whiskey

It's true - the mysteries of whiskey are very deep indeed.

The age-old rule, passed down from father to son, is "Don't drink too much of this deadly shit." But it's written in such sloppy handwriting that few can read it. Also it seems to have been pissed on a bit.

There was a point, not a very good point in all probability, where I was drinking half a bottle of Macallan's a day on top of beer etc. God alone knows how I was affording it, not eating very much I suspect, and still functioning fine. Then about a year later of more or less heavy drinking I had a 12hr or so blackout, stopped drinking completely for a couple of months and have never been able to drink to the same levels again. (Surely a good thing, although it's hard not to feel a certain fondness for the days of booze and roses).

Nowadays drinking whisky, although pleasurable at the time, the next day envelopes me in such heavy gloom and sadness that I rarely do it, or if I do, have no more than a glass.

Your story makes me glad that I am able to miss it. I love whiskey. I have drank far too much of it at times myself -- FAR too much. I vaguely remember weeping, lying on the floor in a hallway, covered in Ethiopian takeout. But just vaguely. Others close to me could probably tell you things I don't remember at all. They're welcome to tell you as long as they don't tell me. I don't want to know, I really don't.

I don't want to know.

I wish I had some whiskey right now.

Yes, I'm at work. So?

the older I get the more I appreciate keeping a pleasant low-level buzz going over a few hours before bed. this is why I now spend money on good tasting liquor. I generally drop a single ice cube in a nice heavy glass and sip on it for a good while.

oh shit I need whiskey

it is so goddamned hot here

oh that was actually the last 100 posts sorry for being redundant

Whiskey and I...we're like a previously married couple who used to fight/fuck/fight/fuck/fight/fuck and then just decided it was too exhausting for us to continue.

We still get together for the occasional low-level petting, which rarely leads to getting it done. We are pretty much fond, but distant, acquaintances.

It makes me sad that I can't handle it any more, but the truth is I can't, and whiskey is more than willing to remind me of that any time I need that type of reminder.

Also - to clarify: whiskey (or whisky, if you prefer) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain mash. Scotch, bourbon, Tennessee, Canadian...all are whiskys/ies. The differentiation between some as and some as not whiskey/y is an irksome, and completely incorrect.

is an irksome habit

I wish I had some whiskey right now.

Yes, I'm at work. So?

― For other uses, see Cornhole (disambiguation). (Oilyrags), Tuesday, June 23, 2009 2:16 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ditto

rip van winkle family reserve rye is where it's at when whisk(e)y has an 'e' in it.
― Ed (dali), Tuesday, March 29, 2005 8:13 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^four year old post totally on the money

Be even better when it's 12 years old. Or 16! Might cost a lot more by then, though.

hahahah. it costs plenty now as it is!

It makes me sad that I can't handle it any more, but the truth is I can't, and whiskey is more than willing to remind me of that any time I need that type of reminder.

Also - to clarify: whiskey (or whisky, if you prefer) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain mash. Scotch, bourbon, Tennessee, Canadian...all are whiskys/ies. The differentiation between some as and some as not whiskey/y is an irksome, and completely incorrect.

Both points had me firmly nodding at the screen like a simpleton responding to a question. The spelling differentiation between single malt whisky and whiskey needs to go as well. Some form of needless snobbery is at work here, although I can't quite work out the mechanics of it.

rip van winkle family reserve rye is where it's at when whisk(e)y has an 'e' in it.
― Ed (dali), Tuesday, March 29, 2005 8:13 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^four year old post totally on the money

^one of the many things you can't get in Pennsylvania.

I really want to try this:

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/images/old_potrero_19th_bottle.jpg
Also not available in PA.

