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What Are You Drinking Right Now?


deangold

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SodaStream stuff.

:wacko:

Nifty device, I love the ease of carbonation and potential for crowd-pleasing beverages. But wowza I need to make my own flavors. The concentrates distract me with essence of boiled-down bleh.

If I get hyper-motivated in the stevia, agave, or other simple syrup arena, I'll start a new thread on this topic.

Saw the SodaStream post (yours, I think) in the Coca-Cola Freestyle thread and thought I'd find where they've been discussed before. We don't use the SodaStream flavors -- they all seem to have Nutrasweet, even the non-diet ones, and we didn't like the taste of any of them.

Flavrz (sic) makes some tasty ones, including "tropical" which is mostly peach with some other fruits, and an excellently gingery ginger ale that is now my go-to drink. Before I found that, I was making ginger ale with Whole Foods "ginger soother" (I think it's The Ginger People brand - ginger, a little honey, a little lemon) and a little bit of agave.

I can strongly recommend (at a higher price point) the soda syrups from Pittsburgh Soda Pop. My husband and son loved the root beer (several types available) and black cherry, and I love the Mint Ginger Mama. You can get "sample packs," smaller bottles of 3 kinds, and we tried a wide variety of out-there flavors (bananas foster, blood orange, mango, dark chocolate) but the root beer, cherry, and mint ginger were by far our favorites.

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Several guests have been digging the following concoction lately.

In a clear tumbler with ice (unless ingredients already well-chilled), combine:

  • Inexpensive Malbec ($10.99 for 1.5 liters at Harris Teeter for the Argentinean variety pictured here)
  • Splash of San Pelligrino Blood Orange Soda ($6.99 for a 12 pack at BJs)
  • Two or three or more drops Bittermen’s Xocolatl Mole Bitters (bought ours online, but have seen at Society Fair and elsewhere)
  • Stir with ice, then place thinly sliced orange to float atop the mixture (aim for organic since you’re using the rinds)

Inexpensive, fizzy, fun, not too alcoholic, convenient to make a glass at a time, and no palate fatigue/saturation after several sips. This is more in the punch realm, and not so food friendly, but ideal for a guest or two lingering on the patio.


post-5654-0-89690500-1365946085_thumb.jp

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Maraschita Cocktail, a drink designed by a fellow rockwellian, I believe. Tequila, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, Cointreau. Nice, balanced cocktail.

The cocktail in question, which I'm drinking right now. (This was made with Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao very ably taking the place of the Cointreau.)

maraschita_zps2031c537.jpg

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How was it? I find Lanson to be hit or miss and unfortunately more miss than anything else which sucks because the house has such a great history.

Hit - this is my third bottle from this purchase, and it's wonderful (in a Bollinger-RD-with-a-hit-of-Boon-Geuze type of way).

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Good choice of a label to compare it to, outside of the Grande Année and the VV I find Bolly to be hit and miss as well - more bottle variation than vintage variation.

Last night I celebrated 15 years since my wife asked me out on our first date with the same wine we drank for our wedding 1990 VC La Grande Dame Rose. This is a wine that just gets better each time I drink it.

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2012 Ameztoi Rosé Getariako Txakolina "Rubentis." A rose txakoli picked up at Cordial in Union Market. Fantastic summer drinking...heading back tomorrow to grab a case. Apparently Andres has bought up the rest of the area's supply to sell by the glass at Jaleo...or so says the guy giving me the hard sell at the shop.

Also picked up a bottle of Shrub and Co. tart apple shrub from Salt and Sundry. Went with my standard instinct with new mixing things, and did a variation on a Manhattan. This one was 2 parts Knob Creek, 1 part shrub, 1/2 part Dolin rouge. Need to think of a name for it.

Just finished a bottle of the Liber & Co. Texas grapefruit shrub. Fantastic stuff. A couple of cocktails were born from that bottle:

Dark and Shrubby

2 oz dark rum (Goslings, of course)

1 oz shrub

ginger beer

A Shrub Grows in Manhattan (Not so original with the names)
2 oz bourbon (I used Eagle Rare)
0.5 oz grapefruit shrub
0.25 oz Maraschino

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Bold Rock Virginia apple cider, to wash down this cigar.

Which one did you try? Mr. lperry brought some back from a trip to Southern VA, and we had a tasting when we had some friends over. They have one that tastes like a nice, sparkling wine.

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One of my favorite summer drinks is Castillo white rum, w/ pineapple juice & pink CrystalLight lemonade (don't judge), w/ grapefruit seltzer water & a good hit of lime or lemon juice, w/ basil or mint...1 or 2, & I'm almost ready to look at my yard, which is out of control w/ the rain (& the fact that my teenage son is away, & not mowing the lawn)...the ginger sounds good, & I have ginger syrup...

