Here are some Aussie selections to sip while reciting Alfred Noyes’ classic verses from “The Highwayman”:

James Squire Nine Tales Amber Ale:  Copper-colored with a creamy head, it’s full-flavored enough to be an English brown ale. Made with three kinds of malts and Tasmanian hops added late to the kettle, it has caramel, toffee and light hop aromas. Very refreshing with a slightly nutty finish. If you can’t find kangaroo meat, pair it with lamb.

Bluetongue Traditional Pilsener: Bluetongue Brewery was founded in 2003 by four partners in the Hunter region of New South Wales who wanted to design beers that would showcase their region. Although it’s brewed in the Czech style, this pilsener combines Saaz hops with Australian malted barley, local water and no preservatives. It has malty flavors, balanced bitterness and fruity aromas – a perfect foil for spicy Asian food.

Blue Sky Brewery’s True Blue Stout: Made in Cairns in Northern Queensland, this is more seasonally suited to American (or “Yank”) palates since it’s summer Down Under. This big, coffee-colored beer has mocha and chocolate flavors and lots of roasted malts. It’s great for warming up chilly days in southern Australia or the northern U.S.

But by the middle of January, even an avid skier can use a break. Some take one by catching a plane; others by cranking up the heat, turning on some island tunes and hosting a Caribbean-themed shindig or perhaps a Hawaiian luau.

If we can celebrate Christmas in July, then it’s merely symmetrical to conjure up some July in January. Here are a few ideas for selecting beers that will fool your aloha-adorned guests into thinking ‘tis the season for light lagers and hefeweizens instead of porters and stouts.

For Jamaican-themed parties, put some Bob Marley on the Bose and chill some Red Stripe, a refreshing lager that’s made for jerked chicken and curried goat. For more generic island-themed celebrations, try frosted bottles of Piton, a favorite on St. Lucia, and serve with martini glasses of ceviche (fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices and spiced with chili peppers.) Stock up on Balashi for those who usually decamp to Aruba this time of year. It’s a true tropical pilsener – very dry, very light and slightly fizzy.

If arriving guests can’t shake winter’s grip, start them out with Ayinger’s Weizen-Bock, a Bavarian wheat ale that’s brewed with the heft of a bock. It starts out with fresh-baked wheatiness and finishes with tropical fruits, cloves and bananas. Serve it with spicy Mexican or Indian dishes.

Top off this fantasy trip with Lindemans Pomme, an apple lambic served over dulce de leche (caramel) ice cream – like a caramel apple float. It’s simple, tasty and a great finale to a summer’s eve in January.

Parfait for Grown-Ups

We’ve simplified things when it comes to after-dinner drinks: a little cognac, a touch of Grand Marnier, a snifter of Sambuca.

But 100 years ago, the ideal way among sophisticates to top off a meal was a bit more complicated. The rage then was the pousse-café, or “coffee chaser,” and done right, this layered drink is just as pretty to look at as it is fun to drink.

The idea is to pour portions of different liqueurs (and sometimes cream or syrups such as grenadine) on top of one another so that the densest is poured first, and then the next densest, and so on. The result is a multicolored drink that forms perfect layers as each liqueur “floats” on the one below it. The standard number was six, but smarty pants bartenders have been known to push that up to an astonishing 34 (served with a stretcher).

Traditionally, pousse-café is presented in its own special glass, similar to a cordial glass, that’s tall and narrow, making the most of the drink’s showiness.

Pousse-café seems to have developed in the late 1800s, and reached its apex around the turn of the 19th century, but the drink, and its many variations, is just as delicious now as then. All it takes to make one at home is a little bit of practice. Just be sure to pour over the back of a bar spoon carefully, and don’t jostle the glass or you’ll end up with a muddy mess.

Here are some recipes, but you can try your hand with your own concoction. It may take a bit of experimenting, but in general, add any syrups first, then liqueurs with lower alcohol content, then higher proof liqueurs, and finally, cream if using.

Good luck and have fun!

Princess Pousse-Café

3/4 ounce Apricot Brandy
1/4 ounce heavy cream (OK, you can substitute light cream)

Pour the cream carefully over the back of a bar spoon to top the brandy.

For a variation, try different flavors of fruit brandy.

Layer Limoncello, espresso, and cream in a cocktail glass and top with lemon zest.

Pour the crème de menthe carefully over the back of a bar spoon to top the grenadine.

Pour ingredients carefully on top of one another in the order given, using the back of a bar spoon.

Different versions of this recipe call for as little as 1/6 ounce of each ingredient to 1/2 ounce of each. You be the judge.

The hardest thing about making this drink may be finding the ingredients. You will probably have to look online for Yellow Chartreuse and Crème Yvette (a purplish, violet-scented liqueur), though some recipes say you can use Crème de Cassis in place of the Crème Yvette. There really is no good substitute for Yellow Chartreuse, but some suggest Benedictine can work.

Brady Konya, one of these entrepreneurs, is a former marketing executive from Seattle. Ryan Lang, the other owner, comes from Appalachian Pennsylvania and four generations of distillers – “some of them legal, some not,” says Konya.

Oyo vodkas (traditional, honey-flavored and a new stone-fruit variety) and whiskey are specifically handcrafted to showcase the unique flavor of the state’s wheat.

“We use only wheat that’s harvested from an 80-mile radius around Fostoria,” says Konya. The careful selection gives Middle West spirits the cachet of terroir – a sense of the distinctive region from which the wheat originates.

“The taste is one that doesn’t exist elsewhere in any other product,” says Konya. “The flavor is unique to Ohio.”

Proof is in the tasting, of course, and the best way to sample Middle West products is to take one of the weekly, 90-minute tours that begin with a comprehensive education on the history of distilling in Ohio and the production process itself — from grain to bottle.

