Samuel Adams Boston Lager is currently residing in our kegerator. It’s the NOM NOM brew for Paul and I… as it goes well with everything and nothing.
The kegerator, aptly named ‘Lil Joe after one of Paul’s favorite bartenders, was our first wedding anniversary gift to each other.
I think paper is traditionally given for the first wedding anniversary.
We prefer beer.
The Florida Gator beer gnome guards the contents within ‘Lil Joe at all times.
Some weeks, you just need a big bottle… or in the case of this week, a keg… of Sam Adams.
Known as “the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine,” Nyquil is going on week numero dos as being my personal bottle of the week.
I used to be a competitive swimmer… a pretty decent one actually. And my coach was one of those coaches who had a nickname for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t one of those lame ass coaches who tries to befriend you by giving you a stupid nickname like, “sporto” or “hoss” (if he had named me “hoss,” I would’ve junk punched him.)
Anyway, given that my name is Nicole, my swim coach named me Nyquil. That was my nickname for the many years that Mike coached me, yelled at me to kick harder, wrapped my fingers together with rubber bands in order for me to keep from spread-eagling the palms of my hands, which I instinctively did for some odd reason. (I know this makes absolutely no sense to non-swimmers, but basically keeping your fingers together and your hand as tight as possible allows you to flick up more water as you stroke, thus propelling you to swim faster.) Usually we had paddles to strap to our hands to accomplish this, but Mike liked to torture me with rubber bands wrapped around my fingers. He was that kind of coach… the kind who found your weakness, your quirks and helped you tweak them to make you a better athlete, to make you excel.
So, what does this rant have to do with Nyquil… absolutely nothing.
Except that Nyquil has been my bottle of the week and will continue to be until I am over this horrific bitch of a cold and can go back to excelling at being a mom… BWAHAHAHA!!!!
Obviously this stuff has already gone to my head.
Cheers! Nic
Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com
Hot chicks drink stout. This was determined when Paul introduced me to Stone Russian Imperial Stout a few months ago. I am starting 2010 over this evening, the 31st of January with another stout. This past month has sucked; and Old Rasputin’s 12th anniversary Russian Imperial Stout will serve as my bubbly tonight, as I await the start of a new and promising month.
Happy February! Cheers!
Ok, so on to the beer review… with this stout aged in bourbon barrels the aroma of bourbon heightens your senses instantly. Upon the initial taste, this stout lingers not so gracefully, but with a bit of a bite. Dark in color with a tan head (*snort* I said “head”), this brew looks lovely in a pint glass. I don’t get as much of a coffee nor a chocolate flavor as I would like… we women like our coffee and our chocolate.
Perhaps I just can’t cut it with bourbon barreled stouts. My allegiance is to espresso and chocolate flavors and aromas.
OK, here we go… this beer isn’t my bag. Yeah, I sipped on it in order to compose this write-up, but I couldn’t cut it folks. I had to ask Paul to finish the beer for me. *head to desk* Me thinks this brew is best for those of you burly beer drinkers who can truly appreciate a beer that is aged in a bourbon barrel (which I don’t entirely understand the purpose of, but whatever.)
So… lesson learned, Old Rasputin XII Russian Imperial Stout is wicked expensive at about $20 a bottle, though quite appealing for the hardcore stout drinkers who can fully appreciate a bit of bourbon in their brew.
As for me, I’ll just continue photographing the pretty bottle in the snow (click on pic to enlarge)… probably while sipping on something else. No offense Old Ras; your bottle did photograph quite nicely for me. So thanks for that.
Cheers! Nic
Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com
I am no longer a Malbec virgin. This “grape” has been “popped.” That being said, I must add that I found comfort in knowing that “the grapes are sorted and chosen by a group of eighteen trained winery staff (of whom I imagine all young, shirtless, delicious Argentinian gentlemen) before we… I mean the grapes are pressed into each Alamos cuvee (whatever that is) according to the label on the back of a simplistically designed bottle, adding to the pure beauty of The Wines of Catena, of which I am most definitely a fan.
