That's it, I'm done, finished, Yogi Berra has made his pronouncement, . . .
IT'S OVUHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, now the weather forecast says a big cool down next weekend. But last night, when this reporter walked in to his house from the supermarket sweating like an overheated steam locomotive, it was time for a summer time drink, and that means, . . .
NO BOURBON OR RYE, BLECCHHH, YUCK, GET IT OUT MY SIGHT, ARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
:banghead:
:cop:
One Adam 12, see the man, Rye Rejection and Bourbon Blues.
The dew point since yesterday has been well into the 70's, at times hitting 75. Right now it's 72 here in Lower Dutchess. That means if it was 72 degrees it would be raining, given the amount of humidity in the air at present.
That's not comfortable to me in the least. That's also not bourbon or rye drinking weather. As a matter of fact, it almost makes me want to hurl just typing the words bourbon and rye.
So, I went for one of my summertime favorites, something I just did on the spur of the moment six years ago when I went to visit my father and we picked dozens of his grapefruits and limes. I hiked upstairs for the grapefruit juice in the refrigerator and three limes. I also took with me the Hallmark of St. James 17 year old Jamaican rum, at 92 proof.
Unlike the nearly black 25 year old Demerara rum from Guyana, also under the Hallmark of St. James label, this one is very, very light colored. Despite my love for the 25 year old Guyana rum, it was just not right for this summertime favorite of mine. That rum, by most people's estimation, including mine, was actually best on the rocks by itself, or even straight up, but not, and I mean NOT with citrus fruit juices. Sweet things, like that drink I was trying to concoct during a few hot days a couple months ago maybe, you know, mango, papaya, that sort of thing. Or perhaps the kiwi fruit plus pineapple juice, half banana, crushed ice with nutmeg added at the end that I wound up doing back then, although that recipe still needs work.
But I knew this light colored rum, distilled in 1983 and bottled in 2000 would be different. Two reasons I bought this rum, the price and that it was Jamaican. I have a fascination with anything from Jamaica, especially agricultural products. Some of the best food and drink I've ever had either hailed straight from Jamaica or was made from Jamaican ingredients and/or with Jamaican culinary influence. My "walk out price" for this rum was around $15, purchased from binnys.com, in the same orders that I received the 25 year old Demerara rum.
So, after squeezing three limes and getting the required three ounces of juice out of them, I poured the three ounces of lime juice into a glass, two shots (also 3 oz.) of the rum, and nine ounces of grapefruit juice, along with a few ice cubes and stirred it.
Delicious. This rum worked well with the citrus juices. I did not taste this rum straight up just to see what it was like alone. It was just too hot and yucky, and I didn't need to go through the whole flavor profile straight up thing. I wanted a nice refreshing drink quickly. And that's what I got.
I will say this about how my old favorite came out with the 17 year old light Jamaican rum. Originally, on my father's farm back in '98, we used his favorite rum, Puerto Rican of course, Ron Del Barrilito Three Star, a medium dark rum but one which went amazingly well with the citrus of the grapefruit and lime juices. The Hallmark of St. James 17 year old Jamaican rum has one very strikingly similar characteristic to its 25 year old Guyana cousin, which is that there was an almost licorice-like undertone throughout this drink, meaning that although the drink did pass muster with this rum, it could still be improved upon.
I began to wonder if that flavor was characteristic of the Hallmark of St. James line. The bottle does not say that this rum was made with Demerara sugar, so I don't know if that could be it. I don't know much about rum, except that I like it, and although the drink was fine, I perceived that an improvement could certainly be made.
After some time and TV watching had passed, during which I had also taken a shower, I decided that I'd have one more of those before hitting the sack. This time I went for another brand new bottle, the hightly touted Bacardi 8. I have heard some very nice things about this rum, primarily from Cuban cigar smokers, and eagerly looked forward to making my drink with this one.
This time it took four limes to get the required three ounces of juice out of them, and after two shots of this eight year old, 80 proof rum, I poured in the nine ounces of grapefruit juice, added some ice cubes and went down to the den. As I sipped this one, I perceived that the rum was barely noticeable!!! And that the lime juice, while being much more subtle in the first drink, was bold, with the grapefruit juice taking a seat way in the back. Very interesting, although I had hoped for a little more rum taste.
No matter, because once again, it was very refreshing, and in more ways than one, because the rum did make itself known in my head as I inhaled my drink. I also didn't mind the boldness of the lime juice stepping to the fore, because I love anything with lime in it.
So, the night concluded with two very refreshing versions of a drink I made many of for my father and I six years ago after our day in the fields. My final thoughts are that the Bacardi 8 was probably best for this drink, because there's still that very unique, but strikingly "weird" flavor of the Hallmark of St. James Jamaican rum. Like its 25 year old Guyana cousin, it too might be more well suited for drinks made with sweet juices or fruits. Ahhhhh, there's more summer left, so I can see some mangos in my future.
But as for that bourbon and rye stuff, bleccchhhhhh, . . .
not in this weather!!!
igsfly:
Oh, I'm having a Fin Du Monde ale from Unibroue in Canada right now, clocking in at 9% alcohol.
IT'S OVUHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, now the weather forecast says a big cool down next weekend. But last night, when this reporter walked in to his house from the supermarket sweating like an overheated steam locomotive, it was time for a summer time drink, and that means, . . .
NO BOURBON OR RYE, BLECCHHH, YUCK, GET IT OUT MY SIGHT, ARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
:banghead:
:cop:
One Adam 12, see the man, Rye Rejection and Bourbon Blues.
The dew point since yesterday has been well into the 70's, at times hitting 75. Right now it's 72 here in Lower Dutchess. That means if it was 72 degrees it would be raining, given the amount of humidity in the air at present.
That's not comfortable to me in the least. That's also not bourbon or rye drinking weather. As a matter of fact, it almost makes me want to hurl just typing the words bourbon and rye.
So, I went for one of my summertime favorites, something I just did on the spur of the moment six years ago when I went to visit my father and we picked dozens of his grapefruits and limes. I hiked upstairs for the grapefruit juice in the refrigerator and three limes. I also took with me the Hallmark of St. James 17 year old Jamaican rum, at 92 proof.
Unlike the nearly black 25 year old Demerara rum from Guyana, also under the Hallmark of St. James label, this one is very, very light colored. Despite my love for the 25 year old Guyana rum, it was just not right for this summertime favorite of mine. That rum, by most people's estimation, including mine, was actually best on the rocks by itself, or even straight up, but not, and I mean NOT with citrus fruit juices. Sweet things, like that drink I was trying to concoct during a few hot days a couple months ago maybe, you know, mango, papaya, that sort of thing. Or perhaps the kiwi fruit plus pineapple juice, half banana, crushed ice with nutmeg added at the end that I wound up doing back then, although that recipe still needs work.
But I knew this light colored rum, distilled in 1983 and bottled in 2000 would be different. Two reasons I bought this rum, the price and that it was Jamaican. I have a fascination with anything from Jamaica, especially agricultural products. Some of the best food and drink I've ever had either hailed straight from Jamaica or was made from Jamaican ingredients and/or with Jamaican culinary influence. My "walk out price" for this rum was around $15, purchased from binnys.com, in the same orders that I received the 25 year old Demerara rum.
So, after squeezing three limes and getting the required three ounces of juice out of them, I poured the three ounces of lime juice into a glass, two shots (also 3 oz.) of the rum, and nine ounces of grapefruit juice, along with a few ice cubes and stirred it.
Delicious. This rum worked well with the citrus juices. I did not taste this rum straight up just to see what it was like alone. It was just too hot and yucky, and I didn't need to go through the whole flavor profile straight up thing. I wanted a nice refreshing drink quickly. And that's what I got.
I will say this about how my old favorite came out with the 17 year old light Jamaican rum. Originally, on my father's farm back in '98, we used his favorite rum, Puerto Rican of course, Ron Del Barrilito Three Star, a medium dark rum but one which went amazingly well with the citrus of the grapefruit and lime juices. The Hallmark of St. James 17 year old Jamaican rum has one very strikingly similar characteristic to its 25 year old Guyana cousin, which is that there was an almost licorice-like undertone throughout this drink, meaning that although the drink did pass muster with this rum, it could still be improved upon.
I began to wonder if that flavor was characteristic of the Hallmark of St. James line. The bottle does not say that this rum was made with Demerara sugar, so I don't know if that could be it. I don't know much about rum, except that I like it, and although the drink was fine, I perceived that an improvement could certainly be made.
After some time and TV watching had passed, during which I had also taken a shower, I decided that I'd have one more of those before hitting the sack. This time I went for another brand new bottle, the hightly touted Bacardi 8. I have heard some very nice things about this rum, primarily from Cuban cigar smokers, and eagerly looked forward to making my drink with this one.
This time it took four limes to get the required three ounces of juice out of them, and after two shots of this eight year old, 80 proof rum, I poured in the nine ounces of grapefruit juice, added some ice cubes and went down to the den. As I sipped this one, I perceived that the rum was barely noticeable!!! And that the lime juice, while being much more subtle in the first drink, was bold, with the grapefruit juice taking a seat way in the back. Very interesting, although I had hoped for a little more rum taste.
No matter, because once again, it was very refreshing, and in more ways than one, because the rum did make itself known in my head as I inhaled my drink. I also didn't mind the boldness of the lime juice stepping to the fore, because I love anything with lime in it.
So, the night concluded with two very refreshing versions of a drink I made many of for my father and I six years ago after our day in the fields. My final thoughts are that the Bacardi 8 was probably best for this drink, because there's still that very unique, but strikingly "weird" flavor of the Hallmark of St. James Jamaican rum. Like its 25 year old Guyana cousin, it too might be more well suited for drinks made with sweet juices or fruits. Ahhhhh, there's more summer left, so I can see some mangos in my future.
But as for that bourbon and rye stuff, bleccchhhhhh, . . .
not in this weather!!!
igsfly: Oh, I'm having a Fin Du Monde ale from Unibroue in Canada right now, clocking in at 9% alcohol.