25 March 2017

From the bartender’s corner – Gin #7: Opihr Oriental Spiced Gin

Very interesting gin. The brand is built around the Oriental touch. The bottle is decorated with Oriental themed pictures and designs – for example, elephants. Many of the ingredients are sourced from countries along the Spice Route. The spicy cubeb berries come from Indonesia and Malaysia, the black peppers, cardamoms and ginger all come from India, coriander from Morocco, cumin from Turkey and the bitter oranges from Spain. The staple of all gins – juniper is sourced from Italy and angelica comes from Germany. It also has grapefruit peels but I could not find out the source during my research.

These all are put thru the distillation process by master distiller Joanne Moore in G&J Distillery in Birchwood, England. This is renowned to be the second largest distillery in England and they claim to be the oldest. They have been using the same London Dry Gin method since 1761.

I tried this straight up. On the nose the junipers and cardamom were immediately noticeable. The citrus made it presence felt too. On the palette, the juniper was once again felt as was the spiciness of pepper. The finish included traces of orange and what appeared to me as most likely berries.

This should work well with since tonic water (try Fever Tree Indian tonic water) or in classics like a Negroni or a London Fog.

25 March 2017

“Soldier” by George L. Skypeck

I had heard that this poem written by Vietnam disabled veteran George L. Skypeck (who after active duty, went back to earn a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from University of Massachusetts) is one of the most displayed poems among various museums and monuments not just in the US but across the world.

Saw it for the first time in Columbus airport, Ohio.

The words are:

“I was that which others did not
want to be.
I went where others feared to go,
and did what others failed to do.
I asked nothing from those who gave
nothing, and reluctantly accepted the
thought of eternal loneliness …
should I fail.
I have seen the face of terror; felt
the stinging cold of fear; and enjoyed
the sweet taste of a moment’s love.
I have cried, pained, and hoped …
but most of all, I have lived times others
would say were best forgotten.
At least someday I will be able to say
that I was proud of what I was … a soldier.”

-George L. Skypeck

4
25 March 2017

His Master’s Bol: Friday evening… always means some solo time with tabla and the dog

After meeting Sunita last week, I was thrown back to my MBA days this weekend. I remember, when everybody would be out and about during the weekend, I would be in my dorm room with low lights listening to Ghulam Ali. My next door neighbor – Tej Mohan Singh Chhabra – often used to drop by and help me translate the songs. Tej, if you are listening, you might remember this song that we once listened to together…

“Humko kiske gham ne maara
Yeh kahaani phir sahi
Kisne toda dil hamara
Yeh kahaani phir sahi
Dil ke lootney ka sabab
Poochho na sabke saamne
Naam aayega tumhara
Yeh kahaani phir sahi”

As he explained that evening, this means…

“Do not ask me whose sorrow killed me
Let’s talk about it later some time
Who tore apart my heart…
Let’s talk about it later some time
The name behind who plundered my heart
Please do not ask in front of everybody
For your name might just come up
Let’s talk about it later some time”

22 March 2017

That was a very cold run in Ohio

With winter being as warm as it was this year, I almost forgot how cold it can get even this time of the year. It was 25 deg Fahrenheit and then 14 miles per hour wind made the windchill temperatures of 15 degrees F early in the morning in Dayton, Ohio.

Partly because of the cold weather (I just wanted to get it over with) and partly due to the complete flatness of the terrain, that was a quick 5K in 25 minutes by the Great Miami River.

Category: Running | LEAVE A COMMENT