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www.cheersonline.com 3 October 2015 • CONTENTS October 2015 • Vol. 26 No. 8 On The Cover : Photo credit: ©istock.com/karandaev 20 16 34 12 features 16 3 October 2015 • 12 Bringing Up Brandy Brandy and Cognac are fi nding a new audience in spirits enthusiasts and cocktail fans By Thomas Henry Strenk 20 Crisp Fall Pairs Somms offer wine matches for seasonal menus By Kyle Swartz 26 Culinary Cocktails How herbs and spices add fresh fl avor to a beverage program By Amanda Baltazar 30 The State of American Beer Is the changed marketplace a temporary decline or generational shift? By Julie Johnson 34 All Systems Go Point-of-sale technology and tablets By Maura Keller 38 Whiskey with Local Flavor Craft versions of the American spirit express regional terroir By Kyle Swartz 16 Sweet Heat Unique fl avor profi les are spicing up the cordials category By Kelly A. Magyarics COVER STORY www.cheersonline.com www.cheersonline.com 16 17 • October 2015 October 2015 • www.cheersonline.com C ordials and liqueurs have long been defined by a sweet flavor profile, from coffee, chocolate and cream to fruit, nuts and mint. But as spirits, cocktails and consumers have become more experimental and tastes have evolved, spicy and more savory liqueurs have taken off. "I see a change in the flavor profile in cordials and liqueurs to meet the modern- day palate," says Barnard McNamee, who with Andrew Schulman is managing partner at Tanner Smiths, an open-style cocktail venue in New York. He notes in increase in the use of spicy spirits, such as Ancho Reyes, an ancho chile liqueur from Mexico that hit the market last year. The Winchester, an 80-seat seasonal- cuisine restaurant in Chicago, uses Ancho Reyes in its Skippin' Town cocktail ($10), along with mezcal, Cocchi Americano, lemon juice and pineapple gum syrup and a Luxardo cherry garnish. "People [often] associate a liqueur with something sweet and one dimensional," notes co-owner Chris Pappas. "Once you really get into liqueurs, you realize that they range in complexity and flavor." Other spicy liqueurs that have recently hit shelves include Patron's XO Café Incendio chocolate chili liqueur, Beam's Kentucky Fire, Jack Daniels Tennessee Fire, Wild Turkey's American Honey Sting. Pappas has also made his own various chili and spice liqueurs along with clove, cherry and hibiscus cordials. The latter two ingredients go into the Matador cocktail ($10), along with El Jimador tequila, agave, lime and Q pink grapefruit soda. KITCH IS COOL Products such as Ancho Reyes and Hum Botanical Spirit (rum infused with hibiscus, ginger, green cardamom and kaffir lime) were created by "bartenders who saw a need in the market and brought new brands to life," says Cameron Bogue, beverage director for Earls Restaurants, a casual chain of 65 www.cheersonline.com 16 • October 2015 UNIQUE FLAVOR PROFILES ARE SPICING UP THE CORDIALS CATEGORY By Kelly A. Magyarics The Last Frontier cock- tail at The Riggsby in Washington, D.C., mixes bourbon with lemon, cinnamon and amaretto. The Footloose cocktail at Tanner Smith's in New York includes vodka, house-made cucumber syrup, elderflower liqueur, celery bitters, fresh lime juice, fresh basil and black pepper. The Winchester restaurant in Chicago uses chile liqueur in its Skippin' Town cocktail, along with mezcal, Cocchi Americano, lemon juice, pineapple gum syrup and a Luxardo cherry garnish. PHOTO CREDIT: SCOTT SUCHMAN