I guess it's Bargain Hunter Friday around here. I picked up a bottle of Jim's...may I call you Jim?...Rye a while back just on a lark. It was cheap, the bottle looks like something you could really use in a good bar fight (though admittedly, I've never been in a bar fight so what do … Continue reading Jim Beam Straight Rye Whiskey – Review
Van Winkle 12 Year Old Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon – Review
According to Washington Irving, Mrs. Van Winkle was a royal pain in the ass. From the sound of it, all she did was nag old Rip Van Winkle into a bowl of Dutch jelly. Granted, Ol' Rip might have deserved some nagging as he really let his place go, and he wasn't quite the ladder-climbing … Continue reading Van Winkle 12 Year Old Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon – Review
The Roubaix – a whiskey cocktail.
Last weekend my favorite cycling race, Paris Roubaix, was held on narrow, treacherous roads between Compiègne and Roubaix in Northern France. The race is one of the oldest on the cycling calendar, with the first edition being run in 1896, and is one of the most enigmatic, unique, and difficult. At around 260 kilometers, the … Continue reading The Roubaix – a whiskey cocktail.
Nopa: Sherry, Supernova & Firelit Liqueur! – Review
NoPa is a neighborhood in San Francisco, its moniker standing for North of Panhandle, the Panhandle being a thin strip of tree-lined park jutting eastward from beautiful Golden Gate Park. Nopa is also the name for neighborhood's best restaurant and cocktail gathering place. We've dined there several times and have always enjoyed the excellent California … Continue reading Nopa: Sherry, Supernova & Firelit Liqueur! – Review
Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey – Review
Only in America could you have a world-famous distillery planted smack-dab in the middle of a dry county. I guess it should come as no surprise to anyone that our nasty puritanical streak can only be usurped by the lure of the almighty dollar. With that in mind, I'd like to think that the counties … Continue reading Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey – Review
Whiskey (Eyewitness Companions Guide) – Book Review
I've had a couple of these Eyewitness Companions books with me on trips before and have always found them to be pretty useful. They're not a Frommer's, Paris-on-$3.58-a-day type book, nor are they very detailed literary accounts on select places/things. They offer short, descriptive entries on a wide variety of topics, giving an excellent overview … Continue reading Whiskey (Eyewitness Companions Guide) – Book Review
Caol Ila 12 Year Old – Review
According to my handy, pocket-sized, 6" thick, 15lb., 1961 Websters New International Dictionary (2nd Edition, unabridged), "smoke" is defined thusly: smoke (smōk), n. [AS. smoca; akin to AS. smeocan to smoke, smēcan to smoke, smēc, smyc, smoke, LG. & D. smook smoke, G. schmauch, Gr. smychiein to smolder, Lith. smaugti suffocate, choke.] 1. the gaseous … Continue reading Caol Ila 12 Year Old – Review
Tasting Group 4.3.10 – 5 Single Malts
A group of us got together for the first of hopefully several whisky tastings this past weekend. We all either walked, drove or took public transportation to our meeting place...none of us flew in on a private jet. We were not carried there upon jewel-encrusted sedan chairs. There were no entourages. We kept things pretty … Continue reading Tasting Group 4.3.10 – 5 Single Malts
Talisker 18 Year Old – Review
I've read that on the Eastern shore of the Trotternish peninsula on Skye, there is a rock formation called Elglais Bhreugach, or "false church". It's a largish stone arch that, as you might expect, kind of resembles a church. The local folklore of the spot is that many, many centuries ago it was used for … Continue reading Talisker 18 Year Old – Review
New Committee Only Ardbeg Release
Word on the street is there will be a new, very limited, Committee only release from Ardbeg coming out in the next week or two. This bottled small batch will be called "Shuttlecock" and will be made up of 50% 10 year old and 50% 3 year old, with the 3 year old an atypical … Continue reading New Committee Only Ardbeg Release
THE CASKS 