My first whiskey review: Corner Creek and Collier & McKeel

Before moving south, I lived in NYC for about 5 years. I worked for a couple of publishing companies, getting paid next to nothing and living in small apartments with multiple roommates. However, the thing about living in NYC, it was never about what you did at home, but what you did when you were away. It wasn’t about how much money you made, but how much people thought you made.

So, I started drinking scotch. It all started when a friend of mine invited me to a Johnnie Walker Scotch tasting at some private downtown club. The club had those big leather armchairs with the brass nail trim, a walk-in humidor, and those old pool tables with leather netting for pockets.

The tasting was hosted by Scotsman in a kilt. He showed us a slide show explaining how the scotches differ depending on their Scottish region of origin. We tried different single-malt scotches from each of the regions, ranging from Oban on the west coast of Scotland, which has a light body and is smooth to drink, to Lagavulin from Scotland’s rocky southern shore, which has a strong, smoky and peaty flavor. After trying the single-malts, we were given a tasting of Johnnie Walker’s blended Red Label, Black Label, and Gold Label. These blends are supposed to be made up of different single-malts from the different regions of Scotland.

 

This was the perfect pretentious drink for the pretentious person I was trying to be. I would order it at work parties, on dates, at sports bars. I thought I was so cool. Then at a going away party before moving south, an ad salesman who worked with me basically called me a “poser” and told me that I didn’t really like scotch as much as I thought I did and that I would really like bourbon better. This was before bourbon had its resurgence and you could only really find Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, and Jack Daniels (not really a bourbon) at most bars in the Northeast. 

Of course, I denied this and started touting some scotch knowledge from the Johnnie Walker tasting. So, he challenged me to a tasting. He picked three bourbons and I picked three scotches. He believed that after drinking all six, I would like bourbon better. He was right.

The beauty was that I moved to Nashville a couple of weeks later, where the bars had a lot more than just Wild Turkey and Jim Beam to try. Almost everywhere you could at least find Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, Buffalo Trace, and some even had Woodford Reserve. I was in heaven. Bourbon has been my liquor of choice ever since.

Contrary to popular belief, bourbon doesn’t have to made in Kentucky. However, almost all of them are. Bourbon does have a lot of rules though. For example, the mash must be a minimum of 51 percent corn, it must be aged in freshly charred oak barrels that have never had anything else in them, and it cannot have any flavoring added. Jack Daniel’s goes through a charcoal-filtered process, which is why it can’t be called a bourbon.

I am going to start reviewing bourbons on my blog every so often. I won’t go overboard and basically just give it one of three ratings: Okay, Good, or Damn Good.

Some people like to drink bourbon neat with nothing added and some like to mix it with water or soda. I like to have it with just 1 or 2 ice cubes. The ice cubes cut the bite and allow the true flavors to come out without diluting the taste too much. In my reviews, I will first try the whiskey neat (no ice cubes) and then I will add an ice cube to smooth out the flavor. I will probably try some popular ones and some lesser-known brands when I find them.

The Kentucky Distillers Association gives the following instructions on how to taste bourbon:

       You’ll evaluate each bourbon on four attributes – appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste/finish.

• Appearance: The appearance of bourbon can be used to evaluate its level of maturation. Color is visible proof that it is matured in new, charred barrels that rest in open-rick warehouses.

• Aroma: Swirl the glass 2 or 3 times and then take 3 short sniffs. (Avoid taking long sniffs since this can be overwhelming.) You should be able to identify a number of different aromas in your glass of bourbon.

• Taste and Aftertaste: You’ll next judge taste and aftertaste (the finish) in a two-step process. First take a small sip, swish it around the mouth for a few seconds and then swallow. How does it affect the palate? Does it explode in a cascade of flavor or does it just affect a limited portion of the palate? Taste again and judge the finish. Is it short or long? Is it dry or oily? Is it warm and pleasant or hot and irritating?

Today, I am going to start off with a true bourbon called, Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, and a Tennessee Whiskey called Collier & McKeel (my misspelled namesake).

I have two partners to help me: my wife and our friend in town from Ireland, Therese Cullen. They are both much better at distinguishing the different aromas and flavors than I am.

Corner Creek

I will be honest. I bought Corner Creek for two reasons: 1) I had never seen it before, and 2) it was on sale for under $23 from $25. I bought it at Great Wines   in East Memphis on Poplar, which has an awesome bourbon and whiskey selection. Apparently, they also have tastings regularly at the restaurant next door, Circa .

