Some of the premium spirits available for sipping at Le Passage.
Those who believe that vodka was born to share glass space with bloody mary mix, that gin belongs in a Ramos fizz and that tequila is just one ingredient in a frothy margarita may be missing out on some of the hottest spirits being poured at restaurants and clubs around town.
Prestige liquors, particularly vodka, gin and tequila, are helping change the way many folks think about their drinks.
Sip a Chopin vodka or Tanqueray No. Ten gin or Herradura Seleccion Suprema tequila on its own. Just plain. Unadulterated by tutti-frutti mixes. It’s testament to the fact that not all vodkas, gins and tequilas are created equal. And it is the way those who appreciate super-premium spirits are enjoying them these days in Chicago.
At MK, Tanqueray No. Ten as well as Ketel One and Grey Goose vodkas are popular, according to Grant Hough, MK’s beverage manager. “I find that the really fine gins are best served on ice or as plain as possible-in martini form, on the rocks or up, because the flavors are so beautiful and elegant on their own, that mixing them kind of defeats the purpose,” he said.
At Frontera Grill/Topolobampo, 65 tequilas line the shelves of the bar, including Herraduras and one called Tres-Cuatro-Cinco. Not everyone has them turned into tequila sunrises. “I have noticed-and am actually very happy to see-that people are enjoying these high-end tequilas by themselves in a snifter,” said general manager Carlos Alferez, “as opposed to chugging it down in a margarita or even ‘shooting’ them.”
How popular are some of these prestige spirits? Tanqueray No. Ten, which features fresh botanicals, “is selling like crazy,” said Dirk Flanigan, chef at Echo.
“What we’re seeing is the premium spirits are driving the market,” said Judy Blatman, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “People are simply drinking better. They’re becoming connoisseurs and they are willing to pay the price. They want to learn more about the products and they’re beginning to appreciate the subtleties. People view spirits as part of a sophisticated lifestyle and they want the sophisticated quality products to go along with that lifestyle.”
Helping generate interest in these spirits are the growing number of imports from France, Poland, England, Mexico, the Netherlands and Scandinavia; the liquors’ fanciful frosted, painted and blue-tinted bottles; and the re-emergence of classic drinks, particularly the martini.
“You can find products in your grocery store and at Sam’s [Wine Warehouse] that you couldn’t get 10 years ago,” said Stefanie Gerken, general manager of the Hudson Club, where 14 vodkas–including Ketel One, Belvedere and Grey Goose-share shelf space with seven tequilas and six gins in addition to the restaurant/bar’s non-premium varieties.
F. Paul Pacult, editor of the Spirit Journal, a New York-based publication, agrees.
“The availability of wonderful products from all over the world is unprecedented right now,” he said. That dovetails with the growing interest by American consumers in learning about such liquors, he believes. “The higher-end beverage alcohol categories, especially spirits, provide a greater challenge for the palate,” said Pacult, adding, “As the middle class of America moves forward economically in terms of affluence, they are able to buy up to better products.”
Indeed, such high-end sipping does come at a price. Premium spirits cost more-sometimes much, much more-than their cousins. Premium vodkas can run at least $2 more per shot (2 ounces) than the same basic “well” vodka. Well tequilas may cost $5, while a shot of some of the upper-end varieties can cost upwards of $35.
The higher price tags are one reason you might want to try these on their own.
“You don’t buy Veuve Clicquot for mimosas,” said MK’s Hough.
Sandy Park, manager at Le Passage, suggests just sipping one of the restaurant’s premium spirits, say a Vox, Mezzaluna or Chopin. “With the Tanqueray No. Ten, I recommend a classic martini with olives,” she said. “You don’t want to spoil it with anything else. Just a splash of vermouth. Or, for the full taste, have it straight up chilled with olives, taking a sip and enjoying the flavors.”
George Ortiz, manager of Adobo Grill, said: “Some people think of tequila as a shot and make a face. [But] when they try an aged tequila, they say it’s really nice.” An Ortiz favorite? The Herradura brand Seleccion Suprema (roughly $35 a shot): “I call this the Remy Martin of Mexico,” he said. “It’s like a cognac. People don’t think this is a tequila.”
