GW whiskey, or stick it all in a bucket and see what you get.

When I had made several bourbon tasting videos on my channel, I received a comment in jest from a user which was quite humorous. The subscriber who saw me taste about 4-5 bourbons said..

"Mix them all together and try them!"

I thought back to my youth when reading such a comment. As much as the comment was made in fun, it made me think back to my days and experience with alcohol and understanding drink. When you're younger drinking is like a chemistry experiment. You try this, you try that. After a while you try mixing stuff up in the hope of a great revelation. The reality is at that age you're forgetting everything that is good about the product and just looking for the easiest fix that will get it down your throat.

I bring this up because I was given a gift by someone who knew I was into bourbon and said "Hey I got this" I thought you might like it. I of course was very excited to take it on. What I received was a vatted American Whiskey that was made at Mount Vernon distillery. After asking around about this I ran into the person who actually had a hand in its fruition, whose name is Chuck Cowdery. Chuck is very active on the Straight Bourbon forum as a teacher of sorts. He actually wrote on his blog about the making of this whiskey which, (like the young man who asked me to mix everything), is a blend of multiple whiskey's all at once.

So... I decided to try it. And the results are as follows.

Cheers my friends and check out the George Washington party!!

American IPA goes to all out war for my good imbibing cause!

When I first got into beer I soon discovered the world of American IPAs. Luckily I was blessed with being fortunate to discover that my first one I've had has still been my favorite and that is Dogfish Head's 60 IPA.

To be fair.. there is a lot of beer in this style. I really would like to find one that could top it or be just as good. So I set up on a hunt for my first war of an all out American IPA battle.

There was lots of win in this and that is the great thing about drinking American craft brew, there were many tasty ones to go and imbibe on. I paired four IPAs - Dogfish 60, Southern Tier IPA, Founders Centennial, and Great Lake Divide's Titan. Along with this group I also threw in a Hoppin' Frog Hoppin' To Heaven IPA from Akron Ohio, and also Sierra Nevada's Homegrown Estate Ale which is actually more of a wet hop ale. In the end there was much rejoicing. Watch below to see how!

Cheers!

Battle 1


Battle 2

Book Review: Boozehound by Jason Wilson

When I first got in to cocktails and spirits, there were many sources I went to. Part of that had to do with moving to DC many years ago and reading the Washington Post. DC has been my home for almost a decade as I write this, and it has been an imbibing joy. One person who has made that much more enjoyable is the spirits columnist for the Washington Post named Jason Wilson. Many of his articles I enjoyed reading and still do as he writes stories about upcoming spirits and cocktails. I hold him personally responsible for making me like Plymouth Gin. That was a hard thing to do, since for many years I made many Gin and Tonics for my mother and never understood what the big deal was. I realized... there was much to learn (and no she didn't use Plymouth in them either...).

Jason has published a book called Boozehound, which I would describe as not a 'cocktail book' (although it contains recipes), but perhaps a first of its kind, a "spirit memoir".

Jason tells his tales in the past starting from his youth in Jersey with Sambuca, to traveling around the world chasing spirits of true Agave tequila, to great digestifs in Italy, to understanding rhum agricole and the wonder it can bring to a persons palate.

The book is not pretentious. A particular section I enjoyed a lot was about the "speakeasy" trend (or is it?) that has been happening with "cocktail nerds" and the conflicting feelings he has towards it. For many, the speakeasy trend has ushered in proper drinks and knowledge about how to drink and make true proper cocktails, but it has also created and elitist class and what I call a so called wine-snob effect. I can relate to this often myself particularly since I've been to many of the DC speakeasy places he mentions (there aren't many) and walked away with the same conflicting emotions.

The book is not a treatise on how one should seek out certain drinks, and that they should be forced to imbibe and like certain spirits. Jason walks us through many passages on his educational journey which many of us can relate to, the girl you fell for but wouldn't give you the time of day, the foreign bottle in your parents liquor cabinet and its mysteriousness, to finally breaking free making your own identity as a young adult, putting a drink/liqueur/spirit in your hands and tasting it... relishing it for the first time with joy.