Corner Creek is distilled in Bardstown, KY. Bardstown is the epicenter of Kentucky bourbon making, home of both Jim Beam and Makers Mark. It comes in a distinctive green tinted bottle shaped like a wine bottle.

Corner Creek has a light caramel appearance. The aroma has hints of banana, caramel, vanilla, and dark cherry. The taste was a little hot with subtle flavor that intensifies with the aftertaste. It was sweet with hints of vanilla and maple.

Our rating: GOOD

Collier & McKeel

This is the third time I bought Collier & McKeel. I bought this bottle at Great Wines, as well. However, I have also bought it at Busters and the Wine Market. Usually it runs for $30; however, Great Wines had it on sale for $27. I first bought this primarily because it shares my last name. I bought this again, because it is delicious, especially for under $30.

Like Jack Daniels, Collier & McKeel is a Tennesee Whiskey. Although it is distilled in Nashville, it is the charcoal filtering process that makes it a Tennessee Whiskey.  Collier & McKeel uses a sugar maple charcoal.

Collier & McKeel has a dark caramel color with a strong woody aroma that has sweet hints of butterscotch and maple. As with the aroma, it has a strong oaky flavor with caramel and sherry highlights. The flavors were more subtle on the palette, not as hot as Corner Creek. It was very smooth with a lot of body. It also had a lot of peatiness that reminded me of a good scotch, like the Lagavulin I mentioned above.

Our Rating:  DAMN GOOD

Green Egg Gobble Gobble

Are you sick of your parents' traditional overcooked turkey? Do you want to give your turkey day a little boost? Something your relatives will go home talking about?  Do you want to do it without the risk of burning down your house as could happen when you fry your turkey in peanut oil? Your solution is Green Egg Gobble Gobble otherwise known as a Smoked Turkey on the Big Green Egg.

This was my third year smoking a turkey on the Green Egg and every year gets better. The key is managing your temperature, proper use of foil, and damn hot bloody marys.

For a little background, every year my in-laws have an awesome Thanksgiving potluck feast. Relatives from all over the mid-south and even a few from Louisiana descend on their house for turkey, gravy, dressing (my wife tells me I am not allowed to call it stuffing, it must be a southern thing), mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, her Aunt's famous potato pumpkin casserole, my wife's turnip greens, somebody's deviled eggs (which are always the first to go), and my personal favorite—my Mother-in-law's macaroni and cheese. I am a bit of a connoisseur of mac and cheese and hers can't be beat. It really is the cheesiest. 

Now that I have joined the family, we have added a few Yankees into the mix. My parents, who recently moved from Wisconsin to California, have been coming for the last couple years and this year my brother drove in from Columbia, South Carolina. My mom has added her famous spinach soufflé into the mix, which is basically a spinach and cheese casserole. Have I ever mentioned how much I love cheese? Anyway, it is a tremendous day.

Plus, this year there are also three more new faces in the family: Izzy, Willa, and Riley. All born within the last year and excited for their first Thanksgiving. Surely, they can at least get to eat the sweet potatoes.

Okay, now for the turkey. I am not sure if this is a North vs. South thing, or just family differences, but the main difference between the Thanksgivings I remember growing up and the Abernathys' Thanksgiving is the timing. Up North, we had ours at about 4 p.m. We spent the day watching football, while my mom slaved away in the kitchen and then ate in the early evening. Here in Memphis, everybody shows up at about 11 and we eat shortly after noon. Then we take a nice afternoon nap in front of the TV watching football, while my wife and mother-in-law slave away cleaning.

So how does this affect the turkey—it means I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to start cooking. The night before cooking, I brined the turkey, which helps keep the turkey moist through the cooking process. Brining technically is soaking meat in salt water. However, I made my brine with 1/2 gallon of apple cider, salt, cinnamon sticks, cloves, anise, brown sugar, and soy sauce. The recipe was slightly adjusted from a recent issue of Bon Appetit. I basically brought all those ingredients to a boil and then let them cool. I then added enough water to completely submerge the turkey in a brining bag (about 1.5 gallons). I let all this sit in a cooler over night.


With my brother in town, I didn't really get to bed until 1 a.m. So, the 4:30 a.m. wake-up call didn't come easy. In fact, I really don't think I got out of bed until closer to 5.  I then had a lot to do in order to get the turkey off at 10 a.m. and be at my in-laws by 11:30.

First, I got the grill going. My goal was to maintain the grill at 325 degrees. Getting the grill going was quite easy this year,  since there were still warm coals from the pork loin I had grilled the night before. The issue is that I hadn't cleaned out the grill from the night before. That meant there was a lot of ash left in the grill and it  would be difficult to get the temperature to the right heat.



