Proud owner of this Craigslist find.
Well, I did it. I finally bought a bar.
When I told my coworkers the news, they were shocked.
“Will you still work here?,” they asked. “Where is it located?”
“In my basement, people,” I responded. “I bought a bar for my basement.”
Not sure how I’m going to get it to my basement, but we’ll figure that out later.
Might be better with a splash of Chambord.
I’ve been salivating for this beer ever since I first heard of its inception a month or so ago. And last night, I finally tasted it at Big Bar.
(I’ve also heard they have it on tap at the Molly Malone’s in St. Matthews and at HopCat as well, and I’m sure it’ll be popping up all around the city eventually.)
It’s the unique combination of two Cincinnati-based companies — Graeter’s Ice Cream and Braxton Brewing Co. — into a Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout. And at 7% abv, it packs a slight punch that had me buzzed before dinner. #buzzedb4dinner
But let’s get to the taste. It’s definitely more stout beer than ice cream, so don’t go in thinking you’re going to have this amazing dessert-gratifying experience. I also didn’t taste much black raspberry and would have liked that flavor bumped up a bit more than it was. However, all in all, it was quite delicious and filling, and the chocolate chip flavor works nicely with the milk stout.
A month or so ago, I had that Ben & Jerry’s-inspired beer and didn’t like it at all. It had a fake, astronaut-food-like taste to it, which this does not have at all.
I’m wondering if it might be slightly better if, next time, I order a pint of it on draft and add just a splash of the black raspberry liqueur Chambord to it. They do that in Ireland all the time to Guinness, so I don’t see why this would be any different, and I bet it would kick that raspberry flavor up to where I’d enjoy it more.
Just a thought.
What do the food options at a party say about the host? In 100 years, if people look back upon this photo from a recent party I had, what will they say?
She must really like cheese.
What is the significance of the Swedish Fish?
White Castles and cookies?
Go check it out!
A few days ago, I posted a picture of two cool stools I recently picked up at an event called the Floyd Street Stock Exchange. I ended up writing a column about my experiences because there was a lot of bourbon — and bargains.
You never know what you’ll find at this monthly auction, including rhinoceros-shaped furniture.
A girl can dream …
My next girlfriend will enjoy bourbon. She’ll like going to random events — some we will stay at way too late, and others we’ll bail after five minutes. She will hold my hand while we talk to strangers and acquaintances. She won’t mind if I’m pulled away for a few minutes. She will be able to hold her own.
My next girlfriend will roll her eyes at my jokes and only laugh when they’re funny. (So I may never hear her laugh.) I’ll catch her gaze across the room and know exactly what she’s thinking: Time to go. One more? Can’t wait to get you home. Can you believe what he’s wearing?
My next girlfriend will be able to communicate and not be afraid of honesty. She’ll have numerous opinions on everything from show whales at Sea World to the slashing of arts funding across the country. She’ll have empathy and patience and swagger and a sense of humor.
My next girlfriend will not yell at me. She will genuinely like me for me but will challenge me to become a better version of myself. She won’t need me to feel complete, and I won’t need her to fill a void. We will make each other laugh, make each other take a breath, make each other dinner, and make each other feel wanted.
Anyone know where my next girlfriend might be? I’ve got a bourbon event on Thursday and need a date.
Susie Hoyt of The Pearl
Good news for a Monday? How about this … The Pearl can now sell hand-picked bottles of single-barrel bourbons, as well as some beer. Go for a drink, leave with a six-pack.
They’re offering more than 16 at the moment, and that will change as more bottles come in and others sell out. I had a sip of a fabulous Weller Antique and immediately put my name on the waitlist for that. Holy cow.
The link above will take you to my conversation with Susie Hoyt, the bar’s beverage director.
And the best part is, it’s in my neighborhood! Let’s meet up for a cocktail and spin the dangerous wheel of drinks.
A stool steal.
I’m guessing it’s kind of boring for me to keep talking about house stuff, but I love a good deal and I’m now addicted to thrift shopping for furniture. I attended the monthly Floyd Street Stock Exchange last night and ended up with these two beauties.
Not sure exactly what I’ll use them for. Tonight, probably to hold ashtrays at my party. Tomorrow, maybe a bedside table in the spare room. I thought they went along with the “Bourbon Bungalow” theme.
