Journeyman's New Rye!

Years ago a humble Michigan distillery shocked the world of Bourbon fans with their Ravenswood Rye.  Journeyman entered the ranks of my favorite whiskeys when I randomly discovered them on a trip back to Chicago, IL from Ann Arbor, MI.  I stopped in there for a small break, about halfway through my trip. It didn't take long for me to decided that I need to order a flight of their whiskeys because the tiny hole in the wall atmosphere was so endearing I felt I needed to support this establishment.  However, I was not about to drop $50 on whiskey I never tried, let alone whiskey of which I had never even heard. After looking around at the four shelves that constituted the "store," it was time for a taste (don't worry I did not drink to excess, this flight totals no more than 2 ounces of alcohol #drinkresponsibly ).

Because the world of Whiskey (and mostly any food item) is such a subjective realm, I feel I should give you some reference for my taste... before I tried their Ravenswood Rye, Templeton's Small Batch Rye was all alone in the world of Rye's that I adored.  Well needless to say they had me at the first poor, but of the six different whiskeys I tried that day it was Silver Cross and Ravenswood that flew to the top of my new favorites chart.

Well, it has been over a year since I was introduced to this distillery all I can say is the Journeyman affair lives on...

Their new limited release rye, Fedralist 12th, is everything I expected and more.  Starting out at a bold 90 proof, I expected this rye would drink slightly hotter than some of the more popular one's out there, and I was right.

Nose: The first sniff I took from my Glencairn was not exactly pleasant. But, on the second smell I was completely intrigued, the aroma had a hint of cinnamon and clove that was immediately drowned in a wash of maple.  Finally, the third sniff brings out the hints of toasted marshmallow and tobacco.

Taste: The first burn is pleasant, tantalizing the tongue bringing forward all of the floral qualities of the mash bill.  Then, moving to the sweetness of toffee, and finishing with the smoothness of butter and honey, with a salty aftertaste.

I give this $50 bottle a 3.75 of 5 stars.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on this delicious spirit.

A quiet St. Patty's Day in

Every year on St. Patty's day I like to eat corned beef with cabbage and potatoes. This year I already had this meal for a Jewish holiday called Purim. (Which, by the way Meg, was delicious!) So this year I decided that I would do a variation on the classic corned beef dinner and have a Reuben and fries all the same ingredients in a slightly different configuration. 

Well going forward I quickly realized that I didn't have the time money for corned beef. So I took a different route and came up with a new recipe.

The Fresh and Fast Non-Reuben

2-3 slices of Pastrami
1 slice Provolone cheese
Fresh Pickles (see recipe below)
Matchstick Carrots
Homemade thousand island dressing

Fry the pastrami in a skillet on med heat. After the meat is hot place the cheese on top. Then assemble the other ingredient on the sandwich to your liking.

This delicious sandwich I am calling the Non-Reuben because it has a lot of the same qualities and flavor of a Reuben using only one of the same ingredients.
I hope you enjoy!

Fresh Pickles:
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Bay Leaf
2 cloves of cracked garlic
1-2 Persian Cucumbers (thinly sliced)

Combine and refrigerate for 20 minutes to 24 hours.

GF Mug Cake

Last night, I was overcome with a sweet attack.  But, as is usually the case I didn't have any kind of chocolate or sweets handy, something I do on p.  What I did have handy was some of my GF flour mix and a few other basic baking ingredients.  However, I didn't have the time or desire to bake a whole batch of brownies, not to mention that I didn't have any eggs.  Then I remembered how last year on Mother's day we helped the kids make mug cakes.  The phenomenon of mug cakes was something that I honestly had not been introduced to until that moment.  But last night I thought to myself, "Why can't I make a GF version of that?"

For all those who have eaten a mug cake you know that they aren't by any stretch of the imagination a gourmet option, but the point of mug cakes is to satiate a sweets craving in five minutes or less using just what you have around the house.  And, that is exactly what this new recipe I created did for me.

So here is the recipe for all my GFers out there who like me have the occasional sweet tooth that just has to be fed.

4 Tbsp of GF Flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Packet of Instant Hot Chocolate
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup milk or Almond Milk

Combine all ingredients in a large microwavable mug and microwave on high power for 2-3 minutes.