jovial-lush-blog

[jovial-lush-blog]

You’ll have to forgive the rough review BUT this was so easy to drink I cleared the bottle and took a wine nap before I thought to jot down any notes or anything.

That being said-- super smooth, all kinds of delicious red red wine. Caused me to start an impromptu sing a long of Red Red Wine (successfully for once..) I also love the name as an added bonus.

Would absolutely buy again.

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Let me just show you this thing because he’s my new favorite thing. This little guy here is a corkatoo. He’s a waiter’s corkscrew so he does all the things you’d ever want. He opens corked bottles clearly, but he also cuts foil and pops bottle caps, AND he’s mother fucking adorable. Is there anything he can’t do? If there is I don’t want to know about it.

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2014 Pas Ordinaire Saint-Chinian Blend 13.4%abv

The official review is that this is a wine to impress a wine geek. It should smell like black cherry, white and pink pepper, herbes de provence, and violet and taste like 'invigorating aromas of pepper and spice meet a velvety texture and plush, dark fruit on the palate.'

From my uncultured standpoint I can smell the pepper and some cherry, but I have never had herbes de provence that I know of so if that's a smell I can't pinpoint it. It is super smooth. It's sweet, but not super sweet. My problem is red wines tend to taste like red wine and whites tend to taste like whites all of them taste like wine and it's a thing I'm working on learning. More importantly to boozed up me-- it's purple as a mother fucker! None of this wishy washy red that goes pink when it drips down the glass onto the label that is clearly craft paper and supposed to impress and look super classy that you destroy with your inability to pour-- no sir... It's a gorgeous plum color when it hits paper.

On a scale of 1-10 I'd go with a 6, I'd buy it again but I don't love it enough that it's one I'm going to go out searching for every time I'm at the booze hut.

[jovial-lush-blog]

This is a picture of the very first pour of my batch of None More Black Stout.

That being said-- I bottled it a week ago, so the carbonation is enough, but I think it’ll probably get a little more carbonated as it ages for the next little bit.

For the first pour this is a pretty solid stout. It’s not bitter AT all, maybe I should’ve added a little more hops to the brew, but I can’t really complain. Slight vanilla flavor, from the commentary on the forum I had assumed it would be way overpowering since I added 3 tbsp instead of the 2.5 in the recipe. I’m pleasantly surprised since I’m sure it’ll blend together more as it sits. It’s got a little bit of a kind of smoky flavor but nothing too intimidating. I’ll do another review in a week or so when you’re actually supposed to be drinking it as opposed to just me not being able to contain my curiosity on a new brew.

[jovial-lush-blog]

I bottled 10 gallons of beer/cider last week. 5 gallons of Graff’s hard cider recipe and 5 gallons of None More Black Stout.

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And then I decided you should probably have an intro...

So in deciding to make a blog of booze reviews I somehow missed the post that would explain why I’m doing what I’m doing. Let’s do that now..

I want to apologize-- I’m not professional. This (surprise, surprise) is not my day job. I’m just a random drinker like anyone else and when I read the descriptions of things, especially things I haven’t tried, I want to try them and see what they’re all about. The problem I came across is that as an average person I don’t see a lot of these subtle flavors and scents and what have you. If I read the reviews that you can taste the oak and it has hints of grassy meadows and gently whispered angel secrets-- I want to have no doubt in my head that that’s what they are when I drink that. 9 times out of 10 unless you spell it out with what I’m looking for I don’t know what gently whispered angel secrets taste like--but I want to. SO I’m writing more realistic reviews from what I see/taste/smell with whatever it is that I’m drinking on my down time....I hope.

If you wanted to know about me-- I’m nothing fancy. I’m a random female that works a factory type job and at the end of my 12 hour shifts I play video games, read comics and novels, loves bad sci fi/horror movies, adores Red Dwarf and Black Books, home brews, aaaand drinks obviously. I mean, there’s probably more to me than that BUT for a surface intro that’s probably more than you ever wanted to know.

[jovial-lush-blog]

Porter & Plot Chardonnay

The official run down tells me it smells like caramel apple, yellow pear, oak, smoke, and baking spices and tastes like fruity notes of pear and lemon zest that round everything out for a perfectly balanced Chardonnay.

Sitting at 13.5% abv it’s a standard alcoholed wine. It smells like a soft white wine. It’s got a little bit of an apple/pear fruity note but I don’t know about all of this oak, smoke, and baking spice...though I suppose it depends on what spice they’re talking about.

As for flavor it is, in fact, brightly acidic as the descriptor card promised. It’s fruity, which I like a lot. I should be clear I’m not very versed in wine, but I’m trying to learn. This actually tastes a lot like a non carbonated hard cider so it’s easier for me to deal in. As my first Chardonnay I can’t say how it stands on that front, but from a n00b standpoint it’s an easily drinkable wine. For sure something I would have a non wine drinker give a run at.

It paired well with deciding to write a booze blog and the random chicken mess I made for dinner when I decided to pop it. Clearly since I finished the bottle without sharing there’s not much in my night that didn’t benefit from it.

I’d give it a 7 out of 10, would buy again if looking for a versatile light wine.