What is in your cup?

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Once bottled it changes very little. The 18 years refers the time in barrels after distilling and before bottling.

Shhh, don't tell him that. I was just about to offer to go over there and help him drink it up before it goes off

[CRussel]

Lung Ching (Dragonwell). Of unknown origin. (Bought a 500g foil bag on eBay a while back, and still enjoying it.) This Dragonwell is good, but not great. OTOH, I can afford to drink a lot of it.

[beppe]

Let's talk about aging booze in casks. Obviously there is merit and value in it, at least by the price that it is associated to it. But ...
It is different with wine that goes trough important chemical transformations, beneficial or not is a question of taste, maybe acquired. But spirits. I have the impression that they just absorb substances from the cask, without any chemical reaction. Something that could be added by a wise alchemist. In 5 minutes. In other words, wine is chemically "alive", spirits not.

Some time ago it came in fashion to barrique wines. (That is luckily fading away, maybe). I avoid barriqued wines as they do not have their original characteristics anymore but instead they have something else that has nothing to do with the wine itself. What the so called expert did to the fine wines of Bordeaux is a disgrace under the nose of every aficionado. Now the wines of Bordeaux all have the same mellow neutral "taste", that reassures. The taste of the casks. In line with the dictates of the specialized press. Better to buy a cheap local wine without pretense and impressive labels. At least it is authentic. Or to make friends with some old wine pusher out of the franchises and pay your moneys for your choices.

Some time ago, I was in the town of Saintes in the Charente, the home of the Cognac. We made friends at the local tennis club, and after few days we asked where we could get some good cognac, out of the circuit of the big industrial producers. None of the fine men got their cognac from the bigs, but from some local well established families. They asked how much we wanted to spend. We said that for a good one, price was not a critical element. So they said to get a 10 years old, as we would not have been able to appreciate an older one. We obliged and got few bottles of the marvel, that we consumed only for medical purposes, like when one was feeling down that helped. We actually tasted some older stuff. Much more expensive of course, but exactly as the fine men had told us, we could not feel the difference.
When from time to time, in the home of a friend, I am offered some old old single malt, I can appreciate the finesse that goes with the price, but I remain with the impression that the guy just prepares a finer product to be put away that way. From the start.

[Latinandgreek]

I've finally found my Ahmad Edinburgh Earl Grey tea! Thank you, Winners!

[ProfCrash]

OK I just ate an entire grilled chicken breast and four servings of veggies but I am stuill hungry. And that was my fourth meal of the day.

Hopefully the Cran Grape juice fills me up.

[Stitchawl]

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Born to be wild
Born to be wild

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNz97...eature=related )

WHAT A MORNING!!! Bright sun... Blue skies....12 degrees... After a quick breckie of Keemun tea and a package of cheese, I'm gonna RIDE!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

OK I just ate an entire grilled chicken breast and four servings of veggies but I am stuill hungry. And that was my fourth meal of the day.
Hopefully the Cran Grape juice fills me up.

Get yourself a Hot Air Popcorn popper. Horrible taste but virtually no calories and you can eat all you want without putting on a pound! I make popcorn every day, but use about a TBS of olive oil for a large pot. Better taste but a few more calories. I keep it next to me at all times. Great way to snack and not put on weight.

I'm going to put another mug of tea into a thermos and bring it along...
Time to get my pony out of the barn!


Stitchawl

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Get your motor runnin'

Get yourself a Hot Air Popcorn popper. Horrible taste but virtually no calories and you can eat all you want without putting on a pound! I make popcorn every day, but use about a TBS of olive oil for a large pot. Better taste but a few more calories. I keep it next to me at all times. Great way to snack and not put on weight.




Stitchawl

Popcorn is especially healthy when you put a few tbsp of butter on it (Don't put too much though, 7-8 should do )


Balkan peach yogurt is what I'm having right now.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Horrible taste but virtually no calories

Umm... what? Why in the world would you eat if it has "horrible" taste? Why not just go out side and get some dirt then?

[Fbone]

Egg nog

[maianhvk]

@ Beppe: Oookaayyy, so I made a small coffee zabaglione this morning, and ate it right away. I couldn't make it "hold a ribbon", though it held many lovely bubbles, I think I added too much coffee. It was brown (I should've expected that), tasted too much like raw eggs, and a little too hard. It reminded me of flan, only tasted worse. Wanted to take a photo to show you my achievement, but it said "recharge battery".

I'm having coffee. Strong coffee.

[dreams]

OK, I tried some Egg Nog today. Not quite sure what to say about it. Yuck? I could not understand why everyone liked it. Some with whiskey and some plain but warmed up with spices. Yuck. I even tried putting coffee with it. Still Yuck. I finally settled for a coffee with Gallo cask and cream.

Dishes are done, tree is decorated, company has left, and now it is time to relax in the quiet. Hot chocolate in my cup and thinking of adding a biscotti (chocolate, of course) or maybe M&M's.

[The Terminator]

What! Coffee with egg nog is great.

[beppe]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

@ Beppe: Oookaayyy, so I made a small coffee zabaglione this morning, and ate it right away. I couldn't make it "hold a ribbon", though it held many lovely bubbles, I think I added too much coffee. It was brown (I should've expected that), tasted too much like raw eggs, and a little too hard. It reminded me of flan, only tasted worse. Wanted to take a photo to show you my achievement, but it said "recharge battery".

I'm having coffee. Strong coffee.

Did you remember to take away the egg shell?
If it was hard it means that you put it directly on the heat source, answered the phone, forgot the thing and let it cook for a while.

You will do better next time.

[Kevin8or]

I like egg nog, but I can understand why some people don't. It is, after all, a thick, eggy, odd-tasting concoction. I love cheese, too, but I can understand why some people gag at moldy dairy products.

[Stitchawl]

I was right! It was a perfect day for a ride. In the morning met up with a Triumph rider, a Harley rider, and a BMW rider at an overlook, and the four of us rode together for the rest of the day! Very nice!

Home again and warming up with a mug of Yorkshire tea!

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Umm... what? Why in the world would you eat if it has "horrible" taste? Why not just go out side and get some dirt then?

Dirt isn't good for babies. Popcorn is. And it's only horrible relative to that made with lots of oil or butter and salt. Eating it plain takes getting used to, but ProfCrash has another 8 months of wanting to stuff her face... and can't! Hot air Popcorn is a way to satisfy the craving to eat, but without putting on excess weight! Actually, many people like to put chili power, garlic powder, and other spices or seasonings on popcorn for their flavor hit. I prefer just salt. Knowing Prof's love of hot pepper, she could shake on a bit of Cayenne!


Stitchawl