That´s it: "sherry casks", and I believe some are made in Galicia.Quote:
The Macallan is matured in sherry casks, they are made from oak,
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That´s it: "sherry casks", and I believe some are made in Galicia.Quote:
The Macallan is matured in sherry casks, they are made from oak,
I agree with the basic sentiment of what you say, but, personally, I think a true enthusiast would pay much moe for their audio system than a worthless piece of junk that is a car. Afterall, if ity were possible, many of us would sooner use public transport than a car, no ?
Anyway, I was without a car for 18 years. I didn't have any use fpr one. Now I drive to work everyday, because it's quicker; but my audios sytem, if I were to pay new prices cost much more than my car.
I have to add tha the discovery of the bereford Dac and the Technics sl1210 has severely dented that rationale.
regards
Peter
P.S. Just downed some very nice 2002 Coteaux du Languedoc ;)
Just enjoying a very nice glass of Marks And Spencer's Organic Ale, 6%. It really is top notch. I don't normally hold out much hope for own-brand beers, but this one is a real favourite...
:cheers: :cool:
Nice one, Beechy. I'll give it a go. I wonder if our resident expert connoisseur of fine ales, Mr Toy, has sampled that one? :cool:
Marco.
I guarantee; if you like strong beers, you'll love it. Let me know how you get on!
Not tried the M&S beer yet but I can thoroughly recommend some excellent red wines on special offer from Sainsbury's:
Roc De Lussac - 2006 Lussac Saint-Émilion (appellation Lussac Saint-Émilion contrôlée), reduced from £10.99 to £5.99 a bottle.
This is a stonkingly good claret with bags of depth and finesse which one expects of a good Saint-Émilion, and represents extraordinarily good value. I've paid three times that amount and more for claret and it's been no where near as good; one to savour. Ideal with a nice Sunday roast!
Another in a similar category is a 2004 Chateau Blaignan Médoc (appellation Médoc contrôlée), reduced from £9,99 to £4.99 a bottle. It doesn't quite have the silky finesse of the Lussac, but plenty of full-on tanins due to some decent bottle aging from a 2004 vintage. Again, this is a real bargain if you like good quality claret.
Last but most certainly not least is a very fine Tempranillo from the La Mancha area of Spain called Castillo De Calatrava, reduced from £9.99 to £4.99. This is a 1998 Gran Reserva (no less!) and is big, bold and juicy in the way of a top quality Rioja, with similar oaky vanilla overtones; great with a curry or perhaps a nice beef Wellington.
Anyway, I'd advise anyone interested in these wines to get along to their nearest Sainsbury's and snap them up because at those prices they're bound to sell out fast! :cheers:
Marco.
I'll go along with that! My wife Liz loves this particular red. It seems that Sainsbury's manage to do "1/2 price" reds that are really decent and yet the whites never really seem to measure up. I wonder why that is?Quote:
Last but most certainly not least is a very fine Tempranillo from the La Mancha area of Spain called Castillo De Calatrava, reduced from £9.99 to £4.99. This is a 1998 Gran Reserva (no less!) and is big, bold and juicy in the way of a top quality Rioja, with similar oaky vanilla overtones; great with a curry or perhaps a nice beef Wellington.
Cheers,
Tony
It's because all their bottle stoppers are taken up in your CDP and Dac :lolsign:
As italian I must suggest a bottle of Amarone from Verona, a superb red wine. Price is high but worth.
Everyone says Montepulciano but there is even a cheaper Montepulciano d'Abbruzzo that isn't so bad. These are some red wine hints.
Been downing Jacobs Creek 'Shiraz Cabernet' for the last fortnight.Does me at 14.0% but i frefer slightly weaker vol alchol..Used to 12-12.5% Vol.
River Cottage Stinger Ale (a nettle ale, subtle citrus flavour) - in conjunction with Badger Ales, 4.5%. Very tasty and great aroma too. A smorgasbord for the senses ;)
Mine's a pint of shandy. I'm driving :)
Fullers ESB
Stella, and lots of it. :)
Man, I love the Stella, but it goes down so fast. Not keen on ales to be honest, never really floated my boat.
When I was younger I had that problem. 5 pints of Stella and then I'd wonder why I got p---ed so fast! Then I realised. 4.7% versus 3.5% for a decent bitter :) Strong beers though are the best, and porters :) :) :)
Rob,
You need to try some decent pils type beers. Stella aint one of them!