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Tanqueray Malacca and tonic, with a dash of Angostura Orange bitters, while getting ready for my date tonight. We've been talking by text all week and I'm very excited about it.

What kind of tonic? I have had it with Q, Fever Tree, and Fentimans - that is the order of preference for me, the Fentimans and the Malacca are just too medicinal together.

Good luck on your day, here is to a happy ending :)

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What kind of tonic? I have had it with Q, Fever Tree, and Fentimans - that is the order of preference for me, the Fentimans and the Malacca are just too medicinal together.

Good luck on your day, here is to a happy ending :)

It went very well, thanks both of y'all. :-) We started at Passenger, tried Hogo (she is coeliac, and unfortunately nothing at Hogo really worked at the time), so we went to Mockingbird Hill where we had a great time and I knew about half the people in there.

I was using generic Kroger tonic, actually. I'd tried with Hansen before and it overwhelmed it, but the generic tonic worked well with it.

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Holy Ka-Smoaney* I just discovered my favorite, every day beverage for this summer. Agua Fresca, kinda, but with a dose of geometry.

  1. In the blender, liquified Farmer's Market end-of-season strawberries with raspberries.
  2. Strained the resulting pulp. Found it a touch tart, so mixed in some honey.
  3. Placed the resulting, strained puree into these, then froze: Ice Sphere Molds
  4. Placed a frozen fruit sphere into a clear pint glass, added seltzer water.

The resulting concoction, especially glass #2 and beyond, provides bright red color, surprisingly refreshing flavor, and a super way to stay hydrated. You won't want to stop after one glass, nor should you, in this summer heat.

Peach, mango, cantaloupe, pineapple, or other lightly colored fruit would also work well. I'll bet blending a tropical fruit with coconut milk would take this to yet another level, as would a squeeze of lime or other tidbit of citrus.

If using dark red fruit, the sphere in your first, clear glass might alarm fans of True Blood or other vampire tales. But after that first pour, each successive beverage takes on a gorgeous wave of berry-red froth from the ice sphere, and the flavor is through the roof. This would also be fun/dangerous with sparkling wine.

One thing I adore about ice or fruit spheres is you can make a batch, extract from the molds, and store them in a plastic bag in the freezer. This allows you to have a couple dozen frozen spheres ready for a party, visits from the undead, whatever.

(*a patented kmango term)

(roughly translates to)

(ebullient excitement)

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The "I'm really sorry that in addition to everything else that happened today you also had to bury a dead squirrel" cocktail. Freshly-pressed pineapple juice from a very ripe fruit, vanilla infused white rum, and a squeeze of lime.

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2012 Goose Island Bourbon County Oak Barrel Stout. Poured like a can of oil. Tasted like a combination of 3 parts malta:1 part bourbon. Very low carbonation. Fascinating aroma and really interesting flavor profile at first, then I just got tired of it. I'm the only one in the house who'll drink it, so part of the 12 oz bottle was trashed. I was sad, but at 15% ABV, I got my fair share of alcohol.

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The "I'm really sorry that in addition to everything else that happened today you also had to bury a dead squirrel" cocktail.  Freshly-pressed pineapple juice from a very ripe fruit, vanilla infused white rum, and a squeeze of lime. 

The night Azami and I got home after my father died, we discovered that a squirrel had gotten in through the chimney and, unable to either escape or get water, died. On my side of the bed. I don't remember whether I had a drink, but I should have.

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A few weeks ago I spent not enough time in Northeast Scotland.  I stopped in a local grocery to pick up some bottles whisky made by independent bottlers to bring back with me.  After making my purchases, on our way out, I noticed a random small bottle behind the counter that sold cigarettes and miniatures of all sizes. I opened it tonight to celebrate a few things.

It's 12 year old Old Pultney.  That weekend Jura became my favorite whisky but it is now replaced by Old Pultney.  I'm hoping that the liquor store that sells obscure liquors just over the border in Italy has a bottle or two because this little one isn't going to last.

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A few weeks ago I spent not enough time in Northeast Scotland.  I stopped in a local grocery to pick up some bottles whisky made by independent bottlers to bring back with me.  After making my purchases, on our way out, I noticed a random small bottle behind the counter that sold cigarettes and miniatures of all sizes. 12 year old Old Pultney.  That weekend Jura became my favorite whisky but it is now replaced by Old Pultney.

Enjoying your second childhood, are you? ;)

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A Meyer lemon drop.  I know some people eschew vodka drinks, but the neutral spirit lets the clarity of the lemon's flavor come through.

2 parts Meyer lemon juice

2 parts vodka

3/4 to 1 part simple syrup, dependent upon the acidity of the lemons

I have one of those citrus presses that turns the halves inside out.  Press the usual way first, then turn the lemon shell on it side and press the two sides together to get some oil out of the rind into the drink.  Just gorgeous.

