Cocktail of choice when listening to fav music?

I just now read through the whole of this thread and am struck by two things: 1) the depth of interest in whisky, and 2) the fabulously high quality of wine chosen by Twl's wine club.

One day I hope to find like-minded people as has Twl in order to try some great wines of years past. Sharing good wine with like-minded friends is a great pleasure - and much easier on the wallet than trying to drink it alone. I only got a chance to start drinking really nice wine a few years ago when to entertain clients, my boss took them out (I got to tag along) to eat good food and great French wine. My one and only bottle of Cheval Blanc (85) was in that period. Every now and then, I get the chance to drink some great French wine, mostly at the expense of brokers. The PPE (Parker Price Effect) is in full effect for French and Californian wine here in Tokyo because volume is limited enough that there is an extra middleman in the process. So we try to find things which fly under the radar (easiest with Spanish, Italian, and Australian wines).

Natalie: all the Leffes I know of (Blond, Brown, and Triple) are decent. I also recommend many of the beers brewed under the Hoegaarden brand (White, Forbidden Fruit, Grand Cru, or Julian), triples like Westmalle Trippel and Van Steenberge's Gulden Draak. Other beers worth their while (though I've never seen them in the U.S.) are Westvleteren, Moortgat Duvel, and Oud Beersel).

Anything you're buying!

I'm a bit of a low browe here (what's new). In the winter I like Becks. In the summer, with the heat, I tend to go to a beer closer to water (anything major label domestic (US)). An aversion to hard stuff as I think I lost too many close to me to alcoholism.

I have a friend who is trying to edjamacate me re wine. You can lead a horse to water......

Cheers,

Magic Hat Blind Faith, or, Magic Hat Humble Patience. Tasty microbrews from an outfit in Burlington, Vermont.

Frog's Leap Cabernet.

Clueless, old chap -- edjamacate? That sounds tough ;) Why not just drink the wine? In vino veritas (et alia). Clink!

I thought edjamacted individuals drank Duff.

T-bone, I have found that Grant Burge makes a very nice Shiraz. The Barossa Valley is the place where you want to get your Shiraz from. The standard Grant Burge is only about $21/bottle and is quite good. Some of his special vintages like the Meshak are excellent. Also, the Peter Phelps Insignia is an awesome Shiraz, but almost $100 per bottle. Worth it though. I like the Shiraz, and when we're not sampling the expensive Bordeaux, the Shiraz is quite commonly found on the table. The mid 90's vintages are excellent. Recommend the 96.

Also, the update on the 61 La Conseillante was terrific. Even better than I had expected. Really held up well, and no signs of going over the hill. I'd say it has a good 15 years left. Still looking for the 61 Ch. Latour a Pomerol that Parker says is the wine he would choose, if he could only drink one wine for the rest of his life. Must try that one before I die. As well as the 45 Lafitte.

Twl, Thanks for the note. I'd had many good bottles of 96 Shiraz and some decent cabsav/merlot blends before, many from courtesy of the friend who offered the lot before he leaves the country. Indeed I bought the lot (110+ btls worth) referred to before. No Grant Burge (or Phelps), but instead a '98 Burge Family Draycott Reserve Shiraz and some '96 Penfolds Grange (looking forward to those someday), and a large number of other old vine Barossa Shirazes, mostly 96 and 98. Lots of stuff ready to drink in the next year or so as well. If you're ever in Tokyo, send me a mail and we'll crack open a bottle.

From everything I've heard - probably mostly Parker-inspired wishes - the 61 Ch.LaP is a wine to aspire to [me and 749 of my friends are looking to chip in $10 for a drop each of that one :^)]. Two questions: With these old (1940 Conseillante, 1927 Yquem) wines, does your wine club often run into bad bottles or do wines of that quality uniformly get stored well? And, where can one find an '82 Cos d'Estournel for less than (or even around) $100? (C d'E is a favorite of mine from cheaper and more recent vintages and I'd love to buy a bottle when I'm back in the States in a few months).
Thanks, Travis

T-bone, we have never had one bad bottle since we started the club. Of course, we always check the ullage and the cork. So we've been fortunate.
The best buys for any wine, we have found to be on Winebid.com It is a wine auction site, and may good buys are to be had there. For example, the 27 Y'Quem was under $300, and all the 82s we drank were under $400 each. Both of the older vintage La Conseillante were under $100 each. You can get 82 Cos all day long there for well under $100 per bottle. You do have to pay shipping though. At our local wine merchant, the 82 Pauillacs that we had all retailed at over $1000 each. So we saved 60% by buying on Winebid. They show photos of the bottle, list ullage and storage conditions, label condition, and a writeup on the wine by Parker or Wine Spectator. Thus far, it has been foolproof and money-saving for us. Money comes and goes, but a great wine experience is with you always.

Celexa, Tramadol and Neurontin.

Twl: "Money comes and goes, but a great wine experience is with you always." I'm with you, clink!