Whiskey, Gin, Rum, Tequila!

by Rob Bralow, Wine Post Editor


I went to a very strange summer camp. No, the camp did not give alcohol to its campers. Instead the beverage of choice was Coca Cola. Counselors would give Cokes as a prize for doing something for them, for being especially good, and for not being annoying children. Not sure what the theory on that was, since giving a hyperactive camper a sugary, caffeinated drink probably did not calm the situation, but when you are a sun-browned camp counselor, I am not sure that it matters.


I forget which counselor taught this to my little brother, but at odd times during the day as we would go to our activities he would start shouting, "Whiskey, Gin, Rum, Tequila!" If you have never seen an eleven year old do this, I would suggest it. It is worth the initial laughs and the subsequent ones to be annoyed every once in a while when he does this right in your ear.


Why am I bringing this up? No not so my mother gets upset with the summer camp; it is way too late for that since I spent at least part of fourteen summers there and my brother is now up to eleven or twelve summers. I bring it up because today is my brother's 21st birthday. I am sure he has learned more about those four imbibables than he thought  possible when he started that manic chant.


In honor of my brother I thought I would review of few whiskeys that I think he might enjoy:


Canadian Club Classic 12 Year Blended Whiskey - A sugared caramel nose with no heat, this was an easy sipping whiskey. It was sweet and light.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon (Distilled 1997, Bottled 2009) - Smooth and fresh, with caramel mixed with eucalyptus and cinnamon. With a light heat, the flavors were rich and intricate. A very nice drink to sip straight or on the rocks.

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Seasoned Oak Finish - I must admit I do not get into the darker spirits much, but this bourbon might pull me closer. The dark chocolate, rich caramel, and enticing herbal notes on this Kentucky Bourbon was extremely pleasant. I found dark cherry, cinnamon, caramel, with a little eucalyptus on the end to finish it off.

Happy Birthday Mike!

A Softly Spoken Birthday

by Rob Bralow, Wine Post Editor


It happens to be my birthday today and it is almost a sin to not report what wine I am drinking tonight. The answer is: I have no idea.


Instead I am going to tell you about an amazing wine that I had last Thursday night for a pre-birthday dinner with my girlfriend Leah and our friends Denise and Celso. We went to the Ottomanelli's Cafe, owned by the Ottomanelli Brothers. Ottomanelli Brothers is a butcher shop company with three butcher shop locations, two steakhouse locations, and a tiny traditional Italian restaurant, the Ottomanelli's Cafe.


The food there is delicious. Traditional Italian food served with a side of pasta, with fresh cut products and simple home recipes. And incredibly fair priced. I had a Chicken Marsala and a bowl of New England Clam Chowder for less than $15 and both were the most delicious examples of those two dishes that I remember having.


To top it off, the restaurant is BYO. There is no alcohol on the menu and they allow you to bring in your own, which we took full advantage of. I brought a 2007 Ridge Jimsomare Zinfandel and I have never been happier that I decided to buy several cases of this wine. The nose is soaked with fresh cranberries, cherries, and cherry blossoms and the taste is smooth as silk followed by bright red cherry and smooth cranberry at the end to give the wine a slight tart finish. It made me want another sip, and then another, and all too soon the bottle was gone. My mother had a 1990 Jimsomare and it was incredible. I hope I can resist the urge to open the rest of these bottles and allow the wine to age and show more delicate flavors and aromas, because I think it will.


Anyway, Happy Birthday to me. And I hope you all enjoy your own birthday wines, beers, and liquors. But be sure to enjoy your friends as well, for they are good at any time.

Total Heaven

How many different types of gum are in the world? Maybe 100? Maybe even 200? At most, in our wildest dreams, 1000? It would look somewhat impressive if all of that gum was put on a retail wall in a store, but you would expect there to be other products in the store too, right?

I have made mention of how many wines there are in the world on other posts, but I think every wine loving person should have the experience I had this weekend.

As a birthday gift my mother took me into Total Wine for the first time on Saturday. It was a rather intense experience. Total Wine is the equivalent of a Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s for wine. It was almost specifically made for people who just want to explore aisles and aisles of wine. Really, it is a bloggers’ paradise. I almost salivate at the idea of attempting to try every single wine in the store. I am sure I could ask the good people at TW for the number of SKU’s they have in their stores, but just from walking the rows I would say that the number is certainly over 1000, and possibly over 3000. And that might be underestimating it.

Seeing that much wine and knowing nothing about them is daunting. Repeatedly, I was caught by the shelf talkers (the little signs and notes that retailers put near the bottles to give you a sense of what it is you might be buying). One note that did a particular good job at influencing me was the number of points the wine received.

There were plenty of signs, handwritten by the staff that said they had tried the wine and it was delicious. There was even one that said, “if you want to love this wine, let it breath.” These show that a particular amount of thought goes into each sign and that the staff does care that you get the best experience possible. Again and again there was a sign that said “Bob’s Choice.” I knew nothing about Bob, but I assume he was the wine buyer or manager of that particular store. Really it is no different from what Gary Vaynerchuk does at Wine Library.

But back to the points issue. I was really affected by them. It was comforting to know that in this sea of choices, someone out there that is an authority on wine could tell me that this particular wine was good enough to be rated 90 points. Someone I did not know recommended the wine and thought it was good. No wonder that points are in such demand!

The one thing that trumps points every time is a personal recommendation from someone standing there next to you. It could be an employee at the store (and believe me, it was almost a challenge to move from one aisle to the next without someone asking me if I needed help) or as I found out this weekend, it could be just some Joe Schmoe.

The store was laid out by grape variety, which works until you hit France or Italy, so they received special treatment with their own sections. I was standing in front of the Petit Sirah and thinking that I needed to taste more of them when someone next to me pointed to a bottle and said that it was his wife’s favorite. Immediately I picked up the bottle and put it in my cart, whether to be polite or because I truly believed this man’s wife had a palate I could trust I am not sure. Just like that, no second thoughts, no questions, just a hand-sell. The winery or the store should have given him a dollar off for his troubles.

So, at the end of the day my mother and I filled up the cart with 18 bottles and paid the register clerk their due. It was a great experience and it only makes me want to go back for more. Although I think I need to drink through some wine first.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Another year, successfully navigated. Not much else to say than that. Thank you to everyone who decided to read my posts here. I very much enjoy the discussions we have had and the topics that people have brought to me. I look forward to trying new wines in the next year and making new friends while continuing to laugh with the old ones.

Cheers!