Beowulf and "Father of the Wolf"

"So he found the heart in barren land, it was beating still alive... he held it gently in his hand and looked up to the sky..."

A Battle Cry Heard
Trudging through the highlands in search of the ultimate secret weapon to make this victory your own, you notice something glimmering in the distance. As you approach, the gleam fades in and out. You ponder what this thing in the distance could be. Just a piece of a shattered helmet, remnants of a previous battle?... A gem that possesses the powerful magic you've been searching for?... Maybe it's your mind playing tricks on you... You can't overlook the possibilities that lay ahead! To the next mountain peak you dash, assailing any obstacle in your path as your heart beats faster and faster, triumphant images racing through your mind. Your army's morale is dwindling. The numbers stagger. You need something powerful to fend off the foes ahead. Something they'll never suspect. As you scurry up the last bit of the peak and look over the majestic land before you, you can't focus on anything in the vast distance, for before you lies something curiously radiant. At first glance, it merely looks like an old drinking horn. After looking closer, however, you can see what was shimmering in the light from afar. The drinking horn is covered in dirt and blood, but on one end a protruding jewel has nothing to camouflage it's brilliant shine. As you begin to wipe it with your pelt, you notice how ornate it is. The engravings on the kantsi read an ancient language you haven't seen in many moons... a language reserved for the uttering of spells. Your eyes widen when you realize what you've stumbled upon...

Viking Blod poured for the Father of The Baby Wolf

Beowulf
I† glistens in the Nordic sun. Your spirits lift. You crouch to pick up this gift from the Gods. You bring the kantsi to your lips for an un-knowing taste. As it flows through the bristles of your unkempt, element-battered mustache you realize this is Beowulf, the forgotten ancient mead potion. With a recipe lost centuries ago, you begin to wonder how this made its way here. This desolate peak upon these towering cliffs is the last place you'd expect to find something this rare and magical. You remember your father drinking Beowulf with his closest compatriots. They would laugh of tales from previous battles and ambiguously practice sword techniques. You must somehow unlock the recipe of this rare elixir. You wish to bring it back to life, like the witch you saw die in flames all those years ago. Your calvary deserves to toast to battles won with a horn full of the mighty...BEOWULF!!

Ingredients:
1 1/2oz Montelobos mezcal joven
1oz Viking Blod mead
3/4oz sweet vermouth
1/2oz lemon juice
5oz Skull Splitter Orcadian Ale

Method:
Place mezcal, mead, sweet vermouth and lemon juice in a shaker tin. Add Ice. Give it a short vigorous shake. Pour Skull Splitter Ale into the shaker with the rest of the liquid. Strain into a pilsner glass or your favorite Kantsi. Garnish with hammer of Thor.

5,000 years in the making
            

Skull Splitter

Skull Splitter is an 8.5%abv wee heavy beer. Skull Splitter won the award of Supreme Champion Winter beer of Britain 2001 at CAMRA's national winter celebration of beer. Skull Splitter takes it's name after Torfinn Hausakljuv who was nicknamed "Skullsplitter". Hausakljuv was the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney circa 950 AD.

Skull Splitter was in the center of some controversy over it's name with The Portman Group. Dubbed "the alcohol watchdog group", Portman carried out an investigation based on complaints that the ale had an "aggressive theme". The Portman Group decided on December 23rd 2008 (Henry's 22nd birthday) not to uphold the complaint after the brewery launched a strong campaign to save this 20-year-old beer, informing the group of the beer's namesake.

"the first blow makes the helmet crack, the axe cut to the teeth"

"the last with Pagan blood"

Viking Blod Mead (Roughly translated Danish)

To create this mead they have combined the traditional brew with different spices and dried hibiscus. In addition to the color adds this mead one kryderet, aromatic and floral aftertaste, as a good Madeira. Based on a recipe that dates back to the year 1700.

Nordic honey wine with added hibiscus and hops

19%abv

"seek the wolf in thyself"

Montelobos is an artisanal mezcal made in Santiago Matalán Oaxaca produced with 100% organically certified agave espadín. This mezcal is meticulously crafted by world renowned agave expert Iván Saldaña. It is made according to his vision and passion for agave and artisanal mezcal with respect for traditional production methods, sustainability, and the quality of life in the communities and families who have produced mezcal for generations. Montelobos achieves extraordinary balance and complexity through a bold integration between agave, fermentation notes and smoke. Montelobos Mezcal is proudly produced by Casa Montelobos, a Mexican company based in Oaxaca and Mexico City.

Of Wolf and Man

Father of the Wolf
Complete with HD mini-movie, this battle-hymn has you ready to charge into enemy shields. In the past, alcohol has been dubbed "liquid courage" and we feel this tune will fill your kantsi with a similar fortitude. When paired with the mead and mezcal-laden Beowulf, this song will transform you into a goliath of viking strength and valor. The syncopated opening guitar riff kicks your heart into gear much like the hiss that can be heard when opening a "Skull Splitter." Johan Hegg begins to growl, as your revered Herse would, just before a battle making you thirst for blood. The face-melting guitar solos fill you with a pre-mature feeling of victory, though this crusade with Loki has not yet begun. You then find yourself stampeding down the mountainside to the relentless Thor-hammering pace of the double kick drums. With Oden on your side, ready to split skulls, you grip your sword and charge into the chorus...

