Wines, beers and spirits: Please enjoy responsibly

Ringing in the New Year is always fun. Then again most people like to have a drink or two while they do it, and that’s fine assuming they do it responsibly.

My last semester of my undergraduate work I decided to relax and take a “blow-off” class called Beverage Management. It fell under the guise of Hotel and Business Management or basically the exact opposite of what I was studying.

The class, however, was amazing. I never thought alcoholic beverages were so complex. In my relatively naïve mind I always just considered most adult beverages to be some form of liquid courage and flavoring.

I am proud to tell you that I was most definitely wrong.

Before I took this class I really did not understand how to pair wine with meals. I never really took into consideration the complexity that makes up beer. And I never figured out that one shout of whiskey was the equivalent of one can of beer.

Of course, the last sentence I found out the hard way on numerous occasions during my college career.

That being said this New Year should be one of responsibility and knowledge.

Responsibility should be exercised in knowing that the human body can only process one drink per hour. That means 12 ounces of beer is equal to eight ounces of wine is equal to one shot per hour. If you keep that in mind your New Year’s celebration should go smoothly.

Knowledge on the other hand has to do with what you decide to drink and how.

If you are ringing in the New Year or just deciding to throw a dinner party wine is always a good choice. A general rule to wine, is pairing it with the progression of your meals and going dry to sweet.

It is nice to pair dry to semi-sweet red wines with beef, and dry to semi-sweet white wines with fish or poultry. Of course many people drink what they prefer and that is perfectly acceptable too.

In the realm of desserts sweet wines are the way to go.

Since Lexington has its very own winery, Mac’s Creek, I like to stay local choose from their selection. My personal favorite is Celtic Aire. It has a sweet aroma that does not over power the pallet.

Beer is generally way to go for barbeques, picnics and for just an overall thirst quenching effect.

I generally reach for wheat beer if it is available. My personal choices include Blue Moon, which is a Belgian wheat, or Kansas City’s pride and joy, Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat.

Both have wonderful taste and intriguing complexities.

As for cocktails I’m a vodka man. You can mix it with almost anything and as long as it is one of the more expensive brands it goes down fairly smooth.

My favorite movie is the Big Lebowski. In the movie the main character The Dude, drinks a vodka cocktail called a White Russian. It is consequently my favorite beverage and very simple to make.

In a 4 oz. tumbler glass mix 1 part vodka with one part coffee liquor (Kaluha or Kamora) and pour over two parts milk or cream.

And with that, have a Happy New Year, and remember to drink responsibly.

The Dude abides.