john@thebar

I've been out of touch for a while and am just catching up on some eG topics, hence the timing of this post. Unless someone knows something I'm not aware of, New Glarus pulled all their brews from the Illinois market in 2003. I could be wrong and I hope so, but I haven't seen any in Chicagoland since then. And it's a shame!

Well, since you asked... Krug Clos du Mesnil 1988 with the albatross carpaccio ( champers is so versatile, don't you know) and a prewar Quinto do Noval Nacional whilst howling at the moon.

Katie, I agree with you on both counts, thanks for the clarification. I had a bottle of the Esperto last year and it worked well with a bowl of linguine with white clam sauce As for the other, I'd rather drink lemonade.

Having tried 4 or 5 of the pumpkin ales mentioned, my impression is that they are ok for a novelty item, a couple of them are pretty tasty, and they are something to drink between Octoberfests and Winter/Holiday/Christmas brews... with one notable exception: Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale. I wish I could buy Dennis Miller a 6 pack of this weasel piss and make him drink one. He is the only one who comes to mind capable of going on the kind of rant that it deserves. Coors, hang your corporate heads in shame!

For the most part the wines I've recognised in this thread can be had in the Chicago market without pushing the $10 price point too hard, at least when they are on sale. Two notable exceptions are, however Trimbach Gewurtz.- $17 to $19 and L. Felluga Pinot Grigio, which, at $21.99 is higher than Santa Margarita- $21.79 at the same store. By the way, is it true that Santa Margarita P.G. is line priced with their Cab and Chard in Italy? What's up with that Back to the subject of under $10 pleasant wines: Whites: Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc ( S. Africa), Hugel Gentil ( Alsace ), Chat. Ste. Michelle Pinot Gris ( Washington ), Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Riesling (Ask Randall Graham, not me!) and Les Salices Viognier ( Southern France ). Reds: Windy Ridge Pinot Noir ( California ), Columbia Crest 2 Vines Shiraz (Washington), Parallel 45 CDR ( Rhone Valley ), Norton Malbec ( Argentina ), Wishing Tree Shiraz (Australia) and Murrietta's Neonato ( Spain ). None of this wines require polishing the Reidel Crystal to enjoy, nor are they designed to. Drinking any of them, as well as a great number of the other wines mentioned in this thread, is a visceral experience rather than an intellectual exercise. They come from all over the world and can be enjoyed with cuisine from all over the world as well. And they can also be enjoyed during a round of YAHTZEE (sp). They may not be ambassadors of their respective terroirs but so what. Great thread. Please keep posting on it!

"Grape flavors and alcohol in general should just be banned." You might want to reconsider your proposed ban, Viva, or else a lot of folks who make their living in the wine and brandy industries will be SOL.

I guess that there's a statute of limitations on editing posts. At the end of my post in this thread on Pearl Vodka, I wrote about how much I liked Belvedere. Not that it's going to affect the spot market on Polish rye or anything, but I obviously meant to say Pearl is all that and then some. oops!

Today I tried a bottle of the PHI series rocket fuel from New Holland. A pleasant nose, a rich mouth feel and then blast off: I think I liked it- I think! It's quite dark but not a porter or stout, more like a Paulaner Salvador on steroids with a soupcon of crank thrown in for good measure. It's only about 10% ABV. I think I'm too old for this shit. I think I'll run out and get some more before they're all out at the store (very limited production). WOW

I was looking through the brandy lock box at the wine and liquor shop today ( in Chicagoland) and spied a bottle of Carlos I Imperial retailing for a hefty $99.99. If anyone is interested, I'll be glad to do a little researching and see if there is anymore available.

Hi Clifford, wish I were tagging along. There is a very inexpensive Umbrian blend made by the Falesco winery called Vitiano. I believe it is a sangiovese with some cab and merlot blended in. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last vintages of this wine and would very much like to try a couple of their more expensive offerings, particularly their merlot which I understand is great. There is one caveat however: be very careful of the 2002 vintage! I haven't tasted any 2002's yet, nor have I heard anything good or bad about how Umbria fared in this vintage. However, from what I've read so far, it appears that Bacchus took a major doo-doo all over Tuscany and the Piedmont in '02 so proceed with caution! Have a geat trip and please let us know about any "finds"!

