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The latin translation of "AIREM" is "Air". The air and the wild nature of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain, the place where this Organic Premium Vodka is elaborated.
Following artisanal methods, the Vodka made out of organic wheat gets filtered through millenarian peat coal from the valley of Padul, a small village by the mountains.
With the purest snow waters of Sierra Nevada the vodka its filtered several times to eliminate any possible impurity so the vodka gets its maximum pureness.
The handcrafted copper stills attain the distillation process , delivering an exceptional vodka with the highest quality.
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Who doesn’t LOVE a Mimosa? One part champagne, one part citrus juice, all parts FABULOUS! So fabulous, in fact, that there’s even a day set aside for celebrating this fabled cocktail: National Mimosa Day, celebrated each year on May 16th.With roots that can be traced back to the Hotel Ritz Paris in the mid 1920s, Mimosa are a staple at brunches, weddings, and with the “ladies who lunch” crowd. While we adore the classic Mimosa - a 50/50 mix of sparkling wine and orange juice, served chilled in a tall champagne flute, there are some creative — and delicious — variations that are definitely worth a taste, including a few of our favorites:Vodka Mimosa (a.k.a. the Champagne Screw)1/3 Vodka1/3 Orange Juice1/3 Chilled ChampagnePour in glass and garnish with fresh fruit.Strawberry Mimosa1 Bottle of Brut Champagne1/2 Cup Fresh Strawberries2 Teaspoons Strawberry Juice/SmoothieStrawberries for GarnishIn a separate container, crush and muddle the strawberries until pureed and then add to a champagne glass. Add strawberry juice/smoothie for added sweetness. Fill the rest of the glass with champagne and use the strawberries for garnish.Cherry Kiss Mimosa1 Cup Pineapple Juice1/4 Cup Maraschino Cherry Juice1 Bottle ChampagneOrange slices, for garnishCombine pineapple juice and maraschino cherry juice in champagne flutes. Top with champagne and garnish with orange slice.Pomegranate Mimosa1 Cup Sweetened Pomegranate Juice1 Bottle ChampagnePomegranate Seeds, for garnishPour pomegranate juice into a champagne flute, top with champagne and garnish with pomegranate seeds.Whether you like your Mimosas straight up classic, or with a fresh new twist, they’re easy to make — and easier to drink — so you’ll definitely want to try them all!Cheers!
This year Cinco de Mayo (one of our favorite holidays) happens to fall on our favorite day of the week — Taco Tuesday. It’s like the planets are all aligned for some sort of epic Cinco de Mayo Stay-at-Home Quarantine Party! And we’re ready, with an assortment of tequila recommendations and some can’t miss food pairings that will make your social distancing party one that you will remember for a long, long time!Tequila — nectar of the Gods!Skip those awful worm-in-bottom-of-the-bottle stories (that’s actually mezcal, not tequila). Real tequila is distilled from blue Weber agave and is exclusive to the Jalisco region of Mexico. The agava plant takes years to reach maturity—about a dozen to be exact—and is protected by thick leaves and razor-like thorns. To make tequila, the enormous heart of the agave plant is peeled, roasted and crushed to make a sweet juice that is fermented, distilled (often twice) and aged in bourbon casks.There are actually three major categories of tequila: Blanco, Resposado and Añejo, with each having distinct differences in their production and flavor profiles.Blanco - The purest flavor of tequila, this white tequila has been aged less than three months.Reposado - Meaning “restful”, this type of tequila is aged or “rested” in white oak casks from 2 months to a year, giving it a mellow oak flavor combined with the flavor of the blue agave.Añejo - A sipping tequila, Añejo is aged, in smaller batches, in white oak casks for over a year taking on the flavors of the wood, while mellowing the harshness of the alcohol.How to drink your favorite tequila:Blanco tequila is perfect for shots and is our recommendation for making the classic Margarita. Reposado and Añejo tequilas can be sipped like whiskies, enjoyed as shots, or used to create a truly decadent cocktail. Cinco de Mayo Food and Drink Essentials!With your new-found tequila expertise it’s time to select the perfect tequila-pairing foods to really put your celebration into high gear. Obviously a Mexican spirit works best with Mexican foods and flavors, and there are so many options to choose from other than your basic taco. A few of our favorites:Tacos - Blanco tequila works with fish tacos, Reposado for meatier tacos with beef or pork. Ceviche - perfect with Blanco tequila (which also happens to work with sushi if Mexican food is not your thing).Grilled seafood - another great food partner with Blanco tequila.Avocado - wonderful with Reposado tequila.Grille Pork or Pork-filled Empanadas - serve with Reposado tequila.Steak and Burgers - you can choose either Reposado or Añejo. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Chocolate - Añejo tequila, like other aged spirits, was practically made to pair with chocolate, both dark and milk varieties.No Cinco de Mayo Party celebration is complete without Margaritas. Our recipe is wonderfully fresh, simply classic, and so refreshing. Choose the best quality Blanco Tequila you can afford to buy. A few of our favorites are:1800 Tequila Silver • Avion Silver Premium Tequila • El Jimador Tequila Blanco
Classic Margarita (serves 2)Ingredients• Lime wedge, plus extra lime wedges for garnish• 1 tablespoon coarse salt, for glass rims• 4 ounces Blanco Tequila• 2 ounces Cointreau• 1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice• Salt for rimming the glassDirections 1. Run lime wedge around the outer rims of glasses and dip rims in salt. Set aside. 2. Combine combine tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake until thoroughly chilled, about 15 seconds. 3. Fill glasses with fresh ice and strain margarita into glasses. Garnish with lime, serve and enjoy!Happy Cinco de Mayo — Cheers!
