The Library Journal - June 2019 | Vol. 04, Ed. 06

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS

Like the month of June, our new Library cocktail list highlights the capriciousness of the season. Read on for the inspiration behind this new menu, or come in and try an early summer cocktail yourself – celebrate a sunny day with one of our favorites, Since I’m Here, by MWL bartender Jackson Oelke. Chamomile-infused bourbon and herbal rum provide the base, with bright notes drawn by a strawberry-black pepper jam, and underscored with a lightly bitter amaro.

In this issue we’ve also shared the specs for this month’s featured cocktail, Pure Baltic, as well as our thoughts on the newest offering from Hendrick’s Gin – the amazingly floral Midsummer’s Solstice.

Plus, we introduce the newest addition to the MWL line-up: embossed flasks from Blackthorn Leather in Los Angelos, California. Pick one up in the Library for a last minute Father’s Day gift!

As always, we hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at the Library

NEWLY ACQUIRED SPIRITS

JACK DANIELS No. 27 GOLD
Tennessee Whiskey, finished in Maple Barrels, 40 abv
Tennessee

CHATEAU DU BREUIL
Fine Calvados, 40 abv
France

REMUS REPEAL RESERVE
Straight Bourbon, 50 abv
Lawrenceburg, IN

HENDRICK’S MIDSUMMER SOLSTICE
Limited Release Gin, 43.4 abv
Scotland

UNDER THE SCOPE

EDUCATION MANAGER COLIN HOWARD
FEATURING HENRICK’S MIDSUMMER SOLSTICE GIN

The art of distillation evolved out of centuries-old techniques used by the great Persian and Arabic scholars to research a variety of disciplines from chemistry, to medicine, to alchemy. Although, it wasn’t until these skills were passed on through the Mediterranean, and eventually up into the islands of the United Kingdom, that distillation was used to create spirits like whiskey and gin.

Another early pursuit within distillation was the production of perfumes across the Mideast and northern Africa by isolating and concentrating the exquisite aromas of different flowers and botanicals into oils and alcohols. This will turn out to be one of the most important and unsung of these ancient techniques that make certain spirits so desirable.

What is often characterized as the “flavor” of a spirit actually resides in its aromatic qualities. The human olfactory system boasts around 6 million receptor cells, each with a direct line to your memory bank storing all the smells you have encountered throughout your life. This fact is something that Leslie Gracey, Master Distiller for Hedrick’s Gin of Girvan, Scotland, was keenly aware of when crafting the brand’s latest release, Midsummer Solstice.

When experiencing Midsummer Solstice’s floral-driven palette, one can’t help but think of its similarities to the perfumes of centuries past when distillation was just emerging from the laboratories of the old masters. This limited release gin is a variation on Hendrick’s base recipe and includes rose and lavender as core components; and to do justice to this gin’s namesake, they both show up in apparent full bloom.

These two new floral components hit the senses with such a lush and intricate assembly of summer aromas, that one is sent cruising through fond memories of seasons past. This gin truly does smell like there are delicate rose petals at the tip of your nose, and the lavender – like you just pressed it between your hands.

Gracey and her team at Hendrick’s have been mastering these expressions since their initiation in 1999, coaxing the best out of their unorthodox recipes. It’s clear, in each sip of Midsummer Solstice, that Gracey values her spirits beyond simply being mixed into a drink in a bar, but also as an expression of the long lineage of craftsmanship in the art of distillation.

EARLY SUMMER COCKTAIL MENU

BRINGING SUNNY VIBES TO THE LIBRARY

MWL Bar Manager Kyle Sanders’ goal with the newest iteration of the cocktail menu was to keep the mood reflective of the newly arrived flavors of late spring and early summer.

“Some of drinks are lighter and more refreshing like the sporadic warm days of sunshine, while others are a bit more savory to lend warmth to those occasionally grey and drizzly evenings,” Kyle says.

A more permanent fixture in the Library is the Scholar’s List drink menu. The intention behind this collection is to explore and highlight classic cocktails, then elevate them with less common and premium spirits.

“The best cocktails are a mixture that becomes greater than the sum of its parts,” Kyle says. “When we start with an amazing spirit as the base of a great recipe, we can create an experience that can be had at very few places.”

NEW COCKTAIL

The Pure Baltic is an extension of the Old Fashioned family of cocktails. It blends whisky, sweetness, and bitterness to capture an unlikely harmony of flavors.

In this cocktail, the peaty and briny smokiness of the two scotches is buoyed by the fruity sweetness of the orange curaçao and Demerara syrup. Deep herbal and bitter notes come from the Amari, adding a brooding character to this drink which is reflected in the name. Pure Baltic is a Scottish term for absolutely brutal weather coming in off the ocean.

To Make:
.75 oz Ardbeg 10yr
.75 0z McClelland’s Islay
.25 oz Nardini Bassano Amaro
.25 oz Ferrand Dry Orange Curaçao
barspoon each of Varnelli Sibila Amaro and Demerara syrup

Build in mixing glass. Add ice, stir, and strain over a big cube. Garnish with an orange twist.

MWL FLASKS

This limited edition 8 oz. flask is made from stainless steel with durable hardware and high-quality antique brown leather. Each flask is hand stitched and stamped with the Library logo in Los Angelos, California by Andy Mock of Blackthorn Leather. The flasks are available for pick up in the Library and on our website.