Les Vins Contés 2007 Le P’tit Rouquin

The sun was shining in Detroit yesterday. At the zoo, polar bears slept in their meadow and peacocks brazenly displayed for peahens. Small children roared at lions and attempted to jump as far as a kangaroo. The breeze was cool enough to wear sleeves.

After an early supper of Delmonico grilled over hardwood and a brisk salad composed mostly of dandelion greens I motored down Interstate 75 past sports arenas and casinos to Mexicantown where most of a bottle of Les Vins Contés 2007 Le P’tit Rouquin Vin de Pays du Loir-et-Cher waited for me.

Slanderous accusations were aimed at the aromas radiating from misty red wineglasses of this old-vines gamay. I did not understand. There was chalkboard (my old friend), berry-fruit salad, laughter and cinnamon red-hots. The floor appropriately thumped as I drained glass after glass and downstairs Steve Jarosz prepared for his weekly gig with Grupo Escobar at Sangria in downtown Royal Oak.

This is the kind of exceptionally drinkable red I want access to all summer -- to pull from the cooler after a long day canoeing when the sun goes orange behind the trees of the northwoods or to splash into friend's glasses on the front porch. In ways it reminds me of Emmanuel Houillon Poulsard, not necessarily in flavor, but disposition. I want a case of cases.

2006 Château la Carizière Muscadet

The inner-ring suburban Detroit neighborhood where I live is full of commotion. Robins struggle for territory. Children play ball on the sidewalks even as Tigers battle Indians on living room televisions. Crocus and daffodil blossoms do their finest impersonations of the sun. It is an epic scene.

This is a neighborhood dominated by 20s era foursquares and bungalows. A neighborhood of porches and young couples sipping drinks in spring’s evening glow. Drinks like Joseph Landron’s organic 2006 Château la Carizière Muscadet.

A pale yellow glassful sits on the ledge next to my crossed feet and mere yards from the traffic of historic Woodward Avenue. A deep whiff carries the scents of white flowers, apple, lemon and polished river stones. A sip is all tart, yellow fruit, slightly briny, and finishing with the drawn taste of flaky rocks. Impossibly loud birdsong fills the sky. Trees blush red and green. Muscadet drinks like spring air.

Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

100 proof. Bottled in bond. Directly from the bottle it is initially hot. It tears a path up the sides and back of your throat and makes you salivate from the jaws slightly before blooming large in your upper chest. Behind is scorched sugar and some terrible feeling of apprehension and flashes of a girl with cigarette breath and a small black lace bra in the back seat of a primered Plymouth with an exhaust leak. I like it.

A couple Michigan hard ciders

Sutton’s Bay, MI, Black Star Farms cider is a tart and dry and balanced drink of fermented apple juice. The mild carbonation lifts any sense of sweetness off your tongue and into the back of your throat. Drink with a mild Gruyere grilled sandwich on the porch when the sun is out and the birds are singing.

J.K. Scrumpy’s Orchard Gate Gold farmhouse organic is like a bite of every apple you’ve ever eaten. It’s soft and crisp and juicy with rotten spots and bitter seeds and after a long sip feels like it’s running down your chin even though the back of your hand turns out dry. It comes from a Flushing, MI, orchard that has been making hard cider for 150 years.

Anatomy of a Pisco Sour

The Brazilian Caipirinha and Cuban Mojito are the darlings of today’s cocktail scene. We like them both, particularly now that our side of the Earth is tilting closer to the sun. But the Mojito can be a chore to make and the Caipirinha’s simplicity tends to grow tedious. That’s when we turn to a Pisco Sour. With straightforward preparation and intensity from ingredients a little more exotic than usual, it’s bound to be the next big thing. Here’s how we make one:

• 2 ounces Pisco

Pisco is a brandy distilled from grapes grown in wine producing regions of Chile and Peru. In fact, both Chile and Peru claim it as their national drink. We don’t bother taking a side in the debate as long as the booze keeps flowing.

Chilean Pisco Capel is our brand of choice for the Pisco Sour. As cocktail base liquor it is remarkably smooth and the degree of alcohol is just apparent. Also Chilean, Alto del Carmen is slightly more refined and good for straight sipping if you sometimes take your drinks that way. Both are marked by pleasing aromas of gently caramelized sugars, tropical fruits and wetland vegetation.

• 1 ounce lemon/lime juice

Ignore juice sold inside plastic fruit reproductions. There is no substitute for fresh squeezed – period. We have found recipes that call for lemons as the citrus component of a Pisco Sour and at least as many prescribing limes. Our compromise is to use both. Since we almost always mix for two it’s our luck that one average lemon and one average lime usually produce around two ounces. Don’t sweat it if you’re off a quarter ounce either way. This is not science. It’s alchemy.

• ½ ounce simple syrup

To ensure granulated sugar is integrated into your cocktail make it into simple syrup. Put one cup water and one cup sugar into a saucepan over flame. When the sugar is dissolved and the liquid just begins to bubble around the edges take off the heat and let cool. That’s simple syrup. Store what you don’t use in a jar in the fridge. In theory it keeps for a week. In practice it keeps for two or more.

• Dash Angostura bitters

Like all the best herbal tonics and mixes Angostura bitters began life as a snake oil treatment for fatigue and stomach ailments. Created in Venezuela it is made from a proprietary blend of tropical herbs, plant extracts and spices and adds zing to Pisco Sours, Pink Gins and Manhattans. Technically, Amargo bitters should be added, but since they are nearly impossible to find in the United States, Angostura offers a reasonable substitute. Bakers and chemists will want to know a dash is equivalent to ¼ teaspoon. Strict adherence to the measure is pointless when you’re pouring from a dasher bottle. Trust your taste.

• Dollop egg white

No kidding. Enthusiastically shaken egg white will develop a lovely froth on top of the cocktail adding another dimension of elegance. Ask anyone that spent their youth sipping an Orange Julius while loitering in the local shopping mall. Again, since we mix for two, one whole egg white does the trick. You’ll find egg white in most cocktails with names ending in Fizz. Tip for drunken foodies: Plan to make some custards if you get into Pisco sours. It's a shame to waste all those egg yolks.


• Shake with cracked ice

You should combine all ingredients in a separate container before adding them to ice to minimize ice melt. You want maximum liquid to ice contact in this part of the process. If your kitchen isn’t equipped with the modern technology to crack ice just put your cubes into the shaker and go psychotic on them with an ice pick or steak knife. One Pisco Sour is rarely enough and as tempting as it might be you should never reuse ice. Used ice is wet and not as cold and is the principal reason for watered down cocktails.

When everything is together in your shaker – we like the stainless steel three piece number consisting of a sixteen ounce tumbler, a strainer, and a strainer cap that conveniently holds exactly one ounce of liquid – shake vigorously until the cold of the tumbler hurts your hand. This is no time for theatrics. Casual fish-wristed wobbling will leave you with a patchy drink.

• Strain into chilled champagne flute or small 6-8 ounce wine tasting glass.

Don’t waste all your energy cracking ice if you’re going to pour your drink into a warm glass. Part of the vibe of a tasty cocktail is its many levels of chill. Five to ten minutes rest in the freezer is sufficient to cool a glass so it won’t alter the temperature of the icy cold liquid. When pouring for two it’s considered bad form to have glasses of grossly lopsided volume and even worse pouring from an already full glass into another. It’s best to bring the full one down to level the easy way by drinking it when no one is looking. At least until you get the hang of it. Don’t worry. Considering the pace at which Pisco Sours are typically consumed this skill is mastered in no time.