A man of my own heart. Black Bushmill over Ice. Better yet Iced Coffee (Black) with a double shot of Black Bushmills.& a shot of Kahlua.
Sounds amazing, but I'm going to be thick here? I'm from the UK, as you know. So what and how can I purchase "Kahlua?"
It's from Mexico and has coffee liqueur and rum. It's the number 1 coffee liqueur in the world as far as sales, so you should be able to find it,
On a recent trip to Lake Tahoe with my old college roommates, I had the chance to partake in a little informal 'whiskey/scotch' tasting. One of my old roomies brought out a box containing a variety of distilled spirits, another with cigars and so we planned for a 'tasting party' for Saturday night. Now honestly, I'm not the biggest whiskey fan, but I do enjoy imbibing the stuff, served neat, with a cigar. Prior to 'wetting our whistle' we took a stroll down the hill to the lake. Tahoe is impacted by the severity of California drought as evident by the lake level. These two shots depict the severity of the 4-year drought as Lake Tahoe's source is mountain snowpack runoff from the surrounding Sierra. The 'normal' lake's edge would extend to the far left of this photo—where you can see a man with dark shorts walking along where he's usually be wading in the water. My friend Dennis (with sling) is standing alongside a waterfront pier. You can see the water bands (the white horizontal bands) indicating the previous levels of the lake. After a good snowfall years ago, the lake level would be a foot or so over the head of my friend in this photo. On to the Whiskey….. We had a sampling of three different distilled beverages. This was not meant as a competition, but merely a variety of tastings to see what characteristics we recognize and our personal preferences. Left to right: We were down to the last quarter of the Pappy Van Winkle's 20-year reserve bourbon whiskey. We had worked our way through the bottle over the past four or five years of Tahoe visits. It had been a favorite of all of us. Five years ago, that bottle of 20-yr Pappys cost $77 (although Steve, my other roomie, was friends with the store owner and paid about $35). It's not likely we will be replacing the Pappy's anytime soon due the scarcity and out-of-the-stratosphere pricing that has taken place with the line (most recent costs for a single bottle ranges from $1800-2,400 IF a vendor can locate some). Next we had the Isle of Jura Superstition Single malt Scotch whiskey. This was a unopened gift. Lastly we had a new unopened bottle of the 12-year old Yamazaki single malt Japanese whiskey. Two were sampled neat, while the Japanese was sampled with a small ice cube added briefly (per the recommendation of the maker). Overall, the favorite of the trio (after much discussion and good-natured arguing ) was the Pappy's. We all agreed it to be quite smooth—yet had that pleasant whiskey bite. All found the Yamazaki to be the smoothest, easiest-to-drink, especially this whisky neophyte. The Superstition was, expected, distinctly different from the other whiskeys. The peat 'flavor' much more pronounced, yet overall an enjoyable tasting. With the tasting done and with the backdrop of a setting sun, it was cigar time. I used the unopened 2nd bottle of yamazaki for this shot… We'll reconvene this meeting again at the end of summer and perhaps do another sampling with some new entries.
Wow, now there's a white whale for me. As you said - near impossible to find these days and if you do...insanely priced. Great photos and post. Being a mere commoner I will dream of some Pappy as I pour myself a couple of fingers of Bushmills tonight. It was $17 at Safeways.
As for Pappy I know the reasoning for the shortage. A large liquor retailer bought 75% of the 2014 stock and is keeping it in several warehouse locations throughout the country. I know because I work for the retailer.
I'm can't even purchase it. There were so many complaints last year that they decided to prohibit employee purchases.
As noted above, I'm not much of a whiskey-drinker so the majority of variables and nuances that distinguish quality levels is mostly lost on me. But ah do knows wut I like…and of the three we sampled, the Pappy's was still my favorite—even before the 'Great Shortage.'
You lucky left-handed shaver you! You got to try Pappy! I've been wanting to do so since I've heard of it, but I'd have to sell a kidney and get very lucky to get my hands on some. <sigh> I like Jura Prophecy (I haven't had the one you did) ... Lagavulin is my fav, but Prophecy is a close (and slightly better priced) second for when I want peat/smoke but not at Laga levels or pricing. Oban comes in third for smokey levels, imho. The Isley/Jura Scotchs are quite special, but you have to like peat and be willing to pay for them.
Cool post Kevin. I love my good whiskey & Scotch and cigars & I have been to Tahoe on the bike several times. I have a 15 year at home that I save for when my three sons get to visit. If I remember right the 20 year came in a nice red velvet sock. I had one a while ago but we polished it off. I still have the sock somewhere. think I bought it for $59 in Scotssdale Arizona a few years ago. It is sad to see Tahoe in that shape.