So Magnus is a reasonably priced scotch to come out of Highland Park fairly recently.  From what I have read it is only available in Canada and the US.  I cannot vouch for the truth of that statement.  I can only tell you this:  I tried it and here is what I think.  I may be totally wrong but it tastes very similar to the Highland Park 18.  Not as good but not bad at all.  Since the 18 sells for around $148.00 a bottle and the Magnus sells for around $39.00 a bottle there is an obvious difference.  The Magnus has no age statement and because of that and because it tastes similar to the 18 my best guess is that Highland Park simply opened a few casks meant to be the 18 about 10-12 years early and bottled it under the Magnus label.  The 18 is famous for being the only spirit that dries your mouth and then 2-3 seconds later makes your mouth water.  I got that same effect from the Magnus.  Maybe my imagination, ok sure, but it was very similar.  Like driving a Cadillac and then driving a Buick, very similar but one is better than the other.  The price is outstanding and I will buy it again.  Try it if you are a Highland Park fan or if you are just looking for something different.  It is not what I would call smoky at all and the sherry taste comes through.  Also I understand they have a “17” year old now and it is around 300 a bottle.  I have no idea what it is so much when the 18 is ½ that price.  Supply and demand or rarity may perhaps be the reason.  Anyway enjoy what you drink, drink it the way you like to drink it, and don’t worry about what other people think. 

The Whisky Warrior. 

The Latest from the Drunken Duck

As of 11/23/13 this
is the current status of my whisky assortment.  I haven't posted much lately and this is my second try today as the blog site is acting up.  So this will be short.  I just got Hankey Bannister, Glen Ness, McClelland (Highland version) and Glen Kirk 8 a couple of days ago.  I also restocked the Edradour and the "Brookladdie" Rocks.  Both were excellent and I received them as an early Christmas present.  I have been enjoying a dram just before dark out on the deck and now have found my old straight grained pipe and bought some Hobbit Weed from a supplier out in Colorado. It is a decent pipe tobacco and I also got some single malt pipe tobacco which I hope to try tonight.  I enjoyed the Hankey Bannister last evening and it was very nice.  I am on a quest right now to find really good scotch that doesn't cost that much.  The McClelland -Highland tastes as good to me as many a 70-80 $ a bottle scotches and the Hankey Bannister (under 20$) is as good as many higher priced blends I have tried.  So the moral is that the price really doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the taste of the product. Happy Holidays to all.

The Whisky Warrior

I was out and about doing my weekly errands around town a couple of weeks ago (March 2013), when I noticed a sign on one of our small local liquor stores that said “going out of business, 20 to 50% off).  I thought to myself that I need to check this out.  So I stopped in.  Of course there was nothing for 50% off but about 1/3 of the stock was 20% off.  The clerk explained to me that the store would be open about 2 more months and that any item with a red dot on its price tag was 20% off.  I got two bottles of Eagle Rare (10) bourbon (Very nice), one Collingwood Canadian whiskey(which was outstanding) , one Macallan 12 (a classic) , a 1.75 liter bottle of The Famous Grouse, and a 1.75 of Three Olives vodka for martinis.

 I paid for my treasures and was walking out the door when the clerk said “we have some of the really good stuff on sale too” as he pointed to the top shelf behind the bar.  There were a few goodies but the bottle of Glenlivet 25 year old in its snazzy wooden holder with the shiny silver metal plate on the front that slides left or right to open caught my eye. It was originally 299.00 and was on sale for 240.00 so how could I say no. 

The clerk, who I take it is not a whisky drinker, said that bottle had been in the store since it opened 5 years ago so it was really 30 years old. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it doesn’t work that way and once it leaves the cask it stops aging unlike some wines.  I took my treasures home and family and friends tried out the Glenlivet 25 with me and it was very very nice indeed.  We quite enjoyed it and were able to pick out two of the touted tasting notes for ourselves (which is more than we usually can).  Very dark spirit owing to many years in sherry casks.  Yum!  While I am sad to see the little Liquor store (with the name “Liquor” proudly displayed over the door) go away forever.

 I am happy to report that a brand new Total Wine and More Store is opening about 30 miles South of there in the new town of Viera Florida.  Look them up online they have hundreds of wonderful scotches and other whiskies and a ton of locations.   We drove down to see it but it wasn’t open yet.  They did have a literal mountain of empty boxes in the middle of the store as they were stocking the shelves as fast as possible. I just placed my hands on the glass and stared into the not-yet-open store like a kid looking in the candy store who doesnt have any money.  My next adventure will be to head down there after it opens and finally get a bottle of Japanese Whisky and a few others I have wanted for a long time but could not find in my local stores.  

Finally I hope I get to actually see the 50% off in the little store towards the end of their time but I realize nothing good will be left …..sniff…oh well. 

Back to the Glenlivet 25! 

The Whisky Warrior.

Hurricane Sandy- What To Do When The Power Goes Off

Hurricanes and storms in general are serious business.  Many people were hurt and some killed in the storm known as Sandy as it slammed into New Jersey on the evening of October 29, 2012.  Our heartfelt sympathies and prayers go out to all those affected by this terrible storm.  This is an actual picture of Sandy 24 hours before landfall.

On a lighter note, it is a bit of a mystery to us folks living in hurricane alley (Florida and the Gulf of Mexico region) why when a level 1 hurricane hits the North East it is the storm of the century, mass destruction, and Biblical horror.  Here we barely prepare for a level 1 at all.  Oh we drag the stuff out of the yard that might blow into the windows and buy a little extra ice and water and duct tape and such but unless its category 3, 4, or 5 most of us don’t get too upset about it.  Those folks who live right on the ocean need to leave of course but my home is a good 17 miles from the ocean inland and the grade school 500 yards from my home is a designated hurricane shelter so we just stay put. 

I have seen several online articles dealing with “what to do when the power goes out”, “how long will your food last without power?”, and “How long is your food safe to eat?”.  Some of this is good information for folks that don’t know anything about it but really it is just simply not that hard.

