[QUOTE=Jodi]
I would describe it as “drinkable,” which I’ve always considered damning with faint praise since it is, after all, a beverage.
[/QUOTE]
In fairness, bleach is “drinkable” too - for a while.
I myself had a 2005 Pheasant Gully semillon sauvignon blanc from South Australia, which is sensationally good and bloody cheap.
Sorry I’m late to the party. This weekend I have a bottle of 2004 Rosenblum Zin open…the Richard Sauret Vineyards incarnation. Lots of fruit, and I sure don’t taste the 16% alcohol.
Though as I write this, I too have a bourbon in hand. Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year. We may need a SD Bourbon Society thread soon.
[QUOTE=Ass For A Hat]
Though as I write this, I too have a bourbon in hand. Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year. We may need a SD Bourbon Society thread soon.
[/QUOTE]
I have a glass of the Weller 12 on my desk as I type. The SDBS would be very popular, methinks. 
On a cold winter evening I am glugging down some Norton classico, a pleasent argentine blend, nothing outstanding but at 8 pesos can’t go far wrong. The solid malbecs come out tomorrow along with 1/2 a cow to go on the parrilla.
Would cause bodily harm to get my grubby mits on a bottle of Wolf Blass Shiraz, brown label or president selction, alas all wine here is local.
No idea why I used the word alas, the local stuff is damn fine.
Salut
Two fingers of Southern Comfort over ice. I am also sipping the Champagne of Beers to cool my throat. What the hell, it is a 4 day weekend and a Saturday night.
SGT Schwartz
Nothing for me tonight, aside from a couple of Sierra Nevada Pale Ales with and after dinner.
And amijane I’m sorry, on preview I see you asked for an actual guide (I was in a bit of a haze this morning.)
This one is pretty good and while this one only has a few varietals listed, it has .wav files next to each one so you can actually hear the pronunciation.
[QUOTE=psycat90]
And amijane I’m sorry, on preview I see you asked for an actual guide (I was in a bit of a haze this morning.)
[/QUOTE]
Sorry nothing, you’re a star, thanks 
Yesterday was actually nice and warm, so I had a couple of large French 75s.
2 oz. gin (I used Plymouth)
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
enough sugar (I used a little less than 0.5 oz. light agave nectar)
Shake violently and strain into a tall glass (I used an 8 oz. cider-type glass).
Fill with drinkable champagne.
Garnish with a twist of lemon.
You can play around with varying the base spirit, but you’ll have to adjust proportions accordingly.
[QUOTE=Hunter Hawk]
Shake violently and strain into a tall glass (I used an 8 oz. cider-type glass).
Fill with drinkable champagne.
Garnish with a twist of lemon.
You can play around with varying the base spirit, but you’ll have to adjust proportions accordingly.
[/QUOTE]
Violently?!? Hm, violent spirits…
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist]
I keep wondering if ANYTHING mixes with apple juice. We always have the stuff around. Vodka would probably work with the Gatorade, but I have verified that rum and apple juice do NOT work.
[/QUOTE]
Not quite apple juice, perhaps, but when apple cider comes out later this fall, you can take 2 oz. of that rum, and pour it over ice with an ounce of cointreau in a highball glass, and fill with cider. Amazingly good autumnal drink for cool nights on a porch.
[QUOTE=Diomedes]
Not quite apple juice, perhaps, but when apple cider comes out later this fall, you can take 2 oz. of that rum, and pour it over ice with an ounce of cointreau in a highball glass, and fill with cider. Amazingly good autumnal drink for cool nights on a porch.
[/QUOTE]
Or try this per my earlier comment about changing the base spirit in a French 75:
2 oz. mixing-grade dark rum (i.e., Mount Gay, not Ron Zacapa)
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 good dash Angostura bitters
Shake violently and strain into a tall glass.
Fill with cider or a dark hard cider.
Garnish with a twist of lemon.
