Admittedly I am not much of a 'spirits' gal. More of a wine gal. And if I am going to venture into the spirits let's keep them clear....your whiskies you can have. Sure, I've been known to partake in a 'hot whiskey', for purely medicinal reasons of course, or take a sip of the Irish whiskey, because according to my great Auntie Mae, "a lady doesn't drink beer, a lady drinks whiskey." Oh my. Seriously? Yes. She would sooner see me drink a whiskey, or worse yet, a shot of poitin (aka, Irish moonshine) then lift a pint.
Well, I think I can finally become a 'lady' in my great auntie's eyes as I have discovered a whiskey that I can not only partake in, but throughly enjoy. That my friends would be white whiskey. Wha'? No, I am not talking moonshine or white lighting, but whiskey at it's purest: skip barrel aging altogether and bottle directly. This is not any mass-produced base white whiskey, but an all organic, all kosher, made from scratch, with locally sourced grains, white whiskey. This spirit (or spirits I should say) with it's floral nose and clean fresh flavor isn't made in a backwoods still, but in Chicago's 1st boutique distillery:
Koval. Every step of the distilling process, from the mashing, to the fermenting, to the bottling is done at
Koval's north Ravenswood Ave. location.
Founders, Sonat and Robert Birnecker walked away from careers in academia to carry-on Robert's Austrian grandfather's distilling tradition. Just one sip (note: this is not a brace yourself to wince sip, or am I the only one to do that when tasting whiskey and spirits) of one of their five white whiskies, or rye vodka, and you will be so grateful that academia's loss is now our gain. Each of their grain spirits has their own crisp and clean distinct flavor, that are truly enjoyable sipped on their own, or blended beautifully into a cocktail. And, speaking of distinct flavors, Koval does not stop at grain spirits, but offers up the most interesting selection of liqueurs. Sure ginger liqueur has become pretty popular in recent years, and
Koval's is made with (
are you kidding me) hand peeled organic ginger, but where else can you find Rose Hip (
a gorgeous mixer or apertif), Chrysanthemum Honey (
floral and honey flavors all in one? beyond lovely), Coffee (
that tastes of fresh ground coffee beans and not some cloying chemically imposter for coffee), and Jasmine (
all I can say to that is, WOW).
So many Chicago area chefs have embraced the Koval line of spirits and liqueurs, not only to create signature cocktails at their establishments, but they have snuck bottles off the bar, and into their kitchens to, no, not swig on their shifts, but to enhance the dishes that they are creating. Now, you don't have to go to your favorite restaurant, or bar to enjoy the Koval line (though I certainly do not discourage that behavior). If you are like me, and like to try your hand at your own mixology and cooking abilities, then there are plenty of area retailers, and on-line retailers for you my out of town readers, where you can get your hands on these incredible handcrafted distillates. Go to Koval's website
www.koval-distillery.com for a complete list of retailers and some great cocktail recipes as well. And, while on the website reviewing the Koval product line, take notice of the beautiful bottle labels designed by a local artist, aka, Sonat's mom. Now that's keeping it local.
mo
p.s. have a great cocktail recipe using Koval spirit's and liqueurs? email me at: moira@efete.net
Labels: boutique distillery, grain spirits, Koval, liqueurs, white whiskey
True. That could apply to the entire night. The translation, "Oh my God it was so good!", in case you did NOT take Spanish in High School like the rest of us. Sticking with my "tour de North Ave" we found ourselves waiting in line, for what seemed like hours at Uncle Julio's. No, this was not a long lost family member I was dying to see on a Saturday night, it was this amazing Mexican Restaurant I've been hearing about that needed some attention, along with my appetite. "Oh you HAVE to go to Uncle Julio's....it's the BEST!". Did you ever just go to a place to eat because someone just wore you down and you didn't want to face them again without being able to give a full report?
No worries, after the hour long wait, truly a place to arrive early and plan on staying late because they don't take reservations! And after three of Julio's Gold special Margarita's I was ready to tear into my date...I mean the menu....or both...whatever...I digress.
WOW (see expression on my face in pic W.O.W., get it? ahhh nevermind). This food is FRESH and delicious. Probably the BEST Mexican restaurant I have ever been. (So yes, now I must tell people too). The salsa had a fire roasted flavor and was pureed, not big chunks of onions (ummm, date and all), and the chips were warm and crispy. The menu had so many choices I could hardly narrow down to Chicken Enchiladas, Fish Tacos and Tamales. The warm tortillas are made right in front of you and everything has the freshest ingredients. There were two types of beans, black and red, and the Tilapia was blackened and seasoned to perfection with the right amount of lime and a tangy avocodo sauce. The chicken was also served with a creamy cheese sauce and was rich and flavorful as well. This was not a night to be eating small, which trust me, I never do.
Couple things that could affect date night are the following: very long wait times so be prepared. Very noisy, lots of chatter and "TssssssTssss" sounds from the kitchen, and not a lot of privacy. But hey - get your Margarita groove on and toss up some chips - save the intimacy for later right? Oh, but watch the beans...you know what they say!
Hasta la vista!
Uncle Julio's is locasted on 855 W. North Ave 312.266.4222
In this photo: Gia Claire, Professional Bloggess
TRU Ratings:
Palate: TTT
Assist Me: TTT
Buzz Factor: TTT
Pretty People: T
Pocket Change/Checkbook/Savings: Checkbook
True. That could apply to the entire night. The translation, "Oh my God it was so good!", in case you did NOT take Spanish in High School like the rest of us. Sticking with my "tour de North Ave" we found ourselves waiting in line, for what seemed like hours at Uncle Julio's. No, this was not a long lost family member I was dying to see on a Saturday night, it was this amazing Mexican Restaurant I've been hearing about that needed some attention, along with my appetite. "Oh you HAVE to go to Uncle Julio's....it's the BEST!". Did you ever just go to a place to eat because someone just wore you down and you didn't want to face them again without being able to give a full report?
No worries, after the hour long wait, truly a place to arrive early and plan on staying late because they don't take reservations! And after three of Julio's Gold special Margarita's I was ready to tear into my date...I mean the menu....or both...whatever...I digress. 
Many of our favorites have participated including Bears Hall-of-Famer Gale Sayers, Radio Host Mancow, Dina Bair of WGN, D.C. Crenshaw of Game Time Dine, Ginger Zee of NBC, Top Chef Rick Bayless ... Something more laid back your style ? Enjoy a room with a view as the River turns a perfect shade of St Patrick's Day Green with reserved "box seating" at Trump International Hotel and Tower ! 
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