TBH, their whole line up looks awesome:

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/anchordistilling.htm

the A1 top rule for not getting stupid drunk isn't drinking water all night (that'll help the hangover), it's eating a lot of food before drinking. it doesn't "soak up" the alcohol, but having food in your stomach modulates how long things (including alcohol) stay sequestered there. that is, your intestines can only absorb so much at a time, so

empty stomach: alcohol gets dumped by the stomach immediately, and is taken up by the intestine and you get housed
full stomach: alcohol has to hang out while the stomach metes out small portions of food into the intestine, like an on-ramp at rush hour

Preach it.

Thankin u, alcohol dehydrogenases! I learnt that from a surgical technologist I went on a date with once. He never called me back, but I remembered the science lecture portion of the evening.

it also means that loading up on food after you're drunk won't sober you up, like, at all

xp yeah, and "asian blush" if anyone's interested, has to be with a deficiency in aldehyde dehydrogenase, leading to a build up of acetaldehyde, which is what causes the blushing and nausea. this is just speculation, but: getting really trashed also probably saturates your ADH activity, and there's a backlog of acetaldehyde, which leads to some of the symptoms of being super wasted

oops "has to be" = "has to do"

most expensive whiskey I ever had was this:
http://www.whisky.fr/medias/images/produits/675x900/m355.jpg

it goes for up to $5500 fyi

i have a bottle of reg. midleton sitting at home, waiting for the right occasion....

btw the western gold bourbon in Lidl is really really nice.

also cheap

The spelling differentiation between single malt whisky and whiskey needs to go as well.

I'm on the fence with this one - part of me likes the different spelling as representative of the different traditions that go into the whole whiskey thing, and the other part just wishes we could drop all the naming conventions and get good and stinking with each other.

Man, I got a thirst after reading this thread. Luckily, it will be 6 hours at least before I can even acquire booze, so hopefully it will have abated by then.

Ed, Old Portrero is really good, it's very unique. It's not like bourbon or scotch at all, hard to describe. its definitely worth finding.

I am off to SF next month, I shall make a beeline for the distillery.

Enjoy. If you ever find yourself up in Massachusetts, that is where i have had the best luck in finding Pappy Van Winkle. Their website also has a state by state list of their retailers:

http://www.oldripvanwinkle.com/newbs/vw/website3.nsf/wProducts?readform&t=Products

bought a bottle of george dickel last night, was very pleased. sipped it neat

Only had a pull or two of the dickel and I liked.

(ilx quoted out of context)

at $18, dickel used to be a go-to of mine, felt like a steal. now it's like $24. still tasty tho.

found it for $20 in western MA

at a place that sells maker's mark for $24

ye olde Chicopee Chiseller

Dickel is pretty decent, I think I paid $18 in DC.

i used some to make a sazerac last night (OK not orthdox and I had no peychaud and had to do a twist of lime), but I have a bottle of HB pastis and it had to be done.

http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/tales-of-a-cocktail-sampling-sazeracs-in-new-orleans/

ok if you paid $18 in dc (where i live) and tracer is calling marker's for $24 chiseling, i really need to stop going to the neighborhood corner liquor store.

PA state liquor (not known for its cheapness) lists it for $19.99.

there's a real nice liquor store less than a minute from my place but everything costs a fortune there. i think a bottle of laphroaig was like 60 bucks, i got one for 40 in new hampshire two weeks ago.

$24 for maker's is chiseling? wow i thought i was getting a deal.

yea i feel like it's hard tho to find out if you're getting ripped off - most of the liquor stores around here sell stuff for similar prices. guess u find out by traveling a bit. i didn't buy any liquor really until i moved to western MA so i'm not sure what stuff would cost in, say, cleveland, where i grew up

i think tho that my liquor store is moderately priced then - they had laphroaig for like $48

damnit what was the single malt i had the other night that had a lovely treacley finish?

Beer seems really expensive here which is a bummer, I' just drink wine these days.

Ah twas Isle of Jura it was. xp.

Ed do you recall where you bought dickel for $18 in dc

laphroaig under 50 in mass is generally indicative of good prices imo. 24 for maker's seems like a deal tho i don't really like maker's at all.