Enjoying passions, one thing at a time. After the ride with Throttler magazine

Riding motorcycles.

I am by no means the best rider on the planet, or even the most experienced, but one thing I always wanted was a bike.  After eventually learning how to ride one through the MSF, I discovered that drinking and riding was a no go.  A real NO GO.  But that didn't mean I couldn't combine my passions the correct way.

I eventually got enough experience to take longer rides, and with a goal in mind once luggage became the ultimate cool accessory, (more so than a Yoshi Pipe) I found myself riding to vineyards in Virginia at times, checking out scenic trails and the fantastic Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.  I would find myself more in the scene, glancing at rolling green hills, old mountains of the Appalachia, chances to partake of fresh fruit, wine tasting (spitting), the sun shined as if the day would never end.  Then someone came calling.

I received an invitation to write for a motorcycle magazine called Throttler.  I've actually written my first article, and if you check the link up above you can see the article I wrote.

Throttler magazine is published out of Iowa, it's free if you find a copy at a local dealership where it might be distributed.  The articles deal with a ride variety of motorcycle culture so please go check it out.

One last obvious thing, don't drink and ride EVER, that means ZERO CONSUMPTION while riding.  Stick to the formula and you get to ride again.  (You'll notice that all my bottles in this pics are of course UN-OPENED!)  Even better yet... you'll have another drink when you're done!

Cheers and ride safe and smart, and then...

Drink well!

Imbibing in Romania... after leaving the Magyars..

After spending some time in Hungary, Romania went by with a blur. Most of the time was spent just getting around from place to place hardly with time to settle in. Thus my chances for imbibing were far and few between.

However, I was in Sighişoara and there was a well known landmark. The old medieval village contains many famous sites that are UNESCO sanctioned, one being the house of Vlad Dracul. I am not going to spend details of who this person is cause I am sure you already know, but we were a bit tired and our thoughts wandered to the idea of putting our feet up and just having a drink. There was a place inside, and if we could ignore the Dracula figurine and reference to kitschy vampires that adorned the building we could at least relax and say well... we drank at Vlad's house.

I was told that in Romania you should have Black Beer. Black beer?? I thought? Sounds like a gimmick. What could be so distinctly different or unique about "black" beer? Well... really not much. I discovered on my travels that there were only two types of black beer. Both were literally identical to each other, cream colored heads, dark black in color, weak bodied, macro like produced. Not awful, but nothing truly different or memorable. They essentially tasted like typical Brown Ales without anything remarkable to write about. I was hoping I would be sinking my imbibing chops into something I never experienced beer wise... That... was wrong.

There are two known brands Ursus, and Silva. I suppose the Silva was slightly better not as alcohol palate tasting, but to say it was better than the other or a distinction that I would jump at the chance of ordering... that would be a big who gives a "****". Looking at the pictures the Silva has a lighter head color, if that means anything to you.

Ironically the most enjoyable and down right "whimsical" drink I had in Romania was courtesy of a cocktail that my wife ordered.

While in the Dracul house, kicking our feet up on tables that were too small... having to listen to techno music pumped in from a downstairs basement cafe that sold tiny pastries, we were presented with a menu that consisted of many items, but an interesting "Dracula" inspired cocktail was one that jumped off at us to sit back and relax and well... take in a drink as the rain came down.

Well... this tourist kitsch just doesn't get any more impressive than that doesn't it???

My wife ordered a cocktail inspired Dracula drink known as the "Vampire's Kiss". When my wife first ordered it, our waiter.. a rather young lad of barely 16+ years of age, came by and said sure, however then referencing in his best English then remarked, "I get other person... make it." He was implying that in this mode of sophistication that he could not make such a drink, which made me think he just never tried. He got someone else to do it for him in his panic of handling such a sophisticated production.

Nevertheless, someone else took care of business... while the young apprentice looked on behind the bar, as the older gentleman produced the libation. Not all the ingredients to the drink where disclosed in the menu, when I pressed for more information, I was told the drinks contents..... were a secret.

