Category: Food & Drink

Beverage of the Week: XXI Martinis are low effort, high quality boozing

Premade martinis that leave heavily into the sweet side of the cocktail? As a lazy man, I’m interested.

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

It’s been a while since I had an actual, proper martini. Actually, it’s possible I’ve only had one or two in my lifetime.

Sure, there was an undergrad dalliance with something approaching an apple-tini (I regret nothing). There was a stretch of some wild, extremely potent cocktails poured by a wonderful septuagenarian named “Martini Bob” at Madison’s sadly shuttered Smoky’s Supper Club. But for the most part, the intersection of vodka or gin and vermouth has been a blind spot in my boozing career.

It still mostly is, but the rise of espresso martinis has been unignorable. I opted for a canned version when I was rolling through Two Roads’ lineup this summer. Now, thanks to XXI, I’ve got more access to this corner of the cocktail spectrum I rarely visit.

XXI Martinis are ready-to-drink bottles that take the effort of shaking, straining or stirring out of the equation. They’re also nestled tightly in the marketplace of “fun martinis” — no heavy gin or olive juice here, just sweeter flavors like chocolate, peach and, of course, espresso. That’s a win for me; hell, I already admitted my soft spot for sour apple schnapps. This left me eager to see if XXI deserves a place in my liquor cabinet.

The careless, frugal A’s messed up with their wine retirement gift for Miguel Cabrera in every way

Miguel Cabrera may have preferred non-alcoholic champagne.

Future Hall of Fame slugger Miguel Cabrera is nearing his retirement from the MLB and he is receiving some love in his final professional games.

It’s not uncommon practice to provide something nice for a legend before they transition into retirement. The Guardians gave him a custom guitar as a nod to the nearby Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, for example.

On Thursday night, meanwhile, the A’s honored Cabrera with a cabernet sauvignon from Caymus Vineyards. It was nice of the team to honor the 12-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP. But a little more thought may have gone a long way.

Cabrera spent three months in an outpatient treatment program to focus on getting sober in 2010. He faced legal issues due to his drinking in 2009 and again in 2011.

When the Tigers won their division in 2012, out of respect for his sobriety, the team made sure to have non-alcoholic champagne available. Still, though, Cabrera excused himself from the celebration.

As recently as last year, when he recorded the 3,000th hit of his career, he celebrated with a glass of non-alcoholic champagne. The A’s really could have used just an extra second of research to make sure they respected his sobriety.

Oakland, however, isn’t the only team to make this sort of mistake. The Marlins (where he played from 2003 until 2007 and where he won his only World Series) got Cabrera a bottle of rum.

Houston got a bottle of wine for Cabrera as well but at least that one was a touch more personal as it was from the vineyard that Astros manager Dusty Baker owns.

The A’s (almost predictably) didn’t have as much to offer in the mindfulness department. If you were wondering if this is some kind of vintage wine that could have value, the results show that he could have gotten his hands on his own at the same size from the same year for around $90.

Now, if your buddy got you a bottle of well-reviewed $90 wine, that is pretty generous. But remember: The A’s are worth over $1 billion!

In fairness to the organization, though, it’s not like they are spending a ton of money on their own players either. They currently have the lowest payroll in the MLB and Cabrera has a yearly salary that is more than 50 percent of the entire books for the A’s.

For what it is worth, the bottle was autographed by the team. But it is unlikely how much that would actually increase the value of the present. It isn’t exactly exciting to have the signatures of a team that is more than 30 games below .500 and the worst record in the MLB.

[lawrence-related id=1946919,1881431,749684,2096913,1880412]

Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2023 by getting free food from Long John Silver’s on Tuesday

Go get some free food today! ARRRRRRRRR!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

It’s National Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19, 2023, which is one of those “holidays” we all see every year and wonder: What’s up with that?

Well, after you look up the history of this bizarre national holiday, you can go get free food thanks to its existence.

This is so easy, too: Per Long John Silver’s, on Tuesday, if you walk in and talk like a pirate, you can get a free piece of fish or chicken. That’s maybe the simplest free meal you’ll ever get.

But wait! If you DRESS like a pirate, you can get a free two-piece basket of fish or chicken. They don’t really specify what that means — does only a hat count? A t-shirt?

Maybe you go and find out. Enjoy!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxX9NaKO7V8/

Celebrate National Cheeseburger Day 2023 with 6 burger deals on Monday

Go get some discounted cheeseburgers today.

Happy National Cheeseburger Day to all who celebrate — and really, shouldn’t we all celebrate burgers with cheese on them on multiple days, especially on Monday, September 18?

