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.

Qi, Grand Marnier and the Green Truck

Well, its been quite a day. The fine folks at St. George Spirits have generously sent me two bottles of Qi (pronounced chee) Tea Liqueurs. They sent both the Black and the White, and I can't believe that I've been able to stay out of them all evening. Tomorrow evening though, I'm meeting with Neil Koppelin of Carlyle, Daniel Shoemaker, and Kevin Ludwig and I'm afraid that if I don't save the bottles until tomorrow night, there might not be any to share. Usually I taste spirits and liqueurs by myself initially, and then I like to get others to taste in order to get their feedback, so this will be a little different, but I'm intrigued to see what happens. I've liked everything I've ever had from St. George, and I'm optimistic that these liqueurs can match the high standards that St. George sets for itself.

As I sit here unwinding from a very hectic Monday, I'm enjoying a nightcap that I haven't poured myself in ages, a snifter of Grand Marnier. The BBC America premier of "Last Restaurant Standing" is on in the background, it looks to be quite entertaining and its providing the perfect soundtrack to my own private little celebration. You see, on Friday, I found out that I have been selected to participate in Grand Marnier/ Navan's upcoming Mixology Summit in Vail Colorado. I'm excited on a few different fronts. One, it will be a great opportunity to network with some of the best bartenders in the country. Two, I'm really excited to see what the people from Grand Marnier/Navan have planned.I've never tasted the Grand Marnier 150, and I'm anxious to get the opportunity taste it. So far, everything seems first class and I'll be crossing the days off the calendar until we leave. And lastly, since we have family in Denver, we're planning on coming in a little bit early and spending some time in town before leaving for Vail. I'm really hoping to tour Stranahan's Distillery, makers of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey while we are in town. The idea of regional whiskeys that reflect the tastes and character, perhaps even the terroir of where they are made, has great appeal to me. I'd love to see more craft distillers create authentic products that are true to the essence of where they are made.

Speaking of quality products, while I've really been focusing on spirits in my blog, I have a confession to make. I love wine. Not just love it, I'm passionate about wine. I love mixed drinks as well, but nothing is as food friendly (most of the time, an important caveat) as a wonderful wine. When it comes to spirits or wine, what I am most passionate about are those individuals who create high quality products because to create anything less would be unthinkable for them. Off the top of my head, House Spirits and St. George both stand out as distilleries that meet this description. Well, I'm about to reveal my absolute favorite wine in the world. I'll preface this by saying that 1) I'm generally a Zinfandel man (and it doesn't come in white, thank you) and 2) there may be more expensive wines, and wine regions more highly regarded for this varietal than his, but to my palate this is the best stuff out there. Green Truck Pinot Noir is the kind of wine that my wife and I have arguments about. We will schedule a dinner party with, perhaps a couple that we know enjoys fine food and wine. When planning the menu, the subject of wine always comes up (if you come to the Casa De Mayhew, expect cocktails with appetizers, wine with the meal, and then digestifs), and will, if we are sufficiently impressed, result in a discussion as to whether our invited guests are "Truck Worthy". Please don't take it personally if I invite you to dinner and serve something else. I have a nice wine collection and I promise, I never pour something cheap, but I only get 12 bottles of grin inducing Pinot Noir a year to be doled out very carefully over the years. The reason I'm sharing this information, is that the next release of the Truck is 3/1, so if you get over to the website, you've got a great chance to get in on this wonderful wine. I think Kent charges 30-35 a bottle these days, and production has increased ever since I became a Trucker from 250 cases to about 400 now. Green Truck is made from some of the premier grapes in the Napa Valley, and one of the real hallmarks of the craftsmanship that goes into Green Truck is that even in "off" vintages, the Truck is always well structured and extremely approachable wine. Kent Fortner, the winemaker and genius behind Green Truck describes his mission as producing "grin inducing pinot noirs". Get on board now and you'll thank me later when the Truck has a 10 year waiting list for allocations and you'll always have the perfect wine to serve at Thanksgiving.

Well, thanks for allowing me to share. More updates soon, but for now, I need to get back to that snifter of Grand Marnier.