I love the Waters of Life. I’ve never had a Japanese whiskey, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed those from our neighbors to the north, from the Emerald Isle, and of course from here at home. America truly makes a world-class product. Having said all of that, there really can’t be any doubt that the king of beverages comes from that tiny scrap of barbarian-infested wasteland on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall. It is truly the drink of philosophers.
Tonight, I will be trying two offerings from my favorite distiller, and placing them in context with those with which I am already familiar.
For accompaniments, I have bread (an awful hippie spelt sourdough), cheese (Chaseholm Farms “Moonlight” and North Country Creamery “Feta” (which completely isn’t), chocolate (Ghiradelli 72%) and water (Saratoga County Water District “Tap”). I will also be starting with Johnnie Walker Black to use as a control and palate reset.
My tasting notes probably aren’t going to be very helpful for a couple of reasons. First, I lack the vocabulary of a professional taster. This isn’t that important, because nobody else on here does, either. The other problem is I suffer from a slight sense of synesthesia which becomes rather overwhelming when I focus intently on taste or smell. So my experience when comparing Dark Storm with 10 year is that the horizontal amber lines of the 10 year become thicker and further apart in the Dark storm, and charcoal arcs appear next to them. This may be the least helpful comparison made on glibertarians.com yet. I’ll avoid any references to geometry, color or sound in my description and hopefully someone will find this interesting.
If not, I’m still going to be drinking some scotch, so… win.
All of these will be taken neat as God intended, with the possible exception of the 57 Degrees North, which is bottled at 114 proof. That might get a splash after the initial taste.
Enough pittle-pattle. On with the tipple! *Drinks control* Yup, that’s what yer basic Highland scotch tastes like.
Talisker 10 Year: Oh goddamn this is delicious. Mild, gentle, not very sweet, a little spice, a little smoke, a tiny hint of iodine. No phenols coming up into the nose, a smidge of a tingle around the sides of the tongue. *Ponders how wonderful life is now Talisker’s in the world*
Ok, that golden moment of satisfaction has passed. What else is here? Talisker Storm: A lot more iodine on the nose, but not so much in the mouth. Sweeter. Sharper. More of a bite, more of the bourbon barrel taste. This would be really good with some chocolate. *Has some chocolate.* OMG. I don’t know why exactly my mouth is warmer, but that chocolate instantly melts, coating my tongue with sweet love but letting the whisky shine through. Another drink makes it shinier. Shiiiny. Better than the 10 Year? …maybe. Different. Diminishing returns kick in hard when it comes to scotch, and Talisker suffers from it particularly with their base product being so good. Sooo goood.
Talisker Dark Storm: This is more closely related to the 10 Year than the Storm was. It’s very like the distillers took the 10 Year and turned up the volume. I prefer it to the Storm. *Has a slice of cheese.* Sweet mamajama. I’ve gotten enough booze in me that food is tasting delicious. I want to refill this glass, but I have two more to taste.
I’ve had those three before [but never done a side-by-side with the Storm and Dark Storm to convince me which I should preferentially stock (Dark Storm)]. These next two are new to me.
Talisker Skye: I’m confused. I’m not tasting very much. Maybe it’s aftereffects from the cheese? I’ll eat some bread. *Eats bread.* That’s really shitty bread. Nope, not much here. It’s less like a Talisker and more like a really flavorful Irish whiskey. I am disappointed. This bottle will remain around to offer to guests, but I won’t be drinking much of it. Orrrr, maybe I’ve drunk too much and it’s killing my taste response. *Goes back to Q’s links.* That still works. Well, obviously in the future I’ll need to taste this earlier in the session to make sure.
Talisker 57 Degrees North: This is the most expensive bottle I’ve acquired at the duty-free. Between the fact that it’s a third larger than standard liquor store bottles and I paid for it in CAD, it’s probably not the most expensive bottle of scotch I’ve ever bought, but it’s up there. It fucking better be good. Holding it up to my nose is making me a little more reassured that I haven’t overdrunk my nose at least. I’m getting definite notes of… SweeTarts. Now I’m going to have to go back to the lab and see if I have any stearic or maleic acids lying around. I know I’ve got citric, but that’s not what I’m smelling. First sip. Oh. Wow. Yeah. Taste buds still work. Also, 114 proof is a bit saliva-activating. Lemme do the math: 114/80 = I have to increase the volume by about 40%. No wait, first let me taste it and see what I can find when it’s neat. Ok, trying again. It’s pretty good. Extremely smooth, low phenols, slightly sweet, but at this strength there is a noticeable anesthetic effect kicking in after about 2-3 seconds. Gotta get a spoon to make the dilution work. Also, there’s not enough left in the glass, need a refill.
Ok, going to get the spoon revealed to me that I might be a wee bit more intoxicated that I had planned. Also tasting the control whisky proved that yes, my taste buds aren’t working properly. So it’s a bit of a moot point to continue. Having said all of that, adding water to get the 57 degrees North to about 80 proof really did open it up. There’s a lot more happening there now, and in the future I’ll try again without the preliminary drinks to get a true appreciation of it. I’ll also retry the Skye, though I don’t think it’s going to be particularly salvageable.
