Another gem from the OOPS file...

I imagine it doesn't instill an overwhelming sense of confidence when your local fire station actually catches fire! But that is exactly what happened this week in Tokyo.

Interestingly enough, when I was doing my paramedic preceptorship with the Philadelphia Fire Department, a very similar thing happened. We were called to respond to a neighboring fire house for an automatic fire alarm. Just like in Tokyo, the firemen were cooking and were called out for an emergency and failed to turn off the stove- although unlike the incident in Japan, there was no actual fire just a smoky kitchen.

Birthdays and Such...

Hey, good to see you. I haven't been 'round these parts in a bit. The old blog muse snuck out in the middle of the night a couple of weeks ago and hasn't so much as called me.

Since last we left our hero in the middle of a booze review, he had a ..ahem, birthday. I can start to see the top of this hill now. My daughter Kaitlyn prepared a wonderful dinner to help celebrate her dad's inching toward "antique" status. The older I get the more sentimental I suppose, because it was a real joy to spend my birthday with the whole family. As far as kids go you could do a lot worse than my smart-arsed little tribe! Everyone made my birthday a very cool day.

Speaking of family and birthdays, John is about to have a birthday Wednesday and I am looking forward to going out to celebrate with him. I promise not to repeat the dreaded "Backstreet Boys Karaoke Incident" that occurred the last time we went out in Brooklyn- he may never enter Brooklyn again without a disguise on!

Kathy is doing well and everything with the pregnancy is just fine, April is rapidly approaching. At some point we will have to give some thoughts to a name! (How many apostrophes are there in Dae'qwon ?)

From the "Even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes" file, I got the results of the shelf exams I took last month and I honored my Internal Medicine exam and comfortably passed Psychiatry! Contrary to what my wife believes, I am not a complete idiot!

Meanwhile I am waiting to begin the much dreaded surgery rotation on Feb 2nd. during which, sleep and I will become once again, estranged.

And finally, thanks to watching Jack's Big Music Show (you know, for Rileigh!) I have been going around all day singing this:



It's catchy, no?

2009's First Post...And It's a Booze Review!

Apologies to readers of this blog (both of you) for my lack of inane ramblings of late, the holidays- they are a busy time. I considered writing one of those hackneyed year-end posts where I reflect on the events of the past year and offer some maudlin observations and all of that, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. Suffice it to say to say to say that 2008 was an interesting year and I am very much looking forward to this year.

The astute among you will have noticed that it has been a long time since I have done a booze review. To that end, I offer you this:

Bulleit Bourbon




You can read the Wikipeadia entry on Bulleit Bourbon here.

At $37.99* for the 1L bottle pictured above this is not exactly a cheap drink, but at least in this case you seem to get what you pay for. Up until medical school I had always been a scotch drinker- almost to the exclusion of other libations. One of my pathology professors and I got to drinking talking one night and he recommended a couple of bourbons that he insisted I try. If anyone is interested they were Labrot and Grahm's Woodford Reserve and Basil Haden's. Being the quintessential lush alcoholic epicure, I was compelled to take his advice; and needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. Yes Virginia, there are also good bourbons. So, for the last couple years I have expanded my potable horizons to include both scotches and bourbons. I have tried many "good" bourbons and this one ranks right near the top.

I have a bit of a peculiar bottle fetish- no, not THAT kind of fetish!- I appreciate bottle designs. I am a big fan of Blanton's bottle for example, with it's pewter horse adorned cork and its multifaceted shoulders. Bulleit's bottle is both more simple and elegant at the same time. On the website it describes it as an old fashioned medicine flask design. I don't know from medicine flasks, I know it just looks cool.

But the real artwork is evident once the cork is removed. It is much smoother than most bourbons I have tried. It lacks that certain "Je nais se plawch!"- from the French, meaning "tasting like paint thinner". It does not assault the palate like a horny 16 year old boy with a willing prom date, rather, it takes its time and slowly seduces your taste buds into submission. It starts off with a strong honey flavor; and as it dances around your tongue making promises of eternal respect and of a call in the morning, the hint of vanilla comes creeping in teasing you and warming the mouth just so. It finishes rather dry (owing to its high Rye content) and not unlike scotch it has an oaky( but thankfully mild) after-taste that still retains some of its corny-sweetness. Quite delicious!

I give Bulleit Bourbon an unprecedented 9.0 out of 10 Livers!


* Purchased in New York at a mom-and-pop liquor store, so your mileage may vary.