Chicago is a nice little town

What to do over a "long" weekend when you are too stressed to take a full 3 days off, your friends have to finish their thesis, get jobs or work? Well you jaunt off to Chicago to experience the city. On the way there Keith and stopped by Three Floyds Brewery to see if we could get a tour. While that never managed to happen we did both get some really tasty beer. I think i ordered the I ordered the Jinx Proof which was a nice, crisp pilsner, and Keith got the Zombie dust. While wayyy hoppier than my beer, I really enjoyed them both, and I love going to great local places. Support local business. That and they were DELICIOUS. I've yet to develop a beer rating system, but based on my wine scale they'd get 5/5 out of yumminess and 4/5 for value. They were great local beers, but i'm cheap, and 5 dollars a pint is fairly standard, but not cheap.
If you are ever headed to Chicago or in the area, definitely stop by. It appears they have a rabid following, and a really yummy menu to go along with their great beer.
Now what do you do when you get to Chicago? If you are my friends and I, you pound a bunch of cupcakes (that's not slang or a euphemism or anything, we just ate a bunch of cupcakes) drink some Rolling rock and go out for pizza. We also managed to hit trader joes and some local shops, but this blog is about drinking.
Rolling rock doesn't really need a rating. I categorize it under "Take it or leave it". I have friends that swear by it, but i'll never actually buy it. Its not a great value, brewed by the big beer companies, and honestly doesn't boast great flavors. So, the next day we switched to Cinnamon Whiskey (that deserves its own post, so i'm going to leave that gem for later), and THINGS FROM TRADER JOES!

On the right we have Josephbrau pilsner or (plznr) not sure whats up with that. Its just what it says it is, a super cheap and yummy pilsner from TJ's. On the left we have the much classier Cut the Fluff wine. Its a light fruity white wine blend, and it went really well with my stromboli from Gino's Origional. I'd give it a 4/5 for flavor. It smelled crisp but had a light sweetness, and 4.5/5 for value at $4.99 a bottle. This would make a great unimposing dinner wine.
Also, yes, i peel the labels off my beer bottles, what of it?
Back to reality tomorrow, more to come this week!

New Cider spotted in... WHAT? Light Cider?

You didn't read wrong: Light Cider. Now I'm not going to sugar coat this, and the buyer of this cider already knew, the stuff was AWEFUL. If you want a cider that is not only light on calories, but light on flavor and alcohol, go ahead, try Michelob's light cider. I combination of watered down apple juice and flat alcoholic beverage, this is something that should never have left the testing facility. It gets 0/5 for flavor (grosssssss) and it has no value. Period. Also, Hermes would like you to know that the peace sign was him. I cannot blog tag him, and my boozey pics don't make it to fbook.

Good thing Krista decided to save my evening with a nice bottle of my bread and butter: cheap red wine. Blue Fin is one of the Trader Joe's wine, and at 4$ a pop, this bottle has a hearty value of 4.5/5. It goes down nice and easy for a Pino Noir, without much dryness. I'd definitley drink this wine again, and now i'm excited to try the white wine from the same winery that I bought last weekend. Blue fin Pinot Noir rates a solid 4/5. I can't give it a 5/5 because, while it is super tasty,  it doesn't have much depth. It does go down easy, though.

Back with more stories from the Red on Monday!

Amarula, and off for the weekend

Are you feeling fancy today? Try some Amarula! Its out of my wine budget at 20 a bottle, but i should probably have a different hard liquor budget anyways. Sweet and creamy, this is definately a must try for those of you looking for something exotic. At first you get a big hit of the creamy-sweetness, followed by a mellower fruity aftertaste. I tried this the other day at keiths house (followed by the previous post's Mike's Harder).  Amarula is definately not something you can chug, but I bet it would make a nice mixed drink in a martini glass. I'll rate it 4/5 for taste, and i have no value rating comparison (so sad).

