Farm to Glass 2
Last time we did a farm to glass
piece the focus was on blue corn, and lavender exclusively. Well after thinking
about it, I realized I had so much fun working on that piece that I couldn’t
wait to do another one, only this time expand not only the ingredients, but
also the variety of beverages. While this type of blog will be ongoing piece
and I will be trying multiple drinks featuring New Mexico ingredients here are
some of my favorites that I have had recently.
To start there are 2 ingredients
I was very intrigued to see in beverages, and those are pinon and red chile.
Zia Soda uses both though in their Pinon Cola and Red Chile Ginger Ale. In
addition, this is a high-quality soda using natural ingredients, so I was ok
with drinking it. The Pinon Cola was amazing, and I was surprised by it in so
many ways. For starters they don’t use caramel coloring so the cola was clear,
but the taste was what every cola should strive to be. The pinon flavor was
front and center making this a very rich drink, but they also add lime zest to
give it a bright flavor. While this is not something I could drink a lot of, it
is something I would have again. The Red Chile Ginger Ale was also full of
flavor, and incredibly spicy. Again, using great ingredients this soda has
layers of spice from the ginger, and then a heat in the aftertaste from the
chile. Again, this soda had lime in it as well, so it had a much need acidic
taste to balance it out. The only way to describe this is unique, but worth
trying.
Another ingredient I am very fond
of is the prickly pear, and the number of drinks that can feature this
ingredient is abundant. One of the ways I recently enjoyed this was
surprisingly in a hard cider from Black Mesa Winery. Thankfully this was a dry
cider, but it poured that beautiful pink color making it unmistakable what was
in this cider. The flavor was very good, the sweetness of the apple, tartness
of the prickly pear, and dry cider base all worked perfectly together creating
a very refreshing sip. If you are a cider fan I highly recommend finding and
trying this one. It is one I will have again, and I wish I bought more than one
bottle. One of the first times I tried prickly pear was years ago in a
margarita, and to this day it is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it. While
there are several good ones out there my favorite has come from Church Street
Café in Old Town. It is a great tequila, and the lime with prickly pear creates
a tart, but delicious sip.
One thing that continues to
surprise me is how much lavender is used in food and drinks down here, but when
it is used right it is delicious. Recently one of my favorite breweries Ex Novo
release Honey, I Lav You a honey lavender Kolsch using the main ingredient from
Los Poblanos. All I can say is, if this beer is available, it is a must try. It
is light, crisp, sweet, has a subtle citrus flavor, and is the perfect amount
of floral from the main ingredient. I can’t recommend this beer enough, and my
only hope is that it will be made more regularly. One way I have found myself
enjoying lavender a lot lately though has been in coffee. Thankfully, there are
lots of local coffee shops that offer it as a flavor, but one that stands out
above them all is from Blackbird Coffee in Old Town. This is a latte featuring
sea salt, lavender, and caramel. The only way to describe it is very complex
with floral, sweet, and salty combining with the bitterness of the coffee. It
is a very rich drink but will become a regular of mine when I’m in Old Town.
Like I stated previously in this
blog this is going to be an ongoing series and I cannot wait to see what
delicious drinks I find next. I’m sure lavender will be a big part of that as
it is quickly becoming one of my favorite flavors, but the fun in these pieces
is that I don’t know what I will find. All I know is that it is time to start
exploring bars, restaurants, and coffee shops to find what might be a new favorite.
To be continued.
To see photos of my adventures follow me on Instagram at
the_nm_tx
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