FlaSoxxJim

QUOTE (G&T @ Jun 18, 2011 -> 07:33 PM) Whipped up margaritas tonight. Went with Cabo Wabo tequila since it was on sale. 2:1:1 recipe with a tsp of aguave nectar. Very smooth. How anyone can handle more lime than that is beyond me. The Cabo from my knowledge is a good brand. Wonderful pepper aroma with a hint of brown sugar. Reminds me of Wray overproof. Of course these are hitting me like a ton of bricks. Now that is a margarita I could drink all night. And yes, Cabo is a surprisingly very good line despite being mostly known as the brand that made Sammy Hagar insanely rich.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 18, 2011 -> 11:12 AM) Any suggestions of good places to dine/have a beer around Orlando? There's a solid chance I'll have a free day or two there in early July. Orlando eating and drinking establishments can be fun, but there are few that are truly stellar. They know they don't have to be because the tourist base will keep them going even if they never develop a loyal local repeat customer base. So, as far as fun places, I would steer you to the Point Orlando entertainment complex on I Drive near the Orange County Convention Center. BB Kings has good food and music there and Cuba Libre probably has e only decent rem selection in town. At the opposite end of the I Drive tourist stretch is City Walk in the Universal theme park complex. Even though it is totally tourist-centered, almost all of the restaurants there are above average. For something more laid back, Lake Eola Wine Company has good food, beer and wine. Being an old fart, I have not been out to the hot bar in Orlando these days called Ember. it is in the vicinity of the Church Station Entertainment complex which is itself trying to make yet another return from the dead. if you make it out that way there are also several bars and food places along a pedestrian-only stretch of Wall street that are usually good. there has been a lot of turnover there over the years but there was a faux tiki bar there with outside seating that I think is still there where I had my very first encounter with cachacha and caiperhinas many years ago. hope that gives some help at least.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 18, 2011 -> 06:29 PM) Kids go higher. My oldest one does the same thing. indeed kids do go higher and it is scary. My daughter flirted with 106 when she was 2 and we were on a vacation. Within a day of getting her temperature down it was like it never happened.

Rest in Peace, Big Man.

No Deconstructedever cases ever came close to me, and I had to go to Orlando to find some. They currently have a small mountain of Deconstructed at the liquor store where I finally found it because nobody knows what it is.

Yesterday I finally hunted down a case of the Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA "Deconstructed" that was discussed in this thread a couple of weeks ago. To refresh memories, this is a 12-pack with two bottles each of the regular latitude 48 IPA and then two bottles each of single hop versions of the beer utilizing each of the five hop strains used in Latitude 48 — German Hallertau Mittelfrueh, British East Kent Goldings, and and Ahtanum, Simcoe, and Zeus from Washington state's Yakima Valley. This evening I started into the side-by-side tastings, but since my wife is busy with work I've had to go solo and won't get through the whole array — not that I would be able to taste the last couple of beers after all those hops even if I did. I did enjoy the Hallertau, Kent, and now the Simcoe single hop editions tasted against the standard 5 hop version. What a cool experience to taste each of these staggeringly different hop varieties against the same malt backbone. The Hallertau lent a clean, subdued, and singular hop character. this is the noble hop used in Pilsner Urquell so if you are familiar with that beer you get an idea of the clean and crisp character of this Old World noble hop. Way more up my alley was the Kent version. Kent Goldiongs hops are very round and earthy and subdued and give an almost sweet bitterness if there is such a thing. They balance out a malt heavy beer but still let the malt shine through. I really liked this one. I then jumped past the Ahtanum variety and went straight to the Simcoe (Ahtanum and Zeus are newer west coast hop varieties I am not familiar with and I want to sample both of these with a fresh palate in a couple of days). Mmmm Mmmm, I do love Simcoes. Like Cascades on steroids, guaranteed to please American pale hopheads. One thing I have not been able to track down (though I have not yet looked exhaustively) is what the IBU specs of each of the single hop "Deconstructed" varieties are. I found an unconfirmed value of 55 IBUs for the standard version, but after trying three of the single hop varieties I want to say I don't think they are all brewed to the same IBU specs. OR. . . the timing of the hop additions is modified for each variety so that the overall bitterness achieved is in keeping with a range that best shows off each hop variety. IBUs are misleading that way. 55 IBUs of hops added to the kettle early in the boil will make a much more bitter beer than the same 55 IBUs added late in the boil. Conversely, the contribution of the early additions add almost nothing to hop flavor and aroma while late additions are all about flavor and aroma. Regardless of what Sam Adams' strategy was here, I can tell you that these have all been very enjoyable beers so far. If you like American IPAs and run into one of these cases, definitely pick it up.

