A Cheesy Drunkard Post...
Well going to the movies didn't work out today. Ended up hanging out with my friend Yolanda (Yokie) and got some Chick-Fil-A.
BTW: what's the only thing better than a Chick-Fil-A sandwich? A FREE Chick-Fil-A sandwich!! I had a coupon for a free one. Man, I love that place...
Anyway...
So we went up to this very cool shop in Carmel called "Vine & Table". It's a pretty big place. Half is a upscale liquor store, the other half is a gourmet shop.
So I was walking about, trying to find something new to try. I was leaning towards buying a nice Armagnac, but those are pricier than my usual Makers Mark. And I'm not sure if I'd like it. In case you don't know, Armagnac is a type of brandy, similar in production to Cognac.
Quick aside: the "brandy" comes "brandy wine" from the literal translation of "burnt wine", referring to the distillation. I read some time ago it comes from the German word "Brandewine", but I just read that the word is actually something like "Weinbrandt" and that the Dutch word is closer to what I thought was the German word and that no one called it that until CHINESE folks were told how it was made and made up the term! So that's three or four completely different etymological origins... who knows what's actually correct?
ANYWAY... I asked one of their salesmen about Scotch. He told me to talk to this gent Denis, a nice Irishman who loves Scotches.
I told Denis that I loved Bookers and that my usual Bourbon whiskey was Maker's Mark. He pulled out this bottle...
It looked fancy and expensive. Denis didn't mention price, and (in retrospect) actually I'm quite glad. He poured a bit and it was vaguely... pink.
Pink. Yup. Pink. At first I was thinking... "Pink". I asked if I was seeing pink and he answered in the affirmative. So I'm thinking "I asked for Scotch and he's giving me... pink."
I picked up the glass and swirled it about to get a good whiff. It was light with just a hint of flowers. I took a sip.
Wow. This was amazing stuff. This whiskey had a floral note to it that was on the tongue just briefly before the whiskey flavour hit. Great soft flavour, very smooth. None of the "peat" taste I'd been told to expect.
Denis told me they aged this stuff for 12 years in used Bourbon barrels, then finished it in French red wine barrels. It didn't seem too potent an alcohol content, but it was very complex and flavourful. Something to bring out for someone you know has a taste for delicate and complex flavours. This is a whiskey for... well, me it turns out.
The stuff is $70 a bottle. But it's something that I'm going to probably pick up and keep on the shelf for a long time. Something to pull out on odd occasions when I want something really different.
Denis and I were yakking on and on about whiskeys and gin. Then I noticed how bored Yokie was, even though she was doing a good job of hiding it. So I decided to wrap things up. But I could have talked to Denis for a few more hours about the minutiae of liquors.
So that was cool. I bought some German digestifs, two Arturo Fuentes cigars (thanks JAC!),
and a bottle of Plymouth gin. (What I should have done is asked if they had the big bottle of Maker's, since that's what I've had a real taste for lately. All they had on the shelf was the normal, smaller one.)
Then we went next door to the gourmet shop.
I've been wanting some good sharp cheddar for a while now. I don't know why, I don't care. So I was trying to find a good cheese. While browsing and finding some other cool items like sweet hot sauce, I watched an older gentleman behind the counter working on a wheel of cheese. This thing was huge. It had "Parmigiano-Reggiano" all over the round edges of the wheel. It looked like the words were made by punching little holes into the smooth outside of the cheese rind.
He was really working to get this thing open, too. First, he garroted the thing. Then he got to the real work. Now, I had never tried the stuff. I see Giada on Everyday Italian use the stuff all the time. And I priced it to see how much it would cost to make my own homemade Alfredo Sauce. It's usually $15/lb when I see it in stores. So I asked him how much a wheel cost. He said "$1200". He said he had 80 lbs in that wheel. That math is just about right.
Yokie said "I've never tried that. Do you have samples?" The old man said "I will if I can get this open!" So we laughed and continued shopping.