Until then…
Comments
233 responses to “A Tasting of Taliskers”
10 Year Talisker is one of my favorite whiskies.
If you get a chance, you should definitely try Bruchladdich Octomore. With a couple of drops of spring water, it’s an orgasm in a glass.
Sold me. Them prices, though.
I have had a few Bruchladdichs (I refuse to learn how to correctly pluralize gaelic nouns) but not that one.
Bruchladdich is an interesting distillary. In addition to making one the peatiest of Scotches, they also make the only unpeated Islay malt.
Hard liquor gets me in trouble but it is delicious, Nice write up NA!
Cheers!
chocolate under 80% is pointless.
Talisker is okay but it does not blow me away…. Then again I did not have most of these only had the 10 and some distillers edition but I do not remember the year.
We actually have sugar here, over 70% is too bitter,
sugar sucks and sweet things are for those with inferior tastes.
I like sou Ale, and I like Cake, what kind of Pie are you?
Sour
i am a savory pie. Think bacon and pickled green peppercorns
It depends on the manufacturer. I prefer chocolate in the 75% to 80% range. I have had upwards of 90% cocoa solids, but it becomes too bitter above the low 80s.
It’s not really the bitterness, it’s just that over 80% the chocolate just doesn’t have enough flavor liberated in the mouth. Adding sugar to overly strong chocolate is like adding water to overly strong whisky. It does actually make it taste *more*
Interesting article, even for those of us who palette is…not as fine-tuned and just love a good buzz.
I didn’t go to that distillery but I did visit the Isle of Skye last summer, and definitely recommend it.
(which is where the distillery is located)
First, I lack the vocabulary of a professional taster.
Gary King: So tell me more.
Barkeep: About what?
Gary King: Crowning Glory. Is it hoppy? Is it nutty? Is it foamy? Does it have a surprisingly fruity note that lingers on the tongue?
Barkeep: It’s beer.
Gary King: Mmmmmm, we’ll have five of those, then.
These sound delicious! Future graduation gift… to me, from me.
I like Irish whiskey, rye, and bourbon, but I’ve never liked Scotch.
Me too.
Scotch tastes like bourbon strained through a dirty ash-tray.
Good scotch tastes like good bourbon strained though the ashes of a fine cigar.
My stomach no longer tolerates hard liquor. But back when it did Jameson 12 year was a favorite.
Jameson 12 year was delicious… and nothing at all like scotch.
I haven’t seen it available in years though.
It’s been rebranded to remove the age statement. A lot of the blended whisk(e)ies did that several years ago due to some shortages on the older malts.
i like scotch, but i prefer bourbon by such a wide margin that the best scotch does little more than mildly-improve a middling-experience for me.
this is probably a personal failing rather than mere difference of taste, but its something i just accept rather than worry about fixing.
bourbon is objectively inferior to single malt
However, Scotch is only as good as it is because it ages in used bourbon barrels.
It’s the Great Circle of Booze.
sherry barrels work …
…poorly.
Tundra will be along shortly to drop his gloves
*drops gloves*
Macallan 12 was my go to for years. I love it.
Although Highland Park and Laphroaig have worked their ways into my heart (and liver).
I like Taliskers as well. Really, Oban is the one that I can’t seem to groove on.
Tundra,
That just leaves more smokey Oban goodness for me.
Isn’t that weird, though? I like so many different styles, but that one (my brother’s fave, btw) doesn’t register.
But yes, more for you.
Is Macallan sherried? In the first pic you’ll notice a couple Glenmorrangies. The “La Santa” (the sherried one) is the worst of them.
Yes, from their site:
TIL
It’s all about the blending of the barrels.
/sets up gBob signal
perhaps. i’m not sure how you establish “objective” in a product that is quite literally “flavored liquid”.
fwiw, i’m a 20+ year analyst of the beverage industry.
which has nothing to do w/ my tastebuds and absolutely nothing to do w/ my class or sophistication. if anything its an inverse-relationship; i actually have far more respect and understanding of the stuff that people think is below-shelf crap than i do “top shelf”
My appreciation of “top shelf” stuff, if anything, is somewhat tainted by the insider-awareness that so much of the cost of the product is actually “the bottle and the promotion” rather than the ingredients or the process of production. iow, its hard for me to take “super super premium” stuff particularly seriously when you realize it actually comes out of the same factory that produces the high-volume, below the shelf garbage.
I could only agree with that if you’re using “promotion” as a proxy for/driver of “demand.” The same producer can produce lots of crap and also good stuff(tm). It’s like saying you can’t take a Corvette seriously because it’s made by the same people as the Festiva.
My brother says exactly that all the time, not that I agree. Specifically referring to Cadillacs as “just another Chevy”.
Ford made the Festiva.
Chevy….not so muuuush.
Basically.
