I was so excited I did a special spot on KGW Portland Today highlighting two brands of Oregon made cocktail bitters – The Bitter Housewife and Portland Bitters Project.  See the clip and keep reading for more info.

What Are Cocktail Bitters?

Bitters are one of the key flavor components of a traditional cocktail.  They add balance and a whole other layer of cool flavors.  Think of them like the spice rack for your cocktail bar.

credit – The Bitter Housewife

But Seriously What ARE Bitters?

Very simple explanation with a complex array of explosive flavors.  Basically bitters are the result of steeping (or soaking) spices, fruit, and botanicals in a base alcohol – like vodka- until the alcohol soaks up the flavor, and then straining the solids out. There is some water dilution and some sugar to round out the bitter.

Making Bitter Housewife

But think about all of the spices and botanicals that exist and then think about the different combinations of blends… Here is just an array of flavors from The Bitter Housewife and Portland Bitters Project.

Portland Bitters Project

~ Rose  ~ Woodland (made with Oregon Douglas Fir!) ~ Aromatic ~Cacao

credit Liz Obert

The Bitter Housewife

~ Cardamom ~ Orange ~ Old Fashioned ~Grapefruit

credit – The Bitter Housewife

Oregon Made Cocktail Bitters Make Me Want To Play

How about you?  First here are the links so you can learn about all the flavors and where to find them.

Links

The Bitter Housewife

Portland Bitters Project

Then here is ratio guide so while you experiment, your cocktail stay balanced.

credit – The Bitter Housewife

We will share our experiments. Please share yours!!!

The post Oregon Made Cocktail Bitters appeared first on Tasting Pour by Jade Helm.

Many people think that bourbon has to come from Kentucky but that is not true.  We encourage you to try some Oregon bourbon or look for locally made bourbon in your neck of the woods.

Jade visited the set of Portland Today to taste Oregon bourbon, mix up some mint juleps, and show off her hat. Read on for more details on Oregon bourbon and the mint julep recipe.

What Makes Bourbon, Bourbon

Lots of people think bourbon comes only from Kentucky, but this whisky can be made anywhere in the US- even Oregon!  Here’s what makes bourbon, bourbon:

• At least 51% corn – that’s why it is rich and kind of sweet
• Aged at least 2 years in new charred oak barrels – that is why it tastes of vanilla, spice, coconut and caramel and where bourbon gets its amber color

3 Oregon Bourbons to Try

Eastside Distilling Burnside Oregon Oaked Bourbon – Portland – $29.95

Update: I have since learned that Burnside Blended Bourbon is not made entirely in Oregon as the other bourbons listed in this segment.  See correction.

When people learned we were taste testing Oregon bourbons we started hearing “Burnside” from all sides.  Even the guy I called to take care of my fruit trees texted me out of the blue that he recommends Burnside Bourbon.  We had already selected Burnside Blended Oregon Oaked Bourbon, but it was nice to know we were on the right track! Made in Portland, even using Oregon Oak for aging, catch the caramel and butterscotch notes. And a super deal on that price.

Where to find:

• Bars, restaurants, liquor stores across the country
• Taste all of their spirits at their tasting room Southeast Distillery Row, 1512 SE 7th Ave, Portland

New Deal Distillery Distiller’s Reserve Bourbon – Portland – $39.95 

Made right in Portland’s SE Industrial District, this bourbon is smooth and rich. Make into a cocktail or in all honesty I’d just sip this one.  And do you know how hard it is to find a bourbon fine enough for sipping in this price range?  Vanilla, pipe tobacco, caramel, raisin, and molasses.  Everything is done in-house with local ingredients and Bull Run water.

Where to find

• Oregon liquor stores
• Select farmer’s markets, cocktail lounges, events
• In their tasting room at 900 SE Salmon, Portland. You can also taste their run, liqueurs, gin, vodka, etc.

Oregon Spirit Distillers- Straight American Bourbon Whiskey – Bend – $45

2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold AND Best of Class
2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Best Craft Distilled Whiskey

Super local, using local grains and Cascade Mountain water, and crafting from grinding the grain through to the first sip.   This is a four grain bourbon (corn, rye, wheat, malted barley) aged 4 years in new American white oak barrels. Taste the sweet Oregon corn and then finish with a spicy cinnamon from the rye.

Where to find:

• Oregon liquor stores
• Some products shipped to 24 states!
• Lucky Oregonians can taste everything (including gin and killer absinthe) and get tours and mini cocktails – 740 NE 1st Street, Bend

Mint Juleps & Kentucky Derby – Fun Facts

• The Kentucky Derby is the longest running sporting event in the United States, dating back to 1875.
• The grandson of William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) started the Kentucky Derby. His name was Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark
• The mint julep became the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby in 1938.
• Mint juleps are served over shaved or crushed ice in sterling cups that will be nice and frosty on a warm Kentucky day.
• Approximately 120,000 mint juleps are served at the Kentucky Derby.
• That’s 10,000 bottles of bourbon 60,000 tons of ice, 1,000 pounds of mint.
• Virginia farmers once drank mint juleps in the morning to give a coffee like jolt to their day and a restorative elixir to their constitutions.

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We discovered the Sazerac on a trip to New Orleans a few years ago and we’ve been mixing them up at home ever since.  Click to read about the full story of the famous Sazerac Bar.

Get the cocktail lowdown on the segment Jade did with KGW Portland Today and keep reading for more details and an Oregon Sazerac recipe.

What is Mardi Gras

French for “Fat Tuesday.” Mardi Gras marks the end of Carnivale celebrations which can stretch over several weeks (this year in New Orleans it begins Jan 6th).  But Fat Tuesday marks the last day of indulgence before Ash Wednesday leading to the season of Lent and Easter.