As I passed by while I consumed our appetizer of polenta I think called "mamaliga" consisting of a memorable piece of giant pork fat back, practically salt pork, we received the drink cocktail to imbibe on pictured here before you.

I must admit this cocktail that was made consisting of simple fruit juice, cheap vodka, and some basic wine, was very creative. There it was adorned with a giant impaling skewer through a lemon, as if blood (the wine) flowed on top hanging there in it's depths while the fruit sat juice sat on the bottom. There was even a flare to the skewer as if it commanded authority from Vlad himself.

Taste. Basic. Vodka, carton orange juice, cheap wine, not exactly high class ingredients, but the combination wasn't one that made you get out your gag reflex. No complaints, nothing sophisticated in palate, but a presentation worthy of applause and it felt like some thought really went in to showing this drink off that many cocktail purists here couldn't even touch. The drink seemed to have more eye candy appeal and thought in to it, then high glass ingredient cocktails I've had back home that looked just boring in appearance.

As we sat and finished our drink, I wondered if there was more I could do to imbibe in Romania.

Well it seemed like time wasn't going to give me that opportunity, or the research needed to find out. I did have some local cheap wine with dinner, but it consisted of a Merlot that was the equivalent of your typical Yellow Tail.

Not much to get excited about, but it will do the job when it's only 7 dollars a bottle (in a restaurant no less.. cheaper in the grocery store even more so).

Still.... there would be more imbibing to do, and lots to learn about when visiting another country I had poor assumptions about when it comes to drink. For the next country on the trip was Turkey... and some things ... just throw you for a loop and surprise you when you think the world Muslim and alcohol which when it comes to Turkey is a very ignorant assumption (Turkey is a secular nation, although pre-dominantly Muslim, however this blog is about the joy of drink, not about divisive politics and/or religion. The point is... the point is moot.). Turkey was a pleasant surprise for imbibing, and note even because of alcohol which yes Ginger... does exist there and is widely available! Guess what.... SHHHH... they even make their own!

Stay tuned...

Trip to hell and back but don't call this Hungarian doctor. Imbibing in Hungary Part 2

As I was traveling around Hungary, and parts of Eastern Europe I began to notice something. Trips through towns, small areas, souvenir stands, even local grocery stores all seemed to carry an imbibing product that was ubiquitous. It was everywhere I went. Sitting on store and stand shelves stood bottles in the liquor section of a product that had a distinct mark. The mark contained a simple cross surrounded by a red background, it beckoned as some sort of medical cure all. AH HA! I thought this is something I must try, the bottle was intriguing, my mind raced about what would be inside. It's Hungarian made in Zwack, does it contain paprika? I was excited and figured it was some sort of digestif which it turns out I was correct. But what the contents included and provided to me was not what I was expecting.

Finally towards the end of my trip I set out and grabbed a small bottle to sample. I recommend that if you do want to purchase it in Hungary, do so out of Budapest because the prices of the product are cheaper. That being said, as days went by in Hungary the bottles kept calling out to me as if they knew I wanted it. Many bottles were also uniquely shaped. I settled on a standard round one which sometimes I would find decorated as a painted soccer ball. I came back to my hotel room all excited. Not bothering to ask anyone what it was, or research it, or what it tasted like, left me giddy and highly anticipating it. I put the bottle in my hotel fridge in the morning, and told myself it would probably be better cold and I should enjoy it after a nice day coming back in the evening, preferably after dinner. Ah I could come back after some sights, indulge the local cuisine, put my feet up, and then taste what was inside. I wanted to be surprised. And surprised is an understatement when I had this.

This is a bottle of Unicum liquor.

Unicum, is a Hungarian product made in Zwack (here is the company site link). It pours a very dark brown color out of the bottle. I looked at it. "Boy this sure looks like Jägermeister!" I thought. Which got me even more excited because I actually really enjoy Jägermeister. I already had joyous visions of myself carrying the product around Europe, occasionally stealing wondeful sips as I sat back on the train through the countryside. I took a whiff and it smelled like Jäger also, very herbal but one thing stood out. It was considerably stronger, and there was also a bitter smell. "Well..." I thought, "this should be fun!" I figured with much glee as I set forth placing a good solid few ounces in my glass, and placed a nice cool ounces of dark brown in my palate... swallowing in one big gulp. And the result and imbibing moment can be described as so...

