how about drinking?
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DH drinks gin martinis. His favorite gin is Gilbey's, which is not expensive. It's not always easy to find but Total Wine has it. We usually buy two or three large bottles to stock up.
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My only other "spirits" that I drink would be after dinner drinks, rarely. Brandy/cognac or aged rum.
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Wally - what is your favorite Brandy or Cognac? I don’t drink very often, but have been thinking about adding an after dinner drink now and then.
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My fav brandy "was" Jepson. I bought a bottle when we first moved out here (15 years ago) and it is about 1/2 empty. Not sure if Jepson was bought out by Germain-robin, but the price has more than doubled, so I won't replace it. A good (unsweetened) rum is adequate.
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The only spirits I drink are cognac (Pierre Ferrand Ambre is my favorite) and the occasional nip of a good bourbon—partial to Few, because it's distilled in Evanston by a neighbor; or Koval, owned by a woman whose Bat Mitzvah oneg Shabbat I attended at temple decades ago. That being said, it's been over a year since I've had, or wanted, any hard liquor.
Of course, if I'm still in a calorie deficit by meal's end, I'm not about to turn down a shot of limoncello on the house (especially if housemade).
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DH can't drink alcohol while taking pain killers so at cocktail time he has a Bloody Mary without vodka made with clamato juice and other ingredients.
I like Hennessy (sp) cognac.
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NM missing you and hope all is well, particularly with mamma.
Vodka is about it for me in the hard liquor department. Tequila has started to hit me hard, even small amounts. Although truly what is a small amount of Tequila? 🤪
Been drinking wine, not with every meal, lately.
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You know what they say: one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor…
I don't mind a Margarita (especially a "skinny" one) every few months. I learned my lesson about plain tequila long ago: when my office mates heard I was leaving the next morning to do a deposition in NM, they insisted I had to learn how to do tequila shots—salt, lime & all. Thank goodness I hadn't driven to work that day. That being said, I've nursed a thimbleful of really fine añejo in Austin and Old Town San Diego at bars specializing in tequilas (and which pointedly do not have blenders). I recently bought a bottle of Ritual faux-quila—will try it with some lime juice, simple syrup and a dash of Grand Marnier.
I'm not a big fan of Hennessy—it's too sweet for me. (When I visited Courvoisier—and stayed overnight at the chateau—our guide told us that Hennessy and lesser houses "boisé" the brandy as it ages: the process involves toasting oak chips and putting them into the new distillate; toasting the oak brings out the wood's sugars and using chips rather than just toasted barrels increases the surface area and thus enhances sugar absorption. It's legal in France, but most of the houses in the Grand Champagne subregion of Cognac avoid it). I don't drink VS, but I like Remy or Martell VSOP; as for Courvoisier, I prefer its XO because its VS & VSOP are a little harsh.
I'm not familiar with Jepson (though I am very aware of Jeppson, which bottles the infamous Chicago digestif Malørt—a different beast entirely). I do like Germain-Robin (as well as Asbach-Uralt from Germany, Carlos I or Cardenal Mendoza from Spain); all of them are "alambic" double-distilled in the same manner as Cognac and the better Armagnacs (like Cassaude).
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Good morning all lol.. so I looked up Malort
Malört is a digestif distilled from the wormwood plant that tastes of pencil shavings, old battery rust, citrus zest, and ear wax. It's a version of Swedish bitters introduced to Chicagoans in the 1920s by Carl Jeppson, a Swedish immigrant.Dec 16, 2023
https://www.npr.org
Happy Wednesday- Rhonda
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I heard from Native Mainer. She has been dealing with a broken computer and lots of appointments for Mom. But both are well and she'll try to check in soon.
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Thanks, Minus. Good to know that nothing is seriously wrong in NM's world.
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Minus, thanks for the update.
I have Pierre Ferrand and found it meh and I have Asbach since it is DBIL's brandy preference..liked it. For the price (well, most of my bottles are 5-10 years old, just sitting in my cabinet), non-sweetened quality rum is a home run for me.
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Mark West Pinot Noir with dinner. Yum 😋
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Reader - thanks for the wine reference.
