Mrs. Adventures eased the pain of another birthday by pampering me. Her scallops dish is one of my favorites especially paired with a Sam Smith Taddy Porter. The pairing is surprisingly delicious!

To wrap up a wonderful meal, the love of my life made my favorite dessert, creme brûlée. She has her own blowtorch for just these types of occasions. Yum!

Earlier in the day, I received a special birthday present from myself – a brand new tooth! I visited my favorite tooth doctor and she finally replaced the temporary crown with a brand new permanent one. Below is a pic of my teeth molds, just a little souvenir of my several month dental adventure.

My dental appointment was too early for a stop at Sapwood Cellars on the way home, so I decided to swing by after dinner for a drink. I chose a Threat Level Noon. It is, as almost all of Sapwood’s ales, very interesting. This cocoa and coffee flavored malty Scottish-style Ale has another taste I can’t really identify. The Sapwood descriptive sign mentioned cola nut and fernet as flavors. The group at my table wondered about both cola nut and fernet, so I had to google a definition, of course.

Fernet is an Italian herbal liqueur, bitter and aromatic.

Fernet (Italian pronunciation: ) is an Italian type of amaro, a bitter, aromatic spirit. Fernet is made from a number of herbs and spices which vary according to the brand, but usually include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron, with a base of grape distilled spirits.

Wikipedia

None of us knew what a cola nut was, but we all assumed it was an ingredient in Coke and Pepsi drinks. Again, the internet answers all: a cola nut or Kola nut, is a bitter seed from a cola tree that provides caffeine and theobromine and is used in beverages.

So, the mystery flavor, I could see being cocoa cola like. I won’t speculate on fernet since I have never knowingly tasted it. However, I really didn’t pick out any of the typical ingredients mentioned by Wikipedia. I would recommend giving the rather exotic Threat Level Noon a taste. Maybe you can identify the mysterious flavor.

Cheers!

Warren