Happy Friday, we made it through another week again! This week I’m deviating somewhat from the usual recipe making that I do, and instead doing a sort of Cocktail of the Week: On The Road post. Unlike the last two times I did on the road reports, I will not be based in the UK, or mid oceanic crossing in an airplane. Instead, I’ll be reviewing <<DRINK>> from the exotic locale of….Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Exciting right? Yeah, I get it. But, I’m looking at this like its an opportunity to get back to somewhat normal, or start embracing the new normal. Whatever the hell that is.

Mrs. Sharkbait and I have been considerably more conservative in our approach to the pandemic than most of our friends, due family history of relatives been on ventilators for unrelated illnesses (fully recovered from by the way) to some immuno-compromised family members, and Sharkette who is SO CLOSE to getting vaccinated. Despite a close when I shared a car with someone who was later positive, we’ve managed to stay COVID free, which is a minor miracle.

Our reluctance to do anything indoors has severely limited our ability to go out and enjoy things like we used to. However with the occasional spring like days happening now, we decided to treat ourselves (for our own sanity) to try someplace new around here. We found some great outside (and heated) seating and had a fantastic evening. But enough about that, let’s get to the drink:

Thursday Night 8:15pm update

So…my grand plan of ordering and reviewing a cocktail at the place we went for dinner didn’t exactly work out, as the menu was beer and wine only. I guess I should have perused the entire menu, as opposed to just looking at the food.

So, with apologies to Litre, I’m gonna talk about (and more than likely get all the tasting notes and descriptions horribly wrong) the wine!

First up was an attempted glass of Seehof Riesling from Germany. As per the waiter, there was a run on the Riesling the past couple days so they were out of the wine. I pivoted to a Jean Masson Jaquere. Much to my surprise, a small glass of the aforementioned Riesling appeared with our wine!

The Riesling has a mellow, almost buttery nose, which is not something I would have expected it to have. The flavor is very dry and fruit forward. There is a good amount of amount of acidity to it as well.
The mouth feel is slightly effervescent, despite the lack of bubbles in it.  Overall, this is a very nice light white. It’s good all around, and it paired very well with the pork belly porchetta we had as a starter.

Now, for the Jaquere. This white has a much more subdued nose than the Riesling. A classic white wine aroma is featured here. It has a much lighter body and is a  touch sweeter than the Riesling was. There is not as much of a bubbly or effervescent mouth feel, unlike the Riesling. I liked this white a lot, it is very smooth and was a great compliment with the spicy Cajun mahi I had as my main.

The Riesling overall has more of a bite than the Jaquere, so it might edge it out ever so slightly in my book. I like drier white wines so that makes sense.

As a bonus, I got a glass of Chateau Barouillet Chenin Blanc to go with dessert. I’ve never had a Chenin Blanc, so I was curious and decided to say fuck it and order one.

Well, this is definitely a dessert wine, that’s for sure. The nose is not quite oaky, but something very similar. With hints of toasted… something. I cant quite put my finger on it. It’s not quite caramel but close. Maybe honey? The flavor is sweet, not doubt about that. After the initial sweetness starts to wear off, I get some slight roast-y sort of honey notes in the flavor. It also has a very smooth mouth feel, and was an excellent companion to the chocolate tart we shared for dessert.

So, no cocktail this week, but I thoroughly enjoyed a sense of normalcy that I was able to escape to for a few hours. Cross your fingers that good data comes out of the pediatric trials. Once Sharkette is vaccinated I’ll feel a lot more comfortable going out places again. Until then, catch me outside next to a heated table or bar.

(Banner image found here)