"This is damned good bourbon. Damned good."

... to quote a certain Southroner.

Maker's Mark has come out with their new Maker's 46.

Good stuff. On the nose, it's like regular Maker's, with a little harsher kick. On the tongue, I like the spiciness and how it's not that much different than the stock MM. Good burn in the back of the throat, again stronger than the stock MM but not overwhelming. Very nice lingering finish too. Regular MM has a sweet, soft nature that's kind of luxurious on the tongue. The 46 is that plus a nice burn on top.

It's working very well right now as a chaser to my Sam Adams Boston Lager (in its signature glass, of course).

I might be a regular with this one too. I look forward to trying this one in a Manhattan and Mint Julip (Julep?). The added spiciness should marry really well.

So regular MM, MM46 and Bookers will probably be my standard Bourbon Whiskeys for my vice cabinet. (The Knob Creek I bought last week is okay, but not near as good as the 46.) Then I just need to find the Rittenhouse Rye that's eluding me lately.

I really need to stop talking to the folks in liquor stores. They're pointing out far too many interesting things lately. On the other hand, the kind lady in Vine & Table saved me from dropping any money on tequila or a pear-flavoured vodka today.

EDIT: One of the sweetest things about alcoholic beverages is the scent. I am currently sniffing my empty whiskey glass (actually a Sam Adams tasting glass from the Jamaican Plains distillery outside of Bahston). The remnant scent is amazing. Intoxicating, even. The same with the beer glass. I'd put those scents right up there with the finest flowers, perfumes or even the scent of a woman. Well... okay maybe not THAT good. But they're right up there, I'm telling you!

EDIT EDIT: Weird... I'm tasting a slight char on my tongue after a while sipping this stuff for probably too long. :) I simply didn't notice it before. It's certainly not an unpleasant taste. Just something of note. Disclosure: I'm probably on shot 3 right now. It's slow-going, but definitely nice. The utterly decadent and buttery caramel chunk I'm nibbling on every once in a while compliments the Bourbon nicely. It's almost an orgasm in my mouth.

I Think I'll Have... The Soup.

Campbells' is right. Soup IS good food!

Two More Bourbons off the List...

Gentleman Jack. Off my list. It was on special last night up at "The Spot". At least the Sam Adams helped kill the taste. (Fallon took a sip and was disgusted.)

Pogue. Unfortunately, I bought a bottle of this one without asking for a sample. $3 more than my go-to Makers Mark and nowhere near as good. Maybe mixing it with Coke will save the bottle. I guess I could try it in a Manhattan too.

Oh well. Live & learn.

WHISKEYFEST!

WHISKEYFEST!

ONE MORE TIME: WHISKEYFEST!!!!!

How did I get through life thus far without ever attending? I must remedy this next spring! I just signed up for their email news bulletins. Denis from Vine and Table told me about this... hundreds and hundreds of whiskeys to sample. I don't know what the VIP part is, but sign me up! It doesn't appear that tickets are on sale yet. But this should be killer.

Also, the Indiana Microbrewers Festival! Another must-attend event. I think at the VERY least Shane, Phil and Troy and I must go. It's in just a few weeks. We just need a designated driver... hmmmmm... who the hell do I know that would do that?

Now, enough blogging on alcohol. Folks might think I have a problem. ("Too late!") I'll show them, though. Now where's my cigar and martini?

A Very Nice Evening...

I attended a Bourbon tasting. The amazing store Vine & Table hosted an evening of Bourbon Whiskeys crafted by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.

For $20, I got to taste their full line of Whiskeys some munchies to go along with them. I wish I'd stopped and asked the names of some of the cheeses. There were three very good ones for sampling. A gentleman sitting at the table behind me informed me that one was a Dutch Gouda with cumin slivers mixed in. It was very tasty. There were two other very good cheeses with odd-looking rinds.

But! The Bourbons...

I arrived a bit early and sat at a table in the front. The crowd filled in the tables, more slowly than I'd have expected. A black gentleman asked if the other two seats at my table were taken. I said no and he sat down, leaving the middle seat empty.

Our presenter was Britt Chavanne, a lovely woman and granddaughter of the distillery's founder and self-proclaimed answerer-of-phones at their operation. She answered lots of questions and gave us an overview of their company. It's a very small operation, with all of 15 employees. They frequently have no stock on shelves in some parts of the country because their production numbers are so low and supply is slow to replenish.

I enjoyed Mrs. Chavanne's approach to leading the tasting. She didn't give her opinions or what she tasted when trying each Whiskey, instead letting us form our own impressions. She answered all our questions and gave us plenty of information on Bourbon in general and her company in particular.

There were six Whiskeys to sample, served in small plastic shot glasses. They gave us a sort of crystal snifter to drink from (which was nice but very spendy and a bit overdone if you ask me) and water for rinsing our glasses and palate.

