in my area, I came across dozens of pictures of bottles labeled, as I would expect, with the term Appellation d’origine Contrôlée (AOC). However, I found an equal amount labeled with the term Appellation d’Origine Réglementée par Decret (AOR). Dozens of google-searches and late-night perusals of reference books later, I still was not quite sure what the Appellation d’Origine Réglementée par Decret stood for.

Lately, I have been able to—at least—put a dent in the mystery. Here’s the story, as well as I can tell it:

As we all know, the regulation of certain wines, foods, and spirits were written into the laws and regulations of France by the early 1900’s. According to a 146-page document published by the Comité National des Appellations d’Origine des Vins et Eaux-de-Vie (1946), by the 1940’s a slew of appellations were in effect, including a long list of wine regions that were classified as Appellation d’origine Contrôlée (AOC).

This same document confirms classified status for several dozen distilled spirits as Appellation d’Origine Réglementée par Decret (AOR)—“appellation regulated by decree.”  These spirits include Cognac, eight different versions of Calvados, several versions of Marc, and a long list of regional Eaux-de-vie.

According to another dug-up document—this one authored by the Commission Nationale des Boissons Spiritueuses and titled Abrogation des Appellations d’Origine réglementées et simples—by the early 2000’s, many of the AOR decrees had been repealed, and some had been replaced by AOCs.

However, many of the original AOR designations remain “on the books” and are still in use. These include (at last count) 27 versions of eaux-de-vie, Marc d’Auvergne, Marc de Lorraine, and Mirabelle de Lorraine.

The moral of this story is: you may indeed stumble across a bottle of French brandy that bears the label term AOR—don’t freak out…its not a typo, and its not a fake. It’s a piece of history.

References/for more information:

• http://www.aoc-igp.fr/label-aor/
• http://www.marque-alcool.com/marques_edv-marc-savoie.html
• https://pandor.u-bourgogne.fr/functions/ead/detached/INAO/inao_binao_n21_11_1946.pdf
• Abrogation-textes-relatifs-AOR

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

The Spirits of Burgundy: Marc de Bourgogne AOC

Mention the word “Burgundy” to any wine lover and you will most likely be greeted by a dreamy gaze, a loving sigh, and a soliloquy on the joys of satiny Pinot Noir and refined Chardonnay.

It remains a solid truth the Burgundy produces some of the finest, swoon-worthy and fan-obsessed wines on the planet. No argument. However, on a recent trip through Burgundy I was lucky enough to come across some of the brandy, eaux-de-vie (including pear, Mirabelle, and raspberry), and liqueurs (made from currants, raspberries, cherries, and herbs) produced in the region. Many of these products are obscure and many are only available locally (le sigh); if you’d like to window shop, I suggest the website of Distillerie A. Méan.

Another thing I learned is that some of the Burgundy-based spirits are well-known and widely distributed—famous enough in their own right, despite the super-fame of their fermented grape cousins. One of these spirits is the unique pomace brandy of the region, Marc de Bourgogne AOC.

Burgundy is one of the three wine-producing regions of France (the other two are Alsace and Jura) that has earned AOC status for its pomace brandy, known as marc (in French, it rhymes with the English word “car”). As defined in the first line of the cahier des charges for Marc de Bourgogne, it is may also be referred to as an eau-de-vie (Eau-de-Vie Marc de Bourgogne).

Like any pomace brandy, Marc de Bourgogne is produced from the “leftovers” (grape skins, seeds, and stems) of wine production. Marc de Bourgogne may be made anywhere in the Burgundy region, from the remains of any of the grape varieties allowed to be grown in Burgundy (even the obscurities such as Aligoté, Sacy, César, and Tressot) that were previously used to produce wine with a Burgundy appellation. The marc is allowed to be distilled via copper pot stills or short-column copper stills. The spirit must come off the still at a maximum of 72% alcohol by volume.

One thing that makes Marc de Bourgogne unique is the aging requirement. Many of the world’s famous pomace brandies—including grappa—are bottled in unaged expressions, but Marc de Bourgogne must be aged for a minimum of two years in wood containers. Both new and unaged wood is used. As with many French brandies, there is also a list of allowed label designations based on additional age; these include the following:

• Vieille: minimum 4 years
• Très Vieille: minimum 6 years
• Hors d’Âge: minimum 10 years

Marc de Bourgogne AOC must be bottled at a minimum of 40% alcohol by volume.

According to the Cahier de Charges, about 200 wine growers/producers in Burgundy prepare pomace (marc) for distillation. Of these, about 50 produce their own brandy, while the others sell their pomace to larger distilleries—where it may be used in the production of eau-de-vie marc, liqueurs, or fortified wines. Of the dozen-or-so large distilleries currently working in Burgundy, four of them (at last count) still operate “mobile” distilleries that go from vineyard to vineyard producing spirits. Most of the stills in use are over 100 years old, having been passed down through generations of farmers and distillers.

