Blogger Blocked By Tipple Terminating Toddler

My lovely little Beatrice shared her cold with me last week, and now she and I are competing to see who can keep it the longest. We both seem to have improved considerably today, but I'm delaying any whisky reviews until my nose is trustworthy. That could be tomorrow or next week.

Not drinking has been fabulous, especially since I wake up with what feels like a hangover every morning. What does suck is that laryngitis kept me from singing "Happy Birthday" to the wee one on her first birthday. I'll get her back by singing twice as loud and obnoxiously next year.

Reviews to restart soon. Probably?

Two Jazz Tunes for Birthday Beatrice Joy

When she came out, she was silent. I can't do justice in writing to capture the liquefying dread I felt in that moment. All of our pregnancies had been full of tragedy or terror, and this one was no exception. But then I saw Beatrice's clear brilliant eyes open wide between their butterfly wing lashes. Her stare traversed the room for a moment, then she released a short coughing cry to clear her lungs.

Kristen had been (and still is) an excellent sport, letting me put together a Birthing Gametime playlist. She wanted the most peaceful ethereal soothing stuff I could assemble. Amongst all the Sigur Ros and Brian Eno compositions, it was "It Never Entered My Mind" by The Miles Davis Quintet that she liked the best. And it was to that song Beatrice Joy was born.


When I'd first heard the song, when we were pregnant with Mathilda, I was nearly in tears. I would have never guessed it was one of Miles's works, due its direct emotive piano part. A fantasy then began, in the back of my mind, of a future retrospective slideshow of our quiet, calm, Mathilda-to-be. Of course, Mathilda turned out to be, well...

From the start, Beatrice was like a cherub or the jolly Budai. A center of calm and, yes, joy. She laughed so early. She loved to be snuggled. Like a fool, I sorta kinda totally utilized her to lift me out of frequent frustrations and anxiety attacks. Then she became her own person.

She has her sister's emotion, strength and intelligence, but gives it her own spin. With those big eyes and awesome rocker girl hair, she flirts and charms, then issues her decrees. Constantly in motion, she is faster than any child I've seen.

One recent morning, Cannonball Adderley's "Money in the Pocket" filled our kitchen while Bea propelled herself across the floor one way, and then back the other direction in a giddy blur. It was obvious she'd added a new song to her soundtrack.


Despite months and months of colds, coughs, fevers and continuing health trials, all of which have been the greatest struggles of her life, Bea has remained a gleeful sprite. Meanwhile, her father still cusses out the world and existence when he catches two red traffic lights in a row. It's no joke, my daughters have things to teach me that no one else can.

Happy First Birthday, Beatrice Joy!

Killing Whisky History, Episode 17 - Ancient Age Straight Bourbon from the '60s and '80s

Ancient Age 6 year old, bottled in 1967 or 1968

VERSUS

Ancient Age 86, bottled between 1980 and 1982

Stop following politics. Watch me drink instead.

Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish blended whisky

I'm in the mood to empty out my world whisky samples this month. So the only bourbon or scotch posts will be within the next several days. After that it's all India, Spain, Sweden (not Mackmyra!), and American malt. But I'mma start out with South Africa.

Kristen's previous job as [REDACTED] used to require international travel, which of course required me to request that she visit Duty Free shops. But by 2014, there wasn't much of interest being sold via Travel Retail. This resulted in easier, cheaper requests. In December of 2014 it was simple: something from Three Ships and Glenfiddich 15yo Distillery Edition. And because she tolerates this shit, she is awesome.

I'd tried Three Ships 10 year old single malt in 2013, and had enjoyed it. By 2014 it had sold out. So the Three Ships options were very limited that year. There was a 5 year old blend and a Bourbon Cask Finish blend. I went with the latter, probably because it was cheaper. I opened the bottle promptly, then kept it at my in-laws' home, where I enjoyed it slowly over 3 years. Today's sample was taken from the bottom third of the bottle.

Though the distillery has mixed scotch whisky into its products, this is the "first 100% South African whisky" according to the official website.

