Let us begin again, all ye lovers of things bacchanalian!
So when we last left off, Fizban was trying to find new liquor to drink, Robos and JWF were on their bourbon high horse, and I was spending waaaaaaaay to much money on various liqueurs to experiment with drinks to try and serve at work. I've also been on a Châteauneuf-du-Pape kick, so here's the list of my recent reviews
2006 Châteauneuf du Pape, Dom. de la Millière. Great herbal bouquet of thyme and kale and pepper. Nice and acidic, with a little lemon peel. Decent tannic structure, all sorts of terroir going on. Loads of spice in the back of the tongue, with a bit of plum and blackberry in the front. Great introduction into studying French wines!
Comte de Lauze Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2005: what a great wine! As soon as I popped the cork, I knew I was in for a treat: the end of the cork was light purple! I've been dealing with barolos extensively for almost a year now, and I've never been able to pick out the tar from the famous bouquet of "tar and roses," however it popped right out in the nose, along with a little lavender. The most immediate note that jumped in the palate was chocolate -- another standard note I'd never been able to pick out, which was follow by gamey notes, leather, salt, and grass. Very little fruit in this one -- just some strawberry from the grenache. Medium body, little support from tannin structure, but hey -- it's a CDP. Really glad with this pickup.
La Bernadine 2001: Doesn't taste like a CDP at all. Boring fruit bomb, from bouquet to finish.
Coudoulet de Beaucastel, 2006 Côtes de Rhône.
Bouquet: Very tight smell. Could really pick anything out. Powerful and hot.
Taste: Tight and complex. It took me half an hour with this bad boy to really isolate a flavor -- thyme. However, the flavor is HUGE - it's all over your palate. The immediate taste is a peppery kick on the tip of your tongue and masculine tannins. It gives way to a great, juicy acidity and lots of provencal herbs -- mostly thyme and rosemary. The end is very gamey and a few tobacco notes.
Finish: extremely long, aided by the nice acidity level. The tobacco and thyme notes really shine in the finish.
Overall: GREAT value. Really hits all the areas of a CDP. This is one of the most complex wines I've had, and at under $30 you really can't beat it. I both desire to try the famed Château de Beaucastel and fear that it isn't worth the $100 price jump. If you want to try out an available CDP (although technically not a AOC CDP) try this one out.
Also, I never posted my review of the Vintage 21 year old Rye. It's pretty interesting. The bouquet is all sorts of pepper and citrus peel. The taste is FIRE FIRE FIRE. It's amazing. If drinking a fireball were a pleasurable experience, it would taste like this. The real shine, however, is in the finish. I think it's over two minutes long! And ALLLLLLL the flavor comes out in the finish: orange peel, white pepper, banana, tobacco. Simply AMAZING. Well worth the $70 price. I also had Ole Rip Van Winkle 13 year old. It's another heat bomb with a superb finish. The taste on the palate is not as hot, so there's more mouth action going on, but the finish is not as long.
I want to continue with my trek through France. I was thinking about staying near the Rhone, and perhaps trying out some Hermitage. However, I'm wondering if I should venture elsewhere and try something different. Does anyone have any suggestions.
I also want to pick up some more liquors. I was thinking about trying to make some pousse cafes, and perhaps picking up some Creme Yvette or Violet Liquor and trying it out.
Also, my friend Jim Meehan was on the Jimmy Fallon show making winter drinks! Congrats. The show isn't on youtube, but
here's a link. He's the bartender of the original neo-speak easy in NYC, Please Don't Tell. He's a pretty rad dude, and he's living the life -- he goes around the world and advises new establishments on how to set up their bar.
And here's him and a cocktail historian, Dave Wondrich, making what is, 100 years on, STILL the coolest cocktail ever made: the Blue Blazer, invented by the original bartender, Jerry Thomas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxYFjL6ills
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From a standard Jack on the rocks, to a Macallan 18, to expensive and bizarre japanese single malts.
Mmmmmm, Whisk(e)y.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I want to pick up a bottle of the Sazerac 18 when I get my next big paycheck, which should be soon considering that restaurant week is coming up.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6OUTW86Y0g&feature=related
I don't think so. On vinquire, you can usually find it for just over a bill. You just have to search for it.
Great ryes are expensive because the supply is so dwarfed by the demand. Rye has become a pretty chic liquor in the last few years -- thanks in part to the classic cocktail revival -- and they just haven't had time to age the stuff. So you just need to poke around -- again, vinquire is a great tool -- and you should be good. I have a link that has a great package deal of the pappy 13 and the sazerac 18 for $150, but I'm not posting it here!
