Hats and Drinks - A Match Made in Heaven

[Hurricane Jack]

The Top Ten new whiskies for 2021. In decinding order down from No. 1.

1. Lagavulin 11 year old Offerman Edition: Guinness Cask Finish

• Score: 95
• Price: $80
• ABV: 46%
• Style: Single malt
• Place of Origin: Scotland (Islay)

• Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series FAE-01

• Score: 93
• Price: $60
• ABV: 55.15%
• Style: Straight bourbon
• Place of Origin: Kentucky

1. Teeling Blackpitts

• Score: 94
• Price: $75
• ABV: 46%
• Style: Single malt
• Place of Origin: Ireland

1. Jack Daniel’s 10 year old

• Score: 93
• Price: $70
• ABV: 48.5%
• Style: Tennessee whiskey
• Place of Origin: Tennessee

1. George Dickel 8 year old

• Score: 93
• Price: $33
• ABV: 45%
• Style: Bourbon
• Place of Origin: Tennessee

1. High Coast Hav

• Score: 93
• Price: $50
• ABV: 48%
• Style: Single malt
• Place of Origin: Sweden

1. Rampur Asava

• Score: 93
• Price: $90
• ABV: 45%
• Style: Single malt
• Place of Origin: India

1. Kentucky Peerless Double Oak

• Score: 93
• Price: $85
• ABV: 54.35%
• Style: Straight bourbon
• Place of Origin: Kentucky

1. Compass Box No Name No. 3

• Score: 93
• Price: $130
• ABV: 48.9%
• Style: Blended malt
• Place of Origin: Scotland

1. Wild Turkey Master’s Keep One

• Score: 93
• Price: $175
• ABV: 50.5%
• Style: Straight bourbon
• Place of Origin: Kentucky

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Home and walking in the paltry snow on our ground eagerly anticipating the snowfall coming in the next 24 hours. Six to twelve inches expected. I am skeptical about the amount. We shall see. Sipping and enjoying a Founders Centennial IPA.

Be warm, be safe folks, Eric -

 

[Bamaboots]

1. George Dickel 8 year old

• Score: 93
• Price: $33
• ABV: 45%
• Style: Bourbon
• Place of Origin: Tenn

This one surprised me a bit, HJ. Not so much the review but that it was for a "Bourbon" out of the George Dickel Distilleries. Long known as as the little distillery in Jack Daniels backyard, (only 15 miles or so apart) when i first became familiar with them, they only produced Tennessee Whisky in two offerings, the 80 proof black label #8 and the 90 proof white label #12. During my time in the region, the GD #12 was much preferred by the locals over JD's Old No. 7. A quick look at their site shows that they have quite a few offerings now being produced at the Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., home of George Dickel whisky. I'll look for a bottle. There may be others but Dickel is the only American maker I'm aware of to use the "whisky" spelling for their product. Anyone aware of others?

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Bamaboots; Here are a few Whisky spellings that I think of this morning.

Southern Comfort Whisky
Bulliet Whisky
Johnny Walker Whisky
Makers Mark Whisky
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I never thought about it much. Other than Scotch I never drop the “e”. Even Irish Whiskey is spelled with the “e”. I’ll have to think about it & pay more attention.

As to the bourbon vs Tennessee Whiskey, don’t know what to say. The bourbon designation on the GD could just be a typo on the news release, unless you found it on their website too.

some of these winners I expect to be easy to find & others we may never see here. I looked it up & the Lagavulin 11 Offerman came out in March this yr. To date I have not seen any on the shelves.

 

[Bamaboots]

Never gave it much thought before either and I've sampled all of those that Eric mentions though I assume JW has always used that spelling. I just remembered a GD review where the reviewer mentioned the Scottish spelling.

I checked their site and it is indeed a bourbon.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Never gave it much thought before either and I've sampled all of those that Eric mentions though I assume JW has always used that spelling. I just remembered a GD review where the reviewer mentioned the Scottish spelling.

I checked their site and it is indeed a bourbon.

Maybe it's an effort to standardize spelling. Just like 700ml bottles were approved by the US a yr ago. Soon we will have gone from a fifth, down to 750ml, & now down to 700ml. Don't expect a price decrease though.

The 2021 list goes out thru the Top Twenty. Three newbies in the Ten thru Twenty that caught my attention were these:

15 • Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
Gary may see this one on the shelves.
Rank: 15

• Year: 2021
• Score: 92
• Price: $80
• ABV: 43%
• Style: Blended malt
• Place of Origin: Japan

18 • GlenDronach PortWood

• Rank: 18
• Year: 2021
• Score: 92
• Price: $90
• ABV: 46%
• Style: Single malt
• Place of Origin: Scotland (Highlands)

20 • Andalusia Stryker
Said to be smoky like an Islay.

