Tag: wine

  • 3 Dryuary Recipes from my TV segment on What’s On Tap

    3 Dryuary Recipes from my TV segment on What’s On Tap

    Somehow somebody let me back on TV! lol

    If you are reading this its probably because you are looking for the information about the Dryuary products that I talked about on What’s On Tap. And if you are here by chance or because you missed that episode, don’t forget to check it out by clicking here.

    Here goes!

    The 3 drinks that I talked about on the show

    The de-alcoholized wine – Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon

    The de-alcoholized champagne – Fre Brut

    The cocktail – The Southampton

    Let me know if you try any of these and if you have any suggestions for more great tasting cocktails/mocktails for Dryuary!

     

    Cheers!

  • Women & Whiskey: My Recap (@stbenjaminbrew & @bulleitus)

    Women & Whiskey: My Recap (@stbenjaminbrew & @bulleitus)

    Recently, I had the opportunity to be invited to an event called “Women and Whiskey”

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    The event was held at South Restaurant in Philly and it was my first time there. I had heard things about the place, and it was exactly what I expected it to be. A very classic atmosphere with high quality food and great presentation in the food, drinks, and the staff.

    For the Women and Whiskey event, I attended it alone because all of my Whiskey loving friends had to work that day. 🙁 None the less, even though I don’t really like going to events alone, I thought it would be a great way for me to break out of my shy shell and speak to people and network at least with the special featured guest and others who came out to enjoy it.

    The event took place from 4p to 6pm. I arrived around 5 after battling a bit of light traffic coming from NJ. When I arrived I saw a familiar face that I knew so I sat at the bar with them the whole entire time, and lo and behold, I was also sitting next to the owner/featured guest of the night, the owner and brewer of Saint Benjamin Brewing Company, Christina Burris.

    One of the reasons that I attended the event was that I loved the name. It meant something to me, because throughout my experience within the beverage world I have noticed that there is a huge gap in the ratio of men to women within the industry in various positions in everything from the sales team to the production. It was very refreshing to me to see a female brewer who has an AMAZING product and making strides in the Philly beer scene! Can I tell you how much more motivated that made me to keep pushing in my business?!

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    Any whooo, lets get to the drinks I got to sample! 😀

    There were 3 beers that were available to sample as well as a bourbon whiskey (not by St. Benjamin). I was excited to sample everything there was to offer but I made sure not to do it on an empty stomach. I ordered the Crispy Rock Shrimp appetizer just to make sure I had something in my system. It was delicious!!! It was basically fried shrimp with tartar sauce 8.0 lol (but not really tartar sauce!!! Lol I don’t know what kind of sauce that was on it but it was tasty, I kinda want to put it on my fries and stuff.)

     

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    The First beer that I tried was suggested by Christina herself called Liaison Saison, the website describes it as A lightly hopped, dry saison with notes of peppercorn and a slight lavender finish. This floral beer appeals to saison aficionados as well as casual beer drinkers. It definitely had a floral scent to it, I could smell it before I took my first sip. The color was a light golden color and the flavor was crisp. I liked it and thought it was very smooth tasting for a beer that is 8% alcohol. The lavender added something to the overall taste that I think makes it leave a nice finish that isn’t bitter or linger longer than it needs to.

    The 2nd beer that I had was Little Peat from St. Benjamin. It was darker in color, somewhat reminiscent of a Guinness or other stout. Although, it didn’t have the stout scent to me, It smelled less malty than most stouts but still had a tart taste in the beginning but finished with a smoky taste, VERY similar to a peaty scotch whisky. I can see how this is going to be a hit in the fall and winter months for this brand.

    There was another beer that was available to try but I didn’t try it. I wanted to save room for the Bourbon. *cue happy music*

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    I was able to try the Bulleit Bourbon 10 year, of which I loooooved! It was very smooth and easy to drink. It did have a peaty (smokey) taste but it wasn’t overpowering and the after taste was very pleasant. It wasn’t bitter or sweet, it was very light finish. According to the brand – “Bulleit 10 is the brand’s selected reserve, delicious bourbon that, at 91.2 proof, is consistently smooth, russet in color, rich with oaky aromas and hints of vanilla and dried fruit with a long smoky finish.” I CERTAINLY didn’t get the 91.2 proof feeling but I guess that’s a good thing, it definitely goes down smooth.

    Overall, I had a good time, got to know some great new drinks and a new way to eat shrimp, and I may have a new spot to stop in and catch some entertainment when I’m in the city.

    To learn more about the brands I mentioned, be sure to check them out:

    Saint Benjamin

    Twitter – @stbenjaminbrew

    Instagram – @stbenjaminbrew

    Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/stbenjaminbrew

    Website – http://stbenjaminbrewing.com

    Bulleit Bourbon

    Instagram – @BulleitUS

    And be sure to follow me on Instagram – @topmodelwithbottles 🙂

  • Have you tried a Hypnotiq #Martini?