In the pubs you might be lucky to find Budvar from the Czech Republic. That's a step in the right direction. Then you've got a whole range of German stuff.
Veltins pils from Dusseldorf is one of my faves or Augustiner from Munich.
Budvar Dark is a big favourite of mine... if you see it anywhere try it.
I'm less keen on the dark versions of Czech/Slovak beers with one exception - Martinsky Porter from the Slovak town of Martin.
I will keep an eye out for that. There's one other Czech black lager I like - by the Pivovar Herold Březnice brewery. Tesco sell it. Nice when I fancy something dark and smooth...
I doubt you'll find the Martinsky pivo in the UK. I lived in Slovakia back in '94 and this was when I tried it - in Martin. It wasn't even widely available elsewhere in the Czech/Slovak republics.
Herold black is rather nice, come to think of it, and used to be on sale in Wetherspooons. The pilsner version is also rather refreshing.
Don't be put off decent pils type beers - with your eyes closed they taste like proper beer, unlike Stella Fartois. The Czech pilsners have a very distinct tangy hop aroma, all of them. In a blind sniff test I can definitely tell if a beer is Czech.
German beers vary widely despite the fact they are all brewed to reinheitsgebot purity (water, malt, yeast and hops only). Some are dry and crisp, some are quite bland (Karlsberg Urpils from Saarland being a prime example), some are distinctly yeasty - Bitburger. The very best to my tastes are malty with a bitter/sweet aftertaste like Bischoff from Winweiler in Reinland Pfalz or the southern beers in general from the Stuttgart and Munich areas.
Spaten Pils from Munich available from all Aldi stores is rather good too at £1.19 a 500ml bottle. The East German Wernesgruner also available from Aldi is also distinctive although such bottled versions do er on the side of being overly rich. Occasionally the 5 litre kegs for a tenner are to be snapped up.
Then there are the wheat beers. All are pleasnt with the exception of Erdinger - the most widely available which is overly smooth, sweet and slightly sickly. The better ones have more bite with a citrus/bitter finish. Franziskaner is probably my favourite.
It never fails to amaze me that when I state that my favourite lager is Stella, everyone assumes I've never drunk anything else! I've been right across Europe, from Czechoslovakia to Germany and sampled more beers and lagers than I care to remember, I've sampled so many ales that I'm surprised my urine isn't brown (I grew up in Norfolk remember) and I've sunk many odd concoctions that only barely resemble something fit for human consumption.
But, with all that drinking and sampling, I like nothing more than a cold bottle of Stella or ten. :) Just my preference.
Fair enough. Have you also tried Maas, Jupiler and Loburg from Belgium? They are all on a par with Stella although my preference leans towards Jupiler.
I think that whilst Rob obviously knows what he likes and has sampled many examples of the breed at some stage in his beer drinking life, Steve is ultimately the lager/beer connoisseur amongst us ;)
There's nothing wrong with enjoying Stella, though, if that's what hits the spot! :cool:
Marco.
Steve definitely knows his beer, you're right there. So where's the best ever pub for real ale, or the most interesting, at least :)
Oooh I've had practice enough so I don't get headaches ;) at least I like to pace myself :lol:
Beers to try
Punk IPA - brewdog company - tescos
Helter skelter - Oakham brewery
Atiila - Okham brewery (I think, couldn't focus)
Jaipur - Thornbridge Brewery
Supreme - Nottingham brewery
Nirvana - no idea if someone finds out let me know
Timothy Taylors Landlord
Blue Monkey - some mob in the wilds of Derbyshire
Bishops farewell - Oakham Brewery
Ciders
Moonshine - some crazy hick in Cornwall
Over Christmas I opened a box of assorted wines received as a pressy and found a half bottle of white wine. I didnt pay much attention to the label at the time and sat down with it to listen to some music.
Now I am a red wine fan, this was a white dessert wine so I was amazed to be drinking one of the nicest and most complex beverages I have experienced.
All that stuff about hints of vanilla etc....
So try a half bottle of Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora for a change........
A few real ale recommendations from me
Black sheep
Cameron strong arm
Sam smiths old brewery
London pride
Badger golden glory
Cains formidable ale
everards tiger
OHH i almost forgot my local tipple brewed just down the road
Good old hooky norton bitter
Oh my God, Muscat? Don't imagine many California wines make it to merry old, you know, but an Innisfield '05 cab is a delicious little lil bit of grape and meditation if you can find one, promise. A month in London and Fuller's ESB was my delight. That make me a commoner? Of course, it helped that it was the house brew in my walkup hotel. And I'd stay there again next chance I get and resume my diet, you bet yer arse I would!
