Corti Brothers Newsletter for Fall 2002   Page 4  

 HANGAR 1 VODKA 

This vodka is literally produced in HANGAR 1 on the former Alameda Naval Air Station, across San Francisco Bay facing San Francisco. Jorg Rupf, proprietor of St. George Spirits, our country's foremost distiller of fruit brandies, whose distillery is the Hangar 1 building, has tried his hand at producing top quality vodka. He has produced a rare pot distilled vodka and three infused vodkas. Vodka traditionally has been infused with all sorts of ingredients; buffalo grass, cherry pits, spices, tea, and citrus fruit. HANGAR 1 VODKA uses its pot distilled, straight vodka as a base for Buddha's Hand Citron, Kaffir Lime, and Mandarin Blossom infused vodka.

The Buddha's Hand Citron Vodka is spectacular, just as is the fruit. A fingered citron, Citrus medica sarcodactylis, Buddha's Hand, is a wonderfully scented, but otherwise useless citrus. There is no fruit inside the fingered sections, but its peel scent is the most magnificent of all citrus. Its name comes from the fact that the individual fruit will have different shapes, looking like the finger positions or "mudra" of the statues of the Buddha.

The Kaffir lime, Citrus hystrix, is famous in southeast Asia for its use in cooking. Highly distinctive looking, as a gnarly green fruit and an hourglass looking leaf, its scent is like no other lime. In fact, the Kaffir Lime Vodka, infused from the leaf, could very well be used to substitute for kaffir lime in cooking. Mandarin Blossom Vodka shows the special tone of citrus blossoms in a little thought of use. Different from the scent of orange blossoms, this would be the ultimate drop in a fizz.

Some Corti Brothers' customers now find that they cannot get by without VIGNALTA HERBED SALT. I must admit that I find myself reaching for this salt every time I cook a piece of meat. It is a wonderful blend of Sicilian sea salt and fresh herbs grown at the VIGNALTA estate in the Marlunghe, a great chalky outcropping in the Colli Euganei, in Italy's Veneto region.

The Venetians, who monopolized salt in the Mediterranean, would traditionally blend salt with fresh herbs to be used on practically everything. Using hand plucked wild rosemary and sage leaves growing on the Vignalta property, with fresh garlic and some pepper, this tradition has been continued. It is particularly nice with roasts and poultry since the herbs and salt are already blended. It differs from the many other flavored salts on the market in that the aromatics used are fresh, not dried.

Personally, I use it to salt a piece of Wagyu or other prime beef, lamb chops or pork ribs before cooking, with very fine results. The herb flavor, especially rosemary, is delicate, but present. In fact, I am finding that allowing a piece of aged, well marbled beef to come to room temperature, salting lightly with VIGNALTA HERBED SALT, before pan searing, produces a crunchy outer crust which is extremely savory. Only one side is salted at the beginning. Just before turning, the uncooked side is salted. The effect is marvelous.

GUANCIALE is Italian style cured pork jowl not often available in this country. It is essential in certain dishes, and most often must be substituted for. Now Corti Brothers can offer a well made example from a specialist producer in our random weight, cryovac sealed pieces. Since it is a cured fat product, guanciale merely needs to be kept wrapped in the refrigerator and sliced when used.

Unless you have had spaghetti alla carbonara or bucatini all'amatriciana made with guanciale, you have never tasted these dishes with their authentic flavor. It is essential for these two pasta dishes where the rendered guanciale fat provides the flavor. Guanciale is also used to flavor thick winter time soups, especially ones made from farro or spelt. It adds flavor to bean dishes, sauces, involtini, and bruschetta. Very typical of Roman cooking, it is also called "ganascia."

Perhaps the best muscat wine produced in Portugal, doubtless its most famous, is MOSCATEL DE SETUBAL. Its production is almost entirely controlled by the venerable firm of Jose Maria da Fonseca. The Setubal area, just south of Lisbon, is famous for this wine produced from muscat of Alexandria, which is unique in Europe. Here, once the vintage is made, the skins of this muscat variety are left to steep with the young, fortified wine until the spring racking. This maceration allows an extraction of aromatic compounds from the grape skins, increasing notably the wine's special, nutmeg-like aromatic component. Aging then takes place in enormous Brazilian satinwood casks.

  1    2    3  << Page 4

<< Back to Top