Spirits at The Cervin Chalet ~ Humboldt’s Finest, Hemp Infused Vodka

Humboldt’s Finest was the very first hemp vodka produced in the U.S. and is infused with locally grown (Humboldt County in Northern California) hemp and legal for sale in all 50 states. If you need more cannabis in your life, this actually isn’t it. The amount is so small it won’t impact you, but the 40% alcohol might. My first question is always…why? What is the need for this? To be sure infused spirits have been popular for years now, so it made sense someone would use hemp. And, considering that Humboldt is known for lots and lots of pot farms, well, why not?

As a professional spirits judge, and the Chief Spirits Judge for the Critics Challenge Wine & Spirits Competition, I’ve tasted my share of hemp vodkas – most of them downright terrible. But distiller Abe Stevens, who started his distillery in 2012, gets it right. Whereas this is more ideal for mixing cocktails, (one of their recipes from their website is included below) it can stand on its own, though I highly suggest a single pure cube of ice. The nose is menthol, green tea and citrus, floral and bright. Once on the palette the herbal notes take over, along with menthol, fresh cut grass, celery, and a spicy finish. In one sense, it almost seems like a hearty botanical gin. Is it something of a novelty? Yes, but it’s also well made and delivers for the price, and is something unique to add to your home bar.

ORIGIN: Humboldt, California

ALCOHOL: 40%

PRICE: $25.99 /750 ml

SCORE: 91 POINTS

Humboldt's Finest

(PHOTO, Humboldt's Finest)

High Thyme

1.5 oz Humboldt’s Finest
.75 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
.5 oz honey syrup
2 hearty sprigs of fresh thyme

To prepare honey syrup, dissolve 2 parts honey in 1 part hot water, allow to cool. At bottom of cocktail shaker, add 1 sprig thyme, give a quick muddle, add Humboldt’s Finest, lime juice and honey syrup. Shake vigorously, strain into double old fashioned glass with ice, garnish with a hearty thyme sprig.

White Out: Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur Erases the Competition

Mr. Black - no I don’t care for the name either - is a coffee liqueur. Think you’ve been there and done that? No you haven’t. This is, hands down, the single best coffee liqueur on the market. It’s made with cold brew coffee using a bittersweet blend of Arabica coffees and Australian wheat vodka. The math means it has half the sugar and ten times the coffee of ‘old-world’ liqueurs, so if you’re a coffee purist, you’ve found what you’ve always been looking for.

Mr. Black got its start in 2012 between fashion designer Tom Baker and distiller Philip Moore of Distillery Botanica in New South Wales, Australia. It took over 230 attempts to come up with the product that won a gold medal at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London in 2012. But you may not have heard of it. Let’s change that. It was Crowdfunded in Australia, then distributed in the UK, and finally in 2019 has limited distribution in California and New York. Once roasted the coffee is ground, cold brewed, and mixed with alcohol, and left to sit. Then liquid is press-extracted, coaxing out as much raw flavor as it can provide.

What I appreciate about this is the lack of viscosity. This is more in line with coffee with added alcohol, not a thick liquid that leaves a gluey film over your mouth, which is true of the majority of coffee liqueur brands. Yes, the nose is potent coffee, which is good. The resulting effort of deep roasted coffee, semi-sweet without being syrupy, clean without being cloying and simple without being boring. Ideal for after dinner, maybe before dinner, hell, maybe before breakfast depending on your leanings, this is coffee done right, with added vodka, also done right, resulting in an ideal coffee drink unlike anything you’ve had before. ($40/750 ML, and worth every penny).

MR. BLACK

America’s National Vodka Day: Ukraine’s Khortytsa

Ukrainian Vodka and Brandy, both available in the US

I want to dispel the myth, the rumor, the outright fantasy that vodka should be, “colorless and odorless.” If you buy into that, you’ve been duped and are obviously drinking crappy vodka. Not true my friends, authentic vodka has flavor and tastes like something, much of that depending on what the grain was, corn, potato, or other grains. Really quality vodka need not be reduced to a second-class mixer and if you add Red Bull, please for the love for god keep reading!

