Drink

The Madison County students and parents participating in the middle school Homestay program hosted a reception for our Sister City Delegation on Thursday evening. ?   This summer, ten Japanese students will come to Kentucky to stay a week with families here.  Next year, our students will go there to stay with the students they hosted this year.  ?   The five girls and five

Nice black cherry to garnet hue with a bouquet full of ripe blackberry with a charcoal edge, light chocolate covered cherries and dark fudge.Palate--Bold structure with ripe dark fruit, charred oak, more fruit and a finish of smokey oakey and ripe plum which hangs on a good bit.This wine has a lot going on from beginning to end. It is a blend of the Horse Heaven Hills AVA grapes with 80% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Syrah. The Syrah really comes out even though it is the minority grape. As usual Columbia Crest makes pleasing wines at various price points and this is no exception. At $12 you get a lot and if you like the fruit forward, "fruit bomb" sorts of creations, you'll love this. Raise a glass to another CC creation!--A Review from The Wine Cask Blog. Creative Commons: Attribution - ShareAlike 2.5 applies

If you were at all intrigued by the sampling of the 2009 Kim Jong Yeol (Butea) aged and re-roasted balhyocha from Pedro at O5tea, you may also find this post interesting. Once again it offers an interesting perspective on aging balhyocha. What is interesting about this tea is that it was picked from the same area, produced with the same methods, and by the same people that produced the 2011 and 2012 "ZeDa" brand balhyocha that is sold by Sam of Good Green Tea. The 2011 post states: "Sam acquired it from a small farm from Sancheong, Jiri Mountain, and that is was completely wild tea. He claimed that Mr. Hong has over 50 years experience making tea and that he makes it all by hand with only the help of his wife. Mr. Hong makes only Hwang cha (balhyocha) with his tea leaves and only produces 15 Kg per year (he keeps 5 KG of this tea). The production of this tea is all natural and even includes air drying the leaves on big heated boulders during night time instead of the standard ondol heated floors which are commonly used to produce balhyocha." Although one did try many 2006 balhyocha back in 2006, this is the oldest aged sample of balhyocha one has yet to try. 2006 was an excellent year for Korean tea and produced a great harvest. With that said, this should be an epic tasting... The dry leaf looks much the same as the 2011/2012 but smells of old musky smells. It carries a deep aged odour of sweet black cherry in the distance mixed with a very slight deep forest note. These leaves are stuffed in to a warmed pot.The first infusion is prepared with hotter water than what one would normally use for a balhyocha, a short rest in the cooling bowl. This first pot is light, juicy, watered-down fruity-pear taste. This initial taste disappears among the faintest date-woody-raisin tastes before disappearing on the breath. The mouthfeel is flat and watery- it supplies a light coating to the mid-deep throat. Clearly hotter water is still required.The second pot is filled with water that is quickly transferred from the cooling bowl. The taste opens with creamy, spicy, thick, malted-apricot notes with hints of bitter coco and tobacco underneath It is these tastes of coco and tobacco which are last to disappear on the breath. Seconds later a thin woody-forest note skirts underneath The mouthfeel is thin and taught, expansive in the mid- and upper- throat. Third pot comes with more pronounced woody-forest tastes which were just underling in the last infusion. They now mix evenly with the spicy-malted-apricot notes. There is a depth to all these tastes. The creaminess and thickness of last infusion is less here. There slightly more coarseness and dryness mixed in now. The throat feel is substantial now especially in the deep-mid throat. The sensation is that of a cool opening feeling there. The qi of this tea is very soft, ones face softens and a subtle warm tingling sensation is felt throughout the body. Minutes later a woody taste is left in the mouth. The fourth and fifth infusions are much the same as the third. The tea is just starting to become more watery now. There is a light, slightly malty-juicy-wood monotone flavour now dominating the profile. A lingering sweet malty-apricot taste lingers minutes later. Qi is strong now on the mind but almost unnoticeable on the body. The qi accumulates lightly in the chest making it feel light. The sixth, seventh, and eighth infusions are becoming more simple. It is a barely spicy, malty wood taste with a deep woody edge. As the infusions become more watery now they develop and thin-watery, sweet, malty, vague fruitiness, with raisin tones. Some tangy wood notes linger in the breath minutes later. The taste has a simple purity to it. These leaves are put to some overnight infusions which pull out a malty-sweet, juicy-apricot fruit taste with a thin barely noticeable woody bottom. The thin coating of fruit is long in the mouth. The second overnight infusion is a wate

Here's another article I recently wrote for The English Tea Store blog. Does Your Tea Site Need A Makeover? By William I. Lengeman IIIBack in the 70s I had some pretty fine bell bottoms, if I do say so myself, and some eye-catching silk shirts and a nice pair of platform shoes to round out any ensemble. I know fashions have a way of coming around and I don’t have any of those snappy duds anymore but even if I did I wouldn’t wear them. I’m not obsessed with my appearance but I still don’t want to be seen in public in clothes that are so outdated. Which is to suggest that appearances do count for something. If you disagree, stop and think about what you wore to your last job interview. All of which occurred to me when I came across a tea site recently that would have been considered...moreCuisinart TEA-100 PerfecTemp Programmable Tea Steeper

