The Old Alumni Christmas Dinner

This is going to feel like such a naked post.  I was in such a rush to get out the door that I forgot to take my camera along to the evening's par-tay and I couldn't get a shot worth keeping on my phone (I really need an upgrade).  A couple of the guys took some shots on their phones but none of the shots got forwarded to me and darned if I have the slightest idea who's phone they were taken on.  Oh well. I'll just have to paint a vivid enough picture of the night that actual photos won't be necessary.

My days at the Deke House are well behind me now but I still try to make it to the alumni night at the House and to the Christmas Dinner - although it was more like a cocktail party this year.  This year's meet was arranged for Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar in Gastown.  There was a sizeable bunch of the bro's in attendance and it allowed for plenty of wining - whether or not you were heavy on the dining.

1296.  2009 Michael David - Seven Deadly Zins Zinfandel (Lodi - California)

Not fully knowing what was in store for us, I ordered a bottle of stand up easy drinking, but Deadly, Zin to keep at the ready on the bar.

1297.  2009 Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon (Central Coast - California)

The Zin was soon joined by Tyrant's Gladiator Cab. (I couldn't help but be a tad concerned that the crowd around me might break into one of the old rugby tunes of yore if they only knew what was being poured.  I know it was the first thing I thought of.  How the hell did we ever get away with songs like that?  Maybe we didn't really after all.)

Beamer pretty much kept to beer; so, these two bottles were equal to the task of keeping me occupied for the evening.

That is, until both bottles had been emptied and there were enough of the boys left - that hadn't moved on to the next bar or run home to wives - to tackle another bottle.  It might have been a mistake to order what was arguably the nicest bottle of the evening right at the end.  The fact was that Rogue has a standard policy of only adding $20 to the base price of every bottle of wine on their list.  So, the end price for the wine wasn't bad at all for restaurant/bar prices.

And what's a seasonal get together with the old gang if it isn't an excuse for a little splurging on the wine?

1298.  2008 Antinori Tenuta Guado al Tasso - Il Bruciato (Bolgheri DOC - Tuscany - Italy)

This is a Super Tuscan blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot and Syrah and I only wished that I'd ordered it earlier in the evening - when we might have actually made some decent mental notes about the wine.  It just means that I'll have to find a bottle for a more gentile evening.

It didn't take too long to finish off that last bottle and, for the second year in a row, we headed straight to a street vendor for a late night smokie.   And, then, I discovered the night had again slipped right by and Skytrain transit had already shut down for the night.  I must have walked a couple of rain-soaking miles before I finally came across an available cab.  I'd seriously thought about calling to wake up Boo to beg him to come and get me but I thought better of it when I realized that he was going to have to get up in about three hours to get ready for work.  Best not push anyone's patience this close to Christmas.

Except for the walk, it was a great little night.  Looking back on the evening, maybe it's a good thing that there aren't any photos around.  If any incriminating evidence manages to surface, it just won't have been me posting it this time around.  Not that I think there is any.  Really.  At least not by the time I headed home.  And I'll leave it there.