Hello ladies. Look at your man, now back to me...

Apparently Greg's on a horse. For more Old Spice action, check out the other two ads you may not have seen yet... and look Greg, you can even buy the t-shirt!!!

http://www.notcot.com/archives/2010/07/old-spice-continued.php#more

Is aging wine worth it?

I recently found a newspaper article presenting the merits of aging wine. It questioned whether the unrefined palate can appreciate the taste and also whether it matters that a bottle to be aged has a cork or a screw-cap. This comes at a time when my father, upon his 70th birthday, decided to open his 1974 bottle of Grand Cru Classe from Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux. While my dad must be given credit for keeping a bottle lying around for 36 years - we initially thought it may have been preferable had it been opened 30 odd years ago instead! We also wished it had a screw cap as the cork appeared to show signs of taint when removed. While the wine itself wasn’t tainted it did impart a flat aftertaste which, as I understand it, is a sign of over development. Dad didn’t mind the taste but I couldn’t help feel a little disappointed for him having invested so much time and consideration keeping the bottle for so long.

The beauty of this story for me, however, wasn’t about the taste but rather the fact that after all these years Chateau Dassault hasn’t changed it’s label - it’s very much the same as it appeared in 1974. From a graphic designers point of view, I find that quite remarkable and a sign of a successful packaging campaign... or just a very lazy vineyard marketing-manager, one or the other. Check it out, Dad’s bottle on the left, Chateau Dassault’s 2007 vintage on the right.



If anyone know’s where I can pick up the 2007 vintage, I’d love to give it a try.
As a segway from this story, I suspect we’ll be considering the opposite on Friday night, when I’m hoping Michael will tempt us with his latest case-offering all the way from Ebay.

Chicken a la soup can

With only a few days before our next project briefing I felt compelled to crank out my first beer-can-chicken. But the first dilemma was how to do this sans beer can! Rather than run down to the local bottle-o I decided to consult Google - as it always has the answers. An empty soup can was recommended - so I gave it a go. The build-up to this meal was bigger than the hype surrounding a super profit tax - but in the end it must be said that it was just as uninteresting. It could have been the Crown lager I used, or perhaps it was the rust on the side of the tin that imparted the earthy aftertaste. In the end it didn’t quite deliver. My other half, however, loved it. But I suspect her opinion has more to do with appreciating me actually cooking a meal rather than the taste of it. More hearty investigation required.

At last a beer can chicken

Well, its a cold Melbourne night, what better time to cook my first beer can chicken. A huge success - the kids even said they want beer chicken every night!

Project 3015 next meeting

Time to book in the next meeting for Project 3015. We might even get around to doing a beercan chicken this time!!

When: Fri 25th June 2010 7.30pm
Where: Michael's back shed

Not too much more to add to this I think.

Seems pretty on the ball.

Celeb Guest

Guys.
The good news is..
Scott Brandon (aka owner of Bright Brewery) looks likely to be attending our Wednesday night meet.

The REALLY good news is...
He said "Will have a car full of beer ;-)"

Also... I'm in the throngs of doing another chook tonight - with actual beer this time.
I think we need to come up with some sort of 'chookometer' to measure the greatness of each one...mmm, another engineering project for Greg.