Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
I’ve never been a Guinness fan.
Well, check that. Guinness FOAM I like. I’ve always said if they could pour me a glass of foam, I’d be delighted.
But the liquid itself is just not something that speaks to me. I like other dark beers — Fort Garry Dark is probably my favourite thus far — and lots of amber ones: Harp and Rickard’s Red come to mind. And as a regular tourist to Jamaica, one can’t help but develop a taste for good old Red Stripe. (If you ever go, check out Red Stripe Bold — it’s a little darker than regular Red Stripe, and my preference between the two, but the Bold’s not as readily available as the familiar old Red Stripe in a stubby.)
Another reason I’m not a Guinness fan is because it is, as I understand it, supposed to be served lukewarm in order to be authentic and at its best. And there are certain beverages, in my opinion, that just have to be cold in order for them to be even remotely palatable. Milk. Coca-Cola. White wine.
And beer.
Just to be clear, by cold, I mean one degree Celsius or 33 degrees Fahrenheit. In other words, just this side of freezing.
So to combine the molasses-like, deep, earthy burnt tastes of Guinness with a lack of coolness is more than my taste buds can bear. Sure, I could chill it — I’m sure lots of folks do — but I’ve never been fond enough of that particular libation to go to all that trouble.
That is, until now.
Good friends for whom Guinness is a passion introduced me, just a few weeks back, to a concoction — a cocktail, I guess — called Black Velvet. And while this creation does contain Guinness, it combines that traditional Irish beverage with something I adore: sparkling wine.
Now I’m sure some of you will be thinking, "Isn’t that just a waste of decent wine? Mixing it with Guinness, something you hate?"
A good question, to be sure. They (the ubiquitous ‘they’) always say, "Don’t mix good wine with bad wine hoping to improve the bad. All you do is diminish the good." Which makes perfect sense. And I know that statement to be true. Because unfortunately, I’ve tried it.
And while I’m not likely to seek out Black Velvets on a regular basis, these clever little drinks really are an interesting change of pace — a change of taste, if you will.
Here’s what to do: Half-fill a flute Champagne glass with Guinness, making sure not to get too much of a head on it. Then carefully pour the bubbly of your choice over the back of a spoon (the tip of which is touching the side of the glass) onto the Guinness. The result should be a layered effect — that is, the dark Guinness is on the bottom, and the clear sparkler on the top. There’ll be a slight head that remains throughout consumption of the drink, thanks in part to the Guinness foam and to the continuing effervescence provided by the bubbly. But that’s a good thing.
The friends who made me my first Black Velvet — one of many we consumed — used Undurraga Brut Sparkling from Chile to create this unusual treat. I know there were two reasons for their choice: the Undurraga Brut is REALLY bubbly (which is necessary to liven up the flatness of the Guinness), and it’s not costly — $10.87 a bottle, to be precise.
And let me be clear — you definitely DON’T want to use an expensive sparkling wine for Black Velvets, because its finesse and subtleties will be lost once they’re blended with the Guinness.
But in addition to being bubbly and inexpensive, the Undurraga is also really lemony, which, to my taste, skews the flavour of the beverage a bit. So I’d recommend using another sparkler — something much less citrusy.
The DB Sparkling Brut from Australia, for instance, which sells for $10.99, fits the bill, as should the Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee from California ($12.99), or the Henkell Trocken Fine Sect Piccolo (three 200 mL bottles for $10.99). All of these have a fair bit of zip and aren’t as citrusy as the Undurraga.
While a Black Velvet is a long way from my favourite drink, there’s just something weirdly enticing about it. I think it’s odd, but that oddness is intriguing. Which is why I had more than one!
But the flavours — well, you pretty much have to experience them for yourself. The taste of the Guinness certainly comes through, but it’s altered substantially, as one might expect, by the addition of a fizzy wine. The end result is something that defies description, but is certainly worth a try if you’re a wine-lover searching for something semi-authentic with which to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
So here’s to your health and your happiness on this occasion that celebrates the grand traditions of the Emerald Isle. And here’s wishing you the courage to jump aboard the Black Velvet Band(wagon)!
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition March 17, 2012
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I’ve never been a Guinness fan.
Well, check that. Guinness FOAM I like. I’ve always said if they could pour me a glass of foam, I’d be delighted.
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I’ve never been a Guinness fan.
Well, check that. Guinness FOAM I like. I’ve always said if they could pour me a glass of foam, I’d be delighted.
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