tanstaafl2

About the Fiskefjæs: if you like Jægermeister, you will appreciate it. Otherwise, you might want to save it to give as a gift to someone who does like the menthol-eucalyptus-liquorice flavour. It's kind of popular with university students, here. Thanks for the info. I didn't buy the "Fish face", just took a picture. This little village in Greenland only gets supplies twice a year so we were told and we were asked not to buy anything and risk depleting the inventory!

Back from the Arctic and I brought a few "nic nacs" home from various sources to remind me of the trip! Started in Iceland where I picked up the typical local product, Brennivin schnaps, which is also known as "Black Death". I chose to pass on the classic companion dish, putrefied shark. Best drunk very cold! If at all... I had carried a few bottles with me to keep me warm on those cold nights on the Arctic cruise. These included a bottle of Maladamado, a malbec based fortified wine from Argentina I discovered on our Antarctic cruise trip in February, a bottle of Pieau de Charentes and a single malt Irish Whiskey. None of them survived the cruise! it gets really cold in the arctic, even in the summer... From Iceland our first stop was Greenland. Only settlement of note was Ittoqqortoormiit. Not much in the way of local spirits for purchase but the local Walmart style one stop shop had a rather eclectic, if somewhat limited, selection of spirits for sale. The supply boat only comes twice a year I am told. Not exactly a cocktail paradise I suppose. I have no idea what this bottle is although I was told it means "Fish Face", is from Denmark and it is 14.5% ABV. After Greenland we sailed to Svalbard, through a gale just for variety, at about 78 degrees north lattitude. Not much to be had there either and it was all rather pricey as well. They did have the occasional polar bear though! From there we traveled to London where I had to the chance to pick up a few bottles I did not have easy access to in the US. They included Middleton Very Rare Irish Whiskey (thought it was the Barry Crockett Legacy pot still but it was not. That is what I get for making an impulse buy at duty free), Jade de Perique, Unicum, Zubrowka Buffalo Grass vodka, Shipwreck Apple Brandy from Somerset and Ceylon Arrack. We also took a one day trip through the Chunnel to Belgium. In addition to sight seeing that was mostly about beer. A visit to Cantillon Brewery was most enjoyable although this is apparently not the best time as selection was limited. I had realy hoped to get a bottle or two of the Lou Pepe Framboise for example but none was to had at the brewery or in town that I could find. I did manage to locate a few bottles of Westvleteren beer with its rather minimalist labeling policy so it helped to make up for the lack of options at Cantillon. Bringing back 14 bottles of booze in your luggage is not as easy as it might seem! They weigh around 35 pounds what with the glass and the spirits/beers itself. But they all managed to survive. Only the Irish Whiskey came home as hand carried from duty free as it was a last minute impulse buy and I managed to drop that shortly after getting on the plane as I was stowing in the overhead bin. The bottle survived but the box looked a bit like Humpty Dumpty. Some super glue has it back in one piece more less. And then there is that whole customs nuisance. I may have forgotten to mention what I was carrying. It was a long trip and I was quite tired...

I will try to remember to do so! I probably won't do so until I have the time to do so at leisure. Will be traveling myself for the next several weeks so it will be September before that happens. The Del Maguey is presumably a bit of an oddity or so they claim. Should be interesting. I am told there were only about 900 bottles (150 cases) made. How true that is I can't say.

Had asked a friend who comes here regularly from Kentucky to see if they could find a bottle of Angels Envy for me. Turns out they could and proved to be the best kind of friend as they made a gift of it! While I was out picking that up I couldn't resist a pass by the liquor store one last time before I head out on my trip. Had heard about a Del Maguey mezcal that was made using blue agave (San Luis Del Rio Azul) and so I was in search of a bottle. This mezcal came about as a result of a bit of quirk of fate and supposedly is a one off bottling. The blurb from Del Maguey say the following: "From 2000-2004, there was an agave scarcity in Jalisco (not unlike the great Angostura scare of 2009); tequila producers tracked down strong strains of Espadin hoping to sustain their output. While on this mission, they were able to convince a few farmers in Oaxaca to plant some baby maguey azul plants in an effort to safeguard against future shortages. In the seven years since the shortage, that baby Azul matured and was harvested, and according to centuries of traditional methods, it was then roasted, fermented, and distilled into a beautiful spirit. It simultaneously offers the taste and depth of two styles of agave distillate at once - flavors that combines the famed tequila of Jalisco with true Oaxacan mezcal. San Luis Del Rio Azul merges bright citrus flavors with those of tropical fruits (think dried bananas and mangos), white pepper and mossy stones, yet maintains a luscious, creamy mouth feel. Just as the brightest stars burn out the fastest, some things are too beautiful to last very long or be recreated. This mezcal, unfortunately, is one of them. Never again will Del Maguey produce this unique experiment. The maguey azul was never replanted. There was an extremely limited bottling and once it's gone it is gone for good." Whether it is any good or not remains to be seen. I have no idea what "mossy stones" are supposed to taste like... While out I finally decided to stop resisting the temptation to try to the High West 21 yo rye. But they will all have to wait until I return home from my trip at which time I hope to have a few other new additions to join them!

