The Civilizing of the Wild West.

[jjwq8]

A discussion in the office upon the merits or otherwise of American Whiskey led to the following conclusions:

1. The Wild West was wild coz everybody drank whiskey. The general consensus being that this is an oxymoron, provided that you too have tasted American Whiskey.

2. The Wild West remained wild until the late 1890's, early 1900's.

3. Coincidentally, Coca Cola became available in the west at this time.

4. The taming of the west is thus tracable to the mixing of American Whiskey with Coca Cola, making it far more palatable and less likely to incite violence.

5. This idea is copyright so none of youze can sell it to coke without my permission.

6. I reserve the right to rewrite American History whenever the notion takes me :D

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[Mike2]

American Whisky & Coke, yuck! :crap:

Jeremy, does your research also give way to the notion that this gawd awful Yankee concoction was copied and renamed by the Brits......Scotch. :p

[jjwq8]

Usqebau or however they spell the water of life. A recent report suggested that it was an English monk who was the first on record to distill whiskey. I can here the Celtic skeletons rattling even as I type this.
And do not try to attempt to blame us for the appalling tripe that you guys call whiskey :D

[flatfloor]

I thought American whiskey was your basic rye whiskey.

Rye n ginger a favourite of my teenage years. Great in a drive in. ;)

Jeremy, you might as well rewrite our history we do it all the time. Whenever somebody feels guilty about drowning his kitten or something like that they rewrite history to assuage their own guilt by making our ancestors bad guys.

[Hobbit]

Whiskey, like a fine woman, is much better with a little age on it.

(So spake the soothsayer, truthfully);):)

For the benefit of Q8....there are some excellent distilled spirits made in the U.S. (and even more consumed...;):D)

My latest experiment is with single malt scotch. Glen Fiddich (sp??) is what I currently have available in the cupboard. Don't drink very much of it...can't afford to!!

:):)

[Mike2]

Jeremy think West is civilized, but he never been to Yakutat Alaska. Now up there, step up to the bar, get yerself a shooter of 191 proof Everclear, and he won't be talking about Civilizing the West in past tense no more. :loaded:

[jjwq8]

Howard, Glen Fiddich is not considered a good single malt. Look for one that is aged in sherry casks. Never less than 18 years old. As rich as cognac and often as smooth.

191 proof liquor? Is there such an animal?

We have Ethanol why is 99.9998% pure. Drink it only if you are planning to remove your testicles through your ears.

A local rock band is called "Death by Eth", a fate that quite a number have achieved.

[Mike2]

Whats really cool about Everclear is (first you have to light a fire in the fireplace) to then take a big swig of it, don't swallow and spit it out quick into the fire. Wooooosh. Very cool, also very good way to burn cabin down. :wtf:

[jjwq8]

Macallan Howard, that's the name that escaped me this morning. Damn I've only been back two months and already alcohol is a fading memory:shake:

[John Bridge]

In an earlier era whiskey was more likely called "spirits," as it was in England at the time. You still had a great deal of rum floating around, as sugar was plentiful. Rum and molasses were very efficient ways to store wealth created in the sugar fields.

The "Wiskey Rebellion" in Pennsylvania was as much about states rights as it was about grain alcohol. Folks up there considered the spirits a means of storing wealth from harvest to harvest. Where the rebelion came in is when the federal government decided to assess taxes on the spirits. It was truly a wild west story with President Geo. Washington himself leading the forces which put down the insurrection. :)

I'm not a student of the American West per se, but I imagine the "whiskey" consumed in places like Tombstone and Dodge City was either brought from the East and South or home-made from what ever commodity that could be obtained from same. :)

[Hobbit]

Thanks for the enlightenment....!!!

I don't know much about distilled spirts...I do know that Glen Fiddich is not cheap!!! Of course, expense is not only the province of the good.!!!

I have seen Macallan as well....I guess I thought that the Glen Fiddich bottle and name looked and sounded like they ought to be good!!!;)

:):)

[jjwq8]

William Grant is not the finest distiller around. It's nae bad fer a ruf yin tho'. Because of the nature of the beast, single spirit is invariably coarser than it's blended bretheren. Finest blend I have encountered is JW Blue label. I despise JW products and went marginally ballistic with M when she presented me with a bottle instead of my usual 25 year old Macallan, especially when I heard what she paid for it. I was thus gob-smacked at just how fine a whiskey it is given that JW Red and Black labels are complete pish good only washing down engine blocks.

Now there's grateful for you. My apologies to M were profound and long. :D

Anyway, because single spirit is coarse it tends to have the edge removed by the better distillers by aging in casks that have had some other alcohol in them first. As a general rule, avoid the very light coloured single malts. They tend to be aged in virgin oak. Of the darker singles, Highland Park from Orkney, is very peaty and the 100 proof is extremley useful in hand to hand combat, sadly all too often the result of it's consumption.:D.

Now if you share your life with someone who has a reasonably developed palate you may run the same risks as I.

M does not like whiskey to sip alone but will share a toot provided hers is bastardized with coke.

Only once did I try to give her common or garden washing whiskey and coke.

I was forced to consume it myself and to my utter dismay give her my 25 year old Macallan and Coke. She can tell the difference and by cracky prefers the good stuff.

Simple rule is thus, closet yourself before imbibing. :yeah:

[flatfloor]

I don't care for Scotch but I once had some 50 year old Ambassador, man was that good. Do they still make Ambassador?

