Heh

"Leverage.  Portfolio.  Fiduciary."  Heh.

Tonight's ADWH Soundtrack

Matt "Guitar" Murphy with... no kidding... "Buck's Boogie:"

Why... thank ya, Matt.  I think I'm gonna name my first-born in honor of this tune.  Speakin' of... this tune has everything I like about whiskey drinkin' music: a tinkling honky-tonk piano, economical but evocative guitar licks, and a honkin' sax.  It rarely gets better than this, Gentle Reader.  Needless to say, we were listenin' to a lot o' blues this evening... it was that kinda night.

I mentioned in the post below that we would be broadening our horizons this evening and we most certainly did.  I knocked back about six fingers worth of that Johnnie Walker Green... poured over two ice cubes in three installments... and I'm impressed.  The long and the short of it: Green is worthy; I like this blend even better than the Gold.  

While JW Green isn't silky smooth like the Gold it has a LOT more character.  That's not to say the dram isn't smooth, because it is.  No, the Green is a lot smokier and the peat overtones are very prominent, as is the peppery "bite" of the whiskey, which is just damned near perfect in my book.  That sensation isn't overpowering like the sort of bite you get with most bourbons, it's just enough to let you know that this is whiskey... and that's a good thing.  The taste begins with a pleasant sweet sensation in the mouth until such time as the smoky peat comes to the fore and then it finishes off with a very pleasing warmth that lasts and lasts.  I don't care WHAT Kermit sez... it's very easy bein' green when your green is made by Johnnie Walker.

Highly recommended!

Added, 2200 hrs:  I said I'd get back to ya, Gentle Reader, on the matter of what the empty glass smells like (see the post below).  Well, we gave it an hour and then we subjected the empty glass to an extensive nose test.  Alas, the glass smells NOTHING like herb... just whiskey, which is pretty nice, in and of itself.  We spent a lot o' time with our nose buried in the empty glass... like this:

Nothing even remotely like pot came to mind.  We did briefly entertain the notion of goin' back for fourths, but we resisted.

Broadening Our Horizons XXIX

We're just in from a re-supply and provisioning run out to Cannon Airplane Patch where we bought the essentials:  beer and single-malt.  No, wait... no single-malt this time; we opted for another one of Mr. Walker's high-end blends seein' as how we were suitably impressed with that Johnnie Walker Gold.  So we're gonna try what you see at right during tonight's After Dinner Whiskey Hour.  About which, this:

Four signature malts provide the key taste influences for this 15-year-old whisky. Talisker™ introduces power and depth of character, Caol Ila™ contributes mystery and intensity and, at its heart, Cragganmore™ provides a sweet maltiness, while Linkwood™ adds a final touch of finesse.

Blending exclusively with malts produces a rich, powerful whisky, with each one giving its own intense flavor and aromas to create a perfect combination.

With its rich gold amber appearance, this medium-full malt summons up a multiplicity of complex natural aromas. It starts on the seashore and drifts inland over moist moss and through evergreen forest. Then come the exotic notes of orange peel, stewed peaches, cooked black fruits and sour cherry.

I've had Talisker and Cragganmore before; I've never sampled the other two components of the blend.  The bottle is in the freezer as we speak, gettin' all nice and chilly for its debut here at El Casa Móvil de Pennington.

Oh, one more thang... we bought food, too.  Life ain't all beer and skittles single-malts now, izzit? 

Added, somewhat later:  So... there I was, surfin and lookin' for reviews of JW Green, when I came across this:

Empty glass:

Interestingly when smelling the empty glass after letting it dry on the table for a while there is a sweet smell similar to marijuana.

I know this because I once had marijuana flavoured lollipop which smelled exactly like this only a little stronger.

Heh.  And, like Clinton, I'm sure our reviewer did NOT inhale (and it was a pot-flavored lollipop, besides).  We shall not wash our glass when we're done with ADWH tonight... and I'll be sure and get back to you on the "smells like pot" thang.  I'll know from whence I speak, too... coz, unlike the Big Dog, I most certainly DID inhale once upon a time.  But we don't do that any longer, Gentle Reader.  Our abstinence doesn't come from a sudden attack of morals or respect for dumb-ass laws; no, it's a matter of health.  My lungs, wracked with emphysema as they are, do not need any more tars or other foreign substances fouling up the airways. 

―:☺:―

I don't know what to make of this... 