Mike's Harder, Ghost Stories, and A Boy and His Dog

Just like most any other Wendesday night, I spent last at a friend's place BBQing. Well eating hummus and chips while others threw some meat on the grill. Instead of breaking out a bottle of wine for the occasion, since I had to drive home, I only had a beer or two. Around the time when the ghost stories were being told, and I'd already eaten my delicious smore, Keith and I decided to take off for a lazy movie night.
We stoped at Bar Barry (a liquour store) so that he could  pick up Amarula, a South African fermented fruit beverage (around $20 dollars a bottle), which will be commented on later when he sends me the picture. While we were there I pickedup a Mike's harder fruit punch, just for laughs really. I only ended up drinking about 4 ounces of it while we watched A Boy and His Dog. According to Netflix its a cult classic, and while it doesn't totally make sense, its a worthwhile hour and 27 minutes. Who can resist a post-apocalyptic romp with a strangly uplifting ending?
Ah, so for ratings, Mike's get's a 5/5 for value. At 8% a can of this stuff will get you pretty buzzed for less than three dollars, and you CAN'T taste the alcohol at all, so its really a dangerous product. I'll give it a 4/5 for yumminess though, because I'm guessing the hangover from this sugary stuff could be pretty nasty. Overall, a tastey, but not totally girly outdoors type drink. Hasta luego!

The Promised Port

Ah, my old stand bye, port. My love for you has only grown since I was introduced to your inspiring flavors as an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts (Go U!). To the left you will find my favorite variety, Porto Morgado Ruby. Like all true ports, this is an import, not that the stuff they make around here is that bad. I did learn something today, though, while researching port in my intermittent struggle to understand the differences between Tawny and Ruby port.
I'll start with Ruby. Basically, from what i understand, ruby is aged less in the cask (or steel vat) and more in the bottle. This port is less oxidized, therefore maintaining a brighter color. That means it has a less complex flavor, and slightly less sweetness. It will also have a stronger flavor (yum :). Of course, one of my favorite parts: its pretty much the cheapest type of port you can buy.
With port I have actually graduated from the bottom shelf and moved on to this 10 or so dollar bottle. It gets a 4/5 for value and 5/5 for taste. I can't give it a 5/5 for value since that goes to the 4 dollar bottles i used to buy.
Moving on to Tawny port. This is ruby port's snootier older brother. Its cask aged for a few years, and has more oxidation leading to a less intense color. This type of wine does improve with age, but i'll never let it last that long. Slightly sweeter, this wine is great for adding to Mike's blackberry sauce. But, just so he knows- yes, it was Ruby that you liked better. I was wrong. But, I'll definitely drink both any day.
Cheers to port! But remember, its stronger than regular wine, so smaller cups. I've made that mistake before.

Back blogging heaven in a cup

Sometimes I am a bad blogger. I've had this little gem sitting in my inbox for a few weeks now. Back in San Diego Krista and I could wait no longer for a drink, so we picked up some bloody mary's in the airport bar. Well mixed and delicious, these things still were not worth the 12 dollar price tag. Well, they were worth it, but I'm still going to complain about how spendy they were. I think the midwest drink prices are spoiling me! Back in Boston I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have flinched at the cost. Or in grenich village for that matter (shakes fist at the memory of a 25 dollar pitcher of beer). The moral of this story is drinking makes flying better, but wallets lighter. I'll have to make more of these bad boys at home. Yum!

Next post: Tawny vs. Ruby Port...

Can't Stop the BBQ

The roving summer bbq landed at Hermes' place again this week. Suprisingly it was pretty low key; food and hookah. While i avoid the hookah due to my lamentable lack of immune system (i have caught more colds than i can count from smoking hookah back in my UMass days) I did get to enjoy the back porch fire we started while drinking from a lovely 32 ounce Mississippi Mudd.

I say "lovely" but what i really mean is cheap, convenient and of a large size. Flavor-wise, for a black and tan it was rather bland. I'd give it a 4.5/5 for value, and a 2.5/5 for flavor/yumminess. Mostly because it didn't have much. I'd drink it again though, if i were feeling broke.