Wally - funny about the age of the bottles in your cabinet. I have 1/2 a bottle of Macallan scotch that is easily over 20 years old. And a bottle of Orange Curacao that must be 40 years old. You can tell what I don't drink - but hey, as far as I know alcohol doesn't go bad. My brandy of choice is Tuaca - imported Italian. Supposedly first created for the 15th century Italian ruler - Lorenzo the Magnificent and revived in 1938
I've been enjoying an evening sip of Kavanagh's Salted Caramel Irish Cream. This very reasonably priced at $11-$15. Yup - the Ballotin Mocha Whisky Cream is arguably maybe better, but it's also $30.00.
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Jazzy - good to see you. Hope the job is OK.
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If Bob gets olives in his martini despite asking for a twist, he gives them to me. But I vastly prefer olive-bar olives (kalamatas, castelvetranos, Niçoise, cerignolas, arbequinas, etc.)
With paella during the Super Bowl, Clark & Sheffield Sauv. Blanc. (We don't have any Albariño or cava on hand, and I'd get way too sloshed on the manzanilla sherry I keep in the fridge).
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MinusTwo- job not really okay but hanging in there….
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Sorry to be away for so long, the laptop I was using died on me unexpectedly. Then every time I would start to set up the new desktop something would come up, mostly Mom needing to go grocery shopping or having an appointment, or a power outage, or an emergency CPR class, or the puppers just not letting me work on it. But, I have got it up and running now, still in the process of getting everything transferred from the backup to the new desktop, but the basics are up and running, Mom's appointment for today has been rescheduled so I have all day to play ketchup and fininsh the file transfers. Mom is doing well, the puppers are happily wrestling and raising a ruckus, the sun is shining (even if it is only 4 degrees and a winter storm warning is up for tomorrow)! Mom has decided that having greoceries delivered to the apartment door is a good thing, especially since she can call me the day after she does her shopping and I can order the forgotten items and not be driving in to take her shopping 2 or 3 days in a row. We did a grocery run yesterday, and I just now got off the phone with her and have ordered an even longer list of forgotten groceries to be delivered later today. I'm trying to get a master list of grocery items Mom gets regularly to use as a check off for making grocery lists. Thank goodness for Walmart+ providing free delivery and shipping, that alone pays for the membership fee for me.
Carole—I'm keeping an eye out for more postings hoping DH did and is doing very well after surgery.
--OK, I see DH finally got in and got surgery done. So far, so good.
--up to Day 3, sounds like things are progressing well and DH is able to be up and move around
--oh no! Recovery complicated by no water is No Fun! Glad you had people around who could help.
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Chi—ice hockey in the streets? Sure you aren't in Maine? Happy Belated Birthday Greetings!
Miriandra—interesting sounding movie!
Wally—sounds like a yummy and easy dinner you had going!
Reader—LOL at DH "heroically" drinking the other half of your pino grigio!
Chi—times really have changed when it comes to surgery. When I graduated from nursing school patient were still being admitted to the hospital days before surgery in order to have all the testing done, or at the very least the day before surgery. I remember the uproar and all the discussion when admitting patients the morning of surgery rather than the day before was first proposed. "How can we make sure the patient doesn't eat or drink after midnight?" "How can we make sure the patient is here and ready when the operating room is ready so we don't have delays? " And then the same uproar when discharging patients the day after or same day as surgery. Nurses were really up at arms about sending people home before being sure their pain was under control and their bowels had moved. Things truly have changed, and very profoundly.
Minus—stopping at one glass of a good wine is a real challenge sometimes!
Miriandra—oh dear, having a fridge die is a real problem. At least it being winter does make it a bit easier to cope. I have never heard of needing to call a tech immediately after getting a call that they are on their way in order to not be skipped over. That just doesn't sound right to me. But, as you say, not much we can do, they have all the power in this situation.
Wally—what an a$$hat your neighbor really is! Why is he shining his flashlight into your driveway to begin with? Why is it OK for him to be checking out your driveway but not for you to be aware of when your driveway is being checked out?
Chi—while I am in favor of preserving historic architecture and landmarks, I cringe at the restrictive rules that get applied. Sometimes they just don't make sense. I'm glad you can get a composite deck.
Rischaller—LOVE the description of Malört!
Jazzy—sorry to hear the job is not going as well as deisired. Hugs.