Last month, I was invited to as a guest to attend Pacific Wine and Spirits, 40th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting at the Edmonton Golf and Country Club. At the event I was able to meet many of the people who are responsible for making the great wines and spirits which Pacific Wine and Spirits have as part of their portfolio here in the Province of Alberta. One of the great people I met was Anna Manchon, the Canadian Torres Export Manager who is of course, responsible for the entire line-up of Torres Brandy which is available here in Canada. I spent some time with her discussing her Brandy line-up, and after the event, I was happy to learn that a bottle of the Torres 20 Hors d’âge Brandy was being delivered to me for review upon my website. Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge, is a double distilled brandy made by the Torres family (or bodega) who have been intrinsically linked to the wine making region of Spain known as the Penedès for over three centuries. Their brandy is produced from selected wines of the Parellada (a traditional Catalan white varietal) and Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebbiano in Italy) grape varieties. After distillation of the wine in copper pot stills, a careful selection process is undertaken to choose the most positive aromatic fractions, and these are aged in french Limousin oak barrels. Click on the following excerpt to read the full review: Review: Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge “… The spirit possesses a nice dark mahogany colour when poured in the glass, and exhibits an obvious oak character which is interlaced with scents of both fresh fruit (grapes and pears), and dry fruit (raisins, dates and figs), as well as some nice caramel candy and vanilla. Orange peel and oak spices build in the glass as you let it breathe giving me impressions of black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, marmalade and dark rich tobacco …” Please enjoy my Review! Tagged: Brandy, Brandy Review, Miguel Torres, Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge, Pacific Wine and Spirits

Whew. The name on some teas really are a mouth full. From what the Tea Emporium’s website has to say this tea is worth its moniker. I thought that I would share it here. This is a super premium White tea plucked from the 100% pure and young AV2 clonal bushes of this prestigious plantation in Darjeeling. Only one leaf and a bud is plucked by the expert pluckers of this garden during the early hours of the morning as a result of which the made tea has a very attractive ornamental look in this state. The dry leafs also gives out a refreshing aroma of fresh fruits and flowers. This is a very pretty tea with the long wiry leaves that come in colors of gold, greyish green, olive and a dark blackish green. I don’t agree about the aroma however as to me it gives off a sweet grassy aroma with just a touch of fennel. Quite appealing but nothing fruity or floral about it. Following the suggestions of the website I set the leaves up using 185 degree water and a steep time of 4 minutes. (Actually they just suggested the time so you will probably have to play around with temperatures.) The resulting brew is a darker gold. The liquor has a light fragrance of spice and citrus playing nicely with the sweet grass. This tea is rather interesting. When sipping I am really reminded of a crisp white wine. There is the dryness to the tongue, the whispers of different flavors that you coax can tease until they fade or morph into something else entirely. This would be the perfect tea to introduce wine lovers to white teas. Perhaps serve it to them in a wine glass? This incredible tea has put Tea Emporium on my list of vendors to stalk and I am really looking forward to enjoying more of their teas. Would I purchase this tea? In a hot second. The fact that they offer free shipping if you order over $59 worth of tea makes it all more appetizing.

So more news that hit WHISKY ISRAEL towers this week. Tribal Gathering Award winning whisky writer and former rock journalist Dominic Roskrow is set to combine the two great loves of his life when he launches a new whisky and music event later this year.Called TRIBE 2013, the first event is set to take place in Leicester in November, with a second ...

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At The Whisky Shop Dufftown we have continued our exploration of whisky and food pairings and our search for the best dram with a bacon roll and the best one with haggis. Intrepid guests at the festival sampled 4 drams with a bacon roll and where asked to vote for their favourite combination.  The current champion from the Autumn Festival, Old Pulteney 12, faced three new challangers: Glenfiddich 14 Rich Oak, Aberlour 12 and Macallan Gold.  The clear winner was Glenfiddich 14 Years Old Rich Oak.  So now you know that the next time you are having a bacon roll go for a Glenfiddich 14. In a series of more civilized tastings, at least by the time of day, the food pairing was Haggis and whisky.  The current champion from the Autumn Festival, Dalmore 12, was up against Balvenie 12 Double Wood, Glendronach 12 and Glenfarclas 15.  This was a much closer battle but by a good nose (and pallette) the best combination was Glendronach 12 Years Old and haggis. We were delighted that some people preferred each of the combinations and everyone could really appreciate the different flavours that each pairing brought changing the flavours in both the food and the whisky.  We will continue our scientific research in these two areas during future festivals. Best with Bacon Best with Haggis

QUESTION: Can you tell me what is the proper temperature to serve coffee? ANSWER: Coffee is best served at a temperature between 155ºF and 175ºF (70ºC