Master Distiller and Founder
Brandon Collins, of Continuum Distilling in Waterbury,
Connecticut has a new baby - Continuum Distilling Grappa,
to add to his growing spirits house that includes his flagship Charred, Drops, and Blueberry ContinuRum, among others. His
latest foray is making Grappa, the Italian brandy made with grape skins from
nearby Hawk Ridge Winery. We visited Continuum Distilling and
tasted their Continuum Distilling Special Release Grappa Blanco as well as
their Barrel-Aged Grappa and they were delicious! We brought a bottle of the
Grappa Blanco home and created some very tasty recipes for you to enjoy. Cheers!
Master Distiller and Founder Brandon
Collins is the creative genius behind the inspired line of spirits at Continuum
Distilling. He has a master's degree in chemistry, worked in the pharmaceutical
industry for 13 years before deciding to make a change. He worked at Black Hog Brewing in Oxford, Connecticut and became
intrigued with the idea of using "beer trimmings" that would normally be
discarded to create whiskey as "all whiskey starts as beer." In 2019, he
founded his dream, Continuum Distilling where he indeed uses "beer trimmings"
from local craft breweries to craft his unique and very tasty spirits.
Always in the distilling room creating
something different, Brandon released Continuum Distilling Grappa on January
23, 2021, and it is another jewel in the Continuum crown of spirits. We visited
Continuum Distilling on Sunday, January 31, 2021 and tried both the clear and
aged versions, and both were delicious. The clear has the aromatic nose and
taste that brings back memories of visits to Italy. The barrel aged version,
aged for over 8 months in used bourbon barrels with additional wood staves, has
a rich, burnished color, picks up the notes of the wood, and has a sweet
finish.
Although both versions are
delicious, we opted for the unaged grappa, and Luxury Experience was "In the
Kitchen and Behind the Bar" TM creating hand-crafted cocktails and culinary
recipes with this tasty spirit! Cheers!
Bottle Notes: (Blanco),
Special Release Grappa, batch #002, 45 Alcohol by Volume (ABV), 90 proof.
Information and Tasting
Notes: Continuum Distilling Grappa is a clear and delectable brandy
made in Connecticut from rehydrating and fermenting grape skins from nearby Hawk Ridge Winery
in Watertown. Grappa is best served chilled in a tulip-shaped glass to
elicit the heady aromatic notes, with fresh grape essence that finishes with a delectable
slight sweetness on the palate.
Luxury Experience Cocktail
and Culinary Menu
The Cocktail Menu
Luxury Experience - The Passionate
Grape
Luxury Experience - CT Ingenui-Tea
Luxury Experience - Grappa,
Cherry, Hot Chocolate
The Culinary Menu
Luxury Experience - Grappa Sour Cherry Almond Chicken
The Cocktail Recipes
Luxury Experience - The
Passionate Grape
Yield: 1
Glass: Martini Glass
Luxury Experience - The
Passionate Grape keeps the alcohol in the grape family by combining
Continuum Distilling Grappa, VARA Garnacha 2018 wine, and kisses the grapes
with Goya Passionfruit juice. Dressed smartly with sugared grapes, this may
become your favorite new cocktail.
Luxury Experience - The
Passionate Grape Ingredients
1
|
Ounce
|
|
1
|
Ounce
|
|
2
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Ounces
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Goya
Passionfruit Juice
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|
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Sugared
Grapes on a skewer, garnish
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Method for the Sugared Grapes:
Wash and dry grapes. Set aside. Whip 1-tablespoon egg white with 1 teaspoon
lemon juice. Skewer grapes, dip in the egg white mixture, then roll in sugar
and let dry on a parchment paper. Make ahead and set aside.
Method for the Cocktail:
Fill a Martini glass with ice and water and set aside to chill. Empty the glass
just before pouring in the cocktail to keep the glass icy cold.
In a mixing glass, add 2 ice
cubes, Continuum Distilling Grappa, VARA Garnacha, and the Goya Passionfruit
juice. Stir to combine the ingredients and let the ice melt. This cocktail is
stirred not shaken in homage to the grapes. Garnish with sugared grapes on a
skewer.
Luxury Experience - CT Ingenui-Tea
Yield: 1
Glass: Rocks Glass
Luxury Experience - CT Ingenui-Tea
is a tribute to the ingenuity of CT distillers and wineries. The cocktail
is made with Continuum Distilling Grappa made from grape skins from CT's nearby
Hawk Ridge Winery, HUM Ginger Oolong + Peach Hard Seltzer from Black
Hog Brewing Co. (5.5% ABV) where Brandon Collins got his start.