That is part of the great experience in reading Jason's book. You don't just get his experiences of enjoying Cognac in France, or rustic adventures in Haiti, you get to relate and impart your own sense of joy of drinking and the places that your life took you along the journey. As many of the chapters conclude, a break in the action is taken with drink recipes. Some are standards, some are creations from other people, some are also his own, but they all make you reflect on what you just read with a sense of importance and make you want to drop what you are doing, and make the drink FIRST before you do anything further. A stinger is a simple great drink that is mentioned in the book, but when Jason suddenly gives a justification for a Stinger Royale (a stinger made with just a dash of Absinthe) after talking about his roaming in France you want to just drop what you are doing and make one on the spot.

Reading Jason's book was an incredible sense of deja vu and it should be for anyone who enjoys good drink. There were many places I had been in my life and drink was part of it, just as Jason's had been and that is the success with this book.

Boozehound isn't about drink, it isn't even about how to make drinks, or how to enjoy Cognac, or to understand why rhum agricole is a big deal. Yes that is part of it. But what Boozehound does so much for its readers is that it makes a memory of imbibing, without being grandiose, superficial or pig headed. Boozehound's greatest asset is that it connects the reader with the joy of drinking and imparts your own experiences with drinking on to his. When you read Jason's adventures as obscure, even outrageous as they might be, you're really experiencing your own joy of drink. This book isn't about him, it's about how the memory of drink, it's flavor, smells, texture, finishes, place in time of your life is so important, and why you drive and continue the same passions as he does.

You want to physically be there and wrap the glass in your hands, share his memory, and be there with him as you read the words, and dream of the tastes within the pages.

Cheap bourbon doesn't always mean bad, but tasting sometimes means dissapointment

After having tasted some nice bourbons, I decided it wasn't fair just yet to start jumping in to some of the more higher quality ones that I have to analyze just yet. Yes I have had nicer tasting bourbons, but the reality is if I want to appreciate bourbon I know I have to start at the beginning, and in many ways pay my dues. As Chuck Cowdery who writes about bourbon in his book Straight Bourbon and advocates often about learning to appreciate this whiskey simply states... there are no short cuts.

I appreciated this whiskey some years ago when I first was offered some Lot B Van Winkle from a friend of mine who is from Kentucky. When he knew I was in to cocktails and spirits, he brought out some Lot B for me to try. Long story short, the appreciation I had that night is why today I felt compelled to examine this great whiskey.

That said, I knew that it was important to go back to some old school roots first. When I was getting in to wine, there was no point jumping in to real expensive bottles right away ramming my nose in to Chateau Lafite Rothschild, 100 year German Reisilings, or 80 year aged Portuguese Tawny Ports most regular mortals like us can't afford on a daily basis. You had to start from the ground up... not just because of economics but because ... you wouldn't appreciate what was worked for you without tasting the basics of what came before then.

I set out to just grab three common bourbons to try that I hadn't had before.

• Old Taylor (A Jim Beam product and now being distilled by Buffalo Trace)
• Old Grand-Dad 100 (An old brand that once belonged long ago to National Distillers and was taken over by Jim Beam in 1987)
• Old Fitzgerald 100 (A historic brand that used to be distilled at Stitzel Weller Distillery, but is now Heaven Hill, makers of Evan Williams)

It was hard to pick some of the inexpensive bourbons. Many inexpensive bourbons are made by the same people. Jim Beam makes, Old Crow, Old-Grand-Dad, Old Taylor. Many of the other the distillers make several inexpensive bourbons as well. But the bigger problem when trying to find a good inexpensive bourbon was what I call the liquor litmus test.

My very first inclination when I see a large bottle of alcohol spirit, sitting in a 1.75 liter jug, particularly plastic... for next to nothing... I usually want to run away screaming. Many of these bourbons I described fit into this category, and give me visions of cheap college nights and drunken young adults giving way to reckless abandon. Not that I (cough) speak from experience... (cough, cough).

The reality is though, some inexpensive bourbons are from what I hear a good value. I can attest that Evan Williams 7yr is fine for what it is and in a blind tasting picked it as a favorite among other low proof bourbons. A real simple go to bourbon. I have also been recommended others, but many are not available where I live.