Still, Spirit Journal’s Pacult said, “While I would rather see people enjoy something like Ketel One or Herradura tequila or Tanqueray Ten more on its own so they can really appreciate all the subtle layers of flavor and aroma and texture in these better products, I still don’t think it’s wrong if they experiment. . . . Part of the growth in sophistication is that you begin to sort out the products that are just fine for mixing and others that are meant to be appreciated with as little adulteration as possible.”
Pacult, who spent 10 years working in California’s wine industry, suggests tasting several spirits at a time, though never more than three or four, because the alcohol content is so much higher in these liquors than in wine (roughly 35 to 70 percent versus the 9 to 15 percent of wine).
“The best way to look at any kind of level of gin, tequila or vodka is to taste side by side. You learn more tasting a flight of those in one sitting than you will in over a year’s worth of tasting with cocktails,” said Pacult, noting even vodkas have marked differences. “Russian and Polish vodkas are far more substantial than Scandinavian vodkas [and] the vodkas from Holland are much sweeter than Russian or Scandinavian.”
Restaurants such as Adobo Grill and Frontera Grill/Topolo-bampo offer tequila flights (a sampling of three).
“We usually try to showcase the three different styles. So we will do a blanco, reposado and an anejo. If someone is more partial to one particular category, then we basically let them choose their own tequilas,” said Frontera’s Alferez, who prefers the high-end tequilas in a snifter. “You definitely get more characteristics out of the tequila in a snifter. You can swirl it, let it breathe and allow it to really come into its own with the oxygen. You take a small sip of it and sort of just let it go down your throat and it eventually reaches all parts of your mouth.”
SPIRITS
Spirit Journal’s F. Paul Pacult suggests the following trios as a fine way to begin sampling either vodka, gin or tequila.
VODKA
Stolichnaya (Russia): “There is just such tremendous quality and depth of flavor in Stolichnaya. It’s very typical of what traditional Eastern European and Russian vodka is all about. “
Original Polish (Poland): “It’s one of the greatest vodkas I’ve ever tasted-not widely seen, not widely appreciated. This puppy is fantastic.”
Vincent Van Gogh (Holland): “It’s a very different style from either Stolichnaya or Original Polish in that it’s slightly sweeter. Just about all Netherland spirits always have a little bit of a touch of sweetness to them. But if you’re talking about liquid silk, it’s Vincent. It’s just delicious.”
GIN
Tanqueray No. Ten (England): “It’s a real trailblazing product. Most gins are made with the oils of the botanicals. With Tanqueray No. Ten, they did something different. First of all, it’s distilled in small batches. But in the distilling process they put in fresh botanicals, not the oils or essences. It’s a very high-quality product. What’s good about it is [that] it’s very intense. You really, really understand what botanicals are about with Tanqueray Ten.”
Citadelle (France): “Silky smooth and glides down the throat. [It’s] not a big name, but when people taste it, the feedback [I get is], ‘Wow, I never realized gin could taste like this.’ Here’s another one where they use 18 or 19 different botanicals, so its very perfumey. And I think it’s a dynamite product.”
Plymouth (England): “For a great traditional, standard, but splendid gin, try Plymouth Gin from London. It’s the only distillery within the town limits. It’s a great gin that was out of the market for awhile, but has been brought back. It’s being made according to the traditional recipe. It has absolutely no flaws in it.”
TEQUILA
Don Julio Silver (Mexico): “On the silver side, there is Don Julio…a relatively new product. It has incredible craftsmanship in terms of distilling. [It’s] incredibly fresh. It’s everything you want out of a silver tequila, but with a real big herbal thrust aromatically.”
Alcatraz Reposado (Mexico): “It’s another silver that I think is terrific. [It’s] not a big name, but it’s sturdy and everything you want.”
Herradura (Mexico): “They’re the Rolls-Royce of anejos if people are looking for an after-dinner tequila that most resembles a cognac.”
