Showing posts with label sangle malt scotch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sangle malt scotch. Show all posts

Saturday, June 11, 2005

obsesshuns of buddy don: home sangle malt scotch tastin

me n miz bd dun a lil tastin at home not long ago sos we could comparr two whiskys frum one of our favorutt distillries, laphroaig, witch we lack it so much we bought sum property to rent em: laphroaig 10 year agin laphroaig 15 year.

furst, thays yer laphroaig 10 year:



ye mite member hearin me carry on bout this here sangle malt scotch n thays a good reason fer that: tiz one of the best known n mos amazin tastes thay is in all tham sangle malt scotches ye gut. this is so unushunall to whar durin prohibishun, they wuz able to brang it into the cuntry by claimin twuz medicin n whenever folks gut em a snout full of that peat n iodine or even a mouthfull of that rich smoky flavor, mayhap they figgerd twuz medicin. innywho, they let it cum in.

ifn ye aint tride ye nun, i urge ye to git ye a bottle. here in the new york ciy metropolitan area, ye kin git ye a bottle fer $32.99 at either warehouse wines n spirits or astor place wines n spirits.

tuther week or munth we purchussed a bottle of laphroaig 15 year:



thisn dont cum so cheap. we gut it on sale at astor place fer $52.99 but we seen it higher minny a time. so we gut to wundern wuther the exter money wuz wurth it n thats why we had us that tastin.

furst, we cumparrd em side by side. as ye kin planely see, thay aint much differnts in how they looks. bofem has that rich amber color n when ye slosh em round in the glass, they gut em sum fine laigs on em. so next thang ye gutta do is sniff em n taste em.

i pored, so i knew witchn wuz witchn, but miz bd wuz drankin blind, so to speak, on a counta we wonted to git the truest response possibull. twuz innerestin how we cum to purty much the same conclushuns, even ifn i knew whut twuz we wuz a'drankin.

ye kin see whar this glass has sum ritin on it, witch i pored the laproaig 10 year in thatn n pored the 15 in a glass that looks eggzackly the same only it dont gut no ritin on it.

innywho, we found the nose of the 15 a lil liter than the 10. the 15 is cumplex whar the 10 is a thick blend of iodine n peat n smoke n mayhap seaweed or sumthin. the 15 is a lil easier to sniff but harder to pin down. thay aint near as much peat, witch tiz a hallmark of laphroaig to have em a rich peaty nose n taste.

as fer the tastin, we found the 15 to be a lot sweeter. the peat is more refined n ye dont notice it near as much. ye kin git more of them other tastes, witch i caint say whut they are but vanilla cums to mind with thisn jes a lil.

as fer the 10, tiz a classick taste, a dense eggsploshun of peat n iodine n seaweed. tiz such a grate taste, speshly ifn ye hold it in yer mouth fer a spell n open yer jaws with yer mouth shut n jes breeth in all them rich scents of the peaty amber spirit. thay aint much in the worl to cumpeat with it.

taint that thays innythang rong with the 15 year old. tiz a fine spirit n we woodnt never turn nun down, but when ye figger yer a'gone half to spend at lease $20 more fer a bottle, lots more in sum places, thay aint no reason to doot. yer 10 is bout as good as sangle malt scotches gits.

lessn ye dont lack peat!

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

obsesshuns of buddy don: nuther sangle malt scotch tastin

las nite me n miz bd joined our irish frien n his wife mawz over at keens fer a nuther sangle malt scotch tastin. as ye mite coulda noticed, we luv larnin all we kin bout sangle malt scotches. ye mite could say we is obsessd. we been a'studyin up on it, a'readin books n goin to lectchurs but manely drankin as minny differnt kinds of whisky (n whiskey too) as we kin. we count our blessins bout aliving whar ye kin git mos inny kinda sangle malts they sells in the u s of a. bes of all, thays a slew of sangle malt scotch drankers that cums to man hattan n that means ye kin git a nuff of em together to have tastins.

so las nite round 7:20, jes in time, we made it to keens n tuck our seats fer a tastin name of Scotch Whisky from the Inside: A Special In-Depth Seminar and Tasting with F. Paul Pacult.

heres whut thangs looked lack frum my seat as thangs wuz cummencin:



