The Library Journal – February 2022 | Vol. 07, Ed. 02
GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS
Welcome February! This month promises to be filled with good times – Lunar New Year, Black History Month and Valentine’s Day to name just a few.
Keep reading for highlights and upcoming events plus an introduction to a few of our talented neighbors; Vinn Distillery and Abbey Creek Winery. Our community continues to grow and we can’t wait to share these fantastic stories with you.
As always, thank you to our kind, generous and amazing members, neighbors and friends. We hope to see you all soon in the Library!
Sincerely,
Your Friends at the Library
FEBRUARY HOUSE POUR
MWL has partnered with some of our favorite brands to bring our members the House Pour: a complimentary taste of a new, classic, interesting, or just-plain-fun spirit.
February’s House Pour is Stranahan’s Blue Peak Single Malt Whiskey. Named for a 13-thousand-foot peak in Aspen and inspired by the alpine scenery of the Rocky Mountains, Blue Peak is built around a small batch of single malt whiskey that has been hand-crafted at a high altitude and aged for 4 years in 53-gallon, new American oak barrels with a #3 char, imbuing a warm, toasted flavor.
The profile of the aged expression is expanded through the time-honored Solera process, accentuating the liquid with fruit and butterscotch characteristics. Enjoy neat, on the rocks, or in your favorite classic whiskey cocktail.
86 Proof
Solera Finish
Cut to proof with Rocky Mountain Water
Distilled in Colorado
CELEBRATE LUNAR NEW YEAR
LOCAL DISTILLERY
Subtle and elegant, Vinn’s spirits have a touch of heat at the front, but go down smooth. The Ly family (mom, dad, and five children) launched the company in Wilsonville in 2009, using custom stills modeled on versions used by relatives in China and Vietnam to make rice-based baijiu.
In China, alcohol is also called the “Water of History” as stories of liquor can be traced back over 4,000 years. The Ly family still uses baijiu today to honor our ancestors during every holiday and family occasion.
Vinn’s Baijiu is creamy and earthy, with hints of almond and caramel. Source: Portland Monthly, Vinndistillary.com
FEATURED COCKTAIL – Bai-Tai
To celebrate Lunar New Year, February’s featured cocktail, the “Bai-Tai”, is a riff on the classic Mai-Tai cocktail and will be available in the Library throughout the month of February.
Vinn Baijiu is the star of this line up with Plantation 3-Star, Brugal Añejo, Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur, Kalani Coconut Liqueur, house made orgeat and lime juice coming together in a refreshing, tropical and lightly floral drink.
To Make:
1 oz Vinn Baijiu
.5 oz Plantation 3-Star Rum
.5 oz Brugal Anejo Rum
.5 oz Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur
.5 oz Orgeat
1 barspoon Kalani Coconut Liqueur
.75 oz Lime Juice
Add all ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker, shake well and strain into a chilled coupe. Enjoy!
BLIND TASTING BOTTLE
JANUARY’S BLIND TASTING POUR WAS:
Makers Mark FAE-01
Thank you to everyone who accepted the blind tasting challenge. No one guessed the correct spirit, but it was a tricky one. Good luck on the next round!
FEBRUARY’S BLIND TASTING POUR IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE LIBRARY. GIVE US YOUR BEST GUESS!
About the program: every month, we present our Members with an opportunity to exercise their tasting skills by purchasing a pour from a Members-only Blind Tasting Bottle. This top secret break-even bottle* (even the bartenders won’t know what it is) will be available in .5 oz tasting pours for a month, or until it’s gone.
Members are welcome to write down their best guess as to what the spirit is and give it to their bartender. The winning Member, or Member with the closest guess, will enjoy their next drink on us (up to $20). We’ll reveal the name of the spirit when we announce the next round.
The Rules:
• Pours from the Blind Tasting Bottle are limited to .5 oz per person per visit in the Library
• Members can submit only one guess per bottle
• Feel free to pick your bartenders brain about the Blind Tasting Bottle, but know that only the team member who chose the bottle actually knows what it is!
*A “break-even bottle” is an interesting, rare or collectible bottle sold by a bar at cost and presented in the spirit of education and exploration.
FEATURED SPIRITS
GLENMORANGIE – A TALE OF WINTER
Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 13yr, ck Marsala, 46 abv
Highlands, Scotland
McCARTHY’S 6YR PEATED MALT
Single Malt Whiskey, 6yr, dstlr Clear Creek, 50 abv
Remember 1985, when Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Michael J. Fox hit the big screen as Marty McFly in ‘Back to the Future’, Wham!’s ‘Careless Whisper’ was on the airwaves and mullets were a thing? What a time!
