Today is not about depleting old bottles but celebrating something relatively new that honors something very old. A story that was an open secret yet like all open secrets unacknowledged. And being unacknowledged also means it’s a story not told. This is the story of Uncle Nearest. Nathan “Nearest” Green was a slave in TennesseeContinue reading “Whiskey Wednesday: The Open Story of Uncle Nearest”
Tag Archives: Whiskey Wednesday
Quarantine Bottle Kill #9: Elijah Craig 12 Year (From Long Ago In The Before Time)
There’s a sense of static in the air these past few weeks of quarantine. Not of any sense of normal but certainly of familiarity. A sense of sameness and of the world outside the familiar walls drifting away. But also there’s that electrical charge like anything can and could happen at any moment. The worldContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #9: Elijah Craig 12 Year (From Long Ago In The Before Time)”
Quarantine Bottle Kill #8: Kilchoman Sauternes Cask Matured (2016)
It feels like the quarantine weeks are quickly going up in smoke. That’s probably because half of the home bar is Islay Whisky right now. Is that a forced transition? You bet it is. I thoroughly enjoy heavily peated whisky. I often use Octomore as an example of just how good a Scotch Whisky canContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #8: Kilchoman Sauternes Cask Matured (2016)”
Quarantine Bottle Kill #5: Longrow Red 11 Year Cabernet Sauvignon Cask
Just because we’re in quarantine doesn’t mean that there can’t be a theme. Aside from sparking joy by eliminating bottles from the booze cart that is. So next up on the quarantine bottle list is the cousin to the last, the Longrow 11 Year Red: Cabernet Sauvignon Cask. For all single malts produced in ScotlandContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #5: Longrow Red 11 Year Cabernet Sauvignon Cask”
Quarantine Bottle Kill #4: Single Oak Project #156
I’m trying to cut down on the quarantine drinking so today’s bottle is a single 375 of Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project. The Single Oak Project was a massive Bourbon experiment that was begun by Buffalo Trace in 2011. The goal was to break down the very DNA of Bourbon and be able to catalogueContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #4: Single Oak Project #156”
Quarantine Bottle Kill #3: Springbank 12 Year Cask Strength Burgundy
Springbank has always been a fascinating distillery to me. I intellectually love them. They are one of the last great Campbeltown distilleries. Located on Kintyre Peninsula, Campbeltown was once known as “the whisky capital of the world” with 28 distilleries packed into its borders. Today a measly three remain with one of them, Glengyle whichContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #3: Springbank 12 Year Cask Strength Burgundy”
Quarantine Bottle Kill #2: Woodford Reserve Rare Rye
The next victim of the Quarantine Bottle Count is the Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Rare Rye twins from 2011. Yes, I’ve been sitting on two open 375ml bottles for nine years. Don’t judge me. Let’s put this into context. Nine years ago rye whiskey was just becoming the hot item after decades of obscurity. AndContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #2: Woodford Reserve Rare Rye”
Quarantine Bottle Kill #1: Heaven Hill 7 Year Bottled In Bond Bourbon
Sheltering in place has led to a massive spike in booze sales across the United States a the days are now divided into “Coffee Hours” and “Alcohol Hours.” Being forcefully unemployed by the pandemic I’m unable to contribute to that spike and have had to reexamine my hoarding tendencies. My reluctance to open bottles, letContinue reading “Quarantine Bottle Kill #1: Heaven Hill 7 Year Bottled In Bond Bourbon”
Whisky(ish) Wednesday: A Different Story
I’m not a healthy individual. I know I project an air of fitness, health, and confidence but the underlying structure has a flaw. This flaw directly relates to me being a bartender and no it’s not my propensity to drink barrels full of whiskey or my possibly addictive personality. I started bartending as a career when I was 25 andContinue reading “Whisky(ish) Wednesday: A Different Story”
Whiskey Wednesday: Take Off of Taketsuru
Continuing this month’s conversation about Nikka comes the news that Nikka will be discontinuing the Taketsuru 17, 21, and 25 Year old expressions as of March of 2020.
The Taketsuru line represents NIkka’s history. It pays homage to its founding father as well as combining the art of both of the company’s distinct distilleries. The loss of the Taketsuru line is the loss of a piece of history but it does open a future. Whisky, and in particular Japanese Whisky, is having an incredibly large moment. Bit even if whisky distilled 25 years ago is being depleted left and right the world, and the flavor, that whisky represents is gone. The challenge now is to find the way to create the spirit that fills the barrel to be bottled in 25 years while still keeping the lights on in the years between.
Bottled In Bond LA 