What's in your glass tonight?

[sour_grapes]

This is not a new purchase either -- it was a gift from a son. For those that like Scotch, the Japanese have been trying to emulate Scotch for a century, and they are doing a darned good job!

View attachment 97878

 

[sour_grapes]

Hello, I don't think your actually anywhere close to Indiana! LOL

Could be Lake Michigan, you know...

 

[Shurt1073]

Could be lake Michigan, you know...

Florida ... be back in Indiana March 1st or 2nd.

 

[tullamore]

This is not a new purchase either -- it was a gift from a son. For those that like Scotch, the Japanese have been trying to emulate Scotch for a century, and they are doing a darned good job!

View attachment 97878

i;ve had - its ok
give them another half century or so - before they get to the level of the Scots
i'm a scotch and Irish Whiskey snob! lol!

 

[jswordy]

i;ve had - its ok
give them another half century or so - before they get to the level of the Scots
i'm a scotch and Irish Whiskey snob! lol!

Well, you snobs can snob away at it, I'll stick with my Jameson 1.75 liter and be happy. I drink what I like.

 

[tullamore]

agree - its ur pallet -

 

[winemaker81]

agree - its ur pallet -

I'm good with Scotch, Irish, Japanese, and Bourbon. I'm easy but (obviously) not cheap!

 

[ibglowin]

Could be lake Michigan, you know...

I guess it could be esp this year since there is (reportedly) zero ice on the lake. Which they say is a problem,

 

[VinesnBines]

View attachment 97879

I was not real impressed with this tonight. Reminded me of Laffy Taffy!

I have been to that winery. Some are a little too sweet but I would love to know how they make the orange/coffee Midnight Sun.

 

[P Waddah by Jimbo]

Happy Peanut butter day. Peanut Banana wine.

 

[Hazelemere]

The image on the right what I'm drinking now:

Raspberry Melomel Cyser 2020. The image on the left is Raspberry Sour Cherry Melomel 2019

I have a stunning Newfie (Newfoundland born) yoga instructor (Mondays) chef and and Vegan cook book author who gives me all of her excellent vegan cookbooks for free.. I'm eating Vegan right now to get my prostate PSA level down with supplements and drank wine today for the first time in a week. I cooked her lentil shepherds pie recipe which is in the oven right now. Tomorrow I'll make it again my way unless it is fantastic in which case I'll make it the same way again. I sauteed my onions, diced yams etc in my Pacific Moraine red wine which is homegrown organic Marechal Foch, Regent and Washington Sheridan Syrah ( which smell of burnt rubber but has improved a lot. I call this Pacific Moraine i.e Syrah-Foch-Regent blend which I used with the Raspberry melomel cyser to saute all of the vegetables for the Shepherds pie.

Earlier this rose was tannic from russet apple juice sky high in skin tannins from low low moisture apples unwatered and picked at the end of a 4 month massive Pacific Northwest drought.

This rose was made as a 50/50 blend of my organic frozen raspberries (3 varieties including Meeker), my organic Russet apple juice and unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. The apple juice was chaptalized with honey and with no water or sugar. I added 3 lbs of cane sugar plus an Imperial gallon of water to each 6 lbs of dead ripe frozen raspberries.

Here are my comments on this rose wine:

Smell - complex, really interesting, very fragrant, each component has an effect i.e. you can't identify raspberries

Acid - good. It could use a bit more to be even better.

Tannin - tannin is high but not crazy (you get the Russet tannin in the aftertaste).. The tannin has dropped slowly over time which tells me that this wine is a keeper and will improve i.e. high tannin and/or high acid in this case a combo allows wines that are properly stored to age

Flavour - rich, intense, balanced fruit wine. This is very good (not because I made it.). This should improve over time as the Russet apple tannin drops. I have at least a dozen of these and will open one every 6 months to see how it ages. I think that I will make this again but next time with more acid.

 

[Boatboy24]

Not your boring "Old" vines, these are "Ancient"!

 

[Hazelemere]

This is 2022 Cyser using unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey and organic homegrown Russet apple juice (i.e. no water and no sugar). The slightly gold colour comes from oxidized tannins in the russet skins during grinding and pressing ahead of sulphiting. ~25 ppm free SO2 at bottling. I only have a gallon of this unblended since most of it will be used to improve high acid Brehm Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. The apple tree (russets grafted on a transparent apple tree) didn't see rain for 3 months. Here are my comments on this right before I bottle it.

Smell - good nose from apples and honey

Acid - perfect

Tannin - high but not crazy high, with the acid this should age which I will let it do e.g. open 1 bottle every 6 months until its gone. I'll make this again

Flavour - rich with a long slightly sweet long finish. It should improve.

If you want to make cyser try to grind and press the apples and try to find Russets. Gravensteins and Spartans are almost as good.

 

[David Violante]

 

[sour_grapes]

Not your boring "Old" vines, these are "Ancient"!

View attachment 97947

How was it? I have a sentimental attachment to Cline Zins (for personal, historical, family reasons). Was it an upgrade?

 

[Boatboy24]

Was it an upgrade?

I think it was. $16, IIRC. Don't know that it would be my 'go-to', but definitely better than the stuff that was just a couple dollars less. Definitely a little money in that bottle though.

 

[winemaker81]

Recently a friend & I discussed liquors, and we looked at my cabinet -- my sons & I have been exchanging bottles at birthdays and Christmas for a few years, and I have a significant number of bottles of a wide variety of liquors. We always sample at opening, and for many bottles that's all that has been consumed. I like liquor, but tend to drink wine.

I realized I was out of space for more bottles, and my birthday is in a few months, so it's time to reduce stock. I received drink stones for Christmas (stones kept in freezer, drop in drink to chill it without diluting it), and have been enjoying a double shot after work each day.

The day before yesterday was Macallan, and yesterday I switched to Cognac.

 

[sour_grapes]

Recently a friend & I discussed liquors, and we looked at my cabinet -- my sons & I have been exchanging bottles at birthdays and Christmas for a few years, and I have a significant number of bottles of a wide variety of liquors. We always sample at opening, and for many bottles that's all that has been consumed. I like liquor, but tend to drink wine.

I realized I was out of space for more bottles, and my birthday is in a few months, so it's time to reduce stock. I received drink stones for Christmas (stones kept in freezer, drop in drink to chill it without diluting it), and have been enjoying a double shot after work each day.

The day before yesterday was Macallan, and yesterday I switched to Cognac.

View attachment 97970

View attachment 97969

I have only two problems with Macallan: it is a bit spendy, and it goes down WAAAAY too easily!

 

[winemaker81]

I have only two problems with Macallan: it is a bit spendy, and it goes down WAAAAY too easily!

It was a gift, and YES! It's a small bottle, and will be gone all too soon!

 

[ibglowin]

All this talk about booze got me to thinkin'which is dangerous I know..... We have a cabinet full of stuff most of will still be around when we are 6 feet under unless we toss it. We were in a "gourmet dinner group" for about 5 years and that was like 15 years ago now. They were all older "labbie" type folks who liked to have hard liquor before the gourmet dinner (with wine) so we ended up buying all this crazy liquor to make fancy mixed drinks and now it just sits in the cabinet. Not sure if that stuff goes bad over time or not but so far nothing has exploded so that's good...... LOL