Re:Grappa (OT)

[Lawrence.Gowin@domain.elided]

"Grappa, a distilled Italian beverage made from left over grape stems, skins
and seeds after all juice is squeezed out, made 
to ferment then distilled for a powerful  after dinner drink.  My grappa now
came from the left over wine and I must tell you there was no alky odor and
it came out clear as crystal and almost no taste and the smoothest alky I
have ever tried.  I drank an ounce right down easily without gagging.  I
need a volunteer to drink a glass full to see the effects.   Guaranteed it
will go down easily without any trouble."

I was in Italy for my honeymoon a few months ago.  It was our plan to get as
much of the Italian experience as possible.  In preparation for this trip,
we took a course in Italian and used it as much as I could and often when I
couldn't.  We ate at small restaurants, shopped in real shops, and where
possible avoided any place where there were other Americans.  As part of our
my Italian experience, I decided I had to have grappa.  I never really knew
what grappa was, but for some reason I thought it was added to coffee.  I
asked a waiter one night about this in my very bad Italian, and by his
reaction I realized that this was not how to drink grappa.  Having made a
fool of myself, I passed on it that night.  A few days later after a meal
and the better part of a bottle of wine, I decided the time had come for me
to have a taste.  I ordered "un grappa, per piacere" and a few minutes
later, it was in front of me.  It looked benign enough, but in my earlier
years I learned that the less color an alcohol has, the more you should
beware of it.  So there in front of me was a shot glass full of clear
liquid.  I took a little sip just to try it out and know what I was in for.
My instincts were spot on.  It tasted a bit like kerosene, but not so
petroleum based.  Seeing my reaction, my wife wouldn't try it despite my
croaking of "no really, its good...<hack hack>".  I realized I was on my
own, and this little shot glass looked like 2 quart pitcher full of racing
gas.  For the next few minutes, I stared at it hoping that someone smoking
at an adjacent table would flick their cigarette towards us and the grappa
would go up in a quick whoosh of blue flame.  After a while, I accepted that
wasn't likely and I would have to suck it up like a man, figuratively and
literally.  I readied my glass of water and rearranged my napkin and
pictured in my mind how I would go through the motions of taking this shot
of grappa as quickly and perfectly as possible without actually tasting any
more of it.  Then I waited a few more minutes, rearranging my water and
napkin.  Finally, I picked it up and drank it.  It was 'an acquired taste'.
It made my stomach warm, which is I suppose the point.  The next day, I had
the worst hangover I'd had in years.  We brought back from Italy some pesto,
wine, candies, leather goods, glass from Mureno, but no grappa.  If anyone
goes to Italy, I highly recommend trying some just to say you've had it.
But with my experience, I can't imagine drinking a whole glass of grappa.
Taste aside, I would think you'd be ploughed.  Fred, I hope your grappa is a
lot better than what I had.

Cheers,
Lawrence


Lawrence Gowin
Level (3) Communications
lawrence.gowin@domain.elided
Office:	(720) 888-1234

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