The shopping experience for a Malbec alone was a challenge because I went into this purchase a virgin. So, like any good non-sophisticated wino, I found my price-range and then looked for killer designs on the labels. It was the subtle gray mountains in the background that led me to Alamos Malbec 2008. The simplistic background in design alone caused my mind to wonder where exactly it was you came from, dear Malbec… and made me want to visit your homeland.
In sharing this bottle with my husband (more of a beer drinker than a wino), I found myself especially intrigued to hear his input. He said, “I like the wine. Good flavor. Good aroma. The finish was a bit tart for me. Dark chocolate with it enhanced flavor, making it a bit smoother.”
“I think the sweetness of the chocolate helped to balance the aftertaste,” he said.
The writer in me couldn’t help but linger on that last sentence uttered out of my husband’s mouth in the same way that he lingered on the wine. Thoughts of balance and aftertaste both in sharing wine and life experience began to flood my head.
In learning more about this “hobby” of mine… this writing of my different wine (and occasional beer) experiences with you, I find myself learning so much more than just about what is in the actual bottle.
Cheers! Nic
Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com
When I bought my bottle of 2006 Firestone Chardonnay, I admit, I was skeptical… I mean, this is THE FIRESTONE… like Firestone tires… like Andrew Firestone from whatever season of The Bachelor that he was on. (My mom would know what season he was on.) Anyway, I was totally skeptical, and not because I’m a wine snob or even really know what I’m talking about when it comes to wine or writing these menial reviews.. I just like to drink it. My initial skepticism ranged from thoughts of “Oh this is that dude that was on The Bachelor season whatever and broke up with what’s her face like they all do…” to “The Firestones are too busy with their tires and bacheloring and just being THE FIRESTONES that they couldn’t possibly have a legit vineyard.” I am pleased to say that I was wrong. And I’m not even that big of a Chardonnay fan!!! Chardonnay is the white wine that I drink during winter because whites that I adore (ahem, my pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc) are just distasteful to me in cold weather. So I took a break from my reds last night and gave Firestone’s 2006 Chardonnay a shot. I found this Chardonnay to have an initial softness with the first sip and THEN comes the flavor… the butter… the slight heaviness that make for a true chardonnay (in my unsophisticated wino opinion). It left me with a woody taste (teehee… I said “woody”) that lingered nicely after each sip; and I found myself enjoying the flavors all the more once the wine wasn’t quite so chilled, but a bit closer to room temperature. A bit pricier… I believe I spent $17 for the bottle, but most definitely an excellent wine to bring to all of the holiday parties you will be attending.
Cheers! Nic
Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com
Red Truck California Red Wine basically reviews themselves perfectly on the back of their own bottle by admitting, “we are serious about making great wine but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.” A winery that is truly after my own heart out in Sonoma, CA. This red is a fabulous table wine for any Italian meal that includes crusted garlic bread. A good blend of “Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot”… (no I do not have any idea what that means)… It’s a red that is not too bold or robust, but not too light or fruity. Yes, there is also a white truck, but I personally favor the red, enjoying its smooth taste and finish.
Cheers! Nic
Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com
La Chouffe is a Belgian Golden Ale, which is the ultimate NOM NOM of beers for me, as I am enormously biased to the Beligans for their brews. According to the back of this large, funky looking bottle, “The legend of gnomes (chouffes) who once brewed in this mysterious region (the heart of Belgium’s Ardennes mountains) provides the inspiration for this eccentric bottle, conditioned, double fermented ale.” In plain English… gnomes know their shit when it comes to the brew. Slightly spicy, with a clean yet hoppy finish, I would recommend splurging on this 8% by volume deliciousness during the holiday season. I, for one, hope to find a gnome in my stocking this year… and by gnome, I mean beer.
Cheers! Nic
Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com
