About Deep

Alco blogger, ex-lifestyle/F&B writer for The Star

Island of non-drinkers?

That was one of my opinions of Sri Lanka. Was there for a six-day media trip with AirAsia. Fortunately Joleen and Gareth were also invited.

Though they produce their own brew, booze is not a highlight if u travel there. Beer is not easily available, neither are toddy and arrack. A huge difference to d last country i went to, Laos.

Sri Lanka is known for its tea plantations (we oso got), textiles and gem stones (*yawn*).

Arrack is bascially coconut brandy. Toddy (coconut beer/wine) is distilled to produce arrack. Pure n natural.

Toddy is rested in barrels, then distilled. The arrack is then aged in wooden barrels for a few years to mellow it out.

Sum dude trying to sell unmade arrack. Idiot

Sum dude tryin to sell me unmade arrack. Idiot

Of course i was resourceful enough to nail a good bottle of arrack pretty quick. The top grade shit there is brewed by DCSL, and the best vintage is “VSOA'” (Very Special Old Arrack). A bottle cost 760 rupees, which is only about 20-plus bucks. Haha!

Sortin out my supply. Seems dodgy but dats where u get booze over there

Sortin out my supply. Seems dodgy. Dats where u get booze over there

Had it neat to start. So surprised at how smooth it was. One of the smoothest liquors ever. Taste a lil like rum, easy on the palate, and the finish is almost non-existent. No “aaaarhhh” or “fuck!” or major burning in d mouth or chest. Too easy. VSOA weighs-in at 36.6%.

Had “Old Arrack” too, also by DCSL (33.5%). Tastes a lil harsher.

Sweet relief

Sweet relief

Whacked their local beers – Lion and Three Coins. Preferred 3 coins – found it light-tasting and smooth, similar to Beer Lao. A large bottle of beer costs 4-bucks plus. ABV is 4.8%.

The itinerary other than my sporadic drinking opportunities involved firstly visiting an elephant sanctuary. Didnt expect to see so many! If u ignore d fences, d chains that some of d animals wear, d handlers who beat them, and d hundreds of other fuckers there, u’d think ur on safari! Haha

Wild

Wild

Well not really

Well not really

I'd get outta d way

I'd get outta d way

There was also a shop across d road selling shit made from elephant shit. Jeez.

Yea no shit

Yea no shit

Collect, boil, strain, make paper, sell. Dam good idea, coz these fat bastards probably crap 100 kilos a day. And their crap dont smell.

My fave part was d rafting we did upcountry. Pretty mellow stuff tho. Nutin more than Grade 3 rapids.

D ride to the put-in

Our ride to the put-in

Some local stuff after d rafting - spicy food n Three Coins

Local meal after d rafting - spicy food n Three Coins

The itinerary by Sri Lanka Tourism was bad. Didnt hit the mountains or nice beaches, nor the Malay kampung. I just realize i did not even learn a single word of d local language! Haha. Dats a first! Meaning either we never really given opprotunities to mix with the locals, or i wasnt interested in dat place.

The country is full of army and cops all over d place due to the terrorism issue with the LTTE (Tigers). They all carry AKs. Coz of terrorists n suicide bombers. And photography is very restricted in some city areas. You get told-off or chased-off by d soldiers.

On d final nite decided to walk around d city by d sea. Soldiers came up to us and told us to move along. Managed to grab one of ’em for a photo, and finally made them smile. (Quietly grabbed his gun too, but the camera didnt catch dat. Haha)

Tuk-tuk driver who believes in da cause

Tuk-tuk driver who believes in da cause

Got drunk, stole a tuk-tuk and got arrested

Got drunk, stole a tuk-tuk and got arrested

View of Colombo n beach from Hilton

View of Colombo n Indian Ocean from Hilton

Some duty-free purchase (Colombo airport). Pretty good for about 30 bucks!

Some duty-free purchase (Colombo airport). Pretty good for about 30 bucks!

Arrack session goin on

Arrack session goin on

Buddhist pilgrims arrive for prayer

Buddhist pilgrims arrive for prayer

Maybe they so obsessed with their tea they forget to booze

Maybe they so obsessed with their great tea they forget to booze

Dis shit is like stir-fried roti-canai-kueh-teow

Dis shit is like stir-fried roti-canai-kueh-teow. Lots of noisy chopping goes on

Very common this UFO thing

Very common this UFO thing

Feasting w Joleen

Feasting w Joleen

Dont shoot me now.

"Dont shoot me now. I come in peace." Or should i say, i come pissed

All in all, had fun, coz i alwayz do!

.

Brain damage rating: 7/10

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Champy party

There was champagne comin outta my ears at August Man’s anniversary bash at Alexis, Gardens on Wed. My ex-Star buddy Rubin’s d editor. The mag’s only a year old, but celebrated in style! Champagne was sponsored by Mumm – 200 bottles worth!

