The Lock-In

Curious Cartel

The Wanderer

Sydney, Australia

December 22, 2018

First things first: Curious Cartel is a conglomerate of seasoned creative types that have honed their respective crafts in the realms of production, specifically pulling the strings behind the scenes in the domain of TV productions. Their endeavours eventually evolved to a stage where they created their own idiosyncratic trademark offerings, which comprises immersive experiences, theatrics and the love for a good cocktail as common denominator, resulting in engaging events with a twist that lead the participants down rabbit holes.

The Lock-In is Curious Cartel’s recent incarnation. Heavily influenced by the TV show Stranger Things, a love for 1980ies nostalgia, science fiction, science and confined within escape room settings in Sydney’s Surry Hills, you got ninety minutes to solve puzzles and illuminate the mystery while being sustained by cocktails and a soundtrack from an era where shoulder pads reigned supreme.

Set against the backdrop of small town Indiana, you and your team work their way through a lab, an abandoned government facility and science class, The Lock-In takes more than a few pages from the Stranger Things, including an equivalent to the alternate dimension “Upside Down”. The fact that The Lock-In is more of a subtle homage than a mere rip-off contributes to the fun.

One of the things that struck me immediately was the production value and immaculate attention to detail as you are taken on a fully rounded journey simultaneously captivating and demanding,

With both big gestures and tiny references, The Lock-In is beautifully executed and both subtle and inspired.

Given the rich and condensed experience the heads behind Curious Cartel are able to create within the confines of the limited space they have at their disposal, I cannot wait to see what they are pulling next – hopefully on a bigger scale.

Water of life – Fortaleza Tequila

Let’s take the highway to Mexico to shed light on some premium tequila, shall we?

Disclaimer: When I talk of drinking tequila, naturally I do not mean the emission that you have to shoot and frame with salt and lemon to get it down your hatch. We are talking sippin’ and enjoying the finer nuances and flavours that unfold after it has been produced in a manner that honours traditions, i.e. using brick ovens, crushing agaves with large stone wheels and allowing for fermentation to happen in an open-air environment. Tequilas that are of a quality where mixing them for Margheritas would be blasphemy.

You do not “like tequila”? Well, you might have not tried good one yet then.

Enter Fortaleza Distillery.

Fortaleza’s unaged Blanco Tequila was the first of their range I have had the fortune to be exposed to. Its earthiness won me over straight away, which is flanked by sweeter blue Weber agave notes and a delightfully warm and finish. The fact that it is serenaded by an intriguing scent does not hurt either.

What meets the eye are Fortaleza’s hand-blown glass bottles, which not unlike the idiosyncratic unique bottle tops are made by artisans. The attention to detail is immense and the packaging is a natural extension of what the flavours promise.

Now, good start but let’s take it up a notch:

Fortaleza Añejo Tequila.

The main difference to the expression is the fact that it is being aged in wood oak barrels for up to three years.

It proves to be difficult to find something about this small batch drop from Guillermo Erickson Sauza’s Fortaleza Distillery: Aged for eighteen months, it comes with a complex melange of flavours that are expertly calibrated at the sweet spot between sweetness and profound light oak. Once it hits your tongue it feels velvety and the spicy caramel notes that meet fruity undertones makes it a near ideal sipping tequila, whose rewarding butterscotch finish leaves one lusting for more.

The Fortaleza family quartet is completed with a Blanco that hits a bit harder as it clocks in at Still strength and a silky, deliciously balanced Reposado variant, which follows the maxim of the Fortaleza Distillery, i.e. no additives, traditional artisanal production and resulting flavours that unfold their depths in every sip.

No matter if you are a Tequila aficionado or if you want to step up your game from the one with the plastic bottle top sombrero one, you’d be hard-pressed to find one of Fortaleza’s range of smooth and natural tequilas that will let you down.

Read more Water of Life entries here.

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Photo by T

Water of Life – Brix Distillery

What’s in a name? Before it gets too Shakespeare-an, let’s delve into science, shall we?

In a very confined nutshell, “Brix” is defined as the sweet tasting soluble carbohydrate content of watery solution, i.e. with one-degree Brix being equivalent to one gram of sucrose in hundred grams of liquid.

Given that the fine young gentlemen at the helm of Brix Distillery, i.e. Damien Barrow, James Christopher and Siddharth Soin, channel their alchemy to produce rum, the etymology informing their name makes perfect sense.

Tucked away in Sydney’s Surry Hills, their outlet is a welcoming nicely open and flowing melange of modern distillery, bar area and eatery framed by nicely curated, colourful yet tastefully subtle wall adornments that set the scene for a holistic operation that has the distilling of their core range of rums at its heart.

The equation: Different constituents informed by an overarching holistic approach result in a harmoniously themed whole.

The bar is an extension of Brix Distillery’s core business, proffering over hundred rums from all corners of this earthround with knowledgeable bar staff keen to assist to help induct the uninitiated and help aficionados undiscovered gems.

