The label has been officially released by Firestone Walker and day by day, we come one step closer to their 15th anniversary ale. “XV”, which is a blend of barrel aged beers, should debut in November.

Stay tuned …

Grand Marnier Quintessence

Since its introduction in 1880, Grand Marnier has been an icon for French spirits and has been residing happily as a top-shelf liqueur ever since. A blend of true Cognacs and the distilled essence of bitter orange, the possibilities with Grand Marnier are endless.

Today, Grand Marnier has just announced the upcoming release of Grand Marnier Quintessence, their first new expression of Grand Marnier since the release of Cent-Cinquantenaire to mark their 150th anniversary in 1977 and Mutineer Magazine is here to breakdown this new libation. As said, Grand Marnier is a blend of Cognacs and the distilled essence of bitter orange, so let’s start with the Cognac.

The Cognacs used to create Quintessence are sourced from Grand Champagne, the most prestigious cru zone in the Cognac region. The age of these cognacs is from 25 to 100 years and have been carefully selected from the Grand Marnier Paradise. Specifically selecting our 1906 Grande Champagne and the 1955 Grande Champagne for the blend. Paradise is a special cellar where all our extra old cognacs are stored. In order to preserve absolute quality from the vintage, the cognac is actually taken out of the barrel after reaching maturity and put in large glass containers and then transferred to the Paradise Cellar. The oldest of our Paradise cognacs is 1875.

More than 20 lots of different Cognacs are included in the final product. Next, comes the orange perfume of Quintessence.

Grand Marnier has used the same bitter oranges selected for all of the brand’s marques. However, to produce Quintessence, a unique, exacting and time-honored Marnier recipe, called “double parfum,” has been implemented. This perfume is very delicate, subtle, fresh and richer than the traditional perfume. To create the “double parfum,” orange peels are macerated with the perfume of the first distillation. This is followed by a second distillation to further refine the flavor and produce the final result: an amazingly tantalizing and delicious flavor.

And lastly, Grand Marnier Quintessence goes to barrels to rest.

Finally, the Cognacs, “double parfum” of orange and sugar are blended together to create the perfect balance and elicit the most beguiling flavor. This is followed by the “marriage time” as the blend ages in small French oak casks. At the end of this marrying period (12 months), the cognac and the perfume are judged to have reached the perfect harmony.

Quintessence is a limited expression that will be on shelves in September selling for $799.99 a bottle.

This week’s installment of The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess brought to you by the Small Screen Network brings you the Tequila Old Fashioned. According to Robert Hess, “Think there is only one way to make an Old Fashioned? Think again. Unlike drinks such as the Martini, Margarita, and Daiquiri which have fairly specific recipes, the “Old Fashioned” emerged during the late 1800′s as a way to refer to a cocktail as it was originally made in the “old days”. The old cocktail books would refer to “Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail” so there was no confusion as to what spirit to use. While today it is simply assumed that Whiskey will be the ingredient in your Old Fashioned (or Brandy if you are from Minnesota), that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this style of cocktail with other spirits. So join me as I make mine with Tequila. And since cocktails should be all about celebrating the spirit, I’ll be using a quality tequila, specifically Hornitos 100% blue agave tequila.”

Since July is National Tequila Month and the theme for this #MutineerMonday is Tequila, what better way to spend it than by learning from Robert Hess how to make a Tequila Old Fashioned … and then drinking it, of course!

Tequila Old Fashioned

• 1 tsp. agave syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2oz tequila

Instructions

• Stir with ice
• Strain into a cocktail glass
• Garnish with lemon twist

The mission of Mutineer Monday is to advocate and promote the fine beverage industry by challenging the masses to “Join The Mutiny” and raise a glass (whether it be alcohol or non) to igniting and inspiring a fine beverage revolution!

