100 Annos Reposado – pass

Some time back I purchased a bottle of 100 Annos Reposado which was 100% Agave. I seem to recall the price point was about $15 on sale and I found the bottle lurking in the bar. I bought this Tequila for Margaritas and never really enjoyed the flavor because it was so boring. Turns out it’s a Beam brand and I’m not sure who came up with the bright idea someone would really like a boring Reposado even at a sub $20 price point. I mixed two Margaritas over the weekend and both were boring and devoid of Tequila character. I’d have had better success using Cuervo Gold since it at least has some flavor even if it isn’t good Tequila. I’d suggest if you see the 100 Annos on the shelf you not get too close in case you spontaneously started to cry after it bores you to tears. Save yourself the heartache and buy something else worthy of your time. Thumbs down.

 

Résum-Ale

Looks like a Canadian homebrewer and graphic designer, Brennan Gleason, came up with the most innovative version of a résumé yet. He brewed a blonde ale and put his résumé on the four pack carrier and the bottles. Best thing of all is he got a job!

If They Find It, They Will Play With It

I have to say I agree 100%. If kids find something or are told not to touch it, they certainly will. This video was created by a group I know little about called Evolve. I’ve been checking out their website and some of the things they say make sense. I think the jury is still out on the organization as a whole, but I do like this video.

It only took 79 years!

June 19 was a great day for the residents of Durham County. That was the day Senate Bill 226 became law and struck down the requirement for people living in Durham County to register their firearms with the Clerk of Court.

I’m not quite sure what prompted the legislation back in 1935, but striking down chapter 157 is the smartest thing anyone has done in our state in a very long time. If you are interested in the verbiage from back in the day you can view the OCR scan and ignore the misspelled words the computer could not quite get right and understand something bad was going on in Durham at the time. I’m guessing crime had risen due to Prohibition and residents were growing weary of it so they asked their representative to do something and they came up with a gun registration so they could prosecute those who committed crimes with a firearm which was not registered. Of course this is pure conjecture on my part, but why enact a registration on a single county?

I found the old law from 1935 which was just struck down, it makes for some interesting reading. Enjoy!

Public-local laws passed by the General Assembly ; Private laws passed by the General Assembly [1935]
Pages: 188, 189, 190

Suppose the Anheuser-Busch InBev machine opposed your application

It appears AB InBev has taken offense with the trademark application from a North Carolina brewery/brewpub. Natty Greene’s has been operating out of GSO for at least 10 years. When they started moving into new markets they decided to file for trademark protection. Now I’m not one who believes breweries need to trademark beer names and all that jazz, but certainly a trademark for a name is called for, especially after the BS we saw Magic Hat pull last year. Apparently in this case AB InBev feels people might somehow mistake Natural Light and Natty Greene’s. In college we called Natural Light by a nickname, Natty’s, but it was not a term of endearment. It was a slam, a slur, in fact we dubbed it “the beer that’s in when the wallet is thin” and “the beer to have when you are having more than one.” Apparently they feel their trademarks for “Natty Light”, “Fatty Natty”, and “Natty Daddy” aren’t good enough and they want to keep Natty Greene’s from trademarking the name they have used for over a decade. If you are so inclined give AB InBev a jingle at 1-800-DIAL-BUD and let them know just how you feel about their trademark challenge.

There Will Be Blood

…at the Lexington Avenue Brewery until someone cleans it up! It appears the band Young And In The Way won’t be invited back to the LAB anytime soon after they made a bloody mess of the stage Sunday night. I’m not sure how much the band was to be paid, but I’d think the LAB will own them if they decide to go that route. Why the heck would a band think it is acceptable to ruin a brewpub by pouring blood all over the stage. Even if that is your shtick do it in an area or a venue where it can be easily cleaned. Heck, how about putting down some plastic on the stage. Oh that’s right, it’s dangerous, kinda like pigs blood in a restaurant/brewery. I gotta feeling these guys have played their last gig in most NC venues. I know I wouldn’t let them in my establishment without an up front retainer for cleaning which would probably be more than their take of the door. There is bound to be a garage or basement they can demolish somewhere.