Indeed. In general I'd rather have Californian than Australian wine (red or white), as I find the latter much too heavily 'oaked'. Argentina and South Africa produce some fantastic wines, too.
As a rule though I'm more of an 'old world' chap, and thus mostly drink French, Italian and Spanish wine, or sometimes even Greek. It appeals more to my palette :)
Marco.
Fanny!
I've just popped open an ice cold bottle of 'OP' :)
That's 'Theakston's Old Peculier' for those that aren't familiar with the term. A real drink! ;)
Marco... You really MUST come to that pub in the dales' I posted about ages ago. They serve the best! :smoking:
... one of my all-time fave beers that, Enjoy! If you like an ol' Perc, you'll like Exmoor Beast too. Oh Yes :drunk:
OP is best served cool and by draft. But that's currently impossible, no way I'm driving! :lol:
Bah... 'Beast' is a porter, and far too young to be a serious contender!
'Invented' in 1992!... Pffffffffft! :doh:
Ok, here is what I like to drink :) :
Svedka - great Vodka from Sweden, best when you drink it cold and pure.
Donne del Sole - red wine from Sicilly, about 3.75€ the bottle and it's wine for lets say every day use.
Primitivo - from Salento about 5 - 7€. Great wine.
Negro Amaro - Sicilly about 5€, also very good.
Unfortunately I've lost track of all those good spanish ones I used to like, heavy and rich red wines. I have to take a closer look next time in the wine shop and taste a few.
Beer - Hefe Weizen from Franziskaner, Maisels and Erdinger - can't wait for the good temperatures to come out when a cold beer tastes best.
Cheers
Joerg
I often drink wines from £5 to £50. Great everyday red's can be has easily at M&S. Try the Secano or Clocktower pinot noir's at £6.99 and £12.99 respectively, both are fantastic.
Quote:
Beer - Hefe Weizen from Franziskaner, Maisels and Erdinger - can't wait for the good temperatures to come out when a cold beer tastes best.
The Franziskaner is my wife's favourite beer. We often drink it at the Old Joint Stock in Birmingham. The pub backs directly onto another pub called the Wellington where you can get the Maisels which I prefer. I'm not terribly keen on Erdinger though as I find it overly smooth/sweet.
I do have to be in the mood for wheat beer (as you say, warm weather) otherwise it's a good robust pils like Bischof from Winweiler, Veltins, alt from Dusseldorf or kellerbier for me.
Can't let a thread on such an important topic as this fade away....
Favourite ale is Double Maxim, a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it beer, but I can't get enough of it. A definite drown-your-sorrows after the match pint. Pretty much unique taste, its big brother is Maximus which you can get from Tescos but at 6.5% is a bit much for a session.
For a golden summer beer I'd have to recommend Wylam Gold Tankard. Not easy to find but worth the search. I especially recommend travelling to the brewery for the tour - they complain if you don't drink enough!
I'm currently enjoying a 7.3% McEwan's Champion. Absolutely delicious :)
May be seen as a wimps drink but I love Scotch, such a shame its so difficult to find now. The archetypal drink all night, talking rubbish, no hangover pint.
But please, please, don't class Maxim alongside the evil "N******le" liquid manure. Completely different and superior ale - and now, after its Stockport sojourn, brewed again in Sunderland. Hoorah!
Hi Spod,
It won't because the thread is a 'sticky' :)Quote:
Can't let a thread on such an important topic as this fade away....
All this talk of alcohol is killing me as I'm off it for Lent! No wine or beer, or anything like that for six weeks. Only three more to go... :(
Marco.
Oh dear Marco, you disappoint me.
I googled. Proper adherence of Lent means one meal a day with meat, fish, milk products and eggs forbidden, marriages cannot be "celebrated", no dancing, no entertainment (i.e no hi-fi!)
But alcohol goes unmentioned.
i.e. no music, no "intimacy", no fry-ups, no chocolate. But beer=good.
Googled further. And further. And further. Apparently catholics are now allowed to eat lard (yum?!) but orthodox Christians have to avoid wine and oil.
I liked this: "One common theme is desserts, with sweet foods taking the place of meat."
And at no time and no religion is beer seen as a bad thing during Lent as far as I can determine.
And just to add to the fun.. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkin...stopped_by.php
Cheers! (go on Marco, you know you want to!!!!)