Archive for the ‘My life’ Category
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Mark Alberto Holt, Mexico, My Friends, My life, Sayulita, Tastings, events, tequila, the Sayulita Tequila Journal
Your friendly neighborhood self-destructive author, about to bust open his new bottle of Don Fernando T.K.O. - 40th Birthday, October 09
Don Fernando’s TKO Plata 100 x 100 is a unique tequila, and I don’t just mean that the bottle is a bright red glass boxing glove. Honestly, at first glance, this bottle comes across as [...]
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Mark Alberto Holt, Mexico, My Friends, My life, Tastings, mezcal, raicilla, tequila, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
Another rockin’ time at the S.F.T. Tequila bar here in Sayulita. More fun with Grover and Scarlet from TasteTequila.com, at the end of the day, with the famous skull and crossbones coke bottle booze (see my posting where we previously reviewed the Raicilla from this very same bottle HERE). In this bottle is Raicilla, a [...]
the S.F.T. Tequila Bar (in honor of our hometown bar)
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Mark Alberto Holt, Maximo, Mexico, My Friends, My life, bartenders, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
Mark Alberto and Yours truly behind the bar at the S.F.T., beholding and be-drinking the new batch of beauties!
My hometown bar, my fave haunt, my watering hole, the wood upon which I sit and drink, not to mention the best new international top shelf Tequila bar in Mexico (if not the world…) - the S.F.T. [...]
“Don’t Try”
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Bukowski, Drinking partners, Idol worship, Love, My life, Uncategorized, Wasted..., Wisdom, bum wine
“The nine-to-five is one of the greatest atrocities sprung upon mankind. You give your life away to a function that doesn’t interest you. This situation so repelled me that I was driven to drink, starvation, and mad females, simply as an alternative.”
—Charles Bukowski, Sunlight Here I Am: Interviews & Encounters 1963-1993, 2003
My drinking life leads [...]
the Hawaii Tequila Journal
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Hawaii, Mai Tais, Mark Alberto Holt, Mexican Holiday, Mexico, My Friends, My life, USA, Wisdom, holidaze, moonshine, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
Welcome True Believers, followers and just plain bored and drunk friends/wanderers - to the first ever in a hopeful series of “the Journal on the Road“. Of course, as we are poor of money, but rich in spirit(s) - we can rarely afford to travel, so the next one in this series could be 4 [...]
In Honor of the evening drink
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Love, Mexico, My life, Uncategorized, Wisdom, wine
In a few weeks, my wife and I are taking the boy over to Hawaii. This is our first vacation since we moved to Mexico 3+ years ago, and we are stoked. Not that we don’t get enough beach time, but it’s a nice getaway, we get to hang with her family, drink tropical drinks [...]
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Love, Mark Alberto Holt, Maximo, Mexico, My life, bar photo, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
What’s our poison? Tequila for Dad, Titty for Maximo - S.F.T. Tequila Bar, 6/09
Before you cast aspersions upon me due to the picture above, please consider the following. I live in a tiny little Pueblo in Mexico called Sayulita. My town is all about family, and everyone in town knows my son Maximo. It is [...]
Mixtos, Bum Wines, Cheap booze and more drunk for your buck
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Ed Schwartz, Mark Alberto Holt, My life, Tastings, Wasted..., Youth, bum wine, mixtos, tequila, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
Above: the Author, full of Cuervo Especial during his first tattoo, circa 1986
For most my drinking life, a life that has been long and prosperous, I have focused my laser-beam dedication to alcohol around affordable (read: cheap) and easily attainable (corner store) booze. From the very start, I ran with the lowest of the [...]
In honor of the Happy Hour(s)
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Mark Alberto Holt, Mexico, My life, events, tequila, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
Happy Hour. The name itself implies so much goodness in such a short span of time that it barely fits into my demanding and satisfaction craving brain (see years of drug use and dopamine spending). An hour? Shit, I can barely figure out what I want to drink in an hour, much less get super [...]
