NOT Single Malt Report: Powers 12yr Special Reserve Irish Blended Whiskey

I've taken to Irish blends much better than Scotch blends.  I enjoy a handful of $20 Irish whiskeys and l-o-v-e a sixth.  Meanwhile, there isn't one $20 Scotch blend about which I can say the same.

Objectively:  Perhaps the pot still whiskey merges with the grain better.  The additional distillation pass might help curb the cheap grains' more difficult aspects.  Or maybe there's a higher pot-still-to-grain ratio in whiskey than malt-to-grain in whisky.

Subjectively:  I drank (shot?) poor Scotch in college.  A few years later I sipped whiskey with Irish folks in small pubs on cold rainy nights.  Better memories are attached to one than the other.  And also Powers is delicious.

With all of that in mind, this week's blends will be both Irish and a little harder to come by than last week's scotch.  Next week we'll go back to Scotland, then back to Ireland for the following week for some normal $20 bottlings.

Today we go back to the Powers line.

Distillery: Midleton
Brand: Powers
Type: Irish Blended Whiskey
Current Owner: Pernod-Ricard
Age: 12 to 24 years
Maturation: ex-bourbon American Oak
Alcohol by Volume: 40%

I gave a bit of Powers (and personal) history in my effusive Powers Gold Label report.  Currently, all of their whiskey (both grain and pot still) gets distilled at the massive Midleton Distillery in Cork.  The young grain and pot still whiskies go into the Gold Label blend.  The whiskies over 12 years of age go into the 12yr Special Reserve -- first released in the '90s -- I'm reporting on today.  A special selection of pot still only whiskies, aged 12 through 14 years, go into their John Lane's Pot Still bottling.  The Special Reserve is available here in The States while the Single Pot Still is not.

I've flirted with purchasing the Special Reserve whenever I see it in a liquor store, but never committed to it.  Then on April 12th, I had the pleasure of ordering it up neatly at Dublin Square Irish Pub in San Diego.  It was $12 a glass which is a bit steep (and Redbreast was significantly cheaper for some reason) but I went with it anyway since it's rarely found at bars and could possibly save me the expense of buying an entire bottle blindly.

So how did it go?

NEAT:
Color -- Light gold (lighter than the pic above)
Nose -- Bananas + brown sugar + sweet cream + vanilla = banana split!
Palate -- Pot Still much stronger than the grain so there's some heft and spiced heat, vanilla, not dissimilar to their Gold Label but a little saltier and a little smoother
Finish -- Moderate length, some caramel, salt, then a little bitterness

WITH WATER:
Nose -- Water brings out more brown sugar, then fresh air and molasses
Palate -- Smooth and soft, delicious, think creamy maple syrup
Finish -- Improved, more maple syrup

Powers knows how to make some whiskey.  While the 12yr might have a more complex nose, I actually like the cheaper and younger Gold Label better.  They are similar palate-wise, but the 12yr is softer and quieter.  It's more focused with fewer surprises.

Those adjectives (softer, quieter, focused) would mean all good things to some palates.  If that's true for you then I recommend the 12yr.  I find more character (and characteristics) in the Gold Label's mouth.  I've spent considerably more time with Gold Label than any other Irish whiskey.  It's a touch crazier and rougher than the 12yr, so if that's the way you play, I recommend their Gold Label.

The 12yr takes to water better than Gold, but I don't recommend hitting it with a bunch of ice because it's already so hushed.  Probably wouldn't be half bad in a hot whiskey.

Again, this whole grading thing can be goofy, so this may not be final.  And perhaps I will buy a bottle some day and rethink it...

Availability - Many liquor specialists
Pricing - Great at $29-$32
Rating - 83

Mad Men + Revolver, Part Two

Sure enough the Interwebs were abuzz about Mad Men's "Tomorrow Never Knows" licensing.  For some quality insight about Matthew Weiner's creative process and some (unconfirmed) financial details, you should see this NYTimes Artsbeat article and this excellent Wall Street Journal Speakeasy piece.

What the articles don't mention -- and Weiner would never ever reference this -- is the song's connection to the Tibetan Book of the Dead.....the same tome mentioned in Roger's earlier LSD sequence.  There's a undercurrent of death gaining momentum this season (example: yesterday's episode title "Lady Lazarus" came from Sylvia Plath's poem about her failed suicide attempts, obsession with death, and possible rebirth).  So if Apple Corps rejected Weiner's "Tomorrow Never Knows" license request it may have proven to be more than just disappointing.

