RAMPANT IMPERIAL IPA @newbelgium

Nice try New Belgium!  Getting my dick all hard over the hyped up release of your new Imperial IPA; Rampant!  New Belgium Ranger IPA is one of my all time favorite beers, and this is not Ranger!  I'm disappointed in this beer, really disappointed!  

For those not familiar with Imperial IPAs I'll give you a brief description.  Imperial IPAs also know as Double IPAs are stringer, hoppier variants of standard IPAs.  Imperial IPAs generally run over 7.5% in alcohol content which tends to give them more of an alcohol taste and hides some of the hop profile!  




Beer Advocate gives Rampant an 88

Now I'm not saying this is a bad beer, but when I first saw the launch on twitter I was expecting something way different than what I actually tasted!  In fact I modeled my whole day after finding this beer!  I took GQB7 to Terre Haute to Sushi Umi for lunch then went on a beer hunt!  On the way over I nearly killed a small dog that ran out in from of me and thank the gods I didn't because I didn't want to watch GQB7 cry for the next half hour because some toy dog woke up in a mud puddle and realized it lived in West Terre Haute and decided to commit suicide via my truck!  Well played dog well played!  Dodged that bullet only to see a dude in a junk truck drive by me with a truck load full of junk topped off by a Pontiac Grand Am!  That was seriously fucking odd!  So after a brief discussion of the pros and cons of having two dicks instead of one and lunch we went on a beer quest for Rampant!

Hit Bourbon and Canal up and was shocked to find one 6er of 3 Floyds Alpha King, which I promptly grabbed.  Then I noticed an end cap full of Windmer Brother's South by Northwest (SXNW) beer!  I grabbed two bottles of that shit and I will cover that in a later post.  For the record SXNW is probably one of the best beers I've ever had and at $13 a bottle it had better be!  Sadly thought there was no Rampant at B&B so we hit up Baesler's where a freshly stocked shelf reveled to me a whole fresh stash of Rampant Imperial IPA!  

The first thing that jumped out at me was the price; $4.99 for a 20oz bottle!  I was shocked and thought what a bargain and grabbed two bottles!  So I shuffled home, dropped my copilot off and went home and put one bottle on chill in the bar!  I like to enjoy most of my IPAs at or slightly below room temp so after a few hours on chill I took the bottle out and placed in on the bar and went and had Joe's Pizza!  So as I'm typing write now I'm drinking this beer!

As I popped the cap I noticed a nice and strong hoppy aroma coming out of the bottle!  I looked at the label to see if there was an IBU rating but couldn't find one!  I'm assuming it's lower than the 70 IBUs of Ranger but I can't say for sure!  The color is a night light color almost close to that of a pilsner beer!  The head was nice and foamy just like an IPA should be!  I gave it a few swirls, let it sit for a moment and took a sip!  I tasted a slight hoppiness but what disappointed me was the follow up...it tasted like wet grass or straw!  Now some people would call that a complex taste, but I call that bullshit!  If you're going to call something a double IPA then make it fucking taste like a double IPA!  Instead it tastes like a dog just ate a shit load of grass and vomited it in my mouth!  I have two pints of this shit to get through and at 8.5% it should give me and adequate buzz, but fuck a duck it won't be enjoyable!  It tastes like a stronger version of Left Hand's Stranger Pale Ale!  Uck!

Nice try New Belgium, but why the hell not just take Ranger and amp it up similar to what Oscar Blues does with Dale's Pale Ale in there amped up version Deviant Dale's?  I think New Belgium did create a new beer, but it isn't an Imperial IPA to me, it's an abomination!  That being said don't take my word for it try it for yourself!  

Cheers!

JAMESON IRISH WHISKEY

Few drinks are as near and dear to my black heart as Jameson Irish Whiskey.  Over the past 17 years I have done some amazing, or if you're a pessimist the most asinine things while enjoying the sweet sweet nectar of John Jameson's famous distilled creation.  


The company was established in 1780 when John Jameson established the Bow Street Distillery in Dublin!  Jameson is by far the best selling Irish Whiskey in the world with annual sales of 31 million bottles.  Jameson Irish whiskey is produced from a mixture of malted and unmalted or "green" Irish barley, all sourced from within a fifty mile radius around the distillery in Cork. The barley is dried in a closed kiln fired by natural gas, and formerly anthracite coal, to preserve its flavour. Like most Irish whiskey, Jameson is triple distilled for optimum smoothness. The philosophy is balance, ensuring that no one flavour element overpowers another. The end result is a sweet-tasting whiskey.