My rekindled romance with the Captain's Blood continues this evening. Tonight I threw La Mauny 1749 rhum agricole into the mix as well as Cockspur 12 Year, one of my all-time favorites for sipping and upscale mixing. The Cockspur 12 incarnation was excellent, and the La Mauny version was a sublime balance of sugar cane agricole funk, citrus and sugar — the same flavor combination that makes 'ti Punch such a wonderful drink. I posted the link in the last post, but in case it didn't get followed, here is the super simple recipe for the Captain's Blood: • 1 1/2 ounce aged and/or dark rum • 1/4 ounce lime juice • 1/4 ounce simple syrup • 2 dash Angostura Bitters Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. For anyone who likes good rum, I can't imagine they would not love this one.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 14, 2011 -> 01:26 AM) Apparently Fernet and Coke is a popular drink among the homosexual population of San Francisco? On further review I may have missed a joke about activities that leave a bad taste in one's mouth. If so, . . . Ewww. SoxFan1's recent post about the Last Word cocktail did revive my interest in this great drink enough to send me to Robert Hess' Drinkboy website to brush up on the history of that particular cocktail. The visit reminded me what an excellent resource Robert's alphabetical recipe index is you want to have a quick reference for how to properly make several dozen largely outstanding cocktails. In particular, it had me revisiting the Captain's Blood, which is possibly the perfect dark aged rum daiquiri in terms of proportions that really spotlight the añejo rum. It dials back the lime and sugar compared to a traditional daiquiri and adds a couple dashes of aromatic Angostura. Over the last couple nights I have spun this one up with El Dorado 5, Smith & Cross, Matusalem Solera 18 year, and Ron Pampero Aniversario and they have all been very very good. If you want to try mixing with some favorite sipping rums this is a great place to start.

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Jun 14, 2011 -> 10:30 AM) http://www.abevigoda.com/ jerk

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 14, 2011 -> 01:26 AM) Apparently Fernet and Coke is a popular drink among the homosexual population of San Francisco? I don't know about San Francisco, but 'Fernet con Coca' is probably the closest thing there is to a national drink in Argentina.

Fernet Branca is actually a great bitter herbal liqueur to mix with, but I would not jump right up to drink too much of it straight. As for comparisons between Fernet and Malort, just look at the Malort Face Flickr Pool and see what you are potentially in for. . . On the plus side, it is totally a Chicago drinking thing.

QUOTE (OilCan @ Jun 13, 2011 -> 09:48 PM) Has anyone been following the prequel to Alien, the movie called "Prometheus"? http://www.celebrityviplounge.com/charlize...-alien-prequel/ I'm a big fan of the overall franchise with a couple of turd films notwithstanding, so I am very excited to see what Scott does with this.

I know some of you guys are space program fans, so I thought I'd let you know that I get to give former shuttle astronaut Capt. Winston Scott a personal tour of the institute I work at tomorrow. According to his bio, Capt. Scott "served as a mission specialist on STS-72 in 1996 and STS-87 in 1997, and has logged a total of 24 days, 14 hours and 34 minutes in space, including 3 spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 26 minutes." He is now the Dean of the College of Aeronautics at the school where I received my doctorate, which is pretty cool.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 13, 2011 -> 02:10 AM) Went up to northern Michigan this weekend to hang out with my friend before he moves to Georgia. His father is quite the connoisseur. He's actually a member in some sort of crazy absinthe club and I was lucky enough to let him open the liquor cabinet for me and he did not disappoint. Some of the things I tried included 4 different homemade ($200/bottle) batches of absinthe. I also got the full loushing experience and I'm pretty damn good at it. Learned a lot about TA Breaux, the history of absinthe and tried Nouvelle-Orléans Absinthe Supérieure, among other things, which was spectacular. Tried Chartreuse for the 1st time, and that might have been the most exotic tasting liquor ever. Something like 55% alc by vol and made of 130 different herbs. That will clear your sinuses up real quick. Had another handmade liqueur called ROOT, which combined with coke, tasted just like root beer. Absolutely delicious. Also was forced to take a shot of Fernet Branca, which was insane BUT tasted spectacular when chased with a Labatt Blue. If anyone has the ingredients, I'd suggest a cocktail called The Last Word. 3/4 ounce gin 3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse Wow, what an adventure in spirits!! The lack of a suitable (and well-stocked) mentor like your friend’s dad is the main reason I have yet to really embark on a serious absinthe experience. Anisette is not my favorite flavor so I am hesitant to shell out $7o to $100+ for bottles I have never had a chance to try first. But I have only heard good things about Nouvelle-Orléans, so when I finally come across a bottle of that I will pick it up if I can afford it. As for the Last Word Cocktail . . . it’s an absolute winner and one of the darlings of the classic cocktail revival. It makes me wish Chartreuse was not $50+ a bottle or this drink and others would be in more steady rotation at the home bar. Now that you have done Fernet shots there is only one logical step after that . . . Malört!

