Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Wine Shorts. Volume I. Number II. Summer 2010.
Jonny Cigar circa 1913. Photo by Marcin JM.
Sipping there, gazing off into the camera, Jonny Cigar, Self-Annointed Master Sommelier thinks twice: first about wine, second about gin. Gin was not his first love. His first love was Jack Daniels. Jonny Cigar never imagined that Jack Daniels would be something to put in a Coca-Cola. He scoffed at anyone who did. Then Jonny found gin. Gin was in a bottle called Beefeeter. Juniper berries are the essence of gin and gin is the essence of juniper berries. Jonny had never before known or seen either of these things. This was 1943.
So let’s talk about my foray into gin. But first let’s talk about the history of wine from my point of view as we continue on from Volume I. Number I. Spring 2010:
In conclusion, when President Nixon decided to serve wine to China, they served Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc and when California beat France in the 1976 World Cup of Wine Tournament, California was put on the map and never again threw stones in glass houses. That’s where the Noble Rot comes into play. I started the Noble Rot with Brian Quinn who is good for nothing. Brian Quinn and I wanted to elevate the tasting to a level of prestige combined with good old-fashioned banjo-bluegrass breakdowns topped with a hint of juniper berries. And therein lies the rub.
Wine breeds an industry and the industry is littered with people who tell you how to taste wine. I’m not going to tell you how to taste wine. In fact, I’m not even going to tell you why to taste wine. Let alone when to taste wine. Save for which wine to taste. I’ll be happy to tell you what I think, but you good wino, in return, should tell me what you think. This is the very nature of winetology. The righteous path. The path of enlighten-mint-chocolate chip.
Every once in a while we have to look at libations as our enemy. They are a force to be forced into various concoctions that result in our liking. Tonight, this very evening, I’m going to take gin, not wine, but gin, and I’m going to mix it up:
- Gin
- Simple Syrup
- Sweet Vermouth
- Bitters
- Rum?
- Soda?
- Rum?
- Ice?
- Feta?
Good grief. Some of this will make for a good time, the rest can tell me how all this soccer has turned out. Once of these days soccer, I’ll be on the offense and will score the wining goal against my self-annihilation. “Onward and upward,” quoth mineself!
Tags: Wine shorts
