Kiwi Treasure Trove #1- Herradura Antiguo 1870

I enjoy every trip back to NZ. The weather is lousy, there's nobody around and invariably everything is shut because it's a public holiday. I do however always manage to find a fair bit of loot and this Christmas holiday proved no different.

Herradura Antiguo 1870

This year I grabbed a bottle of tequila - one that's a rare find on Australian shores. It's not a new product to me - rather the bottle of Herradura Antiguo 1870 I came across is a piece of nostalgia for me. It had me reminiscing about those wild nights I used to have as a younger bartender. I used to annoy the shit out of older bartenders in Auckland. Now I irritate bartenders old and young alike in Sydney with ridiculous orders - like London's Calling I got Christian Blair to make me a Eau De Vie last night.

Anyhow I digress. I first came across this delicious reposado at a cracking wee bar called Tabac - it was their house pour. The bar is still there though it has been years since I've visited so I cannot attest to it's ongoing excellence or whether the still pour this beaut. But they poured plenty down my throat back in the day.

According to Hancock's who distribute and market Brown-Forman's Brands in NZ the Antiguo 1870 was released in 1995 to commemorate 125 years of Tequila Herradura. It's also meant to be a replica of the tequila that Casa Herradura was producing in 1924. It is rested in pipones for four months. At any rate, if you manage to pick up a bottle (it only costs 53 NZ Pesos or $41 AUD) you'll enjoy sweet agave and poached pear on the nose with fragrant cinnamon, vanilla and dried garden herbs. The palate's initial agave sweetness is is voided by a dry and complex mid-palate with plenty of savouriness as you'd expect from the valle de Tequila. Enjoy lingering black pepper, olive and minty notes from this well balanced drop.

If you enjoy it as much as I do you'll start pestering your Brown-Forman contact to get it brought into Australia. Unlike the last test match or Rugby World Cup, New Zealand having a better selection of booze is one thing you don't have to live with.

Awake from a Booze Snooze

Struth that was one hell of a festive season! 2011 finished with a whiz and a bang and a cocktail or three along the way. Stone the flaming crows! I totally missed out on sharing this beaut little festive tipple with you  (I'm trying to get used to the Aussie lingo again after two weeks back in NZ. Bro). Anywho I've now awoken from my booze snooze to share more tippling posts with you in 2012.

Smoky Kumquat Swizzle

The reason this pretty little number came about? Well my new local green grocer, Galuzzo's on Glebe Point Road, is an absolute rip-snorter. Their top-notch produce is locally sourced wherever possible and if from interstate they list the exact region it was sourced from. Kumquats were the local specialty before the break and the best way I find to extract their bitter sweet citrus flavour is to cook them in a syrup with some sweet spices like star anise, clove and cinnamon. And that's exactly what I did.

So without further dalliance here's my Smoky Kumquat Swizzle:

Smoky Kumquat Swizzle
60ml Johnnie Walker Double Black (a great Christmas stocking filler if there ever was one)
30ml lemon juice
20ml Spiced kumquat syrup
2 dashes Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter Bitters

Add all ingredients into a Julep cup. Fill 3/4 with cruished ice and swizzle with a long handled barspoon. Cap with crushed ice and garnish with a syrup soaked kumquat and a whole star anise.

Richard Patterson - The Virtual Nose Comes to Town

Richard Patterson with The Dalmore Trintas 64yo single malt Scotch whisky

Richard 'The Nose' Patterson is a coming to town. Well sort of. The newly revamped Bellevue Hotel in Paddington have been holding a series of whisky tasting events and launches recently including the launch of the new - to Australian shores at least - Johnnie Walker Double Black. But next week, however, they're pulling out all the stops.

For one night only, The Bellevue will be hosting a Scotch whisky master class with Mr Patterson via a live telecast from Scotland. Patterson is the master blender and master distiller for Whyte & Mackay and the Dalmore. He's also behind Spencerfield Spirits’ tasty blends - Sheep Dip and Pigs Nose (get into the Sheep Dip 'Old Hebridean' - it's a master stroke).

Patterson, I can tell you now is a singular character in the malt whisky world. I've been stuck in a room with him before at the old Star City for an interview for Bartender magazine just weeks after I'd started the gig. I was just hoping for a quick quote for a news item, and two hours later I'd run out of tape and batteries for my dictaphone. I didn't have the heart to tell the man I was no longer recording - but hey we were drinking malt, I was having a grand old time and the gentleman left a lasting impression. I'll drink any whisky he's behind any day of the week.

At any rate the evening is going to be a real doosey. It kicks off at 6:45pm on Monday 12th and for just $60 you'll get a cocktail on arrival, a whisky tasting plate (including Dan Wolley's renowned whisky jam), as well as samples of the Dalmore Highland single malt Scotch whisky range including the 12 year, 15 year, 18 year and the rare and highly prized King Alexander III.

If I were you I'd email my interest to emily@riversdalegroup.com.au right now. Seats are strictly limited. 

Visit bellevuehotel.com.au for more info on upcoming events at their superbly appointed Whiksy Room