(I was going to do one long post for all this but the first part got longer than I thought – so it’s here, and I’ll follow up with a post about New Heights in a minute or two.)

I’ve had some good beer this week.  Last night I had an Allagash ale aged in oak bourbon barrels.  I didn’t care for it at first but it grew on me rapidly, though one may also blame the fact that it is 11% ABV and I decided to sip some Willett pot still bourbon with it.  I was also smoking an Oliva cigar; that was a nice smoke.  Needless to say, I was a bit schnockered when I walked back inside.

The night before I enjoyed a Brooklyn Brewing Co. Local #1.  That was REALLY good, and at 9% wasn’t quite the punch that the Allagash was.  I followed it up with a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA and a Stone Pale Ale.

Somebody had left some Fiddler’s Green Pale Ale after the party.  I liked that one too.  We’re on a big pale ale kick around my house.  I like IPAs more because I like hoppy beers.  Matt, my brother, doesn’t care for them so much so we often compromise and get beers like Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale (which has been losing its appeal to me, admittedly).  Then again, with Stella Artois on tap right now, and it requiring the special coupler, we may stick with that again for the next keg or something using the same keg coupler.

Last night the plan had been to have a cigar with Marshall.  Unfortunately he got all tuckered out.  I happened to be over in Ballston Mall (across the street from where he lives) when he told me that because I was shopping for iPod headphones and considering getting a haircut at the barber shop there – usually I’d have gone to Tyson’s for that, but I didn’t feel like driving.  I got neither (all the headphones were too short and the haircut place had a line) so I wandered over to the ABC store near his house.

There they had a bottle of Leblon (and I hope I’m spelling that right) cachaca.  I’d looked at that bottle about a week ago plus the other two cachacas there.  The next day I’d gone online and found that the Leblon is considered one of the better cachacas available, but at usually 50% more than others ($30 versus $20 in Virginia) it’s not worth the extra money.

However, VA ABC had it on sale for $24.95.  So last night I bought a bottle of it and took it home.  I haven’t even cracked it yet but I’ve got some ideas for it especially thanks to the fact that I picked up Food & Wine magazine’s Cocktails 2008 book.  More notes on that later, and the idea I’ve had FOR A PLAN FOR THE BOOK!