H.UPMANN

Tonight cigar was H.Upmann. It's light taste, but It's enough for me. I had a relax time.

umeshu

umeshu is a Japanese liqueur made from ume(Japanese apricot) and Shochu(distilled japanese alcohol, stronger than Sake like whiskey and brandy) or Sake. This umeshu was made from sake. It has sweet taste and nice scent of Ume. It's like a juice. It's easy to drink for light drinker and woman, somehow It tends that woman loves this kinda sweet alcohol in Japan, not every woman though.

tonight pasta

tonight pasta was fedelini with tapenade paste and maitake mushroom(seems to be known as Hen of the Woods). I made this tapenade paste, little much lemon liquid, so it tastes little more sour than usual, I think. but It's not so bad.

les graviers

I've opened a Loire red wine yesterday, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Les Graviers 1998. The vigneron is Yannick Amirault. the variety was Cabernet Franc. I've tasted some of his wines earlier, and I felt it's a strong wine, but after 9,10 years, It seems come to soften and smoothly. It seems that I prefer aged wine in Yannick's wines. I drunk it with a nimono(simmered chicken, taro potato, and sweet potato with soy-sauce based), olive, and cheese. I sometimes feel aged or light red wine can go together with soy-sauce based dishes.

chestnut

It's one of popular foods in Autumn, we call it "kuri". I've bought a back of roasted chestnut afternoon and share it with my family. It was sweet chestnut. We enjoyed a scent of Autumn's things.

beaujolais nouveau 2007

I've tasted some beaujolais nouveau 2007 today. Totally, I felt lighter taste than last year's wines. I've also Philippe Pacalet's. but somehow, it didn't hit me right. I'm looking forward to drinking 2007 beaujolais!

gabbiano

I've drunk a glass of red wine tonight, Chianti Classico, Gabbiano. It tasted soften tanic, juicy and fruity. It was nice. I've also sipped a Pastis after dinner. This pastis was made with natural ingredients. no sugar, only natural sweetness and smelt herb nicely.

kokken junmai ginjo

kokken is a sake made in Fukushima pref. This sake melt melon, vanilla, and little pine. It has sweetness and little acidity.

tsurunosato kikuhime 2006

This sake was surperb! It's wonderful balanced. It tasted rice, smells vanilla, bitterness, acidity, and sweetness. It's wonderful. The brewery is Kikuhime located in Ishikawa pref. I paired it with shishamo(a saltwater fish). This shishamo was also extraordinary. It's not usual shishamo. It's made in Kanedai-oono & Co Ltd in Hokkaido pref. It's completely different. It get tangled on my tongue, clinging to my tongue?, whatever I liked it.

concabianco

I've drunk a glass of Italian white wine yesterday night with a risotto. The winery is Poderi Foglia and It's the first time. It tasted rich flavor and nice soft acidity. It went together with the risotto. risotto was simmered with a whole squid and little herb like anise. I always feel a muscat and eatable grapes(which means not for making wine) when I ate squid dishes like risotto with squid ink. I don't know why. Might be only my feeling.

relaxing music

I've bought some CDs, Edu Lobo, Joao Donato e Paulo Moura, and Mazzy Star. Joao Donato is one of my favorites. This album was that he plays with a Clarineta player, "Paulo Moura". It's a nice relaxing album. I prefer listening it in summer, but still wonderful. And I bought Mazzy Star too, because I liked the singer, Hope Sandoval since I'd listened Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions. It's up tempo, but I love the music like that.

hana-omoi

hana-omoi is the rice developed in Aomori pref and some sake breweries. It's said that they has struggled to develop this rice for 15years. They aimed to make the same quality as Yamada-nishiki which is said the best rice for making sake. I tasted it with a dish, simmered with Hakusai(Chinese cabbage), Tougan(Japanese(Chinese?) winter melon), tiny dried shrimps, Ganmodoki(a fried tofu dumpling vegetables), some Chinese soup stock cube and mirin. Tougan isn't sweet fruit like usual melon. People eat it as a vegetable.

Sancho Panza again..

I've tried this mini cigar once more. and I think it's a nice cigar to enjoy for a wonderful short break.

weekend relaxing

I've opened a sake and drunk it with arani(simmered fish). This sake was strong and tasted little acidity and sweetness. it smelt fruity and vanilla. I meant it's not vanilla flavor which people describe about wine, not oak flavor. I meant vanilla beans. Sometimes, I get a feeling of vanilla flavor when I taste sake. it went together with arani. I also drunk sake as Atsukan. Atsukan is a hot sake, and you can heat it by heating in a microwave nowadays. You can taste different tastes with one sake. After dinner and before sleep, I've puffed a mini cigar, "Punch Petit Punch". What a wonderful night.

domaine vieille julienne 2003

I've opened a vin de pays last weekend, Domaine Vieille Julienne. It's getting higher since a famous wine writer has admired highly. Actually, it's getting nicer year by year, I think. I loved a white table wine which weren't allowed AOC. That was superb too! This vin de pays tasted very juicy and nice tannin flowed on my tongue and down to my throat smoothly. It was a nice wine.

tonight meal

I've enjoyed dinner tonight because I have a day off tomorrow.
Duinen dubbel, It's not bad all, but not so good.





the pasta sauce was made with Komatsuna and Shirasu. This is one of my favorite.




after dinner, I sipped a sake, Kuroushi. I think it's stronger than usual. nice balanced. I think that I should try Atsukan(warmed sake).