What you drink while in Ukraine

October 4^th in the US is National Vodka Day. In June, 2017 I went to Ukraine in search of vodka and brandy and if there is any spirit most associated with Ukraine it’s vodka. Ukrainian Billionaire Evgeniy Chernyak in behind Khortytsa vodka. He built one of the largest distilleries in Ukraine located in the southwestern manufacturing hub of Zaporizhia producing over 6.5 million cases annually. Their vodka is grain-based though they can use potato under Ukrainian law. They purchase neutral spirits from 52 different distilleries throughout Ukraine then rectify it at their facility, every step monitored day and night. Even their water, which is also from Zaporizhia, incorporates a multi-stage filtration system including sand filtration and reverse osmosis to make it as pure as possible. Wisely, Chernyak hired veteran distiller Vira Morshna, who has developed and patented 177 titles of vodka and liquors at Khortytsa over the last 14 years and as of today she’s been at the game 45 years.

 

Vira Morshna

There are four vodkas available in the US including a honey pepper, and the high end DeLuxe, shown here in it’s Ukrainian packaging, which is identical to the version found in the US, except for American spellings (average price $25). With this vodka you’ll find notes of mint, cucumber, there’s a slight sweetness, a clean and pure expression, a slight viscosity and weight to it with back notes of bubblegum and sweet resin. This can be sipped neat and I do prefer that. As I tasted with Chernyak after finishing a meal of sausages, potatoes and borscht and drinking more vodka, I mention to him that his vodkas are so clean, pure and flavorful that it would be a shame to use them as mixers. Chernyak barely registered a smile through his stoic exterior. “My dream was that my vodka would be consumed alone. All the major brands have the technology to make vodka, but we put our souls into our vodka and I'm proud that it represents Ukraine.” And while I was in Ukraine I also discovered a pairing I fell in love with – vodka and tiramisu. SO I encourage you to find better quality vodkas, and there are plenty out there, and sample the DeLuxe from Khortytsa.

Typical traditional lunch in Ukraine

Bonus Vodka Pairing

York Peppermint Patty w/ Ketel One Vodka (originally written for The Hollywood Reporter)

The sheer potent mint of the York patty fills the palate and like a good chaser the Ketel One, with a hint of its own minty background, provides a citrusy counterpoint, muting the mint and allowing the resin and eucalyptus flavors of the vodka to come through. This combo is pretty much seamless flavors as if they were made for each other. 

Yes, I had to wear a hair net while touring Khortytsa

At the Khortytsa Distillery

A Fifth for the 4th - Hand Made Hooch in the USA

What makes America great is the potential for discovery, a willingness to explore and delve into the unfamiliar. Our forefathers were not shy about ignoring boundaries and seeking adventure. Since George Washington made whiskey, let’s celebrates the founding fathers with wines, spirits and beer you can only find in the USA. This is all American made booze - under the radar, small batch and relatively unknown. The flag used as a backdrop once flew over the Kennedy White House. So go forth and drink your Independence Day!  (NOTE: This article originally appeared in The Hollywood Reporter).

Ale: AleSmith Brewing Co. San Diego is home to more military bases (seven, count ‘em) more than any other county in California, not to mention the rest of the U.S., and that means there are a lot of people who crave beer. But not just any beer. AleSmith, located in San Diego, excels at barrel-aged brews. Their Wee Heavy is a Scottish ale aged in bourbon barrels, full of toffee, caramel, with notes of hops, roasted rye, brown sugar and a whiff of the bourbon casks. This is a very complex aged beer that offers up a boatload of scents and aromas with a not so wee heavy mouth feel. ($30, alesmith.com)

Cabernet Sauvignon: Frank Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Patriarch. No mater where you go Cabernet is king, and Rich Frank (former President Walt Disney Studios, producer Royal Pains) knows how to assemble various parts to make a compelling whole. His motivation was to honor his dad, World War II veteran Hy Frank, who landed on Omaha Beach four days after D-Day, then drove support vehicles for General Patton’s Third Army. Frank presented the first release of Patriarch to his father on his 98th birthday. There are just 500 cases of this stunning wine. It’s smooth as velvet, seductive, a seamless mix of light oak, black berry, a near cranberry, supple pepper spice and black cherry with an earthen back note and mild acidity. This is the patriarch of Napa Cabs. ($225, frankfamilyvineyards.com)

Carménère: Niner 2012 Carménère: The Niner family from Paso Robles is not only helping to define the Paso wine scene, but they are making unique and cool wines like Carménère, though just a mere 138 cases. Like many of our Founding Fathers, owner Richard Niner was a farmer, originally in West Virginia, then migrated West ending up in the Paso Robles region where he planted Carménère on Bootjack Ranch, a plot of land that was once an ancient seabed. With a judicious oak treatment this wine results in black cherry, black berry and blueberry with hinter notes of cinnamon, vanilla and spice on the finish. ($60, ninerwinery.com)

