Drink Matron

Month: September 2010

  • The Gimlet (gin)

    We’re still working with Gin, which I’m still trying to get used to. After the horrible debacle with the G&G’s, I was less than interested in moving forward with the gin experiment. However, sometimes I’m surprised by my own taste buds, and the Gimlet IS a classic drink with more than a few fans, so I’ll give it a shot. Once again, Adrian will be joining me, and we’ll be using Tanqueray.

    The Gimlet

    2 parts Gin
    1 part Lime Juice

    Combine the ingredients in a cocktail glass over ice (or straight up).

    Drink Matron says:

    I’m not crazy about Gin, but I love Vodka gimlets, so I thought this would be a great way to see if I could like gin in anything. Upon my first taste, however, I know it’s not for me. I do enjoy it more than the G&G. The gin is not nearly as overpowering as I expected, and while it’s a bit sour, upon further review I realized that I added just a bit too much lime juice.

    Overall Review: With almost no after taste, I like its smoothness. Possibly good for cocktail hour.

    Adrian says:

    I’ve never had a gimlet, gin or vodka, before. The first taste was like getting hit in the face with a shovel, but once I got over it, I like that it’s not too sweet. The gin cuts the harsh flavor of the lime juice, and vice versa. It’s sour, which I also like, and it’s smooth. You don’t just drink it, you sip. A very brisk flavoring that I think would be good before dinner.

    Overall Review: Not bad at all.

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  • The Journey of Wine Making

    I started getting interested in wine around 2005 when my friends and I would have dinner every Wednesday, aptly named “Wednesday Night Dinner.”  During these dinners, we drank a LOT of wine, and I started to learn some things about it.

    Around the same time, Gary Vaynerchuk started Wine Library TV, which expanded my knowledge of wine even more. One of the things Gary always says on his show is that you need to trust your own palate – just because a bottle of wine is $100 doesn’t mean it’s good. I took that message to heart.

    I had previous experience brewing my own beer, and had been getting my supplies through a company that had recently started to sell wine-making equipment, so I thought, “What the heck? I’ll give it a shot.”

    The fundamental ingredients in wine are the grape juice and yeast. The juice comes from a grape varietal which determines what type of wine it will be. The yeast causes fermentation but using different types of yeast will affect the subtle flavors and aroma of the wine. Choosing a yeast that complements the juice is something that only comes with experience. This is why most people stick with kits, it’s difficult to justify spending $80-$100 to make 6 gallons, spending 6-10 weeks making it, only to find out that your wine tastes like crap. It takes a special breed of person to go through this torment.

    A kit is the best choice for a beginner because it consists of all the ingredients you need to make the wine of your choice, the difference is that someone who actually knows what they’re doing puts the kit together. That way, there’s no risk of ending up with a lousy batch. If you’re looking at making your own wine simply for the sake of reducing your booze costs, you may never need to move away from the kit.

    The first couple of times I made wine, I used a Cabernet Sauvignon kit because I’m a sucker for red wine. It was as good as any bottle of table wine I’ve ever had and even at $100 for the kit, it works out to less than $3.50 a bottle.

    If you’re like me, you feel the need to tinker with things. Making your own wine will satisfy that need in spades and can become a seriously fun hobby.  This is really what making wine is all about, the experience of it all. Yes, the outcome is fun, but it makes it better to know that you’ve conquered the grape, mastering your own wine. I love this part of it, and I love making my own wine.

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  • I heart Brewdog

    If you talk to me long enough about beer, you’ll learn that I have a mad crush on Scotland’s Brewdog Brewery.

    The reason for my crush is pretty basic.  These guys have some great big balls.

    In November of 2009, they released Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the world’s strongest beer to that date, with a total of 32% alcohol by volume (abv).  Yes, I said 32%.  That’s a little more than six times the abv of Bud Light (5.0%) and about eight times that of Miller Lite (4.2%).

    Then, in February 2010, Germany’s Schorschbrau Brewery released Schorschbock, with an abv of 40%, kicking the Brewdog boys right out of first place.

    Well, the guys at Brewdog refuse to be beat, and just weeks after the release of Schorschbock, they introduced a 41% abv brew called Sink the Bismarck, effectively crushing their German competition and cementing their place in beer brewing history.

    Badasses.

    How could I NOT love them?

    Unfortunately, Sink the Bismarck is only available online (and is super expensive), and Tactical Nuclear Penguin is not available in any areas near me anymore (I recently moved from NYC to a small town in Indiana), but I’m confident that someday I will slowly sip the two awesome creations, as well as Brewdog’s other fantastic brews, while gazing over the marvelous Scottish countryside.  Or sitting in a pub.  Either way is fine with me.

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  • Low Calorie Beers – What’s the Point?

    A couple of years ago, when I was trying to lose weight, I went camping with a group of friends. MGD 64 had just come out and a couple of my girlfriends were drinking it.  They were thrilled because it was only worth one point on Weight Watchers, and said it tasted pretty good. I decided to give it a try.  It definitely didn’t taste that good, but I figured I could drink a few beers a day, get drunk and take in only half the calories of a normal light beer.

    So I drank it.  And drank it. And drank it.  And drank it.  And by the time the end of the night came around, I was still drinking shitty beer, and I STILL wasn’t drunk.

    But for some reason, I thought it was just a fluke.  So the next day, I drank more.  And once again, by the end of the night, I wasn’t drunk, again.  It was pointless.

