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Thought I'd make a separate thread for this before we derail the Ellusionist Secret Menu thread even further

rousselle wrote:True story:

I don't drink. No particular reason; I just don't.

A friend of mine suggested a couple days ago that I start a YouTube channel with videos of me reviewing wines THAT I DON'T DRINK. I think he may be onto something.

PipChick wrote:

rousselle wrote:True story:

I don't drink. No particular reason; I just don't.

A friend of mine suggested a couple days ago that I start a YouTube channel with videos of me reviewing wines THAT I DON'T DRINK. I think he may be onto something.

sounds like a pour decision but wine not? lol

alric wrote:

rousselle wrote:True story:

I don't drink. No particular reason; I just don't.

Damn, bro, I don't know if I can trust you anymore! I have friends that don't drink due to religious reasons, and I can respect that. I have friends that don't drink because they used to be alcoholics, and I completely and totally respect that. But not drinking without any particular reason? I gotta pour me a scotch and think that one over...…

Back to the topic, this whole "secret" menu is just some more tiresome hype from Ellusionist. The rum deck is promising, but overall, I think of what Ellusionist used to be relative to the playing card industry to where they are now, and I just have to shake my head.

MagikFingerz wrote:

alric wrote:

rousselle wrote:True story:

I don't drink. No particular reason; I just don't.

Damn, bro, I don't know if I can trust you anymore! I have friends that don't drink due to religious reasons, and I can respect that. I have friends that don't drink because they used to be alcoholics, and I completely and totally respect that. But not drinking without any particular reason? I gotta pour me a scotch and think that one over...…

Well...

flashcards wrote:rousselle, you are not alone. I've even tried to make myself drink a couple of times and couldn't do it. Wine tastes like perfectly good grape juice that has spoiled. Since I'm of Irish heritage (insert properly offensive stereotype joke here) I try to have a Guinness every St. Patrick's Day. The first sip is pretty good, the second is awful. Why? I don't know. I never liked the taste and getting drunk never seemed like a fun thing to me. Sucks to the only sober person at a party, huh.

I've never been a heavy drinker, moreso when I was younger, but I never really cared for the whole getting drunk thing that so many seem to think is super awesome. Now I'm almost 30 and I only drink socially, maybe once a month, and haven't gone past 4 units in an evening in years. I'd be the first in line to try a new subsitute for alcohol that's safer and with less side-effects.

I definitely do not like the effect of being drunk and avoid it. That said, a really nice wine tastes great. For that matter so does a small amount of whiskey or brandy. If you haven't tried Port wine, you should. It is an amazingly intoxicating beverage. Again, in small amounts. I am not a huge fan of Guinness, but that is just because of the bitter after-taste. There are some great other stouts with a clean finish that highlights the caramel flavor of malt in a dark beer that I really like. One of my favorite beers is a variant of the Guinness Stout, a sweet stout. In any event, drinking and serious card play don't work too well together for me. Still, alcohol can be a great thing for me in small amounts. Unfortunately, the older I get, the smaller amounts it needs to be. Darn it.

When I was younger, I enjoyed going to a large wine and alcohol retailer in town. The main store is huge and their staff are very knowledgeable. They were great at recommending some awesome wines that tasted great and were also much cheaper and frankly better than the super-expensive wines. They would be glad to sell you the expensive stuff, but they really enjoyed helping folks find great affordable wines.

I think I have said that many years ago I used to brew my own beers. It was a really fun and relaxing hobby. Through it I met some great local people that brewed some great beers. It taught me a lot about the almost endless possibilities and flavor combinations you could make beer. It definitely doesn't just come in Bud and Bud light.

Fun fact: In Norway you can only get beer and cider (<4.75% alcohol) in regular stores, for anything stronger you need to go to "The Wine Monopoly" (direct translation), specialized government-owned stores that close early.

Fun fact. In Texas, up until very recently we had very strong laws limiting the sale of alcohol. Some counties and/or cities in Texas (I am not sure if there are any anymore) were called "dry" because they prohibited the sale of alcohol completely. Also, there used to be very strict limiting rules on what could be sold on Sunday (Blue laws). Even now, you can't by beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages before noon on Sunday. I think that is the only remaining vestiges of the old Blue Laws. When I was young, I remembered that stores used to have whole isles with rope on them on Sunday, to let you know those products could not be sold at that time.

I am familiar with state run alcholic beverage stores as some states in the US have them. I believe that is the case in Utah. Now, Texas is a different story. Excepting what I just said above, there are also some stores that are - get this (drum roll) DRIVE THROUGH alcoholic beverage retail stores. You drive into a barn like shed with cases of beer and stuff in your car or pick-up and they will just load up what you want and drive on out. No need to even get out of your car.