The food at the BBQ was good, though! We enjoyed grilled corn on the cob, way too many potato chips and some yummy french bread.

I can't wait to get back to wine! Its been a fairly wine free week since i'm on some meds that say "reduce alcohol consumption" on the package or something along those lines. Its been a really stressfull one so i've had to increase my good habits instead, like running and hanging out with friends, ha. Don't worry, i'll be back to my old self soon!

Weekends are Always more fun!

 

This picture might look awful classy, but it was just at the sober end of a really great Cinco de Mayo BBQ. (Great job Hermes!) While not quite in the spirit of the holiday, this Beringer, California Collection Chardonnay was way better than i remember the last California collection wine i had being. I think this bottle was about 7 dollars, making it a 3 or so for value out of 5. For taste it gets a solid 4. Light, refreshing, not overly sweet or dry; it was a great wine to enjoy with chips and salsa. Followed by margaritas and banderitas, of course.

Last weekend was an awesome trip to the red river gorge in KY. Sitting around a campfire is never quite complete without something yummy to drink, so we stopped on the way before we hit the dry counties and stocked up for the weekend. I found the lovely juicebox packaged Bandit wine. While a Pinot Grigio is not my top pick for camping, the box noted that this wine would be a great option to take outside camping and hiking. I had no choice but to give it a try. 

The box, weighing in at 1.3 times the normal wine bottle size would have been great to save and pack with me if there had actually been any left after it was passed around a few times. I'd give it at 8 dollars for the box a 3.5/5 for value and 4/5 for taste.

Please don't judge the picture. No one is pretty after 6 hours hours in the car followed by camping in Kentucky.

World Market Sangria

While I was doing whatever the opposite of relaxing is in San Diego last week, Krista and I wandered over to a very interesting store called World Market. Composed of a mix of imported snacks, bags, jewelery and home goods, there were a few things that simply called to us. One of these things was a very large bottle of Sangria from el Toro Flaco. The whole bottle was about 6 or 7 dollars making it a solid 4.5/5 in the value department. As for flavor I'd give it a 4/5. It was nice, fruity, a little heavy on the grape juice, but just what i was looking for at the moment. If you want something cheap, in a big bottle, and REALLY easy to drink, then go for it. Just make sure you drink enough water after; I'm sure this stuff could make for a real mean hangover.

When we do it right...

I'm a little behind on my blogging, I spent some time recently at a conference in San Diego, followed by a mini climbing vacation in Kentucky, so I haven't been devoting too much time to drinking and talking about it. There are a few things I do want to back up and post on, though.

Last Thursday following one of the worst headaches I've had in a while, I went over to Mike's for some much earned R&R. It was his turn to cook some delicious food and pair it with some possibily tastier wine. We are working on his cooking for future dates. I am the lucky beneficiary of his culinary practice. On the menu for that day was grilled salad with balsamic dressing and feta cheese.

Following the salad we threw some seasoned whitefish in a tinfoil packet on the grill and paired it with a light Meridian Pinot Grigio. As you can see, the fish didn't last too long, it was realllllllly good! The wine was middle of the road, nice, light, and not overbearing. I'd give it a 3.5/5 for taste, and 3/5 for value since I liked it, and honestly can't remember how much it cost. It paired nicely with the fish and made for an overall enjoyable evening. Date approved, Mike! Add it to the list of possibilities. 

After dinner, Mike got all fancy and made icecream with a blackberry sacue. AMAZING! Blackberries are my absolute favorite and we paired this with a bottle of blackberry wine I've been saving for a special occasion, but Mike wins! and got to split the bottle with me. The blackberry sauce and the wine, an Oliver Winery mainstay, tasted almost the same. Except one gave me a great buzz. Both were overall amazing. The blackberry wine gets a 5/5 for taste, i really do love the stuff, but a 4.5/5 for value, since its on the high end of my wine budget at 15-20 dollars (I bought it in October, so i don't recall).  

More to come, including sangria in San Diego and boxed wine, made to drink around the campfire!