Pumpkin Chai Latte from Swill

Tis the season for Pumpkin!  I know that society has sort of tricked you into thinking that pumpkins are strictly an October thing, but that's just not true.  What do you always have for dessert for Thanksgiving?  Pumpkin Pie of course!

Of course, I'm down for Pumpkin things October and November.  I like for Pumpkin to have it's time to shine.  Recently it's just gone completely overboard though, and so I got tricked into this Pumpkin Chai by a friend that works for Swill.  However, the pumpkin was so understated that I almost didn't notice that it was there.  It was the perfect amount of pumpkin and spices, and the environment was (as always) very warm and welcoming.

There has been a change of the guard at Swill recently, and as of this writing the only real difference I see is now the employees are wearing "Swill" aprons.  How very Empire Records of them.  Hopefully nothing major changes and we can keep our "Central Perk" the way that it is.

Tastings (Winery Hopping) in Napa Valley Part 2

Missed Part 1?  Click Here!

The second day started out very strong.  Our first stop was Beaulieu Vineyards, where we whisked away to the private tasting patio, where they had a fun statue of George De Latour and we got to taste some of the clones as well.  Everything was beautiful, and the conversation was fantastic.  I learned what a clone was, who George De Latour was and how important he was to Napa Valley.  If you'd like to know about it, they have a great page on their site here.

The facility was beautiful, and I could have stayed there all day "revisiting" everything, but we were on a schedule.  There was much more to see and experience.

Our next stop was the Franciscan Estate Winery, which was beautiful.  The inside was sort of like an extended gift shop, and you went up to the bar to get your next glass.  We stayed outside since it was a beautiful day, and had great conversation while enjoying the wine and a cheese plate.  This place was the most casual of all the places we went to that weekend, but it was still a very enjoyable winery.  They had a fountain out front that was so beautiful, I took a bunch of pictures of it.

By the time we got to Provenance, we had sailed past the "Happy" point of drinking into the "Highly Buzzed" state.  We weren't being loud or annoying, but we were making poor choices and buying a bunch of wine.  I do remember that the floor was made of recycled barrels for the wine and it was very pretty.  They had a casual lounge type area, and a great window to the winery behind the bar so you could see them making the wine. 




By the time we left, we were very happy, and very done.  It was one of the best weekends of my life, and I really enjoyed the "adulting" that took place.  If you ever have a chance to go to Napa, I would highly recommend all of these Vineyards.  I hope this wasn't my last trip to Napa, but if it was I would be okay with it because it was perfect.

Tastings (Winery Hopping) in Napa Valley Part 1

I had the amazing honor of being taken on a trip to Napa a little over a month ago.  It was such an educational and wonderful experience.  I can't begin to explain how awesome it was, which is why this post is so late.  I'm going to try my hardest!  Our first stop was at the "Disneyland of Wineries" Sterling Vineyards.  It really is pretty commercial yet magical.  You ride a small sky gondola up to the tasting, there is grape stomping, and you stroll around tasting wine and looking at an amazing view.  

After experiencing the "normal" tour, our amazing hosts took us up to the private tasting room.  We were treated like rich people, and I felt like I was in a movie.  We got a cheese plate, and it was there that I learned my favorite wine term, "revisit."  Basically if you want another shot at the wine you just had, you say you want to revisit it, and they just give you another tasting on the house.  I've annoyed all my friends by using this phrase for everything.  "Oooh, I wanna revisit that mint chocolate chip Nesquik from Scolaris.  Think they'd let me?"  The answer is always no.  Only in Napa I guess.

This was also the place where I learned the three sip rule.  You see those wine snobs do the aerating and slurping and silliness, but as it turns out this is actually based on science.  The first sip is not how the wine should actually taste.  One of the sips you slurp to aerate and get your taste buds ready.  The last sip is the one that it is really all about.  All the tastings are about 7 sips worth of wine, so if you get a good one, revisiting that one is a great idea.

Our next stop was the most memorable of the trip.  Neon Beast and I are very fond of port, so visiting Prager Winery & Port Works was something we will never forget.  Prager is run by a very nice family, and their tasting room is covered in bills from every country you can imagine, as you can see a bit in the background of this shot.

This place was so exclusive that five of us shared two tastings.  The tastings were much smaller than Sterling, but so much richer.  Maybe it was just that port is more our thing, but it was the most amazing port I've had ever.  We got invited over to taste some at a friends house about a week ago, and it was, again, an amazing experience.  I still can't put into words how amazing Prager is.  If you are ever in Napa, do everything you can to get into the place for a tasting.