You can’t sell a super-premium brand w/o pushing it heavily in super-premium journals (print ads) and giving 1/3 of it away in ‘special tasting events’ @luxury hotels, paying for celebrities to show up, etc. Super-premium marketing is expensive. If you want to be a ‘luxury product’, it takes careful and sustained exposure among very narrow, elite crowd, and it takes time and lots of $. the upside is that if you convince the schmoos that your product is tres chic and made from the very-finest of hyper-exclusive and rare (blah blah blah)… you can command margins of 400% and up (albeit in small volumes)
read a little about the story of Patron or Absolut.
I’m not saying just because they’re made in the same place that X product is *bad*; not at all. just that the perception of difference is wildly distorted because of the pricing and marketing. often the quality is hardly different at all, but is rationalized post-facto because of brand-prestige.
e.g.
a corvette goes over 200mph
a chevy malibu is barely safe @120mph
there’s probably 300% difference in price ($60K+ vs. 20K)
a ‘cheap’ whiskey might be $20
an ‘expensive’ whiskey might be $60-100
(similar price gap)
But i’d argue the top speed of either… is the same. is there a difference in the quality of inputs and the care/craft that goes into the latter? sure. from the POV of the manufacturer its probably 30-50% higher effort. Not 3-500% Do you care much, from the POV of the hit to the pocketbook? not really. because its a consumable item and an affordable luxury you can justify, while a sportscar that costs half as much as your house is harder to rationalize.
I enjoy scotch, but my budget prefers that I buy bourbon instead.
What’s your non-budget busting favorite? For me, Bulleit is probably my favorite “budget” bourbon. And rye too. Their rye is really good.
Jim Beam Devil’s Cut for me.
Day to day, which ever Jim Beam is on sale – either the black or devil’s cut.
I’ll buy any CEHT small batch I see, and occasionally pick up the 4 Roses small batch.
Jim is my regular choice too. 4 Roses is good one.
Oh, and Wild Turkey 101.
For drinking straight, I’m fond of Buffalo Trace; I find it amazingly smooth for the price. For mixing (my usual is 2 shots Bourbon, 1 shot Luxardo Originale, a big splash of fresh black cherry juice shaken and strained into an imperial pint glass and filled with ginger ale or ginger beer) I love, love, love Wild Turkey 101.
Heaven Hill 6-year bottled-in-bond. Only available in Kentucky. Was about $11 for a 750 ml, now it’s going up some.
Woodford reserve…hard to beat free.
That’s about the only way I’ll drink it.
Bulleit (both bourbon and rye, but rye particulary) are excellent.
imo best per-dollar bourbon widely available.
I grew up drinking an ocean of Makers Mark. Maker’s is absurdly sweet and caramel-y, and needs occasional tempering w/ Wild Turkey or Knob Creek, or some other “kick you in the nuts” bourbon to remind you what the real shit tastes like. But i’m a fan of all of them, straight, neat. The higher end stuff is nice too. I like Blanton’s reserve. But not so much i’m paying for it over and over again @ the bar. Maybe 1 after a nice dinner. Or a bottle on occasion.
I like the Bulleit rye a lot. Too much.
Michter’s Straight Rye is my go-to, though not all that inexpensive.
Very Old Barton or Banker’s Club from the bottom shelf. Both cheaper and way better than Jim Beam (but they can be hard to find in some parts of the country).
Four Roses and Bulleitt from the next.
Jefferson’s is probably my current over-all favorite… only slightly more expensive and delicious.
Buffalo Trace and Booker’s are quite good too.
Don’t like Woodford (aftertaste), and Jim Beam (too sweet).
I bet I could really learn to like Scotch, but never invested the time and cash into refining my tastes.
It is an expensive habit. And probably has a bigger issue with diminishing returns v. price than anything else I’ve dealt with. Wine is probably similar which is why I’ve never gotten into it as much. $100 for a bottle of scotch that lasts weeks or months is a lot easier to handle than a $100 bottle of wine that doesn’t make it through dinner.
Had this discussion with a couple of friends last month. Five pours from a hundred dollar bottle of wine versus 20 pours from a 200 dollar bottle of scotch. This makes wine a more expensive hobby.
That and the fact that drinking wine gives me a hangover that feels exactly like having that killer orb thing from Phantasm drilling into your skull.
Never get hang overs from wine. Although, there was one time that involved drinking two bottles of wine over an extended evening left me unable to look at food the next day.
See if there are any bars in your area that do tastings. There’s one where I live that does one every couple of months: $50 for 8 scotches (not full pours).
Was Starship Troopers a victim of politics? As in, it took place during the Clinton era rather than under a Republican/Reagan? Fascist satire is all fine and dandy under a Trump/Reagan/Bush. But critics suddenly lose their minds and accuse you of endorsing those things under a Democrat.
It was a victim of terrible acting (especially Denise Richards) and a mediocre script. If it was intended as satire, it didn’t go far enough. If it was any good, people would talk about it like they talk about Idiocracy or Office Space. But instead all they talk about is the co-ed shower scene.
