Thursday, April 5, 2007

Dice-K Mania!

Well it seems the hype was justified, at least fo the first start. Daisuke Matsuzaka made his first start of the spring today, and was DOMINANT. His line was as follows:

7IP 6H 1ER 1BB 10K

Matsuzaka, who wasn't satisfied with his spring-training performances, threw 74 of 108 pitches for strikes. The 26-year-old right-hander, 108-60 with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts for the Seibu Lions, did not have to face two of Kansas City's top hitters: Mike Sweeney and Mark Grudzielanek were given the day off following a night game. That said it was a promising beginning for the pitcher. The Red Sox won, 4-1.


TomC

Gurkha Grand Master Dos Capas

8½" X 52, Dos Capas (Natural & Cameroon "Barber Pole")

Judging by the Cigar International Print, this cigar should be amazing:

"In a word: Sublime.

This monstrous vitola - a small-batch Gurkha blend presumptuously entitled "Grand Master" - is a majestic 8.5”x52 in size. Most uniquely, the Grand Master offers “dos capas,” or two wrappers, draped around the cigar in a distinctive barber pole fashion. It's far from a novelty though: this 2-hour smoke has a tendency to impress the most jaded among us.

Despite its imposing size, this refined and mellow blend is less the big hairy monster and more the dashing young gent. You see, the interplay of true Cameroon leaf together with a well-cured, dark Habana 2000 wrapper leaf imparts a very polished and subtle taste - almost graceful - yet with a zesty, medium-bodied, slightly nutty character.

A mere 40,000 sticks rolled per year."

Hmmm. . . Isn't advertising great? Lets get into the reality of the situation. This cigar was a pretty looking, if imposing beast of a cigar. The Dos Capas wrapper effect is quite cool looking, there is not doubt. This cigar clipped easily and the draw was smooth and forgiving, which sometimes can be a problem with cigars of this size. Personally speaking, I will have to say I wish the gauge was a bit smaller, as I found ti to be a bit cumbersome to smoke. I am not sure its possible to be of lesser gauge and not hurt the draw, but it would be nice if it was. Burn wise, it occasionally had issue but nothing major or terribly derogatory to the experience, and you kinda expect a few small runs in a stogie of this size. Regarding the flavor, this cigar was thoroughly. . . . . . . .okay. It had some nice tangy flavor indicative of Cameroon wrappers and some refined (if not terribly flavorful) smoothness of a decent natural wrapper but the first full 4", year half of the cigar, was quite unimpressive. The last three inches or so got better, with some notes of Cinnamon and earthiness, and a late burst or two of pepper, but by then I had been smoking this cigar for a LONG time, and it just wasn't enough of a payoff. Note to Gurkha: you may wanna consider making these as rothchilds instead.

TomC

Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year 86 proof



Alright I went all out on this one, Tasting at both full strength and diluted. You wouldn’t think that a bourbon at lower proofs such as this one would produce anything different diluted, but it kinda did. Anyway, here goes:

Name (full): Ancient Ancient Age Full 10 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 86

Approximate Mash bill: 80% Corn 10% Rye 10% Malted Barley (the information I have says all Buffalo Trace products have this mash bill, is this so?)

Bottle: I wonder if this is what you guys were discussing when you were talking about the “Old Fashioned Ugly Bottles” in earlier posts. On the surface it is an odd and awkward combination of colors but it has a certain charm about it. It is a square bottle with a 2 in smooth neck. The front label is that antiqued bronze/gold color with “Ancient Ancient Age” Emblazoned across the top in black (except the 3 A’s, which are red). Along the sides it says “Distilling Since 1869” and “Genuine Sour Mash”, which I find interesting, how some bourbons feel the need to say that while others don’t. In small print along the bottom it reads “Carefully distilled along the banks of the Kentucky River according to the finest old traditions.”. On the back it says that it is Distilled, Aged, & Bottled By the Ancient Age Distilling Co., Frankfort KY.

Color: A Very Pleasant Shade of Ruddy Amber

Nose: Initially ~Burt Sugar, Underside Of a Log/Wet Wood, Bitter Chocolate, then a little peach/melon, candied oranges, clove, rich flowers. Diluted ~ Pleasant/Green like flower stalks, then cinnamon, vanilla cake.

Taste: Initially ~ At first leaves, oak, earthy and fresh/crisp, then Vanilla, Rye, Orange, Wet Wood/Tobacco. Diluted ~ the Vanilla in the nose is very evident here, along with the cinnamon, peaches (like canned I heavy syrup), tastes kinda like rich, fruity hard candies. Overall a lot more depth to this than I would have expected.

Mouth feel: Medium and mostly clean/and smooth. It was a little tingly around the edges the first sip, but it seemed to disappear as time wore on.

FINISH: This is where this stuff really shines. Medium long, and you can feel it all the way down. There is more Vanilla & Rye, and the aftertaste you are left with is amazing!

(note: it seemed to me that diluted, the sweetness really shined through, almost too cloying in fact, the aging seems to have balanced that out nicely undiluted.)

Conclusions: This stuff is a steal. From what I have been told, this is priced in the “everyday pour” section of the store. When I didn’t know this I commented to someone that I would easily pay the lower end of Small Batch pricing for this, maybe more ($20-$26ish) because in my mind it is clearly better than most of them. This bourbon has one of the best finishes of any I have tried so far. It’s a shame they don’t sell this stuff in Ohio, cause I would always have a bottle around. This could easily supplant Old Forester (which I still LOVE, btw) as my everyday pour here. One of the great joys to me about discovering & drinking bourbon is that even the VERY budget minded can drink a good spirit. This is a case & point. If it is available to you buy some now, get off the ‘puter & go already!!!!!!


TomC

Beckett Looks Promising.

(Beckett was effective in his first start.)
(Youkilis is congratulated after his two run, 7th Inning HR.)

As bad as they looked on Opening Day, the Red Sox looked promising today. Led by an effectively wild Josh Beckett (5IP, 2H, 1ER, 5K 4 BB), and a seventh inning HR by 1B Kevin Youkilis, the Sox defeated the Royals by the same score as they lost on Monday, 7-1. Thats more like the Sox we all know and love! Tomorrow the Sox & Royals wrap up the seasons first series as Zack Greinke faces the Boston rookie phenom and media sensation Daisuke (Dice-K) Matsuzaka. Should be interesting to see how his first real MLB start goes.


GO SOX!

TomC