Why is September 18 National Cheeseburger Day? That’s not what we’re here to answer. You’re here to find out about discounted burgers, and we want to get to that as fast as possible so you can enjoy some food that doesn’t cost much.

So let’s stop writing about the burgers and get to the important stuff here: A partial list of joints that we’ve found who will sell you cheeseburgers for less than the usual price:

Blue Mountain Brewery – Destination: Virginia

A tasting at Blue Mountain Brewery in Nelson County, Virginia, is about more than the beer. It’s about comfort, relaxing, ensuring you have the right fit for your dining and drinking pleasure. It’s more like a lesson in how to do life right. Not to …

 

A tasting at Blue Mountain Brewery in Nelson County, Virginia, is about more than the beer. It’s about comfort, relaxing, ensuring you have the right fit for your dining and drinking pleasure. It’s more like a lesson in how to do life right.


Not to build up hopes or anything, but that’s the kind of experience we had while touring the brewing company, which is in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Credit goes to President and Brewmaster Taylor Smack for setting the tone. He, along with partner Matt Nucci, founded what’s been dubbed just “Mountain” back in 2007—making them a pioneer of Virginia’s rural brewery scene.


They set the example well, since there are now several more breweries, plus distributors, gathered in Virginia’s “Alcohol Alley.” Smack says, “All of us have banded together to do charity work and so on,” meaning it’s not about competition. Each is distinctive. So, back to Mountain, now in its 16th year.

“Basically, I had a dream I shared with my wife and my business partner Matt,” says Smack. “I had gotten into the corporate world and hated it. I started skipping work and visiting [surprise!] a brewery. I threw myself into it and went to brewing school in Chicago.”


He soon decided to take his new knowledge and skills back to his home state. He says, “I love Virginia and wanted to come back and be part of the craft renewal that was happening.” They established themselves in a place “where life is a little slower and a lot more fun.”

Smack adds, “The whole idea we had was to create traditional or experimental beers using great ingredients.” They focus on working with suppliers who have mission-oriented stories—grown organically, grown privately, locally-based.

“We aren’t sponsoring the Super Bowl so we can concentrate on trying new things,” he says. “We wanted to bring all that excitement back to Virginia and get craft beer out of the urban environment and mindset.” He adds, “After all, when you think wine, you think beautiful orchids and land. Why not the same for beer?”


As he thinks back to the early days, he says, “I just happen to like beer more than wine. Beer is really an agricultural product, and I thought, “why couldn’t we do the same thing with beer.” They started with what he describes as, “a tiny kitchen in a hayfield in the middle of Nelson County. It seemed cool to me!”

It grew, as dreams do. They continued to innovate, becoming the “first crafter to can in the state in 2009.” The facilities now include not only multiple breweries but a restaurant and an inn which is booked solid on weekends. Pre-pandemic, they had about 200 employed, and while it’s a bit lower now, it continues to build back. Smack grins as he says, “It’s been a ride and now we have so many good people in place it’s easier. There were high schoolers making more than I made in our first few years!”


At the time, laws were unformed around offering tastings, and Smack says, “We, by force, became a restaurant. Locals gave us a shot and it evolved—and now the restaurant is booked more often than the brewery!”

Then, in 2012, “our brewers guild helped change the law and it allowed for the explosion of breweries in Virginia.” There are now more than 300 in the state. “Now you don’t have to be a restaurant and can just serve beer,” he explains. Across three brewery locations they brew and bottle for on-site and what he calls “a little bit of distribution.”


The most popular beer at Blue Mountain is called the “Full Nelson,” and it’s become known throughout the state. As for the restaurant menu, it’s the “Date Night Pizza,” which really has to be tasted to be understood—and is definitely craveable. Since the menu changes periodically, also watch for the Apple Bratwurst Pizza, the Hummus Wrap, or the popular Fish Tacos served on Tuesdays.


Thinking back to the bent toward agriculture, it should be noted that they grow hops on site, keeping products close to their original dream.


Flights are served lightest to darkest, all the way from a Classic Lager to a Dark Hollow Ale (100 days in a bourbon barrel). On that, Smack says, “we are reinventing barrel-aged beer to get the flavor from the barrel.”


It takes a lot of energy to run a brewery, a restaurant, and an inn—all while continuing to innovate. Good thing Smack exudes energy, along with the love of brewing craft beer that brought him back to Virginia, gave him enthusiasm for work, and opened up an area that delights the locals. It’s doing life right.


