With Nouveau season in full force and Thanksgiving just around the corner, we’ve got you covered with this week’s festive picks to help you celebrate!
This beer isn’t sugar on my tongue but it has quite the delicate aromas and flavors typical of Italian pilsner. There is a wide and wonderful world of pilsner with: German, Czech, American and now even West Coast Pilsners are a thing, there’s seemingly an infinite number of hands in the pilsner brew kettle. So what makes an Italian Pilsner? Simply it is a German style pilsner with a specific dry hopping of noble hop varietals. It’s grassy, herbal and clean. In Talking Hands, Tettnang and Saphir hops are the star providing a wonderful aroma of herb, lemon zest and soft spice while the body is light, lean and balanced. Slapping harder than Talking Heads rhythm section.
I am very excited to keep getting these beers from Finback in the shop. Fat Mango is a collaboration with Interboro (Brooklyn!) and is brewed with mango, coconut sticky rice and lactose and hopped with Falconer’s Flight, Mosaic and Citra. As advertised the mango is around in the flavor of the beer with some coconut peeping in the aroma.. the sticky rice? Well that seems to be in the body in a brawl with the lactose, giving it some great cream meets citrus in the flavor. Sometimes lactose seems to throw IPA’s off for me but here it definitely adds to the fruit as well as the overall flavor of the brew.
It’s here! It’s here! Thanksgiving, you might ask? NO! Nouveau Day!! That fabulous third Thursday in November where Beaujolais Nouveau hits shelves worldwide and we officially enter the holiday season. A tradition started centuries ago in Beaujolais, France to signal and celebrate the end of wine harvest, these are new wines that are bottled and sold anywhere from three weeks to three months after grapes are plucked from the vine. What makes them so delicious is that they undergo carbonic maceration which leads to fresh, fruit-forward and simply gulpable drinking experience that pairs with any and all holiday-fare. In the past decade or so, American winemakers have joined the Nouveau Day fun and have started producing Nouveau wines prior to the holiday madness. Although these beaut’s are available at all Hi-Lo locations, act fast because after December 31st these wines will be gone! That is, gone until next Nouveau Day…
The old expression “fortune favors the bold” springs to mind when thinking of this week’s spirit of choice, because it takes some bold sensibilities to go forward with this creation and the result is very fortunate for us all! Pairing specially made quarter casks once used to age peated scotch, these soaked scotch casks are then gathered up to continue their legacy by aging Doc’s signature Blender’s Cut Rye Whiskey. These age for several months, bringing together flavors of apricots, Italian plum preserves, roasted hatch peppers, cinnamon candies, and wet smoke. A chewy American whiskey that is worthy of a Glencairn glass. Master Blender, Jesse Parker, a man who has always enjoyed a good smokey whiskey, has created something that is truly distinct and the perfect adventure for all whiskey lovers.
Hemera’s Bench is at it again with their delicious pies, but this time, full-size pies! We’re so excited to be carrying their pumpkin pie this holiday season. Hemera’s pumpkin pie is a take on the American classic, but the vanilla anglaise adds a fun new twist. Creme anglaise is a French style of pouring cream custard, which adds an extra creaminess to the pumpkin. Their pies come frozen, so all you need to do is pop them in the oven! Each pie serves 6-8 people. Take the stress out of preparing for holiday get-togethers and family dinners by buying a pie from Hi-Lo! We guarantee, Hemera’s adds as much love as a homemade pie.
Each year on the third Thursday of November, a wine style called Beaujolais Nouveau hits the
shelves worldwide. This marks Beaujolais Nouveau Day, a celebration of this wine, its release,
and its region. It also happens to be our Wine & Spirits Buyer Mike’s favorite holiday!
Beaujolais is a wine region tucked in the Burgundy region in the French alps. They are known for popularizing a method of winemaking called “Carbonic Maceration” which is a winemaking
process that takes place during fermentation to produce fresh, fruit-forward, low-tannin wines.
Carbonic maceration uses whole clusters of grapes in a sealed, carbon dioxide-filled tank to
start fermentation within each grape.
They are the new wines from the most recent harvest, bottled and sold anywhere from three
weeks to three months after grapes are plucked from the vine. Beaujolais Nouveau, made from
the Gamay grape and vinified using whole-cluster carbonic maceration is a centuries long
tradition started to celebrate the end of harvest and, essentially, kick off the holiday season.
Beaujolais Nouveau wines CANNOT be sold before Nouveau Day, however, the same cannot
be said about their American counterparts…
In the past decade or so American winemakers have decided to get in on the Nouveau Day fun
as well, making nouveau-style wines using a myriad of vinification techniques and grape
varieties. Ideal selections for any and all holiday fare, nouveau wines are meant to be drunk in high volume and in good spirits.
Come hang with us at The Counter in Culver City or Long Beach this Thursday, November 17th from 4-9pm as we celebrate Nouveau Day with a very special flight of Nouveau wines! You can also grab some of our favorite Nouveau wines from this season to make them the star of your Thanksgiving and Holiday feasts. Our Nouveau wines are now available at all locations and available online for pick-up and local delivery!
