whiskey

Irish - Whiskey

Tullamore Dew

March 11, 2015 by
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Next up in our series on Irish Whiskey is one of my old favorites, Tullamore Dew.

Tullamore Dew is one of the older Irish Whiskey brands that, though not quite as widely popular as the likes of Jameson, still has a strong following. More importantly, they futbalove dresy na predaj produce one of the finest sipping whiskeys currently out there (Irish or otherwise).

I tested the Tullamore Dew with a small splash of water in a Glenmorangie glass. The nose is fairly light, giving off faint caramel notes and something that is almost floral.

First sip tastes, and I know this is a strange descriptor, incredibly clean. If we are to refer to whiskey as the eau de vie then it has never been more Lacné Futbalove Dresy applicable than here. There is also more of that caramel I detected on the nose, and even some light cherry flavors. There is a touch of smoke, but only a touch, and there is no astringent harshness at all.

Taking a drink in earnest, the flavors deepen but do not change. Most notable is just how remarkably smooth the Tullamore Dew really is. This is one that you could kick back with all night easily (though I have reason to believe that it will sneak up on you if you aren’t careful…).

If I have any complaint at all it is that the flavors are almost too smooth, but maybe that’s because my go-to beverages are generally more punishing Islay scotches. In any case, I would recommend the Tullamore Dew, particularly if you want a whiskey that will stick with you for the long haul.

Irish - Whiskey

Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel

March 4, 2015 by
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Jameson Irish Whiskey is a classic.

I am certain that nearly every whiskey drinker has had at least a sip or two of Jameson in their lives. Whether on the rocks or in the nefarious “Irish Car Bomb,” Jameson is a treat.

All that said, I have never branched out from maillot de basket nba pas cher Jameson proper. So when I saw the Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel while perusing the store shelves the other day, I was intrigued. How much better would one of the variants be?

As it turns out, pretty damn good.

The drink is smoother than regular Jameson, and even more drinkable. Taken neat it is bright with a warm finish that tastes like caramel. However, I preferred it on the rocks. It lent more of a vanilla flavor that combined with salted caramel and slightly charred wood. Don’t worry though, the drink is not too sweet. It is simply a balanced beverage that would pair well with rich cigars or as a standalone after-dinner treat.

I actually think that I would take Jameson Black over standard Jameson, even at the slightly increased price tag. Give it a try, particularly if you are a fan of Jameson original. You won’t be disappointed.

Whiskey

TINCUP Colorado Whiskey

September 24, 2014 by
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Happy Whiskey Wednesday everyone!

I was hoping to try something new, and luckily a local establishment had just the thing on special. TINCUP Colorado Whiskey was going for a very fair price, and even better, I’d never heard of it before. I ordered it with one large ice cube and settled in.

The nose on this whiskey is very pleasant, with light floral notes and just a touch of spice. It almost smells like some rums I’ve had in the past, but has migliori repliche orologi a bit more char to it as you might expect. Swishing the drink around reveals that it is pretty hearty as well, with thick trails that cling to the sides of the glass for a good long while.

The first sip reveals a complex taste that is at the same time quite smooth. I wouldn’t call it bold at all. It is interesting. The floral notes of the nose do come through, as does the spice. Perhaps it was just the fall air, but I got just a tiny hint of something a little deeper, like pumpkin as well. This was also a very rich drink, and coated my mouth like melted butter.

As the cube melted a bit the flavor did dilute more than I would like. I might recommend drinking this neat, or even with a small drip of water and Imitazioni Orologi Rolex some whiskey stones. It wasn’t bad mind you, I just felt the complexity of the flavor was lost after the large cube had time to melt a bit.

Checking their website, TINCUP claims their whiskey to be spicy and bold. I can’t necessarily say that I agree with that, but that is not a knock against the whiskey at all. Finding something simultaneously smooth and complex is a rarity, and I highly recommend the TINCUP to both experienced whiskey fan and novice alike.

Bourbon - Whiskey

Whiskey Wednesday: Bird Dog

July 9, 2014 by
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Happy Whiskey Day dear readers!

As befitting the recent valiant performance of Team USA, today’s selection returns us back to the Red, White, and Blue in the form of Bird Dog Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey.

Bird Dog is an intriguing drink. Its mystery starts from its very label, in the sense that for all the information available on the bottle, you might get the billiga cykelbyxor impression it was a product brewed in the liquor store’s pantry: no distillery history, no description of blending techniques, and no back story for the title.

True, this cloudy whiskey, with a late wave of peat and a sweet smell of cinnamon mixed with the slightest touch of ginger, is simple, but it is also a reminder that good things do not necessarily need complexion.

This is a whiskey you drink whilst gazing at a Southern sunset with good friends; the once in July opportunities that come maglie calcio online once in a bottle. You would not buy Bird Dog to impress someone, just as the person counting stars cares little about the final tally.

This dog bites better at room temperature than on ice, as it keeps the flavor throughout the entire sip, but otherwise an enjoyable, if thoroughly par product for your consideration.