Gin: 209 Gin. San Francisco is one of the most beloved cities in the U.S. and was actually the capital of California for a brief four months in 1862. The 209 Distillery located at Pier 50 offers a sweeter profile than most gins and is ripe with citrus and mint, all the better to make your cocktails more complex. And this is a flavor powerhouse; more potent than most gins on the market so a little goes a long way. Using in part juniper berries from Italy, lemon peel from Spain, and Coriander from Romania, it’s ultimately all American. They also make a Kosher iteration for Passover. ($35, distillery209.com)

Merlot: Buty 2012 Conner Lee Vineyard Merlot & Cabernet Franc. Washington was admitted to the Union in 1889 but was known to have grapes in the ground in the 1820s. Second only to California in terms of wine production the Washington wine scene is rapidly evolving and doesn’t want to play second fiddle, and this wine is one of the reasons why. Taking Merlot and Cabernet Franc and blending them is nothing new; what is new is the expressiveness of the mere 315 cases this 2,000-foot vineyard produces. Sure you get the bramble, black cherry, pomegranate and blackberry you’d expect, but you also get a delightful acidity you don’t often get from red wines. This Buty is a beauty, and California may want to check their rear view mirror. ($45, butywinery.com)

Nebbiolo: Wofford Acres 2013 La Mancha. The Sierra Foothills was where gold was discovered in January 1848 and is the birthplace of California wine, though Spanish missionaries were making wine in the 1790s. Theses days the new rush is on wine and some are as elusive as gold. Wofford Acres La Mancha from El Dorado is only 113 cases, and is a blend of Nebbiolo, Petite Sirah, and Cabernet Sauvignon resulting in pomegranate, huckleberry, plum and cedar with enough bright fruit and acidity to ensure it goes with any meal. There’s a pleasant rustic quality to this meaning it’s not a polished Napa wine, this is a tad rough around the edges, just like our forefathers, and the 49ers after them. ($35, wavwines.com)

Pinot Noir: On Point 2013 Christinna’s Cuvee: With only 198 cases of this wine you’ll be hard pressed to find a Pinot Noir of this quality and value. Hailing from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino, itself a slice of American life in that the region had its own micro language called Boontling (“frattey shams” meant grape vines), this Pinot Noir is supple, soft and with a enough acidity to make it stand up to picnic foods. Earthy spice, bright strawberry and dark cherry meld for a seamless wine that is on point as to how Pinot Noir should be. In spite of the oak barrels and the Pommard clone being undeniably French, Mendocino makes this a truly American iteration with a forward, lively wine. ($36, fulcrumwines.com)

Roussanne: Adelaida Vineyards 2013 Version White. The tiny region of Adelaida, originally settled in the 1890s by Mennonite farmers, is inside the larger Paso Robles region, and is making its mark with Rhone grapes. Here a blend of Roussanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc showcase the best of the area: soft tropical fruits, honey, mango, apricot, sweet resin, and lemon verbena bookended by judicious new French oak. White Rhone blends are not favored by many people in part because people haven’t tried them, but since this is all about discovery, all the more reason to seek this sleek wine out. ($35, adelaida.com)

Riesling: Left Foot Charley 2013 Missing Spire. This patriotic beauty hails from, ahem, Michigan. Surprised that Michigan is making wine? Well, fasten your seatbelt - wine was first made in 1679 when French explorers noticed grapevines growing along the Detroit River. Today the state, and regions like the Old Mission Peninsula, is home to over 100 wineries. Left Foot Charley, and this region as a whole, excel at making both dry and sweet iterations of under appreciated Riesling. This lightly sweet version is packed with subtle tangerine, peach, lavender and honey. It’s a beautiful example of just how compelling a balanced Riesling can be and will cause you to rethink the grape. ($18, leftfootcharley.com)

Sparkling: J Vineyards Brut Rose. There’s nothing more festive for the 4th than bubbles, and pink bubbles at that. From Sonoma’s Russian River Valley (so named for the actual Russians who attempted a foothold in the Northern Sonoma region specifically at Fort Ross) this dry sparkling rose is comprised of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The strawberry, lemon cream, raspberry and tangerine notes and deft carbonation make this a poised wine, perfect for your picnic - think fried chicken and potato salad - and just a hint of sweetness which results in a beautifully balanced sparkling wine that even a comrade would crave. ($38, jwine.com)

