Where I hang my hat presently is Norfolk, VA, and it's been great getting to know a new town and see what it has to offer. (Technically I've lived here over a year but I still feel new since, you know, 7 months were spent on a ship across the world). Even though I'm pretty comfortable with my immediate vicinity I still don't know the names of bars or restaurants when I go downtown, and this past weekend I stumbled upon a local speakeasy: a 20's themed bar "so called because of the practice of speaking quietly about such a place in public, or when inside it, so as not to alert the police or neighbors." - (a 1889 newspaper, via Wikipedia).  This particular themed bar is called Gershwin's and it also has a piano.

"Yea yea yea, piano bars are cool and all but what the heck is that up at the top of this post!?" Great question. That, my friends, is smoke-infused bourbon. You see, somebody apparently thought that the natural smokiness of good bourbon (that comes from the charred oak, duh) wasn't, uh, smoky enough. So let's see what this is all about.

The pictures basically tell the story, but this $10 cocktail is far more than just another drink you will order sitting on a stool. It's an immersive visual experience with the smell of a campfire. And then at the end you get to drink it. Even though I've been craving another one all week, they have more than just one signature drink, and they offer all styles of spirits. The fun thing about speakeasy's is that they don't just have American light beers and shots of Fireball; your bartenders are the kind of bartenders from whom Bond would order a Martini. These aren't overly-sweet mixes of one liquor and a colored syrup, they are true cocktails and frankly more bars should be like this.

I promised you guys a post this weekend, so I won't disappoint all 3 of my viewers ;).  Where to begin?  I have several different topics to cover, and only so much time to hold your attention...

I'll start with how beautiful a day it was here in sunny San Diego.  I know, it's selfish and annoying that I get this beautiful weather while many of my friends and family  from the south are still dealing with rain and coldish weather before the summer... but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy my beautiful sunshine!

Look right to the left and you'll see my view from my apartment balcony.  It's gorgeous, isn't it?  I'll talk about the pipe in a little bit.  But I woke up this morning and it was cool but bright and mild, so I expected it to warm up significantly, and I was right!  I really haven't taken advantage of my pool at my apartment the way it should be, but today I decided it was about time!  Looking below you will probably want to kick me, since it took me almost a year before I really enjoyed this gorgeous pool patio...

This is a nasty view from my apartment.  I don't really know how to talk about this without bragging, so if you're jealous, just get over it.  But seriously, part of the reason I don't get to enjoy this is that I work all the time.  Yea I know, cry me a river, you guys all work all the time too.  So we all are screwed.

The beauty of this summer-esque weather brings to mind several things, but not the least of which being cold, golden beers.  My local supermarket has good deals on alcohol when bought in large-ish amounts, which means bottles of liquor by the 6 and 6-packs of beer by the fours.  So I got four 6-packs yesterday as follows:

That's Beck's (mentioned in Beerfest!  Watch that movie!), Kona Longboard, a great Hawaiian Lager, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, a Hefeweizen, (pronounced "Heff-uh-vizen"), and Sam Adams Summer Ale.  Now, I'm open to more suggestions for great summer beers, but if you are looking for great beers to enjoy out in the sun, these are four fantastic choices.  Beck's is very light, a classic German-style, very light and enjoyable.  Kona Longboard is like Budweiser, but they put more effort into it.  That's all I can really describe for it.  It's a full-flavored lager.  Classic.  The 'Hef is light, crisp and citrusy, as are most 'Hefs, but some of them are too sweet, or too bland; Sierra Nevada did a great job creating something light and citrusy while still biting back a bit.  It has a crisp bite while giving you a refreshing flavor and feeling as it goes down in the hot sun.  And Samuel Adams Summer Lager is again light, crisp and citrusy, but it is very specific in that it tastes like an Ale, with a lemony-citrus flavor, and not as cloudy as the Hef.  All of these beers are different in their own right, but similar profiles that compliment the heat and relaxation by the water.  Enjoy!

The picture you see to the left is pretty standard for the employees at Racine and Laramie.  Don't ask me how to pronounce that name.  Also, I don't know if it is a requirement to sport a curled mustache like shown in the picture to work there, but let's just say that when I visited, I saw a similar mustache on an employee that is not featured in the photo to the left.  

This is the smoke shop in Old Town, San Diego, CA.  It is located in an historic district (yea I pronouned "historic" as 'istoric', sue me) which looks like an old western village.  There are lots of old museum-esque buildings as well as refurbished restaurants and modern cigar bars.  This particular establishment, however, is particularly awesome.  The clothing that the man to the left is wearing isn't because his style is queer, it's because the smoke shop is not just a shop, but a sort of museum!

The above photos shoe the smoke shop, Racine and Laramie (I still have to read it every time in order to spell it, and I can't even feel confident while saying the name out loud, so don't feel bad if you can't either...)

The shop is amazing for smokers; they have a walk-in humidor and cigar section where one can smoke a delicious cigar in-house.  They have glass cases where they display not only gorgeous ancient artifact-type pipes that aren't for sale, but also expensive-to-cheap pipes for purchase and smoking.  The best and most customer-friendly aspect, is the in-shop blends of pipe tobacco.  One of the photos above shows some jars with labels; these are filled with said tobacco for pipes.  The shop allows a customer to walk in, pull out his own pipe, and grab tobacco from the jars and sample a smoke!  They provide matches, ashtrays and everything!  It's a really great shop and a great experience if you like cigars or pipes!

Knob Creek.  I've talked about it before.  Tonight I am drinking it after coming in from the heat and those delicious beers above.  It's just a classic bourbon.  Smoke and vanilla, oak and just a hint of cinnamon, this is a whiskey man's whiskey.  From Kentucky.  I find myself listening to a combo of country (Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Eric Church, etc) and Rock, such as Third Eye Blind and Mission South.  My taste in music is sorta eclectic, but my favorites are similar styles.  Where are your favorite smoke shops?  Do you have favorite bands or musicians to listen to while smoking or drinking?  Do you have a favorite bourbon or whiskey that I haven't mentioned yet in my short tenure?  Do you have suggestions for music?  Post, share, talk, anything!