Happy New Year

I anticipate everyone will be opening up their bubbly this evening for a wonderful New Year's celebration. Please enjoy!

When tomorrow comes and you face the reality of 2008, stop back in here for some drinks and food to help you get through the inevitable outcome of indulging too much.

My first recommendation is cranberry juice. Not that watered down "cocktail" stuff, but 100% pure cranberry juice. If your grocery store does not have it try a natural food store such as Whole Foods. It runs about $7 a bottle, so that is a good way to know you are getting the real thing.

Starting on January 2, add 4 oz of juice to 20 oz of cold water. Shake well and then start drinking. Drink this constantly all day for a week. No alcohol. No meat. No unnecessary fat. Avoid processed food.

That is the start of the cleansing process! Getting your liver ready for another year of spirits.

Beer closing in on cocktails?

This article reports that beer is making a big comeback and regaining some of the mind share lost to cocktails in the past few years.

As is usually the case with reports like this the data is inconclusive and everyone has their own interpretation.

I am not a cocktail snob but I am also not a huge beer lover. Each has its place in our daily drinking regime (everyone should map out their own daily drinking plan now).

The more spirits being consumed (responsibly) the better.

I will continue to hold high my cocktail glass.

Although, the wife and I do recommend the Heineken in the 7 oz bottles as an easy way to have your beer without filling up. We call them the mini-heines.

The Macallan 1851 Inspiration

I picked up this lovely dram at the duty free in Toronto a couple of months ago, but did not crack it open until earlier this week (a holiday treat!).

This is a duty free exclusive and the focus is as much on the packaging as the content. At C$90 is is a pricey indulgence, but worthwhile for the someone who enjoys the history of Whisky.

The physical bottle recreates the type of bottle used for Macallan during the mid-nineteenth century. It has a slightly rough feel and shows irregular bubbles and marks throughout the strata of the glass. It is sealed with wax and has a cork closure. Overall a really nice bottle to have and hold.

The Whisky inside is a mild and fruity Macallan, nothing spectacular but very drinkable. It does not have much oil or peat flavor, making it an easy dram for the novice as well as the experienced drinker.

You can find Macallan's own tasting notes on their site.

Available in duty free shops or at The Whisky Exchange.

The Bitch is Back

I wrote about Evil Bitch at the beginning of the year. Turns out I was far ahead of the curve on learning about this dynamic duo of red wine goodness (badness?).

In Whole Foods yesterday chatting with the wonderful wine steward and she suggests I try some Bitch. Turns out that it has taken off like a storm and they had almost none left. Someone had ordered a case and not taken it, so a few bottles remained.

I bought three bottles and will return for anything that is left on Dec 26.

For $9.99 this is the wine you need to drink. Fruit and depth and just enough complexity to convince you that you have $20 in your glass. A real steal, if you can find it.

The Elf, Shorn

The holiday season is a time for indulgence, and the Elf decided treat himself to a professional shave at The Art of Shaving.

I was very excited to find out that this great store was coming to  my local mall and had my whiskers raised in anticipation of its arrival. Yesterday was the first chance I had to go in and get the Royal treatment.

Men don't get enough opportunities for pampering in today's world. The simple pleasure of a shave at the hands of a trained barber is something mostly forgotten by most of today's generation (I define that as men between 18 and 35, of which I am pleased to say I am no longer a member (if only by a smidgen)). Even if men are going to get a facial it is likely at a spa that caters mostly to women and the aesthetician is probably not going to provide a shave along with the treatment.

The season allowed me to splurge on the Royal Shave® and it was well worth it at $55. I felt like a king, like Capone (recall the brilliant scene in De Palma's The Untouchables where Capone, played by De Niro, is being shaved), and like Sinatra. There was a moment when the new movie Sweeny Todd was brought to mind and I felt helpless under the blade, but that was brief.

It was a marvelous and relaxing 45 minutes and I look forward to my next visit. I had lunch afterwards, but would really have preferred a nice Martini.

The Art of Drinking Well

An interesting column on the beauty and burden of drinking well. Cheers, Mr. Felten!

Drink Green

From MSNBC, a little article on organic spirits.

It is great to go green, but taste should always be the deciding factor.

Water is a good green beverage, especially if it comes from the tap! Those plastic water bottles are just wrong 99% of the time (everything does have its place).

Glenmorangie

The good folks at Glenmorangie have a new website to accompany the launch of their new branding.

The new bottles look spectacular! They feel both modern and more "upscale" than the traditional whisky bottle. Similar in feel to Cognac bottles, but stronger and bolder. I am very pleased with the ongoing brand improvements by many of the whisky brands.

The website, however, has some problems. It is visually lovely, but uses a lot of Flash and the Flash takes forever to load. Not sure what they have done to make it all that slow, but it drags on with every screen change. If they had  just created one single Flash page and then embedded everything within it the experience would be much better.

I am intrigued by their "Kaleidoscope" for describing the flavors of whisky, but everything renders so slowly that it is not worthwhile. But, the lips in the picture are amazing.

Enjoy.

Whisky Poll

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Sake!

I noticed one of my neighborhood QFC stores had been renovated recently (ok, it had probably been renovated quite some time ago, but I don't go in too often) and now has a really large selection of both ordinary and premium sake. I was in and out on a quick run to get tortilla chips, but picked up a bottle anyway.

My knowledge of sake is very limited, so I guess that a good way to learn more is to drink more.

Yuki No Bosha Limited Release

Junmai Ginjo

 

If you have some good sake tips, please send them over!

Damn that is good

I think I am spreading the cult of the Rob Roy. I had a wonderful one last week at Vessel (yes, I go to Vessel a lot) and was pleased to see the bartender use my whisky of choice, Famous Grouse. It really is the best whisky I have found for blending in a drink like a Rob Roy. It was a lovely tipple.

Now, I tell everyone to try a Rob Roy. If you love a Manhattan, try the Rob.

Weekend is here and I have latkes to make tomorrow.