Great Lakes Brewery Belgian Saison and De Koningshoeven La Trappe Isid'Or

Picked these up at the Cornwall LCBO just after the fall release.  A pair of Belgian styled beers, one from Ontario in the farmhouse style, and the other from the Netherlands in the Trappist ale style, both quality purchases, I would recommend the Saison for drinking alongside cheeses, fruit dishes or mildly spiced anything. The Trappist ale would pair well with smoked meats and lighter stewed fair, extra points if you happen to be stewing with dried fruit.

GLB Belgian Saison:

750 ml bottle. Pours a pale straw yellow, hazy with a thin head. Nice rustic aromas of lemon, coriander, straw and yeast. Taste follow your usual Saison profile, fruity and citrusy esters, coriander and bay leaf like spice, and a yeasty punch. Refreshing and complex at the same time. Smooth with medium carbonation and good mouth feel, a pleasant, lingering finish. Really enjoyed this one.

La Trappe Isid'or:

750 mL. Pours a dark, hazy walnut brown color, plenty of thick white head, lots of lacing. Aroma is pretty muted, a bit of roasted malts and bready yeast, rye or pumpernickel loaf. Flavor is mildly sweet, with a great hit of roasted malts followed with a souring finish. Prunes, smoke, malt and licorice all accessible. Medium bodied with a fair bit of carbonation, this one sits sour and oily on the palate. Enjoyable, but I like their tripel better.

See this and many more of my beer ratings at:
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Casa Magna Colorado Toro

Picked up this great Nicaraguan stick from local shop Celebrity Tobacco & Gifts in Oakville.  It came on high recommendation from the shop owner and Cigar Aficionado.  Measured a little fatter than your average toro, more like a double robusto really.  A firm, milk chocolate coloured wrapper, almost liver like with minimal seams and veins, I straight cut this puro and lit up without a cold draw. This cigar was packed with flavour, but offered very little in the way of transition: the profile didn't stray very much.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if your smoke tastes as good as this one did.  Offering up wafts of cedar and toasty cinnamon notes right off the bat, and developing into a smooth coffee and cocoa dominated smoke after the initial bite died off.  It was medium bodied and provided a pretty good wallop of nicotine, plumes of whitish smoke and a saline mouthfeel.  Really satisfied with this one, exceptional construction that burned well through the whole stick, and a tasty flavour profile.

Muskoka Harvest Ale

Lots of great new fall beers out at the LCBO in the last couple of weeks.  Aside from the fantastic Mad Tom IPA, Muskoka Brewery produces some top notch seasonal offerings in 750 mL formats.  Great for sharing with friends who are also interested in beer tasting, or selfishly tackling them on one's own, lots of premium brews are only available in these larger formats.

750 mL bottle. Pours a very attractive copper brown, a fine white head with minimal lacing. Aromas of malt, pine and toffee sweetness. The flavour profile lines right up with the aromas, a wallop of toasty malt sweetness, caramel and butterscotch, followed by a good bite of bittering hops, citrus and lanolin notes with a smooth finish. Medium full on the palate with decent carbonation and a lingering finish. Drank this one a little warm by accident, and rather happy I did, really rounds it out nicely. A textbook APA, and another great offering from Muskoka breweries.

Find this and more of my beer ratings at:

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Beau's Nightmarzen

A Nice Oktoberfest/Marzen from a local brewery, fresh into the LCBO as of this month.

600 mL bottle. Pours a clear orange tinted copper, firm head of beige bubbles, very pretty. Aroma is fairly vegetal, notes of bell pepper, flowers, and yeasty bread. Medium carbonation and body, smooth on the palate, distinct lager refreshment. Flavors of caramel and toast come through, a little roasted oats and herbs. A touch of sweetness with a light hoppy finish. A nice medium bodied lager.

Find this and more of my beer ratings at:
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Ridge York Creek Zinfandel 2007

Purchased at local LCBO, $37.  Decanted for an hour give or take, probably not necessary.  78% Zinfandel and the remaining in Petite Syrah.  Pours a deep garnet colour, verging on purplish.  Dense and syrupy, big legs and a moderate alcohol content for the region and variety; just over %14.  The nose suggests wild blackberry, fig, prune, star anise and a touch of molasses. Fairly sweet and firm on the palate, juicy fruit flavours come first, waves of deeply ripened berries and plum, moving on to some sweet vanilla and spices, anise and a touch of pepper, the finish turning slightly vegetal and off dry.  A textbook Zinfandel for this price point, perfect for a textbook pairing such as barbecue, pork stewed with dried fruit or glazed Asian-inspired dishes. Offers as good a QPR as many Ridge products, but I much prefer their more Carbernet forward blends.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 Connecticut Torpedo

