Abrazo del Toro-Syrah (Spain)

One of my great passions is drinking sub-$10 wine from Trader Joes. I picked up this Syrah from Spain (Abrazo Del Toro) for around $7 and I will tell you that this is one of my favorite wines. When you pour it out, it’s a deep red color- almost purple. It smells almost berry like, but when you taste it you are surprised by how mellow and balanced it is. It’s not too sweet nor is it filled with tannins. I would say that it is so well balanced that you set it on a tightrope and it would stand upright. Normally, I am a big fan of the South American Malbecs; but I would have to give this wine high marks. This will certainly make it into my regular wine rotation.

10/14/2009 (Firefly Martini, Cava Segura Viudas Brut Reserva, Barefoot Pinot Noir)

First off, its my 3rd Wedding anniversary. Go Me. To kick off the evening, I started with a Firefly Martini. Ok, its really a tea-flavored-vodka gimlet, but I think the former name has more panache'. Its 1 1/2 oz Firefly vodka, 1/2 oz Roses, shaken with ice, strained into a cocktail glass, garnished with a cherry. Hows it taste? Not bad. Kinda like the south; sweet tea, alcholholic, and vaguely racist. My next one will have less lime juice; maybe 1:4 ratio instead of 1:3 perhaps. More about Firefly: its a Tea flavored vodka I found at Target. (Yes, Target. In Missouri you can sell hard liquor anywhere. Fuck your oppressive liquor laws Ohio.) Retails for $19.99. Not bad for a novelty vodka. It makes excellent gimlets if I can say so. It also goes well with lemonade, but thats a little too froofy I think. I want to keep this liquor blod a little more old school drunkard; but one could say I already with the introduction of Firefly vodka. Those people can go to hell.

For dinner we went to Sapphire's Resteraunt in Jefferson City. I had the rack of lamb and D. had the duck breast in a blueberry sauce. This blog ain't about the food though. We split a bottle of Spanish Brut; Cava Segura Brut Reserva. $22 at the resteraunt, but I am sure that it retails for half that. Overall good. fairly dry, tasty. It made a nice appetizer, went well with dinner,and made a fine desert. For those cheap bastards who have graduated from Osti Spumante and Andre and whatnot; I highly recommend.

Finishing the night is a Pinot Noir from Barefoot. $6 dollars at Target I think. Not terrible, but not something to get excited about. Spend your money at Trader Joes on one of their pinots instead.

10/13/2009 (Pro-mis-Q-ous wine and Gimlet)

Started the evening with half a bottle of Pro-mis-Q-ous Red wine from Target. Its a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Syrah. I like Zinfandel and Syrah, so I thought I’d try it. When I picked it up at Target, I thought the shelf said it was about $7. However I must be fucking blind because it was $11 on the reciept. Oh well. I'm out 4 bucks-- Its my contribution to the economy. It was ok on the first sip, but it got increasingly sweet as I went on. It was not exactly to my taste, but tolerable. Not worth $11 bucks. But for a slutty wine, it was ok.

Finished the night with a gimlet. Tanqueray gin, splash of Roses Lime Syrup, and a splash of club soda. End result is a drink that looks like iced pee, but tastes like a proper drunkard drink should. Bracing, slightly gross, and full of booze. I am a bourbon and scotch man myself, but gin has a place in my heart as well. Its ESTABLISHED if you know what I mean. Waspy.