Manny at Peace

The Boston Herald reports today that Manny’s at peace in Boston. What could be better news this spring than Manny at peace? So now we have the new trim and svelte Papi batting third from the left side of the plate, followed by the contented Manny batting cleanup from the right side. And for good measure J.D. Drew, lately of 100 RBIs in the National League, then batting fifth. Do we think the opposing pitchers will be at peace?

The other night I went back to the classics, searching through the writings of philosophers for some justification of my love of eating and drinking. But in this same Herald article, I discovered that, if I’m looking for a philosopher, I need not consult the ancient texts. Instead, I can just call up Julian Tavarez. The Herald asked Tavarez if Manny wanted to stay with Boston for his contract’s option years. Julian replied, in a Latin koan: “Would you like Jennifer Lopez to give you a kiss?” Is this guy a philosopher or what? So regardless of how the Sox play this year, it looks to be an entertaining year for sports copy.

Playing in March

Soon it will be March, and everyone wants to be playing ball in March. Three of the past four years, Cuse has won a tournament in March. Twice it was the Big East tourney in the Garden. Last year, against long odds, Gerry McNamara’s late game heroics gave us a thrilling, and enormously entertaining four day ride to the Big East championship. A year earlier, Gerry and Hak had led the Cuse to its first Big East championship in a long time. But as satisfying as these wins were, both years they were followed by first round exits from the NCAAs, and as nice as it is to get invited to the NCAA tournament, the season ends anti-climactically, if the team doesn’t hang around to play the following week. But in 2003, when Carmelo led the Cuse to their first ever basketball championship, when we all watched in amazement as the Orange dispatched consecutive number one seeds, then shot the lights out against Kansas, we hadn’t even made it to the Big East finals. UConn sent the Orange home early with a semi-final whupping, that maybe served as a wake-up call to inspire the team to play that much better in the weeks to follow. The point being, after last night’s win against Georgetown, and who better to beat up in the season’s final game than Georgetown, there seems no way the selection committee can deny Cuse a bid. So we don’t need four Big East wins to land an NCAA invite. One or two wins will suffice, and then we can go home, perhaps pissed off that we still don’t get enough respect, and rest up for the following weekend.

Some observations from the past five games. Andy Rautins shooting around sixty percent from three-point range. That’s like ninety percent from inside the arc. Plus, with Andy on fire, teams can’t swarm all over Demetrius, and he’ll get better looks. Not that he needs good looks; that fall-away is crazy. Eric D is playing the point better all the time, eleven assists last night, and he doesn’t have to carry the offense. He’s a credible three-point shooter, maybe not as hot as Rautins or Nichols right now, but when did we ever have three decent shooters from three-point range? The big guys have played better of late, although it’s too bad T-Rob is banged up. And what about my man PH? I couldn’t figure why the coach had him on the bench during much of the mid-season, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this five game win streak has seen PH playing close to thirty minutes a game. His rim-rattling dunks, his fierce rebounding (That last rebound at Providence that sealed the victory), his tough man defense, and his deft passing have helped the team out as the season progressed. He’s only a freshman, but like Josh Pace, he helps out everywhere.

I don’t ask for much this year, it’s almost enough to have seen the team turn itself around and earn a spot in the post-season. But I’d really like to see them playing for four more weekends, Nova, then the Big East, then the tournament, and finally the regionals. The sweet sixteen. Does that seem like too much to ask for?

