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What Are You Drinking Right Now?


deangold

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I have been fooling around with an Aper-groni (need a new name...) a Negroni with Aperol. Very dependent on which gin you try and I have not done enough research to say that I have a good combo yet. But diligent testing will eventually show the way.

You need any help with that project?

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Negroli? Negraperoli? No, I guess not.

Do you mean a Negroni with Aperol substituting for Campari, or a Negroni with Aperol in addition?

Today I think I am on to something. I poured a shot of gin (either Plymouth or Brokers) onto a glass of rocks. Added about an ounce of Aperol and 1/2 ounce of Punt e Mes. Pretty damn good. Comes with a caramel/chololate overtone with a citrus edge. Sort of like some caramel chocolate from Artisan confection but with a lot of kick from the gin. I gotta work with this...

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Hitch, have you explored any more with Aviation gin?
I am still trying to find it. My one experience with it was at the Flatiron Lounge in New York (where I had it in an exquisite Aviation), but I have had no luck finding it on a store shelf. I have been experimenting with Blue Coat, and let me tell you, it makes for one hell of a Martini, and a very nice Aviation. If you know of anyone around here who sells it, I would happily pick-up a bottle and start experimenting.
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Oops, guess I should've grabbed you one from Astor last weekend. Sorry :o .
Yeah, I saw it at Union Square as well, but at that point I had not had it. Very soon I am going to have a bottle of Plymouth Navy Strength in my possession to experiment with (and hopefully Plymouth Damson, and Pimm’s #3).
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Crap, I should have grabbed you one on Saturday at LeNell's (they had an intro party the previous Saturday). Sipped neat, it has a great nose of fresh juniper...very aromatic, but not in-your-face resinous. Quite dry. I'm no good at identifying the other botanicals used, but I thought the juniper was strongly dominant anyway. Fantastic mixer, maybe a little less potent than Junipero; not sure I'd choose it to drink straight.

Plymouth Navy Strength? Sounds interesting...

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Plymouth Navy Strength? Sounds interesting...
It is 114 proof, and from what I have been told it is a more complex gin than the regular Plymouth. Unfortunately, Absolute only imports the basic Plymouth, and no other parts of the line (which also includes Damson, Sloe, and Fruit Cup). Interestingly all of the Plymouth line is on display at the Pegu Club, but behind locked cabinet doors so they do not use them in service :o
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bullet bourbon and branch, slight squeeze of fresh lime juice, on the rocks.

63 degrees and sunny = a bourbon afternoon in the backyard. should have made cucumber sandwiches. ha.

attended a tasting on friday (not related to F&W festival) and kept coming back to Profile bordeaux vareital by Merryvale (Napa) - i'm hooked. delish.

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Hendricks & tonic with lemon. The tonic is Whole Foods brand, made with sugar instead of corn syrup, and it's very good.

(Why do most people drink G&T with lime instead of lemon? Habit?)

For me it is a habit. I love lime, though, I've never considered lemon. I've never tried Whole Foods tonic water, but I've always sought out Schweppes.

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2000 Laguiche "Chateau d'Arlay" Cotes du Jura Corail. A "rose" blend of pinot noir, poulsard, trousseau (red grapes), chardonnay, and savagnin (white grapes). Strinkingly floral nose, with rainier cherries, fresh and dried flowers, light leather and earth. Quite complex. A bit tighter on the finish, more floral and waxy. It's a fascinating wine, badly in need of air, time, or both.

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Today was quite the day of tasting. Lots and lots of fun:

Gran Patron Platinum Tequila - My God, I wish I could get a shave this smooth. If you can afford it, buy it!

Patron X.O. Cafe - really tasty. A wonderful post-dinner sipper. I could get used to this stuff.

Pyrat X.O. Reserve Rum - Lovely, rich, smooth.

Pyrat Cask Rum - Like a rum/brandy interpretation, something rare and wonderful to be sipped like old Cognac. Pricey, but memorable.

and in the wine department....

