A Bottle In Front Of Me

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy". I love that quote. I'm not sure who said it. I guess I could google it, but I'm feeling a bit lazy right now. In any case, beer is good. I like beer. I think it likes me too. Even if it doesn't like me, I'm gonna have my way with it. I'm gonna pound it and pound it hard! YEAH! OK, that came off a little creepy. Let me try this again.

Beer is something that I've grown to appreciate and respect. Like a lot of young males, I started drinking whatever I could get my hands on in hopes of getting shit-faced. As you get older and try beers not sold at your local bodega, you quickly realize not all beers are created equal. Some will have a slight bitterness. Some will have a crisp finishing taste. And some are just clearly on a whole other level. When you find that one beer that fits you like a glove, you feel like telling the world about it.

Did I find that beer for this post? In a word....no. BUT, I did drink two really good beers and good wine for the price. And no, I did not drink all these in one night.

The first up is Arrogant Bastard Ale by the Stone Brewing Co. If you ever see that gargoyle on a beer bottle, you know it's gonna be a good quality drink. I've tried a few of their beers, and this one is my favorite. The main reason being is the intense, bold beer flavor this has. If you are not that crazy about beer or think Budweiser really is the king of beers, STAY AWAY! But the bold taste really makes this beer special. It hits you as soon as it hits your tongue and keeps going. It also helps that this beer is coming at you with a 7.5 percent alcohol volume.

Next up is a beer whose name couldn't be farther from the truth. Let me introduce you to Terrible.

The picture is not the only dark thing here. This is a dark ale. The bottle is jet black and this beer is packing 10.5% alcohol. That's quite a bit considering your average beer is around 4.5%.

Personally, I'm not all that crazy about dark ales. When St. Patricks day comes around, I don't drink Guiness. I usually grab a Killian's Irish Red. But, being the risk taker that I am, and the possibility of getting a good buzz off of one bottle, I decided to give it a try.

I was expecting something a little bitter, a little harsh. What I got was something very smooth, very silky. It had a chocolate-like finish to it. Honestly, I was really impressed. As far as getting messed up, I got a really nice buzz after downing the bottle. I can't say it caused a hangover because I had 3 shots of whiskey once the bottle was gone. Hey, my motto is "Let the good times roll".

Last, but not least, the wine.

It's a California wine called Hunters Grove. It was a 2009 or 2010. I honestly can't remember and I threw away the bottle. It doesn't matter that much anyway. I'll explain why in a bit.

Normally I am a red wine guy. I tend to gravitate to the big, bold cabernet. Lately I've been trying to get out of that rut and try some new some stuff. That's how this bottle ended up in my hands. To tell you the truth, I'm glad it did.

This is/was a good wine. Very fruity. Clean finish. You can't ask for a whole lot more. If you want to start your way into wines, this is a good choice to go with. I'm no wine expert, but I know I liked this one.

The reason why I'm not stressing over the year of the wine is because I can honestly say I've never had the same exact wine twice. Have I bought wine from the same company? Yes! There are a few which I trust that always seem to put out quality wines, like BV or Kenwood Vineyards. But I have never bought the same wine, same company, same year, EVER. I'm always looking for either something new or the best deal I can get.

When I'm shopping for wines, it's for one of two reasons: Cooking or Enjoying. If I need the wine for cooking, I'm usually not going to spend more than $10 for it. If it's just for consumption and relaxation, I'll try and keep it under $20. The best thing you can do is look for what's on sale.

The wine I tried was originally $19.99, but on sale for $9.99. I consider that a pretty good deal. And that is usually how I buy my wine. If it starts at $6 and goes to $5, the wine is most likely shit to begin with. Trust me on this one!

I gotta say, I had fun with this one. Maybe it was the wonderful taste of a good stand-by. Maybe it was the delight of a new discovery. Or maybe because I got to sit on my ass, get buzzed and tell you all about it. Either way, I like the outcome. I hope you did too.

Before we part, a little bit of business. For those of you who aren't friends with me on Facebook, I announced that I am going to have just one blog post per week. I was doing two a week, but I felt that by the end of the year, I was either going to go nuts, or just put out a crap product. I didn't want either one of those things to happen. I want to keep some standard of what I'm putting on here. Plus, I found myself going out more than I really wanted to.

I'm not going to stop doing reviews, but I do want to play around with food a bit more at home. I think we all should do that a little bit more.

That's it for now, my friends. Thank you for stopping by and be sure to check back in a week for more of that good stuff.

Take Care,

J. Miller


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