Beer Review – Wachusett Green Monsta IPA

The Mrs. and I found ourselves in Boston with the kids over spring break. While running between sight-seeing activities, I came across the Wachusett Green Monsta IPA on the shelf of a local

Are You A Bourbon Master?

Are you a bourbon master? In celebration of the release of their new Double Oaked expression, our friends at Woodford Reserve have just the quiz to test your bourbon knowledge. The folks at Woodford Reserve describe this unique approach this way:

Whisky Review – Cragganmore 20 Year Old 1991 Single Cask

Way back in August 2011, our friends at the Master of Malt sent G-LO a nice sample pack as told by this post: http://boozedancing.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/whisky-review-dailuaine-27-year-old-1983-%E2%80%93-single-cask-master-of-malt/. As you can see, I’m really behind in getting to this review.

Here are my impressions of this whisky…

Reinvesting the savings…

I was out shopping yesterday when I noticed the service due light on my dashboard was lit. Newer Honda’s have a service indicator that is a letter ‘A’ or ‘B’ followed by numeric codes. Looking up the codes, I saw I was due for an oil change, tire rotation, and both the air intake and cabin filters needed replacing. I went online to see if I could find out how much my local Honda dealer would charge for the services. The price for the oil change and tire rotation were reasonable, but the cost to replace two filters was $120. I figured replacing some filters was

The Bourbon Buzz…

The latest edition of the “Bourbon Buzz” arrived in my inbox this past Thursday. If you are not familiar with the “Bourbon Buzz”, its a bi-monthly newsletter produced by the good folks over at Bourbon Country. This is a busy time of year for the folks in Kentucky as they get ready for the annual Run for the Roses at the Kentucky

Save the last dram…

A few years ago for my 40th birthday, I received a very special gift – a bottle of Aberlour a’bunadh. Tonight, I will enjoy the last dram as I write this review.

The Aberlour distillery is located in Aberlour, Banffshire, Scotland in the heart of the Speyside region. Situated at the junction of the rivers Spey and Lour, Aberlour is the Gaelic word meaning “mouth of the chattering burn (stream).”

A’bunadh (pronounced a-boon-arh) is Gaelic for “the origin” and is a toast to James Fleming who founded the distillery. This whisky is matured in Spanish oak Olorosso butts and is bottled at cask strength. It should also be noted that this whisky is bottled without the chill-filtering methods used by most modern distillers. The bottle I received was from batch number 26 and measured 60.6% ABV.

Oh Snap! I’m Out of Bourbon…

With winter starting to loosen its grip on the Philadelphia region, we found ourselves around LimpD’s patio fire a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful beginning to the outside drinking season. In preparation for the festivities, I took inventory of the cabinet and discovered that I was completely out of bourbon. I’m not really sure how that could be possible, but no matter how hard I searched, there wasn’t a drop to be found. I hopped in the car and made my way to my favorite local liquor store.

Whiskey Review – Old Fitzgerald 12 Year Old

This is the second of three reviews of whiskey samples provided to us by our new friends at Master of Malt. For those not familiar with Master of Malt, they are a specialist retailer of fine malt wisky established in 1985. They offer low prices & next day delivery. They can be found online at their website , facebook page, and twitter feed. I really have to hand it to the folks at Master of Malt. The samples arrived in a well designed package that cradled and protected the bottle. Included in the shipment were high quality printed materials explaining the Mast of Malt philosophy, provided an overview of the products they carry, and provide clear and easy instructions on how to place an order. As demonstrated by our samples, they have a well designed program of providing samples to would-be customers that gives the buyer extra assurance that they will like what they order.

Before we get into the review, we’ll take a bit of a history lesson. If you’re not familiar with Old Fitzgerald, it comes to us from our friends at Heaven Hill. According to the Heaven Hill website, “Old Fitz” is made with a “whisper of wheat” that gives Old Fitzgerald its critically acclaimed, distinct, complex nose and taste. By substituting wheat for the more traditional rye in the grain recipe, or mashbill, Old Fitzgerald finishes with a rounder, softer profile. Old Fitzgerald was first produced for rail and steamship lines and private clubs before being made available to the public around 1900.

Maker’s Mark Ambassador Acceptance Arrives…

G-LO promised it was coming and today it finally arrived. Its been a few months since G-LO nominated me for acceptance into the ranks of the few, the proud, the Maker’s Mark Ambassadors. For the past six-eight years, bourbons have been my go-to elixir. I first started drinking whiskey in 1996 while in France on my honeymoon. Mrs. ROK and I enjoy cycling so we took a Backroad’s trip to the Loire Valley. There we met another couple on the same trip. We struck up a friendship and I noticed each night the husband would end the day with a Jack Daniel’s. One night, I joined him for a drink and Jack Daniel’s on ice became my goto drink.

When I first started drinking Jack, it was bottled at 90 proof. A few years later, Brown-Forman, the company that owns the Jack Daniel’s brand, lowered the alcohol content to 86 proof. I adjusted to this change without much trouble, but in 2004, Brown-Foreman again lowered the alcohol content in Jack Daniels. This time to 80 proof. According to Roger Brashears who has worked at Jack Daniel’s since the 1960′s, “We were just doing what we think most of our friends and customers wanted.” That may be true, but to me, the lower proof also sacrficed the chewy caramel flavor that I had come to enjoy. I was going to have to find a new drink.

Beer Review – Otter Creek Solstice Session Ale

On a recent trip to my favorite beer retailer, I picked up a six-pack of the Otter Creek Solstice Session Ale. Until now, I was not familiar with the term “Session Beer”. I checked in with our friends at the Beer Advocate and I was quickly up to speed.

session beer
n.

Any beer that contains no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hop characters (ingredients) and, typically, a clean finish – a combination of which creates a beer with high drinkability. The purpose of a session beer is to allow a beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period or session, without overwhelming the senses or reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. (Yes, you can drink and enjoy beer without getting drunk.)

This beer fits well within that definition. For those not familiar with Otter Creek, a brief introduction is in order. Otter Creek is a small craft brewer located in Middlebury Vermont. They produce a number of high quality beers from in their Middlebury facility. All of their products contain no preservatives and are not pasteurized. If you ever find yourself in Middlebury with some time to spare, be sure to stop by for their very informative tour.

This beer is very approachable. It has a light aroma and a soft taste. The finish is strong, but not overpowering. This is a very versatile ale and will be just as good with nice, juicy steak as it will being sipped on the patio on a warm summer night. If you like ale and are looking for something new to try, pick up a six-pack of the Session Ale. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

If you happen to pick some up, tell me what you think.