Donner-Peltier Distillers Wins Bronze and Golds

It has been a great launch for the Donner-Peltier Distillers in Thibodaux, Louisiana. They now have a bronze medal and some gold medals to hang in their show room. A big Bite and Booze congrats to a Louisiana distillery!

At the American Distilling Institute's 7th Annual Judging of Artisan American Spirits, Donner-Peltier Distillers took home a Bronze medal for in the White Rum category for their Rougaroux Sugarshine.  On March 4-5, 2013, ADI judged 317 artisan American spirits at Huber Orchard and Winery in Starlight, Indiana: 127 whiskies, 66 gins, 36 moonshines, 47 rums and 41 fruit spirits were submitted from 124 independently-owned, small-batch, distilled spirits producers. Judges awarded 23 gold, 44 silver and 46 bronze medals, again upholding the highest standards by awarding medals to only 37% of participants.

Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded based on the judges consideration of the spirit's merits, and not on their numerical scores. Best of categories were awarded to the medal-worthy spirits that scored numerically better than other spirits in the same category. The tasting was totally blind and evaluated in terms of Nose, Palate, Finish and Balance. Judges were not allowed to see bottles or know what spirits were submitted until all judging was complete.

DP's Oryza Vodka

Meanwhile, at the recent convention of the World Spirits Association in Klagenfurt, Austria, Donner-Peltier Distillers of Thibodaux, Louisiana, won gold medals for each spirit the company entered for judging. Among these was the distillers’ flagship Oryza Vodka with a score of 91, Rougaroux Full Moon Dark Rum, with a score of 92, and Sugarshine, a clear rum that earned a score of 94. Sugarshine also won the clear rum category outright.

“We were thrilled when we heard the news”, says Beth Donner, company president. “We always had confidence that we were making great products, but to have an international panel of spirits experts agree is very gratifying.”

The World Spirits Association conducts an annual spring competition each January, which requires submissions of spirits in December. “We were only in business for a month or two when the submission deadline rolled around”, said Donner. “Our hope was that we might receive a medal, maybe two, but to win three medals with three products, and have them all be gold-well, that was really the best surprise I’ve had in quite a while.”

Donner adds that the best is yet to come. The distillery is planning to release two new products onto the market in the next two months: Rougaroux 13 Pennies Praline Rum, and Oryza Gin. Sometime later
this year, the distillery will release LA1, Louisiana’s first whiskey since Prohibition. Donner explains “These products have taken some time to develop, but we think we’ve got them perfected now, so they should really be our best yet.”

BRES presents CrawFête at Mockler Beverage

Plenty of mudbugs will be served in all forms at CrawFête

On Thursday, April 18th, 2013, the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society and Mockler Beverage Company will
host ‘CrawFête’, a gourmet crawfish tasting and live auction.  Some Baton Rouge's best chefs from some of our finest restaurants will be on site to prepare outstanding crawfish dishes complemented with the craft beers, wines, and spirits from Mockler.

I attended this event last year and had a blast.  It's always interesting to see what the chefs come up with when given a common ingredient like crawfish but then letting their minds run wild with possibilities.

The restaurants cooking at CrawFête include:

Bin 77, Blend Wine Bar, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Culinary Productions, Galatoire’s Bistro, Hot Tails Restaurant, Juban’s Restaurant, Latil’s Landing Restaurant, Mansurs on the Boulevard, Ruffino’s Restaurant, Sammy’s Grill Catering, Stroube’s Steakhouse, Sullivan’s Steakhouse and more!

Tickets for CrawFête are $50 a person and are available by visiting www.crawfetebr.com.

Proceeds from CrawFête benefit local childhood health & nutrition programs. The Baton Rouge Epicurean Society, a 501c3 non-profit organization is dedicated to the education of childhood nutrition Girls on the Run, Boys & Girls Club of Baton Rouge, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 4-H leadership programs, Pro-Start culinary high school programs, Epicurean scholarship funding and the cultural preservation of the Greater Baton Rouge area. The Baton Rouge Epicurean Society was formed by local food and beverage professionals in the Greater Baton Rouge Area.

For more information on the event please visit www.crawfetebr.com or contact
Renée Molbert, @ mrdugas@msn.com or 225.773.4889.

Tullibardine 1993: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

In one of the worst showings in recent Whisk(e)y Wednesday posts, Tullibardine 1993 Highland single malt Scotch has clocked in close to the mid-point of the 0-100 scale.  Granted, anything over a 50 means I wouldn't turn it down if somebody bought it for me.  The Scotch is sweet with a candy-corn like aroma that you'd get on an un-aged white whiskey.  Grapes and honey came through on the palate almost like a white wine aged in oak barrels.  I found it to be harsh and medicinal with very little refinement or balance.  Ultimately, especially for a Scotch, the Tullibardine is flat out boring.  Drinkable, yes, but spend your money elsewhere.

Tullibardine 1993

Average Score 52.5

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by Calandro's Supermarket. Calandro's has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. WW is created and rated by the hosts of Raise a Glass. Scores are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, and Balance and Complexity using our own propriatary scoring system. Marks are then added and averaged, leaving us with a final score out of a 100 point scale. Our scale should be looked at on the full range of 0-100 rather than an academic range where 70 is passing and anything less is failing. A 50 should be considered a very mediocre whisk(e)y while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 90 is rather extraordinary.