What is a Sazerac

What some call the first American Cocktail, the Sazerac was the first branded American Cocktail in 1850.  It is shrouded with some mystery and voodoo from the anise flavored Absinthe that was once banned in France for reputing to cause hallucinations and mental illness.  And it completely changed course due to a very bad pesky bug. Let’s break down the ingredients we used and tell the story along the way…

Oregon Sazeracs on Portland Today KGW

First the Bitter Truth

The creation of the Sazerac dates back to 1838 and is credited to Antoine Amedie Peychaud.  He owned an apothecary in New Orleans and made up his own bitters which he mixed with French Brandy to serve his friends.  Peychaud’s Bitters have an anise, cherry flavor and are a Sazerac staple.  While there are some fantastic bitters made in Oregon by Bitter Housewife and Portland Bitters Project, Peychaud’s is the defining ingredient in a Sazerac  so we kept it in our Oregon Sazerac. Don’t worry, you’ll see Tasting Pour use Oregon bitters, hopefully soon.

What are bitters?  Bitters are a high proof based spirit – like vodka – infused with botanicals. They aren’t necessarily bitter but can add spice, floral, sweet, fruity, and bitter flavors to a cocktail.

 Grapes Die, We Drink Rye

Sazeracs were originally made with Cognac, a French Brandy.  Then a ding dong bug from the US ruined everything.  Phylloxera made its way to Europe and began chomping on the roots of susceptible grape vines.  This lead to the mass destruction of vineyards in Europe, especially France in the late 1800s.  Since Cognac is made from grapes, rye whiskey replaced Cognac in the Sazerac. There is even a Sazerac brand Rye Whiskey.  Luckily, it was discovered that some American rootstocks are resistant to phylloxera and these were grafted onto European vines.  Today we have a choice of the traditional brandy based Sazerac or one based with rye whiskey.

We tried both using Ransom Spirits Oregon Rye Barley Wheat Whiskey from Sheridan and McMenamins High Council Brandy from Hillsboro.

Ransom Spirits Rye Barley Wheat whiskey is made with grains grown in Oregon and all of the production takes place locally.  Pot distilled and aged 24 months in old French barrels this Rye version of the Sazerac has a little more bite and spice and is Jade’s favorite.  We are fans of the whole Ransome Spirits line up and they also have great wine. Give them a try at their tasting room the next time you are in McMinnville.  See more about what Jade had to say about them in this article in Northwest Travel and Life Magazine – 4 Wine Hotspots.

Made from Northwest sourced Semillon, Chardonnay, and Viogner, McMenamins High Council Brandy is distilled at Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Distillery in Hillsboro using  a century old charantais alembic Cognac pot.  It is then aged in French oak for four years. This brandy version of the Sazerac is smooth, fruity and dangerous and was Rod’s favorite.

Visions of Absinthe

Absinthe is an anise and wormwood flavored distilled spirit, made from aniseed, fennel and wormwood.  It was very popular in France, especially among artistic types like Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, partly because it was said to boost creativity.  Alternative facts  that absinthe abuse caused hallucinations and was associated with mental illness caused France to ban absinthe production in 1915.  We know today that absinthe is just as safe as any other high proof distilled spirit and it has been legal to make and sell in the US for years.

Absinthe is made by infusing a high proof spirit with herbs and botanicals and then distilling in an alembic pot still.  It is then warmed and infused again with herbs and spirits to strengthen flavor and color.

The Wormwood Society is a great source for more absinthe info.

We used Lucid Absinthe Superieure. It is made in Saumur in France’s Loire Valley in traditional absinthe pot stills. Bottled and distributed by Hood River Distillers it claims to be the first absinthe legally available in the US following the ban.

Do you have local producers you can use to make a Sazerac?  Tell us in the comments.

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Extra Boozy Bloody Mary Fat Irish Kitchen & Pub Harbor, Oregon

Think ocean town fare – fresh oyster shooters, fish-n-chips, jalapeño steamer clams- meets hearty Irish grub – stew with a base of Guinness and Merlot.  But don’t miss their take on the classic Bloody Mary. Jameson on the bottom, Mary in the middle, and Guinness floating on the top.  We knew Mary was a party girl, but wow.  The glass comes rimmed with bacon salt and garnished with lemon, lime, a surfboard pickle, manzanilla olives, cocktail onion and as a special treat the owner of the pub hand pickles spicy Thai pepper dilly beans.

Bloody Mary How You Like Her  Carousel Restaurant and Bistro, Yakima, Washington

With dim lighting, Rat Pack era  love songs, and a huge screen showing movies from the age of romance this is a sexy spot for brunch.  It is a great place to go at the end of a date that started last night or set the mood for some afternoon delight.  And look over there. Every Bloody Mary ingredient is spread across a table so you can take her any way you choose.

Now I have to admit, I don’t really know how to mix a Bloody Mary.  Since I was there on a media trip, I asked my compadres to teach me.  Turns out none of us knew.  I soon discovered that the bartender fills your glass with vodka and mix and turns you loose to decorate your glass.  I suppose letting people have free reign over the vodka bottle might cause some problems.  See if you can make your Bloody Mary as pretty as mine.  And do NOT leave without getting a croissant.  OMG.

What’s your fave place or recipe for a Bloody Mary?

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The rum in our Fino Sherry cocktail is made by 4 Spirits Distillery in Corvallis, Oregon.  They not only make excellent spirits but their business is dedicated to all U.S war veterans and active service members, specifically four that lost their lives in service with the Oregon National Guard.

Please help us name this Fino Sherry cocktail.  It is orangey, spicy, nutty, vegetal, tangy, refreshing, and damn good.  We really wanted to name it Privateer because of the rum connection but that was taken.  Let us know what you think.

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