My job assignment tonight was handling the computer disconnecting for the move of a corporate office of an liquor importer (not gonna say which one, just incase the bosses are reading, but its name is on the back label of most of these) into a new location. This office had bottles of their products lying around EVERYWHERE, and at the end of the day, the IT manager told me to take home anything that I could carry, and then when he saw me hugging a couple bottles, handed me a box and said “here, you can carry more this way”
I’m by no means a big drinker. I’m not an alcoholic, but my tolerance is very low, and I hangover hard. I do still enjoy a drink now and then, when I don’t have anything important to do the next day. I’m also by no means an alcohol expert…I can’t tell the difference between a $6 and a $600 bottle of wine. So those that do know this stuff, tell me about my new collection (all of these are in sealed, glass bottles, and have likely been sitting at room temperature for years):
Rose Pierre Sparr Brut Cremant
Luksusowa Distilled Potato Vodka
Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
Citadelle Gin
Yellow Tail Sparkling White Wine
Yellow Tail Shiraz
Goerges Dubceuf Beaujolais Nouveau
Cantine Francesca Merlot (I have a real urge to quote Sideways)
(some of these have so much stuff on the label that I have no idea what is the name and what is the description)
Yellow Tail is inexpensive but fair wine from Australia.
The Beaujolais Nouveau could be a nice drink if it’s recent, it’s not meant to age at all and isn’t really great to begin with.
The sparkling rose is a medium priced wine, never heard of the label.
The Citadelle is an interesting bottle of gin, with some interesting flavors. The vodka is a middle of the road brand, again not bad. The Pomegranate Liqueur is just that, hope you like some fruity drinks.
Not bad for free. The wine doesn’t seem like much special, but the liquor isn’t bad.
I’m sorry but Citadelle Gin is complete paint varnish. I will pay for shipping and reluctantly dispose of it for you. I use a complex set of enzymes to convert the alcohol to alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). ADH then breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde. Then another enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), rapidly breaks down acetaldehyde into acetate. The acetate is further metabolised, and eventually leaves [del]my body[/del] the waste treatment facility as carbon dioxide and water.
I’m not sure if I’m being wooshed. Is Citadelle crap, or do you just want me to give it to you?
I still have a bottle of Gordon’s Gin which has been sitting in my freezer for 10 years. I’m not too big on the drink, but I also don’t know what to mix it with.
You are being whooshed. Citadelle is an excellent gin. The rest of your haul is decent stuff. Nothing outstanding, but no crap either. If nothing else, you have hostess gifts for the next few parties you attend.
I broke open the Rose Pierre Sparr Brut Cremant, after leaving it in the fridge overnight. Carbonated rose wine? That’s something new, but I like it. Unfortunately half a wine glass was enough to make me already feel hung over…
the vodka and gin went into the freezer, and the Yellow Tail Sparkling White Wine also went into the fridge. The rest are being left on the counter.
I don’t think I’ve tried any of those except Pama…which I threw out after I tried it. Well, not right away, it sat on my bar for a year or so, then I tossed it…I think, or maybe it’s still there. I don’t remember what about it I didn’t like, just that it wasn’t good. Nice looking bottle IIRC though.
The Pierre Sparr is a good producer of wines from the Alsace region of France. Cremant is a simple term for sparkling wine made in france in the “traditional method” (i.e. just like champagne) but not made in the Champagne region. If it is a rose, it is probably mostly Pinot Noir, but some charodnnay blended in as well (making it very similar to a rose champagne).
Lukosova is one of the best mid-priced potato vodkas on the market today. Its resonable price make it a hit in polish imigrant communities. The only real other choice for Polish potato vodka is “Chopin” (the one in the bottle like Grey Goose, with the same price tag)
Yellow tail, while quite popular and extremely well priced, is nothing to write home about. I have never heard of the Merlot you got , but I woudl bet not super high on the quality scale. Here is a great idea, make a sangria with the 2 wines, fresh cut up fruit (pom fruit, like apples and pears; citrus , like orange slices; some grapes, and even some stone fruits like cherris and peaches), some juice of seltzer (if you want it to sparkle) and then maybe a cup of the Pomagranite liquor in place of brandy (the only reson you add brandy of triple sec to sangria, is to boost the alcohol level back up after diluting it with seltzer or juice.)
Yes, the Merlot and Shiraz are still fine, and will be for a few more years, but they won’t improve with age. They’re meant to be opened as soon as you buy them.
The Beaujolais should be drunk now, and don’t expect much if you’ve never had it before. IMO, it’s mostly marketing hype.
Just a little bit more geekery: 2009 is one the best years for Beaujolais for quite a while, and the 2009 nouveaus (x?) are some of the best that I’ve tasted. They won’t keep forever, and should be drunk fairly soon, but Georges Duboeuf is a major player in Beaujolais, and his Nouveau is a very enjoyable drink. The Wine Spectator says: An aromatic red, well-structured, with subtle black cherry, boysenberry and exotic spice notes. Clean and elegant, with a fresh finish. Drink now.
I just opened the Beaujolais. It tastes/smells like just about every other red wine I’ve had. Again, I’m not much of a geek, but it tastes fine to me, so do I really need to train to realize it sucks?
I’m also drinking it out of a plastic Slurpee cup. With a straw. Okay, the first part is true.
Wine can suck in two ways. It can suck because you don’t like it, and it can suck because it is off or tainted or faulty. The latter is becoming increasingly rare these days, and it’s usually fairly obviously faulty. So no, you don’t need to be an expert. But you do need to concentrate and observe to get the best out of wine, in the same way that you can hear music, and treat it as muzak, or really listen to it so that it becomes distinctive and much more enjoyable.
Basically wine derives its taste from several things, the most important being the grape from which it is made. All grape varieties have different tastes, and the better they are made, the more distinctive the taste. But you have to concentrate on the liquid in your mouth, which is why ‘experts’ (or very pretentious people) do all that sniffing and slurping.
Beaujolais is made from the gamay grape. Gamay produces wine that tastes of bubblegum and banana. (Yes, really!) Another example: the white sauvignon grape can taste of cat’s pee and gooseberries. These are all supposed to be pleasureable, believe it or not.
From memory, the Georges Dubouef is fairly distinctive. If you’ve got any left, do a bit of slurpin’ and thinking, and then taste another red wine in the same way, and see if they seem different.
I’d recommend you take them back out. Cocktail traditionalists will tell you that the only reason to keep your liquor in the freezer is if you intend to drink it straight. When mixing a cocktail in a shaker (or when adding ice in a glass), the ice doesn’t just serve to chill the booze – it also dilutes it. This is important to the balance and flavor of most cocktails, especially since you’re not a hardcore drinker.
