From Argentina With Love

Cervezeria Jerome--Jerome Brewery

 

On our recent trip to Argentina, we took a day trip to the Andes with friends--headed to Potrerillos, a little town in the foothills of the Andes populated mostly by the weekend and summer homes of Mendocinos, businesses who attract tourists (horseback riding and rafting) and home to one stellar family-owned brewery called Jerome. (Above, the road to Potrerillos and the Andes mountain range.)

Cervezeria Jerome has a wonderful story, which I wrote about for DRAFT magazine in 2009. The brewery was started by Eduardo Maccari Sr. (read the whole history in the link), who learned to brew Belgian-style beer while abroad in Europe, and returned to Argentina to begin brewing his own beer. He was the leader of the Mendoza Slow Food movement, and he stayed true to his belief in quality food and drink, made from scratch with locally sourced ingredients in both the brewery and its companion brew pub. Everything is made from scratch on the premises, according to the season, and is meant to pair with one of their five beers. (Below, the specials from the menu on the perfect crisp yet sunny fall day we visited Jerome.)

Eduardo Sr.died in February, but not before passing the reins to his son, Eduardo Jr., who, as a master craft brewer, carries on in his footsteps. The whole family takes part in running the restaurant part of the business, which has about five or six tables, all packed on the day we visited. They also have a couple of rustic guest houses (which as Eduardo jokes, are for guests who sample a few too many of Jerome's award-winning beers), and they've recently expanded the patio as a beer garden overlooking an Andean canyon.

As your reward for making the drive from Mendoza, you'll be welcomed with a cold, sudsy glass of Jerome's beer...which also happened to take the top honor in the Special Beers category in May at the South Beer Cup in Buenos Aires.

You can also enjoy a filling and hearty plate of homemade sausage and sauerkraut (accompanied by the best homemade mustard I've ever tasted--made with Jerome's Rubio beer, it nails the sweet/spicy/beery blend of great mustard perfectly. Where to find it? Eduardo's mamá makes it in house. I've asked for the recipe, but I think it's top-secret.) There are lots of other delicious homemade meals to choose from, including an incredible 7-layer german chocolate cake made with dulce de leche. (I had that, too, but I shared!)

The Maccaris have become friends, and I was so glad to make the trip back to Jerome this year to visit Eduardo Jr. and see the changes at the brewery. (Below, left to right, Eduardo, Bruce and Linda Warner, my husband Guillermo, and our son Esteban) They plan on expanding--opening a bistro pub in Mendoza later this year! But a visit to the brewery itself is also well worth the drive. It makes a nice break from the wine circuit, and a respite to breathe some fresh mountain air. Hours and contact info are available on their website, www.cervezajerome.com, and they also have a facebook page: Cerveza Jerome. The beer is available in some locations outside of Argentina, email them for those locations!

I hope you pay them a visit on your next trip to Mendoza--between the beer, the food, the place and the company, it adds up to just about the perfect day.

Cerveza Jerome:

Altos Manantiales, El Salto, Petrerillos, Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina (mailing address)

Phone: 0054-2624-483039

Email: info@cervezajerome.com

Brewpub and brewery open everyday.

Martini de Yerba Mate--Yerba Mate Martini

 
Sometimes life throws you lemons.  And if you're an optimist, you make lemonade.  Or, you use the rind of said lemon and use it to make a twist in an awesome martini and wait for things to get better.

One of my favorite haunts when I was in my early 20s is the time-honored Cruise Room at Denver's Oxford Hotel.  It opened the day after Prohibition ended in 1933, and has been open ever since.  A quintessential example of Art Deco design, the Cruise Room was modelled after a bar on the ocean liner the Queen Mary.  Carved panels of cultures around the world saying 'Cheers!' line the walls, basking in dim pink light.

Jerome--Argentina's Best Beer!

OK...so, I've been a bit absent lately.

Still, I encourage you to pick up the November/December issue of DRAFT magazine--where you'll find an article written by Yours Truly about Mendoza's (or perhaps the world's) best microbrewery, which, like all wonderful, magical places, remains relatively unknown and beautifully uncommercialized. 

Argentinean Mixology: Fernet and Coke

 

I knew I would write about Fernet and Coke one of these days.  The trouble was finding a good story to tell...I wouldn't regale the tale of the time I had one Fernet too many, or the boisterous Fernet-downing rugby team we met at a party..and then as I was shooting photos of these icy glasses of Fernet and Coke, Guillermo got home from work. 

"What?  You're drinking Coke? " he said, seeing the bottle on our coffee table.  (We're one of those weird households that almost never drinks soda.) "Where's the Fernet!?"  He said, without seeing what I was doing.  Then he rounded the corner to the kitchen, saw the Fernet and Coke, and we both burst out laughing.  His was a sheepish 'oh, duh' snort, and he was surprised--like Coke, Fernet isn't something we have often.  He happily helped me 'disassemble' the photo shoot. 