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Serving this with dinner tonight: 1975 Gruaud-Larose. A big, tannic year, so it should not be too far over the hill and could be quite nice--if it was stored well. The cork does look a bit soft, so I'm feeling somewhat anxious about it

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Soft cork isn't necessarily bad (but you may want to use an ah-so) - plus, the withered label means it's probably been stored in good humidity.

Shine a strong flashlight through the bottle - if the color is ruby, the wine is probably good (it's not a superstar wine, but can be very good if a bit tannic like you say); if the color is towards the brown end of the spectrum, it has seen too much heat - one whiff and you'll know. Decant it *care-ful-ly* in one, slow pour, taking great care not to shake up the sediment at the bottom. Rocking it back-and-forth will make it cloudy and completely ruin the wine - that sediment is terribly bitter. Once you see the first hint of sediment going into the decanter, stop, and leave the final 1/2-inch or so for the angels. Pour the last ounce or so into a glass, and let it sit there for a couple of hours to see what happens to the nose. The wine should improve in the decanter over the course of 10-20 minutes, blowing off any unpleasantries, and should last all evening. Hopefully this has been standing up for at least 24 hours - did you get it at Schneider's? I've had somewhat mixed experiences with their older Bordeaux.

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Soft cork isn't necessarily bad (but you may want to use an ah-so) - plus, the withered label means it's probably been stored in good humidity.

Shine a strong flashlight through the bottle - if the color is ruby, the wine is probably good (it's not a superstar wine, but can be very good if a bit tannic like you say); if the color is towards the brown end of the spectrum, it has seen too much heat - one whiff and you'll know. Decant it *care-ful-ly* in one, slow pour, taking great care not to shake up the sediment at the bottom. Rocking it back-and-forth will make it cloudy and completely ruin the wine - that sediment is terribly bitter. Once you see the first hint of sediment going into the decanter, stop, and leave the final 1/2-inch or so for the angels. Pour the last ounce or so into a glass, and let it sit there for a couple of hours to see what happens to the nose. The wine should improve in the decanter over the course of 10-20 minutes, blowing off any unpleasantries, and should last all evening. Hopefully this has been standing up for at least 24 hours - did you get it at Schneider's? I've had somewhat mixed experiences with their older Bordeaux.

I wasn't aware of the flashlight trick. It checks out, doesn't look maderized at all. Of course I'll decant it. Yes, I got it at Schneider's  I wanted a St. Julien second growth or better and this is the only one they had--shelves were stripped pretty bare on the 24th.

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I wasn't aware of the flashlight trick. It checks out, doesn't look maderized at all. Of course I'll decant it. Yes, I got it at Schneider's  I wanted a St. Julien second growth or better and this is the only one they had--shelves were stripped pretty bare on the 24th.

If you got it yesterday, it's going to be shaken up, I'm afraid. The large sediment will drop to the bottom, but fine sediment is colloidal, and takes literally weeks to work its way to the bottom. If you have cheesecloth, I would use it - the wine can't be perfect, but you want to get it as clear as possible. (I know you know this, but I'm "speaking" to readers in general here.)

(And I'm sure you found out that the "flashlight trick" works best when you point it towards you from the opposite end of the bottle.)

Curious, why Saint-Julien? Not that there's anything wrong with Saint-Julien, but that seems surprisingly specific.

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Curious, why Saint-Julien? Not that there's anything wrong with Saint-Julien, but that seems surprisingly specific.

I've always liked that part of the Medoc, plus my son shares the name, so it's become a bit of a tradition here at Christmastime to serve a bottle of it with dinner. Thanks for your advice!

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The '75 Gruaud-Larose was surprisingly robust. The cork broke on removal and had a vein that had been saturated, but it was in good shape otherwise and I was able to remove it without much fuss. Depot was far less than I had expected, and in the decanter the wine looked good and clear. Color had that beautiful mahogany-orange edge of mature Bordeaux that I've often read about but seldom experienced. Nose resinous, phenolic, pitchy, with turpentine notes but all in a pleasant way; also leather, pepper. Fruit almost completely withdrawn behind these overtones, but present. Surprisingly heady, even peppery for such a geezer. On the palate almost Burgundian in softness, but with a tannic backbone that reminded me why '75 was notorious for this quality. After nearly forty years still meaty and well-structured, but with tannins now soft and supple. It opened up beautifully in the glass, revealing the layers of meaning that make us return to wine and bloviate about it as I am doing here. Finish long and complex. A wiry old fart with some spunk left in him, i.e., a wine to live up to.

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Chateau O'Brien Buddy's Bistro Red 2007.  I have no doubt that this bottle stayed in our cellar longer than the winemaker intended, however, it is really quite nice drinking, a testament to either the winemaker or our basement's year-round low temperature.  It tastes to me like an aged, medium-bodied French red.

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