Not original drinks but my favorite uses of limoncello sans vodky include this variation of a Tequila Mockingbird from the Commander's Palace in New Orleans and a drink from a nearby Decatur restaurant called "My Favorite Mechanic is a Woman".

Just noticed my error! That should be slightly older rums on average, rather than younger, in the Banks 7 Golden Rum compared to the Banks 5 for what ever that is worth.

Speaking of Banks, has anyone had a chance to try the new Banks 7 Golden rum yet? I see it has made it to at least one big US internet retailer but I haven't seen it locally yet. Apparently just released fairly recently I see that they did decide to take the "Islands" part out of the name of this one! Since when did Guyana become an island! In addition to 2 additional sources of rum from Panama and Guatemala, from what little I can find (it isn't even on the Banks website as best I can tell), it has rums that are a bit younger but isn't filter so that it retains its golden hue. Brief blurb

Diplomatica is available in the US. I presume you are refering to the Reserva Exclusiva? A nice rum on the sweeter side in the same range as Zacapa 23 and usuall pretty affordable. I do rather like the Pampero Anniversario and Santa Teresa 1796 from Venezuela although neither are quite as "mature" as the Diplomatica. But I think I prefer the El Dorado 15 to any of them for around the same price and it is usually readily available locally. In fact I have a couple in the liquor cabinet at the moment! Something that did catch my eye was the Santa Teresa Rhum Orange Liqueur. But that is available here in the US as well although I don't recall seeing it locally.

I have put Ceylon Arrack, Unicum and Perique on my list as things I haven't seen readily available in the US that might prove interesting to purchase when overseas (or when I have a traveling friend willing to feed my habit!). Is there any value to looking for the Captain Morgan Black (non spiced) rum while overseas? Or is it just the novelty of the fact that it doesn't seem to be routinely available in the US and is otherwise a largely unremarkable rum?

Not surprisingly last night was about Irish Whiskey. Did a little comparison between the newly arrived Green Spot and Powers John's Lane against Redbreast, the most readily available in the US (only?) single pot still whiskey that I am aware of. I had grand plans to include the cask strength Redbreast and Irishman (which is not single pot still but rather a blend of single malt and pot still, roughly 60/40 I think. The regular Irishman is 70/30 but I believe the pot still percentage is higher in the cask strength version) but never quite got to those two. Started with the Green Spot which has no age statement but is likely around 8-9 years old from what I have read and comes at 80 proof. While a delightful whiskey I personally did not note any characteristics that made it stand out from Redbreast. It had a nice mouth feel but not remarkably so and the touch of sweetness I associate with a good Irish whiskey. A couple of drops of water in a fresh 1 ounce pour did help it to open up a bit but i could not really identify the "green apple" taste noted on the packaging or the mint characteristics others have described. This was followed by the Redbreast, a fine 12 year old whiskey I am already familiar with. Also bottled at 80 proof this had a bit more mouth feel and the delightful oiliness that I enjoy. I always find a couple of drops of water helps this to come alive as well. Nice vanilla and sppice in the long finish. Finally the Powers John's Lane was last. Again a 12 year old whisky but this time bottled at 92 proof. Don't know if I expected the added proof to make a difference which influenced my expectations but this was the clear winner among the three. Almost wish I had bought tow of these instead of two of the Green Spot. Even bigger mouth feel and weight/oily quality to it with a subtle sweetness that was more noticeable than the other two. A bit of pleasant spiceness in the finish but still quite smooth to drink (as were all three). Again added a coulpe of drops to a fresh pour which helped to emphasize all those characteristics even more. All three will deserve further exploration over time. I also will have to decide if the Barry Crockett Legacy is worth the siginficant extra expense to add to the current collection. Decisions, decisions.

