...where distraction is the main attraction.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Thirteen Hour Thursday ends and I think about whisky

Thirteen Hour Thursday has come to a close and I doubt it will be the last.  I just hope a Fourteen Hour Friday doesn''t follow.

I've just opened my 375mL bottle of Old Pulteney 12yr, tossed together a quick dinner and am settling in to catch up on blog reading before I go to bed and start the cycle all over again.

Last Sunday, I bought my first 750mL bottle of bourbon.  Buffalo Trace is its name.  It's open and it's tasty.  It's actually a single cask bottling (at 45%ABV), with the barrel chosen by the good folks at Hi Time.  It's similar to the usual Buffalo Trace, but I'm finding more spices and a little less vanilla.  It's an absolute miracle at $19.99.  Sorry, Scotch, you cannot compete at that price.

The birthday whisky buying is happening slowly and studiously.  I just placed a samples order via Master of Malt that will be sure to brighten up a long workday upon its arrival.

I've successfully kept to my $50-and-under-per-bottle rule all year, but I wonder if I should loosen that belt now that I'm employed.  Of course, I need to see a couple paychecks before any drastic purchases are made.

Here's one blog post I do want to share: How Age Statements Are Dividing The Whisky Industry by Oliver over at Dramming.com.  It's a brief but smart take on Macallan's 1824 Series and their company's attempt to equal quality with color(!) rather than age.

Macallan's Brand Ambassador says, "An age statement doesn’t give you any clues as to quality" and "Age statements have made us very lazy and one-dimensional".  While there may be some truth in the first statement, I don't think anyone really believes Macallan's song and dance.

Though many of us have critiqued Macallan's new branding decision, Oliver shines best with this brilliantly condensed knockout blow in his conclusion:
Macallan only replaces their 10 to 17 year old expressions with NAS bottlings. Why not the famous 18 and 25 year olds? If age did not matter at all, they could have got rid of those as well.
Using their products to debunk their branding pitch.  Love it!

Anyway, let's get through the rest of this week, okay?

As seen at the Long Beach Flea Market.  I present this without comment.