some other beers tasted

Heineken dark lager
Biere du boucanier red ale
" " " golden ale
" " " dark ale
Kostriker schwartzbier
red hook esb original ale
tsintao
wild blue blueberry lager
sierra nevada summerfest
sam adams summer ale
shock top belgian white
pabst blue ribbon
konings hoeven quadrupel trappist ale
ommegeddon funkhouse ale

beer tastings part 1

first try
sam adams boston lager*
guinness extra stout*
killians*
sierra nevada pale ale

getting used to it
young's double chocolate stout**
murphy's red beer
pillsner urquell*
stella artois

sam adams night
sam adams brown ale
sam adams scotch ale*
sam adams black lager
sam adams honey porter**

beerapalooza 4
czechvar
hoegaarden***
sam adams irish red
sierra nevada porter

(tentative) beerapalooza finals
young's double chocolate stout
hoegaarden
sam adams honey porter
sam adams boston lager
...

absolutely perfect bacon grilled cheese

MATERIALS
*knife
*sourdough bread
*butter
*four slices of cheese, preferably two sharp cheddar and two muenster.
*bacon

PROCEDURES
1. gather materials
2. preheat pan on medium-low heat
3. slice the bread twice, creating two not-necessarily even slices of bread
4. prepare bacon
5. butter one side of each of those slices of bread you just made
6. put one slice BUTTER SIDE DOWN on the pan
7. quickly and carefully, put two slices of either cheese on first
8. put on top of that the already-cooked bacon
9. now the other two slices of the other kind of cheese on top of the bacon
10. put the other slice of bread, butter side up, on top of the cheese.
11. wait several minutes, untill the bottom of the cooking bread is golden brown
12. flip and wait for golden brown on the other side
13. serve with ketchup and hot sauce

scotch part 1

so, since i've been trying different whiskys lately i'm going to start a column that i will update every now and then on whisk(e)y. of course most of my early experiences with whisky came in bourbons, but anyway here is my review of the ones i've tried so far:

Blends

Jim Beam White Label - tastes like a hangover

Dewars White Label - not all that bad for a cheap drink... a bit on the strong side and you could taste the grains

Jack Daniel's Old No.7 - Dark crimson in color. mmm corn and strength and earth and doesn't hurt the pocket that much. very sweet. smooth, after all.

Jack Daniel's Gentleman's Blend - tastes similar to its younger sister, yet with a bit more sophistication and woods. very good

Johnnie Walker Red Label - Copper in color. tastes like EARTH, must've used a lot of islay in this blend. it was the first scotch i drank without a flavored mixer ( i had it on the rocks).

Johnnie Walker Black Label - Light brown in color. very fruity at first, then a smoke, then a little bit of earth. pretty good, complex blend. nice character. best bang for the buck.

Johnnie Walker Green Label (Technically vatted, not blended) - old gold in color. tastes like peat. very smooth and a good flavor of maybe a bit of flowers? good value.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label - rich smoky peaty, yet with some light notes on the exhale. very good.

The Dimple Pinch 15 Years - tastes like cake. then get that cake and drop it on the soil. don't follow the 5 second rule. actually kick it while it's down there. make sure it's a fruit cake.

Chivas Regal 12 Years - dark amber in color. don't remember much about this one other than it was very smooth

Single Malts (location)

Talisker 10 Years (Island) - inhale a cigar. then add abit more of smoke with some malty syrup. then a bit more smoke. then at the end, some recently ground peper that leaves your mouth with some spicy stuff on it.

Laphroaig 10 Years (Islay) - get some tires and then burn them right next to you. then INHALE. once you feel like you're about to pass out, INHALE. but make sure you have some salt on your nose before you inhale. if you forgot, put some on now.

The Glenlivet 12 Years (Speyside) - very, very smooth whisky. butter with some spices and some flowers. maybe a tiny bit of earth, but you really have to look for it.

The Glenlivet 15 Years French Oak Reserve (Speyside) - take a bouquet of cinnamon and then drench it with vanilla. add some more seasonal flowers and some cake. while you're there add some cognac. very complex and pretty good. not so bad on the pocket either.

Glenmorangie 10 Years Original (Highland) - very light gold in color. take some pears and some peaches and other light fruits squeeze them over some vanilla orchids . take the very cool and delicate flavor and sprinkle in some sea salt. over it. oooh still the best i've had.

Glenmorangie 12 Years Port Wood Finish (Highland) - darkened red gold in color. mm take some glenmorangie 10 and then mix in a bit of wine, add smoke and throw in even more vanilla. add some dark chocolate.

Oban 14 Years (West Highland) - you're at the beach and then you eat some dark fruits and yellow cake. then you smoke a cigar that has been dipped in peat, but you only take a wiff.

The Macallan 15 Years Fine Oak Finish (Speyside) - color is the reddish tint of gold the sun gets at the threshold between the late afternoon and the early evening. take a whiff: dried fruits. a little bit of pudding. maybe a hint of orange. then swish it in your mouth a bit. some of the initial sweet tones fade quickly to make room for chocolate, a tiny bit of spice and some smoke. the finish is almost completely spicy dark chocolate.

Highland Park 12 Years (Island) - later

chocolate: a process

my progression through types of chocolate went like this:


*milk - everyone's childhood favorite. at some point it became too sweet, so i went to...

*semi-sweet - chips used for cooking. still kinda sweet, but it had a bit of a kick

*girradelli 60% - still kinda sweet, but my first real forray into the world of dark chocolate. still an old fav

*lindt 60% truffles - very delicious. outer shell with creamy dark chocolate on the inside. i suspect the filling is less than 60% but still very very god

*endangered species smooth organic dark 70% - the title pretty much says it all.

*lindt equador 75% - the first of what i consider to be my "intense" dark chocolates. extremely rich and smoky in flavor.

*endangered species extreme dark chocolate 88% - too dark, wayyy too dark. at least that's what i say now. maybe i should've taken a milder step instead of jumping from 75% to 88%.

lindt 80% - i've found it to be, at least for now, my level of comfort. still dark enough to cause an impact in your mouth, yet still palatable.

onion rings

onion rings... they're just really good. check out some onion rings as i review them:

• BK - quickest way to get them. a bit sweet but the sauce they give with them is really good.. like a less tangy buffalo sauce
• Denny's - very good, although the batter could be better. condiment of choice: ketchup
• Steak and Shake - best batter i've had on an onion ring, ever. do not eat with any condiments.

UPDATE (10/28):

• Johnny Rockets - very similar to Denny's
  

healthyish food

now to some stuff i found in publix that's really yummy and also kinda healthy!

• south beach diet turkey and ham deli wraps (and their deluxe pizza too)
• silk light soy milk (plain)
  
• boca meatless cheeseburgers
• jimmy dean d'lite breakfast biscuits
• smart ones chocolate eclairs

the food aspect

OK so the food aspect to this blog will consist of either the trials and tribulations of my road to getting buff OR some culinary adventure of mine--something i ate at a restaurant, a particular meal i made that came out good, or something really crappy i ate. anyone have suggestions for a good cheap bbq place that isn't the pit (near the everglades)?