Is that a Pro-Perry or Anti-Perry cartoon?  On the one hand, one could interpret this as Miss America likes Good Ol' Boys... macho-men... in the Oval Office instead of nerds (think: present occupant, who is a pseudo- or wanna-bee nerd).  OTOH, one could view this as "Mitt The Serious One" while Perry is just a Good Time Charlie.  One thing is certain, though... Mr. Holbert is a DamnYankee (all one word).  Nobody wears their Levis tucked into their boots... NO-Frickin'-BODY... except for foreign rock stars who don't know any better.

It's Always SUMTHIN' Part XI

We were up at oh-dark-thirty this morning... and quite literally, at that: 0600 hrs... on account o' because we had a car-doctor appointment over in The Big(ger) City™ to get The Green Hornet's balky windows looked at and (hopefully) fixed.  Well, we have good news and bad news.

The Bad:  TGH's windows aren't fixed.  We require another trip over to Lubbock for to see the Mazda dealer who shall replace the window motors and regulators on both the driver's and passenger's side.  The Mazda dealer told me back in June that particular work would be required to fix the problem and I was quoted something along the lines of 400 Yankee Dollars per side.  I demurred on the repair at that time, being the skeptical sort I AM and also given my opinion there are NO rape laws where the service departments at auto dealers are concerned.  It turns out the Mazda fix-it folks were correct.  So we shall make an appointment...

The Good:  The good folks at Rembrandt's Collision and Auto Repair charged me not a penny to disassemble the door panels on TGH and render a repair estimate.  (It goes without sayin':  I LOVE those guys!  They've done excellent work for me in the past.)  They also recommended I take my baby to the dealer, as the task of replacing the motors and regulators is quite involved and is something they would rather not do.  Further to this discussion... it came out that Rembrandt's has a high opinion of the Mazda store in Lubbock, characterizing them as honest and efficient.  It also helped that Rembrandt's validated the original cost of repair as quoted to me at the Mazda store.  So there's that. 

But as I said: it's always SUMTHIN'.  TGH is gettin' up there in years and everything is made to be broken... it so happens stuff is breaking at a record pace this year.  I've replaced her top, shocks & struts, and had a new timing belt installed... all in the space of two months... and now we're gonna shell out yet another largish chunk o' change to get her windows fixed.  I console myself by thinkin' these outlays are but one-sixth or one-seventh the cost of replacing her...

Sigh.

―:☺:―

I shall now bore you with more mediocre phone pics.  We whipped by Cannon Airplane Patch on the way home to restock the whiskey cabinet and while I was in the Class VI store I noticed this:

New Mexico wines?  Who'd a thunk it?  But, yea verily... it's true (Google it!).  There was also a pretty good selection of same:

I didn't buy any since I'm not a wino.  Wine, to me, is sumthin' to enjoy with a great meal and not sumthin' you routinely drink for recreational purposes.  I arrived at that decision and/or mindset after living through some of the WORST hangovers I've ever had in my life, all brought on by cheap-ass Portuguese rosés, more expensive German whites, and decent California reds, primarily of the Bordeaux persuasion.  I make an exception where champagne is concerned, of course.  I can get blasted on champagne pretty easily, Gentle Reader, if and when we have occasion to do so.

So it was off to the whiskey aisle.  Some time ago I mentioned the Class VI store expanded their single-malt offerings and I now have proof of that statement (click = big, same for the pics above):

We opted for a bottle of 16 year-old Oban this around and are looking forward to tonight's After Dinner Whiskey Hour with great anticipation.

The day hasn't been a total loss.

Tonight's ADWH Soundtrack

Hot Tuna, yet again.  It's JA, actually, but the version I heard on Pandora this evening was by Hot Tuna... not available on the Tube o' You, unfortunately.  So this will have to do:

Well now what is gonna happen now is anybody's guess

If I can't spend my time with love I guess I need a rest.

Time is getting late now and the sun is getting low

My body's getting tired of bearing another's load

And sunshine's waiting for me a little further down the road.

This is a re-run.  I originally posted the tune and a couple o' others from Hot Tuna in the near way-back, and it's kinda funny... funny strange, not funny ha-ha... how I keep returning to my roots.  That's a function of Old Age, methinks.  But so be it: I'm comfortable with it.

We sat out long after sunset this evening and were only driven indoors by the approaching storm, which has yet to fully materialize.  We got up