Oh my. This is definitely not the Kahlúa you might be used to. This is delightful, eye-rollingly yummy and goes down so very very smoothly.

I love my coffee, and will drink it at almost any time during the day. Nothing suits aromatic, freshly brewed coffee like fresh cream. As a nod to the art of java and to whet the appetites of coffee connoisseurs, comes Kahlúa Coffee Cream.  This
limited-edition premium coffee liqueur combines Kahlúa, which is made from handpicked Arabica coffee beans, along with fresh, natural cream; a simple yet bold way to add a little indulgence to the coffee-drinking experience.

You can, of course, drink your Kahlúa Coffee Cream in your coffee, served neat or on the rocks, but also in cocktails. Cocktail recipes by New York City-based mixologist Julio De Los Santos:
Kahlúa Cognaccino
1 part Kahlúa Coffee Cream
1/2 part Amaretto
1 part Martell V.S. Cognac

Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a flute dusted with nutmeg.
Kahlúa Mexicano
1 part Kahlúa Coffee Cream
1 part Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur
1/2 part Sambuca
Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker. Serve over ice in a coffee mug.
The Curious Russian
1 part Kahlúa Coffee Cream
1 part Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur
1 part Absolut Vanilia
Lightly shake and strain over ice in a rocks glass. Vanilla bean garnish.

Natalie MacLean is one of Canada’s most respected wine writers. Her columns are insightful and interesting and she doesn’t get into the kinda of snobby wine critiques that some writers have been known for.

Natalie has created a widget for wine aficionados, writers and foodies to include on their website, or carry around on their iPhone or Blackberry. (Drinks after Dark has installed the widget here.)

You can use the matcher by choosing your favourite food or your wine of choice, and see what will pop up for either. You’ll also find dishes to go with wine, cocktails, liqueurs, beer, spirits, cider, coffee, tea—and yes, even water. The Drinks Matcher is meant to be a springboard to help you discover the matches you prefer. The perfect pairing, of course, is between you and the wine you like.

“The variety of food-and-drink combinations has exploded in the last five years,” says Natalie MacLean. “Chicken isn’t just chicken anymore: Now we eat it stuffed with pancetta and fresh herbs, rubbed with curry spices or sautéed in an orange balsamic sauce. We’re looking for more interesting flavors, both on the plate and in the glass—and we want them to work together.”

Here are Natalie’s top 10 fun food and wine matches:

1. Popcorn with Chilean Chardonnay
2. Nachos with California Zinfandel
3. Potato chips with French Champagne
4. Pizza with Italian Chianti
5. Fish and chips with German Riesling
6. Hamburgers with Australian Shiraz
7. Smoked salmon with Canadian or Oregon Pinot Noir
8. Quiche with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
9. Canned brown beans with tawny Port
10. TV dinner steak with French or Washington Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine needs to breathe, it just opens up and tastes better, but if you’re anything like me, I wither don’t think far enough ahead to decant, or I just want wine when I open it.

Thankfully, the Vinturi is my new best friend. I’ve got a Vinturi red wine aerator, and when the opportunity came to try out the white wine aerator, I was, yet again, skeptical but interested. ‘Surely white wine doesn’t change dramatically enough to need to be aerated!?’.

I should really just stop being so skeptical and listen when I’m told something.

It’s a longstanding myth that white wine does not need aeration. The truth is that white wine displays the same improvements with aeration as red wine. Vinturi for White Wine has different internal dimensions and flow rates. The result is perfect aeration specifically for white wine.

So what does the Vinturi for White Wine actually do?

BETTER BOUQUET
Sample the nose. You’ll appreciate the subtle aromatic differences and the full aroma of the wine. Vinturi allows wine to display its intended aromas.

ENHANCED FLAVORS
Go ahead, take a sip. Vinturi’s wine tastes better. It is more flavorful and has better mouthfeel. It tastes like a richer, more expensive wine. It tastes like it was intended to and is more enjoyable.

SMOOTHER FINISH
Vinturi’s aeration enhances and extends the finish. Any bitterness or bad aftertaste is reduced or eliminated.

I tried this tonight with an Oregon Riesling. It’s beautiful and makes a great stocking stuffer for your favourite wino at $39.95. Buy online at Vinturi or Bed, Bath & Beyond, BevMo, Brookstone, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, Sur la Table, Wine Styles and CostPlus World Market.

“What’ll it be?” - the question every bartender the world over asks when patrons saunter up to their bar.  Show your drink preference with one of Buji Bijoux’s Gatsby Tag necklaces and never end up with the wrong drink again.

“Gatsby Tags,” Buji Bijoux designer May Chen took a quick turn to retool early 1900s liquor tags into brassy necklace charms.  Retail prices run from $206 to $313 and are available in some of the trendiest shops, stops, and boutiques around North America.

A resident of New York by way of New England, the Midwest, and the Far East, “Buji”—”chubby girl” in Japanese—was May Chen’s affectionate nickname as a toddler in Taiwan. It stuck long after May lost her apple cheeks, a testament to her enduring spunk.

Buji Bijoux is where East meets West, playfulness meets sophistication, and nature meets city chic. These unique juxtapositions lead to creations of palpable beauty.

Woodford Reserve scoured the country for the single-most well-crafted Manhattan in the nation. Just recently, Woodford Reserve bourbon and Esquire magazine have crowned Jeromy Edwards from Louisville, Kentucky and his “Cider Manhattan” as the “Master of the Manhattan” for 2009.

Seems only fitting that Jeromy is from Louisville - home to Woodford Reserve.

Jeromy’s cocktail was reviewed by a distinguished panel of experts along with the seven other bartenders creations from across the country. Edwards and the other participant’s cocktails were critiqued on creativity, ingredients, presentation and taste. The judges included Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris, Executive Chef Christopher Lee, Mixologist Julie Reiner and Spirits Journalist Jack Robertiello.

