photos from seattle

Some photos to accompany the Seattle video posted a few weeks ago. Enjoying the Seattle skyline from Elliott Bay Shipping ports intrigue me. Especially after finishing the second season of The Wire not too long ago. Salmon for sale at the famed Pike Place Market Emmelle enjoying a Dungeness crab-filled brunch. Blue trees in downtown Seattle. I'm not going to bother researching why. Thanks for stopping by!

seattle weekend

Thanks for stopping by!

day five of ten on the east coast

day four of ten on the east coast

After pounding a few beers with co-workers near Penn Station, I took the Acela train down to Union Station in Washington D.C. to connect with my fave cousin, Eddie Money Thursday evening. Among the few places that we hit during the night, the highlight was a whisky bar called Jack Rose where I spotted the Ardbeg Galileo. This single malt recently took top honors at the recent World Whiskies Awards. Considering that the previous year’s winner was Yamazaki 25, this bottle must be pouring something fierce at a meager 12 year age expression. The two ounce pour was reasonably priced considering its recent achievement, so we had to get our hands on it. Side note: Our server did not know anything about this whisky. I imagine a groundswell of new demand once word spreads about this coronation. Ultimately, I'm trying to say that our purchase was a great one. How was it? Good – recognizable Ardbeg peat, citrus, mild sweetness, and most importantly, incredibly balanced. The other highlight? Stumbling back to Eddie Money’s house to sip on a hard-to-find sour mash bourbon called Black Maple Hill. BMH has been building a cult following in recent years, which makes it difficult to find a bottle for a reasonable price. Money seems to be able to get it relatively easily on the east coast. How was it? It was good, sour. It would be a great everyday sipper to have on the whisky shelf. Of the ten part series currently being documented, chapter four begins a three day debacle of drunken debauchery. Thanks for stopping by!

day three of ten on the east coast

In short, an extremely long (yet successful) day, highlighted by a worthwhile dinner. The day started in the office, prepping and rehearsing for an afternoon pitch. The prospective client is about an hour west in New Jersey and the meeting went smoothly - no material hiccups to speak of. On the way back to the city, I hopped on another call for the west coast and remained in our office past 8pm before heading out to dinner. It was a long day for sure, but it’s easier to stomach these things when (1) you’re on the road, and (2) you've completed a successful meeting. A co-worker was thoughtful enough to make a dinner reservation at Ma Peche, one of the restaurants in the David Chang Momofuku portfolio. Dinner was terrific, no material complaints, but I was a little confused about the overall vision or direction of the food (I actually don't even know what I mean by that). Nevertheless, David Chang remains my hero, and I was pleased to check off another one of his restaurants on my “must-eat” list. I was happiest when his famous pork buns came to our table - a sure indication that we were dining within the walls of the Momofuku empire. The absolute best thing we ate, and a dish that had me banging my fist on the table in pleasant astonishment, was a foie gras with sarsaparilla, malt and brioche. What a delight. One other thing. Manhattan is obviously expensive, and sometimes, laughably so. Among several prices in the ridiculous zone, Ma Peche pours a Yamazaki 18 for $50. I was drinking this same thing at a hotel bar for half the cost earlier in the week. I really need to get my hands on a few of these bottles before it starts to retail for over $200. It’s going to happen. Thanks for stopping by!

day two of ten on the east coast

So night one actually ended with a trip to the hotel bar and a dram of Yamazaki 18 – a single malt that I’m currently seeking for my home collection (and is getting exceedingly difficult to find). I thought the $25 pour at a hotel bar of all places was a fantastic price. Day two consisted of some heavy planning and rehearsal for a new business pitch for the following day. As such, I wasn’t interested in getting into any sort of trouble, so I sadly ended my evening early by grabbing some (not-so-great) takeout Japanese food and eating in my hotel room. It’s one of the more pathetic things that you can do – eating by your lonesome in your tiny room. I tried really hard to get some rest but this proves more and more difficult. As I get incrementally older, I find jet lag getting more severe. These are small things that I notice about how my body is starting to breakdown. And I don’t mean that dramatically, just simply that there are subtle physical changes taking place if I pay close enough attention. All pretty exciting stuff, right? Life and times of GreensandBrowns on the road. More importantly, let’s talk airline miles! I think I’ll be adding another NYC trip to this list very soon:

day one of ten on the east coast

I’m writing from 30,000 feet, en route to JFK. This flight commences a work trip that spans 10 days; two New York trips on back-to-back weeks that I have elected to turn into one with a personal trip to Washington D.C. sandwiched in between. I've traveled this itinerary before, but it wasn't nearly as long as this current one. In fact, this is the longest work related trip that I've ever taken, and becomes the longest amount of time that Emmelle and I have spent apart (hold your tears). I rarely write about my work travel, but this is a unique one simply for its length. I'll try to capture a daily synopsis. I already know that my posts will be somewhat lacking; I'm not traveling with a camera and I already know that I'll be too tired/inebriated for any substantive documentation. But that's ok, let's see if I can commit to this. Today, there’s no need to wait until the end of the day for a summary. My flight will arrive around midnight, I’ll get into my hotel room around 1:30 and I’m hoping to get a handful of hours of sleep. Spoiler alert: not likely. I'll think really seriously about leaving my hotel room and finding some fast food, only to come to my senses and let myself go a little hungry (this actually summarizes about 75% of my work travel experiences in total). See you tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