Last time I went in there, they had a really good artichoke dip for crackers or veggies for sampling. I saw a similar-looking bowl out this time so I went it for a taste. It was something with a very, very strong sour cream flavour. Sour cream tends to trigger my gag reflex. So while I was wiping off my tongue and eating pretzel chips to get that foul taste off of my palate the cheese guy came over with a napkin in hand.
And on the napkin was... the cheese. Quite a bit too. Yokie started taking the top piece for herself, but the guy said "No, take all of it." So we did.
And I was in CHEESE HEAVEN. As in, this cheese HAS to be in Heaven. It was amazing. It was pretty grainy in texture so it ran over my tongue in an odd but good way. And its tastes were fruity and nutty and just very deep in flavour. How does cheese get fruit and nut tastes? Really, I don't care. I am just really glad that it did.
I can see why folks would pay $15/lb for cheese. I never knew before. Now I do. I still have this wonderful cheese taste lingering in my mouth after at least two hours have gone by. After I ate my second Chick-Fil-A sandwich too.
I can't wait to go back. That store is awesome. Even if it is hugely expensive just to look around. Heck, I somehow bought a pack of $5 chocolate peanut clusters I didn't even see, let alone intend to pay for! I guess I should count my blessings. It could have been a can of caviar.
All in all, I'm glad the movie show times didn't mix with Yokie's evening plans.
BTW: what's the only thing better than a Chick-Fil-A sandwich? A FREE Chick-Fil-A sandwich!! I had a coupon for a free one. Man, I love that place...
Anyway...
So we went up to this very cool shop in Carmel called "Vine & Table". It's a pretty big place. Half is a upscale liquor store, the other half is a gourmet shop.
So I was walking about, trying to find something new to try. I was leaning towards buying a nice Armagnac, but those are pricier than my usual Makers Mark. And I'm not sure if I'd like it. In case you don't know, Armagnac is a type of brandy, similar in production to Cognac.
Quick aside: the "brandy" comes "brandy wine" from the literal translation of "burnt wine", referring to the distillation. I read some time ago it comes from the German word "Brandewine", but I just read that the word is actually something like "Weinbrandt" and that the Dutch word is closer to what I thought was the German word and that no one called it that until CHINESE folks were told how it was made and made up the term! So that's three or four completely different etymological origins... who knows what's actually correct?
ANYWAY... I asked one of their salesmen about Scotch. He told me to talk to this gent Denis, a nice Irishman who loves Scotches.
I told Denis that I loved Bookers and that my usual Bourbon whiskey was Maker's Mark. He pulled out this bottle...
It looked fancy and expensive. Denis didn't mention price, and (in retrospect) actually I'm quite glad. He poured a bit and it was vaguely... pink.
Pink. Yup. Pink. At first I was thinking... "Pink". I asked if I was seeing pink and he answered in the affirmative. So I'm thinking "I asked for Scotch and he's giving me... pink."
I picked up the glass and swirled it about to get a good whiff. It was light with just a hint of flowers. I took a sip.
Wow. This was amazing stuff. This whiskey had a floral note to it that was on the tongue just briefly before the whiskey flavour hit. Great soft flavour, very smooth. None of the "peat" taste I'd been told to expect.
Denis told me they aged this stuff for 12 years in used Bourbon barrels, then finished it in French red wine barrels. It didn't seem too potent an alcohol content, but it was very complex and flavourful. Something to bring out for someone you know has a taste for delicate and complex flavours. This is a whiskey for... well, me it turns out.
The stuff is $70 a bottle. But it's something that I'm going to probably pick up and keep on the shelf for a long time. Something to pull out on odd occasions when I want something really different.
Denis and I were yakking on and on about whiskeys and gin. Then I noticed how bored Yokie was, even though she was doing a good job of hiding it. So I decided to wrap things up. But I could have talked to Denis for a few more hours about the minutiae of liquors.
So that was cool. I bought some German digestifs, two Arturo Fuentes cigars (thanks JAC!),
and a bottle of Plymouth gin. (What I should have done is asked if they had the big bottle of Maker's, since that's what I've had a real taste for lately. All they had on the shelf was the normal, smaller one.)
Then we went next door to the gourmet shop.