    Have you tried a Hypnotiq #Martini?

    One of my favorite drinks is the Hypnotiq Martini. Never had one?! You should give it a try, I promise you’ll love it. While you are at your after work bar spot or if you are at home and want to try something different. Check out my recipe for it and let me know what you think.

    Hypnotiq Martini

    Add equal parts of Hypnotiq and Grey Goose Vodka (any brand is fine, but I like to mix this with Grey Goose or Ciroc, depending on whats available) and a Splash of Sour Mix. Shake all ingredients together and strain into a martini glass or the glass of your choice. Add a cherry if you would like. an enjoy!

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    Drink Responsibly!

    Alean

  • So I decided to start #Vlogging…

    So I decided to start #Vlogging…

    So I’ve come to a point in my life where I’m like, #justdoit, lol. There are so many things that I want to accomplish and try and see, that If I wait for things to be perfect, it will never happen.

    I’ve always wanted to video blog and I’m stepping out and just doing it and letting it take me where ever it may.

    So here goes!

    The video blogs will be released once a week, beginning the week of 8/5/13 and will cover a range of topics. If there is something you’d like me to vlog about, explain a blog post in more detail, let me know. Comment my posts and videos, email me, tweet me, facebook me send me smoke signals or whatever! The more you talk to me the more I can shape the content to best help you all.

    I hope you enjoy!

    Alean

  • Cool Out With Some Sangria This Weekend #drinks #sangria

    I looooooove white wine, not really a fan of red. Especially red, dry wine. BUT, this particular sangria recipe with red wine, a friend shared with me and I love it.

    BLACKBERRY SANGRIA

    Get your favorite red wine. I prefer a Red (Rose) Moscato. Pour it in a large pitcher and add a healthy dose of blackberry syrup (not pancake syrup, unless you like that taste!) along with real blackberries, apple slices, blood orange slices, and a few grapes or peach slices and let it sit in your fridge for at least 2 hours so that all the flavors can marry and serve to you and your guests and watch it disappear in about an hour!

    This is one of my favorite sangria recipies and I hope that you will love it too!

     

    Enjoy!

    Send me your pictures of your Sangria on Twitter – @CompleteBeauty

    Stay Beautiful! 🙂

  • Memorial Day Weekend – Friends and Cookouts!

    Started out my weekend catching up with friends I havent seen in a long time (a few years I think) at Friday’s. (at the bar of course, lol) We all got some food and some drinks and well… here’s what MY section looked like by the end of our time there lol:

    We all had 2 glasses of Wine, 4 shots of Jeigermiester (don’t judge lol) and a beer for protection. (I’ll explain how a beer is protection at a later date lol) Some drank their beer, I let mine chill as we caught up on each other’s lives and shared a few laughs…Good times!

    Then the following day, I headed to a friend’s bbq for one of her family members who had graduated from college. Tore some burgers, chicken, hotdogs, and pasta salad UP! Then being as my homie is a bartender as well she created a mango slushie that was perfect for the cook out. By the end, this is what my area looked like lol:

    Yes you are correct, you are seeing a baby’s bottle next to the mike’s lol. We spent the cookout as aunties for our friend’s baby…you need a mikes after that! lol

     

    Fun times! Hope you had a great start to the summer this weekend.

    AND don’t forget to remember those who gave their lives for our country this Memorial Day!

  • “Wine-ing” and Relaxing After a Long Week

    Peach Sangria with Frozen Rasberries

     

    Well, its been a long week. A long LONG week for me. I don’t work Monday through Friday like most people and for me, Today my weekend begins. How am I spending today? In order to stop my whining about the long week, with some WINE of course!

    There is nothing like a good glass of wine to sit down with and relax with my thoughts. I’m actually sipping as I write this post. The weather is nice, not hot, not cool, just right and my reisling is cool and crisp and sweet because I made it into my favorite drink – PEACH SANGRIA!

    I figure I’d share the recipe, its pretty standard, but I added a few elements that I found online.

    This recipe is enough for a serving size of 4.

  • 2 (375 ml) bottles Riesling wine
  • 1/2 cup peach schnapps
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 ripe peaches, cut into wedges or 1 1/2 use half a jar of preserved peach slices
  • 1/2 orange, sliced
  • 1/2 lemon, sliced
  • Combine all of the ingredients, be careful not to make a mess as the fruit may cause the pitcher to overflow.

    Chill the sangria overnight for more flavor OR

    Add ice just before you serve it

    and get into your most relaxing chair or position on the couch and relax with a good book or the remote.

     

    ENJOY!