When you hear the words American whiskey, you usually think of Bourbon or perhaps Rye. But recent years have seen the rise of American single malt whiskey. And one distillery in particular has risen higher than the rest.

From the northwestern coast of the continental USA, Portland Oregon has long been an artisanal homeland.

From a booze perspective, Portland has long been a front-runner for the most craft breweries not just in the US but in the world. Its region also has a number of wineries.

So when Westward Distillery popped up in 2004, it made sense that its owner Christian Krogstad came from a beer- and wine-making background. And his vision for the distillery was to still pay homage to the region’s beer.

Indeed, Westward’s head distiller, the excellent Miles Munroe, who we interviewed here, is also a brewer.

This is important, because to make whisk(e)y, you first have to make beer.

If you want to find out more about how whisky is made, check out our story 7 Simple Steps to Making Aussie Whisky from our guest column on Nip of Courage.

Beer into whiskey, whiskey into wine (barrels)

Munroe and Krogstad use their own two-row barley, which is grown and malted in the area, to make a proper pale ale mash. They ferment their beer with a real brewer’s yeast too, so when the whiskey comes out, it still has elements of a true beer-making process at its heart.

Even more so with collaborations and experiments like ageing their whiskey in local stout barrels and using a Belgian beer yeast to make a limited-release Belgian Ardennes Single Malt, which we talk about here.

But when Krogstad used his skills from winemaking to bring ex-Pinot Noir French oak barrels from Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, a new level appeared for Westward.

First ageing their spirit in new American oak barrels for at least two years (which is law in the States for all whiskey) then finishing the whiskey in the ex-Pinot casks for a further two years, Westward have created something quite incredible.

Westward Distillery’s Pinot Noir Cask Single Malt Whiskey

From the true beer-making process, the whiskey has a fullness of body and rich malt aroma, and the influence of the Pinot Noir casks and French oak brings fresh berry and leather to the whiskey along with a gentle spice.

More specifically, you get aromas of dried fruit, coconut, red berries and figs, honeyed floral notes and sweet tobacco.

To taste, you find plenty of toasted malt and toffee that lead to dryness and a warm tingle to the finish.

With a drop of water, aromas dampen a little, but the mouthfeel becomes oilier, and fresh fruit and berry notes elevate as do tannins and a hint of tobacco.

This is a whiskey to be sipped, savoured and enjoyed. You can mix it into an old fashioned or a Manhattan if you wish, but it’s so smooth, in spite of its 45%ABV.

Get your bottle of Pinot Noir Cask Westward single malt whiskey online here, and from Dan Murphy’s and good bottle shops nationally.

The post Can’t choose between beer, wine or whiskey? You should head Westward appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

With tropical shores more like Hawaii, a location that’s closer to Taiwan than its mainland and a culture that’s more its own than it is Japanese, Okinawa is a fascinating place.

But while Okinawa seems so ‘un-Japanese’ it’s also the most Japanese place you can imagine.

And perhaps it’s these contradictions which give Okinawa that extra shake of Japanese flavouring. Take awamori as an example. It’s like sake – the most famous Japanese alcohol – just more so.

Like sake, awamori is made from rice. It even has a similar flavour profile to sake. But rather than just fermenting rice to make sake, which is similar in alcohol to wine, awamori is distilled rice, putting it in the same category as gin, whisky and rum.

What you’re left with is something that is wonderfully familiar yet completely different at the same time. Don’t you think that fits Okinawa’s MO perfectly?

Awamori – the spirit of Okinawa, the soul of Japan

Probably getting its name from the unusual bubbles that surface during distilling (awa – bubbles and mori – many) awamori was a new concept for Okinawa, and for Japan as well. Until this time, the region had mastered fermenting for beer and sake and alike, but not distilling.

What’s more, awamori came to Okinawa when this Japanese prefecture was still an island nation of its own.

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya (later becoming Thailand) brought the notion of distilling to Okinawa in the 16th Century, when Okinawa was called Kyushu. In fact, locals still refer to themselves as Kyushu today, following the traditional customs and religions of their ancestors.

It’s these subtle differences that – just like awamori – create such uniqueness.

How is awamori made?

First, distillers ferment the long grain Thai rice that’s always been used to make awamori – as opposed to the short grain rice that makes sake. They use a black yeast only found in Okinawa for the fermentation, which gives the spirit its own flavour.

