The Grape and Grain, or; whatcha drinking this month?

Cafe Society
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So, I’m back from my bi-monthly trip to the LCBO, and it has me thinking, there have to be a few people who drink on this list. I’ll be your sommelier for this post, and this months wines are -
doppio passo Salento Primitivo '05 (Red)
San Pietro Alto Adige - Lagrein '05 (Red)
Bairrada São Domingos Tinto '05 (Red)
Château de Gourgazaud Minervois '04 (Red)
Bricco dei Guazzi Barbera '04 (Red)
Domaine Lamargue Cabernet Sauvignon '05 (Red)
Montes Sauvignon Blanc '07 (White)
Ramirana reserva Chardonnay '05 (White)
Cave Talmard Mâcon-Uchizy ‘06 (White)
Ca’ di Frara Oltrepo Pavese Pinot Grigio late harvest '05 (White)
Doña Beatriz Rueda Verdejo '06 (White)
Côtes de Saint-Mont Les Vignes Retrouvées '05 (White)

All in the ~ $15 range. My wine buying MO involves going through the vintages section and aiming to average $15 per bottle over 12 bottles. (My friends who speak business call this a point price or something.)
I write down anything I particularly like, and try to get it again.

and the whiskies are -

Bruichladdich 15 yr
Macallan fine oak 15 yr
Highland Park 12 yr
Cragganmore 12 yr
Caol Ila 12 yr, sherry cask
Glenfiddich Gran Reserva, 21 year, Cuban rum cask.

We had the doppio passo with a polenta casserole on the weekend and it fit like a glove, warm and welcoming.

We sampled the Côtes de Saint-Mont with a chicken curry, and there was a lovely smokiness that went well. Usually, I go fairly sweet with spicy food, for the contrast, but this was a good blend of similarities.

I need to be careful with my whisky, balancing my insane desire to compare and contrast with the sheer practicality of not letting an opened bottle go off. So a maximum of six open bottles at a time. The Bruichladdie, Cragganmore, Macallan and Highland Park are all lovely drams, but I’ve been blown away by both the Gran Reserva and the Caol Ila. Normally, I don’t give a toss about the two big Glens (There are other, far more flavourful Speysides to be had, such as Glenrothes or the above mentioned Cragganmore) but the Gran Reserva has a huge flavour from the rum casks. I apologize to residents of the USA - it’s not available down there, but it’s worth putting on your list of things to seek out and try when you’re out of the country.

The Caol Ila is just amazing - picture the biggest, toughest biker you can imagine and then picture him singing like Placido Domingo. Everything I love about the Islay malts, with an astonishing refinement. This is a tipple that tickles yer nipples. I’ve managed to eke out the Gran Reserva and the Caol Ila for almost a year, because I only want to drink them when I’ve got the time to savour them, but it’s getting on for time to finish them off.

And now, you, my fellow Dopers - what do you have in the cave that you want to tell us about? Any tips on how you pick one bottle over another? Recommendations? Condemnations? Let me know what you think.

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I’ve got a nice little stash of Night Train '08 that I’ve been dying to break open…

Joe

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I just had a JosephsBrau Winterfest dark lager. Pretty decent, but I prefer their Dunkelweizen.

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I thought this might be a thread on Wine and Beer. I can’t afford the fine whiskies. If they are as good as they sound I would have a hard time not drinking them up - then I’d have two problems. So I’ll assume “Grains” applies to beer too.

Currently (this month) I’m drinking:

Dogfishhead 60 minute IPA. A good clean IPA with a great hop aroma. One of my favs. You can tell they appreciate the taste AND smell of hops.

Bell’s Kalamazoo (sp) stout. I am a recent Bell’s convert. A nice well rounded stout with a slightly sweet finish. I would need one in my hand to give a better description.

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Haven’t tried Night Train yet myself, but it’s on the list for the next visit.

One of my frustrations about talking about beer is some of the most interesting ones are not universally available. JosephsBrau, Dogfishhead and Bell’s beers just don’t seem to be available in my neck of the woods. My all time favourite, Connors Best Bitter, seems to have disappeared forever, so now I’m left with Upper Canada Dark Ale and Creemore Springs Premium Lager. One of the delights of the last 20 years is that both in the US and in Canada, the breweries have just sprouted like mushrooms - I used to hang my head when Canadians would go on about Labatt’s Blue being superior to Bud. They’re both sex in a canoe as far as I’m concerned. What other beers have you had and liked lately?