             








"Serpent's kin, born of sin, dark within, FATHER OF THE WOLF!!"  

"twenty ships with Norsemen"

Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, founded in 1992. The band takes it's name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Vikings, their mythology and their history, leading to the band often being labeled as Viking metal. The band comprises of vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg and bassist Ted Lundström. Amon Amarth has released nine studio albums, one compilation album, one EP, one video album and eight music videos.

A Kantsi is a traditional Georgian drinking horn. In drinking culture, typically made from ram or goat horns, sometimes also from bull horns. \,,/

We hope you crush this tonic with your favorite Vikings.

Valhalla awaits!

Skål 

Henry & Jehiah

Son Cubano Daiquiri and "Chan Chan"

Casa De Amore
When you're in love with someone, all you want is for them to love you back. We do outlandish, foolish things when in love. And it hurts when the other person simply doesn't feel the same way as you. We start to question ourselves. What did I do wrong? Why doesn't this person like me the way I like them? It can become extremely vexing, driving us to the point of losing sleep. But maybe, just maybe, love picks us. Love decides who winds up together. Love decides who we marry & have children with. Who we build a house with. Who we play in the sand with. Love can be wrong. But what if it's right?

Havana Skyline
Photograph by Kahlilah Nelson

You finish the lovely meal of fresh sea bass you caught that day, some greens from your tiny backyard garden and a lovely bottle of Cuban Tempranillo. You clear away the dishes and as you're standing at the kitchen sink, the misty sea breeze drifts through the open window to remind you that you're home. You've earned this moment. You both work hard to make this place your home. Your shoulders are sunburned from fishing, her knees are sore from gardening. But now you can relax. You turn around only to find... she's gone. She's headed to the beach. You know this because her favorite thing to do after dinner is to watch the stars fall out of the Caribbean sky. So you decide to join her. But first, cocktails. Normally, you just whip up a cold pitcher of Kalimotxo, but tonight is special. What is something delicious I can bring down to the beach? You open the creaky cabinet above the fridge. (You've had to WD-40 the cabinet hinges once a month because of the humidity) In it, you find a dusty bottle of Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron...

Son Cubano Daiquiri

To conduct the mass amounts of sound, rhythms and tone in life, or in a symphony, one must be a master, a maestro. To bring about such beautiful refrain with just a flick of a baton, or to create a delicate and refined spirit to be sipped by everyone from the common consumer to those with the most refined of palates, requires a long scrupulous process of tweaking, dissecting and reflecting. It takes years of practice to achieve mastery, ten thousand hours to be a bit more precise. To pay homage to the rich history of Cuba, it's eclectic cultural mix of music, people and spirit, we thought it necessary to use a product that pays tribute to the Master Blenders of rum making in the Caribbean and fuse it with liquors and aperitifs from around the world. Just as the culture today in Cuba has been influenced by travelers from far and wide, this cocktail, the Son Cubano Daiquiri, (which is a style of music that originated in Cuba) epitomizes the monumental changes and arduous evolution in this small yet resilient Caribbean island. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron

1/2 oz Vya sweet vermouth

1/2 oz Alvear amontillado

3 bar spoons raw sugar

3 large lime wedges 

1 dash orinoco bitters 

Method:

Place sugar and limes into a shaker tin. Muddle until sugar has dissolved. Add all other ingredients. Add ice. Shake to the rhythm of the clave and double strain into a coupe. 

Chan Chan

"This song wasn't just composed, it was dreamt", states composer Compay Segundo. Sometimes he woke up with a melody in his head. He heard instruments, all very clear. He'd look over the balcony and see nobody, but still hear it as if it was being played right there on the street. The foundation of the song revolves around 4 sensitive notes that grab you in an instant when heard, like a powerful sermon spoken in a voice of a distinguished Cardinal. The lyric is inspired by a children's tale of Juanica and Chan Chan who are building a house and go to the beach to get some sand. Chan Chan collects the sand and puts it on the jibe (a sieve for sand). Juanica shakes it, and to do so she shakes herself, making Chan Chan aroused. The song also speaks of travels through towns near each other in the Holguín Province on the east side of Cuba. A common occurrence in Son to mention Cuban toponyms. From Alto Cedro to Marcané and Cueto to Mayarí the repeated chorus sounds on like an ancient march making you feel like you've seen all the history of the world in four minutes and seventeen seconds. Drinking a "Son Cubano" with the Californian sweet vermouth, Spanish amontillado, Puerto Rican Rum, Orinoco bitters that flow from the Venezuelan river, Cuban sugar and lime, is sure to teleport you through time as you enter into the Chan Chan. 

This wonderful bottle was given to
Tunes and Tonic
by Alyssa Dupre of Bacardi
Thank you!

Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron

This is a super-premium mixing rum launched in the spring of 2015. Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron is a tribute to the Master Blenders that have protected the secrets of the family's rum-making process for more than one hundred and fifty years. Inspired by the pursuit of creating the ultimate white mixing rum, Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron is expertly crafted using a double-aging process, where rums that are aged for at least one year are blended together and returned to white oak barrels for an additional three months. The result is an expertly blended white rum ideal for elevating simple cocktails. Bacardi has an interesting history.  Their symbol, the bat, was decided by Doña Amalia Bacardi to be used when she spotted fruit bats in the family's distillery. The bat had always been a symbol of good fortune. In 1919, the U.S. banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The Bacardi's had some ideas of their own; they invited Americans to Cuba for legendary weekend long parties. Their business was still booming despite prohibition for years until 1960 when the revolutionary regime in Cuba illegally confiscated all the Bacardi Company's Cuban assets. They were given no compensation and were forced out of the country. The Bacardi's lost their business and their home, but as history has proven, not their spirit. They simply just started over in a new location.  

Vya

The recipe behind Vya Vermouth is a secret. Only natural ingredients are used: whole herbs, wine and grape spirit. The exact 15 to 20 varieties of herbs, proportions and infusions are all stored away in winemaker Michael Blaylock's notes. This secret recipe is tweaked from year to year as, for example, the character of the cinnamon from Mexico brings in a needed dimension. The harvest quality of the grapes also fluctuates each year, but in spite of changing conditions, the quality and flavor of the Vya remain consistent. Through his own nose, as well as meticulous math equations and careful oversight, Blaylock manages the production of Vya and assures consumers that when they buy a bottle of Vya, their expectations will be met. A little anecdote about this product; as Andrew Quady, the founder of Quady winery and maker of the first Vya Vermouth, in the year 2000, gave a taste of his creation to one of the worlds leading wine critics, the man sipped, then with amazement and utter curiosity asked, "What is this?" Quady then exclaimed, "It's Vermouth, You Ass!" Then named it accordingly. 

Amontillado
From the Alvear winery in Jerez, Spain, this non-vintage Amontillado Carlos VII is far superior to the regular bottling. From a 25-year old Solera system, it's medium to dark amber color is accompanied by a medium to full-bodied sherry revealing loads of pungent, earthy, nutty notes, a slightly oxidized character, and a long, persistent finish.

Son Cubano (music)

Son Cubano is a style of music and dance that originated in Cuba and gained worldwide popularity in the 1930's. Son combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu origin. The Cuban Son is one of the most influential and widespread forms of Latin American music. The word "son" translated from Spanish to English means "rhythm".

Buena Vista Social Club
As Cuban revolutions go, it was an entirely peaceable uprising- but it's impact could not have been more profound. On the release of the Buena Vista Social Club album in 1997, few outside the specialist world music audience initially took much notice of the record's elegantly sculpted tunes and warm, acoustic rhythms. Then something extraordinary occurred. The album was spectacularly reviewed by a few discerning critics, but although their words of praise did Buena Vista's cause no harm, they cannot explain what subsequently happened. Good reviews create an early surge in sales, but unless it's a big pop release sustained by an expensive tv ad campaign, the established pattern is that interest then slowly tails off. Instead, Buena Vista's sales figures kept rising week by week, building almost entirely by word-of-mouth until it achieved critical mass: all who heard the record not only fell in love with Buena Vista's irresistible magic, but were then inspired to play or recommend the album to everyone they knew. Once you heard it, you had to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by the music's romantic impulses and uninhibited exuberance.

Compay Segundo

Compay Segundo (November 18, 1907- July 13, 2003) was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer and composer. He was also the inventor of thearmónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument, created to eliminate a harmonic jump in the Spanish guitar and the tres. In the 1950's, he became well known as the second voice and tres player in Los Compadres, a duo he formed with Lorenzo Hierrezuelo in 1947. Los Compadres were one of the most successful Cuban duos of their time. Greater international fame came later, in 1997, with the release of The Buena Vista Social Club album, a hugely successful recording which won several grammy awards. Segundo's most famous composition is "Chan Chan", the opening track on the album, whose four opening chords are instantly recognizable all over the world. "Chan Chan" was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists. At a fiesta, he sang to President Fidel Castro, who took his pulse and joked about his vitality despite his 90-plus years. "Who could have imagined that?" he asked, when he found himself at the Vatican City, performing "Chan Chan" before Pope John Paul II. He explained his longevity simply: mutton consommé and a drink of rum. He predicted he would live to be 115, but died of kidney failure in Havana, 20 years short of his ambition.

We greatly enjoyed experimenting with this weeks featured spirit. It was a delight to pair it with such a significant song in the history of music that proves it's still possible in this day and age to create truly quality music and achieve great acclaim without millions of dollars and a giant record label backing the project.

Drink up this wondrous concoction with all the mastery and valiance it represents, burning brightly in your mind.

Salud!

Henry & Jehiah