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It’s that time of the year again when my wife and I choose a bottle to add to our collection of Scotch whisky. Over the years we have pulled together a small selection of single malts—a process that continues to work well for us. We don’t drink a lot of Scotch throughout the year so bottles tend to last a long time. Rather than stocking a cabinet all at once, this technique allows us to be more selective as we slowly build an inventory without feeling the expense all at once.
In past years we have often tried to add bottles from distilleries familar to us by choosing a special bottling or a distiller’s reserve, but this time our apporoach was influenced by a series of events that we first read about in the New York Times. An article published back in July chronicled the story about how three cases
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This Drink of the Week week is actually three drinks in one. The Eastern Sour is the first of a small family of sour cocktails invented by none other than Trader Vic, one of the founding fathers of the mid-century Tiki movement. Although it isn’t as complex or as difficult as many Tiki drinks, for some people that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The more ingredients—or often, the more obscure the ingredients—the less likely most folks will be able to execute the recipe. At least that was my theory as I looked for a tropical style drink to post this week. I thought we needed a change from all of the Manhattan variations I have been posting.
My source of reference is a groovy little iPhone/iPad app called Beachbum Berry’s Tiki+. This app was developed with the full endorsement of Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and it’s filled with recipes
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This week we feature a highball that is virtually unknown by most people, yet it is the foundation upon which many popular drinks are based. Our drink of the week is the Mamie Taylor, a Scotch cocktail with lime and ginger beer. According to Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted “Doctor Cocktail” Haigh, the Mamie Taylor was named after a Broadway singer and appeared around the turn of the last century, but within a few years it fell completely out of fashion. In 1900, it was the most popular cocktail of it’s day, and more than a century later, few people have ever heard of it—or Miss Taylor for that matter. Yet this drink has led to many variations that we do remember.
Mamie Taylor 2 oz Scotch Whisky .75 oz lime juice 1 oz ginger syrup 3 oz soda (to top)
Add the Scotch, fresh lime
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Each Christmas, my wife and I treat ourselves to a new bottle of Scotch Whisky. It’s a tradition we have sustained for a few years now, and I highly recommend it. We don’t drink a lot of Scotch, but we like it often enough to enjoy a little diversity. Because we aren’t finishing them off, bottles hang around for a long time and we are able to grow our working collection. It’s like a closet full of favorite shoes—the more pairs you own and use, the less likely they will wear out. All the while, we are educating ourselves about this spirit and each year we get to try something new.
In years past we have added the Glenlivet Nadurra to our collection, some Speyside bottles from a tasting we attended, and a year ago we picked up Oban’s 1993 Distillers Edition. We have even received Scotch as a gift!
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It’s Whiskey It may seem like a broad category with all of the different styles made throughout the world, but once you understand the basic steps of production, whiskey isn’t so hard to understand. In fact, knowing even a little about how it’s made or where it comes from should help you recognize the different characteristics that transform its flavor and what you should expect when trying different styles.
Before prohibition, when a customer asked for “rye”, everyone knew what to pour. Today, many Americans would mistake this for a piece of bread. It’s no wonder there is confusion—whiskey has many different names. Whether you drink rye, bourbon or Scotch, Irish versus Canadian, blended or single-malt—all whiskey is basically the same product. But I would incite feverish debate (if not downright war) to foolishly claim they all taste the same. Subtle differences in the grain used, the barrel aging, the
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I would hardly call myself a wine expert, and yet I think I know enough to navigate a decent wine list. More important is getting to the point of knowing the flavors you like so you can ask the right questions and get what you want. It’s about having confidence in your ability to narrow the choices as opposed to buying a bottle based on its price. But it doesn’t come without experience, and the best way that I know to gain valuable knowledge about wine—or any kind of beverage—is to take the time to taste them.
Last week was a busy one for tasting whiskey in the Twin Cities. A few weeks ago, the world saw the release of Maker’s 46, the new bourbon whiskey by Maker’s Mark. As the bottles were arriving at the local shops, I got word of a Maker’s 46 release party being
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You just don’t find many cocktails made with Scotch whisky. Perhaps it’s hard to produce combinations that work well together considering the prominent flavors that are typical of any good Scotch. Nevertheless, a few creations have succeeded, and the Blood and Sand is one of them. I’m not saying the world needs more Scotch cocktails. Those of us who enjoy Scotch will say it’s just fine on its own, but not everyone likes to sip spirits neat. Here’s a chance to try something that is pretty rare in the world of mixology.
As uncommon as Scotch cocktails are, you might expect a working recipe to look better on paper, so when you see what’s in this, you wouldn’t think the combination can work. I have to say that if I set out to create a Scotch cocktail myself, it might take me a while before I would try mixing these
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When I think of tradition, it’s usually related to the holiday season. I suspect for most people, the traditions they follow get passed along year after year from family. My wife, Kimberly and I decided a few years ago that we wanted to establish some traditions of our own. For example, whenever we travel, we try to bring back an ornament for the Christmas tree which we pull out every year to remind us of our experience together. More recently, we started another tradition—Scotch whisky! I have never been a fan of egg nog, so while most folks are drinking their hot cider, Irish coffee or whatever warms their heart during the holidays, we decided to expose ourselves to Islay, Speyside, the Highlands–and slowly build up a nice collection that we can enjoy year-round.
I probably have my brother to thank for this since it was he who gave me
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Antique/Vintage Store Spotlight:
 Irish Coffee Mug |
 Coupe, Libbey Georgian 5 oz |
 Coupe, V-shaped, Fluted, Iridized |
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