Greetings Everyone!
Today I am excited to become a part of this wonderful site and to achieve a few firsts.
1. I am the first male guest contributor. It’s a simple thing, but I can’t help but be a little proud. So hello from your new pal Fratellospirito.
2. I am the first contributor to focus specifically on alcohol and how it can enhance a meal.
3. This is my first blog post. Ever. I know, you have full license to ridicule me, but please continue reading.
So what am I going to be writing about? What crazy ideas will I be sharing? To put it simply, I love a great glass of wine, a simple yet filling pint of beer, or the taste of a wonderful liquor. Not in a weird or problematic way I assure you. I just truly believe that wine, beer, spirits, or their complimentary mixers can make or break a meal. They can turn a culinary experience from good to memorable. Whether it be used in the actual meal or simply to compliment it, alcohol, while offering many wonderful after effects, when imbibed in moderation, also opens up our palettes to a smorgasbord of sensations that we may not have experienced otherwise – real or imaginary!
It is my goal over the course of what I hope to be many posts to share my thoughts on these properties and offer opinions on how they can be used as another means of invention and creativity. I’ll also discuss how they can change our perception of what we put into our stomachs, for good or ill, and how influential they can be in some of our favorite dishes from not only a practical sense, but an experimental one too.
Before I go forward I wanted to lay down my credentials on this subject matter. You may be asking yourself, who is this dude giving me advice on booze? I know what I like.
Now I was not classically trained in analyzing any of the substances I will no doubt be talking about. My training came from experience, from the desire to try any alcoholic beverage once, and my experimentation with combining these different substances with things I enjoy eating. I suppose it all started a few years ago when I first moved to Los Angeles.
At the time I was just getting out of college and while I had a more refined palette for wine and spirits than most people my age, I could hardly claim to be superior. I have been working in the film industry since I finished school and my first course, so to speak, in the art of choosing alcoholic substances came from my bosses. While working in the VFX department on one the first films I worked on, my bosses, who were incredibly wonderful people, introduced me to the world of quality wine and spirits. Although I am ashamed to say it, my knowledge of wine was pretty standard – there was red and there was white.
But over the course of a few months I got to taste extraordinary wines from Northern California and beyond, beautifully crafted single malt scotches, and micro-brewed beers that left me asking for more. With that, my curiosity spiked and I have been teaching myself ever since. I may not have a full understanding of all the processes, the chemistry, etc. But I know what I like and I look forward to sharing what I have learned and what I will continue to learn with all of you.
So finally, what do you have to look forward to with me?
Starting next week I will begin bringing you a Weekly Booze Review! In this short segment I will review a particular beer, wine, or spirit that I have tried recently or that is an old favorite. I will tell you the price, where I found it, and whether or not I recommend it.
Also starting next week I will begin posting a monthly entry on how an alcoholic beverage complimented or was used in a meal that I either made or was served by someone with better culinary abilities than my own.
My goal is to have my readers want to seek out the new beverage experiences. To say to themselves: “I am not going to keep drinking only what I know.” Coming at this all from a fresh perspective and an adventurous spirit I have no doubt this will be a great deal of fun.
With all this being said, I look forward to next week and the start of what I hope to be a great friendship with you, my future readers.
[addtoany] Yum