Or I suppose you could just decant it for two hours or so, ha.
Just a heads up: Cinderalla Wines is making noise about how they're going to have some super crazy sale price on a barolo starting at 9pm tonight. Might want to check it out around that time, because barolos don't come cheap!
I really want to pick up one of these fuckawesome Trafalger decanters, but I think they retailed for ~$150 and I'm sure they're more expensive now
http://www.pussers.com/rum/products
Well shit. I'm going to be busy trying to SELL Barolos at 9, so that's gonna be hard. Are you going to be there?
At under $30, I think that I can afford to treat the Coud de Beau as a vin de pays! Might even pick up a couple of bottles.
edit* oh, it's a website. Well I'll have to take a nice long bathroom break right around 9pm then!
I'm a little confused by Pusser's rum. The idea of the line is that it's the exact same stuff the British sailors drank, but I thought the reason for early rum drinks like grog is that it tasted terrible.
I am sorry but ever since I had it I refuse to buy anything else.
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well
I think it's the same recipe
but aged 15 years? presumably that accounts for the difference
I never really thought about it, to be honest
I was swept up in the romance of the marketing
Crown Royal is extremely boring, dude. It's an average blended whiskey.
Try a nice rye or bourbon.
it's pretty nasty
What would a nice rye be in your opinion?
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Also, when drinking cask ale, always check the alcohol strength before starting! I have just had the worst hangover in a year or two because I didn't!
Well it depends on how much you want to spend. For under twenty dollars, the Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond or the Old Rip van Winkle 6 year are better than many whiskies double that price. The Sazerac 6 year is a great all around rye, for around $30 for a bottle. If you want to get into sipping ryes, see if you can find a Vintage 21, a Pappy Van Winkle 13 Year Riserve, or the Sazerac 18 year.
Plus I have some awesome bbq sauce of the same flavor.
I need to combo these two in a meal.
Well my friends, sample some Cruzan Blackstrap or their 12 year old special. Cruzan are a 12th generation rum family and by god they've mastered their craft. Anyone got some other recommendations for most delicious rums?
I'm not the biggest fan of rum, but I want to see if that changes this summer. I've got bottles of pyrat and appleton estate waiting to get some love.
If you want to get into spirits, rum seems to be the way to go. It seems like even the best rums can be had for relatively cheap, which not only means that you can get the good stuff, but also you can build up a nice collection really fast.
As for the Jack, well, that's just silly.
Do you have any reason why you want to? The LIIT is probably one of the worst cocktails -- it was invented because bartenders could just go down the speed rack -- vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, and then gun sour and coke. Wouldn't you rather make a decent cocktail that doesn't force you to get all those ingredients?
Please don't die.
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Mmm mmm some chicken with the bbq sauce followed by a Jack and coke?
That sounds like a mighty delicious combination.
Not silly at all. :P
Try a nice bourbon like Michter's or Woodford Reserve or Blanton's or Maker's.
Everyone here seems to love Woodford Reserve, so I'm going to have to pick up a bottle for myself one of these days.
Appleton Estate with an age number on it is absolutely great. Their normal stuff is pretty good for a more or less virgin rum, but it's not as good (IMO) as Cruzan's 'virgin' offerings.
I made a nice sour with it last night (simple syrup, lemon juice, egg white) and it turned out fucking awesome.
/thread
Ron Zacapa 23 anos is probably my favorite rum right now
I prefer the slighty sweeter flavors, but not nearly as overdone as pyrat xo
zaya makes a pretty good rum, although not as good as the ron 23
sea wynde is an interesting rum that tastes way more like a whiskey. much less sweetness, pretty complex flavor
I don't consider regular appleton to be in the sipping category
You have a drinking problem.
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$35-45 seems to be the sweet spot, pricewise, for a good sipping rum
Totally agree. I was once given a bit of Crown Royal. There wasn't much left in the bottle, so I decided to cut it with a little water. Probably about a 2:1 whiskey/water ratio. I ended up barely able to taste the whiskey. I tend to hate cutting whiskey with water (or even use ice cubes), but even when I do, I expect a little flavor.
I don't think I've had rye, but bourbon is so tasty, and can be a hell of a lot better than Crown Royal. Even bottom shelf bourbons like Old Crow can be tasty once you get used to them.
Anyone had that?
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Because I like them? I mean, I like other cocktails too.
edit:: also I was going to get most of the ingredients anyway. I only recently ran out of vodka and rum, and I have tequila and gin, I just figured I'd ask around here.
Are you talking about the cider?
Not a fan of Pyrat, either. Angostura 1919 is good if you can find it. I like St. James Hors D'Age as well.
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