I’ve you’ve been following any of the newsletters or blog posts, you’ve undoubtedly seen me reference a new infusion of quality spirits at both Jujube and our sister restaurant, Dos Perros.
You know, maybe I should back up a bit and explain the situation. Liquor sales in NC is a state monopoly and I’m not going to mince words, I think they do a horrible disservice to the consumer in the manner with which they take advantage of their privileged monopoly status.
Lacking any competition, they put about as little effort as possible into providing the consumer with service or choice. In fact, if any of my other vendors was as unresponsive and hard to work with as the ABC, I’d drop them in a second. Of course, with the ABC, I don’t have much of a choice. If you want booze, well, you’ve got to go through them, and they know it. Thus, getting something truly unique is bloody hard. If you’re going to do it on your own, it means researching the product, getting the state to code it for you, putting up the cash up-front, and waiting anywhere from a month to 6 months to maybe get it in. They’re in no hurry because they realize that you’ll just buy something else from them in the meantime.
We’re fortunate that the specific people we deal with are very friendly and as accommodating as they can be, but even they’re very much hamstrung by the system. There, I said it.
Well, the good news is that there’s a local importer, John McCarthy, who has been brokering some amazing spirits, through the ABC of course, and is facilitating the typically arduous process of getting specialty spirits into our restaurants. Heck, if nothing else, he’s able to actually sample these products with us, so we know what we’re buying before we lay out several hundred dollars for a special order.
It’s tough luck for you all because these all still need to be special ordered by the case and very few of these are destined to hit the retail shelves any time soon, if ever. Us restaurant folks can at least team up with other like-minded souls in the business and split a case so our inventories are not clogged with a year’s supply of some very esoteric stuff. None the less, I can’t over-state the importance of having a broker pushing through the red tape on our behalf.
Let me also say that having a guy like John on our side is still a far cry from the privatization that we should be moving towards. It’s better having guys like John helping us out, but it’s still a pain in the butt and, ultimately, stands in the way of us bringing our customers the most interesting selection of spirits that we can.
And let me clarify, my dissatisfaction really has nothing to do with price and everything to do with my interest in bringing my customers the world’s most interesting spirits. I honestly have no idea what effect privatization would have on pricing. I really just care about accessibility to the good stuff.
At any rate, that’s the back story and why fans of unique spirits should expect to see at least some very exciting new options behind the bar. And also why we’ve got a new addition to the back bar, one that is long overdue.
There is so much to like about Haamonii Shochu (Haamonii means harmony in Japanese). It’s essentially Japanese-style vodka but different than vodka in some very cool ways. For starters, it has about half the alcohol and calories of vodka, so you can enjoy away without worrying so much about, well, getting either drunk or fat. And it’s just so damned smooth and pretty, you can drink it neat. Shochu can be made from rice, rye, barley, buckwheat, sweet potato or other grains and, like vodka, is distilled. But, distilled to about 22% alcohol. I’ve had the good fortune of trying a number of Shochus distilled from different starches side by side and the flavors are surprisingly distinct. Perhaps, someday, we’ll be able to share a variety with you. For now, we’re happy to have one as delicious as Haamonii.
Of course, it also makes an enticingly subtle cocktail. Ask Kerry, Keith, or Jarrod about the latest concoctions we’ve been working on. They’ve found their way to a few tasties already and there are certainly more to come. Again, given the smooth, delicate, and pretty nature of the spirit, we’re certainly not cramming these drinks full of sweet juices and the like. I mean, if you’re going to go that route, you may as well use vodka. No, for something like this, we just want to frame the essence, not make the poor dear fight it’s way through the din of so much sugar and complication.
One such example is that we’ve finally made a Sake-tini that we’re proud of. I mean, the drink in general is nothing new. Just use sake instead of vermouth in a martini. Thing is, in our opinion, sake simply doesn’t do as good a job as vermouth of setting off the potency of gin or vodka. Then we made one with Shochu. Bingo! It was perfect. The more subtle and delicate flavors were the perfect vehicle for a sake overtone and the drink was subtle enough that even the cucumber twist garnish sang through. Such a lovely, lovely drink.
We’ve been working on others, all delicate and delicious, all worth asking about the next time you’re in.