Our last stop for the day was Robert Mondavi, which I think I had been to before when I was a kid.  The grounds are so beautiful:

It really has a reputation to uphold, and I think it does that beautifully.  We got to drink in a private tasting room off of the main room, and it was cozy-amazing.  Their wines were fantastic, we ended up buying a moscato that we enjoyed for a birthday.  Ending the day here was perfect, and we decided that we needed a word for in-between sober and buzzed: Happy.  At that moment, there was nothing wrong in the world.

View Part 2 Here

Thirst Responder at The Drink Doctor Truck/Thirst Aid Station

 About a month ago I was at Bartley Ranch for an adorable performance of Cinderella.  Much to my surprise, they had a few food trucks out there as well as "The Drink Doctor" a Beverage Truck.

As you can see from the photo, they didn't really work out of the truck the way you'd think, but it was cute that the truck was a converted ambulance.  I was a little upset that the drinks also came pre-made however.  Can it really be considered a Food/Drink Truck if the vehicle is merely a mode of transportation for the food/drinks?  Maybe I'm being a killjoy and reading too much into this.

I heard rumblings around the truck that the Thirst Responder was their best seller.  I figured that I liked Vodka, and flavored vodka was even better.  Although, the Blood Orange just made me laugh and think of that scene from Project Runway.  Their other specials were a Rum Runner, a Margarita, and a pomegranate martini.  They had some non-alcoholic items as well, and the typical beer and wine.  Here was their full menu:

At first glance, my drink looked like a watered down lemonade.  The sad truth was, it wasn't even watered down with vodka.  I barely tasted any booze at all, just lemon and water.  It tasted like the kind of thing you would make in college at the local coffee shop because you were short on cash.  You know, asking for water with lots of lemon and then using a couple of packets of the sweet and lo.

I'm very sorry to say that I don't think I would give this truck another shot.  They did seem very nice and had great customer service, but that was a lot to pay for something I could have gotten for free at Gold N Silver Inn.

Cherry Car Bomb from Ceol Irish Pub

Every since I was a kid, hot chocolate was always my favorite.  I loved when it got cold and my mom would have it ready for me after I played in the snow, or while we were watching the Great Reno Balloon Races from the car.

As I've gotten older, my palate has expanded...to booze.  Mexican hot chocolate has also become one of my favorites.  Now, the Cherry Car Bomb is on the list.

I was invited out to hear a band play at Ceol, and I saw they had a host of hot chocolate concoctions.  I really enjoyed this drink, but I didn't actually end up tasting too much of the booze in it.  It seemed like a cherry flavored hot chocolate with the tiniest bit of kick in it.  I loved the bar however, it is much bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside of the building, and I love the deep wood decor.  I'm sure I'll be back to sample more kinds of hot chocolate as the winter goes on.

Ceol Irish Pub

Address: 538 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89501

Phone:(775) 329-5558

Hours:

Monday	3:00 – 11:30 pm
Tuesday	3:00 – 11:30 pm
Wednesday	3:00 – 11:30 pm
Thursday	3:00 – 11:30 pm
Friday	3:00 – 11:30 pm
Saturday	3:00 – 11:30 pm
Sunday	3:00 – 9:00 pm

Pumpkin Punch (Seasonal) from Z Bar

I apologize for my photo being blurry.  I seriously wanted to suck this down like a basic bitch with a pumpkin spice latte.  Normally I'm not super big on the pumpkin flavored things, but this is seriously Thanksgiving Heaven in a glass.  It's heaven because you are at a bar and not with your family at a table pretending that you like green bean casserole.

Sometime next month, you'll see me there several times with a Bobbie from Capriotti's enjoying several of these things.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I won't get one this year at home.  So I'll be drinking this and pretending that I have one with KJ.  Thanks so much for your fall drink line up!

Z Bar
1074 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502
(775) 348-1723

Monday	4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Tuesday	4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Wednesday	4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Thursday	4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Friday	4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Saturday	4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Sunday	Closed

Coney Island Brewing Company Hard Root Beer from Canfest

Awhile back my sister went to Canfest and picked up this hard root beer.  She actually made it sound like a really fun time, so I might end up going next year despite the fact that I don't like beer.  

I love the design on the can, but it basically seemed like a root beer (a good one) with a boozy aftertaste.  I was one of the only people in my household that actually ended up liking it at all, so I guess it's just not for everyone.

I've recently given up soda, so I'm not sure I would roll on down to Total Wine to pick up a case of this, but if I was already drunk and wanted a root beer float, this would be my jam.