today

[low_delta]

When I got home tonight I had not one but two packages from LiveJournalers in my mailbox. I was excited to find two CD's from i. One with Stump and Sunday All Over the World, and one of Adrian Belew. I put that one in my CD player right away, but the thing's been acting picky lately and it wouldn't play.

The other package was from tequilasunset, and it contained not only seeds, but seed pods. Yes, they arrived in good shape, and yes, they do look and sound great! And she gave me several varieties of plants that all match my color scheme. Thanks a lot! And now my house has a very strong spicy smell. :-)

I went out to drink with my dad tonight. My dad is a Scotch whisky freak, so we went to his favorite haunt, The Union House (The Union House has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for the past decade. We also offer a selection of over 155 single malt scotches rated #2 in the nation and #1 in Wisconsin by The Malt Advocate.) It's way out there. It was about an hour and twenty from my house. I met my dad part way there, which was good, because I still had a buzz when I left the place. I sampled five different Scotches (though I forget what they were... Ardbeg 17 yr......., Glensomething 21 yr......, HIghland Park 10 yr...... cask strength... I forget). the alcohol didn't hit me until the last one, and it didn't go away until after I got home. We were drinking them for just over an hour and a half, and I didn't get home until two hours later. They were sampler sized drinks, about a shot's worth. Scotch (good Scotch) is made for sipping, but I just couldn't stare at my glass for very long without emptying it. Anyway, it was good stuff (except that one...), and it was nice to be out with my dad. The owner of the bar was a good guy. And he gave us a good deal on the drinks. Ten shots of expensive Scotch for $15? But he knows my dad pretty well. They were exchanging remodeling stories. Did I mention that my dad is into Scotch? He keeps a list. He rates every one he's ever drunk. He lists them by distiller, age, year, cask, whatever. He ranks them. This makes Christmas easy. You get his list, then pick the highest one on the list that you can afford (or find). Or find one that's not on his list. You should see him. He sits there at the bar with four or five glasses set out in front of him, a book and an info sheet that he fills out, to list the flavors, "nose" and record the pertinent aging and bottling data. People think he's some kind of professional whisky reviewer or something.

Comments

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

This place has more Scotches on hand than almost any place in the country. And I suspect more than anyplace in the world.

I've been meaning to ask you about finding some Ardbeg for me.

[banana.livejournal.com]

I expect I can get it, but you may find that it's cheaper for you to buy it direct from the distillery, as we have to pay a lot of tax on spirits.

Oh - I just went to the site:

Sadly, we’re not allowed to despatch any spirit to North America and Canada.

Any idea why not?

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I don't know. But that's why I wanted you to find me some and ship it to me yourself. Any idea if there are any problems with that?

My dad is a huge Ardbeg fan. He's even a member of the official club, but he can't get any for himself.

[banana.livejournal.com]

Strange.

Look here: http://www.whiskyshopusa.com/cgi-bin/whiskyshopusa.storefront/3d6e475d0964916e273f0a0a0a0605f1/Catalog/1012

Of course, I can get you some, but I can't believe you can't get it cheaper than me. Something like 80% of the price here is excise duty (i.e. tax), but you'd just have to pay whatever the US import tariff is plus the postage.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

He wants the Ardbeg 30 yr., but that 28 looks pretty good, and at a far better price. I think I'll have to do some research on it, though.

Thanks! :-)

[banana.livejournal.com]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Ardbeg+30 8~)