Before a storm buy as many bags of ice as you have storage room for them.  We keep 5 in our big freezer year round and rotate them in and out using them up for parties (and whisky on a hot day) and such.   When the power goes out you put a bag in the refrigerator, at least one in each freezer, and maybe fill up your cooler/ice chest.  Be sure to put  the one in the fridge in a pan to catch the melting water or you will have a big mess later. 

Your ice chest should be stocked with your favorite drinks, beer, wine, and drinks for the kids anyway.  You can even throw some snacks in there and that way you don’t have to open the refrigerator every time you want a drink which keeps the stuff in there good much longer.   Get your supplies early, keep what you need all year long if possible and avoid long lines and angry people fighting over the last bag of ice or jug of water at your local stores.  It happens.  For one hurricane I walked into our Wal-Mart to get some extra water the day before the storm hit and people were actually fist fighting in the isles over the water.  The store manager was trying to play referee and was throwing people out of the store for fighting.   I just turned around and left and went one block down the street to the drug store that had hundreds of bottles of water for sale and almost no one in the store.  Think, don’t panic.  Fill up your bathtubs with water and any big jugs and even buckets, as you may need flushing water for your toilets.

Here is what my wife and I do when the power goes out.  I get a glass of Highland Park 18 year old Scotch, she gets a dirty dry vodka Martini on the rocks with 3 Spanish queen olives, and we get a book or magazine, flashlight if needed, we light the battery powered fluorescent lamp and we set in our love seat with individual recliners and kick back.  Between us is a small 10” D cell powered fan that is placed on a TV tray so it will blow on both of us.  We turn on a battery powered radio to get latest storm news. 

It’s really not that hard to be comfortable and safe in a lower level hurricane.  We have a generator but we have to wait until the rain stops to use it safely and that gets the fridge and freezer back on line and a light or two and a large fan and the TV going.  So follow the direction of your local officials, prepare ahead of time with ice, drinks, water, and a good stock of your favorite whiskies and beer and just ride it out.  Get away from the ocean, get to a safe place, listen to and follow instructions from emergency officials and be safe.  Stuff can be replaced, people can’t. 

Highland Park 21 and 25, Pure Joy

Getting to enjoy Highland Park 21 and 25 both in the same evening was a wonderful experience.  No, I really cannot afford a full bottle of either one (between $150 and $200 for the 21 and $250 to $300 for the 25) but we did manage to get a mini of each to sample.  My daughter bought both of these on her recent trip to Scotland and we shared the tasting last weekend.  We started with the 21 and followed Highland Park’s Global Brand Ambassador, Gerry Tosh’s recommendation for observing tears and legs and nosing.  We agreed that the aroma of orange peel and toffee were there for us but as smelling whisky is not our long suit we were eager to get on with the drinking.  We both enjoyed it and both reported a sharp bite on the tip of the tongue that lasted a few seconds.  The taste was pleasant enough and enjoyable with that trademark little wisp of  peat smoke at the end of the finish.  It started strong and then mellowed out from there.   I guess a good comparison might be the very first drop on an old fashioned roller coaster like the Beast at King’s Island in Cincinnati Ohio, the first drop is a heart stopper then you really enjoy the rest of the ride and it is quite thrilling all the way to the end.  That, to me, best describes the tasting of the Highland Park 21. 

Now on to the 25 to sample its wares!  Apparently there are several varieties of both the 21 and 25 and our sample was just a little over 107 Proof.  Other proofs were bottled and distributed and various online liquor stores carry these assorted “flavors”. 

Even the little box that the 25 came in had a full color picture on it compared to the 21 which was in black and white.  The color was very nice and as one might expect a bit darker than the 21 but as Gerry Tosh says, color really means nothing.  The legs and tears were almost exactly like those we found in the 21.  Thus ended the similarities.  This nosing of the 25 was unusual for us in that we actually did pick up whiffs of chocolate (as in 90% cacao chocolate) just like when you first open up a big bar of semi-sweet chocolate and you get that blast of chocolate smell that hits you.  Not as strong in the whisky of course but it really seems to be there.  I say that because usually I cannot smell anything but whisky with the occasional bit of spun sugar and of course sherry aroma from those whiskies aged in sherry casks.  This one was different. We both really enjoyed the taste and once again a thousand pipers played as a host of angels sang praises to the distiller’s art.  I’m sure one or two dead Scottish Kings rose up and marched about a bit in harmonious celebration with us but no I did not really see them, just sensed they were there smiling ear to ear.   The 25 was absolutely wonderful and makes me sad that I am not financially well off enough to buy a case of it (or a bottle for that matter).  But at least I (we) got to taste it once and that was sheer pleasure.  My daughter said that even though Dalwhinnie was her favorite, she believed she had finally found a new favorite scotch in the Highland Park 25.   Regrettably she is no better off financially than I am so we will have to start a savings account for a future purchase of a full bottle of the Highland Park 25.  We liked the 21 but loved the 25.  Eventually we would like to try the Highland Park 30 and that is next on the agenda.

Whatever you drink please enjoy yourself and savor every moment this life has to give. 

The Whisky Warrior.

Single Malt For 007 Please!!!

The scotch whisky business is booming and sales seem to be increasing every year.

In fact it is not only scotch, but all “brown liquors” that are thriving here in the early part of the 21^st century.  Bourbon, Irish, Japanese, Canadian, and many other types of whisky are gaining popularity with younger and older drinkers.  I think that if Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond series of books today he would have 007 drinking Highland Park, or Macallan  25 or 30 and going on about that he wants it “neat no water, no ice, just two ingredients -  glass and scotch please!”  That then would have been the catch phrase from all those movies instead of “Martini, dry, shaken not stirred!”  It is indeed a much different world we live in today than the 1960’s when Bond was born.  Whisky is once again King, long live the King and long live Scotland. 

