WV Gourmet

The famous Belgian beer, Chimay has finally made it to the liquor stores and bars of West Virginia. Many of you may have heard about it, but never tried it. There are three varieties available in the States: red label, blue label, and white label. Here are my thoughts:

Chimay Red in the little bottle is really good. On tap and from the big bottle, it’s too clovey.

The Blue is sort of okay, but nothing special.

The White, like all trippels, sucks balls.

*Rich Ireland’s more rosey view can be found here.

The editorial staff at WV Gourmet are all fans of the greatest spirit in the known universe, gin.  You may have noticed that the folks at Rogue (famous for  their beers) have gotten into the liquor game and said liquors are now available at some of the finer establishments in Charleston.*  You may have also noticed that they offer no less than two gins – their “Spruce Gin” and their “Pink Spruce Gin”.  I saw these and was immediately intrigued.  I was also taken aback by the $30+ price tag.  After some deliberation, I bought both, on two separate occasions, and have now run each through the ringer as a martini and as a gin and tonic.  

Rogue Gins on display at the liquor store on Patrick Street

The Spruce Gin tastes just like a gin should – lots of pine up front, with some citrus and other interesting flavors (cucumber was one) from the botanicals in the finish.  It is also a real gin, weighing in at a nice 94 proof.** 

The Pink Gin is the same gin, but it was aged in pinot noir barrels for a few months.  Rogue comes from Oregon, and Oregon is Pinot country, so this makes sense to me.  Aside from giving it a pink hue, the barrel aging also imparts a softness to the gin.  It still has the gin attributes, but the have been a bit subdued and are a bit more gentle here than in the regular gin.  The martini was good, but this stuff really shined with the tonic.  Also, due to the pinkish hue, people may think you’re drinking a cosmopolitan if you’ve got it served in a martini glass, and you really wouldn’t want that. 

*Actually, the only place I’ve seen them is at the liquor street on Patrick Street.

** While gins that are under 90 proof can be quite good, they aren’t quite the same as their 90+ proof bretheren.