I've been dabbling in cigars for a little while but this will be my first official review.  Purchased this from a new cigar shop in Burlington called Village Cigar Company.  Great little store with excellent service.  Went in the day after a RP event that they held, and they were offering a buy four get one free promotion.  This was part of the four, the freebie was a stick otherwise unavailable in Canada, the RP Sun Grown Toro.  On to the good stuff!  Wrapper was a clean tan shade, absolutely perfect with no blemishes, the stick itself firm.  A crisp white double band featuring the make and model made this stick very attractive.  Straight cut, the cold draw was very free feeling for how packed this cigar felt, it gave up a nice bit of tea, herb and lemongrass.  Toasted and lit, it threw lots of creamy white smoke and a little pepper.  After the initial heat of lighting died down, the spice faded out and gave way to clean wood and cream flavours.  It burned very even with a sturdy white ash.  The spice returned in the second third and I decided to purge the stick, the spice resided again and the mild woodiness returned with a bit of coffee.  Profile of the last third very similar, and by the end I was feeling only a slight bit of nicotine.  The spice amped up as the cigar ran out, but never unpleasantly strong.  Took this one right down, cool all the way.  A great flavourful mild smoke.

Blacktree Restaurant

Went out for dinner on Friday evening to celebrate my mother's engagement.  Decided to try out local favourite Blacktree restaurant for the first time.  Promptly seated at the time of our reservation, a huge table for the five of us, interesting decor featuring an assortment of eclectic art and a projection screen that played Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton silent films.  Enjoyed a few glasses of Prosecco with a complimentary amuse bouche of crispy rice paper, cured tuna and swordfish.  Bread was brought to the table, and a small salad of arugula and mozzarella de bufula for my girlfriend Maegan who is a celiac. Appetizers paired well with a value priced Gruner Veltliner.  Foie gras with roasted duck breast and duck proscuitto was well prepared, garnished with raspberries, broccolini and potato chips.  Sweet potato and curried green banana soup and a citrus octopus dish were enjoyed by my family.  The Barolo my soon to be father in law was after was sold out, but our server recommended a slightly more expensive Brunello as a substitution at the same price, lovely stuff.  Mains were preceded by another complementary treat, an intermezzo of what I believe was a spherification of chai tea, in a blackberry coulis.  Entrees included roast elk, beef tenderloin and a pork duo.  I opted for a seafood medley featuring perfectly seared mediterranean sea bass, jumbo prawns and a large scallop.  The seafood was highlighted with several preparations of sweet corn.  Delicious.  Dessert was offered, and the chef created an impromptu cheese plate with meringue for Maegan, a pear loaf was shared by my parents.  I stuck with a glass of Armagnac and nibbled on the nearby cheese.  The meal concluded with the temptation of more freebies, grappa or lemoncello which we declined.  The bill appeared with tasteful chilli and chocolate truffles.  Excellent bang for buck to be had here in the upper echelons of casual dining, great food, friendly service and exceptional understanding and accommodations for dietary restraints. Thanks to Chef Matteo and crew for a wonderful meal.

Blacktree Restaurant
blacktreerestaurant.com
3029 New St
Burlington

Delamain XO

Delamain Pale & Dry X.O. Grande Champagne Cognac; once again on recommendation from the good people at Vintages.  According to the salesperson this gem is aged a lot longer than necessary to receive it's X.O status and offers great QPR.  Pours a beautiful off orange honey color, fairly dense looking.  The aroma holds a bouquet of vanilla, oak, candied citrus, golden raisins and toffee, a definite wax or lamp oil note in there as well.  Rich in mouth feel, but surprisingly dry, the flavor profile is smooth and pretty, more vanilla, floral notes and a delicate acidity. A great after dinner drink, enjoy on its own.

Glenfarclas 12

Glenfarclas produces a line of single malt whiskys in Speyside; this one came as a birthday gift, and on recommendation from a Vintages product consultant.  Pours copper in color, with an average weight.  Nose is a waft of heather and honey, medium sweet with notes of beeswax and nutmeg. On the palate, it's a nice medium bodied Scotch, firm, with hints of wood, vanilla and spice, carrying the 43% ABV quite well. With water the acidity jumps a little, you can pick out some citrus oils and ginger.  The finish is a little waxy and warming.  Easy going, yet complex enough to enjoy, benchmark highland Speyside.

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