Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage \'90

(yes I realize this is a 1993 vintage bottle, but dammit the 1990 bottle looks the same!)

Name (full): Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 1990

Barreled Date: September 18, 1990

Barrel #: 343

Proof: 86.6

Price: $23.10 @ Marion County State Store, Marion, OH.

Bottle: A Sleek , Curvaceous, black wax sealed bottle with a minimalist label. The front says “Kentucky’s Firsts Distiller: Put in Oak in the Autumn of 1990”. The Back label explains the Integrity of a Single Barrel Bourbon & then there is the hand written barrel date and #. It says “Distilled & Bottled by Old Evan Williams Distillery, Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky 40004.”.

Color: A very pretty red toned amber. Quite Inviting.

Mash Bill: From what I can gather all Heaven Hill Bourbons are Corn 75% Rye 13% Malted Barley 12%.

Nose: Maple, Mint, Damp Wood, Wispy Smoke, Pine Knotholes, Burnt Sap. . . At the same time fresh & grassy-like.

Taste: Subtle. Some of the smoke and Pine carry over. As well as Baked Apples and sap. I hate to use the work cause I think it is silly, but this bourbon is SPRIGHTLY , in a good way. The tastes are hard to describe, but refreshing.

Finish: Medium, but coating and pleasant. Quite yummy. (maybe just a little too short for me).
Mouth feel: Medium but not very viscous smooth and pleasant, refreshing.

Conclusions:.
First I gotta say I had one helluva time with this tasting and that I am still not satisfied with it but will have to be, because after 6 different tasting samples, the bottle is now empty !!!!! That said, I really enjoyed this bourbon because it is a decided break from almost all the other bourbons that I have bought so far. This Is a good example of how there are bourbons for just about every mood. There are some days when you just don’t want Huge and Creamy like Woodford Reserve or something with a bunch of big flavors, like Elijah Craig 12, and on those days this bourbon is the thing for me. It is really a good refreshing bourbon to have on warm summer days, who says whiskey can’t adapt to the heat.


So I Hope I didn't blow it totally,



TomC

Padron 1926 Serie No. 35

4 X 47 Sun Grown Maduro

I finally got an opportunity to try one of these cigars! Among the cigar lovers I associate/speak with, very few lines of cigars generate quite as much positive reviews/hype as the Padron 1926 line, which intrigued me more than even the line itself. I have long wondered whether my personal experience regarding this stogie would be as transcendant as everyone elses. Well now I had the chance to find out.

One of the first thing that strikes you about this ciagr is something common to every Padron Cigar I have had, no makker what the price point. Impeccable construction. I have never had a Padron cigar that has ever looked shoddy or burned badly because of a construction problem. (I once had one that was plugged very early on in my smoking experience, but upon further review, decided that was a storage issue by the local B & M and not Padrons fault). This one was no different. A rich dark Chocolate brown wrapper adorns this firm box pressed gem. It burned razor straight and produced a firm holding ash as pure as the driven snow. It made for a beautiful contrast. The draw was easy but not oo much so, procduce a volumnous amount of snow. This cigar also burned quite cool which helped in the appreciation of the subtle nuances involved.

This cigars is mighty effing tasty. It just needed said. it started a little spicy (and woody, cedar notes maybe?) but after 1/2 inch it was rich and creamy and full, chocolate and cinnamon, almost drinkable. about halfway it built steam and gained strength with some tobaccoey depth and leather, but never reliquishing that Mocha Creamy taste. The beauty of this cigar is the experience was in constant flux, always lovely little notes waftng in and out, but built on this lovely creamy unchanging base. One thing I was worried about at first was that this 4 inch cigar would be too fleeting an experience, but at one hour and fifteen minutes, it wound up being a long languid experience.

Nedless to say, this is one true gem of a cigar that lives up to every last bit of the hype. If you get a chance to try one, do not pass it up.

TomC

The 66th Best TEAM!

We now have the winner of the Men's NIT Tournament, the 66th best team in the country:

The University of West Virginia Mountianeers! They managed to defeat the Clemson Tigers 78-73, to win the tourney. Now lets hear it everyone!


YAAAAAAAWN!

TomC

Why Being a Video Game Geek Isn't Too Bad After All...(Part Trois)

G4 seems to have the formula down. Gaming and tech info, and lovely ladies:

Morgan Ailis Webb (born October 5, 1978, near Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is co-host and senior segment producer of the G4 television program X-Play and "The Gaming Goddess" of FHM, where she used to contribute a monthly video game column.

Kristin Holt (born August 17, 1981 in Plano, TX) is a television personality and entertainment news correspondent. She is most noted as the current host of G4's Cheat!, a television show dedicated to video game cheats and strategies; she also substitutes hosting roles for the network's other shows. She also was an American Idol semi-finalist during its first season. In the second season of American Idol, she was hired by FOX to replace Brian Dunkleman as co-host, however, on premiere night, she found out that the producers edited most of her footage out of the show, and she was later credited as correspondent for the show instead.
Blair Butler (born in Fairway, Kansas) is a dedicated comic book aficionado, a stand-up comic, and a host for a segment called Fresh Ink on the G4 program, Attack of the Show. Butler is also a stand-up comedian featured on Premium Blend on Comedy Central and appeared in the Top 10 Games special on MTV.


