Piehole Apple Pie

“Piehole Whiskies were inspired by our Grandma’s favorite pie recipes, served up in a delicious blend of Canadian whiskey and tempting pie flavored liqueurs.  So slice off a shot and share some with your friends – you may never want to eat pie with a fork again.”

Well then!  the Piehole Apple Pie mini (50 ml) bottle is clear plastic with a traditional, old-fashioned bottle shape with a light golden liquid inside.  Cracking the lid reveals a delightful apple pie fragrance, mostly apple and cinnamon.  A sip is quite pleasant tasting, like liquid apple pie!  Not too much whiskey, a perfect amount of apple and just enough cinnamon to change it from just an apple whiskey to drinkable pie.  Nice!  I could totally drink this straight but I had already poured myself a glass of half apple juice and half apple cider so in it goes and I stir it with a clean toothpick.

Really nice!  The alcohol flavor, which was not strong to begin with, is barely there now and the apple flavor completely melded with the apple juice, leaving a stronger cinnamon flavor.  Mmmm…

Their website shows three flavors, Apple Pie and Pecan Pie (which my liquor store carries minis of) and Cherry Pie.  Whaaaaa???  I want some Cherry Pie!  Huh.  I may have to track that one down…  Recipes as follows, although I think drinking it neat may be the way to go myself:

Aaaand… nope.  The recipes on their websites are not allowing me to copy and paste them so you don’t get any, you’ll just have to look them up for yourself.  But neat is definitely great.  Since I don’t actually love apple pie in it’s solid form it’s not a keeper for me but it is something to put on my list of things I would drink if offered to me.

The technical bits and pieces:

Bottle Esthetics:  Cute but plastic, the interesting label brings it just above the “Meh” level to a “Welll…”
Scent:  Just like apple pie!  Apples, cinnamon and somehow I even smell the pastry of the crust.  Quite lovely!
Viscosity:  Water thin.
Taste:  Again, just like apple pie – I taste apples and cinnamon but not necessarily the crust.  The whiskey flavor is less than the apple pie taste which makes me very interested in it.
Versatility:  Maybe a lot, maybe a little, I’d have to play around with it so I’m not completely sure right now.
Overall Score:  8 out of 10

 

Hpnotiq

“A Refreshing Blend of Premium French Vodka, Exotic Fruit Juices and a touch of Cognac”

My friend Marie suggested I blog about this one next and she’s right, it’s a good choice!

The Hpnotiq mini (50 ml) is a robin’s egg blue liquid in a frosted bottle with a wide bottom that flutes up to a long, narrow neck with an attractive swirly design printed above the name.  It smells like a sweet, tart fruit that I feel like I should know the name of but can’t quite remember.  A sip proves I’m right, it tastes like lightly spiked fruit punch and I still can’t identify the fruit… frustrating.  But it’s so easy to drink it’s hard to believe that it’s 17% alcohol, it tastes like what my youngest daughter calls a “bitch beer”.

Their website doesn’t say what exotic fruit juices they use, I’m sure it’s a closely guarded secret, but I did get a few recipes from them:

Blue Breeze

• 2 OZ. HPNOTIQ
• 1 OZ. PREMIUM COCONUT RUM
• SPLASH OF PINEAPPLE JUICE

SERVE OVER ICE IN A ROCKS GLASS.
Berry Blue

• 2 OZ. HPNOTIQ
• 1 OZ. RAZZBERRY OR STRAWBERRY VODKA
• SPLASH OF LEMON-LIME SODA

POUR OVER ICE IN A ROCKS GLASS.
Peachy Keen

• 2 OZ. HPNOTIQ
• 1OZ. PEACH SCHNAPPS
• 1OZ. PREMIUM VODKA

SERVE OVER ICE IN A ROCKS GLASS AND GARNISH WITH LEMON TWIST.
So virtually every recipe says to add the Hpnotiq to a vodka or some other alcohol with very little mixers so I’m feeling like this is more of an alcoholic mixer that you put with harder liquors???  Hmmm…  Whatever, it’s really good on it’s own.