• Rank: 20
• Year: 2021
• Score: 93
• Price: $55
• ABV: 50%
• Style: American single malt
• Place of Origin: Texas

 

[The Shoe]

15 • Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
Gary may see this one on the shelves.
Rank: 15

I’ll keep an eye out.

There may be others but Dickel is the only American maker I'm aware of to use the "whisky" spelling for their product. Anyone aware of others?

I had also always thought whisky was the good stuff (scotch) and whiskey, the others. As I began to explore the others, I had my eyes opened on two fronts - first the spelling, and also that the others included some pretty damn tasty drops.

 

[Mm25]

So, instead of reading about the best whiskey of the year, I was reading reviews of the best of the bottom shelf.
It included several B.I.B choices, which I like.
A few I hadn’t had before.
I picked up these three and had a quick sample... all passed.
The Old Overholt is a standby for me, the other two are new.
Even though I’ve seen the Old Granddad for years, I had never picked it up.
The Mellow Corn, I don’t recall seeing before.
A shot of each convinced me all would make a good cocktail, or if you’re me, good enough to drink neat.
Rounding out the pic is my blue, budget best buy, Beaver Brand, 100% fur felt hat.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I checked their site and it is indeed a bourbon.

Guess we should have just looked at the bottle. And I found this as part of a review:

This is notably a bourbon rather than a Tennessee whiskey, though the criteria for the two styles mostly overlap. The nose is nutty and well spiced, with caramel corn, toasted pecans, cinnamon graham crackers, cherry tart, and butterscotch candies. There is a friendliness to the palate that makes it ideal for outdoor imbibing, with notes of spearmint, mixed berries, nougat, and honey. Big spice on the finish makes this a memorable sip. —Ted Simmons

 

[Hurricane Jack]

For TGIFHH with my BSHW.

Then I poured a holiday digestif when I got home.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Sought out a new place tonight for HH with my Resistol Plains. The place was packed with the College Game Day crowd still hanging around. Some games going on like the MU @ KU Border Wars basketball game.

I finally got served.

About that time Stairway to Heaven came on over the sound system, & I happened to look up at the ceiling.

This place is going to become a regular.

Getting home I poured myself a nightcap of First Edition's bottling of some 18 yr old Blair Athol Highlands Speyside.

 

[Mm25]

If you’re not from the Chicago area, you may not know this one. If you are, you probably know better.
With a Beaver Brand burgundy homburg.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

If you’re not from the Chicago area, you may not know this one. If you are, you probably know better.
With a Beaver Brand burgundy homburg.
View attachment 387001

Distilled in KY @ Heaven Hill. I was at Heaven Hill in Louisville once on one of the KY Bourbon tours. I was thinking it was Jepperson that also bottled a Blue Corn Whiskey? Balcones distills & bottles one in TX.

 

[Blare]

If you’re not from the Chicago area, you may not know this one. If you are, you probably know better.
With a Beaver Brand burgundy homburg.
View attachment 387001

Burgundy seems to make a fine pairing there

 

[Mm25]

Distilled in KY @ Heaven Hill. I was at Heaven Hill in Louisville once on one of the KY Bourbon tours. I was thinking it was Jepperson that also bottled a Blue Corn Whiskey? Balcones distills & bottles one in TX.

Jeppson’s does have a bourbon, which I have not had, but I think your mixing brands.
Jeppson’s Malort was distilled in Florida since the 70’s and just recently bought by CH distillers and brought back to Chicago, where it started.

 

[Blare]

Champ Feather Weight and Chocolate Lava Cake Stout

Wonderful chocolate smell to the nose. But on to flavor… could it really taste like Chocolate Lava cake beer? As is sipped it I thought certainly not…. But after resting on the tongue a moment and breathing a bit.. I’ll be damned. That taste like chocolate cake! Wow!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Jeppson’s does have a bourbon, which I have not had, but I think your mixing brands.
Jeppson’s Malort was distilled in Florida since the 70’s and just recently bought by CH distillers and brought back to Chicago, where it started.

You're correct, I was only thinking of the bourbon. Heaven Hill in Louisville does a lot of private label bourbons.

 

[Blare]

And on an unrelated note…. Only to my Guinness glass is this…. Two things that really don’t seem to have any relation to each other…

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Home from a working weekend and I took a walkabout in the snow sipping a Guinness. Ahhhh!

After a charcuterie plate with my wife I went out to sip some Arbeg Wee Beastie.

Cheers, Eric -