Luxury Experience - CT
Ingenuity Ingredients
1
|
Ounce
|
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1
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Ounce
|
|
1.5
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Ounces
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Orange Juice
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0.25
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Ounce
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Fresh Lemon
Juice
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0.25
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Ounce
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Homemade
Ginger Simple Syrup
|
|
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Fresh Ginger,
garnish
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Method for the cocktail: To
a mixing glass, add the Continuum Distilling Grappa, HUM Ginger Oolong + Peach
Hard Seltzer, orange juice, lemon juice, and homemade ginger simple syrup. Stir
to combine and pour into an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with a slice of
fresh ginger.
Method for the Ginger Simple
Syrup: Add one-half cup of water and one-half cup of sugar to a saucepan.
Slice ginger into long slices. Add to saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until
liquid is clear. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove ginger slices to a plate
to use as garnishes. Refrigerate ginger simple syrup in a covered glass jar
until ready to use. This simple syrup makes a delicious addition to marinades,
brushed on cake layers before frosting for super moist cake, or as a sweetener
for tea or lemonade.
Luxury Experience - Grappa,
Cherry, Hot Chocolate
Yield: 1
Glass: Chocolate Cup or Mug
Luxury Experience - Grappa,
Cherry, Hot Chocolate is a rich and decadent adults-only hot chocolate that
is enhanced with Continuum Distilling Grappa, Trader Joe's Sipping
Chocolate, Fee
Brothers Cherry Bitters, and Bodrato Chocolate Covered Grappa-Soaked
Cherries imported by Italian Imports & Beyond. When we tasted these chocolate
grappa cherries made by the famous award-winning Italian chocolatier Bodrato in
Novi Ligure the "Chocolate Capital" of Italy, we were inspired to create a hot
sipping chocolate, add the smooth and delicious Continuum Distilling Grappa,
and add a Bodrato Chocolate Grappa Cherry to slowly melt in the hot chocolate.
The result is absolutely delicious! Note: Bodrato makes these delectable
chocolate covered grappa cherries and offers them in white, milk, and dark
chocolate options, each in their own individual box.
Luxury Experience - Grappa,
Cherry, Hot Chocolate Ingredients
1
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Ounce
|
|
4
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Tablespoons
|
Trader Joe's
Sipping Chocolate
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4
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Ounces
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Half &
Half (or Light Cream)
|
3
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Dashes
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|
1
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|
Bodrato Milk
Chocolate Grappa Cherry
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Method: In a small
saucepan, heat the Half & Half or light cream. Add the Trader Joe's Sipping
Chocolate to a mixing glass, pour the hot Half & Half over the chocolate
and stir to thoroughly combine. Return to saucepan, heat for 1 minute. Remove
from heat, then add the Continuum Distilling Grappa, and Fee Brothers Cherry
Bitters. Pour into a chocolate cup or mug. Just before serving, place the
Bodrato chocolate cherry in the hot chocolate and enjoy.
The Culinary Recipe
Luxury Experience - Grappa Sour
Cherry Almond Chicken
Serves 2
Luxury Experience - Grappa Sour
Cherry Almond Chicken combines the richness of Marabissi Il Panforte
Torta Amerene e Peperoncino (Sour Cherries and Chili "Cake") imported by Italian Products
& Beyond with Continuum Distilling Grappa to create a
delectable sauce for the baked chicken, then tops it with crumbled gorgonzola
for an amazing pairing. The Sour Cherries and Chili Cake is like a fruit and
nut pâté,
that also has cocoa, almonds, and honey that was perfect to pair with chicken.
Serve the chicken breasts on a bed
of braised fennel and Trader Joe's Whole Durum Wheat Couscous with the addition
of chopped fennel and onions, and you have a memorable, yet easy to make
dinner. Bon Appetit!
Luxury Experience - Grappa Sour
Cherry Almond Chicken Ingredients
2
|
7.5 ounce
|
Chicken
Breasts, boneless and skinless
|
1
|
Ounce
|
Marabissi Il
Panforte Torta Amerene e Peperoncino, chopped
|
8
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Ounces
|
Chicken
Bouillon (or chicken stock)
|
2
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Ounces
|
|
|
|
Salt and
Pepper, to taste
|
1
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Teaspoon
|
Cornstarch
|
1
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Ounce
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Gorgonzola,
crumbled
|
0.5
|
Cup
|
Fennel Bulb,
sliced
|
0.5
|
Cup
|
Onion,
chopped
|
3
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Tablespoons
|
Extra Virgin
Olive Oil (EVOO)
|
1
|
Cup
|
Trader Joe's
Whole Durum Wheat Couscous
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1
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Cup
|
Water
|
|
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Salt and
Pepper, to taste
|
|
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Fennel
Fronds, garnish
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Method: Preheat oven to 400
degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
Add the chicken bouillon to a
medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chopped sour cherries and chili
"cake," lower to a simmer, and stir occasionally until mixture is smooth and
the "cake" has dissolved, about 8-10 minutes. Check and add salt and pepper to
taste.
