Knob Creek Bourbon

Clermont, Kentucky

Knob Creek 

Straight Bourbon Whiskey

100 proof

Very good Mid-Shelf Bourbon.

One of my Every Day Whiskeys

About as high end as you want to go for mixing and still tastes great neat.

Dark Copper Color.

Hot, fiery, sweet & spicy. Strong Rye presence.

Good Bourbon Burn.

Delicious, deep sweet oak aged flavors;

Vanilla, nut, caramel candy corn, leather, oak, char, honey, pepper.

Excellent neat or over ice if you prefer.

A perfect all around Bourbon. Mixes well too, with that full flavored Rye spicy heat.

Makes an excellent Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and/or Whiskey Sour.

My favorite of the Jim Beam Small Batchers.

Bottom Line:Always an open bottle in my Whiskey Bar.

Evil Twin Soft DK

Denmark

Imperial Stout

10.4% ABV

Soft Dookie

Smells like sweet vanilla.

 Thin side of medium mouthfeel.

Some chocolate and mostly vanilla, with a slight smokiness or char character.

Heavy vanilla but not sticky sweet, more bittersweet.
Dry mollassesy aftertaste with some residual vanilla, and licorice.
Decent stout. Not a standout.
Bottom Line:
Glad I tried it. Wouldn't seek it out but wouldn't turn it down.

Duck Bacon Jalapeno Sausage

Duck, Bacon, Jalapeno Sausage

Yes, it is as good as it looks.

Even better perhaps, depending of course on how good it looks.

The sausage takes center stage here.

With a surrounding cast of grilled onion, bell pepper, and brown mustard.

Grilled over open flame and served hot. I think they usually add sauerkraut.
Sausage has that nice snappy first bite then reveals tangy, smoky, nicely spiced insides.

Beef Brisket, BBQ Pork, Baked Beans, Mashed Potatos.
Since I am kind of obsessed with the Duck Sausage, I really have not tried any of their other fine looking, more typical BBQ fare. Looks good though...

 Especially the Brisket.

I had one of these first at Hess Brewing (First Anniversary Celebration) 

and fortunately,

I took a picture to remember the name: Ranchwood BBQ.

 Found out they do the San Diego Farmer's Market Circuit:

 Tuesday-PB, Wednesday-OB, Thursday-North Park, Saturday-Little Italy.

Ranchwooddeli.com

619.660.6835

They also make this Parfait.

Mashed Potatos, BBQ Sauce, & Grilled Meat.

In a cup, yup.

Marisco's Fish Tacos on Beer Row in San Diego

Baja Style Fish Tacos

Fried in batter. Served with cabbage, tomatoes

and a creamy white sauce.

 Occasionally heavy on the batter.
Tasty moist fish inside the crunch.
Depending on the day these can be some of the best ever.

Quality varies. Depends on factors such as, crowd and cook's disposition.
When these are good, they're stellar.
When not excellent they are still pretty tasty.

Pretty darn tasty. Well worth the dollar fifty.
Also happens to be in the heart of the San Diego Beer Area.
Close to; Toronado, Hamilton's, Stone Growler Fill Station, South Park Abbey.

Add your own salsa, onion and lime.
Two salsa choices, one of which is a killer creamy tangy chipotle.

Gobernador Taco
Shrimp, Peppers, Celery(?), Tomato, and Lots of Melted Cheese.
Hot, spicy, delicious.

Octopus Taco
Yup, a Tako Taco.

Ceviche Tostada
Fresh and Tasty.

Fish Tacos and West Coast IPA's are a Perfect Match.

There are a few of these Mariscos trucks around town.

Corner of Grape & Fern. In the heart of Beer Row.

 Building across the street is The South Park Abbey

The South Park Abbey has some decent bar food also.

French Fries
with Jalapeno Ranch & Chipotle Ketchup

Honey Habanero Wings


From Argentina, Los Natas...

