All Activity

Back in the day when I was in the Army, I had Spirytus long before it was ever sold in the US. A fellow band member was first generation US/Polish. He received “gifts” from time to time from family members in Poland. The Spirytus actually arrived in a goat skin bag. We had a unit party just before he was transferred to another duty station. He made sure that everyone had a swig of his Spirytus. Tilt your head back, open your mouth, squirt, next.

I believe you can thank @WhiskeyBlender for that.

We've been sipping on the L for quite a while, and opened the A tonight. We enjoyed the last of the L better than the first of the A.

To close out spring, I sampled the Remus Great Gatsby Cask Strength. It was rather enjoyable.

Sadly, I expect more of this trend to occur. It would align to the standard for Europe which I understand also has a 700ml bottle.

Today's pour is the third trial of Cooper's Craft. The first and second came during what was most likely a low-grade sinus infection. The ugly drainage resulted in making the whiskey bear an unfortunate, strong resemblance to DayQuil cold medicine. This is definitely not a sweetie-pie dessert dram to my tasting. A little hot to begin, lots of orange rind and a bit of brown sugar, and a significant oak tannin at the finish, like an actual quick lick of a board would produce. I know my tasting notes are inferior, as I usually have a hard time finding suitable comparables to what my mouth is sensating (eat your heart out, Norm Crosby), but I did say in the Cooper's Craft RIP thread that I would report my findings. When it comes down to the nitty gritty of it all, I probably would not buy another of these.

Interesting. What ratio of the Rare Breed & RR10?

So Heaven Hill bean counters are following the Brown-Forman bean counters' lead. This is how they will make the transition: introduce the smaller shrinkflation 700mL size in new coveted releases and after awhile consumers will simply get used to it. Eventually after so many 700mL bottles are on liquor store shelves and accepted by consumers, then the big selling staple products (JD7, EW Black, MM, etc.) will make the switch. It's amazing how quickly that 700mL bottles have already started to take hold in the scotch aisles. Bourbon is headed that direction too.

Polish whiskey??

I had a lucky find in a popular liquor store today. I couldn't believe they still had one. Not lucky enough there was more then one. If you ever see one I recommend picking it up. This is one of a few buy on site bottles i have.

I just finished a Saint Arnold's "Art Car IPA" while sitting in the back patio watching the dogs play. I'm not the biggest IPA fan (some I enjoy, some I don't) but this Art Car IPA is a nice one, like everything Saint Arnold's makes. I believe Saint Arnold's is probably still only distributed in Texas and Louisiana, but if anybody passes through here, you should give them a try because all they make is quality beer.

You may be right about Pennsy, where all liquor is sold in State stores. I haven't seen it yet in Jersey, but I'll get on board with your optimism. I like WT at 101, so I'll grab the 8 year. I like blending Rare Breed and RR10, which gets me the proof and even more age.

I will keep you in my thoughts. Stay positive

WTKS after dinner. A partial mri today that my surgeon has ordered full (head to tail) tomorrow. That can’t be good.

Yes, it was fresh. I had some post dinner help from my brother. Been awhile since I've had the 10 year. I will say however that I have really enjoyed the current Old Fitz line. Prost!! Phil

Yes it is. Bastards cheated us out of mini.

Thanks.

Told this story before, but what the heck. Many years ago, @p_elliott and I were scheduled with a small group for a tour at Cox’s Creek. The group didn't show up. It was just me and Paul. The lady that was our tour guide was wonderful. We got to the dump house. She told us they were dumping barrels for regular FR. She gave us small cups and we got a pour straight from a barrel. It was wonderful. After the tour as we were driving back to Bardstown, Paul and I looked at each other. We had the same thought. We should have looked on the barrel to see (or asked) what recipe it was. The next year I was lucky enough to participate in a barrel pick at FR. The young lady that was the tour guide for me and Paul was now Jim Rutledge’s assistant. After the pick, we went to lunch with Mr. Rutledge at a pizza place. We listened to his stories about bourbon. He insisted on paying the bill. We didn’t argue. Much. IIRC, the waitress did end up with a pretty nice tip though.

I feel the same about those 100-proofers. The older I get, the more I appreciate whiskey in the 90 -120 proof range with 107 being the sweet spot. With the exception of re-stocking the OGD 114 or WTRB, I rarely buy barrel proof whiskey any more. I have enough laid in that it's more than I can drink in this lifetime. If the proof is higher than 120 it'll need to be a very special bottle for me to buy it, (JDSBBP picks excepted...I love the stuff).

Thanks for the recipe!

That's fair. For me, the OESK is the one recipe that needs to be experienced at barrel proof to get the full effect of the flavor profile. If there is one that falls flat a bit at 100 proof, for me it's the OESK. I still like it however, but something is missing compared to the BP picks I've had.

Sounds good. Btw, welcome back, nice to see you around here again.

I know, right? They're stupid-easy to make. I don't know the rules, (and am too lazy to look for them), about posting links...but here it is....mods can delete it if they want. I use "Better than Bouillon" roasted chicken base as the liquid an probably twice as much cheese as the recipe calls for. For super healthy eating, use bacon grease to fry 'em in! Don't forget to pat them really dry before you dust them with flour before frying. They freeze really well. I put the cut squares on a parchment lined cutting board and put them in the freezer for several hours then vac-seal and freeze them into portions. Just be sure to thaw them before frying. https://keviniscooking.com/southern-bacon-cheesy-fried-grits/

Completely understand the perspective. I would submit it can’t be found for $50 and certainly not for $25. Now Buffalo Trace can be for sure