Another Easter Eve

Posted on April 7, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Around the world where Christianity is practiced, Christmas Eve is a recognized quasi-holiday that is celebrated by millions of families. I have a cousin that started celebrating Easter Eve almost thirty years ago, as a way to get all of our families together, because all the cousins have families of their own and the holidays get splintered and family get-togethers are a rarer commodity with today’s life style. I think it is a wonderful idea and it is a great way for everyone to gather and have a good time, and it is isn’t for a wedding or God forbid a funeral. Not only that, but my cousin serves a great collection of Armenian appetizers for a few hours before dinner. She starts the party at four in the afternoon, and by the time we got there around four-thirty, the party was already going at full tilt with about thirty people already in attendance, and the crowds kept coming. By the time dinner was being prepared there was closer to sixty people with some more late comers after that, and the main course was grilled lamb chops and there was an overly generous amount of lamb chops that kept getting piled and piled on the platters and no one complained about not having enough to eat, and then add all the other side dishes and it was a feast. Then when everyone was fully sated it was time for dessert, oh the indignities that we all went through that evening. My cousin even went so far as to have the Lord’s Prayer transliterated into English and a copy was given to everyone for a prayer before the actual dinner began, and some people were actually surprised as they thought the appetizers were the dinner for the evening, because those plates kept getting replenished as needed.

Chateau Christini Merlot Francis's Vineyard 2001

As for beverages there was not a want for anything, a bar was set up in the family room, and soft drinks, beer and wine could be found in the laundry room just off of the kitchen. Not only had people brought food and desserts, they also brought wine. I am only going to mention a couple of the bottles of wine that were opened that evening. One of the bottles was Chateau Christina Merlot Francis’s Vineyard 2001 from Joyce Vineyards of Salinas, California and the wine carried a Monterey County AVA. This is a father and son venture by Francis and Russell Joyce and it was a very mellow wine, in fact some people were surprised that it was a Merlot, from the few Merlot wines that they have had in the past. Francis’s Vineyard is a thirty some odd year vineyard created by Francis Cavelli who matched Merlot clone rootstock to the land to create a low yield Merlot.

Il Bruciato 2011

The other wine that I am going to mention is Marchesi Antinori Tenuta Guado al Tass IL Bruciato Bolgheri 2011 from Tuscany, Italy. This was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Bolgheri is one of the most prestigious areas in Italy and the DOC is for the land and terroir, as opposed to protect a certain wine varietal; as an example Chianti has to be for the most part Sangiovese. Bolgheri is famous as the birthplace of the “Super Tuscany” wines, which started with the release of the 1968 Sassicaia and how it changed Tuscan wines from that point on.

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April is “Michigan Wine Month”

Posted on April 5, 2015 by thewineraconteur

What a wonderful idea, a month devoted to the wines of Michigan, and no this is not my idea, but is listed on the “Wine Lover’s Calendar.” I was born in Michigan, so I am a Michigander or a Michiganian, all depending on the term that one prefers. I remember when I first discovered the joys of wine; I immediately became a self-appointed wine snob and have my thoughts have changed drastically. At first I only drank wines from Europe, now granted this was back in the late 1960’s and I had the good fortune to have had some of the best wines early in my wine drinking past-time. I mean to say that when I was young and naïve at best, to have been able to drink a Richebourg, a Chateau Latour and a Chateau Ausone in my teens; I thought I knew it all. I mean why would I even want to buy a California wine, when a lot of them were priced similar to the great wines of the Continent? Michigan was not even a consideration at the time, so yes I can say that I was a self-appointed “wine snob.”