There has been a quiet revolution going on for the past several years as around the world people have been developing a taste for good scotch whisky.   Diageo the company that owns such brands as Moet et Chandon, Guinness, Crown Royal, and Johnny Walker, have announced that they are doing a major expansion of their Glen Ord distillery in Ross-Shire.  This is part of their 5 year plan to invest over 1 Billion pounds into scotch whisky production.  They plan on expanding 13 of their current 28 distilleries in Scotland and will build one brand new distillery as well. 

William Grant and Son’s have now reached the point where they have exceeded over 1 billion pounds in turnover per year for the first time ever.  That’s a lot of whisky flowing over the rim of the glass and into whisky fans all over the world!

Chivas Brothers announced they will build a new distillery and are reopening the Glen Keith distillery in Speyside next year.  Rumors abound that they may try to buy the Beam brands of Kentucky Bourbon but their CEO has said that is not happening any time soon. 

As proof that scotch has become more and more popular all over the world, China consumed over 100 Million pounds sterling worth of scotch last year. 

The Whisky Warrior

Treats for Halloween for the whisky fan

Halloween is just around the corner and I feel like I have already gotten my treats for the year.  My daughter and her family just returned from a couple of weeks exploring parts of England, Wales, and lower Scotland and they brought me some really cool mini’s to enjoy.  I have never had the privilege of sampling any of these before so I look forward to the adventure.  The first is Bowmore, a great whisky from the Isle of Islay.  Islay malts are famous for their full bodied peaty taste so if you are one who really enjoys a smoky whisky then this may be a great choice for you.

Next is Highland Park 21, something I have never even seen for sale at any of my local liquor stores.  I have enjoyed the Highland Park 18, which so far is my absolute favorite, but I am sure the 21 holds some great surprises in store.  Then the Highland Park 25 comes next.  At a retail price of around $400.00 for a fifth I doubt I will ever have the great pleasure of owning a bottle but this mini will at least let me get to know it a bit and enjoy a taste of what I can only suppose is a wondrous treat. 

Finally a really cool gift set of the Welsh Whisky Penderyn with two mini’s and a very nice nosing glass inscribed with the Whisky’s logo.(Same as in the picture).  I have longed to try the Welsh Whisky for many years now as it is yet another choice that is not provided at any of the local liquor stores in my area.  You would think with Kennedy Space Center right across the Indian River that alone would provide a ready consumer group for better whiskies than it actually does.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some really nice choices in my area now compared to just 10 years ago.  For a while the local ABC liquor store (a chain store in Florida) did not carry any single malt scotch at all.  Today they have at least 20 different ones to choose from and some fine upper scale bourbons and Irish Whiskies as well. 

So I have not tried any of my new treats yet, I am saving them for when friends or family are over so we can enjoy them together, hopefully in the near future.

Now if I can just put 200+$ together for a bottle of Highland Park “Thor” ……where is that piggybank anyway?

The Whisky Warrior

Early bird plans for whisky festival

Just saw this article from the Stirling (Scotland) Observer.  Thought I would pass it on to you all.  Note the website at the bottom of the article.  Please visit the site and go to the festival if you can.  I know it would be a glorious time and you can tour the wonderful historic Stirling Castle and see the real battle field where William Wallace defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling.  A really cool place to be.  Have a dram for me.  The Stirling Observer is the author of the text below not me.  I am just reprinting it in hopes someone will see it and go to enjoy the festival. 

(Article Courtesy of the Stirling Observer)

Organizers of the inaugural Spirit of Stirling Whisky Festival, held earlier this year at the city’s Albert Halls, have announced that the event will return by popular demand in 2013.Plans are already under way to host the second edition of the drinks industry showcase at the Dumbarton Road venue on May 11 next year.  The festival is organized by local businessmen Cameron McCann and Iain McMenemy.  Mr. McCann said: “We are delighted to be able to bring the festival back to Stirling in 2013..

“Tickets sold out in advance of the last festival and we have already received numerous requests for advance tickets for the 2013 event.  The Drymen-based businessman continued: “We launched a limited-edition commemorative whisky to celebrate the success of the first festival this year. This was a limited run of 156 hand-numbered bottles of a specially-labeled Spirit of Stirling whisky.

“There are only around two dozen of those bottles left, which can be purchased through our website, but we will be launching another exclusive, hand-numbered, whisky to celebrate the 2013 festival.”

The festival’s website can be viewed at www.spiritofstirlingwhiskyfestival.co.uk.

The Whisky Warrior

A Great Time To Be A Whisky Fan!

It is a wonderful time to be a fan of whisky (ey).   Distillers are working overtime to provide their customers with new offerings, flavors, blends, versions, and types of whisky.  Just 15-20 years ago in America (at least the bars and eating establishments I visited across the country) one could get Glenfiddich or Glenlivet when one asked for single malt scotch.  While I have enjoyed both of them at various times in my life (and still love the Glenlivet 21) the selection that is available here in 2012 is nothing short of astounding!  The different productions include sherry, port, Madera, rum, sauterne, peat, oak, bourbon, champagne, and Lord knows how many other wonderful choices.  It really is like being a grown up kid in an adults only candy store.  Options include several double or triple wood offerings where the spirit rests in   (for example) oak for 5 years, sherry casks for 5 years and then Madera or port for a final 5 years.  These complex flavors are just delightful and give fans so many wonderful choices that it almost can make your head spin.  It is kind of like going to the county fair and finding out they have 100 different fun rides all set up and waiting for you to try.  Thank you distillers!  Your hard work is greatly appreciated.  I have heard recently that even the venerable Johnny Walker is coming out with a gold and platinum version to go with black, red, green and blue.  Yes all these versions are designed to sell more whisky and gain more market share…..but who cares, the consumer has never had so many amazing choices.  Prices for old and rare bottles of whisky are going for ever higher prices with each passing year.  Countries around the world are working hard to produce their own versions of whiskies and some like the Japanese have succeeded in producing some delicious products.  I know that whisky is not for everyone and many will never like it much less enjoy it (like my dear wife for example) but each year more and more people are enjoying the wide diversity of whisky that is now available to all of us.  Have you noticed more people are smiling these days?  I think I understand why.