The outlet is really cool, like d layout n design.

Hit Spaghetti Grill (03 2287-2220) at Megamall for a Guinness before i hit Alexis. Been advised dat they have super-chilled Guinness at cheap prices. They were right. An ice-cold pint from a frozen mug came up to $13.75 net. Sweet deal! All day all thru August. Not confirmed if they serve bottles, but bartender claims they do. A lil above $300 for a Captain Morgan.

y

Numero uno thirst quencher

Mad Max was with me at Alexis, unlike the last time, dis time he kept up with me, and was in fact ahead on d drinks at one point.

Nice drug

Nice, soluble drugs

Finger food. Yea!

Finger food. Yea!

Cool joint

Cool joint

U da man Mumm

U da man Mumm

Piss n wash

Pisser n washer

There was tons of bubbly. In fact, i washed my dick wit it after after every piss. Ticklish shit.

Me n Lynn (who's a hottie who downed a mini bottle like it wasnt there) n Adian's stoopid cacat hand

Senget with Lynn (who's a hottie) and who downed a mini bottle like it wasnt there n Adian's cacat hand

Fuck da police

My opinion of Malaysian pigs

Left after 200 bottles finito!

No! Come back u pink champagne!

No! Come back u pink champagne!

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Hints of Dutch lavender, with a roasted lemongrass finish…

Yea, u get to hear shit like dat when u go for booze tastings. Always blows me away. Haha!

Either i have a retarded tongue, or i’m really bad at description, coz most of d time, i dont get what the experts say they’re gettin.

They will sniff and sip a wine and describe all these lovely things they’re experiencing. Trippin out n shit. Makes me jealous actually.

I on d other hand will down it and say to myself, “Daaam, dis shit tastes like wine alrite!” Still, i enjoy attending tastings, especially wines, coz i goddam luv drinking wine. Lots of character and stories in wines. And wine gets me high in a hurry.

It’s also the only acceptable accompaniment to Italian food. NOT iced-lemon tea.

Did a judging of 28 wines once, which was awesome.

Blind tasting in session

Blind tasting in session

Some tasting notes i have for a wine says “It exhibits extraordinary purity, and beautiful sweet blackberry and cassis notes along with hints of graphite, camphor, and a subtle, but intense meaty character. It’s already revealing a wide array of aromas including blackberry tart, cedar, violets, truffles, liquorice.”

Huh what? U wanna run dat by me again?

When they start putting camphor in, dats too much. I mean, i aint got goddam cockroaches in my stomach to have to fuckin drink camphor.

“Blackberry tart”? Now there’s a tart in there too! Wow, can i meet her?

Should shove a bottle of tuak down one of their throats and say “U detect the tart now bitch??”

What are these guys, fuckin botanists?

But it is pretty impressive, actually.

An orchard

An orchard

i can detect elements like fruit, vanilla, tannins, mellowness/boldness, spice, dryness, smoothness, oak and the length. But I start to get lost / high, when things i’ve never had before get mentioned, like gooseberries (is dat goose shit?), and honeyed junipers.

Next time, i’ll try harder. Need to be more focused and sensitive. Close my eyes and do it right. And spew lines like “Hmmm… Yes, yess. Veeery interesting. Yesss. I too detect a gallant presence of vanilla, tempered by a rather teasing whiff of lightly-sauteed night-picked mushrooms, bold pillars of spring flowers, with a seductive nibble of freshly-ground, summer-sunned horse shit. Yes, yess.”

To each his own i guess. What would be good is a wine education session based on smells (and tastes) Malaysians are more familiar with, like lychee, satay, Roti Boy and exhaust fumes. Otherwise how do we relate?

Well, if u ask me, booze is not meant to be over-analyzed. It’s meant to be appreciated and enjoyed. Of course to appreciate, u need to be informed and educated. If u wanna over-analyze, go for a food review or get a PhD.

Tequila-tastings i have no problems with. Aint really refined, high-society events

Tequila-tastings, i have NO problems fitting in. Aint exactly refined, high-society events

There’s this great article at Playboy.com about wine snobs and how to get into their game, called Real Wine, Fake Experts. There’s dis dude who writes for Playboy, Dan Dunn aka the Imbiber. Funny guy. Quote: “I routinely encounter pompous schmucks who believe they possess God’s own palate, and that they deserve the adulation of everyone around them for swirling some fermented grape juice around in their mouths and pronouncing it “troubling, yet brilliant.”.

And tip No 7 .
7. DON’T SLURP. DON’T SPIT. DON’T USE THE PHRASE “NICE LEGS”
It’s a wine tasting, not a construction site.

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