Syrah: Presidio Winery 2011 Artistic License: America was predominately agrarian when the country was founded and farming is still the backbone of this country feeding an astounding number of Americans and dozens of other countries. The beauty of this small lot wine is the fact that it puts nature and farming first. Made from certified organic and biodynamic grapes, this farm-friendly Syrah is rich with boysenberry, blueberry, black cherry, and a spicy earthy undertone that carries though the entire palate. Soft charred oak from resting in barrel for 24 months while hanging out in Santa Barbara completes the package. ($39, presidiowinery.com)

Vermentino: Tessa Maria 2014 Vermintino: She’s the granddaughter of actor Fess Parker (TVs Daniel Boone, and Davey Crockett, how much more American can you get?) and continues the wine tradition with her own label out of Santa Barbara, now the third generation of Parker’s to make wine. Her 2014 Vermentino is a discovery of happy proportions and she bottled just 138 cases. This wine is ripe with honeydew, tangerine, lemon-lime, butterscotch, and honeysuckle. All stainless steel fermented and aged, there is no oak treatment, so this is a delightfully light, crisp and very refreshing wine that will make you salute. In a historical twist, the fruit comes from Camp 4 Vineyards, owned by the Chumash Indian tribe. ($24, tessamariewines.com)

Vodka: Loft & Bear. When you think of vodka you think, Russia, probably Poland, but not Los Angeles. However LA was lively during prohibition, from parties on Catalina Island, and scores of Angelinos flocking to Tijuana to get their booze fix, to bootlegging happening in plain sight near City Hall. There are still miles of tunnels underneath the dirty LA streets where illegal booze flowed freely. Today downtown is hip and above board and Loft & Bear Vodka honors LA’s past with this vodka made from winter wheat, and Northern California water. Sweeter than typical vodka this offers a smooth and viscous palette weight with a citrusy heat, a clean nose and refreshing feel, and it’s distilled in a downtown loft. ($35, loftandbear.com)

Whiskey: Jack Daniels Sinatra Select. Frank Sinatra was known to favor Jack Daniels as his social lubricant, so this iconic American distillery decided to honor the Chairman of the Board with his very own whiskey. Made in “Sinatra barrels,” (they have deeper grooves cut on the interior of the barrel allowing more extracted wood and whiskey interaction) this special bottling leaps out on the nose with caramel, clover honey, tangerine, brown spice and is super smooth with a viscosity other whiskies can only hope for. There’s the faintest whisper of a citrus bite on the end, preceded by cedar, sweet resin, mint and a rustic woodiness. Start spreading the news. ($185, jackdaniels.com)

Zinfandel: Dueling Pistols: No, it’s not the name of a band, it’s a reference to a famous duel between then Vice-President Aaron Burr and Federalist Alexander Hamilton on July 11, 1804 in Weehawken, NJ. The Veep shot Hamilton dead that day but by today’s standards Veeps do not wield such unrestrained power, with the exception of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. This blend of Zinfandel and Syrah from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley is way more easy going than either of the duelers and it offers notes of cedar, blackberry, blueberry, anise, and black cherry with mild tannins and a temperament that is smooth and forgiving. ($35, http://terlatowines.com/new-wines/california/federalist

Distilling the Truth: Vodka gets the Vote

I like vodka. But vodka has been mercilessly maligned; it's a tasteless odorless spirit, right? It’s just a backwoods cousin to other spirits and only decent when paired with chemical-laden additives like Red Bull, or orange juice or whatever other crap you may have lying around. Uh, wrong! (And for you college kids out there, pull up your pants, get serious about vodka, and quit whining about your future). Vodka can be alluring, smooth, and packed with flavor elements better suited to other spirits. So when the book Vodka Distilled came out by master cocktail guy Tony Abou-Ganim I thought, finally, someone else loves vodka like I do. Tony writes: “For reasons that largely escape me it has become vogue in some bartending corners to bash vodka. Despite the widely held view to the contrary, all vodkas are not the same. Think about tasting and comparing one vodka to another, not as comparing apples and oranges, but akin to comparing apples to apples…apples of the same variety grown in different orchards…” And here I slightly disagree, yes the banality of mass produced vodka is terrorizing to the palate, but I have discovered a world of subtle nuances and tastes with artisanal vodka. Tony's book celebrates vodka in all its diversity; corn, wheat, and potato iterations. You'll find a wealth of information and recipes about creating the best vodka-based cocktails and what to look for so you don’t waste your time and money. There’s even a round up of 58 vodkas (including Boyd & Blair – one of my personal favorites) in the back with thorough tasting notes. This is a terrific book by a guy who knows his spirits and I’m thrilled to recommend it.