This stuff... is absolutely AWFUL!!

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!?!?" I kind of yelled out loud to myself... One thing struck me instantly after quaffing this FOUL stuff. This is SOOOooo bitter that it makes medicine taste attractive. The herb like Jäger smell was completely gone, there was no sweetness, but only a massive bitter taste that felt like a really bad Angostura pumped up on steroids. I sat down on the edge of my hotel bed, to think about what abomination I just consumed, only to feel the bitterness lingering and LINGERING and NEVER going away. This stuff sticks around in your mouth FOREVER, it just gets worse. The logo on the bottle now reminded me of medicine that was suppose to be of the variety that it tastes so bad because it's suppose to fix that horrible sickness you currently have. Only drinking this will make you feel as if you just got Dengue fever. I even thought what could you mix this with? and my mind suddenly shuddered at how this "thing" would just overpower and dominate whatever you would put it in.

The bitterness felt so bad that in my wrecked mind I figured if I had another bit of it, it could somehow wash the bitterness and get past it and taste something. Doing so validated only one of the most useful phrases that I have known. The definition of stupidity, is to do the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. I was REAL STUPID to keep trying to drink this thing.

This experiment WAS OVER.

Looking back and researching the product since being home they mention (like Jager) to serve this ice cold. Well it was in the fridge and not the freezer when I had it, but still I even have had cool and sometimes lukewarm Jager and I still enjoy it. I am not sure having it from the freezer would have made a difference. Their website also contained cocktail recipes which made me feel as I was looking at a horror movie. A sample of "Zwacktails" as they call them, made my stomach just cringe. Reading the ingredients for a "Zwackoff" included the Unicum with... Smirnoff Orange and a splash of Energy drink... Good friggin lord that sounds like the epitome of grossness.

Speaking of Energy drinks... why do people drink those things? I still don't get them they all taste horrible, and when I got to Hungary after surviving Unicum I figured a trip to Hell couldn't be worse. I was wrong.

I saw this hilarious looking can on store shelves. This is a "Hell" can of Vodka Energy drink. So... you have an energy drink laced with vodka at about 5% ABV. So what is the point of this? Is this for alcoholic marathoners or something? You're suppose to drink cheap vodka but then have the energy to maybe do the Boston marathon? Seriously... WHY?

I knew this was going to be nasty, one look at the pour and I was greeted with a fizzy head that disappeared instantly leaving a bubbling piss colored yellow glass. What is this? a fucking urine sample I am suppose to drink or something?

Worse is the smell. Sour apples, and... no joke... it smells like body odor. 20 day old sweaty gym socks.

Taste.. like a sacchariney typical energy drink, what vodka? you can't even tell it is there, is that a good thing? Not that vodka has any taste to begin with... What is this dysfunctional gimmicks angle? Frat parties I guess. Here you have a drink that basically cancels everything out, at 5% you probably couldn't even get drunk on this stuff, but spend more time at the toilet pissing like a racehorse after your 7th can. I gave the toilet the better benefit of the doubt and poured it all down the head. Poor toilet...

Actually the angle for this product wasn't that surprising. I remember back when energy drinks came out and trying one and hating it. They were of course not filled with alcohol either. However, one time I was taken out to a bar in Florida and I saw people ordering energy drinks with their shots. A couple of roided jocks were doing this (long story), and I soon discovered that people in bars did this so they could drink more... I also learned where I grew up that in Canada certain places caught on to this and local governments started banning the sale of energy drinks in bars.

That being said I sort of understand the appeal but once you get older the gimmick wears off fast. As you get older, you start appreciating alcohol for different reasons, mostly because you start realizing that drinking shouldn't be... a sport. We've all been there at some point (beer pong anyone?) but when it comes to true imbibing and joy, energy drinks are one thing I'll always stay away from.