Schleret Sylvaner 2004 - SMOKIN' Sylvaner! The forgotten step-child of Alsace wines, this stuff is INCREDIBLY versatile. Satisfying by itself and would pair beautifully with scores of foods. Nice acidity, but not austere, the smokey fruit is a savory treat.

Tement Sauvignon Blanc (Styria) 2006 - Austria is a prime source of world-class Sauvignon and this one delivers in spades. Very bright and racy. This wine also sports the wonderful Vino-Lock glass seal, so no cork worries.

Georges Vernay Viognier 2005 - Like baby Condrieu. Seriously. Not explosively-fruity as many new-world Viogniers are, this one has class and breed. Wonderfully versatile for food pairing.

Jerome Chezeaux, Bourgogne 2004 - From one of my favorite growers in Nuits-St.-Georges, this is a terrific little Burgundy at a bargain price.

Hubert de Montille, Pommard 1er Cru "Les Pezerolles" 2004 - I haven't had this in years, and I used to call it "pizza-rolls" ;-) Just what you'd expect from a traditional and conscientious grower in Pommard. It finished really well, too.

Clos du Joncuas Gigondas 2000 - Meaty and beef-brothy Gigondas. Nice back end. Unreconstituted Rhône wine, not shined-up or dumbed-down.

Le Boncie Chianti Classico 2003 "Le Trame" - You know, when I think of "Chianti", this is the wine that I'm really conceptualizing. It is not forward and fruity, it is not ultra-modern. Neither is it so traditional that it is ungenerous, or dirty. No, this wine has really great earthy red fruit that is bang-on target. If any Chianti Classico is going to remind me just why and how these wines can attain great heights without being beyond most wine drinkers means, then this is a strong candidate to do exactly that. I loved the 2002, I love the 2003 equally.

Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett 2005 Aaaahhhhh...... Saar spice and mineral, and pretty fruit. If you think that you "know" Mosel wine, well wines from the Saar are their own distinctive category. Zilliken is a most-worthy grower, and I got hungry just sipping this beauty. Can spring be far behind, if wines like this are now available?

Today was a good day. :o

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Brunello 99 Pertimali. This is simply fantastic... starting to develop loads of silky/chocolatey/peppery notes in the mouth with a seductive nose. I think this is porbably the best drinking brunello I have had unless you go back to 90 or 88.

Barolo 99 Paolo Conterno Ginestra - while Paolo uses a barriques, his wines have a silky definition that belies the origin in Montarte where the wines are usually harder. Very traditional flavors achieved with a newer approach.

Barolo 99 Liugi Einaudi Nei Cannubi - much fuller and harder than the above. QUite spicy with a green olive spicy element. A wine at a much younger stage of development.

These three wines bring to the fore how damn good 99 is in both Barolo and Brunello. While other vintages get more hype, these 99's are simply stunning and well balanced and seemingly ageable.

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Hmmm.

Coopers pale ale

Coopers pale ale

Coopers pale ale

Dorigo Ribolla Gialla

40 Dressner wines

2005 Huet Le Mont demi-sec

1966 Chasse Spleen

2002 Bachelet Cote de Nuits-Villages

2005 Alesia syrah Chileno Valley

Some malvasia bianca frizzante

Some goopy Oltrepo Pavese Bonarda blend

Some 2003 malvasia rossa sticky that tasted like bananas

2001 Leon Conti Albana di Romagna Passito (!!!)

(2004) Noussan vdt Vallee d'Aoste "Cuvee de la Cote" (Pinot Noir)

Burp. Happy birthday to me.

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On a whim, I picked up a Golan Moscato (Galilee) (2006?) from Cecile's last week. In the simple words of my unsophisticated palate: engh. The nose is nice enough, floral and crisp pears, but on tasting there's a big shot of sugar up front, which then dissipates quickly into effervescent grape juice. Okay acid and good mouthfeel, but pretty much devoid of any interesting fruit. I get a slightly metallic tang in the finish, too.

