Cocktails. Wine. Travel.

Frank, the Rabbit

2 oz Bourbon

0.25 oz Amaro

2 oz carrot juice

1 oz fresh lemon juice

0.75 oz toasted cumin seed simple syrup

1 egg white

1 carrot

a few dashes of orange bitters

2013 Zudugarai "Amats" Getariako Txakolina

Variety - 100% Hondarribi Zuri

Region - Getariako Txakolina, País Vasco

Country - País Vasco, Spain

Alc/Vol - 11%

Quality - Denominación de Origen (DO)

Price - $13 USD

This wine is perfect for day drinking. It is dry, spritzy, tingly, zesty, refreshing, and crisp. Beautiful pale yellow color. Lemon, tart green apple, grapefruit, full of minerality and salinity. It is easy for consumption and incredibly delicious. 

Getariako Txakolina is one of the three DOs in Basque Country. Although Getariako Txakolina is the smallest DO in Basque Country, it produces the most wines and it's the most well-known. Getariako Txakolina borders Atlantic Coast and the Pyrenees. Most of the vines are planted on the southeastern-facing slopes on the hills of Pyrenees. Getariako Txakolina has mild climate and is known for its heavy rainfall; the cold weather is heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. 

Aperol Flip

1 oz Aperol (I used Campari & orange bitter as substitutes)

2 oz Brut Cava

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz simple syrup

Chuflay

2 oz singani (Bolivian brandy)

5 oz ginger ale

lime

Roasted Kabocha

4 oz kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin) infused vodka

1 oz simple syrup

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

1 sage leaf

a dash of ground cinnamon

a dash of grated nutmeg

*Kabocha Squash Infused Vodka

Bake a kabocha squash for an hour at 220 °C (425 °F)

Scoop out all the squash

Place it in a mason jar (or whatever container)

Pour a bottle of vodka (750 ml) into the mason jar

Let it sit for 3-5 days

Pimm Daddy

2 oz cucumber-infused gin

0.75 Pimm's No. 1

1 oz sprite

Pumpkin Spice

2 oz Bourbon

3 oz ginger beer

1 oz pumpkin puree

1 oz fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz honey

1 sage leaf

a dash of ground cinnamon

a bit of grated ginger

Pimm's Cup

2 oz Pimm's No. 1

3 oz ginger ale

1 slice of lemon

2 slices of cucumber

1 strawberry

half of a slice of orange

6 mints

The Tender Knob

1.5 oz Bourbon

2 oz hard apple cider

0.75 oz agave nectar

1 slice of Fuji apple

El Pepino

1.5 oz reposado tequila

0.75 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh lime juice

0.75 oz simple syrup

0.5 oz egg white

3 slices of cucumber

Mint Julep

2 oz Bourbon

0.25 oz simple syrup

8 mint leaves

Classic Old-Fashioned

2 oz Bourbon

0.25 oz water or soda water

one sugar cube

3-4 dashes of Angostura bitters

Tbilisi, Georgia (თბილისი)

Day 14

It’s our last day in Georgia… so many emotions!! I have never visited a country where I felt so connected with. I absolutely love Georgia and I wish I could live there.

Couple things I found interesting in Georgia

Georgia permits both right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive vehicles

Georgians are CRAZY drivers (That’s coming from a guy from an Asian country)

People often have a “gas tank” in the trunk of their car… which I still don’t know what that is. They fill it up at the gas station, and people in the car MUST get out while they are filling up the tank

People can just haul any marshrutka from the side of the road

Georgians are really religious

Georgians are very conservative, so gays are not particularly socially acceptable... somehow, men here walk around holding each other's arms as a symbol of friendship 

Georgians might not have much but they are very WILLING to give

I have encountered some of the nicest people and some of the rudest people in Georgia - rude Georgians are always waiters or people who work at the airport (They are VERY rude)

Men drink, and women don’t!? (In the villages)

If you are willing to ask, Georgians are extremely willing to help

If you say hi first, Georgians will show you what hospitality really means

Each region has their distinctive cuisines

There are a lot of children beggars in Tbilisi and they can be very aggressive

Georgians are not particularly tall

Georgians, both men and women, are absolutely beautiful

Georgia is a smoker's paradise... Smoking is allowed on the trains and in the airport

Georgian food is phenomenal - bread, cheese, vegetables, meat, khinkhali (dumpling)… (my mouth is literally watering now)

Saying goodbye to Georgia wasn’t easy but the woman who worked at the counter for Turkish Airlines sure made it easier. She was probably the bitchiest worker I have ever encountered. The woman at the custom was also extremely rude even when I was all smile. It also took me a while at the custom, once again, the woman needed to call her boss to check my passport. Haha!! #Taiwaneseproblem

This trip was FUCKIN’ AMAZING (sorry for cussing). I highly, highly recommend everyone to visit this country. This country truly left a mark on me, and til today, I still dream about going back all the time. Not a lot of countries have that effect on me. I love Georgia. Who wouldn’t though?

Tbilisi, Georgia (თბილისი)

Day 13

Tbilisi, Georgia (თბილისი)

Day 13

Mutso, Khevsureti, Georgia (მუცო)

Day 12

After our short visit to Shatili, we headed to Musto. Honestly, if I knew what Mutso was all about, I would've chose to skip it. Don't get me wrong, Mutso is a beautiful abandoned village, but I just felt like it wasn't worth the hour long rough drive. I mean, the road was really rough - much worse than the road to Shatili. In the end, it's just an ancient village that's ruined and abandoned. I would much rather spend more time in Shatili or to another village where I could interact with the villagers.

While Bacho and I hiked up to Musto, my partner decided to sit out for this one because he wasn't up for another hike haha!! I was also very surprised that a family actually still live here, but when I saw the man, he looked at me like, "what the fuck are you doing here?" even though I greeted him. lol

After our visit to Mutso, it started pouring. Good timing!! On our way back, I finally saw a flock of sheep and Caucasian Shepard doing their jobs. My partner and I both wanted to take a picture with a working Caucasian Shepard but we realized it was impossible. Caucasian Shepards are aggressive when they are on duty. They came after our car and almost attacked it.

One regret I will always have is that we drove past three gentlemen in their traditional outfits and I didn't ask them if I could take a picture of them. Damn it!! I still kick myself for it til this day.

Ps. The road in Khevsureti could get REALLY bad when it starts to rain... I mean, at one point, the road literally turned into a rapid river. Scary sight for sure!!

Shatili, Khevsureti, Georgia (შატილი)

Day 12

When we finally saw the sign, "Shatili", I really wanted to cry for some reason. This was a place that I have been reading about and wanting to go for a long time, and even when I was on this trip, I didn't know if I would have the chance to make it to this historic village. I have gotta say... this village is absolutely magical. I could now understand why some people want to travel this far to get here. I was literally speechless when we arrived. Again, like when we were in Ushguli, I wished we had the chance to spend a night there. The guesthouse was in one of the historic tower... I would have LOVED to sleep there. Also, I really wanted to socialize with the locals but it was difficult to do when we were only there for an hour and a half. The highlight of our trip was definitely the village itself, and also, we really bonded with an extremely cute dog. He followed us everywhere, and he would cry when we weren't giving him attention.