A fairly amazing-sounding Better Beer Society brown bag series event at Butcher & the Boar, some revised menus at local restaurants, a local foodie’s epic Mother’s Day feast, tasting notes for Summit Pilsner and Steel Toe’s Provider, the Star Tribune’s Taste 50, and a new urban farm in Minneapolis.
Many thanks to the various entrants of our Crispin Cider Autumn Cocktail Contest.
Empire Builder
Scott Wentzka
2 oz Crispin Original
½ oz vodka
½ oz Starbucks Coffee Liquor (*)
Dash of simple syrup
(*) Starbucks works here because its a liquor that’s about the coffee first. Something like Kahlua is too sticky-sweet and ruins the effect.
My wife and I are frequent visitors to the Pacific Northwest, and we always travel on the Empire Builder from here (home of Crispin) to Seattle (home of serious coffee freaks). This cocktail is now on our short-list rotation year-round.
It’s completely unintuitive, but the Starbucks actually enhances and highlights the subtle apple essence of Crispin Original. Crispin Original has such a subtle flavor (closer to champagne than the typical brewed hard cider); it’s all too easy to obliterate it — trust me, this works.
– Scott Wentzka
The St. Crispin Autumn Velvet
One part original Crispin Cider
One part Vouvray -or- Rosé Côtes-du-rhône
A splash of black currant juice
– Marie Flanagan
