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I spent Thursday morning doing what every normal person does — sampling a bottle of $4,500 cognac.
Among the perks of being the Free Press drinks writer, tasting the Rémy Martin Louis XIII cognac was a unicorn opportunity, certainly a career highlight.
For anyone looking to pick up a bottle of Louis XIII, there are four currently listed as available on the Liquor Marts website. In other news, can we be friends? (Ben Sigurdson / Winnipeg Free Press)
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It was the second such highlight in a week, albeit with wildly different price tags. On Tuesday, I spent an afternoon at my mom’s place, tasting “refreshment beverages” — canned cocktails, hard seltzers, pre-mixed drinks and the like — for a Mother’s Day Uncorked running in this weekend’s Free Press. We sampled such hifalutin products as Vizzy strawberry orange mimosa hard seltzer, Lulu Spritz, XOXO “Botanical” peach orange blossom wine spritzer. These are drinks which cost around $4-5 a can, and while they mention fruit on the packaging, most rarely come into contact with any.
Ben and his mom, Gail Cabana-Coldwell, test drive some pre-made cocktails and mixed drinks leading up to Mother’s Day. (Mikaela Mackenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)
Obviously trying an elusive, ultra-pricy cognac is bucket list stuff, one of those tasting experiences that comes along rarely and stays with you long afterwards. (Like, quite literally stays with you — as I write this it’s an hour after the tasting, and I can still taste the subtle, complex caramel, dried apricot and orange peel flavours from the Louis XIII on my palate.)
I had a similar experience back in 2011 at the historic Seppeltsfield winery in Australia’s Barossa Valley. After a tour of their stately, museum-like facility, I tasted through their range of sweet/dessert wines, finishing with an exquisite, thimble-sized glass of their 100-year-old Para, a port-like fortified wine that I could still taste when I got back to my hotel room later that day. (A measly 100ml bottle of the current release of the Para retails for around CAD$1,450.)
But I’ve had so many more experiences that have been just as memorable, or more, with products that, unlike the Louis XIII, aren’t worth more than my car. I still vividly recall being doubled over laughing with pals at an Eaux Claire, Wisc. campsite while enjoying Leinenkugel shandy from a can. Or sharing a $20 Côtes du Rhône red on the first date with my now-partner. While it wouldn’t have otherwise been a memorable wine, drinking that red out of Solo cups in a park is just as memorable to me now, nearly five years later, as the French champagne we recently cracked open when she landed a new job.
And to that low-cost/much-loved list I’ll be adding hanging out with my mom and yakking about brunch, Mother’s Day and more while debating which canned cocktails are better than others.
But it sure is fun to taste how the other half drink.
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Tasty tidbits
• Passero is moving out of its cozy little corner in The Forks Market to a new location at 774 Corydon Ave., the former home of Cocoabeans, a gluten-free bakery that has relocated to 113 St. Anne’s Rd. Passero, the Italian member of chef Scott Bagshaw’s trio of tapas restaurants, opened five and half years ago alongside The Forks’ revamped food hall. The last day of service before relocating will be July 7.
• Brightside Kitchen, the city’s first all-vegan food truck, will be popping up regularly this summer. Today and tomorrow the mauve truck will be parked at Bonnycastle Park and the University of Winnipeg, respectively. And beginning June 14, Brightside will be stationed at the South Osborne Farmers’ Market every second week.
• Low Life Barrel House (398 Daly St. N.) is celebrating a year since they opened their doors this weekend. On Saturday, the brewery/cidery/winery will launch its latest wines and a few new brews. In the afternoon there will be patio pet portraits from noon-2 p.m., starting at 3 p.m. they’ll be serving up pizza (until it’s sold out), and after 7 p.m. a pair of DJs will pop by to serve up some tunes.
• Patio season is officially upon us! The Beer Can, located at 1 Granite Way, opened this week; Cargo Bar in Assiniboine Park opens today, with a Mother’s Day mimosa and crepe event scheduled for Sunday; and Le Patio 340, outside is set to open June 8.
• On May 31, One Sixteen is hosting a tequila-tasting event paired with a six-course meal. The event takes place in the courtyard of the Sherbrook Street restaurant. Tickets are $125 plus fees through Eventbrite.
Recommended fare
Ben: By the time you read this I’ll have chatted with American author TJ Klune, who is stopping in Winnipeg (for his only Canadian appearance) on Tuesday to launch his latest book, In the Lives of Puppets, at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location. The Lambda award-winning author’s latest follows Vic (a human) and his Pinocchio-like android family, stitched together from spare parts and living in the forest. When his “father” Gio is captured by robots from his former life as a human hunter, Vic and co. must set out to the City of Electric Dreams to rescue him from decommission. It’s a touching and funny story from an author whose books emphasize queer representation — highly recommended.
Eva: I’ve started digging into the Winnipeg Folk Fest lineup and am excited about so many smaller-stage acts beyond what promises to be a solid main stage program. Namely Mariel Buckley from Alberta, Aysanabee from Sandy Lake First Nation and the Lowdown Brass Band from Illinois.
And for those invested in the maple syrup experiment I wrote about in our last newsletter, I’m happy to report that after a day spent toiling over a hot plate (it was too windy for the bbq), I ended up with two whole cups of syrup! And it doesn’t taste half bad.
Homemade
Homemade is a Free Press project celebrating home cooking in Manitoba. Want to share a recipe with readers? Visit Homemade to fill out the submission form.
Looking for something different to serve mom for Mother’s Day brunch? Consider this Dutch Baby recipe from Shirley Masek.
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