[jjwq8]

Glen Scotia Campbeltown: CAMPBELLTOWN.

1832 Said to habe been founded as Scotia by Stewart, Galbraith & Co.
1833-c.1895 licensees, when incorporated as alimited company.
1919 Sold the distillery to West Highland Malt Distilleries Ltd.
1924 Acquired by Duncan MacCallum.
1928-1933 Silent.
1930 Acquired after MacCallum's death by Bloch Brothers.
1941 Incorporated as Bloch Brothers (Distillers) Ltd, also owners of Scapa
1954 Sold their distillery to Hiram Walker & Sons (Scotland) Ltd.
1955 Purchased by Gillies & Co
1970 Became part of Amalgamated Distilled Products Ltd, Glasgow, a group with blending and merchanting interests. Two stills. Licensed to A.Gillies & Co.
1979-1982 After �’1,000,000 had been spent upgrading the distillery.
1984 Closed.
1987 Acquired by Gibson International until 1994.
1989 Re-opened by Gibson International.
1994 Distillery and all matureing stocks were bought by Glen Cartrine Bonded Warehouse Ltd. The distillery recommended production in the spring of 1999. Remained in production during 2000.
2000 Being owned and operated by Loch Lomond Distillery Co Ltd, an associated company of Glen Cartrine.
2001 it is now back in production since spring 2001.
Now owned by Loch Lomond.

It was the Bloch Brothers that marketed Ambassador Scotch. It is now defunct.

For those with a couple of extra cents to toss around after donations to CTEF have been made, take a peek at some serously expensive hooch:

http://www.scotchwhisky.com/latest/macallanvisit_part2.html

[flatfloor]

I tried to sign up but they refused my application. :p

[jjwq8]

Thas coz dey doan got no whiskey aged in wood from de bowdark bush :D

[Shaughnn]

Say Jeremy, you seem to be a man with opinions I can embrace. What think you of The Balvienie "Single Barrel" 15-year? I know that they are a bit young but I find that I keep buying them for variety. As each bottling is from a single cask (not to be confused with "Single Malt") they have all be unique and entertaining in their contrasts. As only the Port Wood and the Sherry Wood seem to be available over here in California, I'm still waiting to sample the Islay and the "Single Barrel" 25-year.
I'm blessed with a woman who can't stand the taste of Whiskey but loves the aroma. She often will surprise me with an occasional bottle and does not protest when I throw down a little roll of cash for a bottle on a whim.
The last such outing netted me two bottled by the Hart Brothers. The first was a "Cask Strength" 15-year Speyside from the Craigllachie Distillery and t'other is a nice 18-year Speyside from the Balmenach Distillery. What's your opinion on the Hart Brother's label? So far, I've been happy with these two and have considered rooting around for others?
Shaughnn

[smee]

hi all -

The tour master at the distillery winked at me when he said "I'm sarry te say we dinna geav oor verra best te ye's". "We's cadna dea et, et's ta guid ta geav oop". - or something like that. ;)

Personally, I think scotch tastes like soap. but, when you're there, and a guys 'splainin' the whole history of it, how it's made and he busts out about 6 bottles and 6 glasses - well, I confess, it tastes pretty darn good!

So, I brought home a bottle of Glen Atholl - it's a 25yr old - and it's ageing in the cabinet as we speak....

[jjwq8]

Linda first.
Once a whiskey is out of the cask it is no longer aging so if you're keeping your 25 year old for a rainy day all that you will enjoy is a twenty five year scotch that you've waited far too long to drink :D
Plus it is my understanding that it rains about everyday in the northwest so what in the Sam H are you waiting for? :yeah:

[jjwq8]

Shaughn

Hart Brothers is not a name that rings bells but a quick check tells me they are whiskey brokers aka sly bastards who have identified a niche and exploited it:D

http://www.hartbrothers.co.uk/


Anything that they can offer you will almost certainly be on offer directly from the distillery. Note they do not claim exclusivity, so you are simply paying their overhead and profit for the privilege of having them taste the whiskey on your behalf before you get to do it for yourself:D Their prices appear somewhat inflated and I am not sure that I would want to pay $190-$200 for a bottle of 35 year old Highland Park. It wasn't that good when I was working next door some 28 years ago and I seriously doubt it has improved with age :D

Also the 35 year old 1967 Macallan is available from the distillery for 89 sterling. Harts offer the same wee dram for the must have price of 129 sterling.

Could I suggest you look in HD at their scotch selection? :D

The Harts are ripping you off bro:yeah:

[smee]

J -

you've got a point there....

:loaded:

[Shaughnn]

Thanks Jeremy, but I didn't pay the Hart Bros. price. I wouldn't buy something through a broker which was available otherwise. Here in San Francisco is a charming shop with about 350 different labels of whiskey from Scotland. I chose the Hart's because both were unique smallish distilleries without U.S. distribution and had ranked fairly high in their in-house polls. I think I paid $75 for the Cask Strength and $65 for the other. What the hell, I was in a great mood, had cash in my pocket and my ladyfriend was supportive. Haven't regretted it at all and "worth" is entirely subjective. Isn't it? :)

[jjwq8]

In which case both purchases oassed the test:D

Taste is entirely subjective and it is about what you enjoy and cost is immaterial.

Assume you gentle your way through a bottle a month, then the emporium you found has a try supply for life and that sounds like best deal around:D