Glenfiddich 18 Year Ancient Reserve

With 18 years of aging, the Glenfiddich Distillery 18 Year Ancient Reserve is the second oldest Scotch, and fourth oldest whisk(e)y of any variety I have tried, and it certainly shows its age and maturity in each delightful sip.  As Robin Scherbatsky says, "I love a Scotch that's old enough to order its own Scotch," and this variety is, at least in its place of origin.

I sadly only had a "nip" of this masterpiece; every year there are a few nips of good booze in my stocking at Christmas, and two years ago (I'm seriously not sure how this lasted this long) I got this.  The bottle is just a standard Glenfiddich bottle in miniature, maintaining its distinctive shape, color and label, and is even packaged in a tube just like the rest of the distillery's higher end offerings.

Drinking this is a legitimate pleasure, with just a hint of Scotch's characteristic harshness, and robust peaty flavors make this a model Speyside option.  Slightly sweet, supremely smooth, very lightly smoked, and with nearly two decades of aging, the oak casks have imparted their distinctive flavors and aromas as well.  There is an apple-like quality to the sweetness that was very enjoyable, and I thought a little bit of citrus came through as well, though I could be wrong about that.  Overall, this is among my favorite I have ever had, and if I can find some more for a reasonable price, I'll be happy to work a little overtime in order to get a full bottle of it.

Please note that this is not the same as the standard Glenfiddich 18 Year Single Malt.  I do not know what exactly the differences are, but they are not the same thing, and the bottles and packaging should be enough to tell you which you are buying.

******

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Maine Trip #1

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!  This is my favorite time of year, despite my recently acquired aversion to cold, because I absolutely love Christmas.  I am, without a doubt, the worst Jew ever, but since I grew up celebrating Christmas in Portland, ME with my step-family, I came to love it not as a religious holiday, but instead as a time to get together with family and friends, exchange gifts, tell stories, and of course, eat lots and lots of great food.  This year, in addition to the great food we had at family dinners, I went out and tried a few new places in Portland and the surrounding area.  I also hit up an old favorite, Pai Men Miyake, which has become a requirement for my Portland trips over the last year.

*****

First up was Local 188, a fairly high end restaurant that specializes in fresh, local ingredients.  Now, before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure my sister and her boyfriend are both managers there, front and back of the house respectively, and this meal was essentially comped.  That said, I did greatly enjoy it, as I had a classic favorite of mine (steak tartare), a classic Maine dish (mussels), and an innovative take on a true Italian classic (gnocchi with lobster).

I started off with a cocktail, the "Bergeron Sidecar," made with house infused vanilla and fig bourbon, Cointreau, and lemon juice.  Ordinarily I am not a big cocktail person, preferring either to drink beer or straight spirits, but at my sister's suggestion I went with this, and it was really tasty.  The bourbon did not overpower me, nor did it entirely mask the other ingredients, though it was definitely the dominant flavor.  I do not know what kind of bourbon they used, but it was at least decent, though I doubt it was tremendously high end.  The lemon juice added a nice citrus note to it, but since I have no clue what Cointreau tastes like on its own, I could not tell you whether it added anything.  It would probably have been a better option as a pre-dinner drink, but it was fine during the meal as well.

Since I had never been to Local 188 before, despite my sister having worked there for quite some time now, I decided to sample a few different dishes, and they were all successful, though one clearly stood out above the rest.  The mussels in red sauce were incredible, perfectly cooked (and cleaned, which even in a restaurant is no small measure of success) and delicious.  They are plump, juicy, slightly briny delights that on their own would have been delicious, but when served in the incredible red sauce were legitimately delectable, one of the best dishes I have ever had in a restaurant.  I have no clue what they put in the sauce other than that it is tomato based, and according to my sister Moroccan inspired, but my lord, it is delicious.  I ended up using the endless supply of bread my sister kept grabbing for us (also really good) to sop up all the sauce, because there was no way I was letting any of it go to waste.  Everything else could have been terrible, and this dish would have made going there worth it.