Next, this ‘beer’ mash is distilled in copper pot stills to produce the spirit, which is then aged in a variety of ways. They use steel tanks, wooden casks and even ceramic pots – usually for three years – to develop awamori’s special flavour.

Before WWII, there was awamori up to 300 years old stored in various parts of Okinawa. Sadly the conflict destroyed it all.

Helios Distillery and its Ryukyu Bijin awamori

Helios Distillery, which makes not only awamori but also things like craft beer, whisky and red potato shochu, has been running since 1961 and makes one of the top five most popular awamori in Japan.

Their Ryukyu Bijin awamori has a bright, clean flavour thanks to the quality of the nearby water source for the distillery. It also has a gentle sweetness from careful ageing.

Altogether, it’s a remarkably easy drinking spirit and does not show its 40%ABV.

How to drink Ryukyu Bijin Awamori

You see locals in Okinawa sharing bottles of awamori all the time over a meal. They add quite a bit of ice and water to it, which opens the flavour more and means they can have more glasses together without overindulging.

You can also drink awamori neat or on ice to enjoy the full flavour, or you can add it to cocktails really easily thanks to its easy-going flavour profile.

Alternatively, Helios Distillery has made things even easier for us by creating this ready-to-drink (RTD) sparkling awamori cocktail in a can.

Awamori goes really well with citrus, so these RTDs of Ryuku Bijin and real yuzu juice are refreshing yet satisfying.

It’s a real taste of this paradise in the Pacific, the southern rays of the Rising Sun.

You can find Ryukyu Bijin Awamori 700ml in Dan Murphy’s nationwide $55RRP

If you enjoyed this story, you should check out some of our other articles on Okinawa:
– How to get to Okinawa and why it’s worth the effort
– The Heart of Okinawa: what are Power Spots and how do you find them?
– What is it like in tropical Japan? Postcards from Okinawa

The post Awamori – the spirit of Okinawa and the soul of Japan appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

As the weather heats up and the sky keeps its deep blue hue, it’s all too tempting to reach for an ice cold beer, isn’t it? But here are a few different options that will turn a good summer into a great one.

We’ve spoken to quite a few people recently who are predicting fascinating changes in the way we will be drinking. But here are three developments in what we drink that are already happening right now.

And they’re making the summer look pretty good!

3 new drinks for summer

Petaluma Yellow Label Range release

Since 1976, Petaluma have been crafting beautiful premium wines in Adelaide Hills, and its Yellow Label range is its flagship selection.

We’ve had a go at Petaluma’s 2020 Hanlin Hill Clare Valley Riesling, which has structure that belies its youth. Often – especially with Riesling – recently harvested wine doesn’t have the depth and nuance that comes with ageing in the bottle.

But this Riesling has plenty of flinty mineral notes and sharp lime that play with fragrant floral flavours. $35.99 RRP.

We’ve also tried the Petaluma 2015 Evans Vineyard Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot, which is just beautiful. the 85% Cabernet gives so much body and spice to the wine, while the Merlot eases the levels of woody spice with its softer plum and cherry notes.

Plenty going on with this wine, and if you have the patience, it’ll cellar for a long time… but is also drinking well now just in time for summer. $76.99 RRP.

The vineyard’s senior winemaker Mike Mudge has also unveiled three other Yellow Label varietals this year, their 2019 Chardonnay ($53.99), their 2018 Shiraz ($49.99) and their 2018 Merlot ($67.99) – all exemplary Petaluma Yellow Label wines.

You can pick these up from Dan Murphy’s, Vintage Cellars and independents nationally, or from Petaluma direct.

Sparkling release from Petaluma

I don’t know if you know this, but Petaluma is also the brains behind Aussie icon Croser sparkling wine too.

This year, they’re releasing their Late Disgorged Piccadilly Valley Croser from – wait for it – 2006!

This wine has been sitting on its lees for 12 years, which will give it a beautiful smooth, rich texture and complex biscuity brioche flavour to go with the fine-bead bubbles of this complex sparkling.

At $66.99 RRP, this is a bargain. You wouldn’t find a Champagne this old at this price – or this quality to be honest. Very impressive.

Pampelle ruby grapefruit aperitif

The phrase ‘summer in a glass’ gets thrown around a lot this time of year, but if there’s ever a drink that fits the bill, it has to be Pampelle.