Here is hoping you find your new favorite soon.  Please try a few of these great new whiskies and let me know which ones you love.  Happy sipping.

The Whisky Warrior

What Makes One Scotch Taste Different From Another?

What makes one scotch taste different from another?  All scotches use only barley so why does one scotch taste different from another?  As you might suspect there are many reasons.  Some of them are:  1. How many times is the spirit distilled?  2.  What type of cask is the spirit aged in?  3.  How many years has the spirit been allowed to age?  4.  How good was the water used in the distillation process?  5.  How was the barley dried (peat with lots of smoke, some smoke, no smoke, gas heat, other)?  6.  How good was the master distiller at their task of choosing and mixing the casks that will make the run?    Let us look at these items one at a time.  1: First how many times was the spirit distilled?  In each distilling the first alcohol to come down the pipe is not the ethyl alcohol that we are looking for.  The first little bit contains other alcohols that can and will give you a terrible headache.  So the distiller discards the first bit to come out of the still.  The remainder of the run is then mostly ethyl alcohol.  In each distilling a little more of the bad alcohols are eliminated and after three distillings we should find that our spirit is almost entirely the ethyl alcohol that we seek.  So look for a whisky that is distilled more than once if possible.  The bottom shelf stuff is mostly distilled only one time so it is cheaper to produce and is much more likely to give you a terrible headache than is the middle or top shelf selections.   2;&3:  Scotch usually starts its aging process in used oak barrels from bourbon distilleries in America although brand new oak barrels could be used.  Then after a few years the whisky can(or not) be transferred to other used barrels from sherry, port, sauterne, rum, or champagne producers and as you can imagine each different selection will impart a different taste to the final product.  Some distillers even employ a third type of barrel.  This might go like 6 years in oak barrels then 6 years in sherry barrels and finally 6 years in port barrels.  This method gives a lot of different and new flavors to a distiller’s product and has proven quite popular with the consuming public.  Remember these barrels are aged in Scotland and each summer the barrels get warm and the wood opens up allowing some of the spirit to flow into the wood.  This is followed by the colder winter when the barrels close up in the colder conditions forcing the whisky out of the wood and back into the barrel.  The more years this is repeated the more of the whisky that gets to be flavored by the wood.  There are scientists experimenting today (see Popular Science Magazine) with using pressure techniques to force the spirit into and out of the wood to make a whisky in just a few weeks  that (supposedly) is the equivalent of that same spirit spending 15 or 20 years resting in a cask.  If that technique is ever widely accepted, (and works as well as they say) then one might see excellent whisky produced in a few months instead of years.  We shall see.  4.  This one is just common sense.  If you use good clean pure water your whisky cannot help but taste better than if you had used nasty dirty water.  So we want a whisky that uses really good water not only in the distilling process but also in the bottling process because we must remember that water is always added to all whisky when it is bottled except for cask strength versions.  Glenfiddich advertises that they are the only distillery in Scotland to actually bottle their whisky on site although Balvinie is right next door to Glenfiddich (Speyside area) and they use the Glenfiddich bottling facility.  All others are trucked to the big cities in big tankers that look like gasoline tankers with no markings.   5.  This one too is fairly obvious.  If you use barley that was malted (heated) over peat fires that allow all the smoke to caress the grain then the whisky will taste smokier than if one uses barley that is malted over a non-peat fire or a peat fire that allows most of the smoke to go elsewhere.  This is just your own preference and somewhere on the bottle it should tell you if the whisky you are about to buy is smoky in nature or not.  I don’t care for a lot of smoke but a small bit is nice.  Highland Park has just the right amount for me but most of the Islay Whiskies are a bit too strong smoke wise for my preference. So just try several brands and choose the smoke level that is right for your tastes.  6.  The master distiller has a big say in what their product tastes like and in how consistently it is produced.  Even though scotch from one malting is called a single malt scotch, many barrels can be made out of one malting.  The master distiller and blender then has to take small samples from each cask and mix and match them until they come up with the combination that best fits their brand and their high standards of production.  Usually if a distiller produces a good single malt and a barrel is found wanting during the testing by the Master distiller/blender then that barrel that did not measure up will be sold off to a different distiller who specializes in blended whisky.  Once the lab work has been done and the barrels have been selected to be combined all the barrels from that batch are emptied into a mixing vat and after the mixing is done the batch can be loaded onto trucks and shipped to the bottler.  The only thing that remains then is to label it, box it, and ship it to your favorite store so you can make your purchase and begin to enjoy the fruits of their labors.  These are some of the things that make one scotch taste different from another one.  I hope you enjoy your favorite dram soon,

The Whiskey Warrior.

I was gratified to see a nice article in The Whisky Advocate” magazine that talked about how it is ok to put water or even ice in your whisky, especially when you live in a really hot climate like Florida.  I have been saying that for years and it’s always nice to find someone to agree with one’s thoughts and particularly great when an expert is in agreement.  Best thing that has happened to me in over a month.   It is a great magazine by the way and I really love it.  I also got a Michael Jackson book on Whisky (the spirit expert not the pop star) and it is quite wonderful as well.  Unfortunately Mr. Jackson died in 2007 he was the leading expert in spirits in the world. 

Also read that the Glenn Keith distillery is reopening, its parent company makes Chevis Regal and their sales are up so they figured it would be cheaper to restart that distillery than to build a new one and they are probably right.  The article did not really state that they would make Glen Keith again but I hope so, it is a nice middle of the road scotch that I have enjoyed often back in the 1990’s.  Glenn Keith has a nice oaky flavor and good clean taste. 

I was also glad to see that in the rating section of the magazine they had really nice things to say about Dalwhinnie which is my youngest daughter’s favorite (yes she is over 21).  I like it as well but don’t buy it that often.  There are just so many offerings now that it really is like being a kid in a candy store. 

Highland Park’s new Thor offering will be available in the United States unlike some of their other previous new products.  That is good news and I long to try it but first I have to find it and then I have to find the money to buy it but I am sure I will get it eventually.  Still looking to taste my first Japanese whisky and now I just found out (thanks to The Whisky Advocate) that The Australian Island of Tasmania has several new (new to me anyway) distilleries that are coming of age. 

