What to Drink – Details, episodes & analysis

Chris Montana, Co-Founder of Du Nord Social Spirits, joins us today to tell us how to make the easiest Espresso Martini out there! The Pairing: It’s the cocktail hour, but you need a little pep in your step. If you are like our host, your mixology skills are extremely limited. You need a straightforward cocktail.. who can beat a 1:1?! The cold-pressed coffee and chicory from the Du Nord Frieda Liqueur will sing in your Martini! How to Make a Du Nord Espresso Martini: • 1 oz Cafe Frieda Coffee Liqueur • 1 oz Foundation Vodka • Small pinch of kosher salt (optional) • 3 coffee beans Directions: Shake all ingredients with ice for 15-20 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish. Garnish with 3 coffee beans. What Makes Du Nord Special: • A Black-Owned brand with a diverse team working to elevate the Spirits industry as well as their community through the Du Nord Foundation. This foundation invests in economic opportunities for businesses that have been historically excluded. • Two philosophies Chris espouses for his spirits: "If you can't drink it straight, it's not actually good," and, "If it's in a cocktail, you should know about it." All Du Nord Spirits are delicious on their own but will also stand out in a cocktail • Du Nord means 'The North' in French and a nod to their northern roots in Minneapolis, Minnesota Learn more here: https://dunordsocialspirits.com/ Du Nord on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dunordspirits/

Alex Lacroix, CEO & Co-Founder of Siempre Tequila, joins us today to tell us how to make his famous Mundo Paloma cocktail!

The Pairing: You're opening an expensive, aged Tequila, but you want to lose the pretense of it all. It's time to take the stuffiness down a notch by making a Mundo Paloma!

How to Make a Mundo Paloma:

• 3 ounces Siempre Rebel Cask Tequila (or any Siempre)
• Squirt Soda
• Sea salt
• Grapefruit for garnish

Directions: Pour Siempre into rocks glass. Top with Squirt soda and grind the salt into the glass. Garnish with grapefruit! What Makes Siempre Special:

• Female founder, Monica Sanita and Co-Founder Alex Lacroix grew Siempre into a successful International brand from $9000 and a credit card. They put it all on the line to build a brand around Monica’s grandmother’s lifelong agricultural experience and creating agave spirits in Mexico.
• During Prohibition, Banditos used to smuggle Tequila into Texas, but their clientele wanted something closer to Whiskey, so Tequileros started oak aging their spirits for that unique time and called it "Mexican Whiskey." Rebel Cask is a nod to that special era
• The 100% Tahona crushed, wild-fermented, agave fibers in the tank, rested in "whatever crazy barrels we can get our hands on." <--This one happens to be Bardstown Bourbon barrels!

Learn more here: https://www.siempretequila.com/

Watch Alex's Bottle-Rolling Video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C793M6LvwHZ/?igsh=bHd6MXU5cDBjaTM=

Adam Dorfman, Clinton Dugan, & Patrick Lemmond, founders of Shortbarrel Bourbon and NEW owners of Old Fourth Distillery, join us today to explain the ins and outs of barrel picking and tell us their mission for Old Fourth Distillery!

What makes this project special:

• Adam, Clint, & Patrick are taking Atlanta's first distillery since prohibition in a new direction: future O4 Whiskey will be aged and distilled here in the Peach State!
• Georgia is further south and therefore slightly warmer than Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, leading to even greater barrel concentration and 'Angel's Share' each year
• This trio will use their barrel picking and blending acumen, a skill unto itself, to inform their distilling techniques here in Atlanta

Be sure to check out Old Fourth Vodka (created from a sugarcane base, but bone dry and gluten-free) and Gin as well!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldfourthdistillery/

Legendary winemaker Chris Carpenter (Cardinale, Lokoya, Hickinbotham, La Jota, and Mt. Brave) joins us today to tell us why Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon is the perfect pairing for beef tenderloin!

We also talk all things Mount Veeder and discuss the differences in mountain versus valley floor grapes.

