Rum Tasting (Belated Birthday Present)
Posted on July 28, 2023 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.
What do you get a guy who already has everything for his birthday? Well, this year, I decided it would be a rum tasting. Brian and I have never really been much into material things and usually gravitate toward experiences instead and so, this year, his surprise gift from me was a rum tasting experience at home.
We didn’t really make any plans last month other than celebrating with family. Unlike me, who enjoys never ending celebrations until the end of time, Brian is more low key. I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said, “Absolutely nothing.” Therefore, as part of this year’s gift to him, I honored his request and I planned absolutely nothing on his birthday. I did want to surprise him with a rum tasting and it worked out that the first date that would work was in July so we managed to avoid his birthday month altogether.
My friend Dustin Herman who manages R & J Discount Liquor was our rum tasting tour guide. He told me we could have up to ten people so we invited Jay and Becca Dill, Justin and Tina Huntington, Ramon Lozano (who was staying with us that weekend), Kyle Stakel, Dustin’s GF Katie, Ed and Cindy Egan, and Molly and Cory Sager (they were in town too). Molly and Cory ended up heading back to Great Bend a day early and then Cindy and Ed didn’t end up making it on account of Ed not feeling the best. We actually thought we were going to end up with too many people at first because of out of town friends who I found out last minute were going to be in town to play in Scott’s charity pickleball tournament but, after the last minute cancellations, we ended up with just the right number.
There were 16 teams in the pickleball tournament so we had to start an hour earlier than planned. The early start resulted in everyone needing an afternoon nap. Ramon was no exception.
We decided to provide pizza and wings and a fruit and cheese tray to make sure no one drank on an empty stomach before Dustin took us around the world tasting rums from various regions.
We also had some sliced pineapples, mangoes, and charcuterie to chase down the rums we sampled. That was a good call because the rums were very strong.
We tried some rums from various places..
- Barbados – Mt Gray Eclipse, the Real McCoy
- Jamaica – Wray Nephew, OFTD
- United States – Cutwater Tiki (San Diego, CA), Coppel Muse (Fort Collins, CO)
- Puerto Rico – Don Q Cristal
It wasn’t actually part of the tasting, but Dustin also brought a bottle of Ron Zacapa (Brian’s favorite rum) which is from Guatemala. He poured some for Brian to try alongside the Real McCoy for comparison. Surprisingly, Brian decided he liked the Real McCoy better so the experience resulted in Brian finding a new favorite rum.
After the tasting, Dustin and Katie made Mai Tais for everyone. They were strong!
It was our first time hosting a curated rum tasting at our house and we didn’t know what to expect. The whole experience was fabulous but my favorite part was when Brian tasted the Zacapa and the Real McCoy one after the other. I didn’t think he would find something that he would like better than his favorite rum so that was a pleasant surprise.
Brian and I enjoyed it so much that we are already thinking of hosting another. Not sure what spirit we will do next. Maybe bourbon. Until then, GNG.
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Y’s Men Pickleball Tournament at Chicken N Pickle
Posted on July 28, 2023 by Ching under Events, Pickleball.
Here are a few pics from the Y’s Men pickleball tournament at Chicken N Pickle a couple of weeks ago. As charity tournaments go, this is a pretty good one because Scott Wolford organizes it and he makes it as close as possible to a real tournament format — double elimination with best 2 out of 3 games to 11 in the main bracket and then one game to 15 in the consolation bracket.
Besides the format, the competitive group (social is in the afternoon) in the morning draws some of the best players in town. So, unlike other charity tournaments where you don’t even break a sweat, you really get a good challenge when you play in this one. For instance, our first round match was against the Sagers (above). After losing that match in three games, we went into the back draw (aka opportunity bracket) and played Susie Ternes and Matt Von Feldt (below).
Chris Wilson and I hadn’t played together in some time because we’ve been playing with other partners. It was fun reuniting for this event.
We were 2-2 for the day but I felt that we played pretty well and I had a great time. I live-streamed the matched on court 3 that morning, which you can rewatch here.
Here are some timestamps:
- 0:35 Daniel Nguyen and Fong Witte defeated Scott Wolford and Jen Tiano (main draw)
- 1:05 Zach Nguyen and Ling Wei Kong defeated Daniel and Fong (main draw)
- 2:00 Ching and Chris Wilson defeated Daniel and Fong (backdraw)
- 2:35 Katie Merrill and Ramon Lozano defeated Ching and Chris (backdraw)
- 3:08 Dave and Lori Belew defeated Nathan Peters and Jenny Cole (winner bracket final)
- 3:45 Scott Wolford (filling in for Zach because he had to leave) and Ling Wei defeated Nathan and Jenny (backdraw)
- 4:05 Championship Match between Scott and Ling Wei vs the Belews
Scott and Ling Wei had to beat the as yet undefeated Belews twice because they were coming from the back draw. Incidentally, Scott was paired with Jen (Tiano) and they were eliminated prior but then Zach who was paired with Ling Wei had to leave early so then Scott end up filling in for their final matches. He could since his team was already knocked out.
Scott and Ling Wei won the championship match by first winning the best 2/3 match and then also the game to 15.
Congrats to the champs and thank you to everyone who played (not sure how many played in the social tournament in the afternoon but competitive had 16 teams that morning).
Thank you to Scott and the Y’s Men for putting this tournament on and giving Chris and I a reason to throw it back. Until next year!
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When You Feel Like Having Sushi for Lunch
Posted on July 27, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Pictures from our lunch at Sushiya a couple of weeks ago.
I still haven’t taken Brian here but hopefully soon. Until then, GNG.
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Crutch & Biscuit Co.
Posted on July 26, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I tried a new spot a couple of weeks ago. It’s a breakfast and BBQ place. We went for Sunday brunch which is basically a collab between Crutch BBQ and Dempsey’s Biscuit Co.
I think we will have to go back some time and actually try their BBQ fare.
I got a kick out of the kids’ menu items.
You can get an “I Don’t Know,” “I Don’t Care,” or “I’m Not Hungry” — but only if you are a child. If you order it as an adult, they do add an up-charge which is fair.
Brian got a breakfast burrito. I think he liked it.
I had what they call a “Batch 7 Biscuit Pot Pie” which was basically a deconstructed chicken pot pie made with a Dempsey’s biscuit. It was pretty good.
Here’s a bonus pic of Brian drinking his coffee.
Anyway, we will likely be back for some BBQ. Until next time, GNG.
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Papa’s General Store
Posted on July 22, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I finally made it out to Papa’s General Store. We’ve been to this same shop several times when it has been through its various iterations. Currently, it is Papa’s General Store.
Papa’s General Store is known for its outlandish monster shakes.
It’s not uncommon to see shocked looks like these.
Brian gets ready to dig into our Death by Chocolate shake.
Besides awesome shakes, Papa’s also sells a lot of novelty items like buttons, magnets, stickers, socks, etc.
Parking is a little tricky at Clifton Square but I hope y’all find time to visit Papa’s General Store at some point. You must try one of these monster shakes at least once. For us, we just happened to be at the Belmont (one of our favorite places for happy hour and early supper) so we decided to walk over for dessert.
Papa’s is probably not somewhere we would go on a regular basis; otherwise, we will both end up over 300 lbs. But is definitely a place worth checking out. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Until next time, GNG.
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