Distillery: James Sedgwick Distillery
Brand: Three Ships
Ownership: Distell Group Limited

Region: Wellington, South Africa

Age: 3.5 years
Maturation: 3 years in (probably refill) American oak casks, then six months in first-fill ex-bourbon casks from Louisville, KY
Bottling date: 2014

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

I'm out of bubbly water, so in lieu of a highball I'm drinking the whisky neat in a tumbler. There's less heat and a lower turpentine quotient than Dewar's White, JW Red or Cutty. Plenty of grain whisky bumping around in the glass, but it's all softened by those bourbon casks. Lots of vanilla and sugar.

As expected, the whisky gains structure once in a glencairn. The nose has butterscotch, Nilla wafers and almond extract. Smaller notes of lime juice, flowers and salty broth float about. It's the crossroads between blended scotch and blended Canadian whisky. Lots of vanilla in the palate, as well as peach candy and Milk Duds, but it's not too sweet. It has actual mouthfeel, and an alcohol bite throughout. The lightly candied finish shows more caramel than vanilla. But it also has a sour/bitter blendy note that doesn't mix well with the heat.

Three Ships Bourbon Cask Finish (3SBCF, because I'm lazy) is a simple thing. It has more heft than a Canadian blend, while fully flexing that BCF. The nose is the highlight. The palate is fine, probably comparable to Chivas 12, but the finish is where it starts to unravel.

It's doubtful that 3SBCF was designed for the glencairn experience, but it does fare decently in a tumbler and/or on the rocks which is important for its product type. James Sedgwick Distillery can design a $20 blend as well as the scotch behemoths. That may sound like faint praise, but consider the size of the $20 blend marketplace, and know this is no small accomplishment.

Availability - South Africa and the Pacific (maybe?)
Pricing - ~20USD
Rating - 75

Randy Brandy drinks Eight Brandies. Thank you, Florin?

Krav has made some terrible decisions in his life, as any of his loved ones will attest to, but this, THIS, is his greatest idea, ever. I, one Randy Brandy, am going to drink eight brandy samples — right now — that were sent to Diving for Perks by some person named "Florin" who must pity Krav because he keeps sending him stuff.

I am so inspired that I will write too many words, in the spirit of this very blog. And I will take the pictures myself.

I will march these brandies in sets of two, like the animals on Noah's ark. Yes, that is a biblical reference. Going to church on Sundays is like brushing my teeth: automatic.

Germain-Robin XO and St. George Distillery Reserve, two apple brandies from the Socialist State of Northern California. So, they're half American, if I'm being generous.

Germain-Robin XO Apple Brandy, 40.2%abv
Nose - Bourbon. Vanilla and anise, some apple, clean laundry, a faint waft of eau-de-vie. But mostly bourbon.
Palate - Thin, but pleasant. Barrel char and McDonald's apple pie. Caramel, pepper, mint. Gets more bitter with time. Know anyone like that?
Finish - Caramel chews, barrel char, candy canes and bourbon. Bitter, tart and sweet.

St. George Distillery Reserve Apple Brandy, 43%abv
Nose - There's some vanilla and tree sap, but there's also lots of classic Calvados. Caramel apples and baked apples. It's grassy and cheesy and yeasty, so there's some fun in there.
Palate - Eau-de-vie right in the face. Think kirsch and sliv. Hints of malt, smoke and mint. Tingly, but never too sweet.
Finish - Tart apples, eau-de-vie. A little bit of pepper and smoke.

THE APPLE BRANDIES:
The Germain-Robin is apple brandy for bourbon drinkers. Do bourbon drinkers even come to this site? Well, if you do, and spending $70 is nothing for you, then you'll like this more than I like this. The St. George is more my style. It has some Weird in the nose and plenty of big eau in the palate.

RATINGS:
Germain-Robin XO - C+
St. George Reserve - B/B+

Burgas 63 Special Selection Bulgarian Rakia and Etter Zuger Swiss Kirsch are some actual European brandies. Kirsch is made from Kirsch fruit (or "cherries" to the freaks), while rakia is made from whatever is lying around in Eastern Europe, like apricots or communists.

Burgas 63 Rakia, 40%abv
Nose - Clean as a whistle. Flowers, yeast, citrons and limes.
Palate - Just like the nose, but with more flowers. Then quinine and lemon zest.
Finish - Tart and floral. Refreshing. I could drink a bottle.