Ciccone Pallino Red 2003 autographed

Then somewhere at some unknown point in my life, I had a domestic wine that changed my thoughts and I started to enjoy the wines from the New World and yes, I even discovered Michigan. This was all new fertile territory for me and my eyes opened up to new vistas, as if Toto had pulled away the drapes. I started going to Michigan wine tasting dinners, I visited wineries in Michigan and I even attended some Wine festivals. I discovered that I enjoyed some wines from Michigan, not every wine, but that is true, about wines that I have had from around the world. Michigan is not the center of the wine industry in the United States and it seems that it is ignored by the big boys, but there are some hardy individuals that are doing their best to change that situation. While the Traverse City area seems to be the main area for the finest wines, grapes are grow all over the place. I remember once, my Bride and I were making a road trip to Chicago and we stopped at a famous/infamous fast food establishment to get a couple of milkshakes while driving. We stopped at this fast food emporium, and to be honest, most of them are “cookie-cutter” corporate images, but this one in Paw Paw, Michigan was different; it was celebrating the vineyards of the area and had a decidedly wine theme about it and it tickled us to no end. Paw Paw, Michigan is an area that grows more bulk type wines, but one of our favorite sparkling wines of the state gets some of their fruit for one of their wines from this area. Chateau Chantal up in the Traverse City area has probably one of the finest views and estates in the state and they make a bubbly called Celebrate that we first tried at the winery. I remember the first time we tried it; my Bride tasted it and said that it was too sweet, as she thought that all sparkling wines had to be “dry” and I told her to try another taste of it, which she did. I told her that this wine would become a favorite of hers and for her friends, and it proved to be true. In fact she became so thrilled with the wine that when we celebrated her Fiftieth birthday with a few hundred friends and family that was the wine we toasted her with at the restaurant.

Chateau Chantal Celebrate Semi Dry NV

While Michigan may not have the celebrity cachet that other areas have, there are some very dedicated people producing wine here. There are growers here that are using some of the great varietals that everyone knows, and then some are using hybrids that are “Cold Hardy” types as well, and to my taste, some have achieved remarkable success with both. I remember a road trip we took up North to try some wineries and restaurants with one of my Bride’s best girl friend and we ended up with so many cases of wine that it took me almost an hour to get the trunk of our car packed (and one of the main features that we shop for in a vehicle is the size of the trunk, because of the many times when she has to travel with display booth equipment for her job), because I had to get all of our luggage and the wine packed and I used every square inch of the trunk and it was a marvel to see. In fact my Bride and her friend on another trip without me did some wine tastings at the wineries and vineyards and she even brought me a bottle autographed by as close to a wine making celebrity here in Michigan that we have. They did a wine tasting at Ciccone Vineyard and Winery, while the winery may not be famous; the winemaker has a famous daughter you may have heard of by the name of Madonna. I shall visit this theme perhaps a couple of more times this month, because it is a month long celebration of wines from the state.

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Just a Couple of Bottles from the Cellar

Posted on April 3, 2015 by thewineraconteur

There are a couple times of the year, when it is quiet here on the home front, and there is not a lot of gallivanting around, nor “wining and dining” as the old expression goes. While not a lot of fun for a Raconteur to develop new stories, there is always something going on. This is a busy time for my Bride with her employment, not to mention her volunteer programs and mentoring that she does, she is highly motivated, or just finding new ways to stay away from me (just kidding). Hence the reason for the house painting and a few more projects after the Easter weekend for me to start; and to keep her happy. Since I have been home with a project and basically eating in, I did have to find a few beverages to try, since in the evening I became the least likely bachelor. So I went into the cellar and retried some of the wines that we had purchased at two different wineries in Ohio, to see how they favored in a non-tasting room environment.

RSV Valhalla

The first bottle that I opened was Rockside Vineyards Valhalla NV from Lancaster, Ohio. It was a fond memory visiting this winery as it looked like what I would imagine a small winery to look like. While the winery did some winemaking with the more classic varietal, they basically specialized in “Cold Hardy” wines like Niagara, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Steuben, Chambourcin, Noiret and Chancellor. The wine is also “NV” or Non-Vintage since Central Ohio has no official appellation, they could not list a vintage year. The bottle of Valhalla did not offer any clues to what varietals were used and neither did their web site, but the wine was aged in oak and it was a “dry” white wine and it did pass the taste test of being enjoyable in a non-tasting room setting.

Wyandotte Glass Garden Vidal Blanc

I also tried another white wine during this period, as I was looking for refreshing after a day of toiling around the house. This time I opened a bottle of Wyandotte Glass Garden Ohio Vidal Blanc NV from Wyandotte Winery of Columbus, Ohio. The label pictures a portion of the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens of Columbus, which was based on the Glass Palace from the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The Vidal Blanc grape was developed by the French wine grape breeder Jean Louis Vidal and is a hybrid from the Ugni Blanc, famed for the grape production used to make Cognac and from another hybrid Rayon d’Or; the Vidal Blanc was developed to produce high sugar levels in cold climates with moderate to high acidity. While this wine was a bit sweeter than I usually enjoy, especially out on the town, it did work well with the fish and poultry dishes that I was having after each day of work around the house.