As always, further research is needed…

Pairings

Weekend Pairing: Alec Bradley Fine & Rare/Red River Rye

June 20, 2014 by
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The Alec Bradley Fine & Rare was released late fall of 2012. I knew that I wanted to find one right off the bat, primarily drawn to it because of it’s interesting band and perfect torpedo voetbalschoenen sale shape. After a few weeks of searching I finally found one, and it was as impressive in person as it had been in the promotional pictures.

And then I promptly put it into my humidor and forgot about it until this week.

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Photo credit: Red River Whiskey Facebook Page

I decided to pair the cigar with a bottle of Red River Rye which has recently come into my possession. The Red River Rye is a Texas whiskey that I had not been familiar with before physically receiving the bottle. Nevertheless, I love a good rye and hell, I’m from Texas so I was willing to try this pairing untested.

I went with my preferred method for the whiskey: two fingers with one large ice cube. I gave it a try before lighting the cigar and found it very rich with hearty notes of caramel, cinnamon and woodsmoke. This was not a timid whiskey, but I trusted the Fine & Rare to hold it’s own.

For a second after first light, I was afraid I was wrong. The Fine & Rare came out of the gate with a grassy, hay-like flavor that was billiga Nike fotbollsskor dominated by the character of the Red River Rye. However, after that initial taste dissipated it become much more hearty, with a black-pepper and cedar flavor mingled with leather. Taking a puff immediately after a sip of whiskey really brought out the woodsy flavor and subtle sweet notes in the cigar smoke.

The second part of the cigar continued to deepen, and added little touches of dulled cayenne spice while keeping the primary flavors introduced in the first third. the Red River Rye at this point became sort of a flavor highlight, brightening those more potent cigar flavors and enhancing the more subtle notes.

If the second third signified a deepening of flavor, the final third saw it touch bottom. Now the wood had melted into a maple-syrup flavor, and the cayenne had fotbollsskor webshop transformed into black pepper. It was rich and delicious, made all the more decadent by the Red River Rye, which was now singing in perfect harmony with the cigar, complementing it perfectly.

This ended up being a delicious pairing the whole way through. The cigar performed almost perfectly (minus one small tear in the wrapper that occurred when I pulled off the band – it was no big deal) and the whiskey was top-notch. Although I think it would be difficult to find a 2012 Alec Bradley Fine & Rare nowadays, I believe you should definitely try out the Red River Rye at your earliest opportunity!

 

Venues - Whiskey

Whiskey Wednesday: C&W Visits Half-Step Bar

April 16, 2014 by
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The city of Austin grows by 110 people per day — a town shooting up so quickly that it’s sometimes hard to keep up with the number of joints, bars and other establishments. We’ll do these venue reviews in the hope that if you come to Austin, you’ll know exactly where to go since we’ve already been there for you. And, clearly, the venue format also gives us an reason to review some of the things we most enjoy.

Half-Step is one of the latest additions to Rainey Street, a cluster of bars in central Austin. It’s a district that began five years ago with the development of the legendary (and recently closed) Lustre Pearl. While the crowds have grown and some of the low-key vibe of the entire street has been lost, Half Step retains the kind of neighborhood bar feel that made the street attractive in the first place.

Stephen’s been wanting to go to this place for quite some time. He kept bringing up the bar’s signature, the homemade ice the staff creates for its cocktails. I thought this sounded finicky and a little too precious (“What is this, ice?”) but hey, y’all needed a new whiskey review! We tried to go to the bar once before, but it looked empty or closed. Half Step opens at 7 except for on Mondays, so we got a little nervous when it was 6:55 with no sign of life on the inside. After a quick jaunt around Rainey, we returned to find that the gate opens precisely at 7. Half Step is in a renovated bungalow with a high porch, and there’s a shed in the back where the staff makes the ice every day.

The bartender, Floyd, informed us that he’d woken up in Bushwick that morning and flown back into Austin just a couple of hours before. He asked us what kind of base we wanted and we branched off from there. Bourbon or one of the other big four? Shaken, stirred, fizzed or strained? While Half Step serves cocktails with each kind of liquor base, the bartenders all seem keen on variations of the Old-Fashioned. These guys are passionate about bourbon, y’all. Floyd took his time — no “Cocktail” buffoonery going on here. The conversation was good as we talked about Half Step’s ownership (six friends went in on the bar together), old movies (William Faulkner writing lines for Humphrey Bogart, eventually resulting in this cocktail classic) and where the bartenders hailed (mostly the South after spending some time in New York).

I opted for a bourbon with citrus, and Floyd whipped up something off-menu called the American Trilogy. Starting with Old Verholt Rye, he poured in nearly equal amounts of Laird’s Apple Brandy (100 proof) and Regan’s orange bitters. After shearing off a long strip of an orange peel, Floyd crushed one and set it sideways in the glass. The result was a clear drink, the orange peel and oils the only opaque aspects. This deceived me – the drink tasted syrupy and intense. The enormous ice cube eventually opened the glass up, but seeping oil from the peel continued to dominate the flavor profile. I couldn’t taste any apple flavor, though the brandy did give the drink some chewiness and bridged the density between the rye and bitters.