This is a French aperitif liqueur made from star ruby red grapefruit, hand-picked in Corsica and distilled in a grape-based eau de vie on the coast of France’s Cognac region, the other side of the Spanish peninsula.

The result is the taste of pure holiday.

Rich, intense, sweet and bitter – the distillers have somehow managed to capture the essence of grapefruit in a bottle. It’s like Campari in party mode.

In fact, you can almost switch out Campari for this aperitif – though in a negroni, adding a splash of sparkling water lightens the drink to really give it a summery feel. You can watch our IGTV Cocktail Hour episode here, where I make this Pampelle negroni spritz.

Other ways to enjoy this delicious tipple is simply over ice, as a spritz like you would with Aperol, with tonic water or with 1 part Pampelle, 3 parts rosé wine and 1 part soda water.

Pampelle is also lower in alcohol (15%abv) than most liqueurs and 30% lower in sugar, which is also great for summer. $40.00 RRP.

Pure Scot scotch whisky in a can

From the Lowland distillery of Bladnoch – the first and only Scottish whisky distillery to be Aussie-owned – comes something quite unique.

Bladnoch makes an incredible single malt scotch you have to try if you like smooth, unpeated, almost tender whisky. You can read our full review of Bladnoch’s Samsara scotch here.

Bladnoch also makes a blended scotch called Pure Scot, which is a masterful mix of whiskies from around the country to create a more intense whisky than its single malt.

But they’ve done something very exciting with this whisky.

Bladnoch have put it in cans with carefully selected mixers, which is perfect for summer by the pool or on a picnic.

The Pure Scot and tonic is an interesting variant on the old summer favourite, the G&T. It’s an unusual concept, but the whisky element actually adds to the refreshing taste of tonic and shows that scotch can be an easy summer drink after all.

Playing more towards convention – but still with a twist – the Pure Scot and smoked cola uses the Pure Scot Virgin Oak variety, which has more Islay peat flavours, to emphasise the natural smokiness in the cola and develop the spiciness and depth of the scotch.

It’s a rare take on a common pairing.

These RTDs (Ready to Drink) are higher in alcohol than most on the market, with more actual whisky involved – 20% and 18.6% respectively, and both coming out at 8%abv.

You can buy these Pure Scot canned cocktails direct from their website and through independent bottleshops nationally. $8.99 per can, $28.99 per four or $169.99 per 24 carton RRP.

The post 3 new drinks for summer you probably haven’t heard about appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Mrs Romance sometimes buys them for my birthday or Christmas… yes, it’s an underwhelming gift idea, but it’s a pretty good stocking filler.

There is an alternative, however. And I think it’d make a pretty bloody good gift for Chrimbo too. The Razorpit Razor Blade Sharpener. When I first saw it five months ago, I thought it was a joke or yet another scam gadget full of promises but really only creating more landfill.

I’ve been testing the Razorpit for the past five months and so far, I’ve been very impressed. It doesn’t really sharpen the blades of your razor. More, it keeps them sharp. It’s very simple and quick to use, and you do it every time you shave.

All you do is put a bit of shaving foam on the ‘pit’ after you’ve finished de-hairing, then push the razor along the flat surface a few times. The friction from the textured surface of the Razorpit cleans the particles of hair, and soap and skin residue from the edges of the blades. It’s the same process as when a barber strops the open razor to clean it.

It’s the residue on the edge of the blades that you think the razor’s blunt.

As I said, I’ve been testing this for five months and so far I’ve only had to change blades once! And that was because I tried using shaving oil instead of soap. What a nightmare that stuff is.

Anyway, if you’re trying to think of something to get your significant other this Christmas or for a birthday, this is an excellent option.

Unfortunately it means Mrs R has to think up something else to put under the tree for me, but I’m sure she’ll think of something.

You can get one of these little fellas online or possibly from a good pharmacy along with all your other skincare and grooming needs.

In Australia, they’re available in the Shaver Shop for $29.95.

In Europe you can go straight to the source at Razorpit.com for €25.

And if you’re in the UK, you can go to my favourite Man Cave site, Firebox.com for £19.99!

Images by Mr Romance.

The post Razorpit razorblade sharpener – shave yourself a fortune! appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.