Bottom of the bottle…
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Blancos, Mexico, My Friends, My life, Wasted...
Even the best of drinkers get it handed to them by the better of bottles. My suggestion is never allow yourself a camera when feeling “great” or “sooo awesome” after finishing a bottle of Gonzalez Blanco Tequila with a few friends. You may think you feel cool, but you surely DO NOT LOOK COOL. Apologize [...]
The right drinking partner is forever…
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Love, My life
I found my drinking partner years ago. Her name is Andrea Leigh Stoops Villarrubia, my wife, partner, best friend, baby-mama, you name it, she is IT. I had her name tattooed on my chest yesterday. Though our history is long, we married on May 23, 2004, which makes our anniversarry this weekend. I won’t gush [...]
My 5inco de Mayo
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Mexican Holiday, My life, Tastings
As 5inco de Mayo approached, we were deep in Swine Flu ‘09, with the whole of our little town Sayulita, and most of the rest of the country in the throes of closings, warnings and just plain media chaos. In our area (as well as many others) you found closed schools, malls, theaters, and yes… [...]
The Cult of the Blue Agave’s Daughter (and why for once I hate bacon)
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Mexico, My life, tequila
Swine Flu. Lord, am I sick of hearing about this bug. Surely no matter where in the world you are, you know about this supposed sickness that is endangering the world, and all we hold dear. The end of civilization, a pandemic in waiting… oh lord. The news is eating it up. Well, it is [...]
Mezcal, Raicilla, Mexican Moonshine, and the (in)famous Worm
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Mexico, My life, Tastings, mezcal, moonshine, raicilla, tequila
“It’s Mezcal with me…Tequila, no, that is helpful and delightful, just like beer. Good for you. But If I ever start to drink Mezcal again, I’m afraid, yes, that would be the end…” - Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano
Moonshine. Everclear. Bathtub Gin. Mezcal. Raicilla. Since the start of times, humans have been catching a good [...]
Love your Bartender
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Mexico, My Friends, My life, Wisdom, bartenders, tequila
If you are any kind of self respecting Drinker, you not only know your bartender’s name, but you think so highly of him or her, that their name could be the name you give one of your future children, Boy or girl… Yes, the relationship with your Bartender is paramount to a good drinking experience, [...]
Ed Schwartz - a nose for the good stuff
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Ed Schwartz, Mexico, My life, Tastings, press, tequila
My good friend Ed Schwartz is the kind of guy you want to sit and have a drink with. Luckily our friendship allows this and more. He is a long time Wine industry rep and enthusiast, and has now turned his attention to what Mexican’s call “vino”, our dear Tequila. Ed and his wife [...]
Welcome to the Tequila Journal…
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Love, Mexico, My Friends, My life, tequila, the S.F.T. Tequila Bar
My name is Gabbi Villarrubia, and I like to drink. Like is a soft word in a hard world to describe my love of drinking, and even though my world is far from hard, I like to soften the edges with a drink. Often. Though I would comfortably say I like all sorts of drinks [...]
Wisdom from behind the bar
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Mark Alberto Holt, Mexico, My Friends, My life, Wisdom, bartenders, tequila
I don’t just drink at my favorite bar, I listen… Mark talks. Here is some recent wisdom I learn and live by…
“With all the rush-rush in life, I have gone on a new campaign. “Sipping for a longer Life”
By slowing down, it lets a person relax for a moment and regain ones self. [...]
Sweet Sweet Tequila, the blood of Christ or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bottle(s)
Posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" | Filed under Drinking partners, Ed Schwartz, Mexico, My Friends, My life, Tastings, bartenders, events, tequila
I have had a long and fruitful love affair with alcohol. I often want to write about it , but hesitate, full of worry that my loved ones will see my affection for this bottled elixir in a wrong light. I don’t worry much, as a man of 39 years, well schooled in hard knocks [...]