I enjoyed the American Trilogy overall, but asked Floyd if he could make something less sweet. I’m glad I did. For the Kentucky Colonel, Floyd poured out some Elijah Craig 12, Benedictine liqueur, and a small dash of Angostura bitters. He also added a lemon peel. Damn! Light clover on the nose, orange in the far back, with just enough of that Elijah Craig rich oak on its foundation. Though it smelled like a bright yellow Skittle, the taste was complex and evocative without being too sweet. Definitely the kind of drink tailor-made for a patio.

While Stephen and I were originally the sole customers in the bar, patrons had trickled in while Floyd was educating us on the best cheap bourbons. Chris, the bar’s majority owner, went around talking with everyone. Stephen (still excited about the ice) asked him about it, and as Chris explained, the ice is definitely a feature — but what Half Step really deals in, instead, is great bourbon, good conversation and a friendly atmosphere. He is dead-on right. Next time, we’re bringing cigars.

Whiskey

Henry McKenna 10-Year Single Barrel Straight

July 9, 2013 by
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Henry McKenna Single Barrel 10-Year

Despite a love of bourbon and central Texas summers, my back porch sometimes grows too hot to truly enjoy a glass–even in the late evening hours. Thank God for last night’s exception. It had showered earlier in the day, and instead of the sun burning up the droplets as soon as they hit the ground, the cloud cover had allowed the air to remain cool. This resulted in a maglie calcio online near-misty, damp night with few mosquitoes and varmints in sight — a night that begged for a new whiskey to be tried. I settled back into my Adirondack chair and got to “work.”

Henry McKenna Single Barrel is packaged as a “table whiskey,” and the phrase delivers on what it implies. This is a straightforward and easily downable bourbon that lacks pretension and a whole lot of fanfare.

The color, in some ways, resembles the smell — thin, temperate, middle-hued. That thinness is an attribute of the slightest medicinal astringency, something that you find in almost all bourbon, and it is not unpleasant (unlike the Cody Road debacle, an experiment maglie calcio shop which still prejudices me against rye). The nose carried notes of amber, caramel, and maple — a lot like a Dr. Pepper fountain with a little too much syrup.

I first tried the Henry McKenna without water (as usual). The initial few sips were distinctly oaky, with one of the most pleasant after-burns I’ve enjoyed in a bourbon. The burn is deep, and stays on the palate long after a single sip, with a fine char. Caramel bubbles up under that char like a good cobbler through the crust. The flavor sears a little, but is not at all punishing. At first, I tasted little to no fruity or floral notes. Again — the characterization as a “table whiskey” is dead-on.

After the flavor (or my imagination) opened up a little, I noticed the faintest apricot taste on the back-sip. By “back-sip,” I mean the moment between the initial sip and when that “char” lingers after the liquid is downed. On the finest edges of my taste buds, I could maglie calcio a poco prezzo detect white floral notes. The main body of the bourbon remained is that charred oak. Though it’s an uncomplicated flavor, I could have easily swilled a few more glasses due to this bottle’s simple goodness.

I splashed a couple of fingers of water into the second glass so that I had about one-third of water, two-thirds bourbon in the glass. DO NOT DO THIS. With water, the floral notes on the periphery dilute way too easily, while only the most peppery portions of the wood flavor surface. The caramel flavor largely dissipated. I regret splashing so much water in and will begin experimenting with only a few drops from now on.

Barrel #783. Bottled on September 28, 2001
Best aspect: A fine, lingering burn.
Worst aspect: Since using too much water was my fault, my only complaint is that one more flavor outside of the oak could have made it a more interesting sip.
Enjoyed after: prosciutto and egg sandwich
Song to pair with: “Long As I Can See the Light”

 

Whiskey

Cody Road Rye

April 2, 2013 by

The C&W Tuesday tradition continued last week. March weather stayed uncharacteristically

Whiskey

W.L. Weller’s Reserve

March 23, 2013 by
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Stephen and I have batted around the idea of live-tweeting cigar and whiskey pairings, and we finally tried it out last Tuesday. On the Twitter account, you’ll see that I covered the Weller Reserve side while he’s stuck to his forte, cigars. (His review of the Bobalu Texas Select Limited Reserve will be up soon). Keep in mind that these are fairly random pairings — insight into better matches is always invited from y’all.

We started out on the back porch, with notepads and Stephen’s Mac Book at the ready. It seemed a little unnatural to be live-tweeting while smoking Lacné Futbalove Dresy and sipping. You’ll notice on the Twitter account that the time gets longer and further in between tweets as we wheeled off into different subjects of conversation–namely ghosts, the oncoming storm, and other plans for the site. Still, here’s what I gleaned after starting the glass with one ice cube:

The first sip of Weller’s Special Reserve reminded me of a particularly strong old-fashioned cocktail. The ice had not yet melted, and an intense orange flavor punched up my palate while a clove-and-cinnamon taste substituted well for the bitters. After the initial blast, the characteristic, chewy wheat flavor started to drift upwards. While I did mention the German dark wheat bread in last week’s review of the Old Weller Antique,