And it seems as if every blog post out there has a death/suicide prediction about this season.  I'm not going that direction.  I'll let the writers, production staff, and performers take me to the end.

To make up for the broken post below:

(Source)

A Monday of Mad Men + Revolver

MAD MEN

(SPOILERS, PER USUAL)

"Tomorrow Never Knows".  They got the rights to use "Tomorrow Never Knows."  NO ONE GETS THE RIGHTS TO USE BEATLES MUSIC.  EVER.  And that's not hyperbole.  Saint Paul must have been smiling down upon the show.

"Tomorrow Never Knows" closed out last night's episode and it was tremendously utilized.  I'm typing this post 45 minutes after the episode finished.  I've been listening to the whole of "Revolver" since.  Every single track would work for this season of Madness.  Most folks would have gone with "Eleanor Rigby" but that would be too much on the nose (knows?).  "Tomorrow Never Knows" works best as the sauce on a well prepared entree.

Actually tonight's episode could have been set entirely to Revolver.  "Got to Get You Into My Life" for Pete's new situation.  "For No One" for any Pete scene that follows his tryst.  "I Want to Tell You" during Megan's secret call sequence.  "I'm Only Sleeping" for Megan's admission to Don.  "Good Day Sunshine" and "She Said She Said" to the scenes that immediately follow.  Maybe "Yellow Submarine" in the opening credits.  Okay, that's sort of a stretch.

What a great album.  Going for a second pass right now.

(Source)

I shouted at the TV when the credits came up.  "What!  It's over?!  Why?"  I guess the episode itself wasn't too bad either.  Five brief thoughts:

1.)  Rory Gilmore!
2.)  Pete Campbell is terrible at everything.
3.)  As Kristen noted, we've seen the last of Happy Don Draper at the office.
4.)  Moar Joan Plz!
5.)  The elevator sequence was so awesome, I laughed out loud.  I wanted to rewind and watch it again.  Something really grim is going to happen before this season is through.

---

There was a whole bunch of pseudo-intellectual-brilliance about baseball and whiskey that took over an hour to write...but then Blogger decided to delete it all.

I'll recap the important part.

A year ago, Kristen and I went to Ireland for our buddy Melissa's beautiful wedding.  In honor of the anniversary of that Ireland trip, I'll be mixing some Irish Blended reports in with the Scotch Blended reports......starting tomorrow.

Friday Mumblings

With Mariano Rivera gone for the season (and possibly longer) the modicum of a shit I gave about baseball I eagerly take back.

Massive remodling going on at home right now.  Some smashing and destruction is involved.  Trying to limit my nervous breakdown to a mere heart attack.

And the Beastie Boys' MCA (Adam Yauch) has died.  What a crap week this has been.

NOT Single Malt Report: J&B Blended Scotch Whisky

I follow Cutty Sark with its historical mate, J&B Rare:

Brand: J&B Rare

Ownership: Diageo

Distilleries:  "42 different whiskies" (primarily in Speyside)

Type: Scotch Blended Whiskey

Age: minimum 3 years

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

As soon as Prohibition had ended -- about 100 years after Alfred Brooks bought up the Johnson holdings of (Giacomo) Justerini & Johnson -- Justerini & Brooks released a light-colored blended whisky in the US.  A few years later they realized that "Justerini & Brooks Whisky" doesn't roll off the American tongue, and they rebranded it as J&B Rare.

For a few decades Cutty and J&B ruled the top of the US Scotch market.  In 1962, Cutty became the first Scotch brand to sell one million cases, then J&B accomplished the same the following year.  This light-character was so popular in the '60s that (according to Charles MacLean's Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History) Glenfiddich made sure that the first Single Malt product was kept an un-colored pale shade in 1964.

During the late '70s recession, middle and lower class Americans drifted away from Scotch towards cheap vodka, wine, and beer.  Upper middle class folks kept buying whisky so the more premium brands like Dewars and Johnnie Walker replaced Cutty and J&B at the top of the sales chart.  Before the decade was over, Justerini & Brooks was sold to Grand Metropolitan who would later become......you guessed it.  Diageo.

Unlike Cutty Sark, J&B has held onto quite a bit of their market share, still ranked as the third best-selling blended Scotch brand in the world (behind Johnnie and Ballantines) in 2010.

While I'm happy to report that it tastes better than Cutty, that's not why it sells well.  It has the Diageo muscle behind it.  Whenever you see the Johnnie Walkers on the higher shelves, you can almost always find J&B on a shelf below -- throughout The States and much of Europe.  Thus it's not actually 'Rare'.

