Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

 

The variety of gins available these days is outstanding. We have discovered so many "favorites" that it's hard to keep sampling them all. 

 

I've heard that the time leading up to Prohibition was a golden age for mixology, and also for brewing, with great ingredients readily available, and a robust hop-growing industry here in the US. Prohibition set that back about 100 years and we're just now starting to catch up from that. Since I wasn't around in the 1920s I can't personally vouch for this but I am happy to be living in the 2020s, with so many libations available to contribute to said happiness.

 

Earlier tonight, Chris and I had our first dance lesson since about 2018. It was such fun! We have been with this teacher since about 2005 but after her studio closed in 2011 the lessons have been much less frequent. Now that we have the dance studio and wine cellar in the basement, we plan on getting together on Friday nights for a glass of wine and some dance lessons. Tonight with her prompting, we were able to remember a whole bunch of fun dance steps that we'd forgotten about. It felt very nice!

 

I did make the tarte flambée for a snack before we danced. It was delicious and it went very nicely with the Crémant. Now relaxing with a glass of Gewürztraminer before bed. 

 

JP  you and Chris serve as an inspiration to us!  Live long and prosper! 😁

[Host Jazzbeau]

17 hours ago, jpalbny said:

And despite what they say on the Gingle Bells website

I thought I had a new gin resource here, but I can't find any such website.  Are you having me on?

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[drron29]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I thought I had a new gin resource here, but I can't find any such website.  Are you having me on?

It was the one under the gin in my last post.here it is again.

https://ginglebellsgin.com/

 

So if any CC members especially those in the cooler are on a cruise with us just ask ands I will bring a bottle of the finger lime gin or the butterfly gin with us.Ask nicely and possibly one of each.

[wine-wine-wine]

2 hours ago, drron29 said:

It was the one under the gin in my last post.here it is again.

https://ginglebellsgin.com/

 

So if any CC members especially those in the cooler are on a cruise with us just ask ands I will bring a bottle of the finger lime gin or the butterfly gin with us.Ask nicely and possibly one of each.

Also https://theginisin.com/

 

ooh finger lime and butterfly!! That is so kind!

[FlyingScotSailors]

12 hours ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

... for me it is the botanicals that are of most interest.  I was thrilled to try my first bottle of Hendrix ...

 

 

I am hesitant to ask which of the "botanicals" you find best in the (Jimmy) Hendrix gin. 🤣

[Reef Knot]

13 hours ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

Ah, gin!  Proof that God wants us to be happy, doesn't she!  While the alcohol has its role, for me it is the botanicals that are of most interest.  I was thrilled to try my first bottle of Hendrix - yum!  Increasingly I find I'm more drawn to the botanicals than the alcohol. If you crack open that door, there is a world of flavors behind it.  Near the top of my list is Fernet Branca, an Italian concoction that some detractors say tastes like creosote & black strap molasses.  (OK, I made that up.)  But if you enjoy savoring complex flavors, it really grows on you.  We recently bought some Cynar, an obscure liquor made from artichokes; I'd take a glug of that before I strapped on the snowshoes, any day!  

There are non alcoholic gins on the market and believe me you really need the alcohol!

Wow, Cynar, my mother in law's favourite  appero. 

[Reef Knot]

The Gin craze eventually found its way to Madagascar which kind of made sense owing to the island's unique flora.

The gin itself was okay but it's not going to win any awards.

 

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

Oops, my bad.  Jimmy Hendricks!  A fun website for browsing (whilst sipping on your gin drink, I suppose), is www.theginisin.com.  Not only reviews of hundreds of gin offerings, but also of tonics & other mixers.  Good for hours of entertainment while isolating in your covid cave.  

[mysty]

Campaign - Day 20

 

[zqtchas]

[zqtchas]

[mysty]

15 minutes ago, zqtchas said:

 

It's like engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed man! 😏

[jpalbny]

Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

[jpalbny]

1 minute ago, ginandphonic said:

Finally, I found my home on Cruise Critic!

 

Yup, happy to see you here! Love the avatar!