they had em ten whiskys pored out fer each of us, witch we wuz lucky a nuff to be sittin at a table with two exter places n me n my irish frien dint let nun of the better stuff go to waste, witch all em malts wuz purty good ceptn the furstn. heres the list of whut we tasted with msrp prices:
  1. Unaged barley spirit
  2. Tomintoul 16-Year-Old Speyside Malt Whisky, 40%, $55
  3. Glendiffich 15-Year-Old Solera Reserve Speyside Malt Whisky, 40%, $40
  4. Balvenie 12-Year-Old DoubleWood Speyside Malt Whisky, 43%, $48
  5. Dalwhinnie 15-Year-Old Central Highlands Malt Whisky, 43%, $52
  6. Glenfiddich 18-Year-Old Ancient Reserve Speyside Malt Whisky, 43%, $60
  7. Johnnie Walker Gold 18-Year-Old Blended Scotch Whisky, 40%, $75
  8. Bruichladdich XVII 17-Year-Old Islay Malt Whisky, 46%, $120
  9. Lagavulin 16-Year-Old Islay Malt Whisky, 43%, $80
  10. Bowmore "Darkest" Islay Malt Whisky, 43%, $65
far as me n miz bd n our irish frien n his wife kin tell that aint no bad sangle malts, but thays sum thats definitly bettern otherns. twuz so las nite. my favert wuz lagavulin, witch me n miz bd had dun tasted all but the tomintoul, bruichladdich n bowmore. we dun knew lagavulin wuz our favert of the reglar distillry bottlins. sos ye kin git a idee of our taste, heres our faverts so far (not cunsidderin speshul bottlins n verr eggspensize stuff -- in other wurds, most of these is the mos poplar but cheaper ages):
  1. lagavulin 16
  2. laphroaig 10
  3. talisker 10
  4. ardbeg 10
  5. bruichladdich 10
  6. ledaig 15
  7. caol ila 12
  8. clynelish 14
  9. glenmorangie 10 (or glenmorangie 18, ifn ye kin afford it)
  10. bunnahabhain 12
  11. springbank 12
  12. highland park 12
  13. glenfarclas 17 (a lil pricey but good)
  14. the macallan 12
  15. dalmore 12
  16. bowmore 17 (a lil eggspensive but tiz wunderful with chocklut)
aint no doubt im a'missin sum, but ye git the idee. we lack em peaty n thats why thays so minny islays at the top. we lack glenlivet n glenfiddich ok, but we aint fans on a counta how it seems lack tiz thonly sangle malts ye kin git at lots of places n i reckon we resent that a lil even tho taint fair. we also lack em yung generly bettern ole. fer instunts, we tried bruichladdich 10 n 15 n lacked the 10 a lot better. same with laphroaig 10 vs 15, caol ila 12 vs 18, ledaig 15 vs 20 n so on. seems lack thays a bit tastier or sumthin. tholder ones is smoother n more delicutt but sumtimes they dont seem as vibrunt. i caint find the wurds. mayhap thays a simpler splainayshun: we dont lack spendin so much money fer likker!

thangs gut fuzzier as the nite went on (my battries died whenever i tuck this here pitcher):



after twuz over, we bought us a copy of f paul pacult's new book name of A Double Scotch: How Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet Became Global Icons by f paul pacult. he wuz nice a nuff to sine it fer us, witch that n a lil talk with our friens made fer a fine endin to the evnin.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

futchur fun of buddy don: keens tastins cummin up

yesterdy my irish friend sent me a blackberry note sayin he had sum real good news, witch turnt out to be how keens chophouse is holdin sum tastins purty soon. thays three of em, two bout scotches n one fer red wine. my docter tole me not to drank no red wine or beer on a counta they gut histimeans in em that kin cause migraines, so we wont be attendin thatn. that leaves two that we dont wanna miss:
  1. Robbie Burns Night Celebration: New Single Malts in the Market Place (windsdy, jan 26, 7 pm)
  2. Scotch Whisky from the Inside: A Special In-Depth Seminar and Tasting with F. Paul Pacult (tuesdy, march 22, 7 pm)
ye kin read sum deetails bout em here. ye mite recolleck how we met mr. pacult durin a prior tastin.

tiz fittin that i thank eric over at straight white guy fer gittin us off on a good start whenever it cums to sangle malt scotches. thankee, sir!

Friday, November 19, 2004

land speculayshun of buddy don: real state in scotland


Plot No: 24####

dun gut me a lil plot of land over thar on in scotland on islay. that laphroaig distillry pays me rent on it, one dram of laphroaig ever year long as i live n long as i go thar to fetch the rent.

ye orta git ye a plot while ye kin! jes purchus a bottle of laphroaig, witch ye kin git laphroaig 10 year up here in man hattan fer bout $35 n i bet tiz cheeper in uther places. tiz bout the bes bargain in sangle malt scotch wharever ye find it. once ye git it, ye kin use the bar code to git ye yer land.

then ye git to go colleck!

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

nite life of buddy don: drankin at st. andrews with my irish friend

last nite after wurk me n my irish friend walked over to st. andrews on 44th street twixt broadway n sixth avenue sos we could have us a lil sangle malt n conversayshun.

we had jes cum thru a hard day on the corpor-rut battlefield, gittin blamed fer thangs we hadnt dun n fitin off them charges, sprizin folks with sum brakethrus we hadnt yet announced, n jes generly havin a good but hard time doin our jobs. we wuz verr tired by the end of our 11 hour day, so it seemed lack st. andrews wuz jes the thang. tiz a lot closern keens, fer one thang, n my irish friend hadnt never been thar.

me n miz bd had furst been to st. andrews fer the whisky dinner they had the nite before whisky fest. tiz a rite nice place with all the folk a'wearin tartans, kilts or skirts accordin to thar sex, n ever one of em speakin a purrfeck scotish brogue. they gut em 195 different sangle malts on thar menu n ye kin buy yer drams or yer tasters, witch yer tasters is bout half the size of yer drams n half the cost.