I've been wanting some good sharp cheddar for a while now. I don't know why, I don't care. So I was trying to find a good cheese. While browsing and finding some other cool items like sweet hot sauce, I watched an older gentleman behind the counter working on a wheel of cheese. This thing was huge. It had "Parmigiano-Reggiano" all over the round edges of the wheel. It looked like the words were made by punching little holes into the smooth outside of the cheese rind.
He was really working to get this thing open, too. First, he garroted the thing. Then he got to the real work. Now, I had never tried the stuff. I see Giada on Everyday Italian use the stuff all the time. And I priced it to see how much it would cost to make my own homemade Alfredo Sauce. It's usually $15/lb when I see it in stores. So I asked him how much a wheel cost. He said "$1200". He said he had 80 lbs in that wheel. That math is just about right.
Yokie said "I've never tried that. Do you have samples?" The old man said "I will if I can get this open!" So we laughed and continued shopping.
Last time I went in there, they had a really good artichoke dip for crackers or veggies for sampling. I saw a similar-looking bowl out this time so I went it for a taste. It was something with a very, very strong sour cream flavour. Sour cream tends to trigger my gag reflex. So while I was wiping off my tongue and eating pretzel chips to get that foul taste off of my palate the cheese guy came over with a napkin in hand.
And on the napkin was... the cheese. Quite a bit too. Yokie started taking the top piece for herself, but the guy said "No, take all of it." So we did.
And I was in CHEESE HEAVEN. As in, this cheese HAS to be in Heaven. It was amazing. It was pretty grainy in texture so it ran over my tongue in an odd but good way. And its tastes were fruity and nutty and just very deep in flavour. How does cheese get fruit and nut tastes? Really, I don't care. I am just really glad that it did.
I can see why folks would pay $15/lb for cheese. I never knew before. Now I do. I still have this wonderful cheese taste lingering in my mouth after at least two hours have gone by. After I ate my second Chick-Fil-A sandwich too.
I can't wait to go back. That store is awesome. Even if it is hugely expensive just to look around. Heck, I somehow bought a pack of $5 chocolate peanut clusters I didn't even see, let alone intend to pay for! I guess I should count my blessings. It could have been a can of caviar.
All in all, I'm glad the movie show times didn't mix with Yokie's evening plans.
posted by mmaier2112 at 7:25 PM
4 Comments:
Dude... what was the scotch?
As for the parmigiano, it is one of two famous products from Parma, which is close to the epicenter of Italian cusine (many would say that it is Bologna, where from we get ragu). The crystals in parmagiano are a sign that it is properly aged and they are really the best part.
The other famous product from Parma is prosciutto di'Parma, which is a type of cured ham that is sliced thin and often served with wedges of cantaloupe. I no longer eat the flesh of mammals, and I confess that prosciutto is my greatest regret.
Enjoy.
Denis told me the name of that Scotch and I promptly forgot it. But I remember his name and I'm sure he'll remember which one it was.
I'm getting a lot of overtime checks lately so I think I'll pick it up in two weeks. I spent too much on myself this payday to justify it. I'll post on it again if I remember.
I cannot get over that cheese though. I feel silly raving about cheese, but that was just too dang good. I'm racking my brain on what recipe I should make with it.
I'm racking my brain on what recipe I should make with it.
What? You know how pizzerias put Parmesan on every table? That is their pale approximation of vero parmigiano.
It goes on most pastas (tomato or cream based sauce), risoto, many meat dishes, and, as you discovered, it is great by itself, after dinner (instead of dessert).
Try it with a powerful red wine, like a good vapolicella or a chianti. Mmmmmn.
Beg Nate and Jac to let you tag on their motocicleta tour of bell'Italia. Unbelievable food if you avoid the tourist traps and go to good restaurants in the small towns (or pay big money at the touristy towns). It helps to know some locals... perhaps Vox could give some tips.
Really though, if you go to Italy, do not miss Rome. Spend at least three days.
That sounds cool and I'd love to do it myself. But I think the C boys are just as likely as not to start an international incident!
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