I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons. I always drink it for some other reason.

heh heh

But no seriously, I'm not a big drinker, mainly because I don't like beer. I do like to drink alcohol that does not taste like alcohol. I almost never drink that "one drink" and I almost never drink alone, I usually touch alcohol only with friends and those times I drink quite a lot, unless I'm the driver, which is becoming more common all the time. Alcohol in Finland is expensive and everytime I drink, the first thing I think of is: I could have spent that money on playing cards

I do drink unhealthy amounts of Coca Cola though.

Fun fact: In Norway you can only get beer and cider (<4.75% alcohol) in regular stores, for anything stronger you need to go to "The Wine Monopoly" (direct translation), specialized government-owned stores that close early.

Keanu Reeves photo...

I am familiar with state run alcholic beverage stores as some states in the US have them. I believe that is the case in Utah.

Point Break - Johnny Utah - Keanu Reeves...

Perhaps the Matrix is real...

Smocito - I don't know what you've been smoking, but I want some

I've stopped smoking 6 years ago

But it was cheaper than collecting cards...

My addiction is Dr Pepper.

However, the one thing I consume that absolutely affects my mood is garlic. Not kidding. It elevates my mood a small but noticeable amount.

Mmmm. Garlic....

What a thread. I just drank a fifth of Scotch on Saturday during my best friend's bachelor party...

I love getting drunk/wasted because I don't do it often anymore. Maybe once a month? I was an alcoholic at 2 separate points in my life (around 18 and around 22) for differing reasons. Considering how clean and responsible my life is, it just feels great to completely loosen up, and have fun saying and doing stupid s^&* with friends and family when the time arises.

I'm in more or less the same boat as rousselle and flashcards. No religious reasons for not drinking - I've been an atheist since at least 13 - and no personal or family history of alcoholism. Hell, my dad worked for Seagrams at their plant in Lawrenceburg for years; our family often supplied the booze for parent-teacher fundraisers and functions when my brother and I were in K-12. I just never liked the smell of alcohol or the idea of getting drunk, so I didn't mess with it. (Now, alcohol in cooking, on the other hand....)

Bradius, I knew there were still dry counties in the US but I wasn't sure about Texas specifically, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. What I did not know - and what amused me greatly to learn - was that counties that have slightly relaxed dry laws but are not completely wet are apparently called "moist counties." (Can't argue with the logic, I suppose... ) I didn't know about them until a few years ago, but Ohio also has drive-thru liquor stores, referred to as "pony kegs" for reasons that are opaque to me. Do they call them anything special in Texas?

rousselle, don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely watch it, but wouldn't a YouTube channel reviewing wines you aren't drinking be just a regular wine-tasting review channel? It's not like any of those guys are drinking the stuff either; it all gets spit back out into the bucket.

My friend's idea was that I wouldn't even *taste* the wine. But, I think he was thinking I could smell the wine.

You know... like reviewing a movie after having not seen it. Or, even seeing the trailer. But, maybe after seeing the movie poster.

Merlebird wrote:"moist counties."

^ my reaction to this word ^

PipChick wrote:

Merlebird wrote:"moist counties."

^ my reaction to this word ^

I know the aversion to the word "moist" is pretty common, but I've never fully grokked it myself. It always just makes me think of cake.

I believe smelling alcohol like whisky and such is actually a thing. I kind of did that for a bit because there was some different types of Scotch in the house. Liked the smell but couldn't stand the taste. Not interesting enough to continue though.

Merlebird wrote: I know the aversion to the word "moist" is pretty common, but I've never fully grokked it myself. It always just makes me think of cake.

Same here.

so, I'm already aware that supposedly whites pair well with fish, and red pairs well with meat; but what I really need to know is what wine pairs well with pizza rolls and tacos???? I am a super classy lady of refined tastes after all lol

PipChick wrote:so, I'm already aware that supposedly whites pair well with fish, and red pairs well with meat; but what I really need to know is what wine pairs well with pizza rolls and tacos???? I am a super classy lady of refined tastes after all lol

Sauternes. The cheaper your food gets, the more expensive the wine is.

Call me impressed that you know what a Sauternes is. I guess in this age of the internet...I new about that wine long before there was an internet, and they were expensive back then. I bought a bottle for my uncle once (It was a big thank you), but never have tried it myself.