Fernet Branca (or just Fernet to his friends) is an Italian liqueur, with a top-secret recipe that hasn't changed since its creation in 1845.  Fratelli Branca Distillerie, who producesFernet, say it includes 27 different herbs and spices taken from four continents, including South African aloe, gentian root, chamomile, iris, rhubarb, gum myrrh, red cinchona bark, galanga, cinnamon, zedoary, and yellow Iranian saffron. 

The dark syrupy liqueur has bitter, herbal flavor that's almost medicinal.  In fact, it was created and marketed as a health tonic (thereby allowing it to bypass Prohibition laws in the US) by an Italian "self-taught apothecary" named Bernardino Branca. The name "Fernet" belonged to a 'Doctor Fernet', a fictional Swede with whom Branca shared the invention of the drink's to add authority to claims of Fernet's health benefits.  While today it is used as a digestive or as a hangover cure, the tonic was formerly billed as curing everything from colic to cholera to menstrual cramps.

While some here would say it's...an acquired taste, in Argentina it's the national cocktail--inhabitants of the province of Cordoba consume more than 6.5 million bottles of it a year!  Fernet's own webpage is an amazing journey through the drink's history to cocktail and food recipes.  It has a song written about it (Fernet con Coca, by Vilma Palma), it's the favorite drink of Masters Golf Tournament winner Angel Cabrera, and it even has its own facebook fan page with 256,603--wait, make that 256,604--fans.  It can be drunk with ginger ale, coffee, and of course, Coke. (Recipe follows)

 

Fernet con Coca

Fernet with Coke

2 oz. Fernet Branca

8-10 oz. Coke

 ice

Start by pouring the Fernet in over the ice--a tall frosted glass is preferred for serving.  Slowly add the Coke, sip, add more Coke and sip, until the right flavor combination has been reached.  Enjoy responsibly.

 

Limonchamp--Lemon Sorbet and Champagne

  

In my mother's backyard, there is a big, white tent--the kind hired for special occasions, like this one--it's our engagement party.  It's a blazing hot July day, but we're out in the heat, anyway, tyring to escape the heat under the tent, sitting at big, round, rented tables and eating off rented glassware. 

My mother should have been a caterer, because the spread is fantastic:  empanadas (made by a friend's aunt), sandwiches, salads, pastries from Denver's best Italian bakery.  An accordian player wanders through the crowd, dodging kids and guests in a musical two-step.

And finally, dessert--Limonchamp--a classic Argentinean postre made by putting a couple of scoops of delicate lemon sorbet in a champagne glass, and pouring champagne over the top. 

I first had it when Guillermo took me to Argentina for the first time to meet his parents.  We decided to have  a "big night out" in General Alvear (pop. about 20,000--so you see that the concept of big night out is relative!) 

We started at an heladeria--an Argentinean ice cream shop, where Guillermo brought out two styrofoam cups of lemon gelato and a bottle of champagne, and we sat at an outside table on the sidewalk having Limonchamp and watching cars cruise the main street.  (Including one amazing despidida--bachelorette party--that passed by several times!)  I was just excited that they sold Champagne at an ice cream shop, and I had never tasted anything like that--light, bubbly, and lemony--a perfect way to beat the heat that night.

Flash-forward to the future, a few short months later, and we're at my mom's, surrounded by friends, and making a toast, again with Limonchamp.  Thanking everyone for being there, we raise our glasses in celebration and add one more surprise with the announcement--we're expecting! 

I feels like ancient history now that our son is more than two years old, and it also feel s like yesterday. Limonchamp will always be a  favorite spring or summer dessert of mine--it's simple, tasty and refreshing after a large meal.  Just perfect to launch yourself toward those hot July days that are right around the corner--so go have some today...

Limonchamp

Lemon Sorbet and Champagne

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

juice of 4 lemons

zest of one lemon

Champagne

In a small saucepan, put the water and sugar, and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest.  Let cool completely, first on the stovetop and then in the refrigerator.

Be sure the bowl of the ice cream maker is good and frozen.  Then, process according to the maker's instructions.  In about 30 minutes, you should have lemon sorbet!  I had to put mine in the freezer for some additional time to make it harder.

Open the Champagne.  Place one or two small scoops of the lemon sorbet in the Champagne glass, and gently pour the Champagne over the top.  Serve with a small spoon.

Relevant posts:  Dulce de Leche Ice Cream, Empanadas Mendocinas (served at our party!) 

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More photos available on my flickr photostream, From Argentina With Love