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Dinner at Dino with the DC Cru tonight.

2002 Martinelli Road Chardonnay

1999 La Castellina Chianti Classico Reserva

1999 Capanna Reserva Brunello di Montalcino

2004 Littorai One Acre Pinot Noir

2004 Kosta Browne Cohn Vineyard Pinot Noir

2001 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon

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A delightful Bugey Cerdon from Renardet-Fachet. Another Dressner selection, as it turns out...I had bought a bottle last month, but left it in New York. Perky, fun, fruity yet crisp, and not nearly as sweet as that other great sparkling red, Brachetto. Nicely balanced without being cloying or overly winey. Makes practically anyone who drinks it crack a smile and reach for more. Also included with this particular bottle: the most explosive cork I've ever opened (and I've cracked a lot of over-dosed homebrew mead). I finished maybe the first untwist of the cage and POW...off the 10' ceiling!! My nieces thought it was awesome.

Next up, I think, will be a dram of the Saint-Benoit "Vieux Marc de Châteauneuf-du-Pape", to go with a nibble of some powerfully stinky "grès des vosges" washed-rind cheese. Only 36 bottles imported by the distributor, and I think Our Man Riley has only one left in stock. (Picked mine up there this afternoon, along with the aforementioned Bugey, as well as some of that 2005 Pepiere Muscadet)

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Morgan Winery Cotes du Crow's Grenache/Syrah Blend 2005

Yesterday I needed a red wine to use for my lamb recipe for last night's dinner and asked the WF wine clerk (what's the right word? :blink: ) for a suggestion that would also be interesting to drink. I've found that this man usually suggests wines that suit me.

I had actually asked for something similar in composition and price to the Edmunds St. John Rocks and Gravel, which they don't have any more. I'd gotten a few bottles of it when Jake suggested it in some thread here, and I enjoyed it. Whether the power of suggestion or not, I did sense some similarity, primarily in that the wine seemed sharper at first but then really mellowed. The fruit also seemed similar in taste. I'm still working on trying to identify appropriate descriptive words. Plum, maybe?

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99 Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett. Bought on release, I didn't care much for it then as it appeared to lack stuffing and acidity, and was absolutely the weak horse in Schaefer's 99 otherwise-formidable stable. There's no doubting the greatness of the Sonnenuhr vineyard, but Schaefer's plot is (if I recall) not optimal, and nearly always takes a back seat to his Twin Titans from Graach. Well, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with how this is coming along: It will never be a great wine, but some supporting acidity is clearly there, and I didn't perceive that on release - it appeared flabby and dull, but is now panning out decently if not making old bones.

Cheers,

gRaacher.

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Yesterday for Easter dinner

06 Avondale Cab Sauvignon Rose

02 Edmunds St. John "The Shadow"

Muscadet (didn't get the label - a little too much wood on it for my taste)

A Pinot Blanco (not the best)

A heavenly Saint Hyppolite Alsace Riesling

Beaujolais Villages - OK

A very nice 03 Corbieres - suprising how good this was from this vintage

A nice Oregon Pinot Noir

A truly abhorrent Argentinian Shiraz

Some funky hard pear cider.

and some water

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last night we drank a bottle of the 05 Patricia Green Cellars Estate Pinot Noir that was so excellent I'm searching for a case of it. A perfect example of berry + tar balance with a very clean finish. A little pricey on the Vidalia menu, though looks to be much cheaper retail.

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A redifining moment has come for the the Rob Roy. If you please, shaker in hand, mix 1 1/2 oz Bruickladick(Rocks/Mione Mor/10 yr all work) 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, a drop or two of angustora, serve up with a twist. The catholic in me says 'God has worked though my hands'. The agnostic in me says 'if there really is a higher power do you think he/she/it would mind if I took full credit?'. Either way, it dosen't suck.

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