Thank you, theakston, I thought it was just me! I'm an ale fan, not at all a drinker of wheat beers; but I was coerced into trying this brew and I find it delicious. As a matter of fact, it's even worth close to the $5.00 per bottle they charge for it at the liquor store!

yes, it is only the price of jw black that stops me from using it--i like it very much in its own right with a spot of water. jw red i've had bad experiences with. thanks to everyone for the suggestions. especially cutty sark--which my father used to drink way back when (he drank a lot of cheaper scotch too: vat 69, white horse etc.) i'm using this site as a pricing guide (aware that prices fluctuate across states): http://www.abc.state.va.us/Pricelist/SCOTCH_WHISKEY.html they only list a 1 liter famous grouse, which at $30 seems outside my range. if they make a 750 ml, i'm guessing it'll be in the low 20s area (the high end of doable). i'll check into it. teacher's seems more affordable. ballantine's gets high points too for having been mentioned in a tom waits song, but i haven't actually ever had it. i hope i haven't given the impression from any of the abovegoing that i am highly experienced with scotch. i've only had very few brands but i do know what i like (jw black) and what i don't (jw red, j&b, lucky's brand scotch...) My blended Scotch of choice has been Dewar's White Label for years now , on the rocks with a splash of soda. However, I've never turned down White Horse when Dewars wasn't available, I think it's an excellant "well scotch". BTW when I was doing some websearching trying to find out why the price of Lagavullin has gone up about 40% while its availability has gone down to about zilch, I discovered that White Horse, along with JW Black, has always been a large purchaser of newly distilled Lagavullin as a blending base. No wonder why I like it!

John, So many people agree with you; it makes me wonder what I am missing. Delighted to hear you are enjoying them Best, Jim Hey Jim, great to get a chance to say hello and to thank you for sharing your insightful and beautifully expressed wine commentaries. Speaking for myself as an old plonk swizzler but a neophite eGulleteer and, if I may presume to, for the rest of the eGullet community, your generosity is much appreciated. As to Marquis Phillips wines, let me say that they are NOT to be compared with Hommage a Jacques Perrin, nor are they reminiscent of any of Guigal's LaLa's. These are definately new world wines! However, Mr. Marquis's genius lies in his ability to produce very reasonably priced wines that (to use a couple of terribly over used cliches) are both "fruit bombs" and "beautifully integrated". I'd love to hear what you think about these wines if the opportunity should present itself. In any event, once again, thanks for the knowledge!

Hi Dean, the cab, merlot, shiraz, and Sara' Blend are line priced at $16.99 and the #9 is $37.99, less a 10% mix & match 12 bottle discount. Last year they were $13.99 for the regular bottlings and I never saw the #9. Slainte!

The 2003 vintage Marquis Phillips reds have just been released in Chicagoland. I scooped up a mixed case: 3 each Shiraz and Sara's Blend, 2 Cab's, 2 Merlots, and 2 Shiraz #9. The retail price is up about 25% over 2002 but still ridiculously underpriced for the quality! As I write, the Sara's Blend I decanted about 2 hours ago is opening up beautifully. The #9 goes in the cellar for a couple of years and the rest I plan on enjoying over the next year. Sparky Marquis is a master winemaker and if he ever makes it to the Heartland I'd love to shake his hand and say thank you ( Who knows? Maybe he'll have a bottle of his 2002 Integrity in his other hand

Dear Marlene et al., couldn't agree with you more! I'm not much of a crowd follower with vodka ( Ciroc, Belvedere, Hanger One, etc.). As a matter of fact, Mezzaluna-from Italy no less, has been my glib juice of choice for the last year or so. However, about a month ago, I tried Belvedere straight out of the freezer and I was hooked on the spot. It's very clean and subtle, so much so that I doubt it would stand up to mixers or lend itself to the various 'tini concoctions. But if you're a fan of vodka on the rocks or vodka and air (my favorite!) Belvedere is all that and then some.

tommy, I live about 10 miles south of the Cheese Curtain (Wisconsin Line)and the following is some local knowledge about brats that I've picked up from the locals who take them as seriously as Neopolitans take pizza margherita: First and foremost never ever split or pierce them at any point during the preparation; the casing is not to be voilated by any other instrument than one's teeth! Use tongs when moving them. The actual cooking of brats depends on the context of the meal itself, that is, whether they are to be consumed as soon as they are done, or over a period of time, as in a picnic or a tailgating party for example. In the first case, you want to carmelize a couple of onions in butter (no EVOO here, thank you very much, this is Wisconsin cuisene we're talking!) add the raw brats and enough cheap beer to cover and simmer gently for 12-15 mins. When they are ready, transfer them to a medium grill. Cook another 10-12 mins. turning so that they brown evenly. In the meantime, cook down the beer that you poached the brats in. Toast some sausage rolls on the grill, then assemble by simply transferring the brats onto the rolls, slather on Dusseldorf or any mustard you prefer and top with the onions. Life is good! If the brats are not to be consumed immediately, simply reverse the cooking process! That is, grill the meat first and then hold them in the carmelized onion/beer bath till you are ready to eat them. The only loss is that you can't reduce the beer, you might even have to add some at some point. Life is still good!