Marc has been produced in Burgundy (as far as we know) since the 1600’s. The earliest known mention of the product is to be found in a memo (letter) sent to the Duke of Burgundy in 1698. In this letter, known as the Mémoire su l’état de sa généralité, the Duke is informed that the area produces on tire un assez bon grand produit d’une chose qui n’était bonne qu’à brûle—google translated as “a fairly good product is produced from a thing which was good only to burn.”

Suffice it to say that in the reputation of Marc de Bourgogne has since improved dramatically. Most experts will agree that the Marc produced in Burgundy is among the highest-quality in all of France. It seems that consumers agree, as some ultra-aged and high-quality expressions of Marc de Bourgogne can fetch prices as high as those seen for Cognac.

The aroma of well-aged versions of Marc de Bourgogne have been described in terms of freshly roasted almonds, honeysuckle, dried roses, raisins, maple, dried leaves, and oak; typical flavors include dried plum, smoke, raisin, and wood.

The AOC for Marc de Bourgogne was approved in 1942. Marc de Bourgogne is difficult, but not impossible, to find in North America.

References/for more information:

• Cahier des Charges Marc de Bourgogne AOC
• https://www.uvinum.co.uk/marc/domaine-romanee-conti-marc-de-bourgogne-75cl-1999
• http://www.a-mean.com/
• http://domaineselect.com/product/marc-de-bourgogne/
• https://jacoulot.com/en/products/marc-fine/
• https://jacoulot.com/en/products/marc-fine/
• http://www.boudier.com/en/gamme/specialites-bourguignonnes/
• http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/recipes/sc-food-0320-drink-marc-20150317-story.html

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

 

Literary Libations

It’s a good time of year for two of my favorite things: having a high-quality cocktail and taking the time to relax and read a good book. So this year I’d thought I’d explore the area where literature and libations connect, and share a few distilled spirits named in honor of some of my favorite authors.

Robert Burns Single Malt Scotch Whisky: Named for Scotland’s most famous poet, the Robert Burns Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced by the Isle of Arran Distillery.  The distillery’s website describes the whisky’s appearance as resembling “Ayrshire sunshine,” a reference to Ayrshire, the poet’s place of birth, which is just across the Firth of Clyde (a 14–mile wide inlet of the Atlantic Ocean) from the island of Arran.

This delightful whisky—redolent of apples, vanilla, apricot, honeysuckle, and smoke—is good just about any time you might fancy a dram; however, there is no excuse not to have a glass or two on Burns Night. Burns Night (also known as Robbie Burns Day) is an annual celebration of the poet’s January 25^th birthday. The holiday is often marked with a Burns dinner featuring Scotch whisky, poetry recitations, bagpipers, and a main dish of haggis (as noted in Burns’ famous poem, “Address to a Haggis”).

Here is a quote on the joys of whisky from Robert Burns (“John Barkeycorn” is a term for whisky):

• “Inspiring bold John Barleycorn! What dangers thou canst make us scorn! Wi’ tippeny [tuppenny ale], we fear nae evil; Wi’ usquabae [whisky], we’ll face the devil!”—Robert Burns (1759–1796), Tam o’ Shanter

Dorothy Parker Gin: Dorothy Parker gin is produced by Brooklyn’s New York Distilling Company. Dorothy Parker Gin is named for New York City’s witty, wise-cracking poet, critic, and short-story author, best-known as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Dorothy reveled in her martinis and as such, she seems to be the perfect character to be honored on the label of a bottle of gin.

According to their website, Dorothy Parker American Gin is flavored with “a blend of traditional and contemporary botanicals including juniper and elderberries, citrus, cinnamon, and hibiscus.” They’ve even created a cocktail known as “The Acerbic Mrs. Parker” that combines the gin with fresh lemon juice, hibiscus syrup, and orange liqueur.

Here is the quote that makes Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) the ideal candidate for having a gin named after her:

• “I like to have a martini, two at the very most. After three I’m under the table, after four I’m under my host.” ―Dorothy Parker, The Collected Dorothy Parker

 James Joyce No. 15 Single Malt Irish Whiskey: James Joyce No. 15 Single Malt Irish Whiskey, named after Ireland’s famed novelist, short story write, and poet—best known for Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and the short story collection Dubliners—is a bit of a unicorn bottle. It’s a private label, limited edition (only 15 barrels) Irish whiskey produced by Bushmills Distillery and bottled in 2016 for the James Joyce House in Dublin. (It was also priced at 250 Euros, at least on the internet). The name of the whiskey honors the address—No. 15 Usher’s Island—of the famous “House of the Dead,” featured in Dubliners.