The cigar was Sancho Panza. It was the first time to puff it. and I liked this. It's inexpensive and nice balanced.

petit sumatra

It was the first time to puff this cigarillos and I liked it. It's inexpensive and nice balanced. It's enough reasonable price for me to enjoy.

mayuhake omoto 2007

Mayuhake omoto opened up this year too. It seems to bloom once a year. Mayuhake is eyebrow brush in Japanese. It looks like eaybrow brush, doesn't it?

passetoutgrain

I've opened a Passetoutgrain tonight. and drunk with grilled fish. The fish was kamasu(peto) in Japanese. The wine was a light taste wine. the varieties were pino noir and gamay. passetoutgrain was made with gamay mainly. It's said that it's supposed to made with 2/3 gamay and 1/3 pino. As opened it, it's sour, but after 1 hour, It became nice balanced and smell nicely. The cigar was hoyo de monterrey. One of my favorite.

villers trippel

It's the first time to drink this beer. It tastes fruity and hoppy. It's not so strong, and nice balanced. Not bad. I drunk it with pasta. the pasta sauce was pork meat sauce with cabbage, raizins, and dried porcini mushroom. I didn't add water, only the liquid soaking porcini and the moisture of cabbage. I added little balsamic.

aged sake

Usually, people drink sake in a year, but There are some aged sake like wine. This sake is aged in 2 years. and tonight sake is little higher alcohol than usual. It still tastes fresh. I've tasted 30 years aged sake before, That tasted sherry, but This wasn't that aged ones. It still has rice taste.
And I cooked a Arani tonight as Tsumami(a kinda nibble food with alcohol). Ara means the part of a fish which is useless, Mainly the head. but this part is still eatable and you can eat it by simmering. Arani is a popular Japanese meal. Usually, It costs about 300yen per one head, which means very cheep. and The head has collagen. I think It's a healthy meal.
The fish meat like this needs to pour boiled wwater to rid the strong fish aroma. and simmered in sake(for cooking) and sugar for 8 minutes. after that, add Mirin and Soy-sauce and simmer till the liquid get thicken. Basically, The taste is salty-sweet. You should ladle up the sauce and pour the fish meat sometimes while simmering.

Tonight meal

Yudoufu, Misozuke(marinated tuna in miso based sauce), and Sake. It's a Japanese meal tonight. The sake was stronger than usual ones. It went together with Misozuke. Yudoufu was also nice. The Tofu was a Kinugoshi-dofu.

tamago-zake

Tamago-zake is a kinda of egg nog in Japan. The ingredients were egg, the liquid of ginger, sugar, and sake. This time, I mixed all in a sauce pan, and put it in hot water to heat it up(We call this technique "Yusen" in Japanese). It tastes milky and creamy. little vanilla flavor, I think. People drink it when they get a cold. It's said a very effective hot drink.

Japanese olives

There is a place which makes olive in Japan, Syoudo-shima(in Japanese). I've received a olive paste yesterday, The taste is very Japanese style. The ingredients were green olive, ginger, and ao-nori(green laver). You can paste it on Yu-doufu(warmed Tofu). Kinugoshi-Dofu would be better, but I only had Momen-Dofu, but not bad at all. Kinugoshi is more soften than kinugoshi.

acqua pazza

Yesterday, I've visited my friend for a dinner. We've cooked acqua pazza. The ingredient were Kasago(a kinda rockfish?), clams, garlic, black olives, dried petite tomato in olive oil, and water. I thought acqua pazza was difficult to cook, but very simple meal. sauted each side, added clams, the other ingredients and simmered for 10mintues or so.

A.H. Hirsch Reserve Bourbon 16 years

I've sipped a Bourbon at a Restaurant bar after dinner Yesterday. "Bancone Yohachimaru", My favorite restaurant bar. They serve delicious Italian foods basically. They used to work some Italian restaurant. So that, They can still serve nice cozy Italian meals. The Bourbon was A.H. Hirsch Reserve Bourbon 16 years. It smells nicely and little sweetness. Usually, I have a feeling that It smells less fruity, more cereal(corn?), but this bourbon wasn't. I liked it.