Naismith gave me bourbon at the Rockets suite game...I thought I was going to vomit. Also, I think Crown is awful. I can only drink beer occasionally, and usually only one. I stick to my dessert wine, plain margaritas, Long Islands, and amaretto sours. Oh, and the occasional vodka/cranberry.
I follow all ten commandments. And I only drink about 5 or 6 times a year. My preference: Harp beer Tanqueray and tonic, extra lime or Crown Royal neat.
I don't agree with a lot of what that guy says (I love frozen margaritas and I don't drink wine), but the article was well written and pretty damn funny.
Slight derail: Where does one go to learn about wine? Websites, books, whatever. I've never been a big wine drinker, and while I cook with it, the wines I bought for that tended to have screw caps and were classified as red or white. I had a guest who brought a bottle of Merlot to my barbecue last weekend, and I loved it. I'll ask her what it was, but I'd really like to understand wine better overall.
wine magazines are obnoxiously elitist. I recommend a good books by sommeliers, like andrea immer. Robert Parker is another great source for wine - of course he is also fairly pompous and it has been noted that he works in collusion with some wine manufacturers. Still - a good resource. His book is a frikkin tome of every wine imaginable. I guess I'd say pick up some books, visit some websites. I'm also in a wine club, which sends me all sorts of interesting reading material. And to the thread: I am a studly god of manly drinking. I drink whiskey straight, I get my margaritas on the rocks, and I homebrew. Damn I'm good.
maybe don't read a book. just start drinking and you can learn wine on your own. order a different glass each time you go out to dinner... or go on a wine tasting tour (texas hill country has several good informal plans online)... i think it's better to learn on your own as opposed to reading descriptions like "oaky, nutty, fruity, smoky, bursting with berries..." over and over again after a short time, you should be able to identify these most common ones by taste: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir (reds) and chardonnay, pinot grigio, and riesling (whites) after that, i'd say, start reading to associate your brain's personal descriptions to what authors say. i think this way really deepens your own personal connection.
Concur. The books are primarily handy in understanding the regions, the grapes, the styles, and the terminology. I find that interesting and important - I like to know that the french bordeaux I bought was actually bottled in France, for example. I could care less how to describe them according to someone else's standards. Of course, YMMV.
bingo - once you know your tastes, you know your likes, then you can read about what grape varietals are used, what are your favorite labels, and what different geographies "taste" like. the reading is kind of like a reaffirmation and embellishment. i agree, magazines are the worst - i'm hesitant to trust them when major revenue is ad-generated. the "editors" are more like pimps.
^good for you, seriously. i drink all things alcoholic but tend to stick to beer because i drink copiously.
Pretty funny article...My drinks of choice are: -Tanqueray and tonic, extra lime -Vodka & soda, extra lime -Bahama Mama (yeah, I know) -Margarita on the rocks w/ salt -Frozen mango margarita... -Glass of Cab... I would recommending going to the GABF in Denver to sample all sorts of beer...I'm not a big beer drinker, but being able to sample any and all kinds of beer was very cool and educational...