Line a baking dish with parchment.
Place chicken on the parchment paper. Pour the sauce over the chicken, wrap
parchment securely like an envelope, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or
until chicken is tender.
Method for the Braised Fennel:
While chicken is cooking, braise the fennel in a large sauté pan with
1-tablespoon EVOO and salt and pepper. Cover, and steam the fennel by adding
2-ounces of water to the pan. Just before water evaporates, remove the cover to
finish cooking.
Method for the Couscous:
Heat a medium saucepan, add 2-tablespoons of EVOO, salt and pepper, then add
the chopped fennel and onion, cover, and sweat. Add the water and bring to a
boil, then add the couscous, stir to combine, remove from the heat, and set
aside.
Remove chicken from the parchment
paper, over loosely with foil, and set aside. Pour the juices from the chicken
into a small saucepan. Mix 1-teaspoon with a small amount of the juices and
stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until slightly thickened to create the
sauce.
Presentation: Place the
fennel and couscous on two plates. Top each with a chicken breast. Pour the
sauce over the chicken. Garnish with crumbled gorgonzola and fennel fronds. Bon
Appetit!
We hope
that you enjoy trying Luxury Experience's cocktail and culinary recipes, and
that they inspire you to create your own recipes. Cheers, its cocktail time!
A Few of Continuum Distilling Exceptional
Craft Spirits Product Line:
Continuum Distilling Grappa
Blanco and Aged Grappa are made with grape skins from nearby Hawk Ridge
Winery. The unaged version is 45% alcohol (90 proof) and the barrel aged
version, aged in Bourbon barrels with extra wood staves is 47.2 % (94.4 proof).
Grappa Blanco retails for $40 for a 750 ml bottle, the barrel-aged version
retails for $65 for a 750 ml bottle.
ContinuRum, a unique craft
rum, made with 100% blackstrap molasses. 45% alcohol (90 proof), available in
750 ml at $30 bottle.
Charred, their flagship
"beer whiskey" made from brown ales, stouts & porters. Aged on local wood
staves for a rich toasted flavor. 48% alcohol by volume (96 proof), available
in 375 ml ($30 bottle) and 750 ml ($55) bottles.
Drops, distilled from CT
crafted IPAs, double-distilled and unaged, which gives it its characteristic
"floral, bright and hoppy flavor" with hop forward nose, herbaceous, citrus,
and floral notes. 46% alcohol by volume (92 proof). Drops retails for $35 for a
750 ml bottle.
Read about Touring Continuum Distilling, Charred, Drops, and Blueberry ContinuRum with more great Luxury
Experience's Culinary and Cocktail Recipes in the Liquor
Cabinet section.
Background Information on
Continuum Distilling
Head Distiller Brandon Collins, Jim Baronowski,
Jason Sobocinski, Tyler Jones, Tom Sobocinski
"Usually, distiller's beer is
comprised of only the most basic grains with the purpose of extracting the most
sugar possible to obtain an optimal efficient conversion into alcohol. We discovered that there are multiple steps in
the brewing process where ingredients, such as sugars, fermented out beer with
yeast in suspension, and flavorful solids can all be recouped and repurposed
for distilling. It would be extremely
expensive to attempt to recreate these flavors as beers and distill them for a
spirit, but when these delicious compounds can be utilized using disposed waste
or "trimmings" from the brew process...that is when sustainability and
innovation marry to make something exceptional! Continuum strives to be
resourceful in our process by minimizing our usage of raw materials,
repurposing items/equipment for the distilling and aging process and limiting
our water consumption to produce truly unique and exceptional spirits with as
little footprint as possible."
For more information on Continuum
Distilling, purchasing their products, or visiting them in Waterbury,
Connecticut, please call them at +1-203-725-3291 or visit their website:
www.ContinuumDistilling.com.
Continuum Distilling
2066 Thomaston Avenue (next to
Brass Works Brewing)
Waterbury, Connecticut 06704
United States
Telephone: +1-203-725-3291
Email:
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Website: www.continuumdistilling.com
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