Ufomammut & Bruton

From Italy and recently signed to

...

UFOMAMMUT

Unquestionably Italy's finest modern stoner band, or as they call themselves Psychedelic Sludge.

With a string of epic albums, from Godlike Snake to Eve.

Currently on tour in Europe.

They just finished recording a new album and look for a 2012 release.

Bruton

Also from Italy

 Bruton Stoner

Strong Pale Ale

7.5%
I have been reading about beer from Italy for awhile now and decided to finally try it.
Once I learned there was one named Stoner, I had to try it. Glad I did, I guess.
Sort of a letdown. Paled in comparison to most American Ales.
Just not a lot going on. It was ok and I finished it, but did not desire another.
Although to be fair, I just don't prefer Pale Ale in general.
Some citrus, and slight tropical fruits, maybe banana and apple like.
Was it worth the hype, or the price? Nope.

Bruton Momus

Strong Dark Ale

7.5%

Better than Stoner, although clearly Stoner is the better name.

Darker and more flavorful but still not great. Maybe I was expecting too much?
Sweet, dark fruits and malt up front.

Some underlying cocoa.

With a flavor that reminded my wife of coffee jellybelly candy.

For the same price, and much easier to find I can get any number of great ales, from Belgium.
Overall, glad I finally tried it, but...meh.
Both bottles had at...

San Diego, California

................

Besides running their own label..

Ufomammut is also an Art Collective known as Malleus



Buffalo Trace Bourbon

Frankfort, Kentucky

90 Proof, 45%ABV

Bourbon Whiskey, from Kentucky.
Always an open bottle in my Whiskey Bar.
I refer to it as my Go To Bottle but it could easily be called The Gold Standard.
Actually one of three Go To's.

Pretty much the perfect glass of Bourbon.

Strong vanilla smell, from the oak.

Delicious, multi-layered Bourbon tastes of vanilla, caramel, brown sugar,
molasses, caramel apples,and rye spice.

Affordable, and readily available.
For the price it can not be beat.
A great bourbon for mixing, or simply drinking neat. 

Bourbon is as American as Ted Nugent (and Derek St. Holmes)...

Trappistes Rochefort 6

Rochefort, Belgium

Trappistes Rochefort 6

Belgian Dark Ale

7.5%

Pours nut brown.
Smells, and tastes, like honey nut cinnamon raisin bread.
Tasty, complex, and delicious.
Interesting yeast sediment cloudiness at bottom of glass.

Overall, pretty darn good and the only thing keeping me from saying it's great is knowing how much better the other Rocheforts are.
Rochefort makes one of my favorite beers: the 10.
So, bottom line is, I just don't drink the 6.

La Playa Taco Shop Carnitas

La Playa Taco Shop

Mission Beach

San Diego, California

Carnitas Tacos

It is a Scientific Fact that Carnitas, specifically Carnitas Tacos, are the Single Greatest Food Item on Earth.

The ultimate edible pork product.

La Playa serves up my favorite San Diego Carnitas Tacos.

They get the whole, Crispy Edges/Succulent Chewy Mostly thing.

Like so many San Diego taco locales, they cover the pork with Guacamole.

However they are happy to make them with just cilantro & onion.

The meat is so well prepared it is a shame to cover it up.

I actually like guacamole. I even like it on some of my tacos.

Just not Carnitas.

I only want a few simple, basic, non-negotiable things on my favorite meal;

Onion,Cilantro, Lime. Salt is negotiable.

The pork is tender and perfect. Quite delicious.

No need to cover up such a tasty meat with avocado.

Just squeeze a little lime and you're in business.

I really like that they have salsa squirt bottles to bring to table. Green & Red.

If you get it to go, they are not stingy with the salsa either. Bonus points.

Chili Relleno Burrito
Super good. My favorite CRB in San Diego.

Chili Relleno, beans, cheese. Perfect.
The picture sucks, but the Burrito rules.