What are we drinking?

[SportWagon]

A little bit of Bowmore 12, every now-and-then. Neat. Perhaps with a drop of water if I happen to remember the recommendation of Bill the Bartender.

[FaultyMario]

My mezcalito.

[Tom Servo]

There's really only one brand of Norwegian Aquavit that is available in the US - Linie. It's not bad, but it's not the best one either. I have a bottle of Gammel Oppland but that is nearly done, and a bottle of Bergen, but travel to Norway right now is pretty much off the table.

Turns out there's a distillery down in Santa Ana near LA that makes Norwegian style Aquavit called Blinking Owl and they just put out a "barrel vacationed" one that mimics Linie's schtick. It's actually quite good. Better than Linie and Bergen, not as good as Gammel Oppland. Got my dad a bottle as well for Christmas, where he had some Gilde Jule Aquavit.

Edit: I take that back, there's also Høvding, which I haven't tried yet. I'll have to try to track that down as well.

[Cam]

I had to look up Akvavit. I read the description and thought, "That's a nope from me."

[FaultyMario]

Screwdrivers.

[Tom Servo]

Hah, you sound like my wife. She hates the stuff.

I like it, but pretty much only the Norwegian kind. Danish kind (usually Aalborg) is sorta okay, and the Swedish stuff is swill.

[Cam]

Can’t just make vodka, oooohh no. Gotta put spices ‘n shit in it.

[Tom Servo]

There's very little flavor in anything Norwegians make, so I guess we have to splurge when we have the chance. I'm honestly shocked it's not dill flavored.

[Cam]

Feeling like I wanted some dark beers the other day, so I picked up some Anderson Valley Brewing (Boonville, CA) stouts, a four-pack each of Bourbon Barrel Stout and Huge Arker. I saw that the Bourbon Barrel has 6.7% ABV, but I did not look at the Huge Arker, thinking it would be similar, or maybe a little stronger, because it is an imperial stout. I got it home and noticed that it is a whopping 15.5%! That's like three beer in one. The Huge Arker is about what I expected. It is so dark that it absorbs all the surrounding light like a black hole. It is sweet and delicious with caramel notes, which makes it difficult to nurse, considering how strong it is. I have not tried the Bourbon Barrel Stout yet.

I also got a four-pack of "dessert beers" from Wicked Weed (Asheville, NC.) They were all imperial stouts, between 11-13% ABV. Flavours were: S'mores, Cookies and Cream, Expresso Cheesecake, and German Chocolate Cake. I made the mistake of forgetting how strong they were and drank three in one evening. They were all as advertised and sweet like candy. I did not appreciate the Cookies and Cream though. I was expecting Oreo cookie, but it was more like spice cake. I got half-way through it and poured the rest out. Spices in beer is just not my thing.

Lori and I have had a few cosmopolitans lately. Using 100% cranberry juice as opposed to cranberry cocktail makes a big difference, FYI.

[Cam]

I am trying the Bourbon Barrel Stout right now. The flavour is much more subtle. It is very similar to Guinness, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I was just expecting more, I think.