Still Alive, Back Soon
As we sat down to dinner last night, our minds practically complete mush at this point, I said to Trey: “Remember that dinner at Haut-Bailly on Monday?” He paused for a few seconds, looked at me and said: “That feels like it was a year ago.” When you run hard for eight straight days, live on four hours of sleep a night, and ingest nothing but red wine from the moment you wake up until the moment your head hits the pillow, you tend to lose track of time. You also tend to lose track of your standard dietary intake, your personal hygiene, and any sense of of a real schedule. I’ve been on some serious trips before and I’ve watched less regimented folks lose their shit completely. I’ve seen industry professionals have full blown meltdowns, vomit all over the fuselage of a plane, and launch into expletive-laden tirades that leave them both isolated and embarrassed. Tasting expensive wine for a living is fun. It’s the best job in the whole world. But being forced to do it for fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, with no breaks, no rest stops, no down time, and no privacy can be a real challenge. I knew that going in, however, which is what has saved me thus far. This isn’t my first rodeo, but I have to admit I’m on my last legs at this point. Thank goodness the end of the marathon is in sight!
Pretty soon I’ll be back in the store tasting booze again and you guys will have your whisky-oriented spirits blog once more. In the meantime, let me share a few photos with you. We had a fancy dinner at Logis de la Cadène in St. Emilion two nights ago and it was prepared for us by one of Paul Bocuse’s protégés from his famed cooking school. One of Bocuse’s classic dishes was part of the menu: the soupe aux truffes noires VGE that was first prepared for the president of France back in 1975. It’s a savory broth simmered with fois gras and black truffles, served with a puff pastry style of bread baked over the top. You use your spoon the break the crust down into the soup so that it soaks up all that earthy goodness. Nothing decadent, really. Just a little light affair.
-David Driscoll