Boy oh boy, have we got great things in store for our lovely Lushly customers! Check out the updates and new additions [in bold] to our calendar of events for the next two months:

August 20th: Jim Beam bourbon celebration and BBQ with Fred Noe, Booker’s son. FREE! 7-9 PM
August 23rd: Maryland-style Blue Crab Boil served family style with traditional sides and hand-selected pairings. Market Price, but between $50-100.
August 29th: Join Lush and Sonja from North Shore Distillery to sample their world-class, local spirits and their brand spankin’ new absinthe ‘Sirene’. FREE!
September 14th: Oysterbration. Buckets and buckets of ‘em, with wine pairings to boot. Market price.
September 20th: PAX and Pig. A vertical of highly acclaimed wine with succulent swine. Price TBD.
September 26th: Sine Qua Non. Super super super rare vertical tasting. Do not miss this. Price TBD.
September 27th: Champagne and Fried Chicken. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it–a miraculous pairing! Price TBD

Right now, that would be the Rogue Hazlenut Brown Ale. Wow. Perfect way to finish off my evening…watching the Olympics, chilling with the pup, and drinking a full bodied, sweet and nutty brown. Ah.

I also have a bottle of the new vintage, 2006, D’Arenber ‘Derelict’ Grenache from Australia. These kids found an old, derelict vineyard full of ancient, crochety vines. Thus followed a bit of pampering, coaxing, and convincing to produce a bit of fruit and juice to fit in a few bottles…and let me tell you, yum. Berries and spice and minerals, as well as that ‘old vine’ earthy taste that is just ethereal and tasty. The 2006 is already drinking beautifully, which is a bit surpising since I always except this bottle to be shy upon opening. The 2005 is rocking it out, too. Try one.

The newest, most exciting wine to hit the shelves at Lush has been the Dirler Pinot Noir Cepage…a WHITE Pinot Noir from Alsace, France. Holy crap. This made me stop, put down the glass, pick it up and sniff some more, and then taste again…then dump it into a real Pinot glass and repeat. Delicious. Weird. This is my kind of wine.

On another subject, my dear friends gifted me a certificate to visit ‘Foodstuffs’ in Evanston. I had no idea what the shop was until I walked in and wanted to plunk down and camp out. Spendy, yes, but super delicious treats all around in a tiny, boxy store. I’ve been munching through extremely fresh and uber ripe organic blackberrys, freaking awesome tomatoes on the vine, sugar peas, fresh mozzarella, and day old bread. We also picked up tomato/basil chicken sausages that were quite nice on the Lush Halsted patio with beer.

Beer. Wine. And food.

Oh, wait, I forgot the liquor…I just picked up the Square One Cucumber Vodka…organic rye and cucumbers from Iowa, distilled in Idaho. Fresh and fun, and vodka. But, TimeOut beat me to the punch. Grab this before the long summer days and lovely weather dwindle! Play with some cocktail ideas, too.

Good talk.

Cin cin,

Rachel

It’s a red wine, and it’s a really interesting one. It looks different in the glass, an odd shade of red that makes me think “nuclear” even though that doesn’t make any sense. It smells, well, it smells a LOT; the kind of smell that gets stuck in the back of your mouth where your nasal cavity meets your throat. When I put the glass to my lips, I imagine a lit Molotov cocktail wrapped in velvet and landing in a vat of raspberries. I like it, even though it’s not really my preferred style. It’s a spectacle, like the TMZ show or when my upstairs neighbors fight. It’s the Brochelle Syrah, and I’m trying to tell you what I experience when I drink it.

Writing reviews, criticism or tasting notes on wines is easy to do and difficult to do well. The strategies on relating the experience of drinking a wine are as varied as the results. The newest issue of the Wine Advocate newsletter arrived at the store last week, and Robert Parker (arguably the world’s most influential wine critic) had this to say about the 2005 Brochelle Syrah:

A deep ruby/purple color is followed by notes of creamy black currant fruit intermixed with spring flowers, tar, and earth. Full-bodied, broad, and savory, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol, this seriously-endowed, pure, textured beauty can be enjoyed over the next 7-8 years. 91 points.