I haven’t bothered trying a heated version of this, but I suspect it would work.
Excuse my lateness: my Friday night wine was a glass of Torres Sangre de Toro- yes, it’s not exactly fancy or expensive, and it has a little plastic bull attached to the neck for added kitschness, but I love it.
It appears I’m not the only one either.
I sure wish I could find a wine that I like - I’m jealous of people that take a sip and then do that closed-eyes-mmmmm thing. I’ve found several meads that I enjoy, but grape wines… not so much. Seems they are either too sweet or too… astringent? Tannic? Something like that. Should try a wine tasting I guess, but I wouldn’t know where to start.
Let’s see… Friday night was a 2005 Menage au Trois, California red table wine. It’s wonderful even to an old strictly Cabernet guy like me and at around $9 US a bottle, hard to pass up. Really, I’d love to hear another oenophile weigh in on this one.
Bobotheoptimist- You could always learn to drink wine the way I did-start with sweet whites, move on to drier whites, then light reds, then heavy oaked wines and big, full-bodied reds. The idea is to start with the wines you find easiest to drink, and gradually work up to more challenging ones.
Admittedly, I started drinking wine when I was about 10, that system was my dad’s fool-proof way of making his children appreciate good wine, and when we started it was restricted to 1/4 of a glass with Sunday lunch, but in theory it should work for anyone.
My favourite white wine is also a Torres- Viña Esmeralda. Although I don’t normally like sweet white wine, I love this one. It is sort of floral and honeyed, and perhaps that’s what you’d prefer if you like mead.
I love Chablis too, and it’s hard to pick a bad one…but it’s too expensive for more than an occasional treat.
[QUOTE=lieu]
Let’s see… Friday night was a 2005 Menage au Trois, California red table wine. It’s wonderful even to an old strictly Cabernet guy like me and at around $9 US a bottle, hard to pass up. Really, I’d love to hear another oenophile weigh in on this one.
[/QUOTE]
Alas, I’ve never tried a Menage au Trois. I only hope I do someday before I die. Only $9 you say?
It wasn’t Friday, but last night we killed a bottle of Hirsch 2004 Gruner Veltliner. This is the third or fourth time I’ve had a gruner, and I’ve decided that really like it. Any suggestions about pairing it up?
I’ve tasted a few Grüner Veltliners and I’ve really enjoyed them as well. It’s got such bright acidity it makes a great food companion, particularly for things like seafood/fish, chicken, or pork cooked in any type of citrus-based sauce (shrimp scampi, maybe?) It’s one of the few wines that I think can stand up to other high acid foods like tomatoes, or a salad with a vinaigrette, even asparagus, a classic wine pairing nightmare.
I haven’t tried the Ménage a Trois red wine, but I did try a rosé made by them a couple of months ago. It was recommended by one of the workers of BevMo who saw me choosing a few rosés to have on hand for the summer. It was incredible. So good I went back and bought 2 more bottles the next day. I’ll see if I can find the red on the way home. If I do I’ll report my notes.
Also, another online (wine) community did a ‘group tasting’ a few weeks back. I thought it was a pretty good idea, and pretty fun. I’d be up for that if anyone else here were interested. Maybe start with this one?
I bought another case on the way home, noticed my misspelling, and thank you for correcting it, psycat90. Being an '05, give it a bit in a glass to come out, 30 minutes or so.
We had an '02 Ridge Cabernet during a wine-paired meal recently and it was outstanding with a vennison shank. I immediately bought all the '02s I could find, plus a couple of '98s. Stay with the '02s as they are quite nice.
Thanks lieu, will do! I found the 04 vintage at one shop last night, but just wasn’t much in the mood for wine, so maybe I’ll give it a go tonight. I’ll look for the 05 vintage at a couple of the other wine shops, if I can’t find it I’ll have to head over the mountain to score a bottle from the winery, but I need to head out that way sometime this month anyway.