After I got the grill going, I took the turkey out of the brine and dried it off with paper towels. I then put a Ziplock full of ice over the breast. According to Mad Max on the website Naked Whiz, this will lower the temperature of the breasts and allow them to cook more evenly with the thighs. I kept the ice on while I prepared the rest of the ingredients for the turkey.

First, I cut some carrots, celery, and onions in half and put them in the bottom of the doubled aluminum roasting pan. I then put a v-rack on over the vegetables in the pan. I rubbed the inside of the turkey, which was just over 15 pounds, with salt and pepper and stuffed it with apples and fresh sage and thyme. I rubbed the outside of the turkey with some olive oil and salt and pepper. It was now ready to go on.

The temperature of the grill seemed pretty good at 400 degrees, since I knew it would cool down once I added the wood and the turkey. I used chunks of apple wood, which had been soaked overnight. I like apple wood, because it is not overpowering like hickory or mesquite.

I used the Green Egg's place setter, which allowed me to cook the turkey with indirect heat.  On the place setter I put a couple foil pie pans. Then I put the turkey pan on top of those. This gave me a little space between the place setter and the pans. In the past, I had had trouble with everything in the roasting pan getting charred.

I was able to manage the temperature with my remote control Green Egg thermometer. It is able to read both the temperature of the meat and the temperature of the grill. Theoretically, I should be able to bring this inside and read the temperature from there. However, the wireless capabilities do not work very well at all. This was too expensive for something that doesn't work right (over $70), so don't buy one. I put the temperature at the height of the foil pan. This allowed me to get the temperature closer to the bird than the built-in one on the grill.

I didn't end up getting the bird on until 6:20, which was 20 minutes later than I had  hoped. Plus, after putting the bird in, I couldn't get the temperature back up to 325 for almost the first hour. I had a feeling, I would be a bit late.

While the bird was cooking, I started to make a stock for the gravy. I put left over onion, carrot, celery, apple, sage, and thyme into a pot and filled it with water. I then added the turkey neck and what I believe was the liver that were inside the bird when I bought it. I let this simmer while smoking the bird.

I checked on the bird every thirty minutes—at which time, I would baste the juices back over the bird. When the wings and legs started getting dark, I wrapped them in foil. I ended up wrapping the whole bird for the last hour. I also poured a cup of cider over the bird at 2 hrs and 4 hrs.

1 hour

2 hours

I had hoped to take the bird off at 10 a.m.. However, at that point the inside of the bird was only 130 degrees. I planned to take the bird off at 165, so I was in a bit of trouble. Thus, I raised the temperature to about 400 for the rest of the cook. I ended up not taking the bird off until 11:30. I immediately put the turkey in another pan and gave it to my parents to take over to my in-laws and start slicing, while I stayed home to finish the gravy.

4 hours

Now for the gravy. The first thing I did was melt a stick of butter in a pan on the stove. I then added a cup of flour to the butter and stirred it until fairly smooth. I then added three cups of the stock I was simmering on the stove. I whisked this until the chunks were out.

I poured all the juices that were in the pan from the bird into a cup. I was honestly hoping for more juices. However, the gravy would recover. I put this in the fridge. I was hoping that the fat would separate and I could skim it off. In reality, since there was so little liquid, there really wasn't much to skim off.

I put the roasting pan on the burner of my stove and deglazed it with 1/2 a cup of bourbon. I used my favorite bourbon,  Eagle Rare. I probably should have used something cheaper, but I didn't have anything else. I added this liquid to the juices from the turkey.  I then strained this into the stock and flour mixture on the stove and whisked it all together.

The final step:  I then took the neck and the liver from the stock and chopped them into tiny pieces. I added this to the gravy, mixed it together, poured it in a jar, and sped over to my in-laws. It was about 12:30 and my step-father had just finished slicing the turkey. Perfect!

I think this was the biggest spread I have ever seen for Thanksgiving.  Since there were about 40 people there, I think we needed it. There was a counter full of dressings and mashed potatoes and the island had about 15 casseroles, turkey, and deviled eggs. Then in another room there was a table full of cakes and pies for dessert.




Everything was delicious, but I have to say my turkey was awesome. It was moist and smoky and everyone seemed to love it. I couldn't ask for a better day.