Next up were the gnocchi, which threw me for a bit of a loop.  I am used to, and partial to, light, pillow-y, but deceptively dense gnocchi, which soak up sauces and provide just a little bit of a bite, that perfect al dente.  These were definitely not that; they were absurdly light on the inside, but because they are pan seared, they have a little bit of crispness to the outside.  They were extremely flavorful, and the lobster cream sauce they are served in is great, with a pretty significant amount of lobster piled on top of the gnocchi.  All in all, I liked this, but it definitely was unlike any gnocchi dish I've ever had, and I think I would have liked it even more if they were not seared.  That said, it is nice to see a restaurant do something a little different, and the sear was perfect on each of them.

The final dish, the steak tartare, was both awesome and disappointing.  The steak itself was perfect, uniformly diced and formed beautifully into a classic disc, with capers and truffle oil mixed in that gave it the perfect saltiness and umami flavor to go with the clearly high quality steak.  My issue, however, was the quail egg on top; rather than serve it traditionally, with a raw egg yolk on top, they fried the whole egg sunny side up; this created a textural and process issue for me, as I neither enjoyed the texture of the fried white or having to cut through it while trying to get a bit of the egg with the steak.  Soft egg on top of malleable steak does not cut easily or cleanly.  Additionally, who is eating steak tartare, but has an issue with raw egg?  I would rather have just had the steak itself and no egg on top, because the steak itself was amazing, but that egg was incredibly disappointing.

Overall, I had a great experience, I really enjoyed my food, and I look forward to going back in the future to try some more things.  The paella gets raves from the variety of people I know who have tried it.

Local 188 is relatively vegetarian and gluten-intolerant friendly, with several items on the menu that are one or both already, and the ability to retrofit some others to meet dietary restrictions.

*****

The heart of the brewery; those tanks are filled with delicious, delicious beer

Saturday, after a delicious lunch at Pai Men, my sister and I took a quick trip up to Freeport, a town best known for the Maine staple L.L. Bean, but also now the home to Maine Beer Company.  While they do not offer a brewery tour, they do have a small tap room that overlooks the heart of the brewery.  They offer eight beers on tap at a time, and sometimes (including when I was there) have beers that are "Pilot" brews, not offered for sale anywhere else.  Offering 5oz and 10oz glasses, or four and eight beer samplers of 5oz pours, you can try an old favorite or some new specialties.  I went for the four beer sampler, trying three new-to-me beers, and of course, my all time favorite, the Lunch.

Clockwise from front righ:  Pilot 5, Lil One, Lunch, Weez

The new beers I tried were Weez (7.2%, American Black Ale), Lil One (9.1%, American Strong Ale), and Pilot 5 (5%, American Lager).  The Weez was dark, heavy and very hoppy, but like all of MBC's beers, that hoppiness did not manifest in much bitterness.  The Lil One was anything but, an absurdly strong, vibrant ale that even in a 5oz glass nearly knocked me on my ass.  I would not want to have more than one of these at a time, but it is very, very good.  The Pilot 5 was a nice, light, hoppy lager, and I hope they end up producing it, because I think it would be a great session beer, in a craft world sometimes too crowded by higher ABV offerings.  Lastly (and I did save it for last, so I could savor it), the Lunch, that perfect, delightful, hoppily bright and effervescent IPA; as much as I love Ballast Point's Sculpin, Dogfish Head's 90 Minute, or any of the other truly great IPAs I have had in my life, none of them quite match up to Lunch.  I keep saying it deserves its own review, and it does, but its so hard to find, and when I do, I end up just drinking it without taking the time to sit down and write a review because it is just so freaking good.

FYI, just down the street a short ways is Maine Distilleries Inc, the producer of Cold River Vodka.

*****

I always try to grab lunch or dinner with one or more of my dad's old friends when I make it up to Maine, people who have been very, very good to me in my life and were dear to him in his, and this trip I was able to make it to brunch with his old friend Doug and his wife Ann, who are some of my favorite people in the world.  We tried initially to go to Flatbread, a small chain restaurant that Doug swears by, but they had actually had a small fire that morning and were not opening up until after I needed to leave town, so we ended up at Ri Ra Irish Pub, another small chain that has ten locations throughout the east, plus a new Las Vegas restaurant.  Somehow I had never been there, despite their proximity to the Casco Bay Lines terminal, but since they are right next to Flatbread as well, we decided to pop in.

