Scotch & Cigars

If you've ever read my blog before, you'll probably remember that I like a good scotch to drink and occasionally a nice, light cigar (preferably robusto). Last year when I went with some friends to Las Vegas, I really looked forward to a cigar bar called Casa Fuente. It's right near the bottom of the escalator near the Forums Shops inside of Caesars. The have some nice scotches to match your cigar as well as some specialty drinks that they are known for. The day I went with 4 other friends was memorable not only for the cigars, scotch, and comraderie, but for the fact that Dick Butkus was signing autographs across from the cigar bar in a sports memorabilia shop. My friends and I got the chance to meet him and take some pictures.

  This year, I will be traveling to my spiritual home in the desert once again, but not with a group. Originally I wanted to go with my wife, as she is a big fan of Las Vegas, but with 3 kids all under the age of 6, it's rather difficult to get child care even for a 4 day jaunt. Instead, I will be making the pilgrimmage alone. Yes, my wife trusts me, which she has every reason to. I love you honey!
I am already feeling the excitement of Vegas and am looking up other Scotch bars that I can relax in. I cam across this list, which is reassuring and will go well with my intention of eating some nice steaks. I had never heard of the Freakin Frog before and am looking forward to making it out to the UNLV campus if time permits to taste some of the owners myriad of scotches.

 The last time I was in Vegas with my pseudo bachelor party-like amigos, we did a lot of group activities, such as eating, drinking, gambling, and gambling. No, I didn't go to a strip club! I love you honey! During that trip, I missed out on 3 important things that I wanted to accomplish while in Las Vegas. Playing poker, drinking scotch, and sipping a big gulp sized Pina Colada poolside right after breakfast. This trip will be a redo, if you will, in order to check those things off and enjoy some relaxation time, sans children. I love my 3 kids more than anything else, but one does need some "me time".

  Well, I'm sure you get the drift of this post, so I will bid you adieu, as I need to get back to researching things to do on my Las Vegas trip. Auf Wiedersehen!

I love Scotch!

I am a apprentice when it comes to Scotch. When I was 28 I used to drink 7&7 which is hardly drinking scotch at all. I then moved on to Scotch and soda and the scotch itself was probably swill. When I turned 30 I started to give Johnnie Walker a try and liked it for a little while. Then I began to taste some real scotch whenever my wife and I would go out with other couples for dinner. Soon I ditched the water part and was slowly sipping single malt scotch neat. I finally bought my first "nice" bottle of scotch in my mid 30's and that was a bottle of Laphroaig 16 year.

I loved that smoky peat flavor with a nice smooth finish. After finishing that rather quickly I gave a bottle of Lagavulin a try which was quite nice as well. Still a bit of a novice I moved on to a bottle of Bowmore which was much smoother with a bit of sweetness to it. Not my favorite, but not bad at all. I just finished up a bottle of the Ardberg Corryvreckan (sp) and that took a while as it was strong. Tonight I went back to Binny's (they always have a great selection of everything) and debated trying something new or going back to the ol' standby by Laphroaig. I decided to try a bottle of Highland Park 12 year (which has a small bottle of the 18 year-schwiiinnggg!) and a bottle of Caol Ila 12 year to boot. That's about it for now. I will let you all go as it is getting late and I want to give these bottles a try. Have fun you scotch drinkers!