A Great Day
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Le Nez du Cafe
Tuesday, February 3rd will probably be tough to beat for the Nova Roasters. Despite rough sledding during the day jobs, we picked up a new restaurant account in Blacksburg, attended the inaugural Bourbon Club meeting at the London Underground, and taught a cupping class at Virginia Tech’s Coffee College to an enthusiastic group of Hokies.
As part of the 20th anniversary celebration at Blackburg’s only real pub, bartender and manager John Bissey has organized a month-long course of bourbon tastings. The meetings are every Tuesday in February and will feature a wide range of single barrel bourbons from the best distilleries in Kentucky. We started off with a glass of Woodford Reserve and enjoyed its distinct apricot and vanilla flavors. Those of us lucky enough to brave the blast of Blacksburg winter were then presented with a pour from the Elijah Craig 18-year-old. I’ve had the 12-year-old, but I was unprepared for the intense caramel and oak, the long, slow heat and candied almond flavor. To better understand these bourbons, John had spring water (trying to get some branch water for next week) and ice, the only additives grudgingly approved by distillers. Wisely, he also served up a fantastic white cheddar with some apple and bread slices. We each took home a commemorative rocks glass which right now sits on my desk, sadly, empty.
Virginia Tech’s Coffee College is organized by Don Harvey of Deet’s place and Nova Roast’s Brian Babcock. Again the weather was not enough to keep the coffee-curious away. (For background, read the old Planet Blacksburg entry here.) Tuesday’s class was an introduction to roasting, blending and cupping, with heavy emphasis on cupping. The lucky group of students that turned out were presented flights of Yirgacheffe, Sumatra and Colombia and a comparison of three different roast levels of Selva Negra. The class was quiet at first, but once the coffees started brewing they came alive and many students really nailed the different characteristics of each coffee. Wouldn’t be surprised if several from this group found careers as specialty coffee professionals.