They are definitely a bar heavy restaurant, and with a pretty decent drink selection at that.  We were there right around noon, so we ended up, at the suggestion of our waiter, ordering brunch.  I had the Irish Benedict, an interesting play on the traditional dish wherein the English muffin is replaced by potato cakes (essentially home fries mashed together and then pan seared) and the Canadian bacon with a large rasher of regular bacon, with house-made Hollandaise on top.  It was served with very unremarkable home fries and a thick slice of grilled tomato (a concept from the British Isles that really needs to catch on more here).  The food took a long time to come out, but our waiter did come over and apologize for that and offered us some soup, on the house, to make up for it; as it turned out, the food arrived almost immediately after the soup came out, but it was nice of the restaurant (or just him?) to do that, and the soup, a tomato bisque, was pretty decent, though I make it better.  The Benedict was quite tasty, albeit kind of difficult to get all the components into one cohesive bite, but that was not a big deal.  The potato cakes were tasty, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like good home fries would be, and the bacon was cooked just right, as were the poached eggs.  I would definitely have it again, or the Lobster Benedict that Doug ordered.

I firmly believe that the average restaurant customer goes in thinking they care primarily about the food, but in reality, people return for the service.  With that in mind, and having had some great waiters, waitresses and bartenders in my life, I have to say that the waiter at Ri Ra was one of the best.  I initially ordered the Irish Benedict, then immediately changed my mind to the Crab Cakes Benedict, a special for the day, and instead of just letting me get the (slightly) more expensive meal, he informed me that the crab cakes were not something that the restaurant does well, and encouraged me to stick with the Irish version.  Not many waiters would do that, and he saved me (and Doug, who was also going to have them) from a poor experience.  Combined with his general friendliness and professionalism, I was very, very impressed by him; even if the food had been only mediocre, rather than actually pretty tasty, I probably would still have written a positive review just because of his service.

******

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La Fiorentina (Northampton, MA)

I have discussed a few of the cafes in Northampton before, including recent posts on The Roost and The Foundry, but nothing comes close to the quality of La Fiorentina.  With three locations now (the others are in Springfield and the newly opened East Longmeadow shop), La Fiorentina presents perfect coffee, delicious pastries, ice cream and other sweets.  Most items are, of course, Italian, though they have other pastries, including my personal favorite croissant.  While I cannot speak to the authenticity of their coffees and sweets, having never been to Italy, I suspect that much of what they offer is true to its heritage, as they seem to have an attention to detail and quality that makes me think that anything less than doing things exactly right would not be acceptable.

"Banana" Marzipan; the cell phone camera does not do the beauty of it justice

I have been going to La Fiorentina since I was a little kid, getting hot chocolate, made with real steamed milk, which is really just so much better than the stuff you get elsewhere, and of course, the greatest treat of all, real marzipan.  Made with almond paste and a lot of sugar, it is slightly sticky, very sweet, and just all in all delicious; as a kid it was my favorite, and today it is a treat that I cannot resist every time I find myself on Armory St.  The marzipan is hand painted and absolutely beautiful, with bright, vibrant colors, shaped and colored to resemble various fruits and objects.  I got a couple of the "banana" treats today, which were so perfectly painted that they looked just like miniature versions of the real thing.  I am sorry to say that my new phone's camera, while pretty good, did not properly capture the colors, because these little treats really are a work of art.  If you have never had marzipan and live or work in the Northampton area, you really need to stop in and try some; if you have tried it and like it, La Fiorentina's will take that to another level.

Beyond the marzipan, they have great fruit tarts, croissant, cheesecake that is to die for, and a lot of really good Italian desserts, including the classic cannoli.  All of their cakes that I have tried are tremendous, and I look forward to trying more, despite my general aversion to very sweet desserts, because they just do such an incredibly good job with all of their food.