So whisky is experiencing the kind of explosion of availability that wine has gone through over the last 20 years.  Many countries are making new and wonderful whisky (ey) and master distillers are laboring in their labs creating new and amazing versions of their finest offerings.  It is truly a wonderful time to be alive if you like whisky.  Hundreds of choices, all types of price ranges, and plenty of flavor options depending on your particular likes and dislikes.  Hooray for whisky and bless all the men and women who work so hard to bring us new and delicious offerings on a regular basis. 

Enjoy safely, use designated drivers when drinking out at bars and relish the journey of discovery as you travel down the malted road 

The Whisky Warrior

Auchentoshan

Auchentoshan, a fine Lowland Scotch Whisky. Ok I admit it, after doing all the genealogy thing and finding most of my ancestors were Scot Highlanders, I had some trouble coming to grips with the idea that a really good scotch could come from the Lowlands. Well as so often been the fact over these last several decades, I was wrong. In May of 2007 I had to travel to Pittsburg with a scotch drinking co-worker and we found "The Piper" a wonderful little bar featuring 135 single malts to sample. The Penguins were playing in the playoffs that night as we slipped into the bar and sat down. As is so often the case, we were like two small boys in a candy store trying to make our selections. We must have been wide-eyed and probably drooling a bit around the edges as we sat basked in the glow of the wide screen TV’s light trying to decide which of the 135 wonderful offerings we would try first. Always wanting to try something new (new to us) we tried a couple of versions of Auchentoshan. It was startlingly good. If memory serves we tried both the classic and the 12 year versions with those two basic ingredients of whisky fans; scotch and glass :-). I recently purchased my first bottle of Auchentoshan (in Gaelic it means "the corner of the field") and I intend to consume most of it when my whisky drinking amigo from Huntsville visits later this month. The box tells us that the distillery is located between the Kilpatrick hills, Loch Lomond, and the modern cosmopolitan city of Glasgow (Hey Jimmy gi us a pint). It is matured in bourbon barrels and is renowned (so sayth the box) for its soft delicate character. I say its damn good scotch (not being one whose words end up on scotch boxes lol.) It is triple distilled then placed in good old American bourbon casks. Those that can taste such things tell us that it has vanilla, coconut aromas and is known for being a very smooth drink.

My point is simply this, don't be a scotch snob and drink only the highland malts as you may miss out on some really wonderful treats such as Auchentoshan. Oh yes that night the Penguins won and I was treated to masses of people streaming out of many bars talking and hugging one stranger after another right after the game was over. That is when I was told that some cities are sports towns that have a drinking problem whereas Pittsburg is a drinking town with a sports problem. I have been a Steelers fan myself as far back as the Franco Harris Immaculate Reception (long ago when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth and I was still reasonably thin). If you are a fan you will know of what I speak, if not then it really doesn't matter now does it? So give this Lowland treat a try and get a bottle of Auchentoshan next time you visit your local liquor store, in Florida the ABC chain stock it.

Enjoy!

The Whisky Warrior

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Drink Whisky

Well I hope all of you are enjoying your journey into the wild wonderful world of whiskies etc.
I have been back working full time since November 14th of 2011 and this next Friday is my last day (Feb 3) for a while. I am a contract hire now having retired from my long time job last July after the mass lay off of space workers happened. So what does one do when one is out of work? One enjoys their hobbies and of course my hobby is whisky and whiskey so I am going to try some new whisky. I am really not sure what we will be trying but one of my friends and I have plans to visit a local liquor store and search for new and different interesting malts or blends to try. I am really looking forward to it.
I have noticed a trend towards new and different whiskies these days. As you may already know when the freshly distilled spirit comes out of the tap there is not a lot of taste to it so that taste must be infused into the spirit via time spent in various casks. Sherry casks give one flavor and port casks another and some distillers blend those two together for an additional treat and call the outcomes double wood or even triple wood. They are usually outstanding so please try them all. But lately I have seen a Balvenie Caribe which is put up in rum casks for a Caribbean flavor and I just saw that Grant's is using ale casks to age some of their whisky in. I think this is a new trend and a very positive one that will give whisky drinkers the world wide an even broader and more substantial pallet from which to paint one's soul. I regret I have yet to taste any of these new kids on the block but I will remedy that in the near future and provide you with a full report on each one as I am able to acquire some of the new whiskies. Should you acquire anything wonderful and wish to share it with me just comment to the blog and I will get in contact with you. :-)
I did tally up my stock of whisky (ey) the other day and I have 26 different ones. A sad tale when you realize there are many hundreds out there. :-( But 26 is better than 0 for sure.
Stock up now for St. Patrick's Day, its just 7 weeks away and it is my favorite holiday of the year with most of the rest tied for second. Enjoy and please let me know what you like to drink I would really like to know. Thanks
The Whisky Warrior

