Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/430172
18 / the tasting panel / december 2014 San Diego's US Grant Hotel Adds Barrel-Aged Chartreuse to Its Menu I n an ode to the Carthusian monks who have been making Chartreuse for nearly three centuries, Jeff Josenhans, mixologist at the US Grant in San Diego, has created a barrel-aged spirit similar to the historic herbal liqueur. Called Génépi Americana, the liqueur uses local botanicals and spends six months in an oak barrel. It will be available as a limited-edition offering at The Grant Grill, the hotel's bar and restaurant this fall. Josenhans linked up with San Diego–based chemist-turned-food scientist Charles "Wayne" Gieselman to reverse-engineer Chartreuse. "For fun, he had reverse-engineered other liquors like Chambord and Bailey's in the lab, so his experience was a good starting off point for us," Josenhans says. "Infusing the botanicals was an eye-opening experience. This is definitely an American interpretation of the original." The US Grant will serve Génépi Americana for $19 a glass in its bar and restaurant until the barrel runs dry. —Jennifer Nalewicki n an ode to the Carthusian monks who have been making Chartreuse for nearly Génépi Americana uses local botanicals and spends six months in an oak barrel. Barleywine, Chicago Style L ike anything in life, beer styles change—new styles are born, old styles die or evolve past the point of recognition. Having brewed in England, Brett Porter (yes, that is his real last name)—Brewmaster at Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, IL—gets frustrated with the evolution of certain styles. "One of my biggest pet peeves is when we take a beer style in the U.S., alter it and then it dies out in its native country," Porter explained at a tasting in THE TASTING PANEL offices in October. To counter this phenomenon, he decided to pay homage to "real" English barleywines, ones that were not as heavily hopped as many coming out of the U.S. Aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels—in which their Bourbon County Stout has previously been aged— Bourbon County Barleywine has a very subtle taste profile, featuring layers of fruit, fig, vanilla, oak and a nice slight burn of alco- hol. We also had the pleasure of tasting their Bourbon County Stout, which picks up beauti- ful charred oak and smoke flavors from the casks, and their 2013 release of Bourbon County Coffee, a beer that they partner with Chicago's Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea to create—the 2014 release will feature coffee beans from Rwanda. In addition to these great offerings, look out for Bourbon County Vanilla Rye, making its comeback after being absent since 2010. —E. C. I t makes perfect sense that Mintie Wine & Spirits would select Michael's on Naples to host an Olivi wine dinner. For one thing, the General Manager of the Long Beach, CA restaurant, Massimo Aronne, is a good friend of Winemaker Riccardo Olivi. And according to Jeannette Berczi, Mintie's VP of Operations, Aronne ended up playing the role of inadvertent matchmaker between the importer and the winery. "Jim Mintie and his wife Lauren were having dinner at Michael's one night," she says. "Massimo came over to their table with a bottle of Olivi and said, 'You have to try this wine.' They fell in love with it. Next thing you know, they're in Italy, and realized they were in the same village as the winery. They wound up visiting them, and the rest is history." An exquisite five-course dinner featuring feats of culinary derring-do like squid ink pasta with uni and speck-wrapped rabbit leg stuffed with fig and apple were paired by Olivi wines like the Memento 2007 Sangiovese /Syrah blend and the Tempore 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot. All of the wines poured were selected by Aronne himself—a fitting if not symbolic touch, considering he clearly knows a thing or two about pairing Olivi with certain things. —R. M. Michael's on Naples and Olivi Wines Demonstrate It's Not What You Know, But Who You Know Emily Coleman, Associate Editor for THE TASTING PANEL, and Brett Porter, Brewmaster at Goose Island Beer Company, enjoying some of Goose Island's County Stout line at a tasting in October. Importer James Mintie with Winemaker Riccardo Olivi and restaurateur Massimo Aronne of Michael's on Naples. PHOTO: BRIAN KUSTERA