I was first introduced to Jameson back at the University of Illinois when The Weasel, Mike T, and Gunner first became roommates at Weston Hall at the old 6-Pack Dorms!  The Weasel was the one who introduced us!   The Weasel was a fine Irish lady!  He always proposed we start a weekend off with some Jameson shots as we hit the bars!  It didn't take long for the Jameson to start to "retard" our judgement!  


Before long we had hooked up with a few other lads and introduced them to Jameson as well.  Steveo, Fish, Shoots and Zents all joined the cult of Jameson and we all became friends as well as roughneck hooligan's!  Sadly Mike T didn't make it through the first year and had to transfer, but that had nothing to do with the Jameson, it was more to do with his love of sleep!  But alas Mike T is a very successful structural engineer with a beautiful wife and kids!  In fact everyone but Steveo and I have beautiful wives and kids...sans FIsh he just has a beautiful wife!  


We enjoyed Jameson in many forms not just shots!  The dreaded Irish Car Bomb was one of our favorites!  The Car Bomb entails taking a double shot or a pint (if you're game) of Guinness and dropping a shot of Jameson in it and then chugging it all down!  It's a great n tasty drink, but watch out have too many and you might be cleaning your undies out after shitting your pants in a booth at Legend's Bar, or vomiting on the floor of a buddies bathroom and covering it with his bathmat so he won't know...right away!  


One thing I wouldn't recommend doing would be to do a shot of Jameson every minute for 10 minutes on St. Patty's day!  That is a bit of a stretch of ones ability to tolerate excessive amounts of alcohol and next thing you know you're driving your buddies car down I-80 headed downstate towards Champaign while he has his head stuck out the window sharing his puke with everyone else...while it's about 10 degrees out sans the windchill!  That ends up being a mistake that you end up paying for even a few weeks later!  So use caution because if you have too many shots...you also may tell a fat, ugly girl she's fat and ugly...then break a whine glass over your head and call her a whore just for show!


I particularly enjoy Jameson with Ginger ale on the rocks!  If you can't find Ginger ale then Sierra Mist, Sprite, or 7UP work nicely!  I often Enjoy this with a nice cigar!  


But don't take my word for it, pick up a bottle and do stupid things with it...then enjoy the collateral damage!!

Cheers!

UPDATE

It seems like forever since I've posted anything of note here.  No I haven't been in rehab for alcoholism!  I've actually been spending a lot of time working on McHooligan's as well as stocking up on craft beer and cigars.  I've discovered several good brews over the past few months.

Lagunitas out of California has been making some fantastic beer, and I've been lucky enough to find a few IPAs from them that I really like.  Windmer Brothers out of Oregon is another brewer that I've managed to stumble across.  I bought one of their special brews back in October and tapped it in January.  It was one of the best beers I think I've ever tasted.  It seems every time I head to Binny's in Champaign I'm dropping a few bills on different beers.  Right now I have around 30 Bombers in reserve and a few cases of 12 oz bottles just waiting for the weather to break and to start having Happy Hours again!

Cigars haven't really been as interesting as beer!  Sadly I haven't had a smoke since November, 2012.  We haven't got anywhere to smoke comfortably so I've just been quietly stockpiling cigars in my humidor.  I'm on a bit of a Cuban kick at the moment.  I recently acquired some Cubans and I can't wait to smoke a few this summer on the porch.  I've also picked up some premium dominican sticks as well. I broke down and dropped the cash for a few Davidoff Special Series T cigars.  I also by accident bought the Cigar Aficionado Cigar of the Year.  I stumbled across it at Binny's and said what the hell.

Something I plan on deviling into soon are single malt scotch and cognac.  I've been reading up on several different brands and ages of both.  I'm pretty stoked about the prospects of having a nice Cuban with either a glass of scotch or cognac.  But I gotta wake till the weather breaks, and that can't come soon enough!

Cheers!

