days of wine and roses

it happened out of the blue, a drink with a friend and suddenly it turns into a party as others turn up to share the week between christmas and new year.
and what a party it was.
i had - at one time or the other - dated three of the women at the table. one was the highschool sweetheart while the rest were in the not-so-recent-past.
that's where the roses part comes in. if i had a ringgit for every stalk i sent... hmmm!
but that is the past. and best left there as two of them will finally tie the knot this year.
back to the report at hand. we were at the vintry - a bottle shop - a couple of doors away from the ribshop in medan damansara and as usual, decided to get a bottle of wine.
red it was and for the life of me, i cannot remember the name except to say that it took time before it was good to drink. we had some, make that lots of bruschetta as we gave it time to breathe.
having said that, that bottle finished fast and it was time for the second bottle - a stonier pinot noir. the crowd grew to three and possibly four - i had already picked up my highschool sweetheart - by this time as we opened the bottle.
the pinot noir had a delicious berry taste with some plum notes and a certain spiciness. it had a smooth silky finish and certainly went to our heads.
the crowd grew bigger as an old friend from school turned up in the already packed bottle shop. we ordered the wonderful chilled beef tenderloin from the ribshop as some were hungry.
so off i went to trawl among the bottle racks and picked a bottle of porca de murca douro reserva 2002. wasn't quite sure what i was doing but the bottle was a revelation.
it was really really nice with a pleasant woody and vanilla taste. the full bodied wine was also smooth and went well with the beef that we had.
great stuff from the douro region in portugal where porca de murca - which means the sow of murca - is one of the best selling wines.
that was done and the crowd grew larger. another bottle was to be found and it was the chateau belles eaux coteaux du languedoc 2003 that made its way to our table. another round of glasses for the ever-growing crowd that now stood at 10. only one couldn't drink while another had to be persuaded to try a sip as she had sworn off alcohol a while ago.
that was done and we sipped another good wine, slightly mineral in taste but a good plummy finish.
that bottle went pretty fast too.
time was coming to somewhere around midnight and a platter of cheese kept us company, apart from the crowd from other tables that became chummy with us as smiles were exchanged and bottles drained their content.
so we chose another bottle that was nice but no one could remember the label as none were that great a wine aficionado. guess our taste buds were inundated with so much wine that we just couldn't think of the label.
but it was a great night, i can assure you that! hic!
the vintry is at 130, jalan kasah, medan damansara - among the other restaurants in the only row of shops there. one can order from the other restaurants to eat in the vintry - which also has its own selection of good food.

worthwhile whiskies

'twas the night before christmas, when all through the house... i was looking for whiskies to drink.
found a few that was to last the sultans of single malts for just under a week between christmas and new year's eve - which everyone ensured was a week dedicated to the single-minded pursuit of single malts and other beverages too. mostly single malts.
we started with the glenmorangie cellar 13, a single malt from a single cellar.
it is different from the glenmorangie 10 years old single malt as aging in bourbon casks for 10 to 12 years in cellar 13 - a warehouse near the sea that brings a saltiness to the sweet single malt.
the 43 percent alcohol by volume single malt is pale yellow and we opened the bottle by the poolside as others started on their christmas eve dinner.
the nose was sweet with the scent of vanilla and wood and a hint of menthol as we swirled a tumblerful. there was the vanilla and honey and a taste of toffee - nice!
the finish was long and juicy with certain flowery fragrance. we drank more and savoured every wee dram of it.
christmas came by and other bottles of single malts were opened, among which were glenfiddich 12 year olds and a bottle of chivas brothers royal salute 21-year-old.
the chivas brothers were grocers and not distillers and therefore produced a blended whisky to smooth out the spectrum of taste that the single malts had during their time and led to the creation of chivas regal in 1909.
anyway, the royal salute 21-year-old is a super premium blended whisky that was created as a tribute to the coronation of queen elizabeth II in 1953. it is a 43 percent alcohol by volume whisky that is bottled in a collectible ceramic decanter complete with its own velvet sack.
it has an old world feel about it, like being dressed in a smoking jacket and having port with cigars but really, it is markedly different from other blended whiskies with an intense smokiness on the nose.
smooth with a rum and raisin taste on the palate, the finish is mellow with a hint of spiciness. it grows on you.
but the coup de grace for the week was the 17-year-old islay mist. it was a revelation of one of the best blended single malts of all time and what has been hailed as the perfect balance of oak, grain, malt and peat.
we could only agree as i opened the bottle and all our whisky dreams came true. it was smoky, salty and sweet.
that must be thanks to the fact the islay mist started off as a tribute to the 21st birthday of the son of the laird of islay house in 1922. it was considered such an important occasion that the good lads felt that laphroaig was too heavy and decided to blend with other highland malts like the glenlivet and grain whisky. that was the beginning of islay mist.
anyway, the palate was nutty and earthy enough you just wanted to slosh it around your mouth to experience complete relaxation like a day on a hammock in a white sandy beach with women with-or-without-bikinis tending to your every wish.
the finish was a light smoky one with a dash of salt and pepper like one of the best steaks you've ever had. satisfying to the hilt as the bottle finished in no time.
so, anyway, happy new year! hic!