What to Drink: Broadbent Vinho Verde

Spring is here, and in the South, that means it's about to get hot. Southerners obsess about cold drinks. We love our iced tea, mint juleps, and lemonade (with or without whiskey). We sit on our porches and decks, barbecue everything, and drink heavily. Life is good. Now, most people drink beer on the porch, but the <$10 wine bottle is a frequent visitor as well. It's for occasions like this that I stock a bottle of Broadbent's Vinho Verde. Portuguese wines are generally much better than their price tags indicate, but this stuff could easily stand up to the majority of whites in the under-$20 price range and can usually be found for around $9. Vinho Verde has a slight effervescence, not enough to call it sparkling, but enough to make it interesting. Broadbent's is loaded with citrus fruit and fun. It's a party wine, a wine meant to drink lots of quickly. It has a 9% alcohol content, putting it on the very low end. Vinho Verde, like a number of young, delicate European wines, doesn't travel well. Broadbent remedies this by shipping in a refrigerated container. If you're not sure what to serve with dinner, this is a good bet. It won't offend anything, and the acidity ensures that not much will offend it. Think of this wine as the easiest going company on the planet.

Toolbag of the Day

"I don't know why that's an issue whatsoever," said the House Minority Whip.

Eric Cantor missed Obama's second big primetime news conference for a concert. No big deal. Everybody skips work to go to a concert from time to time. Sometimes you've got grand tier seats at the symphony or the opera. Maybe TV on the Radio is in town, or you managed front row at Radiohead. Hell, if George Clinton's in town, screw it, go.

Cantor missed work to see Brittany Spears.

His daughter did not go with him.

Toolbag.

What to Wake Up With: Quetzal Coffee

Memphis and San Francisco seem to have little in common besides Democratic representation in Congress and a lot of drug addicts, but that's not where the similarities stop. Both cities are home to branches of the Quetzal coffee shop. Quetzal used to buy exclusively green (unroasted) organic, fair-trade coffees, roast them on-site, and blend them. They eventually wanted to order coffee from a wider variety of places that didn't have the fair-trade or organic certifications in the interests of producing the best tasting cup. They may have accomplished that. The Quetzal House Blend is probably the best coffee blend I've ever had. It's Guatemalan, Sumatran, Ethiopian, and a fourth that varies according to what's available and interesting. Right now I beleive the fourth is a French Roast of some sort, but it's been Brazilian, Zimbabwean, and innumerable other things. Quetzal's coffees have a balance evocative of French wines. They're pleasantly acidic with a full and complex flavor. At about $10 per pound, these coffees are about the same price as most Starbucks single-origin coffees, and the roast is infinitely better.

Shop at: http://www.quetzal.org

The Great Shave-Off

Trumper versus Taylor. It sounds like the caption of an old English common law case, but despite the familiarity that many members of the bar have with these two, it's not from law school. George F. Trumper's and Taylor of Old Bond Street are two of the most famous barbers in London, and both are global purveyors of fine shaving products. The two shops were opened in the late 1800's (Taylor in 1854, Trumper's in 1875). Both shops are in London's West End, and both historically cater to the affluent gentry. Trumper's was awarded the Royal Warrant under Queen Victoria and all five subsequent British monarchs, but while that denotes prestige, it does not necessarily denote superior quality. Here, we're only concerning ourselves with their shaving creams.

Three factors go into rating a line of shaving creams.

1. Lather: Is it glycerin based? Does it effectively protect your face?
2. Scent: Does the line offer a variety of scents? Are they natural? Calming? Invigourating?
   
3. Price: Is it worth it?

Lather:
Glycerin-based shave creams are the only shaving creams worth using. They must be lathered with a brush (Badger-hair only!). Both Trumper's and Taylor produce glycerin-based creams that blend well with water to create a foamy, creamy lather. Both lines protect your face, and both lather quickly and fully.
Winner: Tie
Scent:
In the U.S. we're used to aerosol gels and creams that smell like chemical deodorant. Screw that. Rose, Sandalwood, Lime, Almond, and African Violets are just a few of the scents available from finer shaving shops. Trumper's and Taylor offer an enormous range of scents, not a one of which invokes the chemical plant. I much prefer my morning shave to either soothe or invigourate me with natural scents. Both lines offer truly excellent scents of comparable quality, but Taylor offers eleven different varieties where Trumper's has seven.
Winner: Taylor (for variety)
Price:
Shaving with quality shave products doesn't really break the bank. Shave soaps and creams lathered with a brush can last much longer than aerosol cans. (And they're not crap.) You'll shave some off of the final bill, though, if you buy Taylor's products. An ordinary jar of Taylor shave cream is a little over half the price of a jar of Trumper's. That's a big premium on that Royal Warrant.

Winner: Taylor (by a long shot)
Winner Overall: Tie

Yeah, I know, I know. Taylor won two out of three, and the third was a tie. How can it be an overall tie? Because being awarded the Royal Warrant from six consecutive monarchs is, in fact, badass.

What to Drink: Hendricks Gin

The bottle looks like medicine... or snakeoil. You wonder if a hundred years ago they claimed that it cured syphilis, and you're sure that it was at least available. You're wrong. It does not cure syphilis (damn), and it was first made since you stopped needing a fake ID. It's barely even gin, but, damn, it's good. It is, technically, a gin thanks to the quantity of juniper in the mix, but the rose petals and cucumber in the infusion give it an elegant and somewhat wild character. There are more traditional gins in the world, but none so fascinating. The best way to serve it is chilled, up, with a slice of cucumber. This gin should rarely be adultered with tonic. Go for soda instead. If you feel the need to mitigate the strong, brash flavor, make a Badminton Cup. This cocktail comes to us by way of New York's Pegu Club and is only slightly modified.

• 1 1/4 oz. Hendricks Gin
• the juice of 1 whole lemon and/or lime (your preference)
  
• 5 leaves of mint
• 1 slice of cucumber
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• soda water
• highball glass
• rocks

Muddle the mint and cucumber in a shaker. Add the gin. Pour in the lemon juice and simple syrup. Stir. Pour over the rocks in a highball, and fill with soda water. Give it a quick stir and garnish with a sprig of mint stuck through the center of a cucumber slice. Serve on the porch in hot weather.

What to Smoke: Rocky Patel

Cigar smoking is among the most refined of habits. Like fine wine they take time to appreciate. They must be savored and allowed to rest. They have depth and dimension that escapes a novice. There are dozens of good cigar makers, but Rocky Patel can be counted among the absolute best. The decade (pictured) is my favorite for their rich flavor and easy draw, but they're a limited, anniversary edition and increasingly hard to come by. Patel makes some outstanding vintage cigars as well, but their Edge maduros are excellent and a great value at around $5 a stick. They have a certain richness and spice, a medium to easy draw, and a supple feel in the hand. If you're going to irritate everyone around you at the bar, these are the cigars to do it with.

What to Drink: Pierre Ferrand

Drinking Cognac may seem a bit too aristocratic for the recession. Even the low-end mainstream Cognacs are a bit pricey, and they're not really that great. Remy Martin doesn't start to get good until you get to the $45-a-shot XO. By contrast, Pierre Ferrand makes an entire line of Cognacs that provide twice the quality for half the price. The Ambre 1er Cru Cognac is delicate, supple, and bright with no harsh characteristics. It's not very complex, but you can't have everything for around $10 a shot. Ferrand's Cigare is specially blended to compliment outstanding smokes, and the Ancestrale has an average age of 70 years. Ferrand makes many more Congacs including single vintages, cask-strength, and blends of varying price and quality. Now that you've been laid off as your entire division is downsized, you can drink your sorrows away in style.