Eating and Drinking

Last night, after a weekend filled with eating and drinking (more on that in a few moments, but really, what’s new?) I was looking for some philosophical support for a life devoted to the pleasures of food and drink. Unfortunately, none of my sources came to my rescue. I started with the master, the inspiration for this blog, only to discover that Montaigne reminds us to, “beware of the treachery of our appetites and to distinguish true and entire pleasures from such as are mixed and spotted with more pain.” Worse yet, “if the headache came before drunkenness, we should take care not to drink too much. But pleasure, to deceive us, walks ahead and conceals from us her followers.” So then I turned to Epicurus, figuring that the philosopher whose name has come to be synonymous with a love of food would bail me out. No such luck. “When, therefore, we maintain that pleasure is the end, we do not mean the pleasure of profligates and those that consist in sensuality….For it is not continuous drinkings and revelings, nor the satisfaction of lusts, nor the enjoyment of fish and other luxuries of the wealthy table, which produce a pleasant life, but sober reasoning….” Sober reasoning? That’s better than a glass of Highland Park? I can’t believe what I’m reading. And these guys call themselves philosophers? They should be ashamed.

However, this morning G-man came to my rescue, with an e-mail extolling the virtues of spirits. For example, that modern philosopher, Frank Sinatra, tells us that he feels bad for people who don’t drink. “When they wake up in the morning, that’s the best they’re going to feel all day.” So having been reassured that I am not wasting my life in some meaningless pursuit of sensual pleasures, let me tell you about the weekend we had.

Friday night was spent at the Chophouse, where I was pleased to see that my man Tony has stocked the bar with some malts one rarely sees in Rochester. I chose HP18 over the Talisker 175, mainly because I find the Islay malts (Yes, I know the Talisker is from Skye and not Islay, but its big flavor is undeniable.) are better after dinner; before the meal they can overwhelm your palate. And anyway, HP 18 is nothing to sneeze at. The Chophouse has these snifters that are about the size of a small fishbowl, and the gal behind the bar didn’t want the drink to look like she was cheating me. So by the time my pour was finished, she had left about five ounces of HP in the glass. We sat at the bar for over an hour, as we ran into Dr. Ron, who loves a good bourbon, and even that hour didn’t give me enough time to finish the drink. For dinner, I had ossobuco; and really how close to heaven is that, a huge glass of HP18 and Tony’s ossobuco? Susan had a Cuban style flank steak, where the meat was pulled into long strands, something new, but also a great compliment to the whisky. We spent enough time at the Chophouse that I could safely drive home.

Saturday night, we planned a light dinner, but those plans went awry. We wanted to go to the sushi place on East Avenue, but we got a call from the Gordon’s and they preferred a visit to Max’s. Like I might ever turn down an opportunity to go to Max’s? We tried to keep it simple, but Max simple, and simple simple are two different concepts. In the end, I settled for the scallops, which came along with pulled pork in Tony’s barbeque sauce, all on a bed of bok choy. We sat in the bar, a more relaxed atmosphere, and there was a birthday party for a lawyer I know out in the atrium, so all evening we had a stream of visitors from the party. It was fun, and just to make sure that we kept having fun, after dinner I had a glass of Lagavulin. I’ve taken to treating Lagavulin as a special occasion malt, not something to have on any daily basis. Everyone else wanted dessert; I preferred a glass of Lagavulin. Another night, another indulged palate.

Sunday we had nothing planned. So we made bracciole. But before I forget, it was a beautiful winter weekend, and twice we went out snowshoeing. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, that activity is now accompanied by a taste or two, in these instances of Macallan 10. So even our efforts to stay fit are accompanied by the ever-present enjoyment of fine beverage. Anyway, back to the food -- I have found this great bracciole recipe, one that skips the egg, and had a stuffing of prosciutto, provolone, garlic, cherries (!) and pine nuts. It’s wonderful. We drank zinfandel with the meal, so I went light on the malts, and I’m sorry to say that Susan didn’t feel well, and couldn’t enjoy the dinner. On the brighter side, she’s feeling much better today, and I didn’t have to share the bracciole. So now you see why I went searching for some reassurance last night. After all that wonderful eating and drinking, I hardly wanted to think that we’re living a gluttonous life; rather that we are enjoying life’s simple pleasures – good food, red wine, and fine malt whisky. That’s almost all you need to get through the week. I said almost.