Her flash of guilt as Casper Van Diem catches her macking on the opposing school’s quarterback is the finest bit of acting that Denise Richards has ever managed.
I think it was perfectly casted for what it was. And I think the satire went pretty damn far. For as over the top as much of the acting is, much of the satire is subtle in the sense that the movie, on the surface level, seems to enjoy itself and its storyline. I mean, what do people want, a character arc where Rico realizes the error of his ways? Or the one where he ends up going full fascist after losing the love of his life and left with the woman who cheated on him as he brings up the next generation to fight a pointless war of aggression against giant bug monsters? A war in which he’s almost certainly going to end up maimed or killed?
No, the younger actors in that film, with their over the top sincerity and enthusiasm, were exactly what the script called for.
Verhoeven or however you spell the sonofabitches name had already started on the script before they licensed Starship Troopers. It isn’t really a Starship Troopers movie even, and V. obviously either didn’t read the book or is too stupid to have understood it to claim it was fascist and he was trying to satirize the fascism of the book. God I hate him and that movie because I loved that book.
That shower scene though…
Nah. It was awesome. It may have been accidental satire, but it wound up being perfect.
The satire was not accidental, it’s from the guy that directed Robocop.
I enjoyed watching Giant Bugs Shooting Plasma out of there Asses, and would watch it again, I also like 2012 and the Day after Tomorrow,
Shlocky Disaster/SyFy! Fuck Yeah!
Right now it’s Two Days Before The Day After Tomorrow.
I’ve read that movie was already in development as “Bug War” or some crap, when they got the name rights from the Heinlein estate. The Director (a Hollywood lefty) read a pages of the book, hated it, and made his own campy movie.
I wish they had made the movie without the Heinlein title so that someday a movie true to the book could be made.
This. This. This.
I want to see Space Marines in Power Armor blowing the hell out of skinnies with nukes as they leap through the air.
#metoo!
A decent movie version of Ringo’s Hymn Before Battle would be the next best thing.
Yeah. though the outrage from a Ghost movie would be worth going to see twice regardless of how good or bad it would be.
Making John Steakley’s ‘Armor’ could be the greatest thing ever; if done right.
The problem is that the actual book is impossible to make into a movie.
First off it is a very short book, only 85,000 words long and there are only 3 action scenes in it one of which is barely covered and the other more of a foreward than a proper part of the book. The real problem however is that something like half of those 85k words take place in a classroom of some sort. Watching someone lecture in a classroom might make for a good youtube video it does not make for a very good movie.
Now it would be possible to expand on a lot of things only hinted at in the book and drop a lot of the lecturing where Heinlein delved into the philosophy and morality issues and adapt the book into a modern movie that would sell, you could probably even keep a lot of the ideological and philosophical heart of the book but it would still end up being something very different from the original book
This is true and correct. Doesn’t change what I want. I recognize it would be difficult to get it though.
You couldn’t make that movie right now, and it has nothing to do with the 1997 movie. Anyone attached to that project would be labeled a no shit Nazi. Or you’d get an even more bastardized version like what they’re doing with Fahrenheit 451.
If there was a big time studio with some balls and the clarity to see that now is the perfect time for that movie, that there is a huge audience for that sort of film who would standup to the ones shouting Nazis and leverage the outrage for promotion, it’d make a damn mint.
Hmm. Maybe Trump should take over a studio after he finishes his 8 years. Can you imagine?
Ringo’s Troy Rising series has an Elon Musk type character. Could probably slide past the PC police then have him turn radical libertarian.
I think that one may have been optioned, so there’s an outside chance it could get made. Though a Netflix series would be even better. Despite their hiring of Chocolate Nixon, they are pretty politically agnostic about their stuff.
Or you know you could just adapt the Heinlein novel that has the Character that Musk has patterned his life after
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Sold_the_Moon
I believe in unicorns, too.
I could see Trump starting his own media outlet. But not movies.
Not being descriptive of what I think will happen, simply wishing cause it is free to do so.
There were reports in 2016 that Columbia had ordered a re-boot. Verhoeven, of course, denounced it as a fascistic movie. People who denounce it as fascist are ignorant of the historical context in which Heinlein wrote. He wrote it in response to the suspension of US nuclear tests in the late 1950s and the bugs are clearly a symbol of communist collectivism while the troopers are the equivalent of western democracies turning into military powerhouses to fight an existential threat – just as Heinlein had witnessed in the 1940s.
Morons like Verhoeven have absolutely no idea what Fascism / National Socialism actually is.
That, and it was him playing with some big ideas, many of which are expressed in the morals classes early on. The society depicted clearly isn’t fascist. If you don’t have service; either military or civil, where civil service is really civil service, you still have economic and personal freedom that outstrips are on. The whole book is playing with the treatise that voting and holding office aren’t rights, that they privileges one most earn Heinlein was also heavily influenced by WW2 and a sense of guilt about not being directly involved in the fighting and much of his writing wrestles with the questions about what responsibility does a man have toward his country and society esp. when it faces an existential threat.
It’s in my top five Heinlein novels along with Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Job, Stranger, and Farnham’s Freehold.