Happy Holidays

The holidays are here again. Weren't they just here a couple of months ago? No? Well ok time is moving a lot faster the older I get so I guess it just seems like that. So what are you drinking for the holidays this year? Anything special? I found a bottle of 42 year old scotch of an off brand that I never heard of for sale for about $169.00 or so and I have been wrestling with myself whether to buy it or not. As you may know the usual price for scotch over 40 years is closer to $10,000.00 than $200.00. I am left with the logic of the situation. Either it is a very poor bottle of scotch that others have tasted and no one will buy due to its undrinkability or its cheap because no one ever heard of that brand perhaps a private label put out by an independent bottler. So one either gets an outstanding bottle of scotch for a great price OR one gets a really lousy bottle of scotch in which case the price is way too high. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Of course there is no other way for me to ever get a 42 year old bottle of scotch except to take this type of risk. Right now this moment I am leaning toward taking the risk. Ordering perhaps a day or two before Christmas and taking delivery between Christmas and New Years.
Moving on to the next topic now. We seem to be awash in a sea of spirits these days. While I think that is a very good thing it is almost overwhelming. In the last 20 years we went from having only 1 or 2 choices for a single malt scotch in a bar or eating establishment to having 30,40, or more choices. Liquor stores the size of supermarkets have sprung up around the nation stocking a wonderful selection of whisky, wine, beer and other spirits. It used to be I could not find a pint of Guinness for sale anywhere and thank the all mighty now I can get a pint in many locations within a few miles of my home. When I was a kid all we had were the usual American beers to choose from, Bud, Miller, Pabst, and maybe a few regionals like Coors, Fall City, Berger, Rolling Rock, or Lone Star. Now we have hundreds of micro breweries making world class beers and they are plentiful and available. Wine has exploded! Once upon a time all one could get was California wine and maybe some French wine. Today the worlds wine supply is literally at your beck and call. You can find wine from dozens of countries and most of it is all very good. At least in this respect, Life is much better now than it was just 20-30 years ago. Your choices are almost unlimited and those putting out poor products cannot compete with the tidal wave of excellent beer, wine and whisky that surrounds us.
If you were searching for something to be thankful for, there is a good starting place. So like Scrooge, enjoy being visited by three spirits tonight. But you don’t have to wait for the clock to strike one to enjoy your first spirit. Maybe 5 PM? And you don’t have to fear the last one, just maybe stop at 3. Enjoy. All the best to all of you.

Tasting Ideas

From time to time I have a whisky tasting at my home pub "The Drunken Duck". The Duck is a small bar that resides where my home office used to be, it is a much better use of space....
I wanted to share with you a few short ideas for your own tasting. For me it seems to go better with about 6-8 people, a few more or less is ok, but too many people may dilute the experience.
First I have found some excellent You Tube videos by Gerry Tosh that in a few short minutes tells your guests how to taste whisky. This educates your friends and helps you not to come off as a snob or know it all. So watch one or two quick videos on how to taste scotch. Tasting whisky is a very different thing than tasting wine so its worth a few minutes of everyone's time. Second have at least a few good quality nosing glasses on hand. It’s just not fun to taste good whisky out of a plastic glass so please use real glass. It is important to know your audience when conducting a tasting. If everyone is really interested in learning about whisky then you are in for a wonderful evening of fun for everyone. If you have some folks that aren’t that interested in learning but just want to drink, then by all means hook them up with a generous dram of whisky so they can enjoy the evening as well. Remember not everyone wants to spend time learning about whisky some just want to drink it. Third, have a good supply of crackers and nuts on hand as they make excellent pallet cleansers between different samples of whisky. I recommend the water crackers or other upscale crackers without much extra flavorings. Mixed nuts seem to be best received - regular not dry roasted. But whatever your tastes are should work as well. Anything more than crackers and nuts may make a good tasting impossible. No cheese or meat, or anything greasy until after your tasting is done. Fourth, do the tasting for about an hour or less and then just allow folks to pour a good dram of the whisky that most appealed to them. Then you can bring out the cheese and meat and other goodies to munch on. Fifth and finally one added feature you can offer is a mystery whisky. Choose a whisky and at some point in the evening pour a dram for all your participants. Each person tastes the whisky and then tries to guess what it is. For example, your mystery whisky might be a rye, or sour mash, or Canadian or Japanese or whatever you think might make the game interesting. Then offer a bar towel or glassware, or miniature bottle of whisky as a prize should anyone guess correctly. Have fun and remember to have other drinks available for non-whisky drinkers as the good Lord did not bless us all equally when it comes to the love of whisky.

Black Grouse

If you have had the pleasure of trying The Famous Grouse, you will know why it is considered the favorite blended scotch of the entire UK. Some Royal Air Force Chaps and some Brittish Aerospace folks were sequestered in the blockhouse on Complex 17 with me at Cape Canaveral back in the 1990's for a couple of Delta Rocket launches - it was their payload. We were on fire watch in the wee hours of the morning and the conversation turned to scotch. Imagine that! lol. Well they told me that The Famous Grouse was the #1 day-in-day-out-go-to blended scotch in the UK and that there were two reasons for that. 1. is that it tastes very good! and 2. is that it is reasonably priced so most folks can afford it. I have bought many bottles of it over the last 16 years or so and it is very good indeed. If memory serves it contains both the highly praised Highland Park and The Macallan in the blend. Most great single malt houses sell quite a bit of their product to blend houses in order to keep the cash flow going while they wait for their liquid gold to mature into its glorious state.

So I was wandering through the Walgreens Liquor store on Garden Street In Titusville Florida and saw a whole case of something called The Black Grouse marked way down low from about 33$ a bottle to 17.99$ a bottle so being of Scottish decent I can no refuse a bargain laddie. I bought it and tried a bit and while it touts its peatyness on the box I found the level of smokeyness quite acceptable. Remember I dont relish scotch that tastes like an ashtray of smoke but I do appreciate the hints of peat in some world class scotch. I had rememberd that other fine drinks such as Bushmills have a hierarchy where Bushmills is the bottom of their ladder and Black Bush is up a notch, followed by their single malts (which are wonderful). So I thought this might actually be better than The regular Famous Grouse. I cannot say it is better but it is very good. Its more like a different flavor than something better or worse. Like buying some vanilla and some chocolate ice cream not one better or worse than the other.

So if you see it, please do give it a go.

The Drunken Duck Canadian Draft will be ready to drink by Sunday, the first batch was a pretty good ale but with a dab of bitterness which I quickly ignored and drank it anyway, its 3/4 gone. The Drunken Duck Octoberfest goes in the bottles Saturday and will be ready in about 2 weeks.

Thats all for now have to start teaching my management class in a couple of minutes.

I sincerely wish you much enjoyment in your hobby of drink just take care, no driving, and don't over do it.

The Whisky Warrior

And now the fun begins

Just a couple of days left at my job as I am one of thousands being laid off at the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Im taking my retirment and only working a little here and there. I have turned my home office into my own Irish Pub .....The Drunken Duck is its name. I have all the nominal things one would see in an Irish Pub, Irish music, lighted beer signs, photos from Ireland, a bar, a table, four bar stools, lots of alcohol of all kinds, snacks, bar towels, coasters, and all the trimmings. It has been fun making it and I will keep adding on to it for years to come.