Our first tasting was their Kentucky Vintage Bourbon (90 proof). It was not very flavourful and sort of peppery. Britt said it's the only one she can say is good for mixing without feeling like a crime has been committed. I can see that and it was decent, but for the price I'll be sticking with the Maker's.

The second was Rowan's Creek (100.1 proof), which I've seen and considered buying before. It's a 12 year old and was very smooth but I didn't really taste very much going on there. Glad I didn't spend my money on that one.

It was at this point that I actually started worrying about burning out my palate. I thought that maybe I couldn't really taste anything because of the relatively high alcohol content of the offerings. But somehow I found the strength to go on.

The Pure Kentucky Bourbon XO (107 proof) was next. It was very spicy, in a good way. It had a pleasant spiciness but didn't burn. But still, not quite enough in the taste department for me.

Next up was a slight departure (cuz it's not a Bourbon) ... the Vintage 21 Year Old Rye (94 proof). .... Wow. This one was amazing. It smelled just great. I had a feeling upon sniffing it that I was in for a treat and I was dead on. It was very complex and deep-flavoured. Unfortunately, it's $70 a bottle. And while I really loved this Rye Whiskey if I'm dropping that much for a bottle anytime soon I will be getting that amazing Scotch I blogged about a few weeks ago. But this one is definitely on my "must buy" list. (Which is getting far too long at this point.)

Our hostess said this one is great with a cigar. I can imagine she's so correct.

The Vintage 17 Year Old Bourbon (94 proof) was fifth in line. This one was spicy too and very good, but not nearly as pleasing as the Rye. So I really didn't pay it much attention.

Last was their Noah's Mill 15 Year Old Bourbon (114.3 proof). Another winner. This one reminded me of Maker's Mark a bit. Not better or worse, just a little similar and very good. It had a very nice burn in the finishing. Very tasty and spicy. Another for the list, dangitall...

After the formal tasting was over, my black companion and I looked at the empty middle seat and decided they weren't going to do anything with those whiskey samples except most likely toss them. So we each took our favorite. I think he took the 17 Year. I took the Rye.

So for $20 I found two or three additions for the liquor cabinet and had an interesting evening. My only regret is that I should have been more sociable and hung out for afterwards longer. There were some very knowledgeable folks there.

And there are far worse subjects to drag out than Whiskeys.

A Cheesy Drunkard Post...

Well going to the movies didn't work out today. Ended up hanging out with my friend Yolanda (Yokie) and got some Chick-Fil-A.

BTW: what's the only thing better than a Chick-Fil-A sandwich? A FREE Chick-Fil-A sandwich!! I had a coupon for a free one. Man, I love that place...

Anyway...

So we went up to this very cool shop in Carmel called "Vine & Table". It's a pretty big place. Half is a upscale liquor store, the other half is a gourmet shop.

So I was walking about, trying to find something new to try. I was leaning towards buying a nice Armagnac, but those are pricier than my usual Makers Mark. And I'm not sure if I'd like it. In case you don't know, Armagnac is a type of brandy, similar in production to Cognac.

Quick aside: the "brandy" comes "brandy wine" from the literal translation of "burnt wine", referring to the distillation. I read some time ago it comes from the German word "Brandewine", but I just read that the word is actually something like "Weinbrandt" and that the Dutch word is closer to what I thought was the German word and that no one called it that until CHINESE folks were told how it was made and made up the term! So that's three or four completely different etymological origins... who knows what's actually correct?

ANYWAY... I asked one of their salesmen about Scotch. He told me to talk to this gent Denis, a nice Irishman who loves Scotches.

I told Denis that I loved Bookers and that my usual Bourbon whiskey was Maker's Mark. He pulled out this bottle...

It looked fancy and expensive. Denis didn't mention price, and (in retrospect) actually I'm quite glad. He poured a bit and it was vaguely... pink.

Pink. Yup. Pink. At first I was thinking... "Pink". I asked if I was seeing pink and he answered in the affirmative. So I'm thinking "I asked for Scotch and he's giving me... pink."

I picked up the glass and swirled it about to get a good whiff. It was light with just a hint of flowers. I took a sip.

Wow. This was amazing stuff. This whiskey had a floral note to it that was on the tongue just briefly before the whiskey flavour hit. Great soft flavour, very smooth. None of the "peat" taste I'd been told to expect.

Denis told me they aged this stuff for 12 years in used Bourbon barrels, then finished it in French red wine barrels. It didn't seem too potent an alcohol content, but it was very complex and flavourful. Something to bring out for someone you know has a taste for delicate and complex flavours. This is a whiskey for... well, me it turns out.

The stuff is $70 a bottle. But it's something that I'm going to probably pick up and keep on the shelf for a long time. Something to pull out on odd occasions when I want something really different.

