Fridays in January Part Two

The following Friday was near the end of a long day, incredibly long day. I had my first accounting exam, pre-work, and had set my alarm for 1:30AM for a last minute cramming session, but work up pre-midnight and was awake ever since. I left the office with no real plans for an Meiji stop, when my co-worker Sondra texted me, asked me if I wanted a Scrabble re-match and that she was free until 6 when another co-worker would be joining her down at Meiji. I gathered my things, unfortunately could not locate my Scrabble board, so the rematch will have to wait.

Brief history, Sondra and I have had only one game of Scrabble in which I was winning through out until the very last move. At this point, I cannot remember what the winning word was, but after she laid it down and subtracting my tile, I lost by one point. So there will be a re-match, and I hope to blog about it and have photos of our board to show, but not this time.

It was a good thing, I didn't have the board, because Jenabe showed up about the same time I did and we all ordered drinks and I passed on my Rittenhouse recommendation to him that I had received from another LS&Co employ Sean (see earlier entry). Had a shitake skewer from the happy hour menu and a 4 Roses, the new bourbon of the week, with my single cube of ice. Found out they are no longer stocking the Angel's Envy -- so I will have to try this on my own somewhere else. 4 Roses seems like the perfect Kentucky bourbon to have at Izakaya Meiji Company since it is owned by the Japanense Kirin Brewing Company. Like most American whiskeys, 4 Roses was sweet, somewhat of a mix of caramel and honey, but what struck me was the subtleties of spice in the whiskey. I think, more than most, I captured a sense of cinnamon on the 4 Roses. Nice $4 pour as a the bourbon of the week.

We talked about work. The history of LS&Co in Eugene. About school. About music. Great history of concerts by Jenabe when he grew up in the bay area. Most impressed by D.R.I. Made me miss the good old hard core days. Food and then I wrapped it up with the first whiskey I am not going to recommend, sadly, a Scotch. The Balvenie gets its name from being aged in first oak then sherry barrels. It had a definite lingering sting that it left, which spoiled anything else I drank (even water) and ruined my food. I would be willing to have  another go at the Balvenie Double, but it would probably need to be on the rocks, with no other food or beverage on the horizon, not even another Scotch or a bourbon. The Balvenie is meant to be drunk alone, from my best estimation, so purely, my least favorite pour of the new year.