Vodka Distilled: The Modern Mixologist on Vodka and Vodka Cocktails – published by Agate Publishing, $22.95 hardback. 208 pages, color photos.

Hangin' Loose

Winter is here and the cold and rain make me think of warm summer days on a recent trip to O’ahu. On the island I found vodka, not just any vodka, one distilled in downtown Honolulu, made from local island sugar cane, and then filtered through lava rocks. Hawaiian Vodka has a creamy viscosity a unique sweetness backed by a rich maple, almost rum like note with a minimal burn and small wisps of mint. Sounds like hype, but it’s not. The lava, actually a large cube of crushed lava rock, and the copper pot still work their magic to create a very fine and unique version of how cool vodka can be. Currently it’s only available on the islands but will hopefully make its way to the mainland, and beyond. But distiller Dave Flintstone is having a tough time keeping up with demand. And that’s a good problem to have. Once you taste it, you’ll understand why. Typically vodkas suffer from having no personality: benign, tasteless, insipid – a trait I abhor, so when I find vodka that tastes like something, I get excited, and Hawaiian Vodka tastes like Hawaii. So when you visit the Islands get Hawaiian Vodka and you’ll be hanging loose all day.

$25/ 750 ml – Alc: 40%    HAWAIIAN VODKA

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING: 89 POINTS

Sweet Potato

I’ve been fighting for years for vodka. Most people think vodka is a tasteless, colorless, odorless; just less of everything and meant for nothing more than mixing drinks. Oh, the horror! The best vodkas are ripe with heavenly scents and subtle flavors, and the best vodkas are made from potatoes in which the starch of the potatoes converts to a sweeter, more complex profile. The Karlsson’s Gold Vodka from Sweden will make you re-think vodka. This nose smells sweet - imagine a sweet mild pine forest put into a bottle. There’s also a terrific viscosity and the balance achieved here is spot on; not burning, not benign. The mild aromas of clove and mint round out the mouth. In short, sip this, or make high end cocktails with it but for godssakes don’t bury it under crappy mixes. Karlsson’s is clean, smooth and the addition of a wee bit of cracked black pepper gives it a complex spice. The Karlsson’s folk are happy to proclaim the use of single distillation (other vodkas proclaim multiple distillation and honestly in my experience, it’s the final product that counts, not the number of columns used) but regardless, this is one sweet potato vodka and well worth space on your cocktail shelf.

$39.99/750 ml – Alc: 40%

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING

4 Bonz – Good Dog!

A Square Deal

Square One Organic Vodka is made from certified organic rye. At this point you might be rolling your eyes thinking, “Organic, seriously, who really cares?” Well, I can understand that…to a degree. But assimilate this information into your cranium: anything organic is going to be heaps ahead of non-organic stuff. Does that make it inherently better? No. But to find a product – like vodka – that is better AND organic is smart due to the simple truth that we in America consume far too much crap to begin with. So, always go with a more natural, pure form of something if you can. Square One does this. They also make a Basil, Cucumber and Botanical version of their vodkas. I’m more of a purist so the other versions, (infused with essences) while actually quite nice, aren’t my cup of tea, but they might be yours, and frankly the point of these is for mixed cocktails, not sitting around on your deck looking out to the Channel Islands like I do. I like a sipping vodka, a distilled spirit where I can toss in an ice cube into and enjoy it over time. There’s a clean, slightly sweet note to the vodka which fills the mouth and then quickly the nose, a mild simmering burn which needs to be mitigated (this is why it’s used in cocktails), and in fact spicy Indian food is perfect with this chilled vodka. Yes it’s 4-column distilled, blah, blah, blah. The point is taste and purity of ingredients. Well, here you’ve got both.

$35/750, Alc. 40% (80 proof)

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING

4 Bonz – Good Dog!