Made from a blend of carbonically macerated old vine Valdiguié and co-fermented Petite Sirah and Zinfandel, this year’s Slipper Sippers from Las Jaras in undeniably DELICIOUS. It’s packed with a ton of red and blue fruit – think red plum, blueberry, boysenberry and pomegranate. This wine is fresh, lively, and super crushable. You’ll definitely be coming back for more. And to top it off, its zippy acidity really makes it compatible with all your holiday dishes!
Broc Cellar’s 2022 Nouveau is a gorgeous blend of white, rosé and red. The wine is made of 50% Valdiguié, 25% Orange Muscat and a blend of mixed varieties all brought in and pressed during Harvest. It has an abundance of fresh, bright red fruit with notes of cranberry and tart cherry. This wine is electric and vibrant with a mouth-watering acidity and freshness that pairs perfectly with food.
This lovely Nouveau wine from downtown LA’s Angeleno Wine Co. is 100% Tempranillo sourced from the Agua Dulce region in Los Angeles County. This wine is fruity, fresh and meant for easy-drinking. It has prominent notes of cherry, cocoa and coffee with an underlying herbal note. On the palate, it has a softer acidity, giving it a lush, smooth mouthfeel.
Based in Sonoma, CA, Scribe Winery has created a fresh and lively Nouveau wine made purely of Pinot Noir. This wine was made entirely through the carbonic maceration method, which has resulted in gulpable, fruit-driven juice. It has notes of fresh plum, orange peel, and wild mint. This glou glou wine is soft, smooth, supple and very approachable for wine lovers and novices alike!
What is the spirit that makes cocktails such as the Dark & Stormy, Classic Daiquiri or basically all Tiki cocktails, which are arguably the most delicious and fun to make cocktails in the world, so good? The answer can be found in the pages of history, specifically in the 1600’s Caribbean as well as North & South Americas: Rum.
Distilled from sugarcane, Rums origins are steeped in history and encompass a wide array of distillation preferences depending on what country is producing it. When freshly made, Rum is a clear spirit, and like tequila, it can be and often is aged in barrels that impart layers of rich, sweetness and a darker color before bottling; dark rum and light rum.
Doctor Bird Jamaican Rum is the bottle we recommend to first time rum drinkers, and when mixed with coconut syrup and ginger beer it makes for a delicious libation we call Tropical Storm.
Check out some of our rum-based cocktail recipes below!
Simple as it may be, there are few things as obtain-ably decadent as a freezer chilled splash of vodka after a long day and if you aren’t on board yet with that (no problem, take your time), pop a bottle of AMASS Vodka in your freezer and see for yourself. We think you’ll see this is one situation that is not fake news.
A fairly straightforward method of production, vodka can be made from a wide range of fermented bases, such as honey or fruits, but most commonly it’s made from cereal grain, wheat or potatoes. Occasionally it’s made from seemingly very weird stuff that you would probably never associate with Vodka, or even spirits for that matter, like rice or quinoa, or cow’s milk, or coconut water. And you know what? Some are pretty damn good. One in particular, and technically it’s a lambanog, is a once-distilled coconut water “vodka” that tastes like all those flavored vodka’s should: fresh and authentic. Just like us.
An ideal foundation in which mixologists can build toweringly tasty creations, it can also offer such a simply perfect cocktail in the Vodka Tonic, which we love in the right combinations of botanical Vodka (it’s a thing now, but still is not gin) and tonic, or with a more straight-forward vodka and an array of tonics with flavors that carry perfectly well with Vodka.
In “real” cocktails, vodka is most widely known for Moscow Mules and Cosmopolitans. Vodka is also very conducive to infusions, for instance, St. George distillery makes an excellent green chili vodka that is unbeatable in everyone’s favorite Sunday brunch companion the Bloody Mary, or if you want to dress it up a bit and go bolder, check out the Hi-Lo version: the Hellish Mary.
Check out the Bloody Mary, or the Hi-Lo take on it, the Hellish Mary.
Perhaps a bit misunderstood in the general zeitgeist, Vermouth is simply an aromatized and fortified wine that’s then tinkered with a bit more by adding various herbs and spices, most often imparting local flavors from the surrounding native botanicals.
Although there are various offshoots and subcategories, vermouth can be broken down into two categories: sweet & dry. Not all white vermouth is sweet, but most red vermouth is indeed sweet.
Originally thought of, and still widely drank as an aperitif (just pour it over rocks and enjoy with your dinner-faring amigos), Vermouth has become an MVP in cocktail creation, serving as the key ingredient in a myriad of classics such as the Martini and the Manhattan. But we maintain that the old school method of slinging some Vermouth into a glass chilled with ice is still a great way to get steeped in the essence and complexity of the drink. Vermouth has so much to it, it’s good to get to know it a bit before going cocktail crazy. Though we recommend that too.