Still instead of diving in to some bourbons that cost upwards of 50 dollars and then some just now... there will always be time to do it... but there is no rush. However, many times... you have to just pay your dues. So before I get in to some other more so called "higher shelf" products, I'll grab some cheap half pints if I can first.

I know that in the future... I will be rewarded...

Watch below to see my review of these three bourbon whiskeys.

Imperial IPA battle, Scotland vs America!

What was that phrase again of popular culture not so long ago regarding Scotland? If it's not Scottish... IT'S ****!!!

Well when I thought of Imperial IPAs I can say without a doubt that Scotland is not the first place I think of.

However, I was persuaded by some good inclination for some Imperial IPAs or Double IPAs as they are called and saw this on the shelf. "Oh this is quite good!" said the proprietor, it selling real well, pointing to the row that was nearly empty.

Intriguing packaging, and an in your face attitude. Does the Brew Dog Hardcore IPA measure up?

I paired it with another Imperial IPA I hadn't tried before and that was from New Holland brewers, trying their 2010 Mad Hatter which is part of their high gravity series.

So what happened? Was this a good worthy battle? Was this a cinch and no contest? Well watch the video below to find out more!

Bourbon tasting 3 means more joy!

Bourbon. It's like the gift that keeps on giving.

I was overdue for another tasting, and set out for another one.

My group this time was actually a little tricky to put together. I did however manage to scramble producers that I thought were different with one exception.

I found a bottle of Old Forester and thought it would be perfect for this group. I never see that whiskey around here at all. Only thing is pairing it with Woodford meant I was having whiskey made by the same producer (Brown Forman).

This was actually a plus though, I did some research and found online that they supposedly have the same mash bill and yeast content. So trying them side by side was just right. Also I was set to throw in a bottle of Blanton's but I found Elmer T Lee instead which was cheaper. I really like Blanton's but I wasn't ready to fork over a lot of money again for it right now. I also discovered that Elmer and Blanton's are made by the same distiller Buffalo Trace. Super! I was set, I'd throw in my Black Maple which I had around for awhile... and imbibing joy could begin.

I present Bourbon whiskey tasting group #3, the video is below in 2 parts.

The tasted Bourbons were as follows:

1. Old Forester
2. Woodford Reserve
3. Bulleit
4. Elmer T. Lee
5. Black Maple Hill

The tasting notes are in the two videos below. Cheers!

PART ONE

Conclusion

Stealing spirits away from the brewery, acting like a Rogue in Portland

Rogue brewery and distillery is probably one of the most well know beer places in Portland. In my time spent in DC I would see Rogue's beers all over on the shelves. I discovered they make spirits as well, and bought a light rum of theirs which I did in a blind tasting. In that tasting I picked up a tasty rum that had a nutty almost almond component to it. It was very good. When I discovered they made gin and whiskey I knew what I wanted to sink my imbibing teeth in to if I ever visited.

I arrived at the bar, and was greeted immediately with a drink. "Here ya go", said the friendly guy behind the bar, "This is our Chateau Wet Hop." he finished placing a glass right in front me waiting for me to consume. So how about that, you walk in to the place.. and they give you free beer. The Wet Hop Ale was very grassy on the nose, but was fairly easy drinking, nothing too excited to get crazy about.

Now of course I was not going to take advantage of this and just leave oh no... There was much work to be done. Rogue I find is kind of overwhelming cause they make so much stuff it seems. Their beer list is extensive, and it's charmingly displayed with a muscle made man in various forms of dress, and always with a prominent red star displayed. Many times I can never remember which unique bottle contains what. However, I remembered that I was really intent on having the spirits here. When I glanced up at the board looking at a good spirit listing, I saw gin, rum and whiskey calling out to me.


"I'll have the Dead Guy Whiskey", I remarked, highly anticipating having more goodness. I sort of caught the bartender heading for the beer taps and then pouring. No no.. I mentioned... Whiskey... Ah he said, and grabbed me a shot. The Dead Guy Ale just so you know felt like it had a blueberry nose on it a bit with that same profile on the finish. The bartender already poured it. So what was the whiskey like?

Buttery. A very good front nose, buttery in smell and taste, and finish. It's all I could remember from it, like eating a stick of butter with some sweetness. Very tasty!

