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The KINGDOM of Navarra: a blend of super-chef, medieval castles, good to great wines and it’s green, too: 38 windfarms generate 65% of their energy.

An ancient tradition of wines and spirits, and very modern hearty but beautifully balanced red wines, often temperanillo and temp blends.  And a few lyrical sauvignon blancs, too.

We had all this recently with the inventive yet simple food from noted chef Enrique Martinez of Hotel Maher in Navarra – who cooked at Boston’s Estragon Restaurant.

To sample each dish was to uncover surprises in the infusion of mushrooms, sprinkling of toasted chopped nuts, ribbons of herbs.  But most of all it was about texture: perfectly cooked lobster nearly translucent as tender as possible.  And fish with firmness that spoke of being taken off the heat just as it came to the exact moment of doneness.  A meal memorable for the mouthfeel as much as the taste.

For dessert, the piquant Ochoa 2007 moscadel, made from the “petits grains” muscat: aromas of flowers, orange and mint; not too sweet, balanced with a touch of citrus peel and finishing nearly dry.

After that, a sip the ancient custom of a digestif of relatively Pacharan, sometimes poured over ice, the red liquid glowing in the glass.  In September and October, people pick sloe berries and add them to some anisette liqueur they’ve bought.  Tradition says the Pacharan is ready to drink for the July fiesta, when the berries are a red carpet at the bottom of bottle, having given their color and flavor to the liquor.

If you want to save the planet while imbibing — responsibly, of course — you might like to know that Tru Organic Vodka is not only tru-ly [sorry] organic they they are so responsible they have a tree-planting program. (Vodbox in Beverly Hills has already helped plant over 1,000 trees.)

360 Vodka claims to be from “the most energy efficient distillery in America.” AND when you’ve finished, they want to you to “carefully remove the closure and drop it into the prepaid envelope” that hangs from the bottle’s neck by an eco-friendly piece of brown string. OK, I’m almost to the end of the bottle…

Decades ago, after spending a year abroad I got on a flight back to the US and asked for the most American drink I could imagine: root beer.   I was shocked when the flight attendant told me they didn’t carry it. I love root beer.  My father loved root beer. Whenever I see artisanal root beer, I try it – and generally savor my way through it.

But I was skeptical when a bottle of Three Olives Root Beer Flavored Vodka recently came my way.  “Is this a good idea?” I asked myself.  When my friend Kathy came over to watch a chick-flick, we decided to try it.  She is, admittedly, not a drinker but she knows food.  When we cracked open the capsule, a lovely, very authentic root beer-y aroma came wafting out.  Cautiously, we poured a few drops into a glass. Hey – it’s not even sweet, we marveled.  It tasted like root beer in the most appealing – and surprising – manner.  We poured out a little more of the stuff, slipped in a few ice cubes, and the evening was off to a great start!

Ever found yourself in a frozen room full of high end vodkas?  With sculptor/potter Peter Shire and a few friends?  And one of you – not sure which – is wearing a leopard skin pillbox hat?  Well, it happened to me a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills.  Oh, yeah, I think I was the one wearing the Russian-style white fur coat with matching tall hat.  The (faux) furs — provided by the restaurant — are necessary when you enter the refrigerated VodBox for a tasting of luxury vodkas from around the world, some so rare even I had never heard of them.

I don’t usually have much of a tolerance for the cold, but my appetite for vodka seemed to go way up when I was in that fun room.  Sipping and tasting.  It was one of those “what’s not to like?” moments.

By the way, anyone can sign up for the VodBox experience, dreamed up by long-time L.A. restaurateur Larry Nicola for Nic’s on Canon Drive.

Have you noticed the beginnings of the molecular mixology movement trickling into bars in the US? Following the molecular food revolution that began in Spain, bartenders here are moving into their kitchens to concoct tinctures and other flavorings for their cocktail inventions. But these aren’t the fruit-based infusions of the past decade: these flavors are vegetable and even meat-based. And the cocktails are savory, not sweet.

Have we finally grown up and evolved away from childish things? Some of us have, finally. And the very grown up rye whiskey is one of best bases for these new cocktails, according to Jeff Hollinger at Absinthe Brasserie and Bar and Restaurant in San Francisco. He showed me a bartender’s new “Garlicky Tomato Tincture” so intense that the bartender’s wife told him to throw it away immediately. (He didn’t, but the bottle is still pretty full so I wonder how much of it is getting used?) Jeff himself is in the midst of creating a new perfect flavor: smoky bacon, to be used for an upcoming cocktail event. Is this a great idea?!?

Absinthe, to drink
And for the perfectly served Absinthe drink? Just ask Jeff — the elegant turn-of-the-century Absinthe Fountain and other paraphernalia are right at his elbow.