Eh. i could ramble for hours about Heinlein. I have virtually everything of his in print and the 2 volume biography. I’ve even got For Us, The Living.
Somewhere in a box, I’ve got a copy of Beyond This Horizon (not an original).
But do you have the Virginia Collection
https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Heinleins-Virginia-Complete-Collectors/dp/189735035X
I wish I did. I was not at a point where I could spend that money when it came out.
Heinlein is also a big part of what got my wife and I together as we are both huge fans.
I read pretty much all of his work as a kid.
Job, A comedy of justice is my favorite. I should dig it out of storage and see if it holds up for me. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress didn’t.
Job is my favorite as well, My top 5 Heinlein books would be
Job
Citizen of the Galaxy
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Starship Troopers
Stranger in a Strange Land
Citizen is great. The only reason I put Farnham’s Freehold higher is that I cry like a baby every time … well, there’s a certain scene and it just makes me snot up like a 8 year old girl who has had her head shaved in the middle of recess.
They are supposedly in the works of a reboot that is supposed to stay truer to the original book and not have any connection to the Veerhoven movie whatsoever but there hasn’t been much if any news about it in a while.
There was also supposedly a movie based on The Moon is a Harsh Mistress directed by Bryan Singer and titled Uprising that was originally scheduled for a 2017 release but there hasn’t been any news on it since 2016 so no clue what is going on with that
Bug Hunt on Outpost 9 I believe was the original working title before they acquired the rights to Starship Troopers.
And somehow while the movie had absolutely nothing to do with the book other than the name of the places, ships and people and completely subverted the point of the book and contained some of the most godawful acting you will ever find it actually ended up working as a total attack on and satire of nationalism and fascism.
If you stripped the name off the movie I would rate it as an all time great work of satire
Yeah, I thought it was terrible when I first saw it but, once I began seeing it as a its own creature, I’ve rated it a little higher. But the acting is still terrible. And, personally, I think 1997 Dina Myers was way hotter than 1997 Denise Richards.
Anyone who disagrees with your relative rankings of Richards and Myers needs their heads examined
Put me down as on the same team. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why any man who likes women wouldn’t go for Dina Myers over Denise Richards every day of the week and 2x on Sunday. God damn that woman is smoking hot.
I would be willing to bet that Q prefers DR.
Some people like melons more than fried eggs. I’m more of a ham guy, which goes well with both.
At least you’re not a sausage guy
Denise Richards is way better. I’m going to go watch Wild Things.
/apparently unpopular opinion
Hot redhead > big boobs
Can’t we have both?
“Hey! You got your Denise Richards in my Dina Meyer”
“Hey! You got your Dina Meyer in my Denise Richards”
“Hot redhead > big boobs”
I can see we’re just going to have to agree to disagree here.
Not that I wouldn’t Dina Myers mind you…
I liked both the movie and the book, in spite of them not having any relation to one another except the names of the characters and killing bugs.
I saw the movie before reading the book. I was rather annoyed that the future infantry had way less firepower than today – and they moved around like a disorganized mob. And the movie, which made a big deal of gender integrated combat units, went and demonstrated why it’s a terrible idea.
I have never liked the taste of scotch. Sue me.
any lawyers re? sue this guy
That’s funny
I don’t drink because the only alcohol I could ever stand the taste of was a very expensive single malt (no clue which one, It was 20 years ago and they gave me the wrong glass during a toast)
May I assume you swallow and not spit?
Not Adahn + Scotch = true love
The tasting notes from the butt-chugging attempt were all “Ow!”
Huh. Coulda fooled me:
Nice write up. Random whiskey thoughts:
I’m pretty new to whiskey having been talked into it very recently on this very site. I’m glad for that. I need to thank Tundra and others (sorry, forgot specific names!) for that.
I have a bottle of Storm in my cabinet. It was my first “smokey” whiskey and I like it. I never knew to eat chocolate with it. Will try.
I got myself a bottle of Macallan 12 Double Cask for Father’s Day. Wow. It is delicious. Smooth as silk. Would recommend.
Just dipped some leftover pork roast in a mixture of Franks Red Hot Extra Hot and Valentina’s Extra Hot. 10/10 will do again.
What the heck does iodine taste like? It never occurred to me to ingest the stuff.
It’s a bit heavier than bromine, but not nearly as heavy as astatine.
laphroaig is the scotch for you
Have you ever used Anbesol, the oral anesthetic? One of the ingredients in it is povidone-iodine – I believe it is added for its antibacterial properties.
Now compare that to that Islay whiskey you just drank. Personally not a fan, nor anything excessively peaty either.
Was Starship Troopers a victim of politics?
No. It just sucked.
What I loved about that movie was that so much of it was ridiculous and so much was completely plausible. I can completely believe that bathrooms and eventually showers will be coed — especially in government institutions. I can totally believe that the music played at the prom is what pop music will sound like in the future (the first song, not the Bowie remake).
I kinda liked it tbh then again i dont judge movies and books together
a tiny hint of iodine
A Mister Roberts fan, I see.