I was with someone during this time, and he ordered us oyster shooters while pounding back our bounty. He his stouts, me my whiskey, when I suddenly realized that whiskey and oysters is NOT a good food pairing by any stretch of the imagination.

Luckily when you are at the source, you can always count on help. I quickly asked the bartender for a beer that was something local, something that you probably couldn't find on the East coast (where I live). He remarked, "Try the Northwestern Ale."

AH! Perfect. He poured a great red headed copper color beer, which I quickly plunged my snout into.

Cinnamon, which was a real surprise, with a wet hoppy-ness taste and some citrus flavor. Perfect for my oyster. This was a very pleasant beer and quite surprising. I don't think I've ever had a beer that had such a distinct cinnamon nose on it.

Still I had to focus. SPIRITS man... SPIRITS... you're here for the SPIRITS... oh yeah right. I realized though that I had to pace myself. I got my colleague to order the Spruce Gin. Smooth with a piney front nose and a lemon finish, not harsh, a great tasting gin.

By this time after Clear Creek, Deschutes, and now Rogue, I was getting my fill. "Hey!" my colleague mentioned, "I need to eat" so we headed off to Bridgeport for of course... more beer and imbibing. I glanced at my watch. It was only 1:30. oh man... the day is just getting started.

In Portland it's always good to go bite the dog that bit ya!

I had rented a bicycle for the day to get around easily in Portland. As much as Portland is a bike friendly town, renting a rickety cheap cruiser, and then wandering around the warehouse industrial area of SE Portland aimlessly was not exactly what I had in mind. Much of the city seems to be constantly under road repair, and while I was trying to kill about 20 minutes before my next imbibing conquest was to happen, I seemed to be just annoying road crews by going up and down the streets with no sense of purpose. One place name Roots Organic I could not find. I approached another cyclist saying HEY! Where is Roots Organic around here? (I knew according to my map it was near). Oh you're close, I thought I heard him say. OH I am close okay... where? No no no he stammered back at me... they are CLOSED.. They went out of business 2 weeks ago. But for my luck Hair of the Dog was still around! Luckily for me, arriving right at the opening of Hair of The Dog brewery and tasting room was well worth the wait. I luckily found this much earlier in the day getting VERY confused trying to locate it on Google Maps, and postings from the website saying that the directions provided online are incorrect. Somehow things weren't jiving, and I am not one to get lost easily, but I figured getting on the other side of the river I would find it. As soon as I crossed over the bridge on my bike, it showed up right in front of my face. It is a brown building on the corner of SE Yamhill St. and SE Water Avenue, just as you come riding over the Morrison Bridge. It's as if the beer gods were giving me good karma. The good thing about arriving as soon as they were opened was that there was nobody there. This actually I found out later was a rare occurrence, most of the time as soon as they would open the place, they would be busy as the staff told me later. The first thing I noticed was the roof was being repaired. The building is an old warehouse from 1907-08 that has needed roof work for sometime. There were a few loud blasts from upstairs but most of the time I sat in a large totally empty tasting room with just the proprietor, the bartender and myself to take in the day. I had no other places to really go for a few hours, there was no rush, this was the perfect beer tasting possibility ever given to me. It was empty, and dead quiet with NOTHING to distract me. It took me some time with help from the bartender to figure out the menu and what to taste and I quickly figured out to sample the 6 made beers. The beers go by straightforward names, given by the brewmaster who I also learned from the bartender serving me, is also a trained chef. I usually grab in order of higher alcohol but just went down the list for tasting as listed on the menu. The first beer I tried "Greg" a beer made without hops and winter squash, has a fairly closed nose on it. The mouthfeel though was a bit wet, but it was full of interesting tastes. There was a little sweetness, a slight nutyness on the aftertaste, somewhat even buttery but a crisp finish. In fact it had a very summery feel much like a crisp white wine. Quite impressive. The second beer "Blue Dot" a Double IPA, was also very good. Oregon just seems to make great IPAs and this is no exception. Nice not overbearing hoppy nose, not too bitter on the finish, some fruit in taste, but the aftertaste gives way to a lingering "berry-type" of fruit I couldn't put my finger on. "Fred" beer, with it's cloudy opaqueness was also another treat. A very fruit nose that smelled specifically of tropical fruit mango. Excellent body and mouthfeel with a very sweet honey taste, even at 10% ABV the beer doesn't feel too heavy.