bout as quick as we gut seated, along cum our waitress sharon frum glasgow to git our order. fastern ye could say 'lickedy-split,' we had it all: our saucy red-hedded waitress lettin my irish frien have it fer makin a mess of our table witch we bofus made, only he gut the blame fer bein irish n i dint on a counta add mittin to (braggin bout?) havin scottish ancestors; a lil four cheese thin-crust pizza; n a strang of them tasters to share, filled with malts lack a 25 year old talisker, 16 year old lagavulin, 30 year old glenfiddich, 15 year springbank, 17 year glen scotia, 17 year glenfarclas, sum 1991 caol ila, that kind thang.

twuz a verr nice way to end a hard day battlin in them corpor-rut wars. twuz all over by 7:15 n i wuz home porin miz bd her furst scotch by 7:45.

life dont git much bettern that.

Friday, September 17, 2004

evenin plans of buddy don: astor place whisky tastin

thays plenty of thangs to hate bout livin up here in new york. we git to be on a higher color alert fer them terrsts than the rest of the cuntry, we dont git to see mr bush nor mr kerry camp-pain here since the electoral collidge takes the profit out of it fer em, thays way too minny folks fer the size of the isle of man hattan, n tiz dirty n kin be dangerus n so forth. but thays a reason so minny folks lacks to be here n this evenin me n miz bd is plannin on takin add vantage of one of em, witch tiz the fack that ye gut free events such as thisn:
Friday,September 17; 5-8 PM
Easy-sipping French and Portuguese Wines and Banfi of Italy;
Bruichladdich & Springbank Single Malts
corse, we wont be wastin inny time on them wines, but twill be a deelite to taste them sangle malts! we aint never had no cambelltown malts yet, so the springbank should be innerestin. we alreddy know the bruichladdich is sum grate islay malt.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

good times of buddy don: back to keens

i caint gut much time fer bloggin this mornin on a counta bein out late last nite. twuz time fer a lil payback, so to speak, so i tuck my irish friend, my boss n the omega man out fer scotch n dinner, ceptn fer the boss, witch he's a wine uh-fish-ye-nado luver. safe to say everbidy had em a real good time, speshly me. tiz a grate thang whenever yer payin sumbidy back but yer the one havin the best time of all.

bes thang we discuverd bout the evenin? eight wurds: caol ila 12 year unchillfiltered single malt scotch. ye mite wonta git ye sum ifn ye kin find it. me n my irish frien dun gut us sum bottles on thar way to park avenue liquor store, witch tiz thonly one mentioned in michael jackson's book, Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch. (taint the michael jackson ye mite be thankin bout.)

Friday, August 20, 2004

evenin plans of buddy don: dinner n scotch at keens

me n miz bd has been a'waitin fer tonite as ifn twere chrismus or sumthin. reason why? our irish frien dun invited us out to a dinner at keens chophouse, witch we aint a'goin thar fer the food! tiz the cumpny n the amazin sangle malt scotch menu. tiz such a dee-light! ye caint hardly ruin a weekend that starts with a grate seleckshun of sangle malts, witch we probly a'gone share tastes of each one we order, so twixt the three of us -- miz irish friend aint such a big fan of scotch on a counta how she luvs good wine better -- we orta git a chants to sample sumwhar twixt 9 n 12 differnt scotches.

ifn only we dint half to wurk furst! but wurk we have n plenty of it. we been as busy as a hill of army ants a'lookin fer sumthin to eat lately. fer instunts, we jes about to finish buildin over 200 of them blue blackberry devices that everbidy in bankin has gut to have, witch this bunch is all fer our analysts, witch they dint used to be able to order em but thangs changed whenever folks gut to lookin a lil closer at week after nex n the rnc n gut to figgern how they dont wonta be in town ifn they kin hep it. thangs has been intents of late!

meanwhile i finely gut a book name of red cavalry by isaac babel that i orderd a long time ago, witch eric over at straight white guy recommended it. i caint hardly wait to read it. eric's a purty good riter his ownself, witch i recommend ye read his own ritin bout a lil battle he witnessed.

speakin of books, i jes finished a cuple i wood recommend to ye. thays bof by frank mccourt, witch thays memoirs of his life. furstns a book name of angelas ashes, witch tiz bout his time in ireland, witch he wuz born in amurka but his folks moved back to limerick whar he wuz razed in such poverty tiz hard to magine. the second is called tiz n it tells bout how he cum to amurka n gut bad jobs but wurked his way up till he gut a degree n started teachin in publick hi skools.

corse i found the topick verr innerestin on a counta how i been riting a long novel name of life n pinions of buddy don, hillbilly, witch tiz based on sum of the thangs i seen n dun in life only taint all spozed to be pure facks but a novel that ye kin make of thangs ye seen. whenever yer ritin fickshun, ye half to member that the way thangs really happens dont make fer good stories, so thays thangs ye kin change to make em a lil better. i been aimin at truth ruther than non-fickshun. thays a differnts.

