TASTE MEMORY

As children we learn what it safe to eat or drink by tasting it and we store the information of how it tasted in our memories, typically we remember the things that tasted the worst and refuse to try them again. How many others however, remember the little clues in everything we taste that cause us to remember where and when we went somewhere or tried a fabulous wine or drink. I find that when I taste something that has a unique flavor or little clue hidden in it I try to put it in the context of what I was doing when I tasted it this helps me remember and draw it from my memory bank. Some beverages are easy to remember because they are so unique things like Laphroaig with its huge peat and iodine flavors or a big bitter beer such as dead guy I PA will always stick with you but it is much more difficult when the clues are very subtle such as the type of wood used to age a Chardonnay or the hint of citrus in an Auchentoshen.

When I think back over the last 20 years of working in this industry, I can almost place every major event with some new taste or beverage that went along with that occasion. It is funny how some events are more ingrained in my memory because of what was eaten or drank that evening. This is all pretty philosophical stuff but it has a practical side because when I taste a new beverage and catalog it in my mind it allows me to identify it in a blind tasting. I was at tequila tasting last week that we tried three types of tequila; tequila blanco, tequila joven, and tequila reposado, later that evening one of those in the group ordered a glass of tequila and was trying to figure out which sort they had been given after nosing it it was quite apparent that it was tequila joven due to its strong caramel nose. This is a great party trick try it at your next dinner party pour three samples of any beverage and have everyone try them and then mix them up and have them try to put them in the original order use beverages that are the same color but have unique smells, as their pallets get more sophisticated make the choices closer and closer.

On a more practical note I am writing this with Dragon naturally speaking instead of typing it as I am a lousy typist, hopefully this will make my posts more informative and give me the opportunity to expand my thoughts more clearly and ultimately more concise.

XTABENTUN

I know that the title is a bit wierd but trust me the Liquer is not. Found this in riviera CanCun it is a mayan drink made from Anise and Honey a bit on the sweet side but fabulos in coffee. I mean at least thats what my tequila soaked brain wants me to believe. Cheers from Mexico.

Happy New Year

It is sure nice now the crazy season is over and we can all settle in to 2011. I think that the food and beverage industry is  going to change a lot this year as the new realities of the lower tolerance on drinking and driving fully sinks in. I also think there is a significant trend of people trying to live on cash and within their means. Certainly large challenges that require us to become creative again bring more value to your dining dollar and find great lower alcohol alternatives. Speaking of which if you haven't tried the No Jail Pale yet you should, it is available on tap and tastes like real beer.www.cannerybrewing.com