About This Series

The Shenandoah Valley is nestled between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains in historic and scenic west-central Virginia. It has the transportation infrastructure and connection to markets in every direction. One of their major areas of focus is the food processing taking place in the region. The Food Channel recently had the opportunity to work with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to tour some of the up and coming places, and to talk with entrepreneurs as well as established business people eager to tell the Virginia story.

Some accommodations for these stories were provided by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP).


About the Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is nestled between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains in historic and scenic west-central Virginia. Interstates 81 and 64 traverse the region, providing an excellent transportation infrastructure and connection to markets in every direction. The area is plentiful in natural resources and boasts a powerful cluster of employers rooted in manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics. Food and beverage production is at the heart of the manufacturing sector, representing four times the national average and employing more than 5% of the Valley’s labor force of over 175,000 people at major companies. The Shenandoah Valley is also the No.1 region in Virginia for the total value of agricultural products sold.


Photos by Paul K. Logsdon



Beverage of the Week: Santo vs. Camarena in a cheap-vs.-(slightly)-expensive tequila throwdown

Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar’s tequila vs. a brand half its price: who’ve you got?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

This series wasn’t especially kind to Sammy Hagar two weeks ago. Sure, his Beach Bar rum was a fine mixing spirit, but his branded canned cocktails were a throwback to 2015’s drinking scene — and not in a good way. Fortunately, the high-pitched pitchman gets a chance at redemption with the liquor he does best: tequila.

The man who birthed Cabo Wabo into the world is back in the agave game, teamed with Guy Fieri to bring us Santo — a line of spirits that covers both tequila and a curious blend called “mezquila” (Adam Levine is somehow involved as well, but we don’t talk about America’s Chad Kroeger here, not after that Super Bowl halftime show). I already talked about how much I liked their reposado, but today we’re gonna dig into Santo’s other offerings — and compare them to another fairly new (at least to me) tequila.

Camarena pitches itself as an old school, highly awarded liquor at a bargain price. Where a fifth of Santo reposado clocks in at $46 at my local Total Wine, Camarena only costs $23 for a full liter. I happened to have both on hand and, as a relative tequila neophyte, I decided to stack them up and see who came out ahead.

Let’s do some reviews.

Pumpkin beer season is upon us; that means it’s Elysian’s time to shine

Elysian’s pumpkin pack covers everything from ale to coffee to stout. Is it worth rolling the dice on a finicky flavor?

Elysian Brewing was born in Seattle. But as fall kicks into full swing, you won’t find anything approaching the Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor fellow Washington juggernaut Starbucks has developed into a national frenzy in their beers.

Pumpkin, sure. Hell, they’ve got four nationally distributed pumpkin beers ranging from ales to stouts and crushable to heavy. But there’s no pie-adjacent, sugary-sweet brew amongst their flagship beers despite the neverending rising tide of pumpkin spice … everything. That’s on purpose.

“Starbucks has a reputation as a soccer mom, SUV type drink,” founder Joe Bisacca told me midway through a pumpkin beer tasting session. “I think Elysian’s vein is more ’72 [Dodge] Challenger. There’s a little more edge to it. Latte inspired? Maybe, but we’ll put a twist on it that’s a little more edgy.”

That doesn’t mean there aren’t spiced beers in the company’s portfolio. Crack open a bottle of Night Owl Pumpkin Ale and you’ll get plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg right from the first whiff — it just won’t be Starbucks sugary, and it will be unmistakably Elysian. It also doesn’t mean those sweeter beers don’t exist at all — just that their distribution is limited to the brewery’s annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival.

“We do 10-12 pumpkin beers each year to fill out Pumpkin Fest,” Cellermaster Dan Beyer said. “We go as eclectic as one can — a straight up PSL clone is not unheard of. You’ll hear multiple instances of “latte” in our Pumpkin Fest lineup this year.”

That’s great if you’re in Washington to help bartenders drain a hollowed-out, 1,800-pound gourd on the festival grounds. You’ll also get to try guest brews in styles like pumpkin pickle beer, cinnamon roll stout and apple cobbler ale — two-thirds of which sound pretty good.

But if you’re, say, stuck in Wisconsin your options are limited to Elysian’s core four pumpkin beers. And while I’m wishy-washy on the topic — there are so many ways to do pumpkin ales and every brewery’s take is different, leading to a wild variation even before you get to overall quality — I’d be remiss if I didn’t tuck into this year’s pack from a trusted brewer.

Let’s see how it tastes.