Lunazul Reposado

On a whim I decided to purchase a bottle of Lunazul Reposado for making margaritas, mainly based on the price point. At around $15 on sale I just couldn’t see how it would be a bad decision for 100% Agave Reposado Tequila. Turns out it was an excellent decision. My norm is Cuervo Tradicional at something like 20 beans, but I actually think I may like the Lunazul more. In truth I am not drinking Tequila on the rocks unless it is high-end, but perhaps I should and give this puppy a whirl. Next month the Lunazul Anejo goes on sale for $19 and to find an Anejo worth a flip for less than $30 is rare. I know I have paid over $60 for a really great bottle of Anejo. Turns out Lunazul was started by a family which once owned a stake in Cuervo, but sold it while retaining their agave fields. They entered the marked in a bit of a no man’s land of price points above the crap which poses for Tequila, but below the premium market. I may have found a new house Tequila.

BJCP Lead Graders Needed

Hopefully this post will spark someone to volunteer as a lead grader for a BJCP Exam. The call went out recently that we need more lead graders for exams and we need them NOW. If you have been a grader in the past and want to step up to lead now is the time. Even if you have not been lead, step up and grade a set if you are National or higher. You can volunteer by contacting the Exam Directors.

 

Fraidy Cat(s)?

I happened to read a newspaper article about a private gun range in Pittsboro which happened to be positioned next to a cat sanctuary which rescues cats from kill shelters. According to the article the sanctuary houses around 200 cats and is positioned about 600 feet off the range property line. Now I must admit I am a cat person and I like there is a crazy cat lady willing to save these felines from the shelters and give them a home. I also think the complaints by the owner are unfounded. She said the shooting at the range caused one cat to have a seizure. I’ve been around cats all my life and have never known one to have a seizure due to noise in the distance. I like this line from the article, “The skinny felines seem to ignore the gunshots except to occasionally stare wide-eyed toward the sound, tails twitching.” I think what we have here is a slightly off-center sanctuary owner making much ado about nothing. If the sound was loud enough to scare the cats they would leave the area and head for cover or cower in fear. If all they are doing is looking toward the sound and twitching their tails they are just being cats.

Why don’t we really peel the onion a little further. It appears our cat lady opposed the range before it even came to town. She obviously never even gave the range a chance before she wrote it off as detrimental to society. I really despise people like this who exist without an open mind. She set her sights on the range and probably will never accept them. In the end the cats will be fine and hopefully the range will continue to operate. Can’t we all just get along?

Flying The Friendly Skies

Last week when I was returning from a trip and on the way out of the airport we had to get our checked luggage tagged and then give it to the TSA Agent for screening. They asked if there were any firearms in the luggage and if the bags had been out of our possession. The answers were no and no, but it got me thinking about how do you fly with firearms. I know they are verboten in carry on, but somewhere in the back of my mind I know there is a means to put them in checked luggage so off to the TSA website I went.

It actually seems pretty simple. Firearms must be unloaded in a locked hard-sided container and declared to the airline at check-in. Ammunition must be in a container designed to carry ammunition in your checked luggage and does not have to be declared so long as it is allowed by the airline. Seems pretty simple all things considered.

Item	Carry-On	Checked
Small arms ammunition, including ammunition up to .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge- Check with your airline or travel agent to see if ammunition is permitted in checked baggage on the airline you are flying. Small arms ammunitions for personal use must be securely packaged in fiber, wood or metal boxes or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Ask about limitations or fees, if any, that apply.	No	Yes
Firearms – firearms carried as checked baggage MUST be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container, and declared to the airline at check-in.	No	Yes

Now there is a blog post linked in the photo below which indicates your luggage will be handled better if there is a gun in it. Makes me think I may have to think about flying with a gun if I have some valuables in my luggage.