There would be some even better imbibing in Hungary soon, but I would be staying away from these items. As I passed the grocery store isle at the Penny Mart in Tokaj I noticed other charming funny cans next to Hell which I thought about buying as fun souvenirs. One can was simply called "Don't Stop". I just said to myself, "Uh no thanks... I don't think I'll even start."

--------------------------------

Update: November 17th 2010

FDA Calls 7 caffeine-alcohol drinks unsafe...

On the road to Bridgeport and Tugboat. The imbibing trail in Portland never ends.

Leaving Rogue, my next stop was Bridgeport Brew Pub. I entered a really nice warehouse designed space, with hues of dark brown, friendly chatter, well dressed clientele, and a few families with kids. It was a very different atmosphere than the usual beer places I was at before, trying to emphasize perhaps some sophistication. Other places were more focused on beer, while here maybe you could get more?

Staff was gracious, and the place seemed more like a good restaurant than a place focused on making great beer. I can't comment on all the food but the mussels are fantastic.

Anyway, I sat down near the bar to look up and see a listing of the eight beers that were offered. The picture pretty much explains it all, here were all their beers on tap including a seasonal that was listed on the far right.

I decided to bite the bullet and try all eight beers. Considering that this was the fourth place I went out drinking I knew I had to watch myself. I did realize that I was probably not going to finish everything that was offered to me, but that's ok. The important thing was to get the taste of the beer and see how it measured up.

The imbibing results are as follows. Haymaker an Extra Pale Ale had a sour nose, very light bodied in taste and mouthfeel, with some bread on the end. It was average if I could say, the sourness threw me off. Blue Heron, a Pale Ale had a light copper color but no nose, and a small lemon taste to it. Ropewalker was a very closed bouquet virtually no nose on it of even hops or anything I could get. For me it was unfortunately not very memorable in taste. The IPA however was starting to make things a bit better. Orange smell, grapefruit finish similar to the Deschutes Inverson but not as strong. There were was no bitterness and little hops. I like to have just a little bitter but not too much in my IPA. The ESB however was fairly good, with a nice thick head, mellow taste and mouthfeel, actually a little creamy. That says a bit considering I am not an ESB fan, it wasn't bitter however. The porter is quite good, tobacco nose with some smoke. A roasty aroma in taste in the mouth with a decent finish. Hop Czar is an Imperial IPA, consisting of a good nose, hops, lemon, citrus. Taste continues those notes from hops to lemon to grapefruit in that order, and a slightly bitter finish. Quite a good one, the head though did not stick around. Last but not least was the seasonal Hop Harvest Ale, another fresh hop 1 hour beer. The nose on this was not very obvious, but it was similar in taste to the other IPA with grapefruit and lemon but hardly bitter at all.

In conclusion while there was some beer worth drinking here, I found most of the beers disappointing compared to other places I had been. "Ok we're done right?" I said to my colleague. "Naw man we got to go to Tugboat! You gonna finish that!?" he said pointing to my collection of hardly empty plastic cups. "Naw..." I admitted.. "Go ahead..."

As much as I was happy to get through the tasting, it was a good thing it took us some time to get to our next venue. I arrived at Tugboat having a hard time finding the place.

I was pretty happy though we found it, it is quite cozy inside, it resembles more of a coffee house with bookshelves and clientele looking like they should be having a latte instead of a pint.

Unfortunately, I was greeted nicely but with disappointing news. They only had one of their beers available, a stout. Well I figured I might as well have it. In the end it had a little molasses on the front nose, not much body or flavor in the mouth. There wasn't much of a head on it, it looked a little weak and perhaps past its prime. However at 14% ABV it wasn't too strong tasting, and had tastes of cocoa slightly, but also a surprising berry fruit finish. Too bad there wasn't a lot to to try here, but the female bartender was quite perky and enjoyable to be around.

AW SHOOT, why I need to come to Deschutes more often.

After having a morning breakfast of spirits (see previous blog posting), my next stop was to get some tasting and lunch.