Oh and the best part . . . the part that I dream about all night long. The leftovers' sammy. First, I toasted some whole wheat bread. Second, I layered on the turkey, dressing, mashed toes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. I then pressed the sandwich together, so it sticks. Then I wrap it in foil and stick it in the toaster oven to warm up. I almost came to tears while eating it.

OUTAKES

Todd (step-father), Tripp (brother), and myself with Molly and her cousin Teddy playing in the background

Tripp and I hanging with our mother.

Molly and Teddy fighting over the firewood.

The Abernathys: my awesome in-laws who somehow put up with me and my family every year. By the way, Willa is on the left and Riley on the right!

Susan, Todd and Kristin Cook Paella

Today I have the privilege of posting a write-up from my mom (Susan), my step-father (Todd), and my sister (Kristin). My mom is a better writer, my step-father a better photographer, and my sister a better cook, so this should be good. Bon appetit!

Susan, Todd and Kristin Cook Paella.

Earlier this year, Todd and Susan went to a paella cooking class at a local winery, La Serenissma.  While Todd sampled cabernet sauvignon from the barrel, Susan learned to cook paella from a native of Spain in a beautiful huge paella pan.  (Paella, which originated in Valencia, Spain, is the popular rice, seafood, and vegetable dish that is sometimes called Spain’s national dish.)  Susan and Todd really enjoyed the paella, which stood up well to the cab and inspired them to invest in their own pan. 

The paella pan, purchased at Williams Sonoma, is an 18-inch carbon steel pan that can be used on a stove-top gas burner or on an outside grill.  The pan needed to be seasoned before use.  Todd did this by coating both sides with vegetable oil and placing it in the oven at a high temperature three times, and then with olive oil one time.  The result is pictured below, a slightly bronzed and oily pan, ready for paella. 

We had a bare bones recipe from the cooking class that we adapted to our own tastes.  Due to allergies and lack of fresh calamari, we elected to use shrimp and scallops for the seafood.  (Clams and mussels are frequently ingredients, but we chose not to use them.)  We also couldn’t find any chorizo, so we used Louisiana hot sausage instead.  Part of the fun of making paella is being able to substitute ingredients without ruining the overall character of the dish.

First we made the fish broth.  The recipe called for a whole fish or fish heads, but that grossed Susan out so we used two fresh fillets of red snapper.  We boiled the snapper with a small onion cut into chunks, some roma tomatoes, and a bay leaf for 45 minutes, and then strained the liquid into a clear broth. 

We then prepped our ingredients.  This included 20 large shrimp, one half pound of scallops, two chicken breasts and four sausages cut into chunks.  For the vegetables, we used 2 cups of marinated artichokes, two chopped bell peppers, one cup of frozen peas, one chopped onion, and 1 cup of chopped parsley.  We were attempting to double a recipe for four people, but, as you will see, we ended up making a dish for at least 12 people. 

With a glass of Viognier in hand (from the Miner winery in Napa, sent from my recent trip), we began to cook, joined by Bernie and Linda from across the street.  First we browned the onions, garlic and parsley. 

We briefly sautéed the shrimp and scallops with the onions and then removed them from the pan so they did not overcook. After that we added the chicken, sausage, and two cups of white wine and let is simmer for 5 minutes. 

In went the vegetables, and two cans of chopped stewed tomatoes.  Then we added four cups of arborio rice, and stirred everything together.  We added 6 – 8 cups of  the fish broth intermittently to keep the rice cooking. 

Because there was more paella than we expected, we added more fish broth and white wine to keep the rice moist and cooking.  Finally we added the saffron and the scallops and shrimp back into the simmering mixture. 

End result—it tasted awesome!  The only criticisms were that we added the saffron too late and it didn’t really dissolve and coat the ingredients with the beautiful yellow color associated with paella.  Also some of us felt there was too much rice.  We also made enough paella for an army, and we may need to follow a more specific recipe in the future.  Everyone had seconds.  We drank wine from the Miner Vineyard in Napa—a Viogner and Oracle, a cab-based red blend.  Delicious.  

Grilled Chili

Chili is probably the reason I like cooking so much today. It was the first thing that I made where I began experimenting with the recipe. I started with trying one of those 5-alarm chili packets and just moved on from there.

About 10 years ago in NYC, my friend John and I would have friends over, try different recipes and see what worked the best. We even won a chili cook-off at bar in Hell’s Kitchen. Our recipe was called “The Champagne of Chilies.” The not-so-secret ingredient was Miller High Life. I still use this recipe a few times a year. I will probably do a write-up on it sometime.