I haven’t had the opportunity to taste this rare spirit, however, according to the website of the L. Mulligan Whisky Shop, it has flavors of fruit (citrus, grapefruit, green apple), spice (cinnamon), and chocolate, with a bit of tannin and wood on the finish.

Here’s a quote from James Joyce that will have any whiskey aficionado reaching for a glass:

• “The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.” ― James Joyce (1882–1941), Dubliners

Do you have any favorite spirits named after an author?

References/for more information:

• http://www.nydistilling.com/spirits/
• http://www.nydistilling.com/recipes
• https://www.scotland.org/events/burns-night
• http://www.robertburnswhisky.com/
• http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poems/address-haggis
• https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/famous-whisky-drinkers/8261/famous-whisky-drinkers-robert-burns/
• http://www.lmulliganwhiskeyshop.com/James-Joyce-Single-Malt-Irish-Whiskey-p/james-joyce.htm

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

Crafty Cocktails: The Staycation/Aviation

It’s no secret that folks in the wine and spirits industry tend to travel a bit, and the anh (adorable new husband) and I are no exception. Having just returned from a trip to the Pacific Northwest followed by a 3-week drive halfway across the United States (via weirdly silent-driving-freakish-hybrid rental car) and with the memory of a disastrous trip to Asia (Beijing hospital, Hong Kong emergency room) fresh in our minds, when we recently found ourselves with a long weekend free of work obligations, we decided to stay the h*** home.

As we live in Austin, Texas, there’s no shortage of cool and fascinating things to do around town. We started off with Friday night dinner at Fonda San Miguel, complete with authentic Paloma cocktails, and planned a trip to Genius Liquids distillery on Saturday afternoon. Before I go into details about Genius Liquids, let me just say: if you live in Texas, go visit them. If you like gin, be on the lookout for Genius Gin. This stuff lives up to its name.

To start off our tour, we were met at the door of the tiny distillery by Mike Groener, our brilliant host and one of the owners. He showed us around their facility, complete with a Kentucky-made pot still and shiny copper column still. We were invited to stick our noses in the maceration tanks where neutral spirits take their first step to becoming Genius Gin by soaking with giant “tea bags” of botanicals, and played a sniff-and-guess game with orange peel, cardamom, juniper, and cubeb berries.

All throughout our stay, we tasted through a range of gins, including “regular strength” Genius Gin (47% abv), Navy Strength Genius Gin (57% abv), an absolutely delightful Oaked Genius Gin (50% abv), and the amazingly richly-flavored-yet-somehow-light Old Highborn Texas Dry Gin (50% abv). My favorite was the “regular” version, while Shields preferred the Old Highborn, so we bought one of each.

At the beginning of our tasting, Mike asked us about our preferences in gins and cocktails, and I had mentioned Hendrick’s Gin and the Aviation Cocktail as favorites. Based on my answers Mike predicted that that the “regular” Genius Gin was the best choice for me and as it turns out, he was correct. He also mentioned that it would be an excellent choice for use in an Aviation Cocktail and that got me to thinking…

The Aviation Cocktail is a pre-prohibition cocktail, first mentioned in print by New York bartender Hugo Ensslin in his 1916 book, “Recipes for Mixed Drinks.” The basic recipe is 2 parts gin, 1 part lemon juice, a few dashes of maraschino cherry liqueur, and a few dashes of crème de violette. I assume the name “Aviation” refers to the light blue(ish), purple(ish), clear-sunset-sky(ish) color of the drink.

I feel that the standard recipe needs a bit of sweetness, and I also have my ingrained preferences for liqueurs, so I have always used this formula for the Aviation Cocktail: 2 parts gin, 1 part Luxardo Marsachino, 1 part Creme d’Yvette, 1 part lemon juice, and ½ part simple syrup. My mixing instructions read, “Place in a shaker with crushed ice and toss about like a jet plane in a thunder storm. Strain and enjoy the calming effects.” Imho, it’s delicious.

For the Genius Gin, I wanted to come up with something unique—and I had the perfect ingredient: a brand new bottle of Sacred Rosehip Cup. This is a modern, bittersweet liqueur produced by Ian Hart at his microdistillery—located in his family home in Highgate, North London. Sacred Rosehip Cup is flavored with rosehips, rhubarb, and ginger (among other things). Hart bills it as a “less bitter alternative to Campari” so (shades of Negronis danced in my head) and I thought it would make a great mixer with gin.

Here’s what I came up with: I call it the Staycation/Aviation Cocktail (with a tip of the hat to Hugo Ensslin):

Staycation/Aviation Cocktail (Austin Style)

• 2 parts Genius Gin
• 1 part Sacred Rosehip Cup Liqueur
• 1 part Lemon Juice
• 1 Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• ½ part Simple Syrup
• Place in a shaker with crushed ice and shake. Strain into a fancy glass, garnish with a (real) Maraschino cherry, and stay the hell home.

