Slàinte mhath, Dad! In honor of this upcoming Father's Day in general and my father in particular, here's a review of perhaps his favorite whisky. I don't remember exactly when my dad started to drink Highland Park, but it was a while ago. I think the bottles and labels have gone through at least four … Continue reading Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour – Review
Highland Park
Slightly Late 2011 WhiskyFest San Francisco Wrap-up
Looking back at last year's re-cap of WhiskyFest, it seems I laid out some goals for this year's WhiskyFest...let's see how I did: 1. Actually spend a few minutes making a serious game plan as to what to taste instead of talking about making a game plan and then running around like an idiot. I … Continue reading Slightly Late 2011 WhiskyFest San Francisco Wrap-up
Highland Park 18 Year Old – Review.
I'm more excited about Father's Day this year than I have been about most of the other Father's Days before. It's not because, for once, I got a card into the mail on time...I didn't, at this point, that's to be expected. No, this year marks the first Father's Day that I'll be on the … Continue reading Highland Park 18 Year Old – Review.
Introduction to Scotch at 18 Reasons
I'll be leading an Introduction to Scotch class at 18 Reasons next Tuesday, February 22. We'll take a quick run through the garden of Scotch Whisky history, talk a bit about how the stuff is made, and then taste our way through the six main regions. For this class, I'll be pouring representative, affordable, and … Continue reading Introduction to Scotch at 18 Reasons
2010 SMWS Extravaganza San Francisco – Recap
Thank you very much to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America for the opportunity to attend the Extravaganza as press. The etymology of the word extravaganza reads (at least from several online sources) thusly: "from 1754, with reference to peculiar behavior; from 1794, of a fantastic type of performance or writing, from It. extravaganza, … Continue reading 2010 SMWS Extravaganza San Francisco – Recap
Notes from The 11/10/10 Signatory Tasting, Round I
Notes from Round I of the recent Signatory tasting with Ed Kohl at San Francisco's City Club. This was a great evening with excellent malts, tasty appetizers, and good company. I owe a big thank you to Sam Filmus of Impex Beverages and JVS Imports for the invitation! ---------- Signatory 1991 Highland Park 18 Year … Continue reading Notes from The 11/10/10 Signatory Tasting, Round I
Recap – Whiskies of the World Expo
After going to WhiskyFest last year, I thought, "holy crap, malt overload...I don't need to do that again for another 2 or 3 years." Well, about 5 months later, where do I find myself? Yep, another big whisky show, this time around it was the Whiskies of the World Expo (let's call it WoW, shall … Continue reading Recap – Whiskies of the World Expo
Highland Park 12 Year Old
There are those scotches, and I won't mention Ardbeg & Laphroaig by name, that really seem to relish knocking the wind out of you. Strong, challenging, complex, and at times overwhelming, but all in a good way. They leave us lying in the dirt with only one shoe on, laughing as they walk away, knowing … Continue reading Highland Park 12 Year Old
WhiskyFest 2010
Last year, we attended WhiskyFest in San Francisco for the first time and were summarily overwhelmed. If you're a whisky fan, a show like this is not to be missed. The entire show...hell, the entire week leading up to the show, I had this nervous, panicky feeling that I had to try every single item … Continue reading WhiskyFest 2010
THE CASKS 