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 12, 2011 -> 07:44 PM) Had a Belgian beer tasting night with a friend and my dad on Friday, I was in heaven with that stuff. Also, Jim thanks for that recommendation of the El Jimador tequila, I bought a bottle of it and its almost gone already. My dad, friend, and myself did some major damage to it this weekend, fantastic stuff! Enjoying a homemade margarita right now: 6 oz fresh squeezed lime juice 2 oz Triple Sec (didn't have cointreau) 4 oz tequila shake in ice and we're splitting that in two glasses. Yumm! Glad you like the El Jimador (best tequla bargain out there I think), but DAMN you make your margaritas tart! 1:1:1 is about as tart as most people ever mix them, and more often it's more like 2 tequila with 1 each of triple sec and lime or even 3:2:1 with lime being the least by volume. I confess that even at 2:1:1 or 3:2:1 I'll often still add a very small amount (1 tsp. or less) of agave syrup to sweeten just a touch. That said, if you have a heroic tolerance for tartnesss as you seem to do, mix those sour bombs up any way you like 'em!

Yesterday was Thursday Drink Night online at Mixoloseum. The summery theme of the evenings was "tall drinks". My submission, which I think might replace JWray and Ting as my go-to JWray drink, was the Tervis Tumbler: • 1.5 oz JWray • 1 oz Canton ginger liqueur • 0.5 oz lime juice • 0.25 oz pomegranate grenadine • 4 oz ginger beer Build in ice-filled Tervis tumbler, top with ginger beer and stir 1x. Surprisingly, all that ginger still stays pretty subdued by the overproof rum. The splash of grenadine gives a bit of summer drink color and the lime juice balances out the sweetness well. If you have a fondness for the funkiness of JWray you will really like this one.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 7, 2011 -> 09:35 PM) I am now going to go cry for not being there right now. What gorgeous copper stills at Jameson. My wife and I went when we went on our drunken Irish pilgrimage when we first started dating 20 years ago.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 10, 2011 -> 12:29 AM) I'm pretty sure its objectively true that dogs are more intelligent than cats. Dogs eat their own s***. If this is a sign of intelligence then I'm glad I went with dumb cats that don't have breath that smells like s***.

Harold's Chicken was the hands-down best drunk food of choice when I still lived in Chicago.

Vodka is a necessary evil in the cocktail world, but not one you need to spend a fortune on. For the money, award-winning Sobieski is a winner. I haven't shelled out for Stoli since I discovered Sobieski.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 6, 2011 -> 10:16 AM) Are you kidding? This is masturbation material for Flaxx. This is true.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 7, 2011 -> 04:11 AM) I did some research after asking the Q. You are correct from what I've seen, but I was curious to see if Sqwert thought the same way. Apologies, I did not mean to speak on Squert's behalf. btw, I bet vegan mother's milk has got to taste pretty foul. Poor kid. . .

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jun 6, 2011 -> 11:40 PM) If you are vegan do you breast feed your children? QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 6, 2011 -> 11:42 PM) I wondered the same thing, but I didn't want to ask the question. You guys are serious? Of course vegans breastfeed. breast milk is the absolute best food for infants, and human breast milk is MADE FOR HUMAN BABIES! Cow milk is made for baby cows and not humans in the vegan view, so that is the difference.

Awesome! Congratulations!!