This Day in History

Nov 7 1872

A mysterious and sad day in History.

The cargo ship Mary Celeste sails from New York, never reaching Genoa. Four weeks later it is found completely abandoned, whereabouts of the ten man crew unknown.

How does this apply to my Blog? The ship's cargo of alcohol, 1,701 to be exact, was still on board, untouched.

So, my theory is Space Aliens....because there is no other reason that I could fathom leaving all that booze behind.

What is your theory?

Hung over Saturday

Uuuugh, why am I hungover and have the worst gas in forever? Three words - Family Game Night.

It all started innocently enough, last night was the night we taught our son James to play Monopoly. Now, James is a math wiz and even though he is younger than the suggested age, we didn't think that would be a problem.

Overall, the game went well....both Debi and I decided we wouldn't play cutthroat with him, but we didn't baby him either. The problem was, while we were playing nice with James....we were Monopoly Busting each other. So that translates to James having the only Monopolies, only houses and only hotels.....ie, the winner.

He was ecstatic.

Throughout the game, I was drinking Gimlets. Lately, I have been on a Gin kick....and Debi was to tired to make martinis, so I went with the old standard. The problem with that, I was mixing them myself. Ask anyone who I bar tend for, I am an enabler and make super strong drinks. If I am by myself, I am 20 times worse.

So, by the time FGN was over and I was watching Boise State survive the scare from LaTech , I was just doing a cursory wave of the lime juice at gin in the glass. My Gimlet had turned into Gin on the Rocks.

By now I'm sure you are saying "But Ed, Gin doesn't give you gas....it's not even carbonated". You are right, it doesn't....BUT, I have been on the Nutrisystem Diet (Don't ask) and my new shipment came in yesterday. Inside was my favorite lunch meal, Black Beans and Rice (with Sausage), and yes.....I ate three of them. So much for the diet, and boy does it stink the next day.

What is the moral of this story? Well, I can't think of one....other than diets suck.

On to the review -

THE GIMLET

I use the traditional mix as follows:

# 2 oz. gin
# 1/2 ounce Rose's lime juice

Pretty simple huh. Not a lot to remember. Even Glenn couldn't forget this one. I do stick with Rose's Lime Juice no matter what though, just because it's the best.

Generic Lime Juice mixed with Bombay Gin is like a $2 Hooker in your Ferrari.

Gimlets are not something I would pay for in a bar either.

First I don't think I could bring myself to say the name. I would feel like I was asking the Bartender to share a bathroom stall with me or something.

Secondly, if I'm in a bar...there are so many other things to choose from, why waste the opportunity on such a simple drink.

All this being said though, Gimlets are a pretty simple (yet tasty) drink when at home and I recommend everyone to try one...you might find that you have a new nightcap.

Cheers.

Johnnie Walker - Still Walking

What more can I say about this video......Bagpipes, Scotland, Bagby and Booze.

This has inspired me to do a Johnnie Walker tasting soon. Maybe I can get Crash and TommyGee to join in and write reviews.

Cheers!

This Day in History

Nov 6 1988

Beatle/boozehound Ringo Starr checks into an alcohol rehabilitation center. While many consider Ringo the least talented Beatle, he has shown exceptional acting ability in his "Atouk zug zug Lana" role (Caveman, 1981).

Thursday Night Gaming

Ok, lots of friends over for the night as we kicked off the new Ptolus Campaign.

Of course, when friends come over, that means drinking...and tonight was no exception.

There were a plethora of beers/drinks around, so I'll give a brief synopsis. If you attended (or just have an opinion) please leave your drink reviews in the comments sections.

Red Stripe (in the Can) - Much better than I expected. Unusually these regional beers don't translate to can well. I honestly thought it would have a metallic aftertaste (plus I missed the nostalgic short bottle), but I was pleasantly surprised. Good front end maltyness. Made me think of beaches. Thanks TommyGee.

Guinness (in bottle with the Widget) - Ok, I will say it...not that great. If you want to drink Guinness from a bottle, I suggest you go here, otherwise stick with the can (with the original widget) or go to a pub (even better). The flavor seems off, and the initial opening still leaves a bit of a mess. I feel the beer doesn't aerate well enough thought the bottle mouth and there just isn't a comfortable mix. Still not sold on the bottle, so my least favorite of the night. Thanks Randy

Schlafly Pale Ale - Probably my favorite Pale Ale, although usually I drink IPAs for the Hops. Still good enough to be a regular in my fridge and tonight was no exception. This was my staple drink of the evening, and I know others were drinking it too with no complaints. Definitely a mans beer though, something about women not liking hops that I will never understand.....

Mike's Hard Pink Lemonade - Ok, I know what you are saying...FooFoo drink here, but I actually liked this one. I got if for Jill (Debi was drinking Milagro Tequila) because I couldn't find any Mojitos and the fact that it is promoting Breast Cancer Awareness (Save the Ta-Ta's) is always a good thing. I cracked one at the end of the night and thought hmmmm....if I were mowing the lawn, this would be a great thirst quencher. Good tangy bite and very lemony...I'd buy it again.

Gin and Tonic (Bombay and Schweppes Tonic Water) - A classic. What more can you say than that. Glenn and I had one to wrap the night (see what you get for being sarcastic), and it always stands up. I know Debi was upset that I didn't have Diet Tonic Water, but that never tastes right to me. Instead, I just say screw the calories and go with the best of brand. Schweppes.

Finally, there was Harp Lager here....but I didnt get any :( Damn. Oh well, better luck next time on that.

Pints for Prostates

Every now and then (and I mean once in every 15-20 years) CNN has a good article.

Today, it happens to be Pints for Prostates (on CNN)

I think this is a great idea and I love their motto "Reaching Men through the universal language of Beer".

I know I know, everyone says that the last time I saw the inside of a Dr's Office was when I was born, but even this inspires me (plus I am 40 now) to POSSIBLY make an appointment.

We'll see how it goes.

For those interested, the real website is linked at the right....and also HERE

Orc Piss

So, while waiting for Debi to get home with the new dog (Long story...don't ask), I was setting up for tomorrow's D&D game.

I had already drank a few Leinenkugels and decided to try something different.

Enter Twist of Raspberry Smirnoff and Rockstar Energy Drink.

The flavor is actually pretty good, the rasberry mixes well with the tureen flavor of Rockstar...and as a mid-evening drink (when trying to decide if its going to turn into a session or more of a relaxing night), it actually works well.

Give it a try and let me know.

Enjoy