innywho, one of minny thangs that dun impressd me bout these two books is how he tells on his ownself, witch by that i mean he tells thangs that mos folks mite druther hide, such as how even tho it hurt him a lot how his daddy lef his mama n his bruthers with nuthin n went off to england durin worl war two but dint send no money back on a counta how he drunk it all -- witch tiz hard a nuff -- but then he splains how he follerd in his daddys footsteps n dun sumthin simlar, tho he never fergut to take keer of his lil gurl. but he add mitts to minny a time whar he shoulda gone home to his wife n child but stayed out all nite liftin the glass till he couldnt stand up to vomit. i add mire his honesty n wont to match it, even tho thangs i gut lef to rite wont make me look good no how no way. but thays truth in em.

sides that, i aint gut no room to talk bout how frank mccourt lacked to go out a'drankin on a counta how me n miz bd caint hardly wait fer the day to be over sos we kin gather at keens n try to pick witch sangle malts we wood lack to drank. corse, we dint git a'started drankin till we wuz in our fifties n so far, we aint drunk a nuff at inny one time to git drunk. lease not yet n i hope we kin keep it thataway.

as ye kin see frum the pitcher of our colleckshun of whisky, we aint gut much room to talk bout wastin spendin money on investin in fine scotches n whiskey!


Monday, August 09, 2004

obsesshuns of buddy don: whar to by yer sangle malt scotch in man hattan

i writ bout this place a time or two. heres sum pitchers. tiz located on broadway twixt 6th n 7th streets over in the part of man hattan name of greenwich village. heres the view from cross the street:


here's the kinda cum-on they have in thar winder:


but the ackshun is inside:


a lil closer view:


ifn yer rich, ye kin git em to open this here cabnet:


here's a closer look:

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

notes of buddy don: obsurvayshuns frum sangle malt tastin

i dont plan to say much bout yesterdy, witch i had to cum home frum work early in the day to hep deal with the fambly crisis, witch twuz still a'goin on. tiz a nuff to say thangs gut wurked out bout as well as innybidy could hope, so mayhap thays better daze ahed.

innywho, i wonted to make a few notes bout that thar tastin me n miz bd went to tuther nite:

1. one odd thang fer a city whar ye see ever kind of person frum ever race frum ever part of the the worl wuz how twuz an all white folks event.

2. even tho thay wuz a lotta likker thar fer everbidy to drank, dint nobidy git all that drunk on a counta dint hardly nobidy drank all the likker in frunt of em. tiz good that folks woodnt wonta git thayself too pissed in publick, but whut a waste of fine sangle malt!

3. ifn ye ever git a chants to hear f. paul pacult speak bout whisky or even whiskey, dont miss it.

4. my irish friend n his english wife aint as big a fans of sangle malt as me n miz bd has becum, so they deecided to give us a bottle of macallan 18 year on a counta they gut it fer a gift years ago n they figger aint no way theyll ever drank it all.

5. even ifn ye go into such a thang feelin rotten on a counta that fambly crisis, ye cum out feelin purty good, n tiz nice to git away ever now n agin.

6. thays plans fer em to have a tequila tastin n even tho neethur one of us dranks tequila, we wood lack to go jes to here f. paul pacult talk. we made a point of gittin on thar mailin list.

7. that keens chophouse place is filld up with long-stem pipes, coverin the walls n ceilins, on a counta how twuz once the bes place in town to go drank sangle malt scotch n smoke tubacka, but thanks to mayer bloomberf, tiz agin the law to smoke indoors in man hattan cept fer yer own home.

Friday, May 21, 2004

man hattan nite life of buddy don: sangle malt tastin at keens

ye mite member how me n miz bd wuz a'gone join our irish friend n his english wife fer a sangle malt tastin down at a place name of keens steakhouse, witch tiz also known as keens chophouse. fer them that lacks to eat meat, they gut a bunch of it. ye kin read a reviews ifn ye lack: here n here n here.

innywho, last nite wuz finely the nite. twuz to begin at seven pm n we wuz rite on time. tiz a class place n we wuz in a private room upstairs. theonly purpose fer our bein thar wuz to taste n larn bout sangle malt scotchs. we wuz to be tastin a total of twelve of em n to make shore we gut a proper unnerstandin of whut we wuz a'doin, a feller name of F. Paul Pacult to splain thangs n make us laff n keep us frum a drankin too fast.

heres a pitcher of his book name of american still life:



whenever we arrived we all had to stand round nibblin on cheese n crackers n whutnot a'waitin to be let in. purt soon they opened up the curtain on a lil room in the back n in we went, witch whut we saw then wuz a room full of tables filled with glasses of sangle malt scotch. heres a idee whut it looked lack even tho the pitcher wuz tuck after everthang wuz over:




heres ye a lil closer look:


they wuz eleven of them glasses in each place n each glass had a lil number nex toot. heres the lineup we wuz a gone git to taste:

1. mystry malt whisky #1, 40% AbV, $55
2. glenmorangie 18 years old northern highland malt whisky, scotland, 43% AbV, $100
3. glenfarclas 17 year old speyside malt whisky, 43% AbV $80
4. flenfiddich ancient reserve 18 year old speyside malt whisky, scotland, 43% AbV $70
5. glenlivet 18 year old speyside malt whisky, Scotland, 43% AbV, $60
6. mystry malt whisky #2, 43%, AbV, $65
7. macallan 18 year old speyside malt whisky, scotland, 43% AbV $85
8. highland park 18 year old orkney islands malt whisky, scotland 43% AbV $85
9. bruichladdich 15 year old islay malt whisky, scotland, 46% AbV $70
10. lagavulin 16 year old islay malt whisky, scotland, 43% AbV $60
11. balvenie 15 year old cask strength speyside malt whisky, scotland, 47.8% AbV $60

at the bar 12. aberlour 15 year old speyside malt whisky, scotland, 43% AbV, $46

heres a pitcher of the lineup:


closeups of glenfarclas 17 n glemorangie 18:


closeups of glenfiddich 18 n glenlivet 18:


closeups of macallan 18 n highland park 18:


f. paul pacult gut started by splainin how he gut paid to drank whisky n how folks even lacked to read whutever he had to rite bout the subjeck n twuz clear purty quick he wuz a'tellin the truth on a counta twuz quite a show he put on. he tole us all bout whut a sangle malt is n how tiz made n yew caint hardly hold that much imfermayshun in yer haid all at once, but ill try to splain whut i member.

furst, ifn yer a'fixin to make a sangle malt whisky, ye gut to have yer water n thats one of them thangs that makes them sangle malt whiskys all taste a lil differnt. he splained how on one of that island name of islay the water wuz brown frum the peat, witch he dun been to all them island n distillries n all. each of them distillries has got em a differnt sorce of water, so thats one thang makes em differnt.

then thars the malt, witch he ast did innybidy know whut malt wuz n when dint nobidy offer to splain it, he tole us all bout how to git malt, witch whut ye dun wuz get the barley to germinate sos sum of them starches in it gits to turnin to sugar, witch the third gredient is a'gone need sugar, but befor we git thar, tiz in the makin of malt that ye kin innerduce the taste of peat on a counta they use peat fires to dry the malt.

once the malt gits good n dry, they make mash out of it by mixin it with water n the thurd gredient, witch thats yer yeast n one of the mos mazin thangs bout that is how each of them distillries has thar own yeast thats been a'growin since whenever they dun gut started in the distillry bizness, all the same line, witch tiz a nuther reason aint no two sangle malts that taste jes alack.

once ye gut yer mash seems lack ye git to makin it into a spirit witch the mash is bout 20% alkyhol but yer spirit is generly twixt 68% n 72%, witch twuz a lil sprize to larn that whut they do after they git it lack that is put it into casks, lack as not made of oak, sumtimes after the casks dun been used to age sherry or port or whut not, n everthang i dun menchuned is a nuther one of them reasons why they all taste differnt. later on they add more water real slow sos they kin brang down the alkyhol content to the rite level fer the taste thar after.

he tole us sum facks, witch i rote a cuple down, lack thays 91 sangle malt distillries in scotland, witch me n miz bd dun gut us a long way to go befor we git to taste em all. our irish friend knows me n miz bd has gut us a colleckshun of sangle malts we dun tasted, hut we're savin bout half of each bottle, so he ast wood they stay good after bein opened. f. paul pacult splained that after ye had opend a bottle of sangle malt, ye needed to git it drunk by 3 to 6 munths on a counta by then it could start to go bad. he sed at his house twuz generly all drunk in 48 hours. saddest fack menchuned wuz how 96% of all sangle malt is wasted by bein mixed with uther sangle malts to make blends lack chivas regal n johnny walker n dewar's. he showed us sum barley n a piece of a oak cask n sum peat, witch peat is plants thats dun died n been cumpressed but not quite to the point of becummin coal. turns out thars a almost endless supply over thar in scotland, witch ye could easly bleev god made scotland so the worl could have good whisky.

finely, the tastin begun with a mystry malt. f. paul pacult gut us to sniff at it n try to guess whut twuz. he tole us whoever guessd it would git a bottle fer free, but we couldnt doot on a counta twuz a lil tricky: turnt out to be johnny walker green label pure malt, witch that means tiz a blend of pure sangle malts. corse nobidy guessed twood be a blended malt. reason f. paul pacult had us taste a blend furst wuz sos we could git a idee bout the differnts. sides that, he claims thays sum grate blends n he lacks the one we wuz a drankin rite well. ye caint hardly git thisn in amruka but ye kin find it in duty free shops. he claims its rite good. i caint find a lank toot.

next cum the glenmorangie 18 year old northern highlands malt whisky, witch one of the mane thangs bout glenmorangie is how they use the tallest stills of all them distillries n that makes thar whisky verr smooth. corse it loses sum of that oily smell n kin miss sum of the peatiness. on tuther hand, thisn had a rich cumplex smell n taste, grate finish.