There may be a drought in much of the US but it is looking green today in my area. Aat least in one "spot". After having no luck finding Green Spot in the local Irish pubs (it seems to come and go depending on the last time somebody traveled to the mother country and it was always gone when I showed up) I decided to take matters into my hands. Despite the seemingly byzantine laws regarding spirits that seem to vary from state to state (and even county to county here) I decided to place and order with the Whisky Exchange and see what happened. To my surprise and delight it arrived intact and hassle free in 5 days (can take longer to get a package delivered from two states over sometimes...). And so I now have my own supply of Green Spot Irish Whiskey. This could be dangerous of course. When I travel to London in a couple of weeks I now know I can have something shipped back with some confidence rather than have to pick and choose based on what I can successfully carry in my luggage. Hmm, this could get interesting. And expensive... The test subjects that arrived today included a couple of Green Spot's and a bottle of Powers John's Lane Irish whiskey. In addition I added a bottle of Green Label Johnnie Walker (easy enough to find here but even with shipping a bit cheaper to ship from England even considering the shipping cost and the difference in size from 750ml to 700ml). Never a big Scotch drinker but this was a favorite of mine among scotch when it was introduced a few years ago and I have heard it is being discontinued so I decided to add one for old times sake. I may add a couple more! Finally I had been looking for the older Parker Heritage Collection expressions for a while but the older ones were getting hard to find, not to mention pricey. So when I saw this bottle of the PHC Golden Anniversary on the website I decided to splurge (again...) and have it shipped back across the pond. It will be a belated celebration of St. Paddy's tonight at my house as the new Irish is getting a taste test tonight for sure! Will throw in a bit of the Redbreast for a little comparison as well.

Yes, definitely on the short list whilst in Brussels. But only there for the day so no time to go out to the monastery. Will have to hope I can find it in town somewhere. Plan to tour (and buy from!) Cantillon while there so maybe they can give me a few viable leads.

Definitely different it would seem. More like Lambanog from the Philippines I think. Had a friend there just recently and tried to get them to bring me a bottle of Lambanog but alas they failed in their mission. Some things you just have to do yourself if you want it to get done!

Anyone have any experience with Ceylon Arrack? Not something I have seen here in the US but I note it is available in London. Apparently entirely different from Batavia Arrack. It is not sugar cane based but rather made from the sap of the coconut flower. Sounds like the type of spirit that I am looking for, unusual and not locally available and potentially interesting to experiment with.

Thanks. I shall do as you instruct and avoid chocolate genever at all costs! Brussels is more about beer for me anyway. Unless I happen to stumble upon an interesting liquor store! Do they even have liquor stores? Seems many spirits are carried in the grocery stores. I have heard the recommendation about Gerry's before and I hope to make time to check it out as well. I do have to balance my liquor shopping with my companions tourist desires. She is not all that enamored with the whole liquor shopping concept. I have mentioned my remarkable patience with her seemingly unending basket shopping activities in Africa as an example of why she should be "flexible" but it did not seem to have the desired effect...

Or in this case Travels with Tanstaafl. Will be hitting the road again very soon and am always interested in getting ideas for things to look for to pick up on my way back home. This trip includes Iceland and London with a day trip to Brussels thrown in for fun. Will also be passing through the airport in Oslo but will likely have very little time (unless I miss a somewhat tight connection then all bets are off...) Most of my shopping will occur in London. I have some ideas of what I am looking for but folks here always seem to have creative suggestions so I thought I would throw this out there and see what ideas folks may have. I am generally looking for spirits and liqueurs that are a little unusual and/or aren't readily available in the U.S. Not really looking for Scotch though as there are too many options and I need to do a bit more exploring on my side of the pond. An example of something I am looking for would be Perique which has popped up in some threads on occasion. I plan to look for that in London at the Whisky Exchange. Green Spot Irish whiskey (and Yellow Spot if it is available) is also on my short list. Dreiling Aqua Vitae was another I was looking for but so far nobody in London seems to have it. There is a website for a German Bier Warehouse located outside of London that claims to have it but i haven't had much luck contacting them by email which makes me wonder if it still exists. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome!

Last night was a Gentlemen's night whiskey tasting at my home (I did invite a couple of ladies that I knew were whiskey fans but none of them made it). Started the evening off with a Transatlantic Giant as the "appetizer". Then we went through a sampling of mostly American whiskeys through the course of the evening starting with a few lower proof selections and then working our way up to a couple of barrel proof whiskeys. Also was experimenting with cheese pairings to include a Danish Blue cheese, a moderately smokey gouda and a sharp cheddar. The gouda was my personal favorite among the cheese! You will probably note a few non American options in the mix to include Penderyn, Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve (a brand new addition) and a couple of Dutch genevers/whiskies but with the exception of the Roggenaer and Corenwyn we stuck to the local whiskeys. After trying the four Single Oak Project whiskeys (no consensus on the winner. Two split the vote) we moved on to some more off beat formulations like the Baby Blue corn whiskey (generally well liked but not a top favorite, BT Experimental Rice bourbon, Bernheim wheat whiskey, Leopold Bros American whiskey, High West Bourye and the Parker's Heritage Cognac finished bourbon (a favorite of mine from the evening) before moving to several of the straight bourbon's. Since the last party featured rye I didn't include any rye at the tasting. We definitely had plenty as it was. We eventually ran out of gas before getting to all of them of course. More for next time! I did notice that Buffalo Trace products seem to occupy a fair portion of the whiskey shelf in my liquor cabinet. Wasn't necessarily deliberate but none the less it is so.