Denis and I were yakking on and on about whiskeys and gin. Then I noticed how bored Yokie was, even though she was doing a good job of hiding it. So I decided to wrap things up. But I could have talked to Denis for a few more hours about the minutiae of liquors.

So that was cool. I bought some German digestifs, two Arturo Fuentes cigars (thanks JAC!),
and a bottle of Plymouth gin. (What I should have done is asked if they had the big bottle of Maker's, since that's what I've had a real taste for lately. All they had on the shelf was the normal, smaller one.)

Then we went next door to the gourmet shop.

I've been wanting some good sharp cheddar for a while now. I don't know why, I don't care. So I was trying to find a good cheese. While browsing and finding some other cool items like sweet hot sauce, I watched an older gentleman behind the counter working on a wheel of cheese. This thing was huge. It had "Parmigiano-Reggiano" all over the round edges of the wheel. It looked like the words were made by punching little holes into the smooth outside of the cheese rind.

He was really working to get this thing open, too. First, he garroted the thing. Then he got to the real work. Now, I had never tried the stuff. I see Giada on Everyday Italian use the stuff all the time. And I priced it to see how much it would cost to make my own homemade Alfredo Sauce. It's usually $15/lb when I see it in stores. So I asked him how much a wheel cost. He said "$1200". He said he had 80 lbs in that wheel. That math is just about right.

Yokie said "I've never tried that. Do you have samples?" The old man said "I will if I can get this open!" So we laughed and continued shopping.

Last time I went in there, they had a really good artichoke dip for crackers or veggies for sampling. I saw a similar-looking bowl out this time so I went it for a taste. It was something with a very, very strong sour cream flavour. Sour cream tends to trigger my gag reflex. So while I was wiping off my tongue and eating pretzel chips to get that foul taste off of my palate the cheese guy came over with a napkin in hand.

And on the napkin was... the cheese. Quite a bit too. Yokie started taking the top piece for herself, but the guy said "No, take all of it." So we did.

And I was in CHEESE HEAVEN. As in, this cheese HAS to be in Heaven. It was amazing. It was pretty grainy in texture so it ran over my tongue in an odd but good way. And its tastes were fruity and nutty and just very deep in flavour. How does cheese get fruit and nut tastes? Really, I don't care. I am just really glad that it did.

I can see why folks would pay $15/lb for cheese. I never knew before. Now I do. I still have this wonderful cheese taste lingering in my mouth after at least two hours have gone by. After I ate my second Chick-Fil-A sandwich too.

I can't wait to go back. That store is awesome. Even if it is hugely expensive just to look around. Heck, I somehow bought a pack of $5 chocolate peanut clusters I didn't even see, let alone intend to pay for! I guess I should count my blessings. It could have been a can of caviar.

All in all, I'm glad the movie show times didn't mix with Yokie's evening plans.

Good Smokes...

"Arturo Fuente", that is. JACIII referred me to that brand.

Nice recommendation. I cannot recall which particular one I picked, but it was quite good late this evening. Not even harsh when my tired and tipsy self inhaled a good-sized puff on the mother.

Now I'm most likely gonna wake up hacking in 6 hours, but it was still a nice, smooth and tasty cigar.

A 1/2 shot of Makers went well with the smoke. The other half of my Bourbon ended up on the ground. A damned stupid cat jumping out of a pile of leaves in my yard startled me, and my frigid fingers were already fumbling with the matches and cigar. At least I saved what I did! I hate wasted liquor. Especially GOOD liquor!

Anyway, the Makers went better with the cigar than did the Bookers, but maybe that's cuz (for me) most cigars turn a bit nasty about halfway through. I always wanna hack them in half and double my pleasure, double my fun. I guess I need to buy a good cigar cutter on my next trip...

Between that and watching "Big Jake" (John Wayne, ), it wasn't too bad an evening.

Of course - hush up, DJ - I was SUPPOSED to be painting the small bedroom. But I lazed out and relaxed.

Ehhh.... I'll paint tomorrow, er... today.

(I just thought... if I lived in the sticks, I coulda shot that damn cat and celebrated ATF four days early. Or three days late.)

Too Rich For My Blood...

I'm too cheap to buy the Bookers Bourbon I love, let alone this:

http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=74950

Jay? Dave? Wanna help a brother out? :P

Whiskey is just distilled beer, after all. I think a beverage more in the middle of the two would be interesting to try, at least.

Interesting note, from the Samuel Adams website:
"Due to legal restrictions, Samuel Adams Utopias™ can not be sold in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia."

(Never would have guessed so many states in the South would be so pussified as to prohibit sales of any "weak whiskey".)

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(AODB Factor: ... about 6/10)

EDIT: Yeah... I forgot I wrote this...

BTW: AODB = Adventures of Drunken Blogger

A hard day at work + 94 proof Bourbon = revealing a little too much on this post.

Sorry. Hope it amused at least.