Fortified with a cocktail based on Brix’ White Rum, freshly crushed cane juice – the distillery’s own sugar cane press comes in handy - , lemon and soda a tour of the distillery par was given, were light was shed on how molasses from Queensland are mixed and heated with H2O before reducing the temperature in the fermentation tank where the result is mixed with a mix of champagne and Caribbean rum yeast. Once the yeast has down its job, the water / ethanol hybrid is channelled to the custom-made copper pot. The fact that the pot is multi-plated ensures that all impurities are removed and in the distillate being basically drinkable straight from the still. After diluting and condensing it further, the liquid emission is matured in ex wine barrels

After the tour, we were ushered to a mezzanine barrelling room where the blending exercise was to take place.

Sustenance came from in different courses, which not only drew on South American flavours but also offered cheese, whose texture and tastes help to highlight the subtler notes of the rums’ notes.

While a range of rums were at hand for the actual blending exercise, the unaged Brix White was a welcome starter: With its fresh aroma and the extensive fruitiness that unfolds itself on the palate, it culminates in a warm, elongated finish that I would not have expected from an unaged rum in this form. While I can see it making a great base for getting creative in the realm of cocktail mixing, it makes for a nice sipping rum.

However, my favourite of the evening was Brix Gold (40% ABV): A blend of five and eight-year-old rums sourced from Barbados aged in Bourbon casks.

Feeling normally more at home in whisk(e)y territory, I find it to be an immensely enjoyable sipping rum that with its tropical character and hints of vanilla underpinned by an oaky finish goes almost too well with a nice IPA.

Apparently, Brix Distillery has recently launched a spiced variety, which I am yet to experience, and which sounds interesting to the extent where it would warrant a separately dedicated feature.

Summa summarum, Brix Distillery and its emissions has firmly established itself on my radar – a radar whose coordinates are usually heavily informed by single malts and tequilas – so I can only imagine what a delightful experience it must be for the seasoned rum aficionado.

Read more Water of Life entries here.

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Photos by @k.a.vv

Agents of Faith – Votive Objects in Time and Place

BGC Yale University Press

Faith.

Offerings and tokens to express gratitude.

Infusing mundane objects with meaning and thus elevating them to another level.

The tome explores this practice and the objects that were made “ex voto” and casts its net wide across historical periods, religions, and cultures.

Roman Catholicism is a focus of this tome, as one would expect, but it gets interesting when not only individual religions are left behind but also religious belief. The book examines what inspires the creation of votive objects – the concerns, the hopes, the dreams, fears and how they have stayed the same as well as changed throughout the ages.

The sheer diversity of the votive objects, commonalities and differences of the age-old practice and its manifestations and the often very personal and idiosyncratic scenarios that inspired their inception before they become tokens enriched by the faith of millions, is fascinating.

Opulently illustrated and curated by Ittai Weinryb (Associate Professor at Bard Graduate Center) with Marianne Lamonaca (Chief Curator), and Caroline Hannah (Associate Curator at Bard Graduate Center Gallery), essays substantiated the feast for the eyes by exploring a variety of themes, time periods, and cultures.

Featuring hundreds of objects from two thousand years before Christ up to the twenty-first century from the new via the old to ancient worlds rooted in all of this earthround’s major religions make this book a thing of beauty and a votive object in itself.

Water of Life

Jameson IPA Caskmates / Launch at JJ’s Place

Ok, full disclosure.

I like a good boilermaker.

Ever since I got word about Jameson’s Caskmates series, a mild excitement welled up in me.

A justified one as their collaboration with local stalwarts Young Henrys was a delightful thing of beauty when it comes to hoppy influenced whiskies and whiskey infused beers.

The underlying idea is straight forward and based on an exchange of barrels between breweries and distilleries.

What on paper might sound straight forward – it is much more than a mere “beer with a shot” - is a complex affair that indicates the amount of calibration Jameson’s head distiller Brian Nation has invested in the creation.

Their most recent IPA Caskmates edition adds another layer of complexity to their game: A warmer and darker shade makes your acquaintance with a subtly aromatic nose, which rests on a solid bed of hops and oak.

Chewy and creamy, it serenades your palate and takes a surprisingly spicy detour that culminates in a beautiful sweet lingering fruity, smooooth finish.

As with previous Caskmates expressions, it is more-ish, easily drinkable and, if you are an IPA – and more importantly an Irish Pale Ale - aficionado, it is hard to go past it.

I specifically savour the citrusy notes the IPA left and, what I love most about a great IPA – hints of pine needles, which in this case via the marriage with Jameson result in dark chocolatey notes. Delicious.

What Jameson created is an utterly enjoyable liquid emission with an on-point flavour profile that leaves one lusting for more and with a very affordable price point, there is hardly any reason why your distinguished shelf should not be graced with a bottle or two.

Now, not a distillery to release a new expression quietly, Jameson did not merely host a launch event but a dedicated festival catering all things whiskey, beer and live music.

We were lucky to take in the festivities in Sydney, where apart from local independent bands, e.g. The Delta Riggs and The Gooch Palms, whiskey tastings were hosted by Jameson’s head distiller par excellence Brian Nation, live barrel charring was demonstrated with the Jameson Master Distiller and Master Cooper, sustenance was provided by locals Frankie’s Pizza and Continental Deli.

The halls of Sydney’s Commune provided a suitable ambience and was turned into “JJ’s Place” for a joyous festival that proved to be not only fit for the IPA Caskmates release and a celebration of Jameson as the prime distillery it is but would have fit in with any other serious music festival.

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Photos by @k.a.vv