Is Port a manly drink?

[Slash McCoy]

A vintage port is decanted and consumed in one sitting. Some other ports can be saved. A tawny port can be saved for a couple of weeks after opening. I often buy a bottle and have a small glass every evening until it is gone. As a matter of fact I am having some now... the Cockburns, which is fairly cheap at around $16 but quite good for a younger tawny. At about 20 years there is a marked improvement, as a general rule. This is reflected in the price, by the way.

Read the wiki on tawny port. It is a fascinating wine with a unique process.

A tawny is especially good with a cigar. I think a pipe of something special would go well with it, too. It is excellent alongside a coffee, as well.

I often engage in the barbaric practice of dipping my cigar in my tawny before lighting it. Purists are fainting from shock out there, I am sure, but I often do this with a cigar that is nothing special. (Not with a good Cuban! I want to savor the cigar as it was made to be savored.) The Fuente Hemmingway is one that I particularly like to dip in my port, and sometimes the Honduran Punch Grand Crus or the similar Hoyo De Monterrey Excalibur. The Dominican Romeo y Juliet robusto is another one. It just NEEDS something, and the tawny gives it.

I don't care for a tawny immediately after dinner, as a desert wine. I prefer a Ruby for that, or a Vintage, if there are a couple of people to share the bottle with. A vintage has a lot of sediment and so it is decanted and consumed immediately upon opening.

Is it a manly drink? Of course it is. Some fortified wines are not considered all that manly. For instance, Sherry, in some circles, is considered an old ladies' drink. I don't know why, because Madeira, which is similar, is not. Go figure. But who cares anyway? Drink what you like.

[The Nid Hog]

If a guest requires more Port it is extremely bad manners for them to openly ask for the Port. The correct method of obtaining the Port is to ask the guest nearest to the decanter whether they know the Bishop of Norwich. This 'signal' does not require an answer but should result in the decanter being passed (left-wards) around the table to the person requiring the Port. If unfortunately the guest to whom the question is put does not understand the 'signal' and mistakenly answers "No I don't" then your response should be appropriately scornful "The Bishop is a terribly good chap, but he never passes the Port !".
(This assumes of course that you are not in the company of people who do actually know the Bishop - which I suspect is not very often. If however you are then you will have to agree your own 'signal'). "

I've never heard that, but I have heard the phrase "shed a tear for Admiral Nelson" used for making a request to use the head.

Port after a fine meal--particularly a formal dinner--is very nice. I don't do it much anymore, but I don't live in Downton Abbey either.

"The bottle stands by you sir!"

[Samurai-5]

IMHO Port is great and is the manliest "Wine" due to its alcohol content. :)

Seriously, I drink it all the time and whenever I want except at formal social occasions.

[ouch]

Three letters that are your ticket to reasonably priced port enjoyment-

L
B
V

[fccexpert]

I'm a man, I drink it; as far as I'm concerned that settles it.

[knlgskr]

Port is excellent with cheese (especially Stilton and other blue-veined), nuts (especially Walnuts), fruit (especially Apples, Pears); favorites are Vintage and aged Tawny.

[latetolathering]

Hmmmm, you all have me thinking about birth year Port for my daughter now.
I had been thinking wine, but I believe Port is more forgiving storage wise.

[Walter Sobchak]

Port has whiskers it's so manly.

[_JP_]

I still remember a selection of Ports that Dad brought back after doing some NATO related duty in Portugal, given to him by some of the Portugese officers. They were absolutely fabulous and were names that were not exported out of the country.

Yeah, it's a mans drink!

[mdunn]

Yes. I have about a hundred top shelf bottles from the early 70s to mid 80s. All delicious. And no, you can't share.

[BlackBard]

Port is especially welcome in a time of bad weather. You know, "Any port in a storm."

[BlackBard]

Seriously, though. I was driving through Deming New Mexico in 2004, when I saw a sign for a winery. The idea of a winery in New Mexico stuck me as odd, so I decided to investigate. I think I went to the St. Clair Winery. The tasting room was only open on weekends and I was there mid-week. The gentleman there was very accommodating and offered several wines to taste.

I have to say that I live in one of the premier wine growing regions in the world, so I have more than a passing familiarity with wines. I was prepared to be disappointed by his offering. Well, the reds (don't recall exactly what I tasted) were fairly good. I bought 2 or 3 bottles, knowing that I probably would never pass by there again.

Then he offered me a taste of a 30 year old port. The bottle was unbelievably ugly - a stack of smaller and smaller blue glass spheres one upon the other in a conical shape. The wine was exquisite. This was the best port I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, the price was more than I was prepared to pay, so I left with my bottles of red.

After too many miles down the road, I began to regret not coming up with the price for that port. I still regret it.

[Amzimbo]

I believe there was a saying in the 18th century that "claret was for boys, port for real men."

[wimbouman]

Port is manly, without a doubt.
I like manzanilla :)

[Haggises]

Isn't Manzanilla a type of fino sherry?
(Fino is also a manly drink)

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Port is excellent with cheese (especially Stilton and other blue-veined), nuts (especially Walnuts, fruit (especially Apples, Pears); favorites are Vintage and aged Tawny.

...and check out this link;

Read More: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-it?highlight=

"Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese". Billie Burke

[Luc]

I'm one of those who think if you like something, who cares about the others!

If you liked port, I would suggest Madeira wine

[scottish steve]

I'm one of those who think if you like something, who cares about the others!

If you liked port, I would suggest Madeira wine

Sherry on the other hand......

[YetiDave]

Who cares whether it's considered manly or not? If you enjoy it then drink it

[Doc4]

... this guy wouldn't be such a sissy if he actually drank port instead of beer.

Ah, I see.

So it would be gauche to have port when out with friends?

Instead of having beer, for example, would having port be acceptable?

One thing about drinking port "out", is whether or not the establishment has a good & freshly opened supply. If this is a "beer & nachos watch the game" sort of place, IF they have port it's probably poor and stale. Have a glass after dinner at a nice restaurant, or if you are at a nice cocktail lounge & the mood hits you. If anyone questions you about that, just tell him you have special dispensation from the Bishop of Norwich.

If you want to drink like John Wayne then drink like John Wayne. But I'm pretty sure the Duke drank whatever he damn well pleased and didn't much care what others thought of it. That, to me, is a very manly sentiment (though one many women would heartily agree with as well).

I'm a man, I drink it; as far as I'm concerned that settles it.

Not responding to this put seventeen stitches on my tongue.