Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/46939
The Belgian Touch B rewery Manager Bruno Reinders from Belgium's Mort Subite visited THE TASTING PANEL's offi ces in October to present several beers from the 400-year-old brewery's line-up. Two of them—both lambics, spontane- ously fermented with indig- enous yeasts—are currently available in draft format in the U.S.: Mort Subite Lambic is a glowing amber brew with rich, dusky fl avors and a touch of sweetness; Mort Subite Blanche is a lambic that's enhanced with natural fruit and spice fl avor- ings in the manner of a Belgian witbier. "We know when the beer is ready by tasting it," says Reinders, "not when the computer says it's ready." Mort Subite is imported by Total Beverage Solution. A Social Cognac A t the recently opened Lexington Social House in Hollywood, CA, Bar Manager Kyle Ackley understands the mixability of cognac. In fact, Ackley, a fan of brown spirits, thinks it's a smart move to replace whiskies in some cocktails . . . and use cognac. Bruno Reinders, Brewery Manager for Mort Subite, enjoys a glass of lambic. Cover Wine Kyle Ackley, Bar Manager at Hollywood's Lexington Social House, gets innovative with cognac. "The cognac version of a whisk(e)y-inspired cocktail can be more approachable and cer- tainly more rounded texturally." Whipping up a Mint Julep, French-style, Ackley used Rémy 1738 Accord Royal blended from nearly 300 eaux-de-vie and aged up to 20 years in Limousin oak. The fl avor, on its own, imparts brown sugar and fi gs, ginger and orange rind. Mixed as a base for his Mint Julep (this drink had us at muddled mint) it brought out even more fruit tones from the cognac. "The texture changed," noted Florian Etienne, Manager at the restaurant at the hip Mr. C Hotel in Los Angeles, poses with Patrick Krutz, founder of House Band, a wine created for music venues, clubs and other cool millennial accounts. Ackley, rightly so. Cognacs and suggested cocktail innovations with this skillfully blended spirit are going to get even more attention in our December issue! november 201 1 / the tasting panel / 17 PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY