CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

That's not new information, actually.

[Dave1982]

Here's a video I saw about infusing bacon into booze. Not sure about the cocktail they make with it, but the technique looks like it could work.

http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/vi...r_fat_washing/

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

I'm decided to stop drinking soda, so I'm switching from Rum to Irish Creme.

Rum goes with cola, Irish Creme goes with coffee. *nodnod*

Opinions on brand?

[Dave1982]

Well, I have no experience with any brand but Bailey's, but their caramel irish creme is awesome.

Also....irish creme is pretty caloric as booze goes, which may offset the discontinuation of soda somewhat. (Just saying)

[Jester]

Today’s beer: Bell’s Expedition Stout, from those geniuses in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Bell’s Brewry.

I often joke around that any beer that pours like motor oil is probably a great beer. Well, this beer really DOES pour like motor oil! It’s dark, it’s thick, it’s bordering on viscous. Actually, I’m almost tempted to see if it will work in the Jestermobile!

In all seriousness, it is dark, it is the color of motor oil (dark, dark brown but not quite black), and more carbonated than a lot of dark beers, though that difference might be as much from my using a different glass than normal tonight. (Normally I drink my beers out of the most honest of all beer glasses, the pint glass. Today, because I had been lazy, all of my pint glasses are in the dishwasher, and I will not drink beer out of a juice glass. So right now, I am using a tall beer glass, what is sometimes called a schooner, which is basically a flared pilsner glass.)

The nose is subtle, and I’m getting some sweetness, some maltiness, some chocolate, but nothing overpowering on any of them.

FIRST SIP: Wow. THAT’s a stout! Thick, creamy, slightly bitter but in the right way, malty, hint of coffee, smaller hint of chocolate, deanding of your attention.

On continued drinking, this beer is hitting all the right notes of what I love in a dark beer. It asserts itself without being obnoxious, it is the epitome of well-balanced (which not every beer that claims to be is), and it is simply delicious.

On my 10 scale, this beer gets a very rare but very well-deserved 9, a score I have only given a very few, very select beers. And for those wondering, I have only ever scored ONE beer a 10 since I started scoring.

Yes, this one I will be getting again. Whenever and wherever I can. For it is truly worthy of an Expedition to find it.

Beerlicious!

I'm decided to stop drinking soda, so I'm switching from Rum to Irish Creme.

Rum goes with cola, Irish Creme goes with coffee. *nodnod*

Opinions on brand?

Let's address this one item at a time.

First, as a rum aficionado, I have to say NOOOOOO!!!!

Seriously, why are you leaving rum behind? I love rum, I drink rum, and I gave up soda a while ago, and caffeinated soda YEARS ago. Rum, my dear, goes with EVERYTHING. Not just coffee, but juices, on the rocks, in frozen drinks...everything. I know not everyone drinks rum straight as I do--though not everyone has sampled some of the wonderful rums I have--but even as mixers, there are more things you can do with rum that just dump it in soda. Hell, my first bartending contest I ever won, I created a cocktail that is STILL on table tents in many bars around the country, and there is no soda or carbonated beverage of ANY sort in it. Just rum, fruit juice, and a liqueur.

You don't think rum goes with coffee? Well, if you're talking about your standard light rum, like Bacardi, you are probably right. But there is far more rum out there than just light rum. There's dark rum, flavored rum, spiced rum, aged rum, amber rum....I even know of not one, but TWO coffee rums! (Well, one's a coffee rum (Brinley Gold Coffee), one is a coffee liqueur/rum blend (Araku), to be honest.) Now, I know I don't drink coffee, but I would imagine that vanilla rum would go rather well in coffee. (Suggestions: Brinley Gold Vanilla, Cruzan Vanilla, Bacardi Vanilla.) Spiced rum is fantastic in hot drinks. (Suggestions: Kilo Kai, Captain Morgan's, Captain Morgan's Private Stock, Sailor Jerry's, Bacardi Oakheart.) And let's not forget flavored rums, depending on what kind of flavor you want to give your coffee. There's even RUM CREAMS, which are basically the rum answer to Irish creams.

Hell, you tell me what kind of flavor you want to spike your coffee drinks with, I will suggest the rums you can do it with.

If you HAVE to go to an Irish Cream, I have to say, the discussion starts and ends with Bailey's. Everything else is just an imitation.

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

Wow, never knew it'd cause Jester so much pain to hear a rum lover going heathen.

I liked it!

Hm, rec me a rum that's rather sweet, but won't overpower the coffee taste. I like the white chocolate of Baileys with my coffee, but not to the point where it doesn't taste at all like coffee anymore. Brinley Gold Coffee sounds like it might be good, but tell me more about those rum cremes. Never even heard of a rum creme.

[Jester]

Regarding my last beer post: It was so good that I had to have the second (and last) bottle of it in my fridge. And when pouring it, out of curiousity I glanced at the label to see if it listed the ABV (alcohol by volume) content.

It did.

10.5%.

Dear GOD! It just gets better and better!

Wow, never knew it'd cause Jester so much pain to hear a rum lover going heathen.

Clearly someone's not been paying attention.

Hm, rec me a rum that's rather sweet, but won't overpower the coffee taste.

I will make some recommendations, but keep in mind that I don't actually drink coffee (ever), so you are going to have to conduct your own experiments to confirm them.

My immediate instinctual response to this was "Zaya!" Or more precisely, Zaya Gran Reserva, a lovely 12-year rum from Trinidad that I have often described as "liquid candy." It is smooth and sweet, and while flavorful, I don't think it would overpower the taste of a drink. If you would prefer to go the spiced rum route, I would recommend Kilo Kai, a lovely sweet and flavorful spiced rum that I personally consider the best spiced rum that I've ever had. Although Kilo Kai might have too much flavor to pair well with coffee, I don't know. (I DO know that it pairs extraordinarily with ginger ale, for those who are interested.) My last off-the-top-of-my head suggestion would be Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 year old, a lovely rum that is, in my mind and many other people's minds, the greatest dark rum in the world. Smooth, robust, and tasty, but not over the top with its flavor profile. Zacapa is the most expensive of the three (about $50 a bottle in Key West liquor stores), while the other two are both more moderate in price ($20-$30 a bottle here).

I lied. I have a few more suggestions. If you like whiskey in your coffee, I can suggest some lovely rums that have whiskey characteristics, having been aged in whiskey barrels. Specifically, Mount Gay Extra Old, Cruzan Single Barrel, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 year, and Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 18 year. Also, I don't know why, but something is telling me that Angostura 1919 would work rather well for your purposes.

Brinley Gold Coffee sounds like it might be good, but tell me more about those rum cremes. Never even heard of a rum creme.

Just like what it sounds, and as I said before, they are rum versions of the typical Irish Cream, which is made with whiskey. The two I am familiar with are Cruzan Rum Cream (very nice), and El Dorado Rum Cream (VERY nice). I love Bailey's. I love rum creams. Do your own math.

[Jester]

Today’s lazy Sunday afternoon libation, which I am quaffing while working on a beer project (no, seriously!): Abita Save Our Shore Pilsner. This is an unfiltered “weizen” pilsner, so my guess is that it’s a pilsner version of a hefeweizen. Also, the name is for the very simple and wonderful reason that, for every bottle of this beer sold, “Abita will donate 75 cents to the rescue and restoaration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive the disastrous oil spill” resulting from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

A typical pilsner golden color, with an uncharacteristic (for a pilsner) slight cloudiness.

The nose is pleasantly slightly sweet, vaguely reminiscent of hefeweizens, but not as wheaty or fruity.

FIRST SIP: Very tasty, and not at all what I was expecting. A slight digression: prior to this beer, I had only tasted three offerings from Abita, and while I adore the Amber, the Turbodog and Purple Haze both left me rather unimpressed. They weren’t bad, mind you, they just weren’t all that good, at least not to me, though I know both beers have quite a following. Also, I tend to not like pilsners in general all that much (though I don’t detest them the way I do most IPAs), and recently someone had told me that the S.O.S. wasn’t that good. But hell, I had it in my fridge, it goes to a noble cause that I have no trouble getting behind, and damn it, I’ll try pretty much any beer.

But back to that first sip…..it’s as if a pilsner and a hefeweizen had a love child. Like the nose, it’s not wheaty or as fruity as a hefeweizen, but it definitely reminds you of one. And the pilsner heritage is unmistakeable, but softened a bit due to the weizen influence. It’s got a soft mouthfeel, very pleasant, and almost as drinkable as the Abita Amber. (Well, to me, nothing is as wonderfully drinkable as the Abita Amber, one of the few beers I cannot drink slowly, as I guzzle it down with enjoyment.)

Will this beer set the world on fire? No. But it's the second best beer I've had from Abita, and it is a tasty beer that, while you lazily enjoy it wherever you are, will give you satisfaction in knowing that your drunken ways are actually doing some good elsewhere in the world. Final score: 6.5.

[KiaKat]

Jester, have you ever thought of joining (or starting) a review site? You have a ton of content and your writing is, as many have said before, very good.

[Cat]

Hmm... a Jester booze review site. I'd read and enjoy


This weekend's beer a a lovely pumpkin (which I forget the name to since I'm at work, sorry! ) and Newport Hurricane Ale.

The pumpkin had the right amount of spice to it.

The Hurricane may be in my list of favorites. Had a great flavor, good aftertaste, and is rather good at room temp.


The package store down the street from my has expanded, and has a huge selection of NE beers. And a whole endcap of pumpkn beers. I nearly cried.

[Jester]

Jester, have you ever thought of joining (or starting) a review site? You have a ton of content and your writing is, as many have said before, very good.

Yes, but if you take a look at some of the prominent beer review sites, such as RateBeer.com or BeerAdvocate.com (both of which I check out on a regular basis), you will notice a few things. First, that these reviews are much shorter than mine. Secondly, that these people use "professional review" vocabulary. I can't explain it, but if you read these sites, you'll understand what I mean. Finally, there is no place for feedback on the reviews.

Thanks, but I'm rather happy here in the CS Booze Club.

a lovely pumpkin (which I forget the name to since I'm at work, sorry! )

I hate to be picky, but a review of a beer without the beer's name is, well, kind of useless to anyone reading it, don't ya think?

[Cat]

I hate to be picky, but a review of a beer without the beer's name is, well, kind of useless to anyone reading it, don't ya think?

It was a reminder for me to get the name when I get home, write down, and update tomorrow

[Dilorenzo]

Now that things are calming down for me a little at work, I'm hoping to have a few more beers that I can actually think and write about here, instead of just grabbing things with alcohol.

[Cat]

It was Wolvers Pumpkin beer. Just the right amount of spice.

[Jester]

It was a reminder for me to get the name when I get home, write down, and update tomorrow

Fair enough!

It was Wolvers Pumpkin beer. Just the right amount of spice.

And there it is! Thank you!

A little while back, I posted this without much explanation:

In addition, it appears that I am actually going to be paid for drinking beer....with more beer. Not going into details yet, but stay tuned...this is pretty awesome.

Now I can, and will, explain.

The owner of one of the local craft beer/wine bars that have popped up here in Key West had seen the work I had done for my bar on our book listing and detailing our vast supply of rum. A couple of weeks ago, while I was downing yet another lovely craft beer at his bar, he approached me with a proposal: basically, he wanted me to do something similar for his bar's beer stock. The catch was that he wanted it done and in place by Key West Brewfest, which is this coming weekend. It had taken me four months to get the rum book done, and he was asking me to do something similar in only two weeks.

Now, whoever said I don't like challenges?

The good thing is that there were lots of things I had done for my bar that I would not have to do for his bar, including dealing with prices, getting everything right in the computer, eliminating items that were no longer carried but were in the book, adding items that were stocked but that were not in the book, etc. In short, he would supply me with a list, and all I would have to do would be to provide descriptions, including alcohol percentages, and group them by brewery. Simple enough, right?

Did mention there were over 100 beers involved? And not one of them had the words "Bud," "Miller," or "Coors" in their name. When all was said and done, including one deletion and five additions as late as last night, the final tally was 138 different beers. And, last night, I finished it off, including making it look nice format wise, though of course he may change things around to suit his own tastes.

When he initially approached me about this, and offered to pay me with a bar tab, I figured he meant one of about $20-$50. As we discussed it, he made it clear that he meant more along the lines of $100-$200. Last night, he told me that I would have a bar tab waiting for me for a value of $200.

For his bar. That specializes in craft beers.

This is SO not going to suck!


A couple of my friends have commented that they wished they had gotten this particular deal. As I told them, they did not spend four months slaving over a tome of rums, quite voluntarily, I might add.

In other words, I earned this. To which they agreed, and conceded the point.

And now they just hope I include them in on part of that tab. Which, of course, I will.

Part of it, anyways.


I am so glad to be done, and can't wait to pick up that bar tab, though I will not do so until I am certain that he is happy with the work I did. Which he damn well better be, as I have no time the rest of the week to do any significant work on it, as I have both my magic jobs today, then the next two days I do my regular bar job during the day and fill in for Frank at his magic bar at night, and then Saturday is the big tasting tent for Brewfest....

It is so nice to be DONE.