According to the official NASA website: On August 21, 2017, the Earth will cross the shadow of the moon, creating a total solar eclipse. Eclipses happen about every six months, but this one is special. For the first time in almost 40 years, the path of the moon's shadow passes through the continental United States. It seems that everyone’s getting Eclipse Fever! Getting their official eclipse-viewing glasses ready, choosing the perfect spot to watch the big event and, of course, planning to host or attend an awesome Eclipse-viewing party!Whether you’re hosting or you’re just a guest, we’ve got awesome cocktail recipes that help celebrate this once-in-a-generation event and will help shoot your party into orbit!Blue Moon
Ingredients (makes 4 cocktails)1 cup crushed ice1/4 cup vodka1/4 cup blue curaçao1/4 cup whipping cream2 tablespoons vanilla-flavored syrup (such as Torani)2 tablespoons fresh orange juice1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur Combine ingredients in blender and whip until smooth. Pour into martini glasses and garnish rim with orange slice.Patrón XO Cafe Solar Eclipse
Ingredients (makes 1 cocktail)1 1/2 oz Patrón XO Cafe3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice1/2 oz Simple syrup4 oz Aranciata (Italian orange) sodaHalf slice Valencia orange for garnish Fill a highball glass with ice and add all liquid ingredients. Garnish with half a slice of blood orange or Valencia orange. Sundowner Spritzer
Ingredients (makes 1 cocktail)4 oz white wine2 1/2 oz cold seltzerFresh mint sprig for garnish Pour the ingredients into a stemmed white wine glass with ice. Stir. Garnish with mint sprigs.
There you have it, a trio of cocktails that will put a solar spin on your eclipse-watching party! Get all the ingredients at your local Wine Country Store or Wine & Whiskey Country Store!
Take your cocktails to the next level with booze-infused fruit or tipsy veggies. Simple, refreshing, easy to make. Grab your favorite produce, a few mason jars and your favorite spirit and join the infusion craze! 1. Peaches and BourbonNothing says summer like a refreshing peach cocktail. To make: Remove the peach skin, slice flesh and store in a mason jar with bourbon for three days. Hint: Try pouring over ice cream for a grown-up treat.2. Cucumbers and GinSlice cucumbers and add to a jar with a few basic leaves and your choice of gin. Chill and serve. Fantastic! 3. Jalapenos and TequilaSpicy cocktails get you going? You’ll love this one. Slice peppers and let them soak in tequila for a few hours or a full week — the longer you soak, the hotter it gets. Strain peppers and seeds and add to your margarita for a cocktail that’s kicked up a notch. 4. Blueberries and VodkaMuddle the berries in a jar with vodka and let it sit for a few days before straining adding to your favorite cocktail. Berry, berry good!5. Cherries and BourbonCut cherries in half and remove the pit and stem. Soak in bourbon for at least one week to extract as much juicy cherry flavor as possible. Strain cherries, pour and enjoy!Don’t see your favorite fruit here? Relax, you can make endless boozy infusions using the fruits and veggies of your choosing. It’s a great way to experiment and get creative with your summer cocktails. Cheers!