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“The Caller” Goes to St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis

Posted on April 1, 2015 by thewineraconteur

Imagine my surprise to get another call from “The Caller” to give me another tweak on my nose that he was out and about having a second fine dinner while spending time in Indianapolis. He can go for months with no contact and then he bombards me with new texts about the wonderful evenings he is having. Actually I think that I would and should reciprocate when my Bride and I are out and about.

Muga Rioja Reserva 2010

“The Caller” went to a local steak house in Indianapolis, and that is my favorite type of place to discover. They went to St. Elmo Steak House and I had to do some research on the establishment and now I am jealous that we had not been there. This restaurant is listed in the Wine Spectator dining guide and is listed at having 965 wine selections and I had a chance to search the wine list on line and it is very impressive, though they are listed as being expensive for wine pricing, which is a downer. They are also very proud of a product that they produce and sell to take home; their proprietary spicy shrimp cocktail sauce that is loaded with horseradish according to the reviews and discussions. The restaurant is very proud of the fact that they use many locally grown and/or produced products and list the sources as well. When I was reading the menu, which reads like most fine high end steak houses there one was one item that really caught my attention and that is a lamb porterhouse steak, which sounds very enticing.

IN St Elmo Facade

The wine my friend chose for to accompany his dinner, is a wine that I enjoy, and so does he, because he has texted me in the past with the same wine, albeit a different vintage. They were enjoying a bottle of Muga Rioja Reserva DOCa 2010. This is wine from the most important of the three sub-regions of Rioja, namely the Rioja Alta. The wine is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano and because it is a Reserva, the wine spends two years in oak, and then another year in bottle at the winery before it can be sold. Rioja wines are always a go-to wine for me and I do recommend them to everyone. He later texted me that he and his charming wife after having dinner at St. Elmo went back to Capital Grille to have a night cap, she had Campari and he had another glass of the Taylor-Fladgate, though he complained that she kept drinking his Porto. “The Caller” did send me another text the next day saying that when they got to South Bend they took it easy and had chicken for dinner washed down with beer and Irish Whiskey, so that shall be it for awhile until his next adventure or until my Bride and I can get together with them.

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“The Caller” is in Indianapolis

Posted on March 30, 2015 by thewineraconteur

I tend to write in spurts when my Muse hits and I had just finished the last article when “The Caller” texted me from Indianapolis. He and wife must be on road trip and he decided to regale me with another set of messages. It can be months between his texts and here I was being bombarded with notices twice in a couple of days. One can only imagine the joy he had of enjoying a fine dinner out. I received three texts in a row, and they were all photographs and I could tell that he was enjoying himself that evening. The first text was a bottle of wine and then the next two were of the restaurant. They were dining at the Capital Grille, which is a chain of fine upscale steakhouses, if you have never been to one. I have written about the Capital Grille as there is one in the greater Detroit area. The food is superb, the service is excellent and they also have a fine wine list. Since I have been to one in the chain, when we are away on holidays I try to avoid going to another one in the chain, as I prefer to experience a restaurant that has more local flavor, instead of a corporate environment. I should experience another one of the Capital Grille restaurants in another city, just to see, if I would enjoy it more in another setting. My only complaint of the restaurant and I realize that it is a small one, and perhaps a bit petty is that the location in the Detroit area is in a mall, granted a very upscale mall, but I find that it is a bit louder perhaps because of the shoppers, then a restaurant of this caliber should be.

Meiomi Pinot Noir 2013

“The Caller” finally let me know that he and his wife were enjoying porterhouse steaks, grilled Brussels sprouts, and twice-baked potatoes. They were enjoying the dinner and they should be, because if nothing else the Capital Grille is an excellent steakhouse and the sides are ample enough that two can share one order of each side and still be totally sated by the end of the meal. I smiled when I saw the wine that he had ordered and it was almost a repeat of the wine that he had texted me a day or two ago. He had ordered another Pinot Noir wine made by Joe Wagner, the youngest son of Chuck Wagner. The bottle of wine, was one that I have wrote about in the past as well, it is Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir 2013. This is the more popular priced wine from Joe Wagner and it carries a California AVA as the grapes are sourced from Monterey County, Santa Barbara County and Sonoma County. Still a good choice for his dinner and I am sure that it was enjoyed.

Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny Porto NV

A little while later, I received another text from him asking my opinion of what they should have for after dinner. He gave me a choice of Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Port, Taylor Fladgate First Estate Reserve Port or Graham’s Six Grape Ruby Port. To my way of thinking this was an easy decision, and told him to go with the Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Port. Port or in Portuguese Porto gets its name from Oporto and the famed Douro Valley in northern Portugal. The name actually was changed to Porto, because of all the inexpensive wines that flooded the market years ago called Port. If you ever get a chance to see a fine list of Porto wines being offered you will be surprised that they all seem to have English or Scottish names in the brand, and that is because for years the chief market for Porto wines was England, though the rest of the world has caught up with it. There are several distinct types of this wine and a Tawny is just one of them. A Tawny is a slightly lighter colored wine, hence the name, but especially in an older blended wine like this one, the nuances of the wine can be greatly appreciated; the other thing about a blended 20 Year old is that it can be enjoyed immediately as opposed to a Vintage Porto that may require another twenty years in the cellar to fully appreciate the complexity, and many consider a Vintage Porto to be one of the finest wines known to man. The most common varietals for this wine are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and/or Tinta Barroca. After touting the wine, I received two texts; one was a photograph of the wine bottle and then finally a simple terse “Wow.”

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“The Caller” is in Saginaw

Posted on March 28, 2015 by thewineraconteur

One of my frequent casts of characters that I get a chance to mention is “The Caller.” This nom de plume was bestowed upon him by Oliver of The Winegetter fame. “The Caller” is a good friend of my Bride and now me as well. He and his wife get to travel often, either for his business or hers and in between if we are lucky we can coordinate a dinner date with them. The two of them have always enjoyed a good meal and they are devotees of what is now called “craft” cocktails as well as some wine. I will take a small bit of credit for moving his interest up a notch or two about wine. The reason that he is now known as “The Caller” is because he will out of the blue, text me, to let me know that he is out and about, and enjoying some wine with his dinner; or he may request my assistance in selecting a wine from the carte in a restaurant. As I was gathering some notes to make a new article, lo and behold, I received a text message from “The Caller” and he is in Saginaw, Michigan. As always his message may be a bit cryptic, but he let me know that he was having dinner with friends. Knowing him as I do, I am sure that he was enjoying a steak, as the two of them seem to have a predilection towards steaks, from filets to porterhouse cuts. He is also known to enjoy some game dinners and Italian Cuisine as well; I guess that is why he and I hit it off so well, as we are both of the same ilks when it comes to dining.

Belle Glos Pinot Noir 2013

The first bottle of wine that he sent me a photograph of by text was Belle Glos Pinot Noir 2013 from the Clark & Telephone Vineyard of Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, California. He has had that wine before and so have I, and I have written about it before, but it bears repeating only for “The Caller” and his efforts. This is a wine made by Joe Wagner, the youngest son of Chuck Wagner of Caymus Wines. He is carving out a name for himself and soon may not be in the shadow of his father. This is a fine wine and Belle Gloss harvests fruit from a couple of different vineyards. The Clark & Telephone Vineyard is located near the intersection of Clark Avenue and Telephone Road, so it is easy to understand the origin of this vineyard.

Bevlamo Moscato D'Asti NV

For after dinner “The Caller” texted me another photograph and they were enjoying Bevlamo Moscato D’Asti DOCG NV. This is one of the sweet wines from the Piedmont in Italy and most Asti wines are known for their fruit and low alcohol, and what the Italians refer to as Vino frizzante. The Moscato grapes after harvesting are crushed and chilled almost to freezing in stainless steel vats. The wine is fermented and bottled to capture the carbon dioxide, which naturally creates this slightly effervescent finished wine. He did let me know that he did not enjoy this wine as much as the Pinot Noir.

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Another Collection

Posted on March 26, 2015 by thewineraconteur

People tend to collect all sorts of things that fascinate them or because the items hold fond memories for them. I am sure that most people collect something. I maybe collect too many things and one of the items that I collect is wine. Collecting wine is a good hobby, because you can buy some great wines when they are first issued and if you have a good cellar, you can store the wine until they are at their peak of drinking pleasure; and for some wines that can be ten or twenty years later and the price will be too dear for most of us to purchase at that time.

The finished display

My Bride has the collecting bug as well, and one collection she started years before we ever met; she collects those small “airline” bottles of liquor. Some are from vacations that she took and tried some different drinks, some are from conventions and conferences that she attended and some just because they tickled her fancy. I bring this up, because I had to take down her collection when I painted the family room, and afterwards I had to rearrange them back in position after dusting and checking to see if there were duplicates that had been placed up there. The good thing is that most liquor can be enjoyed years after the purchase without the worries of the beverage going bad. Some of the bottles go back to the days when there were tax banderols over the closure which had to be broken when the bottle is opened, something you don’t see any more.

