Avuá Cachaça - Pan Am Cocktail

I was recently introduced to Avuá Cachaça, a relatively new cachaça on the market.  After a boozy night out on the town touring some of New York City's best bars, including Sasha Petrosky's famed Milk & Honey, I'm convinced that this is a bottle I want to keep in my library of libations.

You might be wondering, what the *#&^ is cachaça, and how the *#&^ do I pronounce it? Cachaça (kah-SHAH-sah) is a Brazilian spirit that is distilled from Sugar Cane Juice.  It is also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha, and can be attributed to the Portuguese colonization of South America. 

While most people know cachaça as "Brazilian Rum", it in fact has a very different flavor profile.  Tasting Avuá (av-wah) was honestly one of my first experiences with cachaça, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Avuá is made by one of Brazil's only female distillers, and the brand invokes 1950's bossanova Brasil.  Think the golden age of travel, classic 50's cars, and the gorgeous beaches of Brasil...

Avuá Cachaça comes in two expressions, the Avuá Cachaça Prata (unaged), and Avuá Cachaça Amburana (aged).  This is where cachaça becomes really interesting: it is aged in 28 different kinds of wood native to South America!  And each wood has it's own flavors that come from the specific type of wood and the terroir of the land, all of which are imparted to the cachaça! 

Avuá Cachaça Prata is more grassy and floral on the nose, mixed with some of the expected tropical fruit flavors.  On the palate it has a dry creamy entry, which then blossoms into flavors of tropical fruits such as banana and mango with a hot peppery note, and a finishes with mint and a touch of salt.  Compared to Avuá Cachaça Amburana, aged 2 years in Amburana Cearensis wood, has a resin flavor on the nose, with tropical fruits, Jasmine, and a lot of brown sugar.  On the mouth it starts out clean and creamy, and then opens to flavors of pepper, a bite of tannin at the back of the palate, followed by a smooth, creamy finish reminiscent of flan. 

This is good stuff, people.  And mixed with cocktails, it's even better.

My favorite cocktail of the evening was the Pan-Am, a surprisingly simple yet dangerously strong cocktail made with the Amburana expression.  Word to the wise, be careful with these bad boys, after a few you'll be ready to book a flight to Brazil, perhaps never to return from the land of this água-benta.

Avuá Pan Am 
Created by Cervantes Ramirez - Little Branch

2oz. Avuá Cachaça Amburana
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1/4 oz. dry vermouth

Stir with ice, and strain onto a large ice cube in a low ball glass. Swipe rim of glass with orange peel, squeeze, and drop into the glass.

Note: This variation is different than the one listed on the Avuá website.  It's damn good none the less.

Stir.

Strain.

Swipe.

Enjoy.

Glassbackwards - Cocktails Served Backwards

You sit down at a bar, peruse the menu, decide on a tipple, order, and then... wait.  It is this moment of waiting that has indescribable power.  This moment is filled with anticipation - a pause - and it is the time I always use to watch the scene behind the bar.  I carefully observe the tender of bar, watching his or her hands quickly trade bottle for bottle, add ice, bitters, and then delightfully shake the concoction or stir with casual flair.  It's a glorious moment, a moment when one always asks themselves, will the cocktail be as magnificent as I've imagined???  And then, there it is.  A glorious potation filled glass shimmering in the bar's candle light, waiting to be devoured.  And then, the moment of climax: the first sip.

Ahhhhhh......

Jude Goergen from Glassbackwards has found a way to make this moment of anticipation even better - each cocktail is prepared backwards.  Yes, backwards, and, some might argue, it's even better that way. 

I'm beyond in love with these videos, I love the character they are able to impart about each tipple, and the people behind the drinks (of course, revealed at the end).  They celebrate the fun and creativity in cocktails, which really is the best part.

A few of my favorites:

The Casualty from Jugoe / GlassBackwards on Vimeo.

The Décolletage from Jugoe / GlassBackwards on Vimeo.

Bebida Rosada from Jugoe / GlassBackwards on Vimeo.

Ramos Gin Fizz from Jugoe / GlassBackwards on Vimeo.

The Montane Cocktail - Veuve Ambal & Hella Bitters Cocktail Competition

I was invited to participate in the Veuve Ambal & Hella Bitters Cocktail Competition - a blogger competition between fellow booze-obsessed writers.  Naturally I accepted, as I am a woman interested in the progression of all things cocktail, and it sounded like a great excuse to play around with the classic Champagne Cocktail.

The rules are simple, to use both the Veuve Ambal Blanc de Blanc and Hella Bitters in a new and creative cocktail!

I've been a fan of Hella Bitters for years now, and have even had the opportunity to meet the handsome lads who run the Hella Empire.  Veuve Ambal, however, is new to me.  I notoriously love anything with bubbles in it, and have a deep seeded love affair with white Burgundy wine, a cousin of this sparkling wine.  Made in Burgundy France, Veuve Ambal Blanc de Blanc is made of only white grapes, and has many of the same flavor characteristics as a classic white burgundy.  It has notes of ripe pear, apricot, and floral notes of jasmine and hibiscus, with an undertone of chalk or slate.

Note:  Sparkling wines such as Veuve Ambal are traditionally made in similar methods to Champagne, although only sparkling wines made in Champagne, France may don the name Champagne.  Many sparkling wines made outside of the region are equally, if not more delicious, and can often be purchased at a fraction of the price of their name brand cousins.  

I wanted to make a play on a Champagne Cocktail that balances the sweetness of the champagne with a touch of savory bitterness.  One of my favorite products as of late is Pine Syrup made by the duo from Dram Apothecary.  It's made from hand-foraged Colorado Pine, Organic Sugar, Herbs, and Spices, and is made in Silver Plume, Colorado, an old mountainous mining town.  The pine pairs nicely with the sweet, summery flavors of pear and apricot, and gives it a wild savory note.  A bar spoon of Punt E Mes gives the cocktail a bit more robust flavor, enhanced by the flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg  in the Aromatic Hella Bitters.

Finally, to brighten the flavors of the cocktail, I shake the Punt E Mes, Pine Syrup, bitters with ice and a fresh lemon peel to impart the citrus oils into the spirits.  This technique adds a subtle brightness that enhances all of the other flavors without making the cocktail too sour.    

Finally, top with bubbles, wipe a lemon peel around the rim of your glass, and you're ready to serve!

Lemon Peel in the Tin

Add Bitters, Pine, & Punt E Mes

Shake!

Pour!

Add Bubbles

Wipe with Lemon Peel

Enjoy!

The Montane Cocktail
Created by Gastronomista

1/2 oz Dram Pine Syrup 
Barspoon Punt E Mes
5 dashes Aromatic Hella Bitters
3 oz Brut Veuve Ambal Blanc de Blanc (or to the top of your glass)
2 Lemon Peels, One to Shake, One to Garnish 

Instructions

Shake Punt E Mes, Pine Syrup, bitters, and lemon peel with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe and top with Veuve Ambal.  Wipe rim of glass with second Lemon Peel, squeeze peel over cocktail releasing the oils, and float on top of the cocktail.

Enjoy!