    Recently, another friend of mine has taken a liking to Bud Select 55.  So I gave it a try.  While it’s slightly more tolerable than MGD 64, I know the end result, so I’ll keep away.

    Now, I am of the mindset that beer has two functions.  The first is that it should be enjoyed.  Whether it’s over dinner, after a long day, or as a refreshing beverage on a lazy afternoon. When beer is used for this function, it should be full of taste and chosen carefully.

    The second function of beer is to get you drunk.  This is reserved for times like a party, camping, or other various social gatherings where you’re staying in one spot for the night or have a ride home.  In this case, it doesn’t really matter what the beer tastes like, since by the third or fourth you can’t taste it anyway.  In other words, insert any beer in my cup, and I’ll be happy.

    Low calorie beers, and I mean the low low calorie beers like MGD 64 or Budweiser Select 55, go against both of those functions.  Because it doesn’t get you drunk, it should, by my thinking, at least taste good, but, unfortunately, it tastes like someone pissed in a can and you drank it without realizing what it was.

    So because of this, I ask, what is the point?  To lose weight and still be able to enjoy a drink?  Come on!  There’s so many better tasting ways to drink on a diet.  Bacardi and Diet Anything is better than this junk.  And there’s zero calories in that.

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  • Why I Brew the Beer I Drink

    Guest Post by Brian Liebau, Our own beer brewing zombie killer.

    I got started (brewing beer) because I love beer and I wanted to learn a craft that would be worthwhile after an apocalypse. No really, laugh now, but that was my initial motivation. There aren’t many other hobbies that would benefit mankind as much while civilization is being rebuilt from scratch. You’ll see. After the meteors hit and zombies are roaming the streets, I’ll be recruited into the survivor’s compound because I’ll be able to contribute to society by providing one of those few remaining things that can bring harmony and happiness. That’s granted they have access to all the necessary ingredients and tools, but we can work that out later.

    Seriously though… back to loving beer.
    If you are passionate about beer, if you’re the type who chooses a store based on the variety in their walk-in-cooler, or who makes their restaurant selection based on tapper count, who thoroughly enjoys a crisp IPA on a hot summer day, or the warm complexity of an imperial stout in the dead of winter, if you always try the local brew or select the one unknown tap that you’ve never heard of before, you should seriously think about brewing your own… and sharing it… with me.

    If you only drink weak flavored beer or your solitary goal of drinking it to get wasted, you absolutely should not try to brew… At least not until you make friends with a home brewer and let them share their passion and appreciation for good beer with you. 

    The more someone loves beer, the better the chance that they will produce some of the best heavenly barley nectar that has ever graced the lips of mankind. When you appreciate the subtle differences in hop varieties, malted grain, and yeast strains, you will fine tune your beer into that combination of flavors that you yearn for in a commercial brew but can never quite find. Like a musician or an artist with a blank canvas, you can build your masterpiece into an exact concerto for your tongue, a Monet for your olfactory. Sure it takes a bit of luck, knowledge, and experience but that process is part of the enjoyment. The achievement, surprise, and heartbreak encountered after hours bent over a boiling pot and weeks after watching your yeast bubble away is the dream of any grown adult who had a chemistry set as a kid. Plus it’s lots of fun when your neighbors come over to ask if what you’re doing is legal or if you’re cooking meth. Then the day comes when you can pour your creation into a glass after you’ve meticulously planned its composition and devoutly tended its maturation until it finally rolls around your mouth and warms your belly… the smile on your face in that moment is the pure happiness of home brewing. Just remember, happiness is only worthwhile when shared!

    Enough of that… back to those zombies.
    Don’t fool yourself, when mankind is rebuilding after the next great flood, those who know how to produce food, ammunition, and alcohol will be the ones who survive and thrive. Mostly, it will be those with ammunition, but I’m not that great of a shot and I’ve never had a green thumb, so I’ll stick to what I’m good at. Humans have relied on beer for the majority of civilization, especially when sanitary water conditions weren’t always available. Trust me on this one, anyone facing hordes of brain eating walking dead or bands of crazed pillaging marauders will really need a beer after a long day.

    Some of Brian's homemade brew – Blonde Ale, Dark Honey Wheat, Hoppy Amber Ale, Apfelwein
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  • G&G

    I hate gin.  Yuck yuck yuck.  But, I am more than willing to take one for the team (and I’m hoping to find a gin drink I enjoy).  So I bring to you our first cocktail review, from me and Adrian.

    G&G (Gin & Guava Juice)

    This drink was recommended to us by a friend, who discovered the combination when he was looking for something to mix with his gin.  Adrian has had it before, but I haven’t, and I’m hoping it’s my drink.  We are using Tanqueray Gin, but you can use whatever brand you want.

    1 part Gin

    1 part Guava Juice

    In a cocktail glass, pour gin and guava juice over ice.

    Drinkmatron says:

    The combination of the overly sweet Guava juice and the pine taste of the gin gave me instant gut rot.  Even if I enjoyed drinking gin, I don’t think I would like this.  I didn’t feel that the ingredients complimented each other at all.  Even though the guava juice gives it a creamy taste, the mixture is jarring and extremely overbearing.

    Overall Review: Don’t waste your gin.

    Adrian says:

    Guava juice is sickly sweet and thick, but the sharp pine flavor cuts the sweetness.  The flavors compliment each other really well.  It’s okay, but it’s way too thick for my liking.

    I wouldn’t go out of my way to have it, but if I had one ingredient or the other, I might consider buying the other to make these.

    Overall Review: This would definitely be better as a shot.

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