Welcome to the inaugural Tasteless Tastings, which is exactly what it sounds like: tasting notes from the riffraff. If you follow the liquor industry to any capacity, you probably have come across snooty tasting notes from classy people who make the new spirit sound more like a science experiment than something you consume for fun or to forget the world around you. I want to shoot gayly forward from the hip and tell you how it really tastes. So each time the nice mailman brings me a sample to try, I’ll gather up some friends and we’ll have a candid, lively and unpolitically correct discussion about said sample. So let’s do it …
What are we drinking today?: Papa’s Pilar Artisan-Crafted Rum
What the hell is it?: It’s two different super-premium rums (Blonde and Dark) made in Key West and inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s spirit of adventure. Ernest’s nickname was “Papa.” The rum is hand-selected from the Caribbean, Central America and America, and then solera aged and blended using used bourbon, port wine and/or Spanish sherry barrels.
Why do we care?: Papa’s Pilar has recently made its way into the Kentucky market, and there is, indeed, a connection with the bourbon industry. The late, great Lincoln Henderson of Angel’s Envy served as an advisor on this rum’s early creation.
Give me the nerdy numbers: The Blonde is 84 proof, contains rums 3-7 years old, and finished in Spanish sherry casks. The Dark is 86 proof, contains rum up to 24 years old, and touches bourbon, port wine and sherry casks as well.
What do we think?: We had five panelists who each got a half-ounce pour (or more, if we had a larger quantity and the person liked it). As the host of the session, I tried to keep my tipsy tasters on task, covering the basics of a scientific spirits report: color, aroma, taste and finish. The panel included two artists (Britany B., Erik U.), a person who sells air (Tracy K.), an artsy museum nerd (Cara H.) and myself.
First up was the Blonde, because — well — we all know they have more fun, and we wanted to start out our first Tasteless Tasting having lots of that.
Me: Let’s all check out the Blonde!
BB: Looks like a white wine with no legs.
Me: Smell her.
EU: It smells like syrup. Alcoholic syrup. I want to put it on pancakes.
TK: I smell butterscotch. And vanilla.
CH: It’s like the Back Door — I feel like if I just continue to smell it, I’ll get drunk.
Me: Taste it.
EU: Ooooh, it’s sweet! It kinda tastes like Christmas — or those candles my mother has in her house.
BB: It tastes a little like high school.
TK: Butterscotch.
Me: I think it’s pretty smooth, and the finish is quite pleasant. It doesn’t linger like an awkward conversation.
BB: I would drink that again. It is more flavorful than I remember rum being.
TK: It would be good in pina coladas.
CH: It would get you lost in the rain.
BB: I think it’s caught in the rain.
CH: I get lost in the rain.
TK: If you’re not into yoga …
Our first session involved cheese … and lots of it.
Me: Alrighty then. Let’s go to the Dark side. This guy is a little higher in proof, so he might bite. And at one point he mingled with port wine casks.
BB: Did you say pork rinds?
Me: Port wine — not pork rind.
EU: It looks like bourbon but smells like regret.
BB: It’s the bourbon of rum.
TK: It smells the same as the other one — caramel, vanilla.
BB: The first sip is a doozy. It has much more bite.
CH: It feels like a terrible memory — like I’m going to make very bad decisions tonight.
EU: It feels like an apology.
BB: I would sip this one by itself, but probably mix the other in a cocktail — if I was near a beach.
CH: This makes me want to live near water and listen to Buffett.
Me: It’s got that spicy rum feel, but it’s quite sippable. The finish is long and warm, like I’m wrapping my tongue in velvet.
EU: Do girls like that?
Me: They don’t not like it.
Next time on Tasteless Tastings … the group tries the new Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection and Jefferson’s Reserve finished in rum casks, as well as rye whiskey from Baltimore called Sagamore Spirit.
Unemployed
It’s Feb. 1 … do you know where your snow boots are?
I don’t, because it hasn’t really snowed much this year and I haven’t unpacked them yet.
Not that I’m complaining … I like not using much heat, or electric blankets. I like not freezing my ass off walking my dog or scraping off car windows. I like socks that aren’t wet, toes that aren’t frozen and hair that hasn’t been ruined by hats.
I also haven’t woken up to my dog glued to my hip or me spooning a space heater.
Slow and steady wins the race. Love conquers hate. The truth will set you free.
I say these things to myself whenever I feel that anxiety bug creeping through my veins. It’s not a safe world, but I can make my world safe by speaking out, cherishing the silence, choosing happiness, choosing not to worry about what I can’t fix, and living each day to its fullest.
I will never take for granted friendships, family, friendly strangers, frank discussions, honesty, compromise and laughter. I will continue to fall in love with reckless abandon and try to learn from the bruises and scars when it doesn’t fly. I will dip my toes into more oceans, sit my butt on more bar stools around the world, push myself to go on more adventures, and give back to the universe everything it has given to me.
Deep is good, unless you’re in a pool with sharks.