I made my first 2 gallons of beer last Saturday or at least I started it on its 30 day journey to enjoyment. Got the kit and the whole nine yards and will be making all kinds over the next several months. Going to get a wine making kit as well and get that kicked off. So life is good and I am very happy to finally get out of working full time after 40 years of doing so. I would say I will make whisky too but that would be illegal so I wont do that.

I do want to report that I have now tried Highland Park 18 year and I must say that I agree with the experts that it is indeed the finest whisky in the world and perhaps the finest spirit of any kind in the world. It runs just shy of $100 a bottle but is absolutely delightful. Please look up Gerry Tosh's You-Tube video on this variety as he can explain it all to you in his usualy delightful way. In short, the experts tried a panel of 3500 whiskies and proclaimed the HP 18 the very best in the world. Apparently it is unique in that when one takes a drink of it ....it first numbs the edges of your tongue and then dries out your mouth a few seconds later only to be followed by your mouth watering 2-3 seconds after that. No other spirit in the world is reported to be able to do that. The taste is outstanding and well if you are ever going to spend that much on a bottle of whisky make sure this is your choice and you will not be dissapointed. It is wonderful. Angels will sing, pipes will play, and long dead Kings of Scotland and Ireland will rise up and march through your living room as you enjoy its glorious flavor. It is good. I advised one of my adult college students about its charms and she and her husband tried it and loved it as well. Thats it for now, enjoy every minute of your life, be safe, and much happiness.

The Whisky Warrior

My heart is broken

Well, my heart is broken. Recently I have become a huge fan of Highland Park Whisky. I had enjoyed the 10 and 12 year versions several times over the last 15 years or so and finally got my hands what is being called the best whisky in the world, the Highland Park 18. I drank about 1/3 of it so far and it truly is remarkable and well I just love it.

So I heard about a week long bootcamp that Highland Park does at its distillery in the Orkney Islands. A full week of learning everything there is to learn ( or most of it) about whisky and whisky making. I wrote to them and asked how I could attend one of the bootcamps and the heart crushing answer came back that it is only for employees and distributors. They were very nice about it and most polite when they told me for sure. Ok I get it but they told me its not open to the general public. I am sorry but I am not the general public. I defy anyone to tell me they love Highland Park Whisky more than I do. I sing its praises whenever anyone will stop long enough to listen to me. I drink it, I enjoy it, and I truly love it. So my heart is broken. I told my wife of 40 years the other night that if Highland Park would agree to take me on as a non-paid employee and just provide me with some place to sleep and shower and such and a bit of food and water, I would gladly go live out the rest of my life helping to make this wonderful drink. I would happily clean the toilets and take out the trash and do it all for free just to be near this wonderful spirit. The wife would be more than welcome to come for visits of course. And I'm the general public?

As celebrity folks go, I would not walk across the street to watch a show or get an autograph from any of what passes for famous people these days. Lady Gaga or Charlie Sheen or Mick Jagger I can do without. The one exception is Gerry Tosh from Highland Park. If I won some contest and said that they would arrange dinner and and evening of conversation with anyone in the world my choice would be Gerry Tosh. He is straight forward, honest, and has a great passion for good whisky and of course Highland Park. And I'm the general public??? No Im not upset or angry or anything stupid like that but I am so very dissapointed that I cannot do the bootcamp at Highland Park. I love Highland Park and will continue to sing its praises and will have to be satisfied with the distillery tour next time I am in Scotland. But I am NOT the general public. Long live Highland Park! The finest spirit in the world.

The Whisky Warrior.

Keep the chocolate and fruit out of my booze!

I really don't have any problem with what anyone drinks from the most foo foo drink in the world to rot gut whisky or anything in between. So I am only speaking for what I like and how I like it which no matter what anyone says, unless one is doing an academic paper on alcochol what you like is all you really have to go on. Yes I have tried all the Baileyesque types of chocolaty liquors and yeah they taste ok but its just not for me. Years ago we got on a grasshopper jag which if I remember correctly was vodka, creme de menthe, and real cream. We drank those for a few months and then we over did it one night and painted the backyard green. I have never been able to drink that again. Getting sick on any alcohol usually has the effect that one never wants to drink that particular type of booze again. Once in high school someone said that one can get really drunk drinking gatoraid and gin so being stupid teenagers we did that and got deathly ill. Still can't drink gin today although I have not tried it in many years so maybe I could. Still get shivers just walking by a Juniper tree gaackkk!
After years of drinking practice I developed a passion for straight booze or nearly straight. Vodka martini with a few drops of dry vermouth on the rocks with at least 3 big Spanish Queen Olivies is a favorite of mine. Most any good whisky (ey) with a spash of spring water or straight and in the Florida 95 degree summer heat...on the rocks. I will admit to liking a frozen run runner, Zombie, or Margurita on occasion. In fact there was a bar in Terre Haute Indiana called Meg's Beach Comber (go figure)... that had the best Zombies in the world served in an atmosphere of fish nets, ceramic crabs, lobsters, star fish and all bathed in black light and I used to love to go there. When in Rome...as the old saying goes...so yeah if someone were to invite me over and had a rum runner night planned I would partake.
In general though I dont put soda, juice, milk, cream, or sports drinks in my booze. For me it just ruins it. Adding ice is a matter of taste and I believe climate. Sure if you are in chilly Scotland or Ireland there is no need to put ice in your drink as most of the year its going to be cold right out of the bottle. In the more tropical climates drinking whisky straight might be a problem in 100 degree heat (with notable exceptions for really excellent whisky (ey)for sure).
So here is my philosophy: If its good quality booze like a good single malt, or bourbon or vodka or Taquila, try it straight first. If that is too overpowering for your tastes, then add a bit of spring water. If still too potent try a little ice and you can even let the ice melt for a few minutes before really digging in. If after that you still dont like it just go get a beer or a glass of wine.
Yeah millions like bourbon and coke or vodka and orange juice etc. but its just not for me.
Dont think you like straight booze? Let me relate a true story to you. My wife and I went camping at a camp ground near our home back when my oldest daughter was just a baby. Two old men were about to get in a fight in the next camping spot over how to pitch their tent. Some other campers and myself came to their rescue and helped them set it up and then the other campers invited us to their tent for a drink. They were making what they called left handed screwdrivers which were orange juice and rum instead of the usual vodka for a regular screw driver. All night long I had to listen to my wife tell me how good her drinks were and how much she loved those drinks and how I did not know how to make good drinks. She went on and on about how I made drinks too strong and this guy really knew how to make a drink. I raised the white flag finally and said "Ok I will go watch him make the drinks." So I walked back around to the back of their station wagon to see how he was making these drinks on the tailgate. Well.....he was filling a glass with rum and adding just enough orange juice to change the color from clear to sort of orangeish. 95% rum and 5% OJ! I laughed and laughed and brought her the drink. She had been loving the taste of straight rum without knowing it. We got hammered and she had a headache the next morning when I had the pleasure of telling her how he was making the drinks. I never got accused of making drinks that were too strong again. Enjoy!
Ahh the good old days.

