Take a walk stretch

There are few things I enjoy more at work these days than taking a long walk to Binnys to pick up some alcohol.  Especially the day after a shitty long workday.

I couldn't decide what to get someone for this weekend so I figured this was a good option.  It'll be a nice surprise at the tailgate Saturday.

Even better, this was at Marshalls for 20 bucks.  Mitchell & Nell, for real?  In my size, doesn't seem to be counterfeit?  Done.  Now that's a successful shopping trip.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

speaking of moonshine...

Imagine my surprise when I stopped in walgreens to grab a coke and saw mason jars in the cooler as well.  Mason jars filled with the familiar amber hue of apple pie moonshine.  Not my usual brand, but at $6.49 I figured it was worth a try.

It's not as high-proofed, and I have my doubts, but what's wrong with dropping a few bucks to try something new.  Too bad I'm in the no-drinking window of this pregnancy, just in case we unexpectedly have to head to the hospital.  B/c that's exactly when you need a drink.

Current beer-scale: 9.0

well that was disappointing.

It might be quaint and charming to infuse your own whiskey, and it might even be a little fun, but from a practical standpoint if I can go buy a bottle of midnight moonshine that tastes a lot better, I'll stick to that thank you very much.

 So let's strain this and see what happens.

 

This actually smelled really good, like an apple pie you would get drunk off of.

This was agonizingly slow.  Thankfully the boy was at his grandparents' house for an overnight so I didn't have to keep him away from it all day.

And finally, it was ready to sample.  Cue the Price is Right "bummer" music.

Nice color, looked good in the glass, but blurg did it taste awful.  Oh well.  Maybe it will taste a little better after a few more days.  Until then I'll just stick with the moonshine, thank you very much.

Current beer-scale: 8.5 Monday you bastard.

It's Monday morning; I wish I was drinking this right now

B/c you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.

I've had an itch to try this apple-infused bourbon recipe for a while now so while it was nice on Friday I took a long walk to the Binny's downtown to pick up something cheap to throw together.  I'm already off-book since I picked up Canadian whiskey, not bourbon, but what the hell.  I'm the one drinking it.

Apples, cinnamon, vanilla bean, whiskey, air-tight container.  Good to go.

The vanilla bean was too dry to cut open, it got snapped into little pieces instead.  Looked like little bugs or turds floating around.  Lovely.

I varied the recipe just a little bit more; used about a half less of an apple to try to not use the whole bottle.  95% of the CC ended up in there anyway.  But it already smells good, even if I keep forgetting to shake it.  Today will mark day 3; the recipe said wait at least 4 days, I have a feeling it will be a little longer than that.  The last time I walked to Binny's to pick something up the wife ended up going into labor that weekend, I've still barely had any of the whistlepig.  I hope this doesn't end up being a sign of something major about to happen.

Current beer-scale: 8.1 & teaching until 10.  For fuck's sake.

A new wrinkle

Getting ready for my interview today I was running early (enough to stop by Binny's and pick up some new whiskey I was hoping) when I noticed my shirt had lost a button between washing it yesterday and putting it on today.  Whoops.

I'll be damned if I was going to let that stop me from either wearing it or going to buy whiskey though, so I quickly and moderately calmly whipped out the sewing kit and put it back on.  Easy peas-y.  Interview went fairly well too, and I have some new whiskey to try now too.

And if you think I didn't use the actual tin cup provided to pour the first drink, you haven't been paying attention.

It'll likely be a few weeks before I hear back about this place, but in the meantime I have some Tincup to try.  I've read a lot of complaints about their claims of being from Colorado vs where the whiskey is actually distilled, but who cares.  If it tastes half as good as the rave reviews I've read we'll be in good shape.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

You're goddam right

This is me in a matter of hours.  I can only count the seconds.

Current beer-scale: 8.9

The glass can be half full or half empty

God I love whiskey.

I was looking forward to a day off today where I could get some cleaning done, patch some bike clothes up, and then take a long ride into Skokie to pick up some 357 at one of the few Binnys claiming to have it in stock. And things were looking good too, one coffee and a few patches in. Then the daycare called.

Sigh.

I feel bad complaining about this, but the kid has some sort of sixth sense when it comes to us taking time off. But I picked him up, and then said screw it, we're driving there instead. So I took him to the liquor store at 10:30 AM, and he had a great time. We ended up having a fun day, I have no idea why he got sent home today, and I'm happily finishing one bottle of whiskey knowing I've got a new one to back it up. Good times.

Current beer-scale: 7.9 and still dumb enough to check work email at home.

Poor preparation and planning

Ugh. After staying late Wednesday it was a shower beer to take the edge off, tonite it's gonna need to be a little stronger. Hence the nightcap. Or two.

I usually love the ride home from the fall welcome reception, but the air & water show being the same night did not help. Neither did a long week in general or getting called a jerk for trying to walk with a dog and a stroller this morning. Oh we'll. they can't all be great days.

Current beer-scale: 9.3

I've created a new drink

I call it a 'slightly canadian' and the key ingredient is a splash of maple rye. Start with any other whiskey or rye you have on hand on ice,  throw some maple rye over it and there you have it.  Now to try it with every kind of rye I have in the house.

Current beer-scale: a Tuesday-friendly 7.2

mush daddy, mush!

With a heat index in the mid-90's I was telling myself yesterday would be a slow day.  That lasted about half the AM commute until I got buzzed and decided to keep up with the ladies that zoomed by.  And then the daycare called, and the boy had fallen, hit his head, and thrown up.  So the commute back home to get him wasn't any slower.  If anything, it was faster.  Panic and fear can be great motivators.   

Turns out he was fine, thank god.  Just threw up after everyone fussing over him got him upset it seems, and a loooooooong trip to the ER confirmed a concussion was not likely.  It was a rough day though, made worse by the fact that the trip was perfectly timed so he missed his usual lunch and nap-times, and I wouldn't let him sleep in the car thanks to the concussion fears.  Ugh.  That was the worst part of the day actually.

So he's fine, I didn't quite get heatstroke, finished the day with a maple rye, and now everything is back to normal for a late night at the office today.  Goodie.

Current beer-scale: 8.9

Slow boat back to normal

Been a week, had some steak and whiskey tonite. It helped.  The mint was even from our garden plot.  Thumbs up to local drinking.

Not helping is having not heard back from Trek confirming my info to submit to insurance.  Not a good way to convince me to replace what was taken with a similar bike.

Last Friday I ended the week with a beer and 5 Templetons at Pippins after work.  It made for a good start to the holiday weekend.  Won't be surprised if tomorrow ends in similar fashion.


Current beer-scale: 6.7

And that's why

I convinced the wife to add mint to her gardening project.  Even though it grows crazy like a weed.

I do believe I will be trying this drink in mass quantities in the very near future.

Current beer-scale: a 8.9 and climbing less than 24 hours before commencement.

My wife is the best

I took yesterday off to spend the morning waiting for a delivery and the afternoon at the vet and running errands. Joking, I mentioned two of my stops bookended my favorite liquor store in the old neighborhood.

"Sounds like a great idea," she said. "Just don't go crazy."

Is she great or what? Talk about the perfect excuse to try something new. I've wanted to try some crown royal maple for a while, or cabin fever if I could find it. What ended up catching my attention though was some Tap 357, a mix of 3, 5, and 7 year old Canadian ryes with some Quebequois light maple syrup. Cheaper than crown, enough so I could get a six pack and not feel like I went crazy. Alright.

And now, sitting in my new armchair working through my second glass of the stuff, I feel like I made the right choice. I LOVE maple syrup, but was a little dubious about trying some with whiskey. I should have known better. Yes the maple dominates the first impression of the rye, but there's a warmth underneath the sweet that holds on through the finish even as the maple takes a second pass. Whew! Very good. Those Quebequois may be snobby separatists but they do get some things right.

Straight up with a little ice is just fine for tonite, but I'd bet there are some fun cocktails to make with a maple rye too. Next time I'm feeling creative, maybe. For tonite, ice and rye is going to be fine for #3.

Current beer-scale: 4.6

Remember this?

Yeah, I vaguely recall picking up a "treat yo' self" bottle of whiskey around this time last year, only to have the sudden arrival of a certain about to be one-year-old spoil the chance to drink any.  Not that I haven't had chances between now and then to down a little, but I admit to not feeling like I had the time to appreciate what I was drinking and sticking to something cheaper or newly gifted.

Oh well.  I feel like having all sorts of family around this weekend for a birthday party will be enough of a stress that when Saturday/Sunday night roll around this will be what I"m reaching for.  No shame in that.

Current beer-scale: 7.1 and climbing...

The thing about weddings

Yeah, you can't tell but that's how I watched last weekend's game.

And I wouldn't have cared if the NBC sports app wasn't terrible and casinos weren't designed to give you no other option than to gamble by making everything else around you terrible.