TomC

Tessie - Dropkick Murphys

"Tessie" is the title of a Broadway song, as well as another song about how the singing of "Tessie" helped the Boston Red Sox win the first World Series in 1903. The name Tessie itself is a diminutive form used with several names, including Esther, Tess, and Theresa.

The original version of "Tessie (You Are the Only, Only, Only)" was written by Will R. Anderson and was featured in the Broadway musical The Silver Slipper, which ran for 160 performances between October 27, 1902 and March 14, 1903. The song was about a woman singing to her beloved parakeet "Tessie".

While a popular tune, the song gained greater notoriety when it was adopted as a rallying cry by the Royal Rooters, a collection of loyal Southie fans led by Michael "Nuff Said" McGreevy, owner of the 3rd Base saloon. (McGreevy earned his nickname "'Nuff Said" due to the way he kept peace in his bar; when he grew frustrated with arguments over the Red Sox and the Boston Braves, he would pound his hand on the bar and declare "Nuff Said!") Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, was another member of the Royal Rooters.

After the first four games of the 1903 World Series, Boston was down 1-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. (It was a best of 9 series; 5 wins were needed to win the series.) The Royal Rooters began rallying their team with every song they could think of; ultimately "Tessie" helped win the day. Pittsburgh outfielder Tommy Leach credited at least part of Boston's win to "that damn 'Tessie' song." He continued: "It was a real hum-dinger of a song, but it sort of got on your nerves after a while." (Boston won Game 5 and went on to win Games 6, 7, and 8 to win the series 5–3; however, Boston only won two out of four at home and three of four at Pittsburgh, so the true impact of their home-town fans' song is uncertain.) There are stories that the Royal Rooters actually traveled to Pittsburgh and hired a band to play Tessie to annoy the Pirates even at their home field.

The chorus to the original "Tessie" goes:

Tessie, you make me feel so badly.
Why don't you turn around?
Tessie, you know I love you madly.
Babe, my heart weighs about a pound.
Don't blame me if I ever doubt you,
You know I wouldn't live without you.
Tessie, you are the only, only, only.

In 2004, the Boston-area punk rock group Dropkick Murphys recorded a cover of "Tessie," released on an EP of the same name. The Murphys said it was their intent to "bring back the spirit of the Rooters and to put the Red Sox back on top." The goal of the Murphys was realized when later that year the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The song is also featured as the bonus track on their June, 2005 release, "The Warrior's Code" with a lead-in from the WEEI broadcast of the final play in the 2004 World Series:

"Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship. Can you believe it?" -Joe Castiglione

The second "Tessie" — which featured backing vocals from Red Sox players Johnny Damon, Bronson Arroyo, and Lenny DiNardo, Red Sox Vice President of Public Affairs Dr. Charles Steinberg; and Boston Herald sportswriter Jeff Horrigan (who co-wrote the new lyrics with the Murphys) — has become a theme song for the Red Sox and tells the story of how the Royal Rooters stormed the park one time when they found the game was already sold out:

The Rooters showed up at the grounds one day
Found their seats had all been sold
McGreevy led the charge into the park
Stormed the gates and put the game on hold

The chorus to the Dropkick Murphys' version of "Tessie" goes:

"Tessie, 'nuff said" McGreevy shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only, only, only




Enjoy and GO SOX!

TomC

Former Sox Pitcher Ugueth Urbina Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

Thanks, Bloomberg News Service.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five workers on his family's ranch in Venezuela.

Urbina, who last pitched in the majors for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005, also was convicted of illegal deprivation of liberty during the dispute over a gun he owned, a spokesman for the Caracas-based Attorney General's office said.

Urbina, 32, has denied being part of a group of men that attacked workers with machetes at his family's ranch on Oct. 16, 2005.

His agent, Peter Greenberg, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Efforts to reach his lawyer were unsuccessful.

The two-time All-Star compiled 44 wins, 49 losses and 237 saves in 11 seasons with the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia during his career.


Urbina played with the Red Sox in 2002.

TomC

A Random Poem Written By Jack Kerouac

A woman is beautiful
but
you have to swing
and swing and swing
and swing like
a handkerchief in the
wind.

And a poem I enjoy quite a bit. For those of you who do not know:

Jack Kerouac (Jean Louis Lebris de Kerouac) (pronounced [dʒæk ˈkɛɹəwæk]) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist. He was part of the Beat Generation.

While enjoying popularity but little critical success during his own lifetime, Kerouac is now considered one of America's most important and influential authors. The spontaneous, confessional prose style inspired other writers and musicians, including Tom Robbins, Lester Bangs, Richard Brautigan, Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. Kerouac's best known works are On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur and Visions of Cody.