Thanks for the info. Similar to what I had been reading. Apparently the Fino's and Manzanillas just aren't for me. The Amontillado is a little more interesting. Will have to try an Oloroso to see how that goes. As it happens I picked up the Lustau East India sherry so the Oloroso/PX blend might prove more to the liking of my overly aggressive sweet tooth.

I have since read it is only the Jefferson Presidential Select 17 and 18yo bourbons that use Stitzel-Weller wheated bourbon. Not sure of the source for their other bourbons including the Jefferson Reserve.

Thanks for your suggestion. For the Transatlantic Giant, I am unfortunately missing both the sloe gin - which is on my list of things to buy - and the crème de cacao, which I refuse to buy because it does not look like something I would enjoy or use very much. So I will have to pass on that one, unless someone decides to make one for me! Does sherry degrade faster than sweet vermouth if you keep it in the fridge? So far I've only used it for cooking and have not been very picky about its quality. I confess I like Creme de Cacao, kittens or no kittens, and use it in a 20th Century and now the Transatlantic Giant. And perhaps one or two other cocktails I can't recall. It also is useful for shooters when a party gets completely out of control and I harken back to my long lost youth as I start making shooters! The clear Brizzard stuff seems decent enough. As to the life span of sherry I certainly defer to mkayahara and others as I have little experience with them and am not sure I would know a good one from a bad one. But if I am experimenting with a new cocktail that calls for a Fino, Manzanilla or even an Amontillado I generally like to have something relatively newly opened since I don't have much experience with them. I am told PX sherries are virtually indestructable and Oloroso's are not too far behind.

Rye and cynar are great together - see the Little Italy. The Teenage Riot sounds like a good cocktail but I don't have the sherry so I am not able to try it for the time being. You might like the Transatlantic Giant if you haven't tried it already and have the components. It is bourbon rather than rye but is another interesting use of Cynar. Sherry is a pain as you don't use much and it won't last long once opened which is why I went for a smaller bottle. But in the grand scheme of things basic sherry is usually pretty cheap so it is not a wallet buster to buy even if you don't use it all. While I spend a lot of money on spirits (too much probably!) I tend to be a bit of a tight wad in other ways and will try to finish something off even if I don't like it. So there is a good chance I am going to drink the rest of that sherry! To waste it would be alcohol abuse...

Decided to go ahead with the Teenage Riot from Beta Cocktails this evening. Like the Transatlantic Giant I found it to be a challenging but well worthwhile cocktail. Rye and Cynar seem like a really nice pairing. I still need to work on flaming the peel though as it is not my best skill. In addition I tried a little of the amontillado sherry as well. More interesting than the manzanilla from last night with a nutty character and dry finish but still not one I would seek out as a regular drink. Maybe I just wasn't meant for sherry. Will see how it goes with the sweeter styles.

Went out and picked up some sherry this week in anticipation of a Teenage Riot. The Lustau dry amontillado was available but I went with the Bodegas Grant Amontillado “La Garrocha” on the recommendation of the store and because it was available in a 375ml bottle. Not entirely sure if that is a dry amontillado so perhaps I made the wrong choice. While there I picked up a bottle of Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla because I had read they are good with seafood and I was planning on a shrimp pasta last night. I must say that it was the most uninspring drink I have had in some time. It wasn't bad, it was just that there wasn't really much of anything to it. I know nothing of sherry and was just trying to "broaden my horizons" so I assume the contents tasted as they were supposed to. It did have a bit of the saline taste at the start but after that it was kind of blah. Not much taste to it one way of the other. I suppose I can try another just to see if I missed anything but I don't feel much motivation to do so. I will try the amontillado on its own when I get around to the teenage riot, probably tonight or tomorrow, but i can only hope it is a little better. I think I will give the sweeter sherries a try. The Lustau East India Solera sherry sounds interesting! Anything else a sherry newbie should look for?

Since it appears to be on the TOTC website might be time to try to ask them about what happened to it since you got no help from the direct contact.

Somewhat similar to Frangelico (which is all hazelnut I think) to me if that helps you any. If you have had that then you have some idea. Nux Alpina Liqueur from Haus Alpenz (which is a walnut nocino and a very nice liqueur) is another option that I have although I don't know how readily available that is in Australia. Hmm, I wonder if you mix the two do you get Nocello... It is likely pretty sweet but you seem the adventurous sort so you can no doubt find a place for it! I recall seeing at least a few cocktail options on here that use it.