Each week, we reach out to our readers, our Twitter followers, our Facebook fans, our contributors, our favorite bloggers and writers, and even our own team — asking everyone to share how they will be partaking in Mutineer Monday. To participate, all one needs to do is indulge in a delicious fine beverage (or two or three) and leave a comment on our blog, on our Facebook wall, or give a shout-out on Twitter using the hashtag #MutineerMonday (and #JoinTheMutiny if you have enough characters). And if you are feeling particularly ambitious, feel free to do all three!

Since July is National Tequila Month, today’s #MutineerMonday theme is tequila. What’s your favorite tequila? What’s your favorite type; blanco, joven, reposado, añejo, extra añejo? Do you have a favorite tequila based cocktail?

Let us know!

Say that ten times fast.

It’s not all fun in the land of beer-bottle-stuffed-squirrels and 55% ABV beer as was proven today via @BrewDogJames on Twitter.

The tweet read:

And with that, gallons and gallons of Brewdog’s 5am Saint were lost.

Before the incident:

And after the incident:

Bummer.

It’s no surprise that people in Washington state want liquor reform and the privatization of liquor sales, and that is made evident with the support of two initiatives, Costco backed Initiative 1100 and Initiative 1105, both of which failed last year with 53% and 65% of voters voting against them, but with how close I-1100 was is proof that people are tired of the monopoly that the Washington State Liquor Control Board has on liquor within the state. Even with people being tired of that monopoly and wanting privatization, many didn’t agree with the manner in which I-1100 and I-1105 proposed it be done, which is why it may not have passed. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire herself was opposed to both I-1100 and I-1105, but she went on to say “Do I think that we should reform liquor? Yes. And I would expect the legislature to pick up where the voters left off and still do something important in that area.”

With that said, sponsors for Initiative 1183 announced today that they estimated they turned in nearly 350,000 signatures to qualify the the new liquor privatization initiative for the November ballot. According to The Seattle Times, “I-1183 would close state liquor stores and sell their assets, including the liquor-distribution center. It would allow private stores to sell liquor and create licensing fees for sale and distribution of liquor based on sales revenues. Costco is the main backer, providing most of the more than $950,000 in cash and in-kind contributions raised so far.” Like last year’s Costco Wholesale Corp. backed I-1100, Costco is promoting I-1183 along with the Washington Restaurant Association, the Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Retail Association.

As with last year, a group called Protect Our Communities will campaign against the measure and they will use scare tactics and false figures of how readily attainable hard liquor will be for minors and the increased amount of drunk drivers on the road. I’m already looking forward to their campaigns …

Mutineer will be watching this one with interest. Stay tuned.

What’s going on out there in the blogosphere? Here’s a few things that caught our attention.

• Sixpoint Cans Have Barcodes Like No Other
• Wine Review Online: Q & A With Paul Dolan
• Discussion boils over on Clown Shoes Beer labels
• Alcohol brands using Facebook Sponsored Stories risk sanction
• Can TTB Keep Up With Wine Industry?
• Case Study: #Chardonnay Day Recap

Cruising around on Twitter today, I came across the link for this video. I had seen it previously a year ago but I had forgotten about it until now and I felt that it was worth sharing. With that, I leave you with the description of the video from the creator:

Transportation and simple living are two of my favorite soapboxes. With this project, I want to dispel the notion that bikes are difficult, dangerous, impractical, etc. So I rode my bike, with an empty keg in tow, to my favorite local craft brewery (Stone Brewing). We had a couple of beers, and talked to the folks there about their commitment to sustainability. Then I loaded up a fresh keg, and pedaled it home 17 miles over some consequential elevation changes. I don’t expect everyone to drag a 160lb keg up a steep hill on a bicycle, but I see my neighbors driving 1/4 mile from their homes to go to Vons, carrying their groceries away in plastic bags. Then they drive back to the same shopping center to get their requisite exercise at 24hr fitness. I just want to convince them to bike or walk that 1/4 mile to Vons to fill up a backpack with useful brew. At once they’ll save time and money, and reduce dependence on oil and pollution going into our oceans.