Bradius wrote:Call me impressed that you know what a Sauternes is. I guess in this age of the internet...I new about that wine long before there was an internet, and they were expensive back then. I bought a bottle for my uncle once (It was a big thank you), but never have tried it myself.

Brad (aka Impressed), I know much more about alcohol than I do playing cards. I think that I collectively know more about liquor, wine, and beer than every person in my life combined. People encouraged me to be a bartender, or open my own snobby bar, for a long time.

Part of the reason that I know about Sauternes is because of the Glenmorangie Nectar Dior.

Sauternes is also still relatively expensive. The cheapest bottles in Michigan are about $30.

PipChick wrote:so, I'm already aware that supposedly whites pair well with fish, and red pairs well with meat; but what I really need to know is what wine pairs well with pizza rolls and tacos???? I am a super classy lady of refined tastes after all lol

Beer

I have started watching whiskey reviews on Youtube. I don't drink whiskey myself, but both of my brothers are big fans plus the videos are some of the best unintentional ASMR ever. Anyways, some of it has sort of rubbed on me, for Christmas I bought for both of my brothers a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15 years old after seeing review for it, being a great quality whiskey with a really cheap price. I didn't know my younger brother was a huge fan of smokey whiskey so he didn't enjoy the Dalwhinnie that much. I remedied that by buying him a Lagavulin 16 years old from Italy as it was cheap there, he was over the moon for that one.

My dad likes to drink Calvados quite a bit so for Christmas I bought him a bottle of Château du Breuil Réserve des Seigneurs 20 Ans d'Age. So a 20 year old Calvados from Château du Breuil, cost was 90 € for a bottle. He still hasn't opened it as he still has a 12 year old Château du Breuil to go, which I bought him last year. Also as he was spending the winter in Italy with mom, he didn't want to open it now so that any of it does not vaporate during his stay there. He already enjoyed the 12 year old a lot, let's see how good the 20 year old is.

If any of you here like to drink Gin, I can really recommend of picking up a bottle of Napue Gin. Made by Finnish Kyrö distillery, the founders wanted to make rye whiskey. However as whiskey needs time to age, they started to use some of distilled rye spirit to make rye gin, basically just to keep the distillery up and running until the whiskey would be of age. The only problem was that Napue was selected to be the Best Gin in the World the year it was released, so suddenly they had a huge demand for it. They basically found their flagship product by accident. Anyways, Napue truly is an amazing gin, try to find a bottle!

Räpylätassu wrote:...Lagavulin 16...

Winner winner chicken dinner.

I have half of a bottle at home.

I'm not in the gin game.

I stick mostly to Scotch and Irish Whiskey. The Irish whiskey goes in coffee, the Scotch I drink straight, sometimes with stones. I'm also old(er) now, so I drink less frequently-- so spending $600 on a bottle of scotch isn't that spendy.

I have some Glenlivet Archive 21 year left over in my cupboard (honestly, this is my favorite under $200), but really any 18+ single malt's usually palatable.

ICantShuffle wrote:I stick mostly to Scotch and Irish Whiskey. The Irish whiskey goes in coffee, the Scotch I drink straight, sometimes with stones. I'm also old(er) now, so I drink less frequently-- so spending $600 on a bottle of scotch isn't that spendy.

I have some Glenlivet Archive 21 year left over in my cupboard (honestly, this is my favorite under $200), but really any 18+ single malt's usually palatable.

I hate Glenlivet and also Glenfiddich. Glenmorangie is my brand for that type of 'light' Scotch.

Not sure I've ever spent more than $300 on a bottle before (that I can remember).

That reminds me - I should pick up a Glenmorangie Signet sometime soon.

I like Glenmorangie too, but, I'm just not sure how you can not like a Speyside.

ICantShuffle wrote:I like Glenmorangie too, but, I'm just not sure how you can not like a Speyside.

Glenlivet and Glenfiddich both taste like crappy Highlands (to me), rather than Speyside whiskies.

Until you mentioned it, right now, I swore they were Highland distilleries.

I guess I like the more "nutty" notes in those, to me Glenmorangie is a bit sweeter, like more honey/fruity, but still with plenty of smoke from the cask.

I heard that the western malts are good, too, though, like Isle of Skye and Islay have a lot of natural peat, apparently, making them darker. I don't recall having any before, though, so might have to try that.

If it's any indication of my taste I do prefer Cognac to Armagnac in Brandy, but then again tend to prefer the more fruity/sour ones when it comes to non-French brandies. But, I drink Scotch much more often than Brandy.

Oh, man, Armagnac is so much better IMO and cheaper...