Hats and Drinks - A Match Made in Heaven

[BobHufford]

As I sit here with peppermint schnapps in my morning coffee!!

Had that the night before last in some hot cocoa. Could be habit forming.

 

[Frunobulax]

Red,

Drinking fine spirits & beers is a hobby just like drinking fine coffees, smoking good pipe tobaccos & cigars, or preparing & eating good foods. It's about the aroma, the flavor & the overall relaxing experience; not about the alcohol buzz, caffeine or nicotine addiction of cigarettes.

Putting tastes aside for the moment try a small sip of an IPA & hold it in your mouth & move it around with your tongue. Then try a small sip of a Stout & do the same thing. Ales, Bocks & Porters will all fall somewhere in between. If you can't tell the difference in the mouthfeel & the perceived thickness between them then it's going to be a little steeper learning curve to make it your hobby.

If you buy a premium coffee (such as Caribou, Starbucks, etc) in a paper cup to go but don't bother to remove the lid while you drink it then you are missing out on most of the aroma & that diminishes the taste experience, & you're wasting your money buying a premium coffee.

But it's okay not to take it to that level too.

They say you have to acquire a taste for Scotch whisky...I must have acquired it the first time I ever tasted it.

PS: I'll just add that if you're not drinking fine spirits & beers, drinking fine coffees, or smoking good pipe tobaccos & cigars because of some perceived risk to your health, then you aren't living anyway! May you live to be 100!

As a confirmed and practicing hedonist, I agree 110%. Although sometimes I wonder if I like the taste of the aged rum I drink, or if I just like to jiggle the glass and hear the tinkle of the ice!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Jim, do you think good Cuban rum will become more common in our market or has it always been there in ample supply? I've never bought enough rum to know.

 

[Frunobulax]

Jim, do you think good Cuban rum will become more common in our market or has it always been there in ample supply? I've never bought enough rum to know.

I have never had Cuban rum myself. I think, eventually (probably post-Raul), we'll start to see rum and cigars in the US. I know some folks who have "spirited" some from CA, but none has ever reached my lips.

In the end, though, I don't think it will be all that. There are excellent Caribbean rums out there, and they are probably going to be just as good.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[BobHufford]

There are excellent Caribbean rums out there, and they are probably going to be just as good.

Jim -- can you list some recommendations? I would like to move up the ladder from my usual Myers's.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I have never had Cuban rum myself. I think, eventually (probably post-Raul), we'll start to see rum and cigars in the US. I know some folks who have "spirited" some from CA, but none has ever reached my lips.

In the end, though, I don't think it will be all that. There are excellent Caribbean rums out there, and they are probably going to be just as good.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

I have had Cuban rum while out of country & found it to be very good. I was told it was because of the good sugarcane they are able to grow there.

I don't know if the cigars still live up to their reputation. Most of the good cigar rollers & tobacconists came to the states long ago.

 

[Frunobulax]

I have had Cuban rum while out of country & found it to be very good. I was told it was because of the good sugarcane they are able to grow there.

I don't know if the cigars still live up to their reputation. Most of the good cigar rollers & tobacconists came to the states long ago.

My first reply was on my phone while I was sitting on a park bench (perhaps eyeing little girls with bad intent), therefore not as detailed.

I have heard very good things about Cuban Rum (Havana Club, mostly). I'm just figuring that the industry and distilling process has refined itself to the point that the unique qualities of Cuban rums aren't as noticeably different as they may have been. Over the past 10-15 years, boutique rums have even started to be made in the States that are pretty darn good, IMHO. I just have this feeling that, once it hits my tongue, I'm not going to fall all over myself about it. I could be wrong, of course.

Jim -- can you list some recommendations? I would like to move up the ladder from my usual Myers's.

I do not "sip" spiced rums, so Myer's, Captain Morgan, etc. are right out in my book. My "everyday" rum is Mt. Gay Black Barrel. It's under $30 for a bottle, is very good, and doesn't break my wallet. I use to drink Pyrat Reserve, which is also very good. El Dorado Rum (Rhum) from Guyana is also fairly easy for me to find and there are several aged varieties that I like. The 15 year is very good, but a bottle is upwards of $50. Zaya and Ron Zapaca are also good but fairly sweet; if I have some around, I usually save it for an after dinner treat.

If you can get it, I am very enamored of Prichard's Rum, from Tennessee. They are fairly well known for their Whiskies, but I stumbled upon their "Fine Rum" a few years ago. I have trouble finding it around here; I can only find it sporadically, however I really like it. It's about $34 a bottle. They have a Private Reserve that is only available at the distillery in Kelso, TN. I really need to make a road trip.

The best I ever had was a bottle of "Rum 66" I picked up several years ago in Barbados. You can't get it in the states, unfortunately. It's made in Barbados, and they don't seem to import to the States. I'd drive over my grandma if I could get to another bottle.

Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

 

[BobHufford]

I do not "sip" spiced rums, so Myer's, Captain Morgan, etc. are right out in my book.

I didn't think Meyers's was spiced like Captain Morgan, but I could be wrong. Thanks for the tips on the the others! I'll search them out.

 

[Frunobulax]

I didn't think Meyers's was spiced like Captain Morgan, but I could be wrong. Thanks for the tips on the the others! I'll search them out.

You're right, Bob. I don't know why I' e always thought Myers was spiced. I feel like a dope!

Another suggestion: I've learned a lot reading through some rum reviews on the net. There are some dedicated rum sites that have, blogs, reviews, etc. I don't have links handy right now, but they should be easy to find.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

With the end of the year almost here, New Years resolutions & all that, I've been thinking about proposing to some friends that one night a month we get together & have a "caps, Cubans & cognac night". I have an unopened bottle of Remy Martin so I'll start with that.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I really like this beer and it doesn't trigger a migraine for me (like quite a few others do).

To avoid migraines I would steer clear of hoppy beers which would include IPA's & the old standbys like Budweiser. Wheats, pale ales & even lagers are not as hoppy.

If I'm wrong on anything I have posted I would appreciate the input of any homebrewers & anyone working in the industry. DJH?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

MBCD with a brownie & drinking some of the bean.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Maestro Dobel Diamanté tequila & a hat by the Maestro, Art Fawcett.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Late breakfast out after working some chores this morning.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Late breakfast out after working some chores this morning.

...and the hat is?

 

[Hurricane Jack]

...and the hat is?

I affectionately call it my BFBH but more appropriately it was named El Mejor & was originally sold by the Texas Hat Company. It's a 30X & was made by Atwood in Mexico as part of their Dusty Rhodes Collection. It has a good look.

 

[Bob Roberts]

I affectionately call it my BFBH but more appropriately it was named El Mejor & was originally sold by the Texas Hat Company. It's a 30X & was made by Atwood in Mexico as part of their Dusty Rhodes Collection. It has a good look.

Yes it does have a very good look.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Yes it does have a very good look.

Thanks Bob. I was going to post a picture with this hat in the daily fashion thread but my puffy shirt is at the cleaners this wk!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

 

[Bamaboots]

Thanks Bob. I was going to post a picture with this hat in the daily fashion thread but my puffy shirt is at the cleaners this wk!

What? I know you have more than one?