Why the Pairing Works: 

• Mt. Brave has a brightness and acidity that pair beautifully with the fatty richness of tenderloin
• The blue fruits, violets, and acid in Mt. Brave make the perfect contrast to the savory, fatty, and weighty texture of tenderloin
• The tannins of this wine are curved and don't need as much cellar time or decanting

What Makes this Cabernet Special: 

• Chris's specialty is mountain fruit from the Napa Valley, which tends to have more minerality than valley fruit. Mt. Brave is made from Mount Veeder fruit and can live in a cellar for years but is also ready to drink now
• Compared to some of his other projects, Chris makes Mt. Brave to be a mountain wine with softer tannins, meaning a Somm or consumer could serve it immediately, tableside without cellaring
• Mt. Brave and parent company Jackson Family have invested in creating sustainability in Napa, Sonoma, and all of California. The Napa properties are organic and regenerative. Agriculture produces 30% of the carbon load to the world, so Chris & Jackson Family believe that viticulture must be the leader in carbon reductions

Chris's Last Supper: 16 inch pepperoni pizza from Renaldi's and a 9 liter Guinness

Song Pairing: Sympathy for the Devil

Learn more here: https://www.mtbravewines.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtbravewines/

Lauren King, Senior Manager of Wine Education for Ste Michelle Wine Estates, joins us today to tell us why Fried Chicken and Champagne (specifically, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte) go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly!

Join us this episode as we put 3 Fried Chickens to the test: Publix Chicken Tendies, Chic-fil-a Chicken biscuit, and Bojangles Cajun Chicken Filet biscuit! We'll reveal our winning pairing #ChickenOff

Why the Pairing Works:  The great news for Champagne lovers: Champagne pretty much pairs with anything. Bubbles will specifically cleanse your palate of the juicy and fatty fried chicken and get you ready for the next bite. Champagne has these three pairing principles working for it:

• Bubbles - cleanse the palate for another bite
• Acid - cuts through fat and makes food seem brighter
• Autolytic notes - These toasty, brioche-like flavors come from aging wine on the lees (dead yeast cells) and complement many flavors in fried chicken and other fares.

What Makes this Champagne Special: 

• Nicolas Feuillatte is a co-op winery, meaning it's a union of small grape growers that all get shares of the revenues. The better the growers do, the better the wines will be! Contrast this to big Champagne houses that solely purchase grapes.
• Feuillatte Champagnes tend to lead with the red grapes (Pinot Noir and Meunier) for a bit more body, fruitiness, and brightness.
• Feuillatte uses up to 35-40% of their reserve wines in their Non-Vintage Brut, which is significantly higher than most Champagne houses. Impressive for the #1 wine in France!

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut, in Emoji's: 🍐 🍋 🌼 🍑 🥐 🧀 😋 😛

Netflix Pairing: The White Lotus

Learn more here: https://www.nicolas-feuillatte.com/us/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erathwines/

Leah Adint, winemaker for Erath Winery, joins us today to tell us why her Reserve Pinot Noir is *perfect* for your holiday table!

Why the Pairing Works:  Pinot Noir is one of the most versatile wines for food! It's all about balance. Pinot has great acidity, bright flavors, medium-bodied & alcohol content, and lower tannins than other varietals, so there's no worry about overpowering certain dishes. Pinot will complement red fruits in foods like cranberry sauce and also work perfectly with roasted turkey.

What Makes this Pinot Noir Special: 

• Dick Erath moved to Oregon in 1967 and planted grapes in 1968, not knowing how incredible the terroir would be. Leah is only the 4th winemaker since its inception.
• Oregon Pinot Noir is kind of a 'best of both worlds' of California and Burgundy, France. We find ripe fruit (California) and herbaceous and floral qualities (Burgundy)
• The 'Reserve' Pinot is a delicious blend of Erath's many Single Vineyard expressions, lighter and perhaps more 'Burgundian' than the rest in the lineup

Erath Pinot Noir Reserve, in Emoji's: 🎉🍒🍃🍲

Song Pairing: Journey's Don't Stop Believing

Learn more here: https://www.erath.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erathwines/

Edward Geyman, founder & CEO of Laneta Tequila, joins us today to explain why his Tequila embodies the philosophy of its name (Laneta means "truth" in Spanish). Joey "Baby Kangaroo" Waknine and Manny "From the Bronx" Blanco are also in studio today, sharing their truths (as well as some laughs).

What makes Laneta Tequila Special:

• Edward Geyman is a fourth generation glassmaker from Ukraine, who used their acumen to design one of the most beautiful bottles of Tequila out there. Look for the flower of life on the bottom of the bottle!
• Laneta, or "the truth," signifies their mission to create a spirit greater than the category, and for its enjoyers to discover their own truths.
• The mission for Laneta is to bring friends and family together. Sidenote: it works beautifully in an espresso martini!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanetatequila/

Road Trip time!!