on the opposit end of thangs frum the glenmoranie 18 wuz the macallan 18 year old speyside malt whisky, witch they gut the squatest stills of em all n that means ye git a lil more oily taste. fer me it sniffd smooth n had a great taste that ye lack to keep in yer mouth n a nice warm finish, a perfeck blend. turns out this is the most poplar sangle malt scotch in amurka.

i caint fergit to mentchun how the secunt of them mystry malts dint git guessed neethur on a counta who coulda guessed twood be frum ireland! turnt out to be bushmills 16 triple wood single malt. twuz on the sweet side with the taste of vanilla n butter, sorta malty, smooth n warm a'goin down. f. paul pacult sed his favert everday whisky wuz black bush!

sum other highlights:
1. f. paul pacult claims the glenlivet 18 year old speyside malt whisky is the best speyside scotch. twuz one of the best balanced scotchs we tasted. it gits its name frum the glenlivet river n whenever it furst cum out, it wuz by far the bes till uther folks wonted to call thar whisky glenlivet but thay wuz a lawsuit n now thays only one distillry that owns the name.

2. the peatiest one of the bunch wuz also everbidies favert, witch thatn wuz the lagavulin 16 year old islay malt whisky. me n miz bd picked it fer our favert as well.

3. prizes wuz won: my irish friend, witch he paid fer everthang n ye caint hardly thank im a nuff, he won a bottle of glenfarclas 17 year old speyside malt whisky. his english wife won a bottle of f. paul pacults favert, witch thats highland park 18 year old orkney islands malt whisky n lucky thang wuz how twuz her favert too. bes of all, miz bd won the prize of the nite, wuz the glenmorangie 18 year old northern highlands malt whisky, witch heres a pitcher of her holdin it:



whenever twuz over, everbidy wuz feelin grate n acktin lack they wuz ole friens. i gut a pitcher of f. paul pacult, witch here tiz:


twuz a wonderful evenin n couldnt hardly cum at a better time. me n miz bd had a worl of woe to discuss, so we tuck a cab ride with a greek cab driver who wuz proud bout the olympicks n then the ferry cross to jersey n then we wuz resless, so we tuck us a long walk after midnite long the hudson.

thays magick in them thar sangle malts.

Thursday, May 20, 2004

evnin plans of buddy don: sangle malt scotch tastin at keens steakhouse

tiz the long awaited nite: me n miz bd is a'gone go down with our irish friend n his english wife to participate in the tastin of world class sangle malt scotches at keens steakhouse over in man hattan. i mentchund this place a while back. ifn ye foller the lank to the steakhouse, ye kin read a lil bout whuts plannd.

ifn i dont have too much of a hangover in the mornin, i plan to rite the hole thang up. i dun tuck tomorruh off as a day of vacayshun.

Saturday, April 24, 2004

blessins of buddy don:
evnin tastin


 


Wednesday, April 21, 2004

nite life of buddy don:
a bar thats famus fer sangle malt scotch


back in february, me n miz bd gut our furst taste of sangle malt scotch. dont know how we had dun missd it all our lives, but we had. mayhap it had sumthin to do with not lackin likker all that much. but tiz the drank of our ancestors n with the hep of eric over at straight white guy, we gut started.


twuz luv at furst tastin, so to speak, n since then we dun gut us a colleckshun of half filled bottles of differnt kinds. mayhap this weekend i kin rite up a lil revue of em.


meanwhile, i gut a good irish friend i been a'knowin fer minny years n he dun marrd a woman frum england. (i writ bout a evenin we spent together here.) so ever now n agin, he has to go cross the pond fer a visit with her folks. so twuz whenever me n miz bd wuz a'larnin bout sangle malt scotch. he musta been gone a few weeks n whenever he gut back, he wuz verr busy, so we dint git inny time to talk fer a lil while.


but thay cum a day when we had lunch. corse he had lots to flap his gums about on a counta havin jes had a big ole trip full or add venchurs over in england, but bout time we wuz leavin, i memberd to tell him bout discovern sangle malt scotch. turnt out he wuz a eggspurt ever bit as informd as inny. we gut to talkin bout witchns we had tride n he recommended a few.


next day he cums into my offus all eggcited bout sumthin he had receivd in the mail, a invitayshun to a sangle malt scotch tastin at a bar over in man hattan name of keens steakhouse. but twernt jes inny invitayshun: twuz a invitayshun to whut they call a single malt scotch tastin, witch ifn ye follerd that lank to keens steakhouse, ye dun gut to see whar tiz addvert eyesd fer may 20. he ast did me n miz bd wonta go, so we sed we did.


but we wuz havin truble waitin, so i ast him dint he thank mayhap we should make a eggsporatory visit to make shore we knew whar twuz n how we wuz a'gone git home n all. tiz the kind of info ye dont wonta half to figger out after spendin a evening tastin sangle malt scotchs of all kinds.


last nite wuz the nite n whut a time we had. whenever we gut off work, we walked down to the place n wuz dee lited to see miz bd thar waitin to meet us. she wuz dressd up rite nice n i half to add mitt i wuz proud to have her take my arm. in we went.