The coffee is, as I said, spectacular; it being a rather warm day today (47 degrees is warm in December), I went for an iced latte, and as I took my first long sip of it, all I could think was "if everyone tried this, no one would drink flavored coffee."  The espresso is amazing, rich and flavorful, perfectly roasted, and the milk mixes perfectly with just the right ratio to the coffee.  Their regular coffee is great as well; when I had a few trainings last year in Northampton, their hot coffee was the perfect thing to warm me, and as I struggled to stay awake through 24 hours of boring-ness over three days it kept me awake.  After drinking La Fiorentina coffee I cannot drink Dunkin Donuts' swill for at least a week.

All in all,  I cannot recommend La Fiorentina highly enough, and they are truly my favorite cafe in not just Northampton, but anywhere.  If anyone has a place they think could challenge it, please let me know, but it is a long shot that I will find somewhere that I love more.  FYI, though, their hours suck, not opening until 9am Sunday through Friday, and 8am on Saturday.  I want coffee at 6am, dammit!

******

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Ballast Point Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale

"Wow."

That was the first thing that went through my head, and came out of my mouth, after my first taste of Ballast Point's Tongue Buckler Imperial Red Ale.  It is not so much that Tongue Buckler is a great beer--it isn't--or that it is bad--it definitely isn't--it is just that it is the kind of drink that makes you think "wow."  I do not really know how to explain it, because I do not love this beer, though I do like it, but it is incredible nonetheless.  The amount of flavor packed into it is kind of bizarre, and I think it is the wide range of tastes that threw me off and also keep me from putting it into the pantheon of beers that I crave.

The first thing that hits you is malt, which you smell as the glass approaches your face, and the fact that it is a 10% ABV beer never comes into the equation, from either sense.  After the malt comes the wheat, then a burst of hops, powerful and a little citric, which takes over from everything else.  Finally, the sweetness of the malt comes back in the aftertaste, while the hops do not really linger.  There is a spicy (not hot spicy, but spices kind of spicy) note as well, though I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly from what.  It is an easy drinking beer, which is good because it is not cheap, but bad because, again, it is 10% ABV, which means that if you drink a 22oz bottle on your you may need to wait a few before driving anywhere.

It is a kind of strange looking beer; a few people on BeerAdvocate have remarked that it is not a "red ale" in the traditional visual sense, a dark, cloudy, only slightly reddish pour that has a solid head of deep tan.  I think it looks good, or at least kind of cool, but it is not quite as "pretty" as some other red ales, like the Founders Red Rye PA.  When all put together, it is definitely a beer I will buy again, but I will not crave it the way I do some others.

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On a related note, Ballast Point is rapidly approaching "favorite" status, potentially overtaking Maine Beer Company.  The highs (Sculpin, a top three IPA; Fathom, a truly special pale ale; Sea Monster, a beautiful and inspired imperial stout that I did not know was 10% ABV until I just looked it up; and Victory at Sea, one of the most interesting beers I have ever had) are barely behind MBC's Lunch, and tied with or ahead of the rest of the offerings.  Neither company offers a bad beer, though the Serrano Pale Ale from Ballast Point was just plain weird, albeit in a way I can appreciate.  I see Ballast Point becoming what Dogfish Head has been for so many years; a company with a few tremendous year round offerings, some limited/seasonal beers that people seek out whenever they are released, and a revolving stable of "experimental" brews.  Hopefully, those experimental types are a little more successful than Dogfish Head's, but I see a similar level of creativity out of Ballast Point.  I really love this brewery, though, and classy San Diego should be proud of them.  Thank you to my friend Sean for introducing me to them.

******

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The Roost (Northampton, MA)

The Roost is one of many cafes in Northampton, MA, fighting for supremacy in a market that should be able to support them all.  Similar to last week's review, this is a place that I had seen a few times but never thought to drop in, as I did not really appreciate what it was and what it offered.  My friend Sean and I were going out to grab a beer, but wanted somewhere different than our normal haunts, so he suggested The Roost.

Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu.  Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same.  They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable.  They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.

Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque.  The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions.  My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on.  It was very creamy, and the texture was just right.  Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.