We took What to Drink on the road to the Napa Valley to interview industry legends Barbara & Bruce Neyers, owners & founders of Neyers Vineyards!

The married duo recounts the story of their journey into the world of wine, starting in the early 1970's in the Napa Valley. All of their wines are delicious and leave you wondering, "Am I drinking Old World (European) wines right now, or could these indeed be Californian?!"

The Sage Canyon Red blend is a delicious Rhône-style blend (Carignan, Mourvèdre, & Grenache) & will pair with most dishes, but we eventually singled out roast chicken because the two mentioned the perfect marriage of these two several times.

What makes Neyers Sage Canyon Red special:

• Winemaker Daniel Brunier of Chateauneuf du Pape winery Vieux Télégraphe remarked that the Central Valley of California was not much different in temperature than the Rhone; why couldn't the Neyers' grow their favorite Rhône grapes in California?
• Bruce and Barbara started purchasing Carignan, Mourvèdre, & other Rhône-style grapes from Central Valley winemakers with specific instructions: 1. the grower must reduce their grape yields to prioritize quality over quantity, and 2. they had to employ Old World winemaking techniques like pigeage (stomping grapes by foot) & stem-inclusion.

• Bruce's wines are a perfect example that California & the 'New World' can achieve 'Old World' elegance, savoriness, and body!

BONUS RECIPE: Barbara's Couscous Salad with Chicken Breast Recipe (Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups dried couscous
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half – Sweet 100 and Sungold tomatoes
• 1-2 Cucumbers, Persian or Armenian — peeled and sliced ¼ to 1/8-inch thick
• 2 chicken breasts, boned and skinless
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• Fresh basil torn into pieces for garnish
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Tablespoon minced shallot
• 2 Teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ½ Teaspoon paprika
• ½ Teaspoon coriander
• ½ Teaspoon turmeric
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION:

1. Cook the chicken breasts on a grill using mesquite charcoal.
2. Cook the couscous as directed on the package. Refrigerate the couscous if not using immediately.
3. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients and set aside.
4. Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise and then into ½-inch pieces.
5. In a bowl combine the couscous, chicken breasts, chickpeas and vinaigrette.
6. Season with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
7. Serve the couscous with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers on top and garnish with basil and feta cheese.

Guinness National Ambassador Ryan Wagner joins us today to explain why this iconic Dry Irish Stout is not a bad choice to drink when you're counting calories!

"There's nothing on this planet like a pint of the black stuff." Guinness Dry Irish Stout is a legendary beer, and in fact was brewed for the first time in 1959 to celebrate the 200-year anniversary since Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on St. James’s Gate Brewery. It’s rich, it’s creamy, and it’s black (well actually, if you look closely, Guinness is ruby red in color but don’t tell anyone!).

What Makes Guinness Perfect for a Diet:

• Clocking in at 4.2%, Guinness is surprisingly sessionable, with a beautiful creamy head but lighter and lighter body
• At 126 calories per 12 ounces, it's quite comparable to many American Light Lagers (@ ~115 calories)
• Guinness utilizes Nitrogen as well as CO2, making it 75% less carbonated than most beers and less filling

PRO TIP : To achieve the classic pour with a Guinness Draft Stout can, get yourself a clean pint glass and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Begin to slowly pour your Guinness Draught in a Can off the side of the glass. As it fills, slowly tilt your glass upwards until it is vertical. Let it settle and enjoy!

Dixon Dedman, founder of 2XO - "Two Times Oak" Whiskey, joins us today to explain why his award-winning blends will, in the words of Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel, "Take it to Eleven!"

"Two Times Oak" is a blending process Dixon pioneered, where he re-barrels his hand-selected aged whiskey into new charred oak barrels. The result is intense wood notes and extraordinarily rich, complex flavors. Will these blends take it to 10? Well, sure. But sometimes you need.. "one more!"

What makes 2XO 'American Oak' Special:

• The first of the "Oak" series with an innovative double oak technique. Dixon introduces additional charred oak to barrels with a moderate amount of rye in the mashbill.
• American Oak moves from sweet, rich butterscotch on the front, to savory roasted nutty notes in the middle, finishing with a lingering mild spice. It is very approachable and perfect for cocktails.
• Dixon Dedman has been turning heads for years as a blender using innovative techniques for adding flavor and complexity to his robust bourbon and rye blends.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2xowhiskey/