Because of its easy sipping and crucial-to-cocktail status there are a quite a few Vermouth options to chose from, and though we tend to recommend Dolin as a standard for your vermouth needs, be it their Rouge in a Manhattan or their Dry in a Martini. However, that’s not to say there are not more interesting or appropriate Vermouth situations you should be getting into. For example, Lo-Fi Sweet Vermouth in a Young Martinez is a “must” at some point in your life!
Check out the Young Martinez cocktail recipe, only by Hi-Lo.
Tequila, the multifaceted and delicious distillate of blue agave, is a spirit who’s vast history can be traced back to 1000 B.C and also serves as the spirit that absolutely everyone has had “that one night with…” at some point in their life. We probably all started off on the wrong foot: cheap, acrid tequila can really turn people off, and honestly for good reasons! But avoiding Tequila entirely because of a bad start one sordid evening long ago robs you of the amazing productions that are occurring by dedicated artisans that understand the beauty of the agave plant that can be extracted and enhanced, with the right amount of care for the splendid juice that goes behind a label.
Although agave can be grown in various regions, its distillate can only be called Tequila if it’s from the central western Mexican city Jalisco, which is about 500 miles south of Laredo, TX. Tequila comes in 3 forms: Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo. These all refer to the amount of time the juice spends in barrel; the longer the time, the darker the color and softer the taste. Some Tequila is referred to as “extra anejo” if it’s aged significantly longer than the minimum time to meet the standard for an anejo, but doesn’t specify an exact age.
Tequila is a favorite amongst bartenders and mixologist for its innumerable cocktail possibilities and its ability to “liven things up”! For a tried and true tequila cocktail, the Margarita is and always will be a fan favorite, however, if you’re feeling feisty, we’d recommend giving The Tequila Daisy a whirl and see what happens.
Check out our Margarita recipe below:
Bourbon is the representative spirit for the United States, and the whiskey you’re most likely to find in your glass when you order a cocktail.
Although it’s so strongly associated with the American south, bourbon is made throughout the fifty states and garners its moniker as long as it’s made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred barrels.
Some notable names in the Kentucky bourbon business include Elijah Craig, Buffalo Trace and Willett Distillery, while some great examples of non-Kentucky Bourbon are Redwood Empire (California), Widow Jane (New York) and High West (Utah).
The base for some of the worlds best cocktails, bourbon is the headliner in an Old Fashioned, a Boulevardier and a Mint Julep, however, we recommend giving The Confirmed Bachelor a spin if you really want to see the versatility of this world-class libation.
Whether you got a new job, your friend or your fam, you need to celebrate that! There’s a lot involved in getting to a new gig, but finding the right bubbles is pretty simple. Here’s our suggestion.
Watch it right now on YouTube!
With the longest legacy in American whiskey distillation, rye is the spicier and edgier brother to Bourbon, sharing a similar distillation process but replacing 51% corn with 51% rye grain. Typically preferred the by the seasoned whiskey drinker due to its peppery taste and lingering, smoldering essence of grain and fruit. No self respecting bar is complete without a good bottle of rye like Old Overholt, one of America’s oldest whiskey brands or Sazerac, arguably the premier representation of the style. In fact, if you were to wonder into a bar and ask for a rye cocktail, odds are the bartender would sling you a cocktail called The Sazerac while whistling some New Orleans jazz. We’d also recommend giving The Scofflaw a whirl if you want to see rye truly shine.
If you have a broad palate and can’t decide between bourbon and rye, rest assured, there is a whiskey for you and it comes with a whole host of tasty opportunity: blended whiskey! Precisely what the name implies, blended whiskey’s are mix different levels of rye, bourbon and often times neutral grain spirits with other flavoring. More malleable and conducive to honing in specific flavors in terms of taste or for cocktails, blends embody no limit but the sky when it comes to versatility and creativity. To understand what we mean, we recommend giving Redwood Empire Lost Monarch a taste, first “straight up” to experience the intricacies of its remarkable taste, and then find yourself some sweet vermouth, bitters and cherries to whip up a Manhattan!
Looking for an amazing Manhattan kit? Check this out, along with our Hi-Lo take on the Manhattan: The Confirmed Bachelor.
The “fresh” spirit whose fragrances alone are as enticing as a forest in bloom and whose history is rooted in medieval herbal alchemy. Derived from grain and juniper berries, Gin is one of the most playful and singular to the distiller spirits around due to the freedom to select and utilize virtually limitless combinations of herbs, botanicals and even fruit! For a very long time, it has been, almost uniquely, a British classic, with full stores dedicated to the spirit, in a dizzying array of botanical styles.
Every label of gin is a unique expression of the distiller and the region in which they’re working in or sourcing their ingredients from. The classic “London Dry” gin is still a favorite, but several “New American” distillers and gin styles have been created in an ode to the wonderful expressions of botanicals that are local to California and other regions with excellent horticulture. The list of cocktails that use gin as their base is inexhaustible and contains some of the most popular concoctions on the planet such as the Negroni or the Gin Martini.
With so many classic cocktails to its name, we’d recommend trying something a bit more playful, for example, the Young Martinez.
Check out our Young Martinez cocktail kit, our take on the classic Martinez (or keep it classic!):