That same year, here in Northwest Portland, Clear Creek Distillery was firing up their stills for the first time as one of the very first craft distilleries in the US. An abundance of Northwest fruit on hand, they started making fruit basedeau de vies, liqueurs and brandies with a quality, attention to detail and passion that rivaled their traditional European counterparts.
Eleven years later the USSR was gone, Wham! was a distant memory, and ‘Back to the Future III’ was old news (somehow the mullet was still around, but I digress…) The folks at Clear Creek, however, were just starting their next big thing – whiskey. Their first distillation of McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey in 1996 became America’s very first Single Malt.
With this bottling, McCarthy’s started a movement and launched a spirits category that is still growing today. Distilled from 100% peated Scottish barley and aged in Oregon oak barrels for three years, McCarthy’s is still one of the top (and one of our favorite) American Single Malts.
For 25 years, McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt led the category, won all the awards and delighted our palates. So, of course, the next logical step is to make it older and bolder! The newest launch of the McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt is aged for six years in Oregon oak barrels and bottled at 100 proof, or 50% alcohol by volume.
If the original three-year whiskey was a ten, they turned the dial up to eleven with their new releases. The extra three years in barrel, and the bottling at 100 proof, makes for a more intense and robust whisky.
At first, the aroma of peat smoke is the dominant note, but it soon gives way to lighter notes of dried fruit and hints of toffee. On the palate, the smoke is still big, but not as overwhelming as you might find with, for example, some of the Scottish single malts from Islay. Beneath that smoke you can find baking spices, baked pear or apple and a well balanced heat from the higher alcohol content. As it finishes, lighter notes of brown sugar and tobacco linger on the tongue and before they fade away you’ll find yourself reaching for your glass again.
Come on down to the Library to try it out. Have you already tasted it? Tell us what you think!
Abbey Creek Team at the SW Morrison Location, The Crick PDX
Abbey Creek Vineyard first arrived on the scene in 2008, making Bertony Faustin Oregon’s first recorded black wine maker. His driving passion: to make sure he’s not the last.
When Faustin was first arrived in Portland he joined the team at OHSU as an anesthesia technician, but after the passing of his father in 2007, he decided to pursue a different career path that would eventuatlly bring him to a 50 acre plot of land in the NW hills of Portland, Oregon.
Since then, Abbey Creek has grown an immense following, now with two locations called “The OG Crick” in the North Plains, and “The Crick PDX” in downtown Portland. Their selections, such as P.O.P.s, #OhUFancyHuh, and BlackaDaBerry, share the story of Abbey Creek’s growing legacy, as Faustin continues to foster “deeper conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
We are honored to have them alongside us to host our Valentine’s Day Pairing Dinner highlighting their incredible wines. Guests will have the option to browse their entire collection and purchase a bottle of their own, with a portion of the proceeds going to Friends of Trees!
MWL COCKTAIL DONATION PROGRAM
BLANCHET HOUSE & FRIENDS OF TREES
At MWL, we are committed to supporting our community, whether that is by raising funds, volunteering with our members and our team, or by providing a platform for local non-profits to share their vision.
Driven by the deeply-rooted civic spirit and enthusiasm of our staff, our cocktail donation program is just one of the ways we share the love with our neighborhoods, our city, and the incomparable PNW. We will be raising funds through March 31st for the following incredible organizations.
Blanchet (pronounced Blan-shāy) House is a nonprofit social services organization located in Old Town Portland. We make a difference, one relationship at a time, through food, clothing, and supportive housing programs. We serve anyone who comes to our doors without judgment because we believe everyone deserves dignity, hope, and community.
Mission: To offer food, shelter and aid to all those in need of a safe place to be nourished and restored. Assist the transformation of each life we touch with compassion and dignity.
Learn more about how Blanchet House is helping people right here in Portland!
Friends of Trees inspires people to improve the world around them through a simple solution:
Planting trees. Together.
Thanks to Friends of Trees, 870,000 trees and native shrubs have been planted in neighborhoods, parks and natural areas throughout the Pacific Northwest since 1989. We are excited to help Friends of Trees spread the “green” word this quarter through awareness, donation and volunteering!
See what
UPCOMING EVENTS
FEBRUARY 14
Valentine’s Day Pairing Dinner
with Abbey Creek Vineyard
and Special Guest DJ O.G. ONE
in support of Friends of Trees Sold Out
FEBRUARY 27
Day of Service
Volunteer event packing care kits at MWL for Blanchet House