Wine for the Holidays

Wine for the Holidays. This is an article we published last year. I have made a few updates. Everything after the next *** is vintage. So I went and bought my usual three bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau this year (2010) and I was kind of disappointed. My daughter thought it was pretty good but it was lacking to me. Here I have been telling everyone how great it is and I was not enjoying it. Why ? Well, I think maybe that after discovering how much I really love Red Bordeaux , maybe I love that more than I used to love the Beaujolais? I dont know for sure and I think 2010 was probably as good as most years for the B.N. I did hear that they had some shipping problems and it arrived late and not as much as usual due to the political and economic strikes in France maybe that was it, but I just did not enjoy it as much as usual. I have one bottle left after Thanksgiving and it is December 5th today so maybe I will get it out and drink it before it gets any worse. Enjoy the 2010 holiday season. ***Here are some ideas for a couple of wines for the holiday season. Thanksgiving is a great time to have wine. Sometimes in the 1990’s I was listening to a talk radio show and they had a gourmet on that was suggesting wines for thanksgiving. He suggested a Gewurztraminer as a perfect Thanksgiving wine as it really picks up the flavor of the stuffing and other holiday foods and complements them. We tried a couple of bottles that year and the guy was right on the money. It was great! While there is no spice in the wine, it does seem to pick up the flavors from your dinner and frames them with a great fresh tasting wine. Try it for your next holiday meal especially if stuffing is involved. There are many makers of Gewurztraminer both European and domestic and so far, they are all good. Just choose one in your price range and enjoy. Beaujolais Nouveau is a fresh young red wine bottled at the very beginning of the Beaujolais season. Originally it was bottled (or in casks) and trotted out to parties and street festivals for people to try this year’s Beaujolais and get some feedback before mass bottlings of the remainder were made. Perhaps if the taste was not so good the grapes could be blended into other things and if it was good then make more Beaujolais. A lot of wine snobs will turn their noses up at this wine and that’s just too bad for them because it tastes really good. There is one problem with the nouveau though and that is it goes bad really quick. Beaujolais Nouveau is sold starting about November 17th each year and thousands of cases are shipped from France to the United States and many people have Beaujolais Nouveau parties and try out the few brands that come out each year. If you drink it for Thanksgiving it will be wonderful and the quicker you consume it the more you will enjoy it. It will still be good for your holiday season parties and remains very drinkable through the 25th of December. New Years Eve is about the last time I can drink it as it is quickly turning to vinegar. So if you see a bottle of 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau on the shelf for sale after January 1, 2010 just say no. That is, unless you want to use it for cooking or a vinaigrette. My personal scale of drinkability for Beaujolais Nouveau is in this list. This is just from my personal experience over about 15 years or so. November 17 to November 27 Wonderful, top of its form, delicious (10) November 28 to December 15 Really good, quite enjoyable just a little less good than before, still worthwhile (9) December 16 to December 25 Still good, but noticeably degraded from its November peak goodness(7) December 26 to January 1 You have to be a big fan to stick with it this long as it is just starting to really turn South (3) January 2 and on If you still have any just use it for cooking or to make salad dressing, it is no longer drinkable. (0) Just my personal opinion and yours may differ one way or the other, just do what suits you and makes you happy. This is why unless you are prepared to drink it up quickly or have a lot of friends to help you drink it, buying a whole case or two on November 17 is probably not a good idea, just get a few bottles. I have dumped out more than one bottle in mid January. For us about 4 or 5 bottles is enough but I do often buy a case and give bottles out as Thanksgiving presents to a few friends and relatives. All is not lost though as if you really love Beaujolais then you can still buy Beaujolais Villages (called that because each little village has its own) and there are several brands to choose from. You don’t have to drink the Beaujolais Villages quickly it will last quite a while. I don’t love it like the Nouveau but it is very good. Champagne for the holidays is always a good idea. Personally I like French Champagne. Is it better than American sparkling wine? Well allow me to explain. My wife and I took a really nice 11 day trip to France in 2002 and spent a couple of days in the Champagne producing areas. So my preference is French wine in all cases, not because it may or does taste better than American wine or any other but because drinking it reminds me of our really great trip and our time together in Paris and some of the country side of France. I have no clue which is better but when given a choice I buy the French simply because of the memories and the sentiment. So my choices for Champagne are Moet et Chandon Nectar Imperial which is sweet like Asti Spumonti but not nearly that sweet it is most enjoyable. Second is Moet et Chandon Imperial Brute, followed by Piper Heidsieck Brute, and Veuve Clicquot. Dom Perignon is good but too pricey for our pocket book. I know there are a lot of others but that is really about all I have tried that I really liked and there remain many left to try. So please share with us what wines you like for your holiday seasons. The Whisky Warrior.