springbank 10 and 15 years

I’ve been fairly lazy blogging about my whisky-drinking experiences. Bottles have come and gone, and I’ve done a poor job of labeling, categorizing and penning my thoughts about them (huge concern I know). I recognize that I have a bit of a collector’s mentality in mind when I buy new bottles, and I’ve received a few notes in the husbandry suggestion box lately to tidy up all of the half open bottles that sit on our bar shelf. The edict comes at a good time; I've become increasingly interested in Japanese whiskys (both single malt and blends) and actively trying to create some real estate for my latest passion. Why Japanese? Well a few reasons actually - none of which are rational. After learning about single malt for the last few years, I'm looking to sustain the hobby by diving in a littler deeper into one speciality niche. Also, the vast majority of Japanese whiskys remain unavailable in the United States. Admittedly, I'm attracted to procuring objects that are not as easy as driving to the wine shop (it should be much harder, like punching in your credit card on an online whisky purveyor). Lastly, I like the labels. I'll write more as the collection grows but just say a few words here. The Japanese (whisky) invasion has already begun. My current (seemingly original amongst my peers) desire to learn more about this niche may very soon be viewed as commonplace. Each month, I feel like I'm reading about another distillery or specific expression ready to export to the US market. This will be interesting to watch in the next handful of years. Just two years ago, I could easily pick up a Yamazaki 12 at my favorite wine store for under $40. I can't find it consistently now. And even when I do, I can pretty well kiss that price goodbye. Anyway, the original intent of this blog post was to talk a little about Springbank - a great, great single malt. At a whisky event, I got to try the 10, 15 and 18 year expressions - all unique and all delicious. There was one additional expression I tried that I kept going back for that night but cannot recall now what it was exactly. And as a fan, I pretty immediately purchased the 10 and 15 year expressions. Additionally, the lovely Emmelle gave me a 14 year single cask bottling as well (unopened). Note that these were opened in 2011. I just didn’t drink these fast enough, so I’m combining these notes with ones from memory. Springbank 10: (46% ABV) This is definitely for fans of peat. Its pronounced on the nose and lasts through the experience. Unfortunately, the wonderful salt and brine that define this scotch have diminished since I first opened it. More on this in a second. The finish is satisfying as salty smoke fills your mouth and escapes through your nostrils. By comparison, this is most similar for me to Talisker 10, and I'd really have to do a side-by-side tasting to really compare. Both are great if you appreciate smoke and peat. Springbank 15: (46% ABV) Relatively speaking, much milder and more refined. The 100% sherry cask maturation fills this with vanilla, it coats your mouth a little more and gives you something to chew on. A lemon zest profile emerges. I like this as much as any single malt I've had in the last couple of years. But it's time to part ways, as you are not Japanese. I’ve read a lot of mixed notes about how long you can keep an open bottle of whisky. There are some blogs I follow that suggest that you need to drink up that bottle within six months. Furthermore, if you are at a bar and interested in a particular bottle that’s about a third or less full, you shouldn’t take your chances. Just assume that it’s been sitting on the shelf for a long time and elect to get something that’s at least half full. That’s playing it safe. But I’ve read in some places that as long as heat and sunlight exposure is minimal, your brown juice should keep for years. From my experience, the former is true. And it really puts a great deal of pressure to drink and drink when you open up a new bottle. You know what this means? I'll be buying rare and expensive Japanese whiskys without any intention of opening them. I'm just planning to stare and maybe run my fingers along the Japanese calligraphy. Thanks for stopping by!

beef braised short ribs

We've officially hit the one year mark on our condo investment out here in West Oakland. There’s something about owning your own place that encourages you to stay home on weekend nights. And to explain a bit further, the best off those times are spent in the kitchen slow cooking for long hours and drinking classy (expensive) booze. As we get older, I’ve certainly adopted the mantra to “eat and drink less, spend more”. That’s not a real phrase, but it’s not an unknown concept either (I’ll work on making it punchier). But that's essentially the best parts of our life these days. At least I think so. So the search for new (easy) and flavorful recipes and cooking techniques is a true pursuit. Recently, I stumbled upon this fantastic beef short rib recipe and have had great success with it. It’s basically a one pot meal and takes nothing more than a dutch oven and time (you might also consider some short ribs, aromatics, a bottle of cab and chicken stock). This particular recipe pairs the meat with a parsnip puree but the first time I tried it, I basically made a bowl of minty glue. I haven't made an attempt since.   Thanks for stopping by!

baby adeline's baptism

Baby Adeline celebrated her 100 days and baptism all in one momentous day this past Saturday. Congratulations to the Mustards on the blessed events. Nice touch by the parents matching tie and dress. These aren't my photos, but I took them. I rage with jealousy over my brother-in-law's camera equipment. Thanks for stopping by!