Whiskey....Bourbon.....Scotch? Anyone here partake?

[excav8ter sup]

We had one of the finest margarita's two weekends ago at one of my favorite Santa Barbara eateries "Cielito." The high quality tequila was mixed with very fresh lime juice and agave nectar only, nothing else.  Served on the rocks.  Wow...winner.

Sounds DELICIOUS!! 

[excav8ter sup]

So I have been trying some new stuff, mostly sweet. I have been enjoying a bottle of Wild Turkey Honey, which is surprisingly tasty. I also bought a bottle of Barenjager (same company as Jagermeister) VERY  delicious too. And somehow,  I ended up with a bottle of Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila as well.

[Admin]

Multnomah Whiskey Library - barely need to say another word.  In a smarter world these would be as common as Starbucks.

http://pdx.eater.com/archives/2013/10/07/check-out-multnomah-whiskey-library-open-now.php

[blackeye]

unfortunately the best rum we can get here in canada is the flor de cana 5 year. you may be able to find the 7 if you're lucky.

Admin, can you delete any references to Flor de Cana rum on the internet?  If too many people try it, the price will go through the roof.
 

[excav8ter sup]

Hmmmmm Flor de Cana? I may have to swing by my supplier and see if he can get some.

I just read about a blended Scotch Whisky called Monkey Shoulder. I think I am going to buy a bottle, if I can find it, just because of the name.

[blackeye]

Suntory Time

http://movieclips.com/Fdjip-lost-in-translation-movie-suntory-time/

[PonoBill]

We have a new craft distiller in Hood River, down in the Port buildings near the event center called Camp 1805 Distillers. Fabulous stuff. They do rum, rye, white whiskey, and vodka.



They'll do some barrel aging once they get production past demand.

[SlatchJim]

Isn't it strange how your tastebuds change over time or based on situation?  I've found that I appreciate a much broader variety of everything from exotic foods to spirits.  Wouldn't you know it would happen right when I need to put a governor on my appetite.  After Creek, Wardog and so many others went primal, I'm giving it a go.

I'd been slowly sampling a variety of affordable single malts and blended scotch whiskys. Like most things I drink, if I'm not comparing them directly, they seem just fine.  It's almost like waves.  "Enjoy what you have" rules the day. Glenmorangie, Torran, Hamilton's Highland, Old Crofter, all worked just fine neat or with a couple rocks.  I guess the good news with the primal diet is that a bottle will last much longer now. 

[PonoBill]

I went back and read some of my posts on this thread. Calls for expansion in Ponostyle and probably a trip down to 1805. Of course I'll have to recruit Randy and Chan for moral support and second opinions. Good thing we could walk back, or maybe Diane will drive. 

In the meantime--from the first couple of pages:

Single malt and single barrel Scotch is definitely an old man's drink for several reasons. Cost and taste. Kids in cultures where sweets are readily available like things sweet and subtlety is lost on them. Hence things like goldschlager, southern comfort, and mixed drinks where sweetness overwhelms any other flavors. I started drinking scotch in my twenties but couldn't really afford that appetite until my forties.

Scotch is definitely an acquired taste, as are any straight whiskies. The question is whether or not you want to pay to acquire a taste for something profoundly bad for you. For me the answer was Yes!! at about age 25, but I might not do that again. I do love good scotch though, just as I love good wine, a good martini, great champagne, great beer and a great cigar. All in moderation. It's been six months since I smoked a cigar and probably two months since I had a scotch.

"Good Scotch" is like good caviar--totally wasted on those who don't appreciate it. Spending $100 on a bottle on something you need to dilute with soda water is simply nuts and sacrilege . The way to test drive single malt scotches is to try blends that taste like single malt. The best of these is Famous Grouse. To me Grouse tastes a lot like someone mixed some Macallan 18 with some Balvenie Doublewood. That's a good thing.

Glenlivet 12 is not a GREAT scotch, but it's a decent scotch. You might put that bottle aside and see if you like it better after you've tried some other straight whiskies. But it's not the crown jewels, Glenlivit cranks out a river of the stuff.

Bourbons are straight whiskey for people who aren't ready for scotch. Yeah, yeah, I know, just my opinion, but I was a bourbon drinker for quite a while. Bourbons are sweeter, and it's a bit less horrific if you mix them with stuff, though really all they call for is a little ice once you have developed a taste for them and a preference for one over the other. And once you like straight whiskey you're a little more ready for scotch.

Irish whiskeys can be pretty spectacular. They work really well as "beer and a bump" meaning a shot of Irish that you sip with a beer. Don't do what the kiddies do and toss off the shot. That's for people who don't really like the thing they're drinking, or who want to show off...I don't know,,,something. I watched two grown men doing that a few days ago, like they were 25 instead of 60. They called Jameson "Jamie" and obviously did this ritual regularly. Made me want to piss on their shoes. But that's me.

Rye Whiskey used to be crap that workingmen drank. a relatively flavorless, sweet and cheap whiskey. Seagrams Seven, VO, old overshoes (Overholt). Now there's fancy, schmancy designer rye, and it's pretty good, meaning it tastes more like scotch or Irish than traditional rye.

[Skate]

I like a jonny blue label. I only get the blue because I might know a distributor of it and I get it really cheap. I have a 30 year old bottle of crown that is the best I have ever had. I all so like a jack single barrel and coke.

[SlatchJim]

I spent an evening recently reading most of the blog postings from "The Whisky Diet" blog.  This is NOT an endorsement, just an admission of uncontrolled curiosity of the oddities of man.  The diet was at least an appearingly honest recollection of what was consumed over several years, not overly "polished", and it showed some of the writer's human failings with alcohol.  It's probably best read to advocate for moderation.

[SUP Leave]

I spent an evening recently reading most of the blog postings from "The Whisky Diet" blog.  This is NOT an endorsement, just an admission of uncontrolled curiosity of the oddities of man.  The diet was at least an appearingly honest recollection of what was consumed over several years, not overly "polished", and it showed some of the writer's human failings with alcohol.  It's probably best read to advocate for moderation.

I always switch from Beer to Whisky when I am on a diet.

I love scotch and rye and bourbon as a close 3rd. Glenmorangie is fine for a cheap ass like me, and Famous Grouse fits right there. Crown is my Rye of choice, and bourbon is Jim Beam, Makers, Woodford and a delicious one called Chelan Blue Spirits Kentucky 4-year from here in WA. Too much Bourbon is a headache in the making thought so I don't drink much of it.

This summer has been mostly spent on Crown Reserve neat out of the cap on the golf course and Crown Purple on the rocks.

But Lordy have I drank way too much beer this summer, and my paunch proves it.