Etter Zuger Kirsch, 40%abv
Nose - Earth, clay, cinnamon and nutmeg. Yeast, lemons and very tart cherries. A little bit of moonshine.
Palate - Mint and cinnamon. Juicy Fruit gum. Oilier and heavier than Clear Creek's kirsch.
Finish - More floral than the palate. Warm and spicy.

THE RAKIA AND KIRSCH:
You'll have to pardon my short notes on the rakia, but KRAV DRANK THE FIRST OUNCE before handing it over in a tiny bottle. Then he tells me to lighten up on the Jewish jokes. C'mon, you take my brandy and then you take my bread and butter?

Both of these brandies are good. But I'm going to buy four cases of the rakia and then bathe in it. It's like someone distilled Spring.

RATINGS:
Burgas 63 Rakia - B+
Etter Zuger Kirsch - B-

Distilleria Nannoni Grappa di Brunello Bianca and Marolo Grappa di Brunello di Montalcino are two grappas made from the brunello grape as you can clearly read from their names. I could tell you that Brunello is Sangiovese, but then some Tuscan would yell at me.

Distilleria Nannoni Grappa di Brunello, 40%abv
Nose - Crisp, simple grappa. No paint thinner, but maybe some glue fumes. Yeast, grass, balloon rubber, prunes, stems and seeds (of grapes, you damned hippies).
Palate - Prunes, grapefruit, grass, ocean water and that glue note.
Finish - More or less the same as the palate, but tangier and grassier. Long length.

Marolo Grappa di Brunello, 42%abv
Nose - Green apples, serrano peppers, horseradish, metal, arugula. This smells like good trouble.
Palate - Delicious poison. Unripe pears and apples with dried cilantro. Rhubarb, pine, smoke and a creamy sweetness.
Finish - Pine, rhubarb, dried herbs and a great sweetness. Long and mouth-filling. Who snickered?

THE GRAPPA DI BRUNELLO:
Due bestie belle. That's Italiano. Neither of these grappas is for the coy. The Nannoni will fight you a bit, and win with its finishing strike. The Marolo is the busiest grappa I've had. I am fond of it.

RATINGS:
Nannoni Grappa di Brunello - B-
Marolo Grappa di Brunello - B+

Back to America, sort of (again), with the Osocalis Distillery in near Santa Cruz, CA. Florin sent Osocalis Rare Alembic Brandy and batch 2 of Osocalis XO Alembic Brandy. Their Charentais still really is from France, and the grapes are from California. Birds of a feather, etc.

Osocalis Rare, 40%abv
Nose - Apples, cloves, caramel and orange peel. Something like dessert wine, sometimes.
Palate - Comfortable. Lightly sweet. Tangy apples and limes. Some peppery youth still at large.
Finish - Fruity, peppery, never too sweet, never too taxing.

Osocalis XO, bottling #2, 40%abv
Nose - Old Speyside malt with baked apples. Toffee, plums, lemons and a hint of leather.
Palate - Take the nose, then add pumpkin pie spice, tart fruit and good heat.
Finish - A combination of baking spice and mulling spice, which are probably the same thing sold to us twice. Apples, mint, long.

OSOCALIS BRANDIES:
While the Rare is fine, the XO is Fine. A brandy for single malt drinkers. A brandy for brandy drinkers. The fruit spice combination, which is just waking up in the Rare, strides through the XO and leaves you smelling like a rich drunk.

RATINGS:
Osocalis Rare - B-
Osocalis XO, bottling #2 - B+

THE WINNER:
Me. As always.

Birthday Bottles and an Ardmore Autumn

Exclusivity doesn't draw me in like it used to. I can't hear SMWS's siren call. When I heard the tale that Springbank Society just had 3000 requests — thrice the outturn — for their annual release, I felt less FOMA than I'd expected. Seeing that I was removed from a barrel-share group not only didn't bother me, instead it lent a bit of freedom. The current crop of single casks aren't calling out to me either, and really what's more exclusive than a single cask?