tiz a beeyootiful old place, witch fer my taste, tiz much better now that caint nobidy smoke indoors in man hattan. (side note: bars n restrunts wuz up in arms agin mayor bloomberg over his ban on smokin, arguin bout how they wuz a'gone lose bizness, but whut happend wuz the opposit on a counta thay wuz lodes of folks that dint lack going out to breathe smoke.)


the furst plan was to have a cuple dranks. they brung us a menu biggern ye git in mos innyplace ye eat, but it dint have nuthin but sangle malts on it. so we gut us each a differnt one n passd it round fer everbidy to taste. twuz so good, we dee cided twood be wise to eat sumthin, so we orderd us sum dinner. n then a nuther round. n then a nuther. n i thank twuz over round then. sum of the ones we tried wuz laphroig 15 year, ledaig 20 year, cardhu, tobermory, bruichladdich, isle of jura 15, n the champeen of em all (witch we all agreed how twuz the bes of the nite), bunnahabain raw cask 21 year.


whut a nite. me n miz bid sed good night to our irish friend at the corner of 36th n 6th. we walked over to the ferry (a bit of a hike, but we needed to walk a lil) n then across to jersey. whut a dee liteful nite!


thankee, eric, fer yer hep in gittin us started!

Saturday, March 20, 2004

spar time of buddy don:
strange new sangle malt scotch whiskey


last time me n miz bd went to pick us out a differnt sangle malt down to the likker store here in town, they tole us bout this place overn man hattan name of park avenue likker only tiz on madison n 41st street. as folks lacks to say up in here, 'go figguh!' twuz sed to have one of the best seeleckshuns around, so i tuck a brake at wurk n walked down.


fer one thang, bleeve it or not, thar prices wuz better. i ackshly found a sangle malt name of glen garioch 10 year fer roun $20, witch i bought it in honor of the rocky top brigade. thay wuz also this uthern thar name of linkwood aged 15 year in a sherry butt. twuz such a odd color that i figgerd id git it jes to see whut wood sumthin lack that taste lack. the manjer thar sed twuz rite poplar overn europe, witch that dont bother me. heres a pitchur of bofem whar ye kin see how odd the color is of the linkwood, witch ifn ye caint read, tiz the one on the lef.



heres a nuther perspecktiv on it:



nuther odd thang bout it is how each bottle is hand numberd:



we tested the glen garioch last night, witch twuznt bad, but sartinly not the best eethur. i plan to do a revue of all the ones we dun colleckted plus sum macallan 12 year for a total of 8 of em side by side. but fer now, back to the tastin, alreddy in progress.

Saturday, March 13, 2004

evnin plans of buddy don:
agenda in pitchers


 



   

Monday, March 01, 2004

revues of buddy don:
ledaig sangle malt scotch whiskey


this weekend me n miz bd deecided to add to our sangle malt scotch whiskey colleckshun. we gut us a bottle of ledaig from the isle of mull. we dint know nuthin bout it but we lacked the name n twuz under $50, so we gut it. thisn could turn into a favert, tho we aint tride one we dint lack. i wont say much else bout it ceptn to say i bleev twuz made fer luvers. we put on a lil brazilyun musick n gut to sippin n sparkin n all n i reckon ye mite could say we had us a gran ole time.

Sunday, February 22, 2004

revues of buddy don:
still countin blessins: bowmore sangle malt scotch whiskey


yesterdy evenin me n miz bd went down to see ifn we could pick us out a nuther sangle malt scotch whiskey to try. we have plenty of the talisker lef, but we figgerd twood be nice to git a lil colleckshun of em n see kin we tell witchn we lacks the bes. the talisker wood be hard to beat, so we consulted with a nuther frien of ourn, witch i dun writ bout him gittin sum cultchur with us one nite. he wuz of a mind we should give sum bowmore a try, so we went down n foun sum bowmore mariner aged fifteen year fer sale n bought a bottle fer $43.


twood be a nice evenin on a counta how sumbidy speshul wuz a'cummin to have dinner with us, witch we wuz celebratin how sed sumbidy gut her a book deal n i had a birthdy a lil while back n far as i wuz concernd, we coulda jes been  celebratin how i wuznt havin no hedache. innywho, sed sumbidy promissed to cum over on the ferry sos we could go down to the madison bar n grill.


whenever she gut to our place we ast her did she wont a lil of that sangle malt n she allowd as how she woodnt mind givin it a taste. so we had us each a lil of it neat with sum water nearby. twuz a much more cumplex likker than the talisker, witch the talisker has a more misteryas taste toot in my pinion. but we lacked the bowmore purty good:



smell: twuz a cumplex amalgum of smells with a lil fruit n a lil smoke n a lil of that peat smell. twuz rite suttle.


taste: lack the talisker, twuz sumthin unlack inny uther taste, even the talisker. twuz a lil on the sweet side to bof me n miz bd.


effeck: seem lack thisn gits ye into the talkative mood whar the talisker makes ye wonta pick up yer instermint n pick a lil. we dint play no musick atall with thisn, but mayhap twuz the differnt dynamick of havin three folks in the room. the conversayshun wuz grate, but ye kindly speck that whenever ye git a visit frum sumbidy speshul.


ifn i had to pick twixt em, i reckon twood be the talisker, but the nice thang is, we gut sum of bofem now n were still countin them blessins.