This is now a somewhat standard approach to wine writing, especially amongst retailers trying to sell bottles. Identify the main flavors and some auxillary ones (to the best of your ability), convey to the reader a sense of what it is like to drink that bottle, and then slap a score on that bad boy. Hopefully your readers happen to be chewing on some tar and hyacinth while reading so they can get the idea.

Increasingly, however, wine critics, customers and advocates are experimenting with different ways to relate the experience one has when drinking a certain bottle. I, for example, created the following “tasting note” for the Brochelle Syrah back in May (notice how Parker and I both emphasized the “well-endowed” nature of the wine. Now paging Dr. Freud!). The idea of pairing wine reviews with visual art is taken even further by ChateauPetrogasm.com, a site whose reviews consist entirely of a five-star rating system and a picture to match.

Undoubtedly, the crown prince of wine rakishness of the moment has to be Gary Vaynerchuk, the host of the popular video blog winelibrary.tv. Vaynerchuk is the poster child of the much ballyhooed “Millenials,” the group of wine consumers under the age of 35 who tend to approach wine and it’s appreciation in an unconventional manner. Vaynerchuk has likely ascended to his level of popularity due to his blending of older and more avant garde styles of wine criticism–he focuses on typical fruit/chemical/wood flavors in wines and punctuates reviews with a numerical score, but he’ll also point out which wines bring the thunder and which don’t.  It’s hard to say which method wins him more fans, but the combination has been successful to say the least.

My interest in this topic stems directly from personal experience.  Day after day, I find myself in the store helping customers, trying every method I can dream up to help people have the best wine experience possible.  I’m much more prone to storytelling than taste micro-analysis, hence the difference in tasting notes between myself and ol’ Bob Parker listed above.  What I wonder is, how can I get better?  What additional questions do I need to ask, what information can I provide to give a fuller impression of what the next 750ml have in store for you?

Mitch, the resident philosopher (and proprietor!) of Lush is a staunch advocate of the belief that taste is subjective and that any attempt to create a universal, unflinching lexicon referencing it is a waste of time.  This is easy an easy theory to accept, a harder one to practice.  How can you accurately recommend a wine if you’ve embraced the philosophy that it will taste totally different to everyone that consumes it?  Lush was created with the intention of removing some of the snobby pretension that surrounds the wine industry, and abandoning obtuse language is certainly a part of that process.  There is no dictionary of wine flavors or reference chart for taste, and behaving as if one exists alienates and discourages wine drinkers of all levels of experience.  We can have a wine summarized for us, but never hear its transcript read.

How hard is it for me to tell you what is in my mouth?  Not nearly as hard, apparently, as it is for me to tell you what is on my mind.  I started this blog post over a month ago, and I haven’t yet figured out a way to finish it.  No universal truth discovered.  No absolute solution developed.  So, in the interest of putting this post out of it’s misery, I’ll finish with this; Thank you, wine, for your subtlety.  In a world where things are so often easily measured, explained, and categorized by experts, you have the ability to trip up even the best of us.  I have a lifetime of loving, selling, and celebrating wine ahead of me, and apparently I’ll have to do it with only the rough and unremarkable vocabulary available to me.  All the better to remind me that the only thing that matters is what you have in your glass.

Cheers!

Lance

That art and wine come hand in hand is not often questioned: after all, what mental image of a gallery opening is complete without people schmoozing, admiring the artists’ works, glass in hand?

So, this and every second Friday, go check out the fantastic galleries just south of us on Halsted in the Pilsen Arts District. Then make your way back up and join us on the patio for a relaxing bottle or three. Cheers!

Come celebrate the dog days of summer with Lush and your favorite canine! That’s right, we are hosting a doggie social on our grassy patio on Friday, July 25th. Well-behaved dogs and owners can come to Lush on Halsted from 6-9 PM. We’ll be featuring both dog and human treats; the latter will include Two Brothers’ Dog Days Dortmunder-style lager, and Dunham Cellars’ Four Legged White and Three Legged Red, among other themed bottles available for purchase to enjoy outside. Woof!

