Drizzle ice cream with Scotch and serve. Photo by Elke Dennis | Fotolia.
Years ago, a friend who was a great cook prepared an elaborate dinner for us: intricate courses of beef, fish, and fowl with layers of flavor.
We anticipated something equally elaborate for dessert. So we raised an eyebrow when he scooped vanilla Häagen-Dazs into dishes and topped each scoop with something that seemed bizarre at the time: a jigger of Scotch.
“Really?” we said.
“It’s delicious,” he replied. “Taste it.”
We did, and promptly discovered the easiest fancy dessert in the world. We often serve it at the end of a big dinner. The “recipe” works equally well with Bourbon.
We also created our own spin: sorbet with a jigger of gin (use a very aromatic style such as London Dry or International).
Decades after that first ice cream/Scotch experience, we’ve been presented with a reversed version of that simple pleasure: The Macallan Ice Cream Brownie Sundae.
It’s impressive, but we’ll stick with the two-minute original.
THE DIFFERENT STYLES (TYPES) OF GIN
Genever. Genever is the original gin, a rich distillation that’s more like a flavored whiskey than the more familiar English Dry gin. Bols Genever is an example.
London Dry Gin. The British evolved genever into a lighter-bodied, aromatic style that lends itself to mixing. Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, and Gordon’s are examples.
Navy Strength. While most gins have an A.B.V.* around 40% (80 proof), Navy strength is at least 57% A.B.V. (114 proof).
New Western Gin. This term debuted in the early 21st century to describe small-batch, craft gins which were differentiated from the classic London Dry gin. These gins have flavorings or infusions added in redistillation, and may not be as juniper-forward as London Dry. The infusions can include anything from honey to yuzu.
Plymouth Gin. Made only in Plymouth, England since 1793, it is full-bodied with a balanced blend of botanicals and a long, dry finish. It calls itself “the world’s smoothest gin.” There currently is only one brand, Plymouth.
Old Tom Gin. Sweeter, rounder, and with more botanical expression than London Dry Gin, this style was popular in the 18th century. After many years out of production, it has been relaunched in recent years by Hayman’s. Booth’s and The Dorchester are two more brands of this style.
International Style Gin. Created in recent years by artisan distillers, these gins burst with a complex mixture of botanicals. We love to sip them straight—and pour them on sorbet. Martin Miller’s Gin of London and Bluecoat Gin of Philadelphia (which calls itself “American Dry Gin”) are examples (and our two favorite gins).
Sloe Gin. Sloe gin is a red liqueur made from sloe (blackthorn) berries. It is not a true gin, which is made from juniper berries.
Damson Gin. Not a gin, but a liqueur made from Damson plums.
It was ultimately shared with monks in Spain, who also used it for medicinal purposes. Some monastic orders created their own distillations, such as Benedictine and Chartreuse liqueurs.
But who can take credit for whiskey? The Irish and Scots both claim it. The word comes from the the Gaelic uisce and the Scottish uisge, pronounced ISH-ka. Uisge became usky and then the English whisky.
In Ireland and the U.S., the word whiskey is spelled with an “e”; the British, Scots and Canadians usually opt to drop it.
Scholars can’t determine why the “e” was dropped by the Scots. One theory is that the Irish made whiskey first and pronounced it with a broad “e.” When the Scots began to make it, they dropped the “e” to differentiate their product.
A great treat: oysters with a variety of white wines. Photo by Nathan Maxfield | IST.
We love oysters, so we hosted an extensive wine-and-oyster celebration last Friday, National Oyster Day (August 5th).
When we began eating oysters (way back in our college years), the de rigeur wine was a crisp Chablis from northern France—or Champagne, if you were a bon vivant.
But if you know what to look for, you can buy an oyster-friendly white wine for $10—and have more money to spend on oysters. We’ve asterisked * the more affordable wines we tried (of course, some wines in these categories are more than $10—ask your wine store clerk for help).
And here’s another budget-wise tip: Each participant was assigned one of these wines to bring to the party.
STILL WHITE WINES
Albariño.* A lighter style crisp white wine, a refreshing Albariño is a delightful oyster pairing in warm weather.
Chablis. The classic pairing, a French chablis is dry with notes of minerals.
Chenin Blanc (Dry).* This is not our favorite white wine grape, but if you enjoy Chenin Blanc, try it with oysters.
Dry Riesling.* A sophisticated approach for palates that demand something different.
Chardonnay. We love Chardonnay but prefer something a bit lighter with oysters. If Chardonnay is your go-to wine, pick an unoaked style.
Muscadet. This bistro regular can be hard to find in the U.S. If your wine store carries it, here’s an opportunity to get to know Muscadet.
Pinot Gris. An Alsatian Pinot Gris is one of our favorite oyster pairings: rich with spicy tropical fruit notes.
Pinot Grigio.* Made in Italy from the same grape as Pinot Gris, this style is lighter, crisp and clean.
Sauvignon Blanc.* Depending on where it’s grown, this wine can be grassy or citrussy (we like both styles). It’s always good, clean and balanced.
Sherry (Dry). This combination is popular in Spain, although we find that the nutty flavors of the wine interfere with the delicate flavor of raw oysters. It goes better with cooked oyster dishes.
SPARKLING WINES
Champagne. Champagne and oysters: sexy and luxurious. Pop the cork for a special occasion.
Cremant d’Alsace. This bubbly, from the Loire region, has a more affordable price and just as much festivity.
Prosecco. This lighter-style sparkler from Italy is always popular for warm-weather drinking.
BEER WITH OYSTERS
While we were comparing all of the wines, someone asked for a beer.
We pulled out several different styles: an amber ale, IPA, Pilsner and stout. All were delicious, but the stout, a roasty style of beer (the term comes from the dark-roasted malts used to brew it) was deemed a perfect beer pairing.
If you’re looking for a gourmet Labor Day activity, here’s your blueprint!
See our Oyster Glossary for everything you wanted to know about oysters.
Check out the different types of beer in our Beer Glossary.
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You can buy lychee-coconut water or take advantage of lychee season and enjoy fresh lychee. Photo by Deasy Setiawati Widjaja | Dreamstime.
If you’ve seen the uber-trendy Rihanna posing in ads with a container of Vita Coco coconut water, you know that chilled juice from green coconuts is a hot drink.
When Vita Coco was introduced in the U.S. in 2004, coconut water had minimal visibility and sales were confined to certain ethnic communities. A mere five years later, sales of coconut water were about $35 million. And two years after that—this year—U.S. coconut water sales will top $350 million.
That’s impressive—and the reason why we set out to taste the different brands of coconut water to see how much they differ.