Sorting Miniature Bottles

As I was sorting them and checking for duplicates, I got a chance to admire these small bottles, which for the most part are actually miniatures of the actual bottles of the liquor. Some of them are in glass, some are in ceramic and of course nowadays some are in plastic. As I was looking at each bottle, I realized that over the course of years, some have even been opened and tried. Some of the bottles were very expensive, I mean after all, even an ounce of Johnny Walker Blue is dear, if you don’t think so, order a glass of it at your favorite restaurant. Some are very cute, like a miniature bottle of Chambord or a miniature bottle of Pinch. There was even a bottle of Monte Alban Mezcal con Gusano, which is Tequila with a worm in the bottle; still with the tax stamp seal (I guess no one tried that particular bottle). As I look at this collection, it makes me remember one of our vacations to Charleston, South Carolina and the quirky law that was on the books and it may still be in practice today. All the bars and restaurants used these individual small bottles to pour a drink or to make a cocktail. One could buy a fifth of liquor at a liquor store only for personal consumption. So even my Bride has a collecting passion, and this is only one of many, but it is close enough to merit mention by this Raconteur.

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I Can’t Believe That I Found One More Bottle of Wine

Posted on March 24, 2015 by thewineraconteur

I thought I was all done writing about errant bottles of wine that were waylaid over the years in the family room.  After pulling everything out of the family room, so that it could get a new coat of paint and a fresh new look. As I was emptying out the liquor cabinet in the family room, all of the bottles were boxed up, until I could go through them and make some “managerial” decisions; of course that meant consulting with my Bride as to whether some of the bottles should be kept. There were some bottles that I don’t even remember buying, and there were some that neither of us even remembers ever drinking, even in our youth. This new dilemma required that I restock my liquor cabinet in the dining room, to make sense of everything I have.

San Felipe La Rural Vino Tinto 1997

Not only did I have a mess of boxes from stuff that I dragged out of the family room, I also found that I had a mess of stuff that had been packed into the liquor cabinet in the dining room, so a thorough cleaning was called upon. We like to entertain, but I was amazed at the selection of whiskeys, whiskys, bourbons, white liquors and exotic liquors that we had amassed. Then there was the collection of liqueurs that we had acquired for cocktails or to use in special dinner recipes. There were some bottles that my Bride had forgotten about and I could see that she was thinking of some new recipes, and some she just made a face at.

San Felipe Gift Box
Lo and behold in the liquor cabinet in the dining room was a gift box of a wine, which was mistaken for a bottle of liquor. At a quick look at the box, it does appear to be more of a bottle of liquor, because it is shaped like a canteen, or maybe the “cantil” bottles of Portugal that one sometimes encounters for a bottle of Rose wine. This wine was produced by San Felipe Bodegas of Maipo, Mendoza and the name of the wine is San Felipe La Rural Vino Tinto 1997. I had to do some research on this wine, because when I saw that it said Vino Tinto I expected a light red wine, perhaps on the sweeter or fruity side, but instead this is actually a Bordeaux or Claret style of wine. When one thinks of Claret the varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere do come to mind; and when one thinks of Mendoza in Argentina one can easily think of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Carmenere. This forgotten bottle of wine is another wine that I think I will open in the near future, just to discover what it is like, or lament that it was not stored properly. Time will tell.

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“It Don’t Mean a Thing”

Posted on March 22, 2015 by thewineraconteur

This will be the last of the finds of my clearing out the family room at the house so that it could get a new paint job and look fresh for Easter. While I was emptying out the entertainment center so that I could move it, I was unpacking a collection of vinyl records, yes, both myself and my Bride go back to that era, in fact we still have a turntable hooked up to the receiver in that room. As I was removing all of the albums, I found a menu from a restaurant that I have never been to, and I also knew that we have in our collection of matchbooks, something that I am said to have seen disappear from the landscape, because it is such a wonderful keepsake for a great memory. My Bride had a life before she met me; in fact she was much more cosmopolitan than I was at that time. I found a menu from The Rainbow Room of New York. The Rainbow Room is a designated Landmark found at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on the 65’Th floor of the building and for years was known as the highest restaurant in the world. It was truly the place where the elite met to eat.