However, today I wanted to do something on my Big Green Egg. As you can probably tell from my posts, it has been a few weeks. Inspired by a vegetable lasagna on another food blog that I read quite often called BBQEsquire. I wanted to try something on the Egg that I normally try on the stove. Chili was the winner.

Because I was using a grill, I wanted to use some beef chunks, instead of ground beef. That way I could grill the beef first. I found a recipe in an old Cook’s Illustrated magazine. The same people publish it who produce Americas Test Kitchen on PBS, and who published one of my favorite cookbooks, Best Recipe. It used chocolate, beer, and homemade chili powder (or paste). All were ingredients in “The Champagne of Chilies.” I decided to adapt this recipe to be used on the grill.

First thing I had to do was buy a cast iron pot that I could put on the grill. Bass Pro Shop actually has a great selection of Lodge cast iron cookware.  Kind of funny that they only time I go to Bass Pro Shop is to buy cookware. Maybe it’s time I start hunting and start a kill what you eat sort of diet, just like Zuckerberg.

I didn’t want to use canned beans, as they can get pretty mushy. However, you need to make sure that the dried beans are rehydrated enough, so they aren’t too hard. It’s a fine line. The Cook’s Illustrated recipe provides a way to do a quick brine. You basically bring water, salt and beans to a boil. Then remove from heat and have them sit covered for an hour.

Meanwhile, I used dried Ancho peppers and dried cayenne pepper for the base of the chili paste.  The Ancho pepper has a coffee aftertaste to them. There are a number of other peppers you could use that provide different flavors, sort of like a wine. I also like to use Pasilla, Mulato, and the smoky Chipotle.

Making a paste rather than adding the dried ground spices directly reduces the graininess of the chili. After removing the seeds and the stems of the Ancho pepper, I toasted 6 of them in skillet. I also removed the seeds from 3 hot red Cayenne peppers. The skins of these were too thin to toast. I added all the peppers to the food processor.

Before grinding them up, I added oregano, cumin, some cornmeal (to thicken the chili), and cocoa powder. I actually used a special cocoa powder from the African region of Yoruba. It is has a slightly spicy flavor. I found it at a spice store call Old Town Spice Merchants in Temecula, CA (where my parents live).  I started using it on my Smokin’ Mocha rub from my rib recipe. Should be great in chili too.

I ground everything into a fine powder and then added about a cup of chicken broth to the food processor and pulsed it until I got a paste. 

Then I got the Big Green Egg started to grill the meat and vegetables. First, I grilled some tomatoes and Jalapeños until the skins were blackened. I peeled off the skins of both. I diced the Jalapeños and chopped the tomatoes.

For the meat, I used a corn fed blade chuck roast from Whole Foods.  I actually do like corn fed better. I’ve done a taste test in the past, which can probably be its own write-up. In the end, the grass fed didn’t taste bad at all, but the corn fed tasted more like the meat I know and love.

After reading "The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan, I have a very hard time eating factory farmed food. I usually buy meat at Whole Foods or at a local butcher down the street, called Charlie’s Meat Market. I first lightly salted the meat and then grilled it until well browned. After grilling, I let it rest for 10 minutes and cut it into 1-2 inch cubes. I did not cook it all the way through, as it would finish cooking in the chili.

Finally I was ready to started making the chili, I first sautéed some diced onions in the cast iron pot on the grill. After 5-10 minutes, I added some minced garlic and sautéed further for a couple minutes.

I then added everything else: the grilled tomatoes, the beans, a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, the Jalapeños, the beef, the chili paste, and then 2 cups of chicken broth. I then added the “secret ingredients”, including a couple tablespoons of molasses and a bottle of the same Späten Oktoberfest I used last week in my stew.

BTW- If you decide to use canned beans, add shortly before serving. Otherwise, they will become mush.

 

I then closed the lid of the Big Green Egg and cooked the chili at 300 degrees for almost two hours.

When it was done, it was thick and meaty. I served it over macaroni noodles topped with diced onions, shredded Monteray Jack, light sour cream, and a bit of advocado. The pasta addition is a Midwest thing. My southern wife thinks it is communist, and won’t use it. To each their own.

It was delicious. The chili was extremely flavorful and smoky from the grill. The freshly ground peppers gave it a deep flavor and the molasses gave it a sweet edge. I had the second bowl without any toppings, just to savor the taste of the chili. Furthermore, the chili was spicy, but not overly hot. This allowed my wife to enjoy it as well. I have a bit of a reputation of burning family members with my chili, including my poor grandparents. The whole family can enjoy this chili.