If you’re Irish (or even if you’re not) everyone knows that St. Patrick’s Day is the Holy Grail of Irish holidays. To really get into the spirit you need to keep a few things in mind:• Wear green (although certainly cute, green underwear doesn’t really count)• Start your day with a bright green bagel (you can go carb-free the rest of the week)• Enjoy your favorite Irish foods—whether it be corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread or a big pot of boiled potatoes—some hearty Irish fare is just what’s called for on March 17th• Sip your favorite beer, with a side of green. Don’t fear the dye, it’s the only day all year that it’s acceptable to drink emerald suds• Toast to Ireland with your favorite Irish Whiskey. Beautiful, amber colored liquid gold in your glass. Smooth, aromatic, with an ultra long silky finish.
First, A Little Background on Irish Whiskey:
After years of lackluster sales, Irish whiskey is experiencing a real renaissance. With Jameson leading the way, exports of Ireland’s native spirit have surged 200% over the last 10 years. New distilleries are cropping up all over the Irish landscape — new brands launched, new societies formed, new books published, and new specialty bars opening, as the world takes a renewed interest in Ireland’s native spirit.
All this from a low point in the 1970s and 1980s, when the Irish whiskey industry was a barren landscape, with only two distilleries operating on the island: The New Midleton Distillery and the Old Bushmills Distillery. With bad luck, bad planning, American prohibition and independence from Britain all conspiring to close distillery after distillery, it was a far cry from the peak of Irish whiskey’s popularity in the Victorian era. During Victorian times, Irish whiskey was the drink of choice of the British Empire and beyond and the spirit flowed out of the country’s cities and towns on an industrial scale.
Now, Irish whiskey is once again on an upward curve, producing whiskey of real quality, versatility and consistency. With more and more producers and bottlers coming on board, the sector is set for a new golden age.
Ready for more good news? All this resurgence means that our stores are stocked with more Irish whiskey brands than ever — each one exhibiting the extraordinary versatility and consistent high quality of this remarkable spirit. We have something for the connoisseur who likes characterful pot still and single malt whiskey and something for those who prefer to mix it up with cocktails.
At Wine Country’s recent “Evening of Wine & Whiskey” sponsored by The Ahavath Torah Sisterhood of Englewood, NJ, we had an opportunity to try some truly incredible wines, but some of the biggest surprises of the night had nothing to do with wine at all. One of the best things we tried came from Prohibition Distillery. It was a gin different from any we had tasted before. It was smooth, didn’t burn at all and was actually good enough to sip… without any tonic. Founder and Master Distiller of Prohibition Distillery Brian Facquet, spent time explaining the history of gin to us (originating in Holland or Belgium several hundred years ago) and detailed what made his gin really stand out (and believe us, it does).Here’s why, directly from the Prohibition Distillery website: Our Gin is created from the combination of five botanicals. We spent four years perfecting this special recipe and proud to bring its complex, yet dry, “Old World Gin” flavor to your palate today.We were inspired by the classic London dry gins that use a maceration process and a simple botanical blend. Our goal was to have a Juniper forward gin and pull complementary floral, earthy and citrus notes from the Coriander seeds, Lemon Verbena leaves, Orris Root, also known as Iris root, and bitter orange peels.We steep our botanicals in 120 proof neutral spirit made from 100% Corn for 24 hours to produce our maceration. We then distill the gin in our 300 gallon pot still to remove all of the color and bind the flavors. The “Hearts” are captured and blended down to 94 proof for bottling.Our gin is Gluten Free and Certified Kosher from the Orthodox Union. So when you’d like to indulge your senses in a highly refined botanical blend, give our Bootlegger 21 NY Gin a taste and let at least one of your senses have five reasons to cheer.Feel like trying some Bootlegger Gin now, don’t you? Well good luck finding this Micro Distillery’s gin just anywhere. It’s only available at select retailers… but WE HAVE IT. That’s right, WE HAVE IT. At every Wine Country Store and Wine & Whiskey Country store. Come in and pick up a bottle today and if you forget the tonic, that’s absolutely ok! Cheers!
Hard to believe, but almost one hundred of Scotland’s malt whisky distilleries have either closed or been destroyed in the last century. That’s nearly half of the distilleries that have ever existed in Scotland…gone — due to over production, prohibition, bad economies and even world wars. Many of these unique brands were lost to the world…never to return…until The Lost Distillery Company was founded. An independent boutique Scotch Whisky company, The Lost Distillery Company is dedicated to creating present day expressions of legendary whiskies.According to The Lost Distillery Company: “There is no magic formula to what we do. We don’t have a warehouse full of old forgotten whisky, we don’t have a secret recipe or DNA analysis and we don’t have plans to reopen any of these lost distilleries. The answer to what we do lies in the history books.