When I first arrived in Portland I happened upon Deschutes by accident. I arrived early and had time to wait for my scheduled pickup, so I sat a nearby bar in PDX and ordered one of my favorite beer styles an IPA. It was the Inversion IPA from this brewery, and I had it on tap. It was a great beer and an explosion of grapefruit, and tasty hops. Woah! Welcome to Portland I'll say! Who are these guys? I certainly didn't hear or think of looking them up before I came.

Still the place lingered in the back of my head. I was sort of confused still about how to say their name. It didn't seem to role off the tongue easily, but the beer sure was memorable. After leaving Barista one morning I just happened to walk by their brewery just by luck in the Pearl district. Is this a sign? It was as if karma was telling me that I had to keep this place in mind. I glanced upon a perfectly hung neon sign jutting out at a perfect angle from the corner of a real nice brick building. Oh yeah, that's that place that made that tasty IPA I said to myself. Perhaps... I should... go here some time.... I made a mental note.... and walked away...

After my visit to Clear Creek I needed lunch and I wanted beer. When talking to someone the previous day, they mentioned they were at Deschutes and then started raving. DUDE they take hops from the field, in an HOUR and they are at the brewery and the make the beer right then and there man! There needed to be no more persuasion, the die had been cast. I was going to Deschutes.

I settled in and saw a great row of taps, and a beer menu that looked incredibly enticing. A sampler of six was available, and in many way I though about just getting three at a time so my beers wouldn't sit so long. But that's okay, the lunch time crowd was coming in, it was a little dark inside, somewhat noisy, there was no need to get super serious about this. I could enjoy the beer just so.

First was the Gluten Free ESB. I am not usually a fan of ESBs and the fact that this was a "Gluten-Free" ale had me confused. There were slight hops but a weak body and finish. I figured to try this one just out for curiosity of this "Gluten Free" concept, but in the end I have to say I actually didn't like this beer. In fact this was the only beer in Deschutes I had that I didn't want to drink. As I mentioned ESBs are not my thing (I did have a slightly better ESB at Bridgeport). That's okay I figured there were more. Next I had the Fresh Hop Mirror Pond, described from the menu as a staff favorite. This was pretty amazing. An apple like fruit nose with chewy hops, tasting of a squash body (much like Hair of the Dogs "Greg") nutty and a sweet finish. Finally things started getting good. Next was King Cone... oh man a nice wonderful slight smoke on the nose, transforming into pine (that was mentioned in the description and I agree with it). Citrus in finish but also has some resin and a lingering great hop taste. This was really impressive beer and much fun to be imbibing.

I was set on tasting the rest when suddenly someone approached me. "Excuse me?" I glanced up to see a young woman staring at me. "Oh hi!" I said... not sure what to say next, did this person work here? The young woman asked if I was a beer reviewer since she saw me across the room dunking my nose and writing notes. I told her about the blog and my writings, and she was from Napa and worked for a winery. We both loved the beer here and she felt the Mirror Pond also tasted like Schnapps. We shared great conversation about Napa and the Pinot Noirs here and had a nice chat. Hopefully if she is reading this she can send me her contact info of where she works. It was a nice chat.

Shortly after our conversation ended I sat to work on the next three beers. Summer's Gone Saison had a bitter nose, peppery as described and fruity. Is this a HefeWeizen? There was one on the menu and this sure looked and smelled like one. Tasting the beer it was lemony and also tasted like one. It was good it did feel like more alcohol perhaps than the Hefe so I guess this is it, but it sure felt like at first I was served the wrong thing.

Jubelale was next, dark and tasty agreed with the description provided, thrusting my pencil underlining hop bitterness on the menu, and detecting a faint anise in the aftertaste.

And with all that I finished with the Hop trip, perfectly as described with a fruit nose (couldn't pick that fruit out), and a chewy wet mouthfeel.

I settled back and took stock of great fresh hop beer much satisfied. I was set to leave when I just decided to take in the menu again looking up at the board above. Something jumped up at me that I had missed. "Cask IPA".