Back in the late 60's when I first started STIRRING martinis in NYC a bartender would be canned on the spot for shaking (read:bruising) a martini. In any event, the quality standard at the time was and IMHO remains today: J. Boissiere Dry Vermouth. It costs more than any of the abovementioned but since Boissiere actually invented dry vermouth they deserve the extra money in the same way other alcohol products like Cointreau, Der Laks (sp?) Goldwasser and Bailey's to name a few, get their props by charging more. The nose and taste are lovely, delicate and complex. And as far as the proportion of vermouth to gin or, much more recently, vodka is concerned: if you're the one paying for the martini, order it any way you like it!

Two words: FRIED PICKLES. "Would you like Original or Extra Crispy"?

About 25 years ago I was behind the stick at a rather notorious Vieux Carre late night live music club. We had just opened and there were only a handful of customers- the band didn't start until midnight. I'd just finished a shakerfull of Ramos Gin Fizz (made with Boodle's, of course) for breakfast in an effort to get into proper mindset and to coat my gullet in advance of the evening's excesses. Ah, for those long ago days of being 25 and bulletproof! But I digress... At this point a couple of silicone sisters with their managing mister as Bruce Springsteen would have described them shuffled in and up to the bar. The gentleman of leisure wanted to know if we served any of that "amarillo likker stuff". After first thinking he must have been speaking in South Molaccan, it dawned on me what he was looking for. So I pulled the bottle of di Saronna off the backbar and asked how he would like it served. He was clueless and asked me for a recommendation. At this point my evil twin manifested himself, as he did all too often in those days. I told him that the previous evening a couple of Oakland Raiders (in town to play the SuperBowl at the time) had been at the bar drinking "Nutty Redheads" and that they were the ONLY happening cocktails in San Fran clubs. Needless to say, yer man bit and I proceeded to pour and serve 3 amaretto and Bloody Mary mixes with an orange and cherry float - with a straight face, I might add. I collected for them and quickly got on the phone at the opposite end of the bar to call other mixologists around the French Quarter to brag about what I had a 6' 6" mack daddy in a lavender three piece suit and 2 of his mealtickets drinking. And while I was still on the horn, damned if he didn't give me the highsign and order another round! This time he even tipped me: 75 cents!

The Dr. Loosen portfolio also includes an an entry level blend simply named Dr. L. Riesling. It retails for $10-12 dollars around Chicago and delivers a lot of bang for the buck. Kabinett level of sweetness, lovely floral nose, and enough acidity to pair well with spicy cuisene, Dr. L is a great stepping stone toward getting acquainted with what the eminently paraphrasable (is that a word?) Jancis Robinson refers to as the least understood and appreciated grape in winedom.

Dry Rose fans: BOLO for Pedroncelli's Zinfandel Rose! An excellent picnic, patio or anywhere summer wine. Just off-dry , fruity and fairly complex for wine of the genre, it works well with grilled poultry, fish and shellfish. Pedroncelli has been perfecting this wine since the 50's, long before the Trincero's et al. stigmatized the varietal with their pink koolade. I wonder if the Pedroncelli people could hire Randall Graham or someone to come up with a new moniker for this under $10.00 beauty that wouldn't scare consumers off by zinfandel name association! P.S.: Apropos to nothing, but how the hell do you guys manage to get that acute accent in rose/"' `? Can you do a grave accent? A circumflex? Maybe an oomlaut (sp?)... Thanks

Old Vine Red is a juicy, unpretentious, mostly zinfandel blend that restores one's faith in California's ability to market wine worth every cent you pay for it (in this case usually $12.00 or less). They don't vintage date this wine but give it a lot number instead, and when it sells out they release the next batch with the next lot number. The Lot 33 has been in the market for several months now, so your Lot 30 is several years old. I've never tasted any Lot that I didn't enjoy, and the damnest thing is that they seem to keep getting better with each release. By the way, whoever you fed what you cooked with the Sutter Home : what did they do to piss you off?

Hey Mr. Guru, yes I live in the north suburbs. I've lived in enough different areas not to knock local tastes but I can't help myself when it comes to hotdogs! BTW, I used to be able to get Nathan's at the local Dominick's but I haven't seen any in the last 6 monthes or so.