References/for more information:

• http://geniusliquids.com/
• http://www.drinkboy.com/Cocktails/Recipe.aspx?itemid=10
• https://sacredspiritscompany.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=60
• https://www.thespruce.com/aviation-cocktail-recipe-760055

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net

The Playboy and the Electric Car

The playboy and the electric car…it’s an odd title, I’m aware. And kudos to you for even clicking on it, as it admittedly tells you very little about the story which is to follow, which is actually about Cynar.

Cynar—pronounced CHEE-nar—is an Italian amari (bitter liqueur) that is probably only known to true cocktail aficionados and CSS students. For you liquor store archeologists, it’s the big green bottle with an artichoke on the label. (Yes, an artichoke.)

Before we get into the actual story I’m burning to tell you, let’s get this out of the way: Cynar is an acquired taste. It’s not the prettiest bottle on the shelf—and it’s competing with beautiful bottles bearing pictures of rose petals, wild raspberries, and baskets of wildflowers from Provence. Also, if you glance at the bottle quickly, you might think that the C-y-n-a stands for cyanide. I’d understand if you would prefer to walk on by.

Then there’s the flavor. It has a short burst of sweetness and quickly becomes intensely bitter and very, very herbal—this followed by a vegetal flavor that you might recognize as asparagus, but will describe as artichoke because you saw the picture on the bottle. You might think that you’ve never tasted anything like it before, but then you remember the Dr. Brown’s celery soda you once bought by mistake.

Keep in mind, however, that an acquired taste is just that—it must be acquired. Remember your first taste of hoppy beer, Stilton cheese, or octopus-on-a-stick? You might not have adored it at first, but you got used to it until you started to crave it. Trust me, Cynar will be the same, and its legendary ability to calm your stomach (like many digestives) is a real thing.

The story of Cynar (and the playboy and the electric car) begins in 1952. About that time, a Venetian entrepreneur named Angelo Dalle Molle created and began to distribute Cynar, his artichoke-flavored liqueur. Rumor has it that he chose the artichoke due to its aphrodisiac properties. The story continues (with a wink and a nod) that the love-potion formulation must have worked pretty well, as the creator was a well-known and successful man-about-town, fathering six children with six different women and—at the age of 80—marrying his secretary who was 40 years younger than he.

Numerous references point to the veracity of this story, and as far as I am concerned, that’s a pretty good story. I love a good tale of love, lust, and longevity. And there’s a happy ending as well: Cynar became popular very quickly, and in 1976 Dalle Molle sold the formula to Bols (a Dutch brand famous for many spirits and liqueurs) and became a wealthy man. Many years later, well into his 90’s, he passed away peacefully—and left his young bride a fortune of over 30 million euros.

But there’s another side to the Venetian playboy of Cynar. In addition to being a businessman, he is remembered for being a patron of the arts and a utopian philanthropist. Let me explain: utopian—in the  sense that he believed in the possibility of an ideal (or, at least, better) world and philanthropist—meaning he was generous with his time and money, using both in the service of mankind.

He also had a technological/scientific side—he’s been called a true “Renaissance Man,” and in his case, it’s believable. Dalle Molle was an early adopter of information technology and believed that technology should be used to improve the quality of human life. In order to accomplish this goal, he established the Fondation Dalle Molle pour la Qualité de la Vie (Dalle Molle Foundation for the Quality of Life). The foundation is still awarding grants and prizes for projects that “encourage and promote research which allows people to benefit from science and technology and to improve quality of life.”

Through this foundation he created and funded several research institutes, including the Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi Semantici e Cognitivi (Dalle Molle Institute for Semantic and Cognitive Studies), which was established for the purpose of conducting research into languages, linguistics, and automated translation. Another project is the Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull’Intelligenza Artificiale (Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research), founded with the goal of applying artificial intelligence to the quality of life.

Dalle Molle was very concerned about pollution, and at yet another project, the Centro Studi della Barbariga, he oversaw the design and production of over 200 electric cars. These cars were put to use as taxi cabs, vans, and as an ambulance. Seven of these cars are now in the collection of the Museo dell’automobile in the city of Vicenza.

Angelo Dalle Molle’s work lives on, and you can learn more about about his life—as both a playboy and a creator of electric cars—on the website of the Dalle Molle Foundation for the Quality of Life.

References/for more information:

• http://www.dallemolle.ch/en/the-foundation/achievements
• http://www.camparigroup.com/en/brands/liqueursothers/cynar
• http://www.cynar.it/view/verify.php

The Bubbly Professor is “Miss Jane” Nickles of Austin, Texas… missjane@prodigy.net