P.S. A post-script. Tonight’s events have seemed to render this posting obsolete. Cuse whipped Georgetown in the final home game of the season, and probably insured that they will receive an invite to the NCAA tournament. But any discussion of that game, or of the late season turnaround will have to wait for another night. And how does basketball fit into an examination of a life well lived anyway?

Whisky in the Woods

So many important things have been happening of late, and I haven’t taken the time to post. For example, and not in any particular order – Cuse is now 19-8, traveling to Providence for their next game, looking to have 20 wins before the Big east tourney, all of which suggests they may get invited to the tournament after all. Diageo is building a new malt whisky distillery, apparently the first malt whisky (as opposed to grain whisky) distillery built in Scotland in a century. It seems there is an ever-growing worldwide demand for good malt whisky, and of course, if demand goes up, sooner or later the price will go up as well. The good news may be that, if the new distillery produces whisky for blending, that should free up more single malt whisky for you and me. Also, spring training is about to begin, and soon we’ll find out if Dice-K was worth the $103million the Sox agreed to fork over. It seems that the Sox are already recouping some of these expenditures, by reason of Japanese sponsorships. (Some company has paid around $1million a year for its logo to appear behind Dice-K whenever he’s interviewed.) However, all these pressing topics will have to wait for a later posting, because today we went snow-shoeing (if that’s even a verb), and drank whisky in the woods.

The best drink I ever recall, out of a lifetime of wine, whisky and beer drinking, was a Jack Daniels and water in the Adirondacks in 1975. Susan and I climbed Haystack on a beautiful May day, which turned out to be just a bit warmer than we expected. Actually, more like the year’s first heat wave – it was probably 85 in the Adirondacks that day, unusually warm at any time, but especially so that early in the year. We climbed from Phelps leanto, up past Indian Falls, over the Marcy plateau, back down toward Panther Gorge, and then up to Haystack. By the time we reached the summit, we were out of water. And although we got to soak our bandanas in some trailside rivulets, we didn’t have another drink of water until we reached Indian Falls on the way down. By the time we got back to our camp, we were hot, tired, and thirsty. We had left a flask of Jack at our campsite, and I quickly retrieved that, grabbed the tin cup from my mess kit, and found a comfortable rock out in the middle of Phelps brook. Jack Daniels chased with ice-cold mountain stream water. (This was back when you could drink right from the stream without any fear of Giardia.) Thirty years later, I still recall that drink as the tastiest, and certainly most refreshing cocktail of my entire life.

Today, Susan and I went out to Mendon Ponds Park in the late afternoon, as the sun was going down, and snow-shoed for close to an hour. It was a half-assed kind of holiday today; I had been the office for most of the day, even though all the public buildings were closed, and much of downtown was quiet. Still, any workday leaves one in the perfect mood for a drink before dinner. So when we went out to the park, we brought a flask with Macallan 10 along; not that we really needed it; we weren’t going for all that long. More like we wanted to enhance the experience of being in the great outdoors. And usually we go out with the snow-shoes in the early morning, so it would be a bit over the top to be drinking scotch when you haven’t had your full compliment of coffee for the day. In any event, today was the perfect occasion for a drink in the woods. And that Macallan was just outstanding. Now I’ve compared the 10 to my favorite everyday malt, HP12, and intend to write about that comparison in the near future. Not to give anything away, but the Macallan 10 really can’t compare to any of the HPs. I’ve become a big fan of the Macallan 15 fine oak, a big, full-flavored, and very smooth drinking whisky. Not overly pricey either. And it’s hard to complain about the Macallan 18, aside from its price. But the 10, which is the youngest they market, is a bit thin, certainly compared to the HP. Also, a touch harsh; it needs a few more years in the cask to mellow. But in the woods, in the cold, after working up a sweat climbing up and down the hills, it was remarkable. It tasted as good as any glass of malt whisky I’ve tasted in the past several years, and I’ve had a chance to sample some pretty good malts.