“To Ensign Pulver, friend to the working girl.“
I love that scene & that movie even if it feels too much like a play (that it was based upon) and not a movie. RIP William Powell, went out with a bang.
+1 Thin man . ++1 myrna loy
Wood.
Nice work.
I never got into Scotch. It tastes like burnt leather to me, but if offered I’m not going to tell you no. Now if you have a nice rye…
Here’s the thing: I’ve never had a bad rye. Even the worst has been completely drinkable. Either rye whiskey is the easiest stuff in the world to make or people who make it care more than they do about making other whiskies.
And some of the cheapest ones are some of the best. Dickel comes to mind.
Yep. I just picked up a bottle of Jim Beam Rye on sale for $22 and it’s just dandy. Been drinking old fashioneds all week.
I made my own Maraschino Cherries the other day. I encourage everyone to do so. Sugar, water, lemon juice, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, Luxardo Maraschino Originale, and cherries on sale at Costco. Very, very yummy.
Honestly, I didn’t know anyone makes their own,
God bless Ernest Wiegand.
Maybe you’re on to something. Further research on your part is required.
As soon as I hit post comment above, it crossed my mind why that is:
So…it really is all the same thing?
Yes and no.
Finishing matters. But Garbage In / Garbage Out also applies to making booze.
I did not enjoy the Redemption Rye at all; I found it very sweet and cloying. It tasted like a product of the People’s Flavored Ethanol Beverage Product Distillery #16.
Rye is not crazy easy to make, as can be very sticky/gummy. It does seem to age quicker.
I dont get much rye in Romania. Only found bulleit. The best rye i drank was sazerac 18 in a bar in vienna but it cost me 25 euros for 40 ml
I like Talisker. I’ve had all of those except the 57 and I think the original 10 year old is the best bang for the buck. My favorite Islay is Laphroaig, however.
A man with at least some good taste…
No, he’s not. Trust me on this.
I like many islays cant say i have a favourite they are different in good ways.
I think I need to drink a lot more scotch to be able to really appreciate Laphroaig. I bought a bottle of it once. … ONCE.
Damn… you decided to jump right into the deep end, didn’t you?
I’d previously only really tried the Balvenie doublewood… And the Laphroaig 10 was on sale.
I was young! I didn’t know!
And you needed the money?
/confused now
Nah. I mean I bought the Laphroiag almost entirely because it was on sale and it was a scotch I had yet to try.
Start with Macallan or Glenmorangie.
I’ve got a Macallan 12 and a Glenlivet 15 right now. They were both $10 off at the liquor store a few weeks ago.
I don’t have any fancy tasting notes, but I do like both in a very general way.
I haven’t tried Glenlivet yet. It’s next on my to-buy list
If you want to try a Japanese whiskey I highly recommend Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky.
I can vouch for this whisky. It is delicious. Maybe not something to drink all night, but it’s mighty tasty.
And no, it doesn’t taste like coffee. “This Grain Whisky is distilled in a ‘Coffey still’, which is a very traditional and rare patent still Nikka imported from Scotland in 1963. The Coffey still produces a complex whisky with a mellow and sweet taste originating from the grain itself.”
Aeneas Coffey was a tax collector turned entrepreneur!
The main lines have gone off the chart in price. I picked up a bottle of Kirin 50° off the shelf of a convenience store last time for under $10. One of the better non-age statement Japanese whiskies I’ve had too. And only a couple fingers left.
Hopefully the Japanese whisky craze will burst soon and supply will catch up to demand.
Nice job, Not.
*Goes back to Q’s links.* That still works.
Laughed heartily. Thanks for that!
Another speed wobble
Tesla sued a former employee Wednesday, accusing the man of hacking the automaker’s computer systems and stealing company secrets, shedding light on what chief Elon Musk had suggested was the work of a secretive internal saboteur.
————
The lawsuit adds a new layer of intrigue to a Silicon Valley giant already consumed with production pressures and internal suspicions from Musk about a corporate conspiracy. The company, which last week said it would slash 9 percent of its workforce, is speeding closer to a critical deadline to prove it can hit a long-delayed goal: building 5,000 Model 3s a week.
In a company-wide email Sunday, Musk said an employee accused of sabotage had complained about not getting promoted and added “there may be considerably more to this situation than meets the eye.” Musk called on workers to “be extremely vigilant” and said, “There are a long list of organizations that want Tesla to die.”
Will Musk go full Howard Hughes? That would be amusing. Instead of hiding out in Vegas, Musk should buy the international space station and go live in it.
Apparently the taste of alcohol is highly neurologically dependent. When I got my first migraines, all of a sudden hard liquor started tasting like Hillary’s taint to me.
The only way I can drink it is this way.
OT: Shakira under fire for selling Nazi-symbol necklace to promote world tour.
Spoiler: It resembles a Neo-Nazi symbol if you omit the swastika in the middle and anything else resembling Nazi symbolism. Plus, it has pictures of Shakira.
oh no! Shakira is a Nazi! my world is crumbling!
