Drink 130: Reading is Fundamental

Here at the Bottle Wonderland Estate, we take reading very seriously.  Mrs. Bottle is always reading a novel by one of the great authors of our time like Charlaine Harris or that British lady who writes those Harry Potter books.  Personally, I’m not one for them fancy books so I focus on the Internet supplemented by a variety of magazines.  With the number of different periodicals littering our home, I think we may be the only reason the magazine industry is still afloat.

One of my favorites is Forbes. The articles are fine (“buy low, sell high”, “Obama = bad”, “corporations rock!”), but the ads are what I really like.  If it wasn’t for Forbes, I wouldn’t know which fractional jet company is the best (it’s Netjets!), who I should use for wealth management, or which $125,000 watch gives the greatest value. One ad in the latest issue really caught my eye:

All I know is that whatever product they are selling, I am buying.  Those guys are obviously having a great time, and why wouldn’t they be? They have clearly reached the end of their long day of modeling.  I can tell it is after work because some of them have a five o’clock shadow.  Also, those two guys in the back seat have loosened their skinny ties.  That is a clear sign of relaxation.   Maybe they just finished a quick mani/pedi/teeth whitening session. I just hope they don’t crash since not a single one of them is looking at the road and the driver is peering into a non-existent side mirror. Whatever they are doing, they certainly don’t look like a bunch of douches.

Orange again

After they finish those cigars, they will probably settle down and have a nice glass of brandy.  Maybe they will have it straight or just maybe they will have our latest drink, the La Jolla, a mix of brandy, crème de banana, orange juice, and lemon juice. Crème de banana has a fairly strong flavor, but in the La Jolla, it is overwhelmed by the other components.  Even when we specifically sought out the banana flavor, it was nowhere to be found.  You definitely could taste the brandy and citrus, though, and it was not altogether unpleasant.  Probably not up to Forbes' standards, though.

I don’t have time for any more blogging today; I’ve got some reading to do.

Overall Rating for the La Jolla

Taste: 3
Presentation: 2
Ease of Preparation: 4
Drinks Until Blackout: 4 – 27% Alcohol

Ingredients

1.5 oz Brandy

0.5 oz Crème de Banana

1 tsp Orange Juice

2 tsp Lemon Juice