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Saturn Cocktail
Ingredients
1 1/4 ounces gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 ounce passion fruit syrup*
1/4 ounce falernum
1/4 ounce orgeat
Garnish: edible flower
Garnish: orange twist
Steps
Add the gin, lemon juice, passion fruit syrup, falernum and orgeat to a blender with crushed ice, and blend until smooth.
Pour unstrained into a Tiki mug or highball glass.
Garnish with an edible flower and an orange twist.
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NM - It was a real treat to log in this morning & see your post. SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad to have you back. Glad Mom is agreeing to some grocery delivery.
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I repeat Minus's remarks. It's so good to read a post from you, NM. That's wonderful that your mom is getting grocery delivery, especially with winter weather.
DH is continuing to do well. He rarely uses the walker now but does have it near the bed at night in case he needs to get up. He still spends most of the day in his recliner, watching some tv and taking naps. Today I took him to PT at 9am and afterwards to a barber shop.
And I finally got back to the gym today.
I meant to get to Costco's and buy a bottle of their Kirkland vodka. Instead I ended up buying more Tito's at Sam's Club. I have been drinking Tito's the last year. In this warm weather my pre-dinner cocktail is a vodka martini with lots of olives.
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Carole: Glad to hear DH is continually doing better. Funny about the seasonal drinks. When it's warm, I drink gin & tonic. When it's cold, I drink Gentleman Jack bourbon with water. My drinking is disjointed lately since it's 78 one day and 58 the next.
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Early in the day I decide to skip my evening cocktail. Then when cocktail time comes, my decision falls apart. There is so much anti-alcohol sentiment out there in the health columns.
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I'm still on red wine. I have oodles and oodles of spirits to choose from, but mainly stick to wine. It will be a Petite Sirah (Bogle) tonight.
Carole, I take all of the "health columns" with a grain of salt. These are the same people who pushed low fat and claimed saturated fat is bad. Nope. I think excess of anything is never ideal. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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And I'm agreeing about excess. I have a cocktail before dinner. Sometimes I have wine instead. I have no intention of giving up either.
What I keep thinking I should stop is the small 2 oz shot of some interesting liquor that I often have before bed. But it clears my throat & my sinuses so… I just bought some Sambuca. I haven't had any of that since my BFF died in 2005 & wanted to see if I remembered correctly. There a definite licorice taste, but it is a clear liquor so goes down very smoothly. Also want to buy some Metaxa - a Greek "brandy" that my first husband used to drink and I wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate. And I just bought another bottle of Kavanaugh Salted Carmel Irish Whisky.
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Good Morning,Loungettes! Happy TGIF Day! Finally gotthe new desktop completely set up and all the old files and such migrated overand found. There for a while yesterday I was not sure I hadn't lost all my oldfiles that were on the C drive of the old desktop, but I did finally stumbleacross them and got them moved to where I can access them without going througha whole series of clicks and such. I've got to admit I really like the olderway of accessing drives right from the start screen better than the newer wayof having everything but iCloud hidden away somewhere.
Well, we didn't getthe inches and inches of snow yesterday that was predicted, but we did getquite a bit of sleet and freezing rain that created all kinds of chaos. I'mglad I didn't have to go out in that mess. I was listening to the scanner offand on yesterday and I think I heard reports of at least 3 accidents withfatalities.
I spent a good par tof yesterday setting up Mom's bill pay through her bank. I went into bank a few days ago to get help logging in to her account and discovered why I couldn't doit from home--it doesn't say when it wanted my info like SSN and email, and when it wanted Mom's, and then I had to put in a control number that only the bank has! Apparently that is a security measure to ensure my identity when accessing her account as I am not the primary account holder. Which makes perfect sense to me, and I was glad to hear about it as I am trying to make sure that everything I do with any of Mom's money is totally above board and legit.
The puppers are being very quick with the outside trips today, not surprising given the temp is only 17 degrees and we have a wind advisory with 16 mph gusting to 37mph giving wind chill factors from -17 to -20. I certainly don't plant to spend any time outside today!
od to finally be back to my usual routine. The laptop was nice enough, but the desktop is much more comfortable to work at.
