Monday, June 15, 2009

The Whiskies I'm Drinking Right Now

Of course, not all at once, but here is what I'm enjoying right now. To be completely honest, I've been on more of a single malt scotch and Canadian whisky run recently although I love my bourbon. Here is what is getting consumed in my liquor cabinet right now. This is not a complete listing of my whiskies, just the ones that I'm into for the moment.

Irish Whiskey
Michael Collin's Single Malt- All I can say is WOW. I really enjoy this with just a single cube of ice while I'm waiting for the bbq to heat up. I get a lot of honeysuckle out of this whiskey which just seems to match perfectly with a warm spring evening.

Kilbeggan- I want to thank Siobhan over at Imbibe Magazine for this recommendation. A beautiful example of a blended Irish whiskey for an exceptional price.

Redbreast Pot Still 12 year- Delicious stuff, I'm rationing this out pretty slowly as I'm afraid I'll run through it too quickly.

Canadian Whisky

Canadian Club- Much better than I remember it being. Perfect for mixing.

Canadian Club 12- More complex than the standard CC offering, I've started using this for some Manhattans.

Canadian Club 30 year- What can I say? One of the world's greatest spirits.

Crown Royal Special Reserve- As far as I'm concerned, this is the best offering from Crown Royal. Delicious.

Blended Scotch

Black Bottle- All the single malts of Islay in a blend? Consider me sold.

Dewars 12 year- An excellent blended scotch, especially considering the price. I'd really like to get my hands on a bottle of Aberfeldy, the single malt at the heart of Dewars to see what its like on its own.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label- I don't drink it often, but its terrific. And no, I won't share. This is my private stash.

Single Malts

Suntory Yamazaki 18- I'm truly amazed by the quality of this single malt. It has me ready to explore Japanese single malts much more in depth. One of my favorite drams.

Arran Single Barrel Bourbon Cask Finish- A very appealing dram from Scotland's newest distillery. I'm excited about Arran's future.

The entire Ardbeg line (except Supernova)- I have tried and tried but have yet to get my hands on the Supernova. As it is, Ardbeg is my favorite distillery in Scotland and top to bottom, I love all of their offerings.

Caol Ila 12 year- Another of my favorites, rather light for an Islay malt, but I just love the pepperiness on the palate. I love a bit of Caol Ila with food.

Laphroaig- Not for the faint of heart, a dram of Laphroaig is a perfect way to warm up after one of Portland's gray drizzly days. I'm dying to try their 25 year old release.

Ardmore 30 year- Amazing. Thats all I can say. I was worried that the wood might be too overpowering after 30 years, but this is simply one of the best spirits around. Worth every penny of its $450 price tag. Well balanced, complex and with a wonderfully creamy mouthfeel, I feel lucky to have this in the house.

The Dalmore 1263 King Alexander- A very sherried single malt. this is a rich unctuous dram thats perfect for an after dinner celebration. Don't be put off by its $200 price tag, you get what you pay for with this dram.

Highland Park 12 and 18- Highland Park is one of my favorite distilleries in Scotland. Have they ever produced even an average dram? Beautiful well balanced single malts.

Springbank 15- Another of my absolute favorites, this is an incredible single malt.

American Bourbons and Whiskies

George Dickel- Tennessee's best, this is a great session whiskey. Full of vanilla and caramel.

Hirsch 20 year- A special whiskey best savored with just a touch of water to open it up.

Buffalo Trace- Basically my house bourbon. I'm never out of Trace. Ever.

Four Roses- Another of my favorite bourbons, I'm particularly fond of their single barrel offering.

Bulleit bourbon- I love the rye content of this bourbon, it provides a wonderful spiciness that is very food friendly.

Rittenhouse rye- The 100 proof bottled in bond is my absolute favorite whiskey for making Manhattans. I've always got Rittenhouse in stock.

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey- What happens when you cross a single malt with bourbon? Stranahan's I guess. Possibly the most unique American whiskey on the market. I absolutely love Stranahan's.

I know this may look like quite a lot of whiskies for me to be enjoying right now, but remember, I am a working bartender, so I regularly sample new whiskies not only for my own edification but also to help my guests find the right spirit for them. I'm also a whiskey afficionado. If I could only choose one spirit to drink for the rest of my life, it would be whiskey. All spirits have their charms, but for me, whiskey reigns supreme.

4 comments:

jefffrane said...

Can I move into your basement?

Two 10-year olds I didn't see here. The Canadian Club 10 yo is, IMO, superior to the 12 (and cheeeeeap).

Black Bottle 10 yo is one of my favorite malts, bar none. Not expensive, but also tough to find around here.

Anonymous said...

Just curious how much you are being paid to shill Canadian Club and the like in this Father's Day post. It is laughable that anyone as knowledgeable as you would think that people would believe you actually drink any of this swill given all the other options.
Post your affiliation with the distributor so that you seem on the up and up.

Anonymous said...

小吃餐車加盟連鎖「一條龍的創業模式」複製成功開店

經驗
更新日期:2009/08/25 17:19

(中央社訊息服務20090825 16:19:17)大環境不景氣,工作難找,有不少人就想乾脆自己創業當老闆。為

強化國內創業能量,五路財神開店總部於8月20

日-9月20日舉辦「2009夢幻小餐車創業成果

展」歡迎蒞臨參觀。針對國內一窩蜂創業加盟潮,餐車

達人陳滌五總監提醒創業者,加盟不失為一條創業捷徑

,但若選擇加盟,品牌知名度、產品獨特性及是否擁有

差異化優勢就顯得格外重要。
近年來以成本低的小吃餐車最受創業者青睞。沒經驗的失業族 大部份都選擇餐車擺攤,最多人都想在創

業市場闖出一片天。在台中成立的五路財神開店總部,小吃餐車用品牌方式來營運,總經理陳滌五用自己

的經驗來現身說法。以國人創業首選的小吃餐車來說,如何在同質性高的市場中殺出重圍?雖然是路邊攤

小餐車,營運上的重要撇步是關鍵;在企業經營戰略中,唯有領先核心競爭,保持差異化優勢才是生存之

道。
陳總分享成功關鍵,「五路財神餐車與其他路邊攤最大的差異化,在於餐車外觀亮眼與眾不同的加分效果

,及秉持結合好的小吃產品用品牌方式來經營的理念」。總部成立初期因觀察到傳統路邊攤想要爭得一席

之地,大多考量商品創新的迷思,卻忽略創業者經營能否持久性的問題。所以五路財神餐車將傳統小吃商

品,用創新工法為策略,顛覆傳統路邊攤的概念,長期下來在台灣建立起最多元品牌的餐車王國。
很多創業者最憂心沒經驗,業界首創從餐車打造、生財器具、原物料配方、技術教學、促銷廣告、開幕指

導,「一條龍的創業輔導」模式,使得五路財神餐車品牌特色更為彰顯。陳總說,不景氣下小吃餐車經營是加倍艱辛,建議創業者不但要瞭解

小吃經營的核心價值,凸顯產品獨特性及差異化之外還要定期和你商圈的客人互動,「好餐車、好商品、

好客人」,三個好,如此才有可能成為「不敗的小吃攤」。
|加盟創業|滷味加盟|

|餐車|安親班|廚具

||開店|新民管樂|哈比|Eric

Anonymous said...

Simply just Cheap wow goldinquiring how much you might be getting paid out to shill Canada Golf club and so forth on this Dad's Day submit. It is laughable which anybody seeing that experienced since you would likely feel that men and women might consider you really ingest any of this kind of Buy rs goldswill offered the rest of the choices.