NY The Rainbow Room

When I showed her the menu, she just smiled and said that it was a pleasure to dine there, as well as to have danced there. She was looking at the prices in the menu, and laughed at how they are the norm for most of the dishes today, but it goes to show you what the norm was in Manhattan in 1985. To give you some examples, the three dishes that were offered for two were Rack of Lamb, Chateaubriand and Cote de Boeuf au Poivre Vert and the were all priced at $45.00. When I asked her if she could remember what she had that evening, she looked at menu and said probably the “Filet of Sole, Cote d’Azur” at $21.00. As I looked at the menu, I also realized though she didn’t mention it, that she probably had the Grand Marnier Soufflé as well. When I asked her what she had to drink that evening, she responded that it was probably a Chardonnay, and that I am sure it was, because when we first met she always used to have Filet of Sole and Chardonnay.

NY The Rainbow Room Menu

After she finished looking at the menu, she looked at me, and said I also bought the album that the entertainer there was selling. So I went back to where I had put all of the albums and found the album, the album as well as the menu had been autographed by Panama Francis, and the album was Panama Francis & The Savoy Sultans “Everything Swings.” Panama Francis at one time toured with Cab Calloway and in 1979 reestablished his group the Savoy Sultans and were the resident entertainers at The Rainbow Room for six or seven years. As I looked at the album I realized that while my Bride always enjoyed the same dishes and wines over the years, she also enjoyed some of the same music that she still does today as in : “Stomping at the Savoy,” “Sentimental Journey,” “In the Mood,” “Take the A Train” and of course “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”

Panama Francis Back Album Cover

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind – Part Two

Posted on March 20, 2015 by thewineraconteur

After I posted my find of all the wine that had been misplaced, I also found a few bottles of beverages that were not wine, and we have been known to enjoy a glass of other drinks from time to time. So I shall wander a short way from wine for the moment.

Group 4

The first two bottles that I found were happy finds. I kept thinking that I had another bottle of Booker’s True Barrel Bourbon, but I could not locate it, now I have. The bottle was still in the original paper wrapper safely secured in the wooden box that it is purchased in. Every now I then I just enjoy a glass of sippin’ Bourbon neat in a Brandy snifter, just perfect after a dinner with friends. Another bottle that I found, can be linked to wine, as it is a distilled wine, actually this beverage is twice distilled. Distilled wines are called Brandy, and as the old saying goes all Cognacs are Brandy, but not all Brandy is Cognac. I found a bottle of Cour Imperial Grand Champagne by Courvoisier, with the emblem of Napoleon. Grand Champagne does not refer to the sparkling wine, but it refers to the two most famous Crus of Cognac; Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. The curious thing is that Grande Champagne in area is actually less than half the size of Petite Champagne, but very important to be noted on the label. In the old days the varietals planted were Ugni Blanc, blended with Colombard and Folle Blanche, but now it is basically Ugni Blanc. The original wine made I have heard many times, is that it is nothing to write home about, but when it is distilled, and especially after the second distilling it becomes a wondrous beverage; of course it may take twenty to thirty years of aging on the premises to evolve which adds to the cost of the Cognac.

Group 3

Of the other two bottles that I found one made my Bride very happy and the other was a bottle that I was not familiar with, and I believe it was bequeathed to us, since we tend to have the most parties with the family. One of the bottles was Seagram’s 83 Canadian Whisky which is no longer produced, by the third corporation to have the Seagram’s label. This was made when Seagram’s was still being made in Ontario, and now it is made in Quebec, and I am a fan of Seagram’s V.O. Canadian Whisky. It is a rye whisky, which most of the Canadian whisky brands are known for, in fact, here in the Detroit area, it was not uncommon to hear a patron at his local watering hole to request a “Rye” meaning a Canadian Whisky at the expense of the American Whiskey. The excise tax banderole is still unbroken and it carries the date of 1982, so it should still be totally drinkable and I am curious to try it. The bottle that made my Bride happy was originally created by James Pimm in the 1840’s, and I find it amusing that while she is not a Gin drinker per se, she so enjoys Pimm’s No. 1, which is a gin made with herbal botanicals, caramelized orange and some other delicate spices. Pimm’s No. 1 is fabled, but the company has actually created several other Pimm’s up to No. 6, I believe, though she has always requested a glass of the original Pimm’s Cup on our travels. This is just a good lesson for me, to maintain a stricter watch on my inventory.

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