Pestilog

There was indeed Christmas in Budapest (the booze narrative)

Ok, for starters, this is the first of a series of blog entries that I have been meaning to make for a little while. I'm playing catch up, so bear with me here. Second, I would really like to insist that I have actually NOT been drinking the copious amounts of alcohol that reading this blog might make you think I do. I'm not a drunk, my liver is fine, I just get really excited about liquor sometimes. Really excited. I mean, what do you expect me to do when people bring GORGEOUS stuff like this in to my life?

I mean seriously. SERIOUSLY! I dont even remember what we had for dinner. But I remember every drop of liquid that hit my tongue.

For starters, I had just gotten back from my trip to Warsaw with Kasia. I had brought back an assortment of goodies, including two of my favorite vodkas ever (and I fancy myself kind of a vodka snob, so know that I take these products very seriously.)
The first is Siwucha, which is apparently a Slavic word for 'moonshine'.

This vodka comes sealed with a cork, and demands commitment. The first time I ever enjoyed this stuff was in Portland when Kasia brought back a bottle, and she and Lauren and I sat on the stoop of the pink house and cleaned the whole thing off in one evening. We didn't move from that stoop for hours, and had the most hilarious time ever. I am so in crazy love with that evening.

Then there is the Zubrowka, the vodka infused with Bison Grass.

This stuff is so delicious, I can't even tell you. But I can try. It's sooo delicious. It is discussed in Somerset Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge:

It smells of freshly mown hay and spring flowers, of thyme and lavender, and it's soft on the palate and so comfortable, it's like listening to music by moonlight.

Then came the home brew. Kristina was one of our dinner guests/esteemed cooks for the evening. She brought with her a huge bottle of tuica that her brother had distilled from plums in her backyard in Romania. Oh, wait, maybe I didn't say that clearly enough....ahem DISTILLED FROM PLUMS THAT GROW WILD IN HER GARDEN IN ROMANIA. My god it was beautiful. It was a strong liquor, like palinka, but so sweet and tart, like the fruit. By the time we drank it, it had little alcohol left in it, because before she served it, she simmered it with black peppercorns and then served it hot. Here, she is going to hate this picture, but its the only one I have of the moment!



We were also serving hot mulled wine and all the beer that could be drug in the door. It was a crazy evening, what with all the food and drink. We had a lot of people over to help too.
Stephen's rad girlfriend Meghan was in town:

As well as Emrah, who was with us for a couple of days from Hospitality Club:
Heh, that guy was a lot of fun. We didn't get nearly enough time to run around while he was here...stupid papers and whatnot.

We also had all of Tyler's family was in from California as well. It was a full house. For sure. We are still figuring out which leftovers in the fridge are from that day. My goodness.

Labels: E-mrah, hospitality club, hotlinks, house, kasia, Kristina, liquor, Meghan, photos, thin justification for my existace

posted by Veruka2 @ 12:33 AM