I think I’ll try it with some ginger ale.  I pour in not quite as much ginger ale as there is Hpnotiq and stir it with my finger.  That’s yummy!  The ginger ale makes it just a hair sweeter.  And now, just to mess with it a bit, I’m going to add a splash of cranberry juice.  Ooooh, well that’s fascinating…  The cranberry juice went from the top, where I poured it, to the bottom of the drink which gives it this pretty ombre color fading from cloudy white to a deep red.  More finger-stirring makes the drink a pale reddish pink again and adds just a hint of flavor to the drink.  Honestly, this is the kind of thing you could probably add any fruit flavored juice or alcohol to it and it would taste good.  This liqueur would be hard to ruin I think and that makes it a fool-proof, go-to party drink.

It’s not my favorite fruit flavor and it’s more tart than sweet so it’s probably not going to be one I keep for myself but I think it will be first on my list of things I grab when I need to bring alcohol to a party for sure!

The technical bits:

Bottle Esthetics:  Frosted glass, elegant design, bold letters… earns it the rating of “Attractive” and a place on my windowsill.
Scent:  Fun, fruity, tart.
Viscosity:  Water thin.
Taste:  Tart, fruity, not much alcohol flavor.
Versatility:  Very.  I think you could put just about anything i this and have a great drink.
Overall Score:  7 out of 10

A Mixed Drink! Marie Squared…

So tonight I changed it up a little bit.  I met my co-workers and daughter at a local bar, ostensibly to play pool but we wound up watching one of us play pool and the rest of us visiting.  My co-worker, also named Marie, bought me a drink and it went something like this:

Peach Schnapps, Raspberry Absolut, ginger ale with a splash of 7 up.

It was fabulous!  Made for a Marie by a Marie so she called it Marie Squared.  I could taste mostly peach, a wee bit ‘o raspberry and the ginger ale.  I even finished the whole glass – a first for me.  In fact, this entire night was a complete first.  Never have I ever been to a bar to have a drink and play pool.  Well, I guess I still haven’t played pool in a bar but that just means I’ll have to go back, uh huh…

Tuaca

“A tempting blend of Italian brandy, Mediterranean citrus and vanilla spice.”

I have to say this one was fun!  I’ve decided to start working my way through Liqueurs first since they’re generally more flavored than say just vodka or whiskey, lol.

The Tuaca mini (50 ml) comes in a clear plastic bottle somewhat reminiscent of a wine bottle that shows a light golden liquid inside.  It smells, to my untrained nose, like alcohol, ha, ha.  A sip sets my mouth on fire but once the burning dies down I think I taste a hint of vanilla but it may just be wishful thinking…

I decided to try it with ginger ale in about a 50/50 mix, with ice – I believe that’s called “on the rocks” – and I stirred it with a plastic knife.  I like this one very much!  I think we have another keeper!  It’s light and refreshing and the ginger ale lets the vanilla and citrus flavors shine through much clearer while cutting down on the sharpness of the brandy.

So look at me being all adulty, sitting in my favorite chair, drinking a grown-up drink, watching my favorite show and eating Chicken in a Biscuit – I mean my fancy cheese and expensive crackers, ahem…

Their website gives us the following recipes:
Tuaca Pineapple Spritzer

2 oz TUACA
4 oz pineapple juice
1 ½ oz of lemon-lime soda

Pour all ingredients in a tall glass filled with ice. Stir gently and garnish with a pineapple and lime wedge.
Tuaca Toddy – for my sister who likes hot drinks!

1 oz TUACA
Apple Cider
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Add TUACA to warm apple cider. Sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg on top.
Tuaca Whiskey Punch

1 oz TUACA
1 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
1 oz orange juice
1 oz cranberry juice

Pour ingredients into a rocks glass over ice and stir. For a group, change ounces to parts and add slices of oranges.

 
Those definitely look interesting and I’m going to have to get me some pineapple juice… uh huh…  Here’s my handy dandy personal assessment:

Bottle Esthetics:  The clear plastic shows through to a pretty golden liquid and the label is busy on both sides of the name with fancy lettering, a stylized lion and lines.  It holds my interest enough to earn it a “Hmmm…”
Scent:  Warm with a intriguing hint of vanilla.
Viscosity:  Water thin.
Taste:  Warm – I’m guessing that’s the brandy? – then vanilla.  Maybe, just maybe, a hint of orange.
Versatility:  Judging by the number of recipes on their website there must be many ways to use this one but I’m really enjoying it with the ginger ale right now.
Overall Score:  8 out of 10