The Discriminating Wino

  I believe it’s good luck to see a Robin at Yuletide. Christmas Eve I was at my Mom’s drinking Paulaner Oktoberfest when I decided to go out with my wife and son to look at the Christmas lights. It was so cold they wanted to turn back right away, but I wanted to see the lights around the block, the manger scene on Mass Ave with Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Magi, and then also to pay a visit to an old friend whom I hadn’t seen in years, now living a few blocks away from my Mom, after many travels. Make new friends And keep the old One is silver                                and the other’s gold As we climbed his steps, I ringing my jingle bells and caroling Rastaman Jacob Miller’s “We Wish You an Irie Christmas” (reggae being what I wife n’ I 1 st bonded over in highschool; and this friend having a Jamaican father we also had that connexion) and then he came and l...

  One fine day... you’re gonna want me for your glug… Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores Oak Legend Doppelbock 9% abv 12 fl. oz. Hard to beat the Germans at their own game—scratch that; impossible. But it’s rare for an American brauerie to even play in the same ball club. OEC has some highly decent lagers and marzens, but this is probably my favorite offering from the anomalous Connecticut brewers. For starters, it’s a full-force doppel—I had some Belgian-style Canadian ale calling itself a trippel the other day that had the same alcohol content as Oak Legend —and at 12 ounces, they’ve got the Germans beat by 22 2 / 3 ml (trust my drunken math; I got 1420 on the SAT’s, stoned.) But drinking is a pleasure, not just the prosaic chore of getting drunk: it’s dark but not that dark, more nutty than chocolaty-bittersweet like many doppelbocks, the mash gives a really unique flavor, the hops are subtle and really don’t make this very heavy or spicy in-my-not-so-humble-opinion, although...

Mani di Luna Sangiovese Umbria 2020 13.5% 1L “What’s that?” “This, my friend, is a pint.” “It comes in pints? I’m getting one.” —Pippin and Merry, Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring It comes in liters? I’ve tried a few liters of Italian wine—but for $20, this is the one to buy! Balanced bouquet, a pleasure to drink, made me feel tingly with full tannin and alcohol profile—in other words not just a regular 750ml watered down like some of ‘em probably are! No silt at the bottom: always a plus to be able to enjoy the last fleeting drop; and enough to marinate peppers and onions for pasta sauce on top of that…a wise choice for an evening at home.

  Monte da Vigia Reserva 2017 vinho tinto—30%Trincadeira 30%Aragonêz 20%Alicante Bouschet 20%Cabernet Sauvignon When you’ve been drinking coffee all day and need something to help unwind, finding the ideal red can be a balancing act—I don’t want something to go straight to my head and increase the raciness from the caffeine, now do I need much more acidity shriveling away my insides; on the other hand something low in alcohol won’t serve to calm my heart and warm the blood on a December’s night and over-sweetness is out of the question. That said, from the first sip this affordable tinto is fruit-forward, medium-bodies and well-balanced. The linalool-rich aroma of the grape blend fills one’s nostrils, expanding to flare out like a stallion kicking in its stall as the palate thrills to this smooth nectar of ruby lambency. Portuguese reds under twelve dollars are hit-or-miss and while I know I can never really go wrong at my neighborhood liquor store, I am really happy I ma...

Hofstettner bier Granittbock 2010 2010 A very good year. Or was it? I can’t remember. Obama’s first term was yet to be upset by the midterms (we hope history doesn’t repeat)* But it rhymes— the bitter fruit of other times syrupy malt of a bygone age yields ultimately to the faint hops faded from a self-assured European Union untouched by Greek bank collapse, Brexit, or the resurgence of ethnic nationalism. But the beer, man! How does it taste? - Oh, I thought I’d told you that. You want to try some? When I’m good and ready…now to compare it to a Trappist ale that had been sitting around growing flat and separating sediment, cut with pure blue water from the Danube would be a cop-out, but it wouldn’t be entirely groundless. Oddly enough, as I haven’t smoked since before the pandemic and never crave one, this beer would, I think, go well with a cigarette. Hard as granite Yet easy to drink What more can I say? I’ll shut my mouth now  (except to drink  the very last si...

       Now that marijuana is legal for adult use here in Massachusetts, and available for retail, I decided it was high time  (get it?) to start reviewing strains, edibles &cetera. Whether, in the long run, to create a new blog specific to cannabis or just keep posting here on the Discriminating Wino, I shall have to decide in time. For now let's keep it all together; 'specially as the effects and terpene profiles of weed and beer can be highly complimentary, or disastrously overpowering! Thus shall I take upon me the sacred duty of finding great pairings...     What better way to kick off the summer (or at least the pseudo-Druidic month of Duir) than with my favorite domestic craft brewery's latest mix-pack offering and some edibles from a new, local farm-to-table Cannabis share? Troegs  Mix-Pack: Perpetual IPA, Field Study, Haze Charmer, and Sunshine Pilsner, 3 bottles ea. Healing Hemp Salted Butterscotch Indica, 5 candies, 250mg total Mmmm....