Carole--glad to hear the DH is continuing to progress, and that you finally got some time for yourself. I was reading a comparison of gin brands recently and Costo'sKirkland brand was rated pretty highly, right up with some of the top shelfbrands. I hope the same holds for thevodka, too. The National Cancer Institute reports that ethanol in alcoholicdrinks metabolizes to acetaldehyde, which is toxic and possibly carcinogenic,but doesn't explain why acetaldehyde metabolized from alcohol is more toxicthat acetaldehyde metabolized from vinegar, yogurt, cheese, sour cream, fish,soy, pickled or canned veggies, coffee, bread, or ripe fruits. Seems likethere's no getting away from acetaldehyde!
Wally--I'm with you, avoiding excesses is the way to go. I just found out that limiting the number of eggs eaten to reduce cholesterol levels was dropped from nutrition recommendations in 2021!
Minus--I've not tasted Sambuca yet, but want to. I had a friend/coworker that drank Sambuca at social functions, one little glass lasted her an entire evening and I could see her getting more relaxed with each tiny sip!If it helps you sleep, I say go for it.
Sambuca Blue Cocktail
In a highball glass, pour 1 oz of sambuca, vodka, and blue curacao, ⅔ oz Bailey’s Irish Cream, along with a dash of clear sugar syrup and lime cordial, each. Stir gently. Add crushed ice, and fill the rest with carbonated water. The drink should look blue. Enjoy the taste with a wedge of lemon.
From< >
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I had chardonnay last night instead of my martini. May do the same tonight.
Happy Valentine's Day. I bought some dark chocolate Easter candy favorites for our Valentine's treat. Elmer's Candy Company is in our area and for many years had made Gold Brick eggs and Heavenly Hash eggs for Easter. We like both in dark chocolate.
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GoodMorning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday!Colder than a witches tit today, with a snow/ice storm coming in overnight andlast all day tomorrow, so going to be an interesting weekend. Just spent anhour and 8 minutes on the phone with Mom, she needs bread, coffee, lettuce, andtoilet paper delivered today. I'm waiting until noontime to put the order inbecause I know she will think of something else and call and ask me to add itto the list in the next hour or so. Atleast she is consistent!
I'vegot the new desktop set up on a new table to replace the old desk that isnearly as dead as the laptop and Zoe has decided that going under it and thenleaning up against my legs so the chair rolls backwards is a fun new game.Can't blame her, she gets attention pretty regularly with that little trick asI have to pet her to get her to move so I can pull the chair back to the table.Just goes to show how quickly and easily I can be trained, I guess. Colt seemshappy with the new set up, he get the recliner all to himself while I'm on thedesktop!
Carole--chardonnayscan be very nice to drink! I had to look up Elmer's candy, I had never heard ofHeavenly Hash or Goldbrick Eggs. Theyboth look very yummy.
Heavenly Cocktail
Ingredients
- Gin: 2 oz(60ml)
- Elderflower liqueur: 1 oz(30ml)
- Lemon juice: 0.75 oz(23ml)
- Simple syrup: 0.5 oz(15ml)
- Egg white: 1
- Prosecco: 1 oz(30ml)
- Edible gold leaf: 1
- Lemon twist: 1
How to make HeavenlyDrink
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
- Add the egg white and perform a dry shake (without ice) for about 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white.
- Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously for another 15-20 seconds.
- Strain the mixture into a chilled coupe glass.
- Top with prosecco and gently stir to combine.
- Carefully place the edible gold leaf on the surface of the cocktail.
- Garnish with a lemon twist, artfully positioned on the rim of the glass.
From < >
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I scanned the bar codes of my Elmer's dark chocolate eggs with my WW app. Yuck!!!! To eat one of each on the same day comes close to my allotment of "points!" LOL. Or CryOutLoud. Not really a surprise.
I had a household crisis with a water leak under the sink yesterday so chardonnay wasn't my drink last night. I had an old-fashioned with my much-liked Woodford Reserve bourbon. Nurse Carole had to transition into Plumber Carole. I might have to hire out as a Handy Woman.
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I opened a California brut for Valentine's day, to go with my duck. Never had this happen before…1/2 the bottle just fizzed out…all over the counter, floor, blah, blah. So we had a glass each and that was the bottle.
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