[mysty]

Just now, ginandphonic said:

Finally, I found my home on Cruise Critic!

 

Welcome ginandphonic!  We dusted off a bar stool for you!  😁

[jpalbny]

Trying to find a recipe that will use the scallops which I thawed for dinner, and one of the nice ripe oranges which I want to harvest from our orange tree (first one of the season).

 

But I came across this instead...

 

[mysty]

Question for those who have transited through the Munich airport.  I realize that the experience in the before times may well be different from the current situation.   We would be flying from Stockholm to Munich then on to Montreal.   How many hoops would we need to jump through?  Thanks for any info anyone could provide!

[Host Jazzbeau]

[response to @jpalbny's GPS meme:]

The problem with driving directions is that we don't have lighthouses.  A recent article on the Noble Caledonia Travel Post had this quote from an experienced mariner:  "The GPS tells me where the satellite thinks I am, my dead reckoning tells me where I think I am, but a lighthouse tells me where I ACTUALLY am!"

 

The closest we have is the directions I once got in Maine:  "go on about a mile and turn right where the Cheese House used to be." LOL!

[Tothesunset]

When my sister-in-law moved many years ago she sent us directions to her new house:

 

"When you leave the motorway you go along a main road with several roundabouts. Turn left at the last one" 

 

(Think about it) 

[jpalbny]

Good one TTS! Of course you turn left at the last one - just like when you lose something, it is always in the last place that you look.

 

***

 

Dinner tonight was pretty nice. A lot was locally sourced, for sure. The scallops thawed for a few hours on paper towels to get them as dry as possible. A coat of salt and pepper before a quick sear in the pan (not as good as it could have been because I used a nonstick pan).

 

Chris took the freshly-harvested orange and carefully trimmed the peel, extracted the segments, and squeezed the juice out of the membranes. I harvested some fresh chives from the garden. A simple pan sauce of wine, butter, the orange juice, and then once cooked, the orange pieces and some chives.

 

 

Served with couscous that I cooked in homemade duck broth (out of this world) and a fresh tomato salad from the garden. So other than the scallops and the wine, most of the meal came from our back yard.

 

I paired this with a white wine from Cap Corse, which we bought in Saint-Florent last month. It was 100 % Vermentino (Vermentinu is what it's called there). 

 

 

My tasting notes say 4/5 stars. Light yellow color, some subtle floral notes but mostly a dried grass and herbal aroma. Medium body, fruity and acidic at the beginning, then fades into a long mineral aftertaste. Unlike what my penned-in notes say on the label, it was not sweet at all (after I bought the wine, I found conflicting descriptions online).

 

Now time for a G&T in the hot tub, I think. It's been pouring here for about 2 hours so the rain beating down on the skylights in the sunroom should be quite pleasant.

Edited October 16, 2021 by jpalbny

[wine-wine-wine]

1 hour ago, mysty said:

Question for those who have transited through the Munich airport.  I realize that the experience in the before times may well be different from the current situation.   We would be flying from Stockholm to Munich then on to Montreal.   How many hoops would we need to jump through?  Thanks for any info anyone could provide!

As of August 12 it was very easy. I believe there is now an online form that one has to fill out in advance. 
 

We did have one staff member that didn’t know that as US citizens not living in the EU we could not obtain an EU digital Covid pass. Thankfully her supervisor corrected this. Otherwise, lovely airport as always. 
 

oh yes, and the outdoor (and indoor) beer garden is fantastic. Have eaten (and drank) there many times. 

[mysty]

20 minutes ago, wine-wine-wine said:

As of August 12 it was very easy. I believe there is now an online form that one has to fill out in advance. 
 

We did have one staff member that didn’t know that as US citizens not living in the EU we could not obtain an EU digital Covid pass. Thankfully her supervisor corrected this. Otherwise, lovely airport as always. 
 

oh yes, and the outdoor (and indoor) beer garden is fantastic. Have eaten (and drank) there many times. 

 

Many thanks w-w-w!  

[rojaan19]

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!