Shit... I was all set and packed away and ready to go (someone had called and I was meeting them shortly) when I realized I needed to try a sample. I quickly asked for it and then set to trying it out. Oh my god... a nose and taste loaded with hops, fruit, grapefruit, a buttery taste even some caramel. This had to be the only cask beer I have had that reminded of Bourbon characteristics, Butter, caramel, some oak... dear god it was good. I wanted a pint, a big friggin glass of this right then and there. Unfortunately I couldn't stay, and that was torture defined... right there. I have returned home since this write up, and I still think of that little glass sitting on the edge of the bar between me and the door, how I wish I could go back and fill it up right now. I still think about this place, I am thinking about it RIGHT NOW... and it's killing me. I want that cask IPA so bad. Somehow I will return for it and I will not ignore Deschutes any longer. Forgive me for not noticing you earlier for I have sinned, and I will come back to the chapel and repay in kind for not noticing you earlier.

The White Manhattan Cocktail... twist on a classic standard. You can teach an old white dog new tricks!

Sometimes, everything comes together in life. When it comes to a good cocktail, it's also the finer things and the patience involved to make it, that somehow makes it more rewarding.

I had done a previous whiskey tasting of young whiskey as part of my series. While tasting the whiskey I realized that much of it sat on the shelf and I cared not often to bring it down for my liquid pursuits.

However, after finishing the tasting I went back to some old articles and came across one for white whiskey in the Washington Post, and there it was ... there was included a recipe using white whiskey in a classic standard cocktail favorite of mine... a "white Manhattan".

I love Manhattans. I am normally a Bourbon fan with them and particularly like them on the rocks. What my biggest pet peeve with them though was, were the ubiquitous companionship of cocktails.. those things that I could not escape no matter how hard I tried... the dreaded red fake cocktail cherry.

But even then I fixed that solution purchasing Italian Wild Cherries that were just DIVINE. I was all set, I even decided to order some other French Vermouth, only to receive dry vermouth instead of Blanc (white/sweet). My plans were put on hold, I would have to wait... WAIT to make this drink... My temptation to just make one, sans true cocktail cherry, sans Dolin Blanc (perhaps even ruining it with an old long shelved bottle of Martini Rossi Bianco), no I would have to be patient... A true good cocktail need EVERYTHING just right. And the wait was well worth it.

Subtle, sweet glycerine taste, orange slight bouquet, Benedictine... oh what a great liqeur you are... and then topped with a great tasting cherry. This is a great sweet drink, which you white whiskey fans may be all over... Benedictine is not a normal component in a classic Manhattan. Put here with the sweentess of a Blanc Vermouth it really adds a great texture along with orange bitters. Definitely worth a look.

I present to you... the White Manhattan. Cheers!

Watch out for the abominable chocolate snowman.

What's the deal with an Imperial Stout anyway? As much as I enjoy beer to imbibe, stouts in general are not the first thing I grab (although I grab a Guinness on occasion but haven't had the real stuff in Ireland). However, with my latest tastes and pickups of these crafty Imperial Stouts, my tastes certainly may be changing.

I first heard of the Yeti brew of all places on a wine tasting episode on YouTube. The name and the description of the Great Divide Brewing Company's products from Denver Colorado really started to intrigue me as I was reading up about them. To make sure I wasn't setting up for disappointment, I grabbed their Double Wit first. I figured if that was good then I knew I was on to something. In the end, I was greeted with a sweet tasty Belgian citrus bouquet, great body of a white ale, and a sweet nose that I got a big whiff of cardamom on. So far it was a big home run.

I tasted and reviewed the Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti and was pleasantly surprised as well. It really reminded me of a big red hot pepper chocolate bar, and was just a great beer (although my food pairings would be different than some of their suggestions). Cayenne taste comes out in the first chew, then dissipates and seems to come back SLOOOOWLY... on the finish. I did think the body was quite good, but it was almost a smidgen away from being just perfect. I thought if it was just a little thicker this beer would have been just phenomenal. I also didn't find much oak/wood smell/taste on it as it claims. Regardless it's still VERY VERY good. My review of it is in the video below.

Somehow the beer reviews are sneaking in on the Imbibe Hour, I did say they'd be there. But stay tuned for some more spirits and cocktails on the way shortly!

Cheers!