19 May 2018

Saturday morning ride

Had not seen John in a long time. I got to know John in the motorcycle safety classes last year. Having retired for a year then, he was seeking some adventure and got on to his first bike.

Avi, of course, was one of initial persons who encouraged me to try a bike.

It was the three of us for a lunch ride to Pelican Pete on Lake Lanier.

Left to right, those are The Beast, Dark Knight and Phoenix…

Category: Motorbiking | LEAVE A COMMENT
16 May 2018

From the bartender’s corner – Gin #37: Beefeater

This is one of the most staple Gins in USA. Most all bars carry this. In the 60s, 2 out of every 3 gin bottle imported was this gin. Because of its ubiquitousness, I had decided to try this towards the end of the series of gin tastings.

The story of the distillery goes back to 1860 in the city of London and is one of the rare big distilleries that is still in the middle of a big city (Kensington). Beefeater refers to the Yeoman Warders who are the guards with the elaborate uniform at the front of the Tower of London. The picture on the bottle shows one of those guardsmen.

One of the notable fact about this gin is that most of it has remained unchanged throughout the years. The formulation of the gin can be seen documented way back in the 1880s and is still done with the same nine botanicals – juniper, angelica root, angelica seeds, coriander seeds, liquorice, almonds, orris root, Seville oranges and lemon peel.

The gin is made from neutral grain spirits. One twist in the distillation process is that the botanicals are macerated for about 24 hours before it is put in the 8-hour distillation process. Because of this, it tends to extract more flavors from the botanicals. There are two versions of this 80-proof and 94-proof. The 94-proof is the preferred one (and that is what I am featuring here).

In terms of taste – this is as traditional a London Dry gin can get. Clear in color. Juniper forward with lots of hints of citrus.

The nose is strongly juniper with a little citrus coming towards the end. The palate is citrusy and of course there is the juniper. The finish is on the shorter side…

Category: Cocktails | 4 Comments on From the bartender’s corner – Gin #37: Beefeater
16 May 2018

Run in the rain!

Have you ever heard the constant pitter patter noise of rain drops falling on the wet leaves in the forest?
Or the soft gurgling of the spontaneous rivulets of water hurrying by?
Or the wet bird tweeting as it flutters its wings and then preens them back in their position?
Or the huge splashing sound as you purposefully jump into a water puddle in an otherwise desolate trail?
Or the splish splosh noise of the wet shoes as you put one foot in front of the other?

No?

Then come out and run with me in the rain!!

That was a 4 miler in 37 minutes.

Category: Running | 9 Comments on Run in the rain!