Shakira: She Wolf of the Hips
Love that song and the Spanish version as well. Super caliente.
My mom was showing me her turn of the 20th century Indian (feather, not dot) jewelry last week and it contained a lot of swastikas. It represents the circle of life, or something like that. Sucks that the Nazis ruined it for everyone.
The 45th Infantry Division agrees.
They’re all over the proscenium arch at the Kimo Theater in Albuquerque. Goddamn Indian shitlords causing trauma to
Holocaust survivorsgoodthinkful progressives living in Trump’s America.I find it amazing that the Nazis had good enough technology to go back in time and paint thousands and thousands of swastikas in hard to reach locations, and yet they still lost the war.
Boy, I’d hate to see what they’d think of my Fear shirt
Have A Beer With Fear!
Let’s get a gut full of suds,
And slam it into some sluts
No Fear shirts? A trip down memory lane.
How scared do you have to be to go around proclaiming that you’re not scared.
Would so hard.
Somehow this is important.
In other alcohol related news Zymurgy (the American Homebrewers Association magazine) has released the reader’s selection of the top fifty beers in the world. I have had nine of the top ten, and Michigan is really stepping up:
10T) Founder’s All Day
10T) WeldWorks Juicy Bits
9) Founder’s Breakfast Stout
8) Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust
5T) Founder’s KBS
5T) Founder’s CBS
5T) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
4) Bell’s Hopslam
3) The Alchemist Heady Topper
2) Russian River Pliny the Elder
1) Bell’s Two Hearted
So five of the eleven (stupid ties) are from Michigan, and from only two of their breweries. Best an Ohio brewery did was Fat Head’s Hop Juju which tied at 36.
I don’t think I have had any of those.
I seem to remember you’re not a fan of IPA’s (and if I’m wrong, my apologies), so that would leave three beers out of that list you may have tried: Breakfast Stout, KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), and CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout). All of the others are IPA’s, APA’s, or IIPA’s. I’m a bit surprised that you never had the Sierra Nevada Pale though, that used to be my staple at the non-beer bars back in the day.
Founders Breakfast Stout is very good. That top 10 means nothing to me though. I think Sierra Nevada was the first Pale Ale I ever had. Wasnt a fan. Don’t care much for IPA’s. Like sucking on pine needles to me.
Sissy! try a Torpedo……….
/ SN is my favorite brewery
The local homebrew club has an annual Xmas party where everyone brings the best bottles of commercial beer they can lay their hands on during the year. It is dominated by the hoppiest IPAs and the booziest barrel-aged stouts they can get. KBS and CBS were well represented at the last party.
I sit in the corner drinking some sour thing or other from Cascade Brewing. It’s a burden, but someone has to do it. 😉
Sours are great too………..
Beer club tonight. I am pouring two sours that I made. Both are based on a Belgian golden strong ale grain bill. One is finished with mandarin oranges and vanilla beans. The other is finished with raspberries.
I’ve had three of those. There are a lot of IPAs on that list.
And here’s the list for non-subscribers. Out of the top 50, I’ve got 13 to go.
Your link is flat and stale
Bah.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/best-beers-in-america/
That’s what I get for trying to multitask.
God damn work firewall.
*completely drops all pretense of working and picks up cell phone*
I think the number of hoppy beers on here shows some pretty obvious bias by whomever assembled the list. Add to that 4 out of 10 are from one brewery and it gets a tish hard to take seriously.
some pretty obvious bias by whomever assembled the list
Never been to a homebrew club meeting?
Yeah, I get it. But this pale ale kick is getting pretty damn ridiculous. 7 American pale ales in the top 10 best beers in the world? I’d like to see the rest of the list and see where (if) beers like Chimay or Hoegaarden end up.
There’s huge self selection bias in this list. The poll was only for those who were active in the AHA, then they had to log into a website and put in (IIRC) their top 10 beers and top 3 breweries. Then the AHA is an offshoot of the Brewer’s Association, so that will add in some other bias (although apparently not that much, as Founder’s is not a member of the BA). There’s only one import on the list: Orval.
And the current trend is towards the cloudy, fruity, NE IPA’s. There’s several breweries now releasing 0 IBU IPA’s, which is another story. Sours are making huge inroads, as are shandies, radlers, and fruit beers. The past couple of trends have been Session IPA’s, Black IPA’s, Barrel Aged everything, IPL’s, etc. It’s a good time to be a beer drinker.
I like the NE style IPAs. And the things being done with sours are kind of fun. I agree that it is a great time to be a beer drinker. I’m just impatiently waiting for the wheat beer craze…
They ain’t there.
IPAs and barrel-aged stouts. Home brewers (at least the ones I know) tend to be thrilled by the extremes.
Yeah, I finally read the article. I misunderstood the methodology of the list. And it is in America, not world wide.
As a former home brewer I get wanting to push limits and all that. I just wish more homebrewers/breweries would put that much energy into innovating and trying to perfect the more delicate flavor profiles. Like wheat beers. (now there is my bias showing!)