The process begins with our Archiving Team led by Professor Michael Moss from The University of Glasgow. Focussing on the 10 key components that influenc the original character of these long lost whiskies, the Archiving Team play a pivot role in evidencing how that spirit might have tasted when it was last distilled. While we could argue that there are a number of elements of the production process that are pivotal to the final taste of the whisky, we focus on what we consider to be ten most important. Depending on the availability of information from our research, we are able to make certain assumptions as to what the profile of these whiskies might have been.The 10 Key Components:
ERA – The date of the last distillation is critically important. As with most manufacturing businesses, fashions and processes change. Mechanisation brought increased consistency to the process, while expansion of the railways sponsored the construction of much bigger distilleries. LOCALITY – Neighbouring distilleries may have used similar sources of water, barley and yeast. They may have shared expertise that still survives today in working distilleries. WATER – A core ingredient used to make the spirit and also to dilute the product to bottling strength. Was the water soft or hard? What was the mineral content? BARLEY – The most important aspect of the barley is the phenolic content. Where was the barley grown? Was it local? Which strains of barley were used? How consistent was the yield? YEAST – Why is some sourdough bread better than others? Why do some bakers retain a starter dough for decades? Yeast matters in the process and ultimately has an impact on the final product. PEAT – Was the malted barley peated or unpeated? How much peat was used and was it sourced locally? How did this translate to the phenol content of the finished product? MASH TUN – What material was it constructed from? Was it open or closed, and how was the temperature controlled? Volatile temperatures would inhibit yeast activity. WASH BACK – These would have been made almost exclusively from Douglas Fir; chosen for its straight grain and lack of knots. While some distilleries still use these, most have converted to stainless steel versions that impart no character to the product. STILL – The shape and size of the still deeply influence the overall character of the spirit. For example, a smaller dumpy still will typically allow more contact between the copper and the spirit meaning that it produces a heavier, more viscous spirit. WOOD – After production, what type of wood was used to store or transport the whisky to its destination? Did this have an impact on the final flavour? What did the barrel have in it before it was used for whisky? This would have had a significant effect on the whisky’s taste. The third part of our process is arguably the most interesting and challenging. We call this ‘The Debate’. Our Archivists and Whisky Makers, along with a panel of select ‘noses’, attempt to bring to life the evidence before them. They create a blend of single malts from different distilleries and with different flavour profiles, tweaking the composition to sit easily with both the evidence of the archivist and the interpretation of the whisky makers. This process takes considerable time and experience but only when everyone is comfortable with the result does the whisky receive The Lost Distillery Company seal of approval – when we are happy that we have created a present day interpretation of that long lost whisky legend.”Intrigued? We’ll be sampling an assortment of these finely crafted whiskies from The Lost Distillery Company at the Sisterhood of Congregation Ahavath Torah’s Evening of Wine & Whiskey on Saturday, January 7th, including:Lossit Classic Selection Blended Malt Scotch Whisky - $39/bottleWhy We Love It:A marriage of aged single malts. Consistently good, with rich flavors of peat, almonds, pear and pepper. Stratheden Classic Selection Blended Malt Scotch Whisky - $55/bottleWhy We Love It:Well balanced, with great body. The perfect entry-level whisky bursting with malty flavors of orange peel, chocolate and peat.Gerston Classic Selection Blended Malt Scotch Whisky - $55/bottleWhy We Love It:In a word, brilliant. Can hold its own against any single malt scotch, with flavor profiles that include ripe fruit, toffee, malt and spice.Auchnagle Classic Selection Blended Malt Scotch Whisky - $55/bottleWhy We Love It:A light dram for sunny afternoons, exhibiting solid craftsmanship and rich floral flavors, honeyed dried fruits and pepper. Stratheden Vintage Blended Malt Whisky - $210/bottleWhy We Love It:Surprisingly sweet and peppery, with a hint of salt and a warming, medium-length finish and lingering heat. Similar in style to the Archivists Selection edition, but with far more complexity. A true whisky lover’s whisky.Gerston Vintage Blended Malt Whisky - $210/bottleWhy We Love It:An unusual, antique taste, which holds up well with a drop of water, although the smoky element is reduced. Smooth texture, with a sweet taste and a surprising amount of smoke in the finish.Auchnagle Vintage Blended Malt Whisky - $210/bottleWhy We Love It:Pleasantly sweet and spicy, particularly straight from the bottle, with traces of apple and vanilla, and a warming medium-length finish, plus an old fashioned “hemp rope” scent that adds a unique vintage charm.Taste them all, and literally hundreds of other wines and spirits at the Evening of Wine & Whiskey on Saturday, January 7th. Get your tickets today at http://www.ahavathtorah.org/sisterhoodevents.Hope to see you there!