Contrary to what people must think about us lushes, there are times and places when we just don’t want wine. Saturday morning, when I’ve just arrived at work, is one of them. Coffee? Yes. Water? Yes. Wine? Not so much. Highly alcoholic fruit bombs? Especially not.

That’s why I wasn’t exceptionally thrilled to be given two new Aussie wines to try this past Saturday morning. Australian red, bless its heart, tends to be big, bold, fruit forward, and peppery. DELICIOUS, but aggressive and in-your-face, nonetheless.

I was quite pleasantly surprised to taste the two reds that I present to you today: the Vinaceous 2006 Red Right Hand from South Australia, a blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Tempranillo, and the Vinaceous 2006 Snake Charmer, which is 100% Shiraz. Vinaceous is a new winery in Perth, and these two bottlings are their first ever (and what pretty bottlings they are!).

Both were complex and interesting wines that did not rely on excess fruit or tannin for charm. The Red Right Hand had a lovely nose of red fruits and baking spices, which gave way to a juicy, understated, and persistent palate of soft spice and plum. The Snake Charmer had a super floral nose (so fun!) and a strong mineral backbone that held up its savory berry fruit.

Well, I’ve found my Saturday morning wine. (A good thing? Probably not.) And they’ll be available to you later on this summer (both at less than $25 too!). Sorry for the teaser, but I just wanted to share my excitement.

Cheers, j.

Posted by Jane.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The cowbell playing howler monkey and the Lush staff presents…St. George Absinthe Verte!  Drink green, trust me.  It is legal, and back with a mean, green vengence.  Check it out at swanky Chicago bars or ask your favorite, trusty bartender to snatch up a few bottles of this baby and make you delectable, delirious green cocktails.  St. George, the first and perhaps only American-made Absinthe, is made by the master distiller behind Hangar One…seriously limited production and availability on the verte.  The flavors are intense, complex, and balanced.   

Official tasting notes:

St. George Spirits Absinthe Verte is made with fine brandy, star anise, mint, wormwood, lemon balm, hyssop, meadowsweet, basil, fennel, tarragon and stinging nettles. This infamous liquor reveals seductive flavors of anise complimented with sweet grassy tones, light citrus, white pepper, and light menthol notes.

‘At 120-proof, the sage-colored spirit is a monster, but cut with some cold water it revealed complex layers of hyssop, lemon balm and all sorts of anisey, licoricey action derived from star fennel, tarragon and—naturally—wormwood. For anyone who’s only drunk sweet, synthetic-tasting ersatz “absinthe,” give the spirit another chance. It took Winters and his team 32 tries (and eight official rejections from the TTB, which approves all alcoholic-beverage packaging) to get the bottle and label for his Absinthe Verte approved. One of the earlier versions featured a howling monkey beating a human skull with femur bones. The TTB rejected this display of primal percussion, so Winters swapped a the skull out for a cowbell—a reference to the most-quoted Saturday Night Live skit of the YouTube era. When the TTB rejected the human skull version, Winters said, “I asked them: ‘How about a monkey wearing a suit, reclining in a wingback chair?’ They said, ‘Fine.’ The TTB doesn’t have a tremendous sense of humor. They’re like a bunch of nuns. I don’t think they got the cowbell thing, either.”’ (http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/mouthing-off/2008/3/12/St-George-Absinthe-Now-With-60-Percent-More-Cowbell)

Give the green fairy a high five for me!  Get creative with your cocktail skills and try it yourself…throw an absinthe party and get wild.  Love it.  Drink it.  Share it.

Cheers,

Rachel Lea Driver

We at Lush like the quirkier holidays. Join us this weekend for a three-day-long Bastille Day festival. Here’s the lineup:

Friday 11 juillet
French cider, beer, and sparkling wines to kick off the festivities and heighten the mood at our Roscoe and Halsted locations. Getting artsy at the Chicago Arts District’s Second Friday Art Walk? Head a few blocks north on Halsted afterward and get boozy on the UV patio with your favorite Francophile Lushes.

Saturday 12 juillet
Think pink! French rosé is all the rage. Come see what it’s all about at both shops, and taste the most refreshing, versatile, food-friendly wine out there.

