A slight change of direction...

I've decided to rebrand this blog and change directions a bit with it.  I originally intended to do mostly alcohol and tobacco and the occasional food or restaurant.  I simply never got around to really utilizing this space.  Instead of focusing on the "enjoyment of finer things" I think I'm going to start including all experiences and products that I find contribute to the life of a Gentleman of the fine state of Virginia.  I have taken a hiatus from alcohol and somewhat from tobacco as well, this tends to happen when one joins with another in holy matrimony, so I will probably be focused much less on these things than I had intended upon conception of this page.  Instead I will soon be doing some reviews of various gentleman's grooming products that I have found useful and enjoyable. So check back for all sorts of writings on the various things that contribute to the enjoyment of the everyday life of a Virginia Gentleman!

Fonseca Porto Tawny 10 Year

Every once in a while you drink something that transports you directly back to a bygone moment in your life... Fonseca's 10 year tawny, for me brings me back to the city of Cordoba in España! I can remember the tapas and the cool breeze that evening as we traversed the plaza in search of a wine festival we had heard about. We encountered others who were headed there as well, including what we referred to as a "real Spanish hombre" in his tight collared shirt and his white pants and leather shoes. Anyways I digress, see, this is what this wine has done to me, just one sip and I'm instantly back at that wine festival, drinking those sweet, deep, syrupy wines while periodically taking a break for some gaspacho. This wine is fantastic, deep and rich with hints of maple, dried fruit and oak! Get the guys together, light up a fine cigar and pour a round of porto! Now imagine yourself on the coast of portugal after a fine meal of fresh fish, sipping porto and looking over the atlantic! Yes, this is real life!

Demented Brews to date!

So this is a breakdown of the brews to date that have come out of my very own personal brewery, "Demented Brews" which I hope may one day go commercial, although right now it is just for the casual enjoyment of me and my close friends. So far I take a fairly freestyle approach to brewing, I know fairly little about the science, but I go on impulse and enough knowledge to get by, hence the name, "Demented Brews".

Honey Ale: My very first brew creation, a sweet honey ale with a fairly strong malty taste. I do not check the gravity of my beers so the ABV is unknown, but this one was pretty strong with a double serving of yeast, malt, and honey. I give this beer a five out of ten based on my own feelings and feedback from friends.

Cinnamon Stout: A very basic stout made from a simple australian extract recipe, however with one demented addition... you guessed it cinnamon. This beer was made as a thick and concentrated heavy stout to match the tastes of a local legend from our cigar shop in town. Eight out of ten, a pretty freaking good beer, if your into this kind of thing.

Virginia Spring Pilsner: A moderately hopped pilsner brewed with fresh Virginia mountain spring water. This one is a personal favorite, I'd love to someday try and recreate with ingredients all originating in the great state of Virginia. Another fine brew with a seven out of ten rating, it was just a bit more hoppy than what I was aiming for, but still mighty fine.

Oak Stout: Another stout, made from the same recipe as the cinnamon stout, but with bourbon soaked oak chips instead of cinnamon thrown into the mash. I give this one a seven out of ten because I would have liked the oak a bit more forward, but it was still yummy.

Demented Apple Wine: My first cider, made with pure apple juice, no concentrates, cinnamon, honey, and heavily oaked bourbon. It came out somewhat like an apple champagne sort of drink with a sweet cinnamon finish. I give this one a six out of ten because it could have been a bit dryer for my tastes and I'm just not sure that the flavors came together the way I imagined. I recommend a drink I call "Granny's Fairy Friend", a mix of this with a shot of absinthe to tone down the sweetness, make sure it's ice cold.

Light Cocoa Porter- This one was my first all grain attempt and something went wrong at the mashing stage, I just didn't get enough fermentable sugar and malt in this one, it was no good and I'm in the process of disposing of the rest of it. This one was a learning experience with a final score of 3 out of ten only because it was still drinkable and the flavor had potential had it not been watered down.

The Virginia Creeper- A beer inspired by the steam locamotive with a style that originated right here in the USA, although the style is dominated by a brewery in CA, that can't stop the demented brew house from giving it a go. It was just bottled so there will be more info to come on this one.

Hopefully soon, I'll have time to review some non in-house drinks and maybe some eatables as well! I should even have some recipes, so please check back often.