I bring this up now because this is the time of the year when the whisky birthday present (or two) I've purchased for myself arrives in a delightful brown rectangular parcel. Considering the "Sold Out" or "Secondary market" notation on nearly everything I review, it's silly for me to critique the exclusivity of single cask purchases. But not one single cask looked appealing this summer. Looking at each sharp photo of a current single cask release, I felt emptiness. And not in a clean Śūnyatā sense. Nor was I imagining the glory of a completed bottle. It was just a feeling of, "why?"

There's a lot going on behind that feeling. Part of it is linked to the tailing off of my whisky purchases, as I detailed last month. Part of it comes from a palate that's getting less excited about high ABVs. Part of it is general dread. And part of it has to do with my desire for casual drinking, which I also referenced in August's birthday post.

Committing to how I want to experience whisky, thus aiming for sub-$70 drinkers, I bought three ten year old single malts that still dazzle my inner curmudgeon at the very thought. Avert your eyes, people, here's the whisky dick pic:

Yes, 3 x 10 = 30. No, I did not turn 30 this year. But I don't/can't drink in large quantities, as tempting as it may be throughout fatherhood. Three bottles were more than enough. I have a soft spot in my heart for those three brands, probably literally. While I wish 10 year old single malt still sold for $30-$40, I am willing to pony up for this quality.

Speaking of brands I adore. Ardmore!

I've been threatening to finally break into my Ardmore stash for years. Beatrice's 1st birthday will be the perfect excuse to do so. The 1991 rum cask from Malts of Scotland is for the event. The current(!) 12 year old Portwood will be my casual drinker for autumn. Opening two Ardmores means I won't have to open another for twenty years. That's how it works, right?

Thanks for tuning in for this latest edition of First World Drama. The reviews return on Monday.

Croftengea 10 year old 2006 Exclusive Malts, cask 485

Yesterday it was Loch Lomond Cleans Up. Today it is Loch Lomond Gets Dirty. But I'm not talking about garbage-smelling rot. I'm talking about The Place With The Funny Stills taking on Islay headfirst. Croftengea is the distillery's heavily peated malt. I'm going to guess it's in the 50ppm range, because this stuff is intense. But it's not a mess, and it thumped my expectations.

Distillery: Loch Lomond
Brand: Croftengea
Owner: Loch Lomond Distillery Company
Region: Highlands (Western)
Independent bottler: Creative Whisky Company
Range: Exclusive Malts

Age: 10 years (22 March 2006 to April 2016)

Maturation: Hogshead?
Cask number: 485
Outturn: 302

Alcohol by Volume: 56.7%
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
The nose has the weird delights of good Fettercairn and the never-beloved-by-experts-but-totally-beloved-by-me late '80s & early '90s Ledaig, except bigger. Old greasy machines and engines. Bowling shoes in a moldy basement. A slab of plasticky peat. Also some flowers and pineapple, just because. Marshmallows in the palate, then sweet peat and moderate heat. Nothing horrifying; in fact it is very drinkable. Moss and tangy fruits. A hint of bitter greens. It finishes sweet and smoky with white fruits and cinnamon. Loooooong.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1⅓tsp water per 30mL whisky
Having shed some of the fun fug, the nose edges into Ardbeg and Kilchoman territory. Moss, soot and burnt hay lead the way, with tiny bit of white fruit underneath. Cocoa and cinnamon in the palate, along with plumes of smoke. Also lemons and arugula. It finishes with smoke, sugar and lemons. Peated limoncello?

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Is this a perfect whisky? Nope. It is it awesome? Yep. Great pick, Mr. Stirk. This might be the most entertaining whisky I've had all year. It's zanier than anything coming from Islay while still delivering Capital P Peat.

Unlike certain distillers who age batches of kerosene and napalm in burnt grape juice barrels for a couple years and crown themselves mad scientists, Loch Lomond hasn't made something big and strange and ugly just for the sake of doing so. There's a way into this whisky. Reach out and you'll find tiny familiar handles to grab onto just before the ride starts. You'll make it through without getting hurt, I promise. Plus there is actual complexity in the thing and about as much mouthfeel as the distillery can muster. Is it going to knock Lagavulin 12yo Cask Strength off my shelf? Probably not. But I'd like to see what else Loch Lomond can do with this style.

Availability - Some European retailers
Pricing - €60-€70
Rating - 88