Exercises in the Discernment of the Spirits (Fifth in a Series)

 

EXERCISES IN THE DISCERNMENT OF THE SPIRITS (FIFTH IN A SERIES)

 

“Every thought that knocks upon our heart, whether good or evil,

is not always the utterance of our own spirit, but the consent to the thought,

whatsoever it be, is always our own. May Jesus grant us his grace

to consent to the good and to stand firm against the evil. Amen.”

—The Cloud of Unknowing anonymous author,

Treatise on the Discernment of the Spirits (late 14th century)

 

Caipirinha at Buccaneers Rum & Kitchen, Makati City, Philippines

Caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail, is a zesty fusion of three basic flavors—sour, bitter, and sweet. Tart, somewhat acrid lime commingles with finely milled sugar turned syrupy when mixed with cachaça, smoky Brazilian white rum distilled from sugar cane, which at 38%-48% ABV kicks like Pelé. Swimmingly chill, together they trigger a whirlpool effect in your head.

Rating: 4 stars

Banana Cue at Alegria Manila, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

Description: Bourbon, banana cordial, bitters, Cointreau

Complex bitters intermingling with aromatic banana flavor and orange candy syrup, suffusing musky, mildly alcoholic Bourbon, all evenly blending and pleasantly chill, with a sticky sweet and bitter aftertaste. At the glass bottom collect sugary bits. Banana leaf is for show and not to be eaten.

Rating: 4 stars

San Miguel Cerveza Negra

Over a century ago a tradition of brewing the finest beers worldwide began in the Philippines when Enrique María Barreto founded La Fábrica de Cerveza San Miguel under an 1890 Spanish Royal Charter. Over many decades San Miguel’s world-class beers irresistibly progressed to the forefront of the industry. Today, Cerveza Negra, originally concocted in Tacuba, Mexico in 1925, is a globally distinguished dark beer ranking with the very best.

Cerveza Negra is a dark amber lager with a delectably burnt flavor suffusing sweetly fermented roasted malt notes—chocolate, coffee, mocha, molasses, cinnamon, and the like—together with intimations of raisins, honey, cherries, and peanuts even. Mildly bitter and hoppy, lightly foamy, finely carbonated, palatably crispy, it greets your nose with a woody bouquet and caramel fresh water fragrance. Discernibly stout and filling, it is satisfying liquid bread. Along the spectrum of the dark beers, it locates around the mellow, genial end. Highly recommended for aficionados of this long-lived variant.

Rating: 5 stars 

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

“Extra Stout” describes it rightly. This ale pours out as densely brown and nearly black, exudes a caramel, vegetal, fresh, and watery aroma, slightly pungent, and effuses a shallow head shortly diminishing into a fine frothy ring. Strongly bitter, almost imperceptibly sweet, it comes off at best as unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder and at worst as cinnamon sticks or even dried-out tree bark, tart and acrid, with a briny texture, palpably crispy. Aftertaste is drying, like the effect of tonguing dark roast ground coffee. I would guess this sort of beer would be an acquired taste.

Rating: 4 stars

Sapporo Premium Beer

Sapporo Premium is a mildly sweet, aromatic, vegetal lager, lightly yet distinctly hoppy, finely carbonated and unusually crisp, graced with a scarce head shortly diminishing, set apart by a body and relish reminiscent of mountain spring water or possibly fresh water purified several times over, notably refreshing, with a clean, self-effacing aftertaste. No doubt rice wine in the secret heritage recipe significantly contributes to its exceptional drinkability. Here we have a formula that successfully distinguishes itself from the many outstanding beers of the world.

Rating: 5 stars

Pilsner Urquell Beer

Pilsner Urquell’s claim to fame is that it is the first ever pilsner, the original recipe dating unchanged from 1842. “Urquell” means “wellspring” or “primary source” in German. The beer is named after the town in the Czech Republic where it was first brewed, Plzeň (Czech) or Pilsen (German name), about 90 kilometers or 56 miles west of Prague.

This celebrated brew effuses a finely effervescent, frothy head, thickly rising and slowly lingering, exuding a grassy, fresh aroma, highly appetizing, and gleams yellow gold, transparently pale. Robustly hoppy…tastily bitter…it is satisfyingly sweet at the back end, inflected by peppery, lemony, and citrusy notes, with a muted, patently acrid bite. Bitter predominates over sweet. Unfailingly refreshing served cold—and the colder, the better.

Is it worthy of its reputation? Yes. It has established itself over the years as an influential, durable standard upon which preeminent brands have formulated their successful and popular variants.

Rating: 5 stars