Vegas is not my kind of town.  See the drinks on the table?  One whiskey, one whiskey sour, two waters, $27.  Fuck that.  Watching the game on my phone b/c the sports book is on the complete opposite end of the casino than the wedding?  Fuck that.  Bringing my six-month old b/c the rest of the family is coming as well, only we just got him sleeping through the night and now the week after the trip has been a nightmare b/c he refuses to go back to sleeping all night?  I can't quite say "fuck that" but yes, that sucks.

Maybe my perspective is skewed but traveling for a wedding has been something I've rarely enjoyed.  And Vegas was not one of those times.  Add the idea that we're back to poor nights sleep every night since getting back and the longer I'm home the worse this trip becomes.

It's not all bad.  The baby started rolling over this week, and even though it's one more thing to watch for it's cool to see him develop.  And I am definitely continuing my recent whiskey drinking when I get home tonite.

Current beer-scale: 8.2

treat yo' self

B/c if you don't, no one else will.

Whether it's full Batman suits or the bottle of rye you've had your eye on for a while, sometimes it's just time to open up the wallet. For me, that time is today.
Too bad the Binny's downtown has the MOST unfriendly lady I've ever seen behind the counter. You would think selling booze in the middle of the week would be a fun job to have. Guess not. I do love living in Chicago though.

So now I'm going to be riding home with a $70 bottle of whiskey in my bag, a bag currently held together with duct tape and safety pins. Suddenly I'm rethinking the wisdom of not treating myself on something more practical.
Eh, what the hell. It's been good enough for my ridonkulously expensive work ipad lately. It'll be fine. As long as I get to actually drink it IDGAF.

Current beer-scale: 9.8

It's drinkin' time!

Current beer-scale: 8.9 & it's friday.

Whew!

That Manhattan whiskey was something else. It's damn dark, and felt like the most potent rye in the bar thus far. Unfortunately, after two strong drinks to try and place something I couldn't quite put my finger on I was in danger of getting too drunk to be coherent and finishing way too much of the 375 ml bottle than I had planned on.

That's a pretty stubby bottle. But each drink left me with a question mark in my head that I tried to answer with another sip, only to be rebuffed. My palate's not sophisticated enough to parse everything a whiskey has to offer but I was disappointed I couldn't place what was intriguing me so much. There's more left though so hopefully it will come eventually.

Such a short bottle demanded some measured pours. I didn't have my dropper out but I tried to take it easy. Unfortunately after a few slices of pequod's, two daisy cutters, two labatts, and two whiskeys I woke up at 3 AM with a raging case of heartburn. A the perks of aging.

Current beer-scale: 1.2

New whiskey time

This past Saturday night I tried a new whiskey, Redemption Rye whiskey. Let's just say that I drank a little more than usual with my dad couch crashing, and this stood out as one of the better drinks of the long weekend.


It stood out enough to pick up a bottle the next day. In fact, it stood out enough to walk down Clybourn to the nearest Binnys and pick up two bottles, one for me and one for dad to take back to MI where he and some work buddies have been building a whiskey collection for a while. It was a good excuse to get out for a while, plus the walk afforded us to drink more once he found out Goose Island had some beers worth trying.

I left the rye closed all of two days and opened it tonite. I was already a few drinks in when I tried it on Saturday and that probably colored my impressions slightly, but it stood up pretty well on its own too. At $27 its not in the same class as Templetons but definitely a big step up from the Beam I pick up so I don't drink the good stuff too quickly.

One thing that did make me laugh was the whiskey scent that escaped as soon as the plastic seal came off the metal cap. No fancy cork for this whiskey. The scent was pleasant but convinced me to put the entire bottle in a decanter that hasn't seen much use lately.

With a couple of ice cubes my drink tonite didn't quite live up to my first impressions from Saturday but there's a lot of potential. Hell, by the time Saturday night was done I was loving the Beam rye straight so I think just about anything would have gone down smooth. But there's a warmth in the initial sip that stays with you even as the ice starts to thin things out. The rye's spiciness does a lot to compensate for the overall sweetness of the whiskey that's actually only aged two years.

I stopped after one but it's only Tuesday so there's plenty of time left for an old fashioned or two in the next few days. Anything that helps you get to the weekend can only help. All in all a good purchase that might be my go-to spirit to have on hand from now on.


Current beer-scale: 7.0

And that's how I plan on spending my friday night. Fantastic.

Current beer-scale: 8.8