The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil.  The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them.  Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave.  The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter.  The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess.  Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff.  The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there.  Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.

If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well.  FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.

******

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The Foundry (Northampton, MA)

Located across the street from my favorite Northampton spot, The Foundry is a sandwich/coffee shop, which also offers a few craft beers on tap, including a local brew or two.  I had wandered by many a time since The Foundry opened, but never stopped in, thinking it more of a coffee bar than a place to have a meal or a drink, and figuring that if I were getting expensive coffee, I'd go to La Fiorentina, Western Massachusetts' best coffee and pastry shop.  This past Tuesday, however, I found myself with a solid hour or two of down time while I waited for Town Fair Tire to put my new tires on my car, and, wanting to try something new that was not too heavy, I decided to stop in and have a sandwich and a beer.  (**Shout out to Town Fair Tire; those guys rock.  Great deals, good customer service, and nice people in general**)

I ordered one of their hot pressed sandwiches, The Anvil, which includes turkey, sun dried tomatoes, and pepperjack cheese.  This was a very simple sandwich, but was quite tasty, with pretty decent turkey that did not taste like the processed crap you get at the supermarket, sun dried tomatoes that provided a great combination of sweet and savory, and a subtle spice from the cheese.  It did not suffer from the standard issue I find with paninis, where the sandwich is pressed into an homogeneous blob with no character or ability to differentiate between textures and flavors.  The sandwich was served with a small salad of micro-greens that was quite good, and a balsamic vinaigrette that was no better or worse than the ones I make when I'm in a rush or not motivated enough to make a good dressing.

The Foundry also has a few decent beers on their list, and I had a glass of Maine Beer Company's Mo, a great beer that deserves its own review.  They also had something from The People's Pint, a fine local brewpub (though their service sucks horrifically at the restaurant), so it is good to see them supporting local breweries.

All in all, I will almost certainly go back, and I would say it is a good place to check out if you need a quick, light bite to eat.

******

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Tunnel Bar (Northampton, MA) and V-1 Vodka

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*****

Situated under the old Union Station, in--obviously--an old train tunnel, Northampton's Tunnel Bar is, on a quiet night, about the classiest place in the city, and on a Friday or Saturday, one of the most popular.  Elegant and comfortable, with the bare walls of the tiled tunnel contrasted by the comfortable leather chairs situated around small wooden coffee tables, there is a bar about twenty feet long with some stools and space to stand.  They have a few beers on tap at any given moment, but they really specialize in cocktails, and especially martinis.  With a pretty decent selection of gins and vodkas, you can get just about any variety of martini, from my rather simple personal preference (V-One Vodka with extra olives) to any number of specialty and original drinks.  Additionally, they have a wide selection of other spirits, including but not limited to Scotch (including the cheapest pour of Johnnie Walker Blue I've ever seen, at $23), bourbon, rum, and tequila.  Prices are definitely not low, but considering the incredible potency of their cocktails, they are well worth the cost.  If I am driving, I never have more than one martini at Tunnel Bar, and I make sure there's a little time and water before I get behind the wheel.

When Tunnel Bar is quiet, it is the perfect place for a drinking date, pre-meal cocktail, or after dinner nightcap, giving ample room to stretch out while still maintaining enough proximity to your accompaniment to have a real conversation without worrying about being overheard.  On weekends, it gets too busy to have a quiet conversation, and you may well end up upstairs at a regular restaurant style table, as the tunnel itself cannot hold nearly so many people as want to crowd in.  They will be crowded from about 8:00pm until close on Friday and Saturday, so plan accordingly.

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V-One Vodka is somewhat a product of Western Massachusetts, the brainchild of Hadley's own Paul Kozub.  Produced in Poland, it is the winner of several awards in its short lifespan, and is my second favorite vodka, following only Cold River Vodka from Maine.  Incredibly smooth, it makes a great martini, though like most grain vodkas it lacks the flavor of the potato based versions; it lies somewhere in between Cold River and Stolichnaya for me, and is actually unique in that is uses 100% spelt.

I cannot recommend either of these highly enough.

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