Welcome back to Sip Northwest’s Bar Tab, our editor’s weekly selection of what to drink in the Northwest now. This week — and in regards to last plus the pending holiday — we recognize the need for a drink. So come on in, belly up to the counter and order a digital drink on us to wash the woes away.
Old Fangled Heirloom Blend | Whitewood Cider Co. | The South Sound’s first cidery, Whitewood Cider hails proudly from Olympia, Washington, sourcing heirloom apples from the prestigious fruit basket of Yakima Valley. Jonathan, McIntosh, Gravenstein and Winesap apples are pressed and blended for a “medium-dry” flaxen-hued goblet of pristine Washington goodness. The sipper touts aromas of mandarin, Meyer lemon and just-ripe red apples, matching on the palate with true apple flavors, zippy acidity and a brush of tannin.
2014 Coeur Noir, Southern Oregon | TeSóAria Vineyard & Winery | John Olson harbors no fear in experimentation but wears his enological trials and tests like a badge of honor, bottling wines like traditional-style Bull’s Blood — an ancient wine from Hungary — and Sardinian favorite Vermentino. His Southern Oregon vineyard and winery grows over 30 varieties, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Kékfrankos. In the Coeur Noir, Olson blends Barbera with Sangiovese and ages the Italian fusion in new French oak for two years, resulting in a bold and bouncy wine of juicy red fruits and Old World earth, poured both at the winery and the NE Portland tasting room.
Raspberry Bisou | Great Notion Brewing | Move over Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus, the fermentation-friendly bacteria of Pediococcus is here to get on down. While the Brett gets the fermentation going, lacto and pedio produce lactic acid and lower pH, but the latter brings on the funk. Because, gotta have that funk when it comes to sour ales. It also fuels the Brett a bit more, so seeing an ABV of 6.25 percent on this beer is not surprising and worth all the bells and whistles: this George Clinton of tangy and tart ales is funky, fruity and fresh. The beer is also aged on 126 pounds of local Oregon raspberries to balance out the farmhouse feel and contribute to fantastic florescent in the glass.
No Return Gin | Warfield Distillery & Brewery | Just a short three-hour drive into the mountains from Sun Valley, Idaho, the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness is the largest wilderness area in the continental United States. Not to mention, it has no roads to guide its trekkers through this lush, pristine and wild expanse — hence the potential “no return.” In honor of this daunting natural splendor, Ketchum-based Warfield sources botanicals native to its “wilderness backyard” and distills this gin in a traditional alembic pot still. A bottle of herbal foliage speckled with baking spices, this full-bodied aromatic gin craves a splash of vermouth and a Martini glass, stat.
