I was slightly worried as I walked into O’Briens Irish Pub the night we recorded this episode. It’s only our second show and to tackle not only a cigar and beer that we had never sampled before but also a movie that 2/3 of the group hadn’t seen prior to this week… that’s some scary shit, my friends. But I think we pulled it off like a pigtail cap on a Flying Feral Pig (for you noncigar folks, that means we did pretty good). And now, in hindsight, I’m realizing that this will probably be our normal modus operandi so I choose to look at this episode as a confidence booster moving forward.
It certainly helped that we had three subjects up for discussion that more than delivered on their potential for deep thoughts and discussion. Okay, fine, absolutely no deep thoughts occurred. You happy now? But there was discussion, lots and lots of juicy discussion unfolded as we did our thing and reviewed this film, cigar, and beer…
THE CIGAR – SMOKING MONK AMERICAN IPA
This week we continued on our Drew Estate Smoking Monk odyssey. As the toros were removed from the five pack box, we immediately noticed that the American IPA’s outer appearance was in stark contrast to last week’s Imperial Stout cigar. The IPA is cloaked in an attractive light Connecticut shade wrapper. The corners of Cody’s mouth curled upward into what some would call “a smile”. We don’t often see these things called “smiles” in The Corner Of No Hope but the man LOVES a good looking Connecticut wrapper and these puppies did look good. Tuttle and I tend to smoke darker cigars (if you want to see me smile, just whisper the word “oscuro” in my ear) but that doesn’t in any way prejudice us against any other cigar that comes our way. We are equal opportunity smokers all the way.
Pepper! I was surprised to get an immediate blast of pepper upon lighting the foot of the Monk. I tend to more often than not equate Connecticut wrappers with a more mild/medium smoother smoking experience. This stogie threw me an immediate curve ball and the guys agreed. So much for my keen cigar knowledge. There were also notes of oak and a constant interesting woodsiness throughout the duration of the cigar which led Tut to ask the question “How does one taste oak?” Enter the retrohale.
One of these days we will get that bastard to blow some smoke out of his nose. I swear it. However, it should be noted that his inability to taste oak and pine did not stop Tut’s enjoyment of the cigar – he actually smoked through one and lit up another during the course of the show. They burned on the fast side for sure. One thing we all agreed on was the complexity of the cigar. Where as the Smoking Monk Imperial Stout was consistent from start to finish in its flavor and strength, the American IPA had many variations and never got boring. More so than the Imperial Stout Monk, I could see this working really well outside of being paired with an IPA beer. But why smoke without a beer when you can have a pint of something as interesting as tonight’s chosen beverage in your hand?
THE BEER – SIERRA NEVADA TORPEDO EXTRA IPA
One of the oldest craft brewers out there, Sierra Nevada had their boys in the laboratory construct a top secret device that would forever change the way beer drinkers interacted with hops. This technological breakthrough was named THE HOPS TORPEDO after its founder Dr. Thomas T Hopstorpedo. Why our kids don’t have a day off of school to celebrate the birthday of this American hero is beyond me.
So, according to legend, The Hops Torpedo enables the Extra IPA beer to deliver all the wonderful tastes of hops without the full blown bitterness that would normally burn your damn tongue right out of your face. To an IPA fanatic like Cody this is a dream come true, you’re getting all the good aspects of hops without the usual negatives. After all these years I now FINALLY understand why Cody has that tattoo of Dr. Thomas T Hopstorpedo on his inner thigh!
And after drinking several pints of this beer, I might be headed to the tattoo parlor myself. The Torpedo Extra IPA was extremely flavorful with citrus being the dominant presence for me. I mentioned that it reminded me of a summer beer that was meant to be enjoyed outside but that mostly received blank stares from the other guys so I may be off on that one. We actually found ourselves talking much more about the beer and cigar this episode and I think that’s a testament to both. Cody shared a lot of wisdom concerning the tricky world of hops and the history of IPAs in America but you’ll have to download the podcast to soak in that hoptastic knowledge.
THE MOVIE – UP THE CREEK
Watch the video. Then watch it again. Once more, you know you want to. First off, am I the only one that didn’t realize that the band’s drummer played lovable Hollis in 1981’s “My Bloody Valentine”?
Secondly, am I the only one who saw Cheap Trick rocking their collective asses off in that bathroom sink and immediately thought of the Sack Lunch movie poster from Seinfeld? I mean, don’t you wanna know how Cheap Trick got in there? Were they shrunk down or is it just a giant sink?
Watch the music video one more time. After this viewing you should be able to close your eyes and feel the song flowing through your entire circulatory system. Now you may, just may, be ready to discuss the full blown ballsy funfest that is Up The Creek. And it is FUN. There are no underlying moral messages to be found in Up The Creek, it is essentially a Looney Tunes cartoon with knockers.
If you’re looking for complex dramatic situations and ethical quagmires, keep looking buddy…
What about deeply complicated characters seeking personal redemption? NOPE!
Our heroes drink and drive, seduce everything in a bikini, chain-smoke stogies(!), and somehow withstand explosion after explosion after massive explosion. It’s fucking fantastic. Up The Creek epitomizes perfectly that tiny little moment in film history where T&A flicks with zero sense of responsibility kicked ass. We talk in depth about that aspect of the film and would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below after you’ve downloaded the podcast. PODCAST SPOILER: While I’m making the analogy of Grunge music (“Pretty in Pink”) toppling the silly drunk Goliath that was Hair Metal (“Up the Creek”), we have a very special surprise guest drop by the pub that you won’t want to miss!
THE NUB
While the Smoking Monk and the Torpedo Extra IPA did not dance together in perfect harmony like last week’s pairing, they complimented each other nonetheless in that they were both surprisingly complex and it seemed as if the transition changes in the cigar hit right around the same time the different flavors were emerging from within the pint glass. Pretty damn cool. That makes us 2 for 2 as far as the Drew Estate Smoking Monks doing the job they were blended to do. As far as the film goes… just listen to the podcast. I promise you that no one has EVER dissected and analyzed Up The Creek in more depth than the TNCC does here. And it totally deserves such treatment.
The podcast is now available for streaming and download on iTunes! You are also welcome to listen to the show below as well. Until we are ready to roll out the full length video companion to each episode, we are continuing to upload a ton of preview clips to our YouTube page for you to check out prior to each podcast dropping. There’s literally something for everybody! Especially girls in bikinis. Girls in bikinis love us.
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