Sunday 13 juillet
The peasant uprising! Who needs aristocratic Bordeaux and Burgundy when the unsung heroes of Languedoc, Rhone, Cotes Catalanes, and Loire are the true heart and soul of French winemaking? Celebrate the Third Estate; come storm LUSH and nosh on homemade crepes, only five bucks apiece. Extended hours for celebrating: 2-7 PM.

Baguettes will be on hand all weekend. Berets are, of course, encouraged.

A bientot!

Earwax Cafe

After spending most of yesterday ducking the heat (and saving money!) by hanging out in the libarary, the gym, and our neighborhood pool, my fiance and I decided to take a break from cooking and grab a bite to eat elsewhere.  Not really concerned with the type of cuisine, we instead prioritized that the place be 1) inexpensive (saving for the wedding!), 2) a BYOB, and 3) airconditioned.  Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

Fortunately, between the open windows and huge shop fans, the lack of A/C was noticeable but not a deal-breaker.  Put it this way: the nuclear color scheme of the restaurant will overwhelm your senses before the air temperature does.

Earwax is certainly the most casual BYOB featured on this blog to date–the majority of the offerings seem to be sandwiches, burgers and other simple fare.  Vegan- and vegetarian-friendly plates are plentiful.  I had a good Sloppy Seitan and my fiance enjoyed a jerk chicken sandwich.  Both went well with the Belgian Triple and Doppelbock that we split.  The highlight of the meal was an outstanding vegan raspberry and chocolate cake from Lush-favorite Tipsycake.  The breakfast menu appealed to the brunch fiend part of me, but that’s another post for another day.

Earwax was exactly what I was looking for: affordable, quick, colorful, and willing to let me drink my own beer.  I was in the mood for a good, vegetarian dish, and Earwax had options to spare.  Swing by here  next time you’re in the same mood, and make sure you’re wearing short sleeves (or sitting in front of the fan).

Earwax Cafe

1561 N Milwaukee Ave

(773) 772-4019

Posted by Lance

Just as Lance was repping Mado (and, by proxy, his neighborhood) I too would like to talk up mine, and one of my favorite new restaurants.

On Sunday I took a short trip down 18th Street, past some of my usual stops. Joined by a dear friend from out of town as well as a great bottle from Lush, the 2005 Jaume Mesquida, a floral, light-bodied red from Mallorca, Spain, we headed over to Mundial Cocina Mestiza, still full of pleased-looking diners at 8.30 on a hot Sunday night.

The hostess sat us in the back space, which lacks the people-watcher’s boon of the front room: great big windows looking out onto 18th Street. But long absences mean lots of catching up to do, so for us, the quiet and cozy back room served us well. A very sweet waitress then came over with menus, and expertly opened the bottle–something I usually try and do myself, which, admittedly, is rude. Sometimes it’s hard to relinquish control when you open bottles for a living, folks. I digress.

It took my dining partner and I a solid fifteen minutes to decide on what to choose. Upon recommendation of another friend, we chose to split the Tamal de Elote, a luscious, unwrapped tamale made with sweet, fresh corn. I ended up going with the Flor de Calabaza empanadas, filled with delicious squash blossoms and cuitlacoche, that disturbingly good edible infectious corn disease. I also got the Ensalada de Trucha Ahumada, a tasty mix of greens, smoked trout, and braised fennel. A perfect summer choice–light, tasty, and excellent with the wine we brought. My partner in gastro-crime was also excited about his braised oxtail gnocchi. Neither of us had room for anything more than some cinnamon-spiked coffee, but next time I’ll be sure to leave some room.

“Cocina mestiza” means mixed cuisine, and it’s fair to say that this little spot on 18th Street creatively and successfully blends Latin American and Mediterranean fare, all for prices that would make any Bucktown resident (take that, Lance!) wish they had also moved to Pilsen. Don’t worry, though: Mundial is a thirty second walk from the Pink Line, so you can visit whenever you like. Come hungry!

Mundial Cocina Mestiza
1640 W 18th St
312-491-9908

Posted by Erin