The Cider Manhattan along with the other seven recipes will be featured in a Woodford Reserve advertisement in the January edition of Esquire, but you, dear readers, get a sneak peek at Jeromy’s Cider Manhattan:

Cider Manhattan crafted by Jeromy Edwards

• 2 oz. Woodford Reserve® bourbon
• ¾ oz. Cider Reduction
• ½ oz. Antica Vermouth
• Dash Angostura® bitters
• Grand Marnier flambéed cherry (preferably Rainier Cherries)

Flambée cherry in the martini glass, allowing it to caramelize. Place drink in shaker and turn - don’t shake. Pour into glass after it has cooled.

If you’re anything like me, the christmas season requires a steady stream of good alcohol. The pressure from family, the rampant consumerism - everything - it all drives me to drink.

Starting tomorrow, Miss Manifesto’s Drinks after Dark will bring you the best of spirits, accessories and more, to make your holiday season brighter, or to put a smile on your favourite spirits lover.

Everything you’ll need to know to purchase the gifts will be included in the post, but as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment! That’s the fastest way to get in touch with Miss Manifesto editors!

The 2009 Sortilège Cup competition for professional mixologists is coming up!  On Monday, November 23rd and Tuesday, November 24th, men & women bartenders will compete to win a trip to Montreal in summer 2010 to visit the Sortilège plant.

The Gentlemen’s Competition will be held on Monday, November 23 2009, and the Ladies’ Competition will take place a day later.  Both events will be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The details for the recipe, judging and scoring are as follows. Many of the competitions follow similar guidelines:

Recipes and ingredients:
o Must be expressed in oz.
o Must contain at least ½ oz. of Sortilège Liqueur.
o Competitors must bring their own ingredients, shakers, and glasses.
o Ingredients may be measured or freely poured.
o Heated ingredients are not allowed.

Judging
o The Judges’ committee will consist of 6 members:
o Media Judges (2 members)
o Mixologist Judges (2 members)
o Head Judges (2 members)

Scoring
o The Media and Mixologist judges will evaluate based on 3 categories:
o Appearance (0-8 points)
o Aroma (0-6 points)
o Taste (0-14 points)
o The Head Judges will evaluate based on 3 categories:
o Technique (0-15 points)
o Originality (0-15 points)
o Overall impression (0-15 points)
o Head Judges’ scoring will be counted and also used in the case of a tie. In the case of a tie the recipe that received the higher score from the Head Judges will be deemed the winner.

Whenever someone in my wine world mentions their cellar, I can’t help but roll my eyes a little bit. Private wine cellars are usually associated with the creme de la creme of society - they’re large, set deep in the ground before the house is built. That’s no longer the case anymore - as is illustrated by my friends, none of whom, as fantastic as they are, are creme de la creme.

The UK company, Spiral Cellars, are planning to change all of the preconceived notions around cellars. They’ve created a precast storage solution that can be installed in practically any room in your home.

Spiral Cellars are watertight storage spaces that can be sunk into the ground in an existing ground floor room or incorporated into the build of an extension or new property. Capable of storing almost 1,900 bottles of wine, the spiral-shaped systems rely on the surrounding earth for insulation but also employ a unique air-flow system to maintain constant temperature without requiring any power.

There are three size options are available, ranging from the Mini Cellar—capable of storing at least 650 bottles—up to the White Spiral Cellar, which can accommodate up to 1,870 bottles. Pricing begins at GBP 9,200, (about $15,300 USD) and can run as much as 22,400 GBP ($37,300 USD). There are several trap door styles and optional extras such as LED lighting you can install as well.

Spiral Cellars offers a chart to help decide what size spiral cellar would work best for your home. Work out roughly how many bottles of wine you might drink in an average week, multiply it by 50 to get your yearly consumption (allowing for two weeks holiday away from home.) Next, add on the rough number of fine wines you might buy to drink in the long-term. Finally, multiply this overall figure by five, and that will give you some idea of the size of cellar you need.

Sounds like a brilliant idea to me! And definitely one I’m going to keep in mind when we finally purchase. Either that, or I’m getting a giant closet type one put in. If I can manage to keep a bottle of wine in the house for more than a night.

Macallan, my favourite scotch (I am loving on the 18 year old scotch - it’s the first scotch I’ve able to really enjoy) produced a 57 year old single malt whisky in Lalique’s Finest Cut decanter – the third in a series of six decanters that are inspired by The Macallan’s six pillars, the unique elements that combine to make the whisky so special.

Containing an exceptionally rare single malt whisky, the Finest Cut decanter is valued at $15,000 and will be available by special order beginning in October 2009, and there are only 72 bottles available. The introduction of The Macallan in LALIQUE Finest Cut decanter comes on the heels of the August 2009, record-breaking, £11,750 ($19, 080) sale of one of The Macallan’s 50^th anniversary bottles at a Glasgow, Scotland auction.

The 57 year old whisky has been vatted together from six casks made from two different  species  of oak; the first, a 1950 American oak sherry butt, and the second, a vatting of Macallan from first-fill Spanish oak sherry butts originally filled in 1949, 1951 and 1952.  The result is a softly sumptuous single malt, showing off the classic dried fruits, spice and hints of peat redolent of The Macallan house style of the early 1950’s. The age statement of 57 years old is determined by the youngest cask which was filled in 1952.

The tasting notes for the whisky are:

Colour Mahogany

Nose Ginger, raisin, orange, vanilla, oak notes in the background

Palate Rich in spices, sweet fruit, toasted oak

Finish Long and full bodied

Alcohol Strength 48.5% Alc./Vol.