Sunday, February 15, 2004

revus of buddy don:
furst taste of sangle malt scotch whiskey


tuther day down at the likker store, miz bd n me found a empty spot on the shelf whar they keep yer jack daniel quarts, witch twuz a bit of a sprize. we wonted to try sumthin, so we mosied on over to whar thay had em sum sangle malt whiskeys frum scotland, but we couldnt cum to no deecishun on a counta thay wuz too much to choose frum with prices frum $35 up fer a sangle bottle. we settled on a bottle of black bush, witch thats a irish blended whiskey that miz bd had sum fond recolleckshuns bout frum the furst time she had it over in greece.


but we wonted to try one of them sangle malt scotches fer a few reasons. furst, we wuz marrd over in edinburgh, scotland. secunt, we each had a slew of ancestors frum scotland. n thurd, yer rocky top brigade is partly dedicated to yer sangle malt, tho i cant figger whar ye kin git one fer $20 lessn yer payin by the drank over in midtown manhattan.


so i rote a note over to eric at strate white guy astin his assistunts in the seeleckshun of a sangle malt scotch n nex thang ye know, he writ up a splainayshun bout how ye git started in a post name of 'amber nectar.' ye kin read sum of the discusshun in the comments, witch im postin my comments below.


but i wonted to say a few wurds bout likker that i dint ritely unnerstan whenever i wuz younger, witch tiz this: ever likker is differnt n taint only in the taste but also in the effeck. whenever i wuz younger, i figgerd twuz jes a way to git ye drunk sos ye could ack a fool, witch chantses are ye wuz a fool ifn ye thought that only ye wuz in plentiful cumpny. i figgerd alcohol wuz alcohol n ye drunk it to git drunk. i hadnt never noticed no differnt effeck twixt one likker or tuther. so i dint much care fer drankin till i wuz much older n larnt how ye could take jes a wee dab at a time, slow lack, sos ye could saver the effeck. i gut started once i moved to 'the city,' witch thats how folks in manhattan calls manhattan. one of the main thangs folks duz here is go out to eat, so they dun got rite good at it. they dun analyzed everthang bout eatin out n they have hole magazines devoted to the subjeck of whar ye kin eat n how ye should do it n all. corse thar analysis included the drankin of wine n other thangs n quick as i moved here, folks gut to skoolin me till i could tell the differnts twixt how ye felt frum a red or a white or even differnt flavors of em lack merlots or chiantis or pino grigiots.


then a few years ago, i tried sum jack daniels. i hadnt had nun fer near twenty years. i tuck my time with it, treatin lack twuz a fine wine, sippin it slow. twuz a dee light. twuz a differnt feel frum wine or innythang else. that jack wuznt jes a nuther deelivery system fer alcohol on a counta the feelin it deeliverd wuz differnt frum yer red wines or yer white wines or yer moonshines of whutever.


innywho, i red all of erics add vice. then me n miz bd went shoppin n cum home with sum sangle malt whiskey frum the isle of skye. here's the revu i writ fer eric, witch heres the furst half:



 jes figgerd we wood check in fer a progress report. we found all them sangle malts ye mentchuned n wuz sprized to find one they wonted $349 fer, witch twuz sumthin name of bruichladdich frum 1969.



innywho, we settled on the one frum the isle of skye name of talisker fer $45. we jes now pored us one each, witch we lacks to drank ours without no additives of inny kind. we give a toast to the rocky top brigade, tuck a deep sniff, n cummenced.


delicut scent, suttle, sprizing flavor. more of the kinda bite i lack frum jack that we dint git frum black bush. further testin indicayted.

Posted by buddy don on February 14, 2004 04:30 PM

n here's the secunt half:



nex day's musins on furst tastin of talisker aged ten year. we drunk it neat n saverd the eggsperients:



1. smell: twuz unlack inny likker i had ever drunk befor. neethur me nor the wife could identify whut it smelt lack. she furst sed twuz lack creosote. i disagreed. she later amended that pinion after tastin. we never could cum up with a wurd fer it. ye used 'peppery' n that fits it purty close.


2. taste: verr suttle, smooth as smoke or sumthin. a compellin after taste makes ye wont a lil more, witch we tuck it.


3. effeck: quick to hit yer gut n hed, a nice feelin. me n miz bd sat talkin bout thangs, nicely relaxed. we put on sum osborne brothers n sipped a lil more.


thays a ole sayin bout how likker'll enhants desire n improov oppertunty but deeminish performunts, but im here to tell ye how taint always the case. me n the miz dun proovd it.


i wood call it 'true romants.'


corse, i wuz talkin bout musick whenever i mentchuned performunts, her on guitar n me on mandlin. ;^Þ

Posted by buddy don on February 15, 2004 07:26 AM

ifn ye go over to that article, ye kin read sum of erics splainashuns bout how the peat is part of whut gives this here sangle malt such a speshul taste. tiz a dee light.