Vote for Isis - Win some whiskey!

I didn't win the liquor. But I thought this was about the coolest illegal maneuver anybody could pull at a popularity contest voting booth. As you came into the Chico y Chica UNPA finale dance venue, you had to put your ticket into one of these receptacles to vote for your favorite. One of the contestants, Isis, had a crony holding this sign: After you vote for Isis, Ariadna will give you a ticket for the whiskey raffle!
Of course you must know how I voted...

Las Mascaritas

Well, I labeled this under Jenny Winny Wino, but it might not exactly qualify. These are some pictures from a local bar called Mascaritas, "The little masks." Joe and Cita go here often, but I don't drink like those fish. I go sometimes. The bar is tiny but has the best jukebox in Tuxtepec. It is hot and the blood-sucking bugs get in, but it can be a fun place. They serve peanuts with chile powder and lime juice, and corn puff things with hot sauce on the side when you order a bunch of beer.
Odd, how I am living in the cradle of beer-land here (we are surrounded by mega-breweries for Corona in Tuxtepec. Well. One anyway.)and I would rather have wine most of the time. Go figure.

Jim's Scotch

Jim was drinking Laphroaig. A very peat-y scotch with a honey flavor - but he said it wasn't sweet. I tasted sweetness. But again, Jim Malcolm said it wasn't sweet. And he's from Scotland. It is pronounced like Freud, as in Sigmund Freud. La-Freu-g. Why is scotch always better when given to you by a Scotsman?

Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Ahhhh, I forget how much I prefer a cab. This one is pretty good. For about $10 it would be hard to beat. Except the Root II beats it and I can never remember to blog that one.
As a reminder for those of you who are new to this. I am a very poor college student who likes wine. I have been experimenting with red wines for about $10/bottle. I don't do white wine because, like Ginger and I always say, it's so hard to remember it's actually wine until you find yourself flat on the floor with an empty bottle. Or else you wake up the next day with email receipts from the ticket to Arizona you bought and don't remember. Which brings me to the breath-a-lyzer keyboard invention, but I should save that for another blog.
As I was saying. I decided to describe and rate these cheap wines so I can remember which ones to avoid in future. You might want to heed my descriptions since I am no connoisseur - I just know what I don't like.
So, this wine is from Argentina. It's a 2007 cab, like I said, by Alamos. It has a strong alcohol smell coming up from the top of the glass - which is usually a good sign. Almost like rubbing alcohol but tangy-er. Not at all sweet or syrupy. Very clear. Ok, maybe a hint of sweet. Like some kind of fruit. Plum maybe. But it's barely there. This wine is in no way disgusting. It's average in a good way. If you want a solid specimen of the cab genre you could do worse than this one. I would buy it again.

Alamos Malbec 2007

Ok I just opened the Alamos Malbec 2007.
Stinky and oaky.
Heavy but clear. Does not coat the tongue. Not sweet. Not very dry, but with a slight chopping action on the back of the tongue. Fruity and metallic.
Good. Like it. Will buy it again.

Whiney Wines for about $10

I drink a lot of cheap-ish wines and I always buy different kinds and I can never remember whether I liked one or not. So I have decided to start a wine list here.
I will describe and rate the one I opened tonight: El Burro: Kickass Garnacha, 2006.
This is a product of Spain.
The back of the bottle says that this is: "A thoroughbred wine with an expressive combination of rich fruit flavors - blackberries, raspberries, and plums - and a warm, spicy character. The Romans found donkeys to be ideal animals for working on the narrow paths between vines. Their use for cultivation spread to Spain where "Burros" have remained to this day."
I can go along with the berry flavors here, but I can't find the spicy character. Unless the spice is black pepper. It's a heavy tasting wine and kinda stinky like a merlot. Not dry and not sweet. It has a slightly bitter lingering feeling. And an acrid sort of pungency in the nose, but not martial. Not disgusting to drink, and it's all right really. A little on the heavy side. It sort of coats the tongue. It would probably be good with a strong blue cheese, but I don't have any.
The name is really cute, and how can you really go wrong with any wine that calls itself kickass right there on the label?
I give this one between a 6 and a 7 on the JWW'o scale. I'll definitely buy it again but not for people I really like or need to impress.