So I guess the lesson is that the setting counts. We’ve learned that a glass of whisky drunk in the pit, when the smoker is all fired up, or some steaks are on the grill, tastes just that much better. And it’s unfortunate that one can no longer bring a flask into a football game, because I’m certain that a taste in the fall air, perhaps after a touchdown or an interception, would be that much sweeter and smoother as well. I recall that G-Man and I enjoyed a touch of Aberlour 15, along with a couple good cigars, when we sat outside Turning Stone last summer. That was a wonderful setting for a glass of whisky, and the Aberlour seemed as smooth and flavorful that afternoon as any malt we had ever drunk. So for future reference, a flask of malt whisky ought to accompany us whenever we venture into the woods during the wintertime, regardless of the activity or the hour.

G-Man Back in the Cuse

Friends since childhood, G-man and I had let time and distance keep us apart. We still met at Andy’s each summer, and still attended each other’s life cycle events. But no more canot camping; no more bike rides into the wilds of Nedrow and Jamesville. Until Jon died last spring, almost a year ago. And since then, we’ve been in much closer contact - e-mailing, blogging, speaking by phone, visiting. It’s the only good thing I know of that came from Jon’s passing. And during this past year we discovered that, quite independently, we had each developed a love for good malt whiskies. So it was only natural that we found a time to meet last weekend where we could not only renew our friendship, but also partake of a glass or two, or perhaps slightly more than that.

The ostensible purpose for meeting in Syracuse was to watch the Cuse play DePaul. And although that’s not the topic of this posting, I’ll digress for a moment and mention that it was a typical outing for this year’s team. Great play for the first twenty-five or so minutes, and then poof, all that great play disappeared, as did the twenty point lead, and the team struggled to eke out a slender win. Devendorf and Rautins had been draining threes in the first half, but the team inferred that it didn’t have to work hard for the rest of the game; they could just let these guys hit their shots, and then walk off with a W. So there was no inside play; and with the intensity level turned down, the defense let DePaul begin to gain some confidence. Afterward the coach was critical of the fans, accusing them of booing the players. I don’t recall any of that; although I know there was much dissatisfaction with the selfish play of some, especially Josh Wright. Beyond that, I think the coach was wrong to reprimand the fans, after 24,500 of them came out on a freezing Saturday, to watch an unranked Cuse beat a mediocre opponent; especially since there is no particular history between Cuse and DePaul. And also because the team is 2-4 over its past six games, the two wins being largely unsatisfying, after the Orange had surrendered 20 point leads, and barely managed to walk off with the win each time. Check out some Saturday game between two other unranked teams with slim post-season chances, and see if there are 24,500 fans sitting in the stands. 2,500 would be more like it.

But back to the real purpose for meeting in Syracuse – I wanted to take G to Kitty Hoyne’s. And when we weren’t in the dome, we practically lived at Kitty’s that Saturday. First for lunch, sitting in the bar and drinking Irish malts: Red Breast, Black Bush (an interesting combination there), Jameson 12, Knappoque, and of course, Connemara. Every one of them was well received. (Did I mention that we had a taste of Talisker 175 and G-man’s special Caol Ila, cask strength, back at the hotel?) After the game we met up with cousins Bruce and Alan, and their respective spousal units, and then headed back to Kitty’s for an evening of fine food, and malted scotch whiskies. I can’t recall all the malts we had that night, other than a delicious glass of Aberlour A’Bunadh (outstanding), and perhaps some Cragganmore, certainly a glass of Lagavulin, and who knows what else? G was still recuperating from a bout of pneumonia, so we skipped going to the Blue Tusk for a nightcap. That will have to wait until the next time. And for sure, there will be a next time, not to mention further excursions for purposes of renewing friendship and drinking malts in the Big Apple, in Rochester, perhaps in Ithaca, and other points presently unknown. That’s the plan. Drink whisky for the foreseeable future. Do I have any other takers?