Of course!  Always happy to enjoy an Old Fashioned :)

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/old_fashioned_cocktail/

Got a source for inexpensive, quality night vision?

Well… "inexpensive" is relative, but I have saved much here on top quality II and thermal: https://willsoptics.com/

I enjoy Cab-driven blends from Bordeaux's Left Bank, largely due to the moderating influence of Merlot.  Some can be obtained for a reasonable price. For example:

https://www.vivino.com/US-ME/en/chateau-greysac-medoc/w/87740?ref=nav-search

As for tasty, affordable Chianti:

https://www.vivino.com/US-ME/en/castello-di-monsanto-chianti-classico-riserva/w/1138544?ref=nav-search …

In the past I have not enjoyed Medoc.

Now… Chianti Classico Riserva… I love, but it pisses me off to pay $34.95 for blends that cost $8 not that many years ago. I mean… really… many enjoyable Chiantis were labeled "vino di tavola." I have a reasonable palate, but certainly not one refined enough to warrant >$100/bottles of anything, wine or mezcal.

I have about 10,000… make that 11,000 in-laws coming next week for a huge family celebration (daughter graduating from professional school) and one of my many brothers-in-law enjoys wine, but like me, rarely drinks. So I "splurged" for a bottle of 2015 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico ($23 at Whole Foods) and a 2019 (((Schramsberg)))  Brut Rose ($43 at Whole Foods). I wouldn't expect those two bottles to go very far, but almost nobody in our huge family drinks at all. I have a couple of bottles of San Miguel Negro in reserve… and half a bottle of Puntagave Raicilla… just in case.   My wife is #11 of 17 children… many in-laws, almost no drinkers.

Our undergraduate university president was a wine chemist and our university was close to the order's viniculture estate and novitiate. As an officer I had a budget for student body entertainment that we spent on wine and concerts. There were, of course, educational aspects to all this, as well as meeting Jerry Garcia and Pigpen.

You are welcome. Nice change for us not to be brawling.

Agreed.  It'll likely never happen, but I suspect we'd rather enjoy an evening of good conversation, food and wine, if such were granted by Divine Providence.  That's why I love what I do so much: Most people work hard all day to be able to share time with family and friends around the table, but I get paid to facilitate the very thing they work to do, often by performing some meaningless task.  Review the Gospel; many of the stories and miracles involve food, drink, etc.  Coincidence?

Godspeed to you and yours in the ever-more-wild days ahead.

CA wines are, IMO, less trustworthy than Old World wines.  Years ago, I helped many people subject to headaches from red wine return to the joy of red wine by getting them to stop drinking CA reds and limit themselves to French, organic/bio-dynamic reds.  There are great, conscientious producers in CA, but the use of contaminated water and pesticides isn't regulated as it should be.

This is the truth. Anyone who has visited Europe and drank wine they can attest to this. Even drinking the “house wines” you feel fine afterwards.

My wife and I split this half bottle of Brunello today. I enjoyed it, but she prefers a cab.

Do you like Brunello, GV?

You could justify buying a $1200 bottle of wine for very special occasions -- weddings, anniversaries, graduations, etc.

I know I've floated with the idea of buying an expensive spirit for this very reason and I rarely drink. I had my drinking stories in my early 20s and that's enough alcohol for a lifetime.