Mais vin est mon préféré

I confess, I'm a sipper. I'm the one who always seems to have a partial cup of very cold coffee or tea nearby that, when you offer to get rid of it, I say “No, thank you. I'm still drinking that.” Granted, my first cup of coffee is about 16-20 oz. but I brew it between 6 and 7am and I'm usually still sipping it around 11am. Be that good, bad or otherwise, when my eyes are brown . . . from too much coffee, and tea is beginning to float my kidneys, I begin to look for something else to sip.

I also have to admit to not being a soda fan. I do like the taste of some, but a soda every couple of weeks is usually more than adequate to satisfy any urges.

Beer comes to mind. Yes, beer is a great drink and I love beer. I especially like Guinness (what can I say, I'm Irish), Moose Drool (a brown ale made in Missoula, MT) and Pacifico (a lager from Manzanillo, Mexico). There are a number that I really enjoy and are at the top of my list, and I have to admit that I can appreciate almost any beer. The problem is that beer is not a sipping drink. I still probably drink my beer slower than the average person, but it's not a sipper.  It's great with a meal, at a sporting event, cook-out, after mowing the grass on a hot day, after climbing a mountain, etc., but not sipping as you read or write a blog.

Now I can make a shot of whiskey, bourbon, scotch, etc., last an amazingly long time and I enjoy doing so, but it isn't really what I'm wanting.   As you might guess, Irish whiskey (only 80 proof compared to its American cousin) is as smooth as any scotch out there, and nothing beats an Irish single malt.  Granted these are sipping drinks, but, for me, these are meant to be consumed when you're sitting or standing around and more focused on talking to family and friends at some sort of get-together, or when you're winding down and want something really warm and soothing as you read or do whatever before retiring for the night.  Naw, hard liquors aren't the sipper I want to be enjoying from the time I start fixing supper until well into the evening.

This leaves wine, and those drinks that fall into the general category like sherry and port. After having experienced the difficult decision of what to drink for many years, I finally came to the realization that my all-time favorite is wine.  Le vin est mon préféré.  I prefer a dry wine, especially a dry red wine.  Some years ago I was on a cruise. The wine steward for our table was the son of Australian vintners. He introduced me to Australian shiraz. It quickly became my wine of preference, but there are always times when the crisp taste of a nice pinot grigio or  sauvignon blanc is in order. My father made the best sauvignon blanc in the world.  I remember having to prove this to the owner of a wine shop near our home in Dublin back in the early 70s. But red or white, wine goes with everything from a fancy diner to the most humble peanut butter sandwich.

P.S.  If you're interested in being a sipper . . . consider always drinking your wine, whiskey, or beer in good Irish crystal. It makes it even more fun.