A tour of the facility features the one-of-a-kind, built-to-specification copper still that processes the grain more quickly and efficiently than most working stills today. The tour ends with a taste of the distillery’s three spirits – along with a sample of a well-known premium vodka “for comparison purposes,” says Konya.

For those curious about the brand name, Oyo is an Iroquois word meaning “Great River” – presumably “where the Ohio River gets its name,” says Konya.

Middle West Spirits products can be found in state stores in Ohio and other states – and online. For more information or to order, visit www.middlewestspirits.com

“Wine is in our culture. We have strong European roots,” explained Susana Balbo, the owner and winemaker at Dominio del Plata in Argentina’s Mendoza region. She’s also Argentina’s first female winemaker and a dynamic figure on the international wine scene.

Balbo grew up surrounded by vineyards in the Andes Mountains, where her father managed a vineyard.  For 25 years she worked with winemakers around the world before starting her own business in 1999. Although Balbo’s wines have long been exported to the United States, she recently visited Ohio for the first time and showcased some of her inventory at Delmonico’s Steakhouse in Independence.

For a vintner pioneer in the land known for beef, gauchos and machismo, Balbo is totally unassuming. When asked what challenges she’s faced being the first female winemaker she responded, “When you have a focus, you don’t care what other people think.”

Her focus comes through in the glass. Balbo is known as the “Queen of Torrontes,” a grape widely grown in Argentina that produces a light-bodied white with intense floral aromas. But her reds drew praise from every corner. The Crios Rosé of Malbec, 2011, is refreshingly dry with flavors of wild strawberries and cranberries.

My personal highlight was the Crios Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009, from the Mendoza appellation. Aged nine months in French and American oak, it has ripe plum and black currant flavors that make it excellent for pairing with beef, pasta dishes or roasted vegetables.

When asked what makes her wines unique Balbo says, “Balance and elegance.”  Achieving balance among acidity, alcohol and flavors is what Mendoza’s dry, Continental climate affords.

She also likes the soil – sandy and stony with some clay. Another advantage is man-made: “Through this magical tool of irrigation, we can manage the ripening.”

Everyone at Delmonico’s that afternoon agreed Balbo’s wines were just ripe.

For more information see www.dominiodelplata.com.ar

Cajun cuisine originated with the French Acadians of Nova Scotia who settled in the bayous around New Orleans in the 18th century. Taking its cues from Acadian French cuisine, Cajun cooking has evolved over the years, with culinary contributions from Spanish, African, Choctaw and Chickasaw cultures.

If Cajun cooking is rooted in simplicity, creativity and economy, Creole cuisine is the sophisticated and somewhat exotic city slicker, the popular foods of New Orleans itself.

Known for its slow, easy-going way of life, N’awlins kicks it up a notch during Carnival, a festival that begins on Twelfth Night (the Feast of the Epiphany) and comes to a raucous conclusion on “Fat Tuesday,” better known as “Mardi Gras.” As Lent begins, the largely Catholic community settles back into the simple life or “The Big Easy.” Long before bouncing back from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, N’awlins has lived by the creed “Laissez les bons temps rouler”…Let the good times roll!

Gary – These dishes tend to be flavorful and complex – and hot. Keep in mind that high alcohol wines will enhance the capsaicin burn. The ideal pairing promotes balance between wine and food while keeping the fire under control.

Winning wine and food combinations tend toward wines that are lighter, more subtle and elegant rather than the huge, intense wines that many of us like to enjoy on their own.  Look for a softer, rounder style that will not clash or overwhelm the dish you have taken so long to prepare.

Jambalaya is descended from Spanish paella. Every Louisiana household has a special recipe for this dish but it’s the city of Gonzales that put jambalaya on the map. Known as “The Jambalaya Capital of the World,” this Spanish-influenced Louisiana city hosts an annual jambalaya competition in which the dish is cooked in gigantic iron pots over wood-fueled fires.

Andouille sausage is a smoky, peppery sausage. If you can’t find it, use smoked kielbasa. Stirring the rice in the skillet for about a minute before adding the liquid gives it a hot fat coating that will help it retain its texture. There are as many versions of jambalaya as there are cooks in Louisiana, so feel free to change this recipe each time you make it by adding chicken, oysters, catfish, pork ribs, ground beef or crawfish.

Jambalaya Seasoning Mix

2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Jambalaya

2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small ham steak, trimmed and diced
1 package (about 14 oz.) smoked andouille or “New Orleans-style” sausage
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato paste
3 bay leaves
3 cups water
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
Fresh parsley for garnish, minced

Seasoning: In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder, parsley, basil and cloves. Set aside.

Jambalaya: In a large skillet, in hot oil, sauté onion, green pepper and shallots until softened. Add garlic and seasoning mix. Sauté for 1 minute. Add andouille sausage and ham. Sauté 2 minutes. Add rice. Sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, bay leaves and water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 40 minutes. Add shrimp, cover and cook 5-7 minutes longer or until shrimp are pink. Remove bay leaves. Divide jambalaya among 4 plates. Garnish with minced parsley.

Serves 4

Gary – The shrimp will take on the flavors in the jambalaya, so the most important ingredients are the ham (which will have overtones of smoke and salt) and the sausage (which will be earthy, smoky and flavorful).

Due to the tomato overtones and flavorful meat ingredients, I would look for red wines with forward fruit, low tannins and oak levels, and subtle alcohol. Gamay would be a delight with this dish as would a youthful Tempranillo; a light, fresh Zinfandel/Primitivo; or a fresh Garnacha with its dark fruit character. A rosé would also be a fine choice, preferably one in a softly dry style.