We’ll get 20 people at the meeting. There will be a wide variety of products to taste. And yet, half of them will be some version of a New England IPA.
Some of the brewers have played with kettle souring. But none of them will spend two years making a sour.
I started making mead 15 years ago. I routinely leave mead or wine in carboys for a couple of years before I bottle. So my brewing friends are thrilled that I am playing with sours and will leave Brett, Lacto, and Pedio going on a beer for 18 to 24 months. They all love sour beers, but I am the only one that will do it in the group.
That reminds me… I should check on the Cherry Lambic I’ve had sitting in the carboy for three years.
*Sigh*
I need to drink more to get room to brew more.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Two Hearted are both good beers. Neither one is anywhere near the top 10 in the world.
those are the top 10 beers in the world? makes me think their methodology was a bit flawed.
1. ask everyone to rank their top 50 beers
2. count up the frequency and rank
3. these are the best 50 beers in the world!
this is what happens when we no longer listen to sexperts in the AGE OF TRUMP. /ominous thunder and lightning sound effects!
Our long national nightmare is over!
https://www.dailywire.com/news/32047/portlands-famous-feminist-bookstore-finally-goes-emily-zanotti
Funny:)
Even feminist bookstores are not safe spaces from the patriarchy!
In other words, we’re going to blame our predecessors because we can’t possibly be responsible for its failure.
Overgrown children
Portland, the hub of racism and white supremacy.
If it didn’t work out, it was white supremacists that done did it.
In a way, it kind of is.
This is the whitest place I’ve ever lived in my life. And there are some many woke people who are secretly racists; they have such low expectations for anyone who isn’t white and most of them don’t know any non-white people at all. I’ve had people from Portland accuse me of being a racist simply because I’m from the South and my response is usually, “How many times you been in a black church for 6+ hours singing hymns? yeah, that’s what I thought. Get the fuck on up out of here.”
I’ve got more in common with a poor black man from the outskirts of town than a white guy who grew up in one of the fancy neighborhoods. Not that twats like this woman would ever understand that.
Fertile grounds for race hustlers to make bucks.
A real non white, non cis feminist bookstore has not been tried yet!
LOL
Even the (((bankruptcy liquidators))) won’t touch them.
I want to buy that building and start a patriarchy bookstore in their space.
Their website is a treasure trove of lunacy.
https://inotherwords.org/about-us/safer-space-policy/
FASCISTS ARE EVERYWHERE
If you are called out for oppressive words or actions listen and then immediately change your behavior.
Shove it up your twat and quit bleeding all over, lady.
May I use the bathroom if I don’t buy anything?
My tasting notes probably aren’t going to be very helpful for a couple of reasons. First, I lack the vocabulary of a professional taster. This isn’t that important, because nobody else on here does, either.
*Ahem* I believe we count at least one professional distiller among the glibertariat. But as a non professional myself with the equal lack of vocabulary, I appreciated the reviews very much. Please keep pouring!
Answering the question nobody asked – what are the best Ben & Jerry ice cream & whiskey pairings?
https://drizly.com/the-ultimate-whiskey-ice-cream-guide/e-de88c62235451cb0
I like making up tasting notes with my friends when drinking wine.
Tastes like the bottom of your dad’s tool box, poopy diaper, grandma’s essence, and spice drawer leavings.
Mmmmmmm tool box wine
pairs well with gas station sushi.
Journalism.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2018/06/21/exclusive-oedipal-impulses-gq-reporter-asks-donald-trump-jr-if-he-wants-to-have-sex-with-his-mother/
Melania? Who the hell doesn’t?
At least she didn’t ask Barron that.
Ioffe is an idiot. She’s an overblown gossip reporter who got hired by The Atlantic to cover national security issues.
Think about that for a second.
Russian sleeper agent.
She seems to be fixated on imagined incestual relationships.
Spoiler Alert (World Cup):
Upset on the cards
Wow.
Messi will still advance after they beat Nigeria. Even if Iceland beat Croatia, which they won’t, they don’t have the offense to get a favorable GD.
Possibly. But if Iceland beat Nigeria, they only need a draw against Croatia.
Are these women immune to being raped simply because of their profession? Of course not.
Does their profession blur the lines even more than they already are? Definitely.
Does the fact that these alleged incidents happened on camera complicate matters even further and hurt their credibility? I think so.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-porn-metoo-misconduct-20180614-story.html
I learned to enjoy beer in Germany (as opposed to just chugging)
Kutschers Alt. very nice. And a Doppelbock that I can’t remeber the name of.
Bourbons. makers, knob and evry once in awhile old grandad 114
Handle checks out.
I got my handle the old fashioned way i eeeearned it
https://images.roadtrafficsigns.com/img/lg/K/drunk-student-crossing-symbol-sign-k2-0577.png
Late to the party but since I was a Scot for a while. I prefer the softer lowland varieties which ars often less well known. Glenmorangie is a buttery carmely scotch made in Edinburgh. Generally I go for Jura. Nice island too.