Let's taste.

NEAT:
Color -- Very light, almost chardonnay
Nose -- Apple juice, fruity sweetness, then rough young grain whisky, varnish, and weak oak
Palate -- Apple juice again, brown sugar; very mild and light, must be a bunch of 4th-fill casks
Finish -- Decent length, but grain whisky heavy

WITH WATER:
Nose -- Much more minerally, no more fruit, wood gets stronger
Palate -- Creamied up a bit, just a whisper of the neat palate, not much but not bad
Finish -- Short but very drying

HIGHBALL:
Palate -- Buttery, pleasant, not sweet, oaky

As per the notes, there isn't a heck of a lot going on.  But it's not terrible.  It didn't take to water very well, but decently handled the club soda.  The young cheap grain whisky keeps it from holding its own straight up.  While my palate liked it slightly better than my old buddy Black & White, it's still not something I'd purchase at a liquor store or bar.

My blend search continues...

Availability - Everywhere

Pricing - Reasonable at $18-$20

Rating - 74

Hummingbird versus the Skylight

We have three skylights on top of our condo unit.  Two indoors, one outdoors.  They help add to our home's generous flow of natural light and look a lot better than a ceiling.  I think we still like 'em, despite their shockingly shoddy installation [subject for another post, maybe, if I'm drunk].

The two indoor skylights hover over each of our bathrooms.  The outdoor skylight is just outside our front door in a small hallway/atrium.  It lights up that little entranceway with white natural light.  The folks on the floors below don't have this so their entranceway is cavelike during the day.

Returning home from the gym, yesterday morning, I heard a flittering buzzing noise as I approached our front door.  I looked up expecting to see a large moth doing battle with the skylight.  But it wasn't a moth. It was a hummingbird.

He was bashing his tiny hummingbird skull against the skylight desperately trying to fly towards the light.  He thought the window was the sky and this sensory miscalculation was gradually killing him.

I am a softie when it comes to animals, but I am especially smitten by hummingbirds.  Their lovely stop-hover-go-hover-go-hover-stop-hover-go flight mechanics seem to defy the laws of physics.  They display what appears to be a playful character of curiosity and mischief (personification!).  And they're really tiny.

And now here was a hummingbird that was going to die at my front door because of our outdoor skylight.  He (more personification) panicked more every time I stepped into view.  His left wing looked bent out of whack.  And I swore I heard crazed bird squeaks with his every struggle.

I hurried inside.  I'm Stupid City Folk.  What the f**k do I do?  Internet!  Google: hummingbird skylight.  (Note to self: Hummingbird Skylight --> title of my debut New Age Emo Xylophone indy album.)  Sure enough, this is not the first time in history that a hummingbird has gotten stuck in a skylight.  Most folks posted hairier stories about hummingbirds getting stuck indoors.

Here's a link about one of those situations.
Here's a very in-depth page with multiple solutions.
And, yes, there's an LA Hummingbird Rescue line.

A lot of the articles talked about creating a perch for the bird to rest on.  I tried using a broom, but that FREAKED IT THE F*** OUT!  Now he'd slipped into a machine-gun-level effort of bludgeoning himself to death.

Then there were articles about catching it in my bare hand.  Then all of these warnings about being careful to not crush the bird's bones when......I'm not going to finish typing that.

I caught a line about closing all sources of light except an open door or two within the house so the bird will eventually go for that light source.  Suddenly a dim bulb in my own brain turned on.  Though closing off light sources was irrelevant (since the bird was outdoors), I realized that I could cut off the light that was pouring in through the skylight window.  If the bird stopped seeing the light above him, maybe his dumb ass will look for the actual sunlight a few feet away.

I grabbed a rug and large towel and headed for the roof.  [Note: Oh the roof.  I'm only up there when there's trouble.  And I've been up there many many times.]  I covered the window dome in its entirety, making sure to smother all light.  I even hit it a couple of times.  And yelled, "Go, you little sh*t! Go!"

And he went.  Or maybe he disappeared into thin air as magical hummingbirds are apt to do.  The skylight was hummingbird-less.  I did a three-second version of The Running Man, then went indoors and almost passed out from dehydration.

I haven't discovered any bird bodies in the meantime.  Maybe he's alive and flying sideways with his wonky wing.  Or perhaps he's searching for nectar inside tractor trailer tailpipes, thanks to his dain bramage.  Or maybe he's trying to mate with a dachshund.

In any case, you tiny twit.:

You're welcome.  (Source)