Finally it was time to taste the next three. "Adam" is the flagship beer of the brewery. It has more of a nose of molasses, with a faint chocolate smell. The taste was leathery with a very faint tobacco finish. The Doggie Claws '09 Barley wine, consists of a reddish copper color, and has a nose of Christmas spices. It really smelled like Christmas, nutmeg, sweetness, cinnamon almost. In contrast I was thinking it would be really sweet but it wasn't really (which is good) finishing off with a taste of honey, and having the hops come through in the aftertaste.

Last was the "Little Dog" was last which had a nearly ashy smoke bouquet, and possibly a faint apricot nose to it. The other notable thing about this beer was that it had still to some extent a crispness like the "Greg" beer. I was very impressed by the beers, they really gave the impression of a brewmaster who was in his craft, and making something unique, without getting too crazy. There are more Portland adventures to write about so stick around!

Beer Bourbon casks can make a better beer! Say that 3 times fast!

If you are a fan of Bourbon whiskey, and a brewery says to you... I am going to make a beer and use Bourbon whiskey barrels to make it, would you jump at the chance to try their creation? If you loved beer and Bourbon so much would you knock over the old lady on the street corner, just to get to it?

For me such a question I thought would be and easy answer. I love beer. I love Bourbon. Therefore, I would kill my first born and it would be a marriage of great body, massive caramel, tobacco, and sugary sweetness that would be in a beer and send me to another realm. The beer could not be bad. It would be nirvana.

The reality is regarding both of those statements, neither turned out correct. I tried two Bourbon cask aged beers, one was from Allagash from Maine, a tripel aged in oak Jim Beam barrels named Curieux. The other was an Imperial Stout from a brewery named Goose Island based out of Chicago.

The beers are of course from two different breweries, but they are also two different "types" of beers (one a Tripel, the other an Imperial Stout). I was really hoping to find characteristics of good Bourbon in beer. Alas, the reality is I really did not find those distinct Bourbon characteristics from these two. But in trying these beers, I discovered some fantastic drink. Check out the Bourbon cask beers that I reviewed in the video below.

Oktoberfest starts out with an Emperor gone bananas...

What gives with naming a beer after a controversial historic figure? No I take that back.. what gives with naming a SERIES of beers after a few controversial historical figures?

Well it's really simple. It's a way to get yourself noticed I guess. But what really matters is what's in the product if you are an imbibing conquesting hero.

Avery Brewing Company based out of Bolder Colorado, has created an Imperial Oktoberfest Lager, the only seasonal Lager they make (I think). I am not one to go for funky labeling, gimmicks of the sort, things that would make you turn you head and give yourselves a shake. In the realm of the numerous strongarm leaders that have come our way, why would you want to associate yourselves with a person possibly of controversy, and possibly put it out as a product you want to sell???

The reality is though, for Avery here, 3 of the "dictator beers" in their so called series and I emphasize that in quotes... I am not sure if that even matters? Perhaps when I think of the Romanovs... (a legacy that came in to fashion after the end of the repressive Soviet Union, used to promote an Imperial Stout called the Czar) and the Maharaja (an Imperial Ale) for a legacy well... I don't know the history that is so gone from our current past and perhaps that makes it easier to grab this bottle off the shelf. Sometimes you just can't win and you can guarantee to offend anyone. I don't find this product offensive, but perhaps someone might? He is on the bottle simply because as the company mentions he himself loved beer, so lets just keep it at that. The term Kaiser does not mean dictator, it means emperor and it's still used often. German soccer star Franz Beckenbauer's knickname is even "der Kaiser".

Hence forth... politics/history/debates aside... we have from Avery... The Kaiser... because after all, this is about imbibing, and imbibing GOOD beer in this case.

In the end... what we got is a great Oktoberfest beer to start the Fall season out of Boulder CO.

Check out the video review for the final thoughts. ENJOY!