Bite and Booze Radio Show: Louisiana Feast of Fields

This week's episode of the Bite and Booze Radio Show featured Chef Ryan Andre from Le Creole, Chef Jeff Oliveri from L'Auberge BR, and Chef Sean "Foodie Patutie" Rivera.  We discussed the Louisiana Feast of Fields coming up on April 12th at the LSU Burden Center, as well as many more things going on in the food and beverage world of Baton Rouge.  Enjoy!

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The Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket airs on Saturdays at 5 PM on Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge.  It is also available on iTunes.  The show's sponsors include Calandro's Supermarket, Visit Baton Rouge, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Louisiana Cookin' Magazine, Juban's Restaurant, the Tin Roof Brewing Company, and the Louisiana Culinary Institute. 

Heading to NYC: Ruffino's James Beard Preview Dinner

Katherine Lagow and I at the James Beard Preview Dinner

Chef Peter Sclafani, Ruffin Rodrigue, and everyone at Ruffino's have earned my round of applause.  Chef Peter has been selected to cook at the James Beard House in New York City, and I had a lucky spot at the 'Central Park' table at Ruffino's for the preview dinner.  “Cooking at the Beard House has been on my bucket list ever since I donned my first chef’s hat,” said Sclafani, Co-Owner and Executive Chef at Ruffino’s. “I am truly humbled that they have asked me to cook there, and I am exceedingly proud to represent Baton Rouge and Louisiana on the most prestigious stage in the American culinary landscape.”  The dinner in NYC will be this Saturday, April 6, 2013.  Chef Sclafini's take on 'French Creole meets Italian' is a winner, and I'm certain that it will please the palate of all who have the fortunate ticket to the amazing dinner.  Here's a little of what they're in for as Ruffino's brings Louisiana up north!

Hors D'oeuvres: Grits and Grillades

The hors d'oeuvres were served with a little bubbly to get the night started.  The Mionetto Prosecco NV got everyone's palates ready for the onslaught of Louisiana-inspired goodies.  Shrimp corndogs with honey mustard, crawfish arancini, charbroiled oysters, and a corn and crab shooter rounded out a bevy of seafood small bites.  All were fantastic.  The grits and grillades, pictured above in the Asian spoon, were right on the money.  I could have eaten a dozen of them!

Crab Cheesecake

For the first sit down course, Chef Peter pulled out one of his classic dishes: crab cheesecake.  The cheesecake is loaded with Louisiana crab meat and plated with all sorts of delicious sauces and crumbles.  I'm embarrassed to say that I hadn't ever had his signature crab cheesecake before.  Next time I'm there, I'll be looking out for it as an appetizer!

Heirloom Tomato "Caprese" Salad

Chef Peter is bringing a new twist to his award winning caprese salad course with him to New York.  The dish, which features heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese, and balsamic caviar, will now also feature some foie gras mousse as well.  The foie gras is inside the burrata cheese, and when all mixed together, provides and excellent additional flavor to the exquisite tomatoes and the novelty of the sphere-ified 25-year-old balsamic vinegar.

Braised Mississippi Rabbit with Gnocchi

The third course of the dinner service brought on a locally inspired dish with plenty of Italian flare.  The braised rabbit is cooked down with plenty of aromatic vegetables until it is tender and rich with flavor.  The gnocchi, a popular Italian potato pasta, are fluffy and soak up plenty stock.  This is a comfort dish that I could eat a whole bowl of as a meal, but it worked even better as a course in this delightful dinner.

Head-to-Toe Pork

The James Beard preview dinner's main entree consisted of pork two ways.  Pork cheeks, one of the most succulent cuts of pork in existence, were served with Benton's bacon jam along side a butternut squash puree.  Also joining the plate were a pair of pork trotter tortellini.  The pork trotters are from the feet of the pig, and also provide good eating when cooked the right way.  Everything on this plate worked the right way.  From the tenderness of the pork to the flavor combinations with the bacon and butternut squash, I couldn't get enough.  Really.  I had to steal some off of the plate next to me!

Chicory Cafe Au Lait Panna Cotta with Chocolate Chip Beignets

Naturally, the Creole-Italian dessert featured coffee.  The delicious chicory panna cotta played with me senses and the bitterness of the coffee danced with the creaminess and sweetness of the gelatin-based dessert.  The beignets, when dipped in the chocolate sauce, added a nice change of texture to the dish.  I definitely left satisfied and filled to the brim.  Those folks in New York are in for a treat!

Driven by its mission “to celebrate, nurture and preserve America’s diverse culinary heritage and future,” the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to exploring the way food enriches our lives. The Foundation maintains the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. A cookbook author and teacher, James Beard was a champion of American cuisine who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled for Peter, and for our restaurant, to be invited to the Beard House,” said Ruffino’s co-owner Ruffin Rodrigue, who manages the front of the house and operations for the restaurant. “This is truly an amazing honor, and you can bet Peter will be pulling out all the stops to make April 6th a night that New York City won’t soon forget!”  I agree with Ruffin.  If he can pull off the dinner in NYC like he did for us at the preview dinner on his home turf, he'll be making Baton Rouge and all of Louisiana proud, that's for sure.