He divided most of his adult life between roaming the vast American landscape and living with his mother. Faced with a changing country, Kerouac sought to find his place, eventually rejecting the values of the Fifties. His writing often reflects a desire to break free from society's structures and to find meaning in life.

This search led him to experiment with drugs and to embark on trips around the world. His books are often credited as the catalyst for the 1960s counterculture. Kerouac died in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of forty-seven from an internal hemorrhage caused by his chronic alcoholism. He is buried in his hometown of Lowell, MA.

That last fact is quite important to me on a personal level, because like Jack, I grew up as a French Canadian Catholic in Lowell. The fact that someone from my town was so successful and culturally significant in the field of literature sparked in me a love of reading and writing that continues to this day. Though not my FAVORITE author per se, at one point I owned just about every piece of minutiae he published, as a badge of honor for being from the same town. Alas most of this is lost, though my appreciation of his work will never be.

TomC

Cusano 18 Maduro Robusto

I just though I would write a few quick things, to share with you the weird little cigar I sampled recently, the Cusano 18 Maduro. This was one rustic looking stogie, let me tell you, It looked like something directly out of a Clint Eastwood movie. It lit and burned adequately though, so overall it kind of enhanced the experience I had. This cigar was about as dry tasting as any cigar I have ever tried. Not even the tiniest hint of sweetness was present. Notes of french roasted coffee, oak and cedar, and peppery spice were the most evident. It was wild, I have never tasted anything quite like it, as almost every cigar I have tasted in the 5 year I have enjoyed this hobby has had at least some tiny level of sweetness to it. Not this case. I have a hard time recommending it to someone because even though I liked it, it is impossible for me to adequately convey what to expect. If you want to try a medium bodied cigar unlike anything else you have had, give this one a shot.

TomC

Charmed

Charmed is an American television series that ran for eight seasons on The WB. It was produced by Aaron Spelling and is about three sisters who are the world's most powerful good witches, known throughout the supernatural community as "The Charmed Ones" but known to everyone else as the Halliwells. Each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve over the course of their lives. The Charmed Ones live together in a manor and use their supernatural abilities to battle the warlocks, demons and other evil forces that populate San Francisco, California.

The show was the last in its generation of supernatural-themed shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Roswell, and has many times been noted for its mixing of multiple genres (from horror and fantasy to comedy and even soap), as well as continuing after a number of archetypal jump the shark moments, most famously the departure of one of the leading actresses at the end of season three.

But blah de blah. Most male fans watched the show because of the female dominated cast, whic included Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Shannen Doherty (for a time), Rose McGowan (after Doherty), and towards the end of the show, Kaley Cuoco as main characters. The show seemed to get them in all kinds of silly frivolous situations, and generally showed little concern for realism or legitimacy. If you can catch it on syndication, its a decent way to pass the time.

TomC

Trey Anastasio Charged With Drug Posession

Trey Anastasio pleaded not guilty today (Feb. 27) in Ft. Edward, N.Y., to drug charges stemming from a Dec. 15 traffic stop and was released on bail.

The former Phish frontman, of Richmond, Vt., is charged with felony counts of illegally possessing prescription painkillers and driving while impaired. He is also charged with possessing heroin and an anti-anxiety medication prescribed for someone else, which are misdemeanors.

He could get 14 years in prison if convicted on all counts. All the charges, though, carry minimum sentences that involve no incarceration.

Anastasio, who appeared in court to enter the plea, agreed to a pre-plea investigation that will help the court get to know him better "and help you resolve your case," according to Judge Kelly McKeighan.

Attorney Steve Coffey said Anastasio, 42, has a drug problem and is seeking treatment. He attended a 28-day treatment program in January and is attempting to overcome his addiction, Coffey said. "He has a problem, he knows it and is working with it," Coffey said.

Coffey also said Anastasio instructed him not to fight the charges. "He told me, 'I'm here to face the consequences and work it out with the court and go on with my life,'" Coffey said.

Anastasio and his wife, Susan, left without commenting to a crowd of media. He is scheduled to return to court March 27.


I really have to say (though I didn't Blog about it earlier) that when I first heard about this, I was taken aback. I really though that, despite the hippy connotation of the band Phish, that they were all fairly clean. I hope that his efforts to get clean really work, and that because it seems he didn't harm anyone that he does not get into too much trouble.

TomC

Men's Final Four Set

Well I just wanted to do another quick mens tournament update, as the "Final Four " field is now set. In games to be played in Atlanta this weekend, Florida will play UCLA, and (in a clash of two great big men) the Ohio State Buckeyes will play the Hoyas of Georgetown University.

GO BUCKS!

TomC

Feeding the Beast

Sometimes your morals have to be put on hold for practical reasons. Silly things like food, and the rent check become more important. I am not a fan of the company but they are the only job offer I have recieved in 6 months. Forgive me if I Blog less because the gig is third shift, and I will need time to adjust to the schedule.

TomC