CIGARS 121012

Seems like forever and a day since I’ve enjoyed a nice cigar!  Last time I lit one up was a week ago in Charleston at the Indio Cigar Factory…and it was less than stellar!  The Indio Cigar Factory sounds cool but names can be a little misleading.  We had a dude night in Charleston last Thursday and I took a nice sampling of cigars to smoke there.  First off the guy who owns it seemed a tad on the dickish side.  Apparently in order to smoke a cigar there you have to buy one of his, and his selection sucked.  Not to mention he was less than friendly.  Maybe it was because I was a newbie, but I’ve been to several places to smoke a cigar and this was by the far the least hospitable!  I don’t recommend it unless you’re desperate!  That being said I did manage to enjoy a couple nice cigars over the break!

Hoya De Monterey Epicure No. 2 – this is another Cuban cigar and like all the ones I’ve previously enjoyed this one had a kick.  I’m not sure if it was the cigar itself or the fact that the place I smoked it was pretty much ventilation free and probably being enclosed in that death room took a few years of my already shortened lifespan.  Maybe it was a combination of the two…who the fuck knows. 

The Epicure No. 2 is a medium bodied cigar.  From the first puff after lighting it was obvious this was a smooth cigar.  Many reviews I’ve read feel this is one of the best cigars of the Cuban Hoya line.  It’s the only one I’ve had but after smoking it I can see how one would feel that way. Kinda like if I fucked Kate Upton…I’d tend to think after that all hot blondes with incredible tits were absolutely fuckable and I probably wouldn’t be wrong.  The first third of the cigar was full of roasty goodness.  After that the cigar took a slight spice to peppery turn.  The last third was again smooth with hints of pepper and cinnamon.  I should also mention the last third was what kicked my ass and prompted a stop at Starbucks to gain my wits! 

All together I thought this was a great cigar.  I liked it better than any non-Cuban Hoya I’ve had.  If I had to compare it with any cigar I’ve had in the past I’d say an Opus or a Davidoff would be comparable with all due respect to all three brands! 

Fuente Fuente Opus X Belicoso – this was the second Opus X I’ve had with the first being the Perfection No. 10.  I enjoyed this cigar on Thanksgiving Day after everyone had gone home and I was fully engulfed in a stress free environment.  Yep Just me a few beers and a bottle of wine sitting on my porch enjoying a cigar!  Needless to say I was drunk when I had this cigar, which I consider to be highly irresponsible especially when you’re smoking an Opus X. 

The Opus X line of Cigars is one of the most famous and sought after cigars because of their distinct flavor and aroma, constant ratings of over 90 by Cigar Aficionado, and rarity. If you're looking for the best of the best - these cigars are it. The Opus X is full of flavor and punch!

To be honest I wasn’t very impressed with this particular cigar.  In fact I liked the Perfection better by far.  I guess you could say this cigar was a bit of a letdown.  It had been in my humidor for about a year too.  It just wasn’t as complex as I was anticipating.  Maybe I was to amped up and made this cigar out to be way more than I should have.  Or maybe it was the fact IW as drunk as skunk…uh yeah that was probably it so I should issue an apology to the Fuentes for my carelessness in this case! 

The Belicoso was smooth from what I remember and it did have more of a full flavor.  I actually should go drop another $10 and get one and try it when I’m not drunk and then do another review!  Maybe I will!

Well that’s it for now.  Cigar posts will be few and far between for awhile since the winter is here and there really isn’t anywhere to smoke a cigar!

Cheers!

CIGARS 103112

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!  October 31st edition of Cigars!  I doubt it will be worth a shit, but then again are any of these posts?  This will probably be one of the last cigar posts for the next 6 months or so!  That's mainly because I really don't have anywhere to smoke this winter since Indiana now sucks 100% for passing a smoking ban like Illinois!  It's all a bunch of horse shit!  Liberals and Conservative alike can go fuck themselves for passing all their ridiculous fucking laws and then pointing the finger at one another in a never ending game of slight handed distraction keeping everyone divided on every topic so they won't focus on the real important issues.  There, I kinda took a political stance on something!  I think the country would be better if Dummycraps and Republicants would all go fuckin jump in the lake...they're both worthless piece of shit parties!  On to cigars...until they pass a law to eliminate those too!  

Liga Privada Undercrown - I first saw Liga cigars in a mail order cigar magazine!  They're made by Drew Estate.  For those of you not familiar with Drew Estate they're a cigar company started from scratch by a couple of college guys!  They're mainly known for their infused cigar brand ACID (flavored, but they hate that moniker)!  I have tried a couple of their infused cigars and wasn't a big fan to be honest, but to each his own.  I didn't realize that Drew Estate had been making natural cigars and great ones at that.  The Liga Privada Undercrown apparently falls under the great cigar heading or at least that's what the magazines said!  I have to admit it was hard for me to get past the whole infused cigar label attached to Drew Estate but I put on the blinders and broke down and bought a Liga Privada Undercrown at a local cigar shop!  The particular cigar I purchased was the robusto!  At a little over $8 a stick this was a pricey smoke indeed!  I left it in the humidor for about a week or so and then texted up EDG to bring a stick over and have a nice Sunday evening smoke!  

Created by the rollers of the Drew Estate factory, the Liga Privada Undercrown uses tobaccos similar to the Liga Privada #9 but that are more readily available. While the Liga Privada #9 is full flavored treat, the Undercrown is a little lighter on the palate. Wrapped in a dark San Andres maduro wrapper, the Undercrown starts with notes of coffee with a slight hint of spice that becomes more prominent as the smoke progresses. Even as it progresses, the cigar still manages to round out as a medium to full-bodied treat.

To be honest I wasn't very impressed with this cigar!  But let me first say that this baby was very well made and looks very nice in hand!  But sadly I didn't find the smoke to be very complex at all nor did I find it to be a powerful and full bodied cigar like I was expecting!  The draw was decent but I had to work the cigar a lot which is exhausting after a bit.  The smoke was full and rich smelling and the burn was true and even!  The cigar was a slow smoke which I didn't mind!  I don't know if I got a stick out of a green batch or I didn't let this thing acclimate in my humidor long enough!  I usually let any cigar I buy sit in my humidor a month prior to smoking and I didn't do that!  I'd like to give this another try sometime and hell I may even buy another and let it sit all winter!  I've saved about $2000 in my war-chest to spend on myself for Christmas this year to celebrate 3 years of freedom from slavery and I plan on buying some cigars so I may give this another try!  But if you're looking to try a beautiful looking cigar then get this and see what you think!  Everyone has different tastes!

La Aurora 107 - This is the second 107 I've tried actually!  The first one I bought at John's Pipe shop in Champaign!  During that time period I was still trying to help my x turn her sorry fucking life around but sadly she was extorting me out of money and I was too stupid to notice!  During that time I was up in Champaign helping her out with what I don't recall but I'm pretty sure it was something worthless!  We stopped in John's and this giant black dude highly recommended I buy this cigar (La Aurora 107)  Even his young son who couldn't have been much older than 18 was in there smoking one!  So I dropped $13.75 and bought the belicoso shape!  In hindsight that $13.75 I spent on that cigar was better money spent than all the money I gave my x after we got divorced!  Ultimately I don't remember smoking this cigar I just remember I smoked it during the great purge of 2011 when I was trying to get rid of every memory of her!  So flash forward to a few months back!  I was on my Cigar Monster App for the Iphone and found a 5 pack of 107 robustos so I ordered them up!  

Crafted in celebration of the 107th Anniversary of La Aurora, this new medium to full-bodied handmade is impressive. Featuring a dark, oily Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper leaf and a dense long-filler blend from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, La Aurora 107 unleashes a rich and balanced smoke that’s layered with notes of cedar, spices, earth, and a slightly sweet finish. As it burns, it builds slightly in body and the flavors intensify before an impressively flavorful finale. Beautifully presented in Spanish cedar boxes of 21 cigars. 

I smoked the 107 about three days after aforementioned Liga!  Again my smoking buddy was EDG!  I paired the 107 with a Rail Splitter IPA!  The 107 started off a little bitter and I'm not sure if that was from lighting it?  As the cigar progressed I found hints of predominantly wood!  At times throughout the smoke I found there to be a nutty to roasty taste!  The last 3rd was smooth to the end!  The 107 burned nice and even and the draw was excellent!  Overall I enjoyed this cigar and I have 4 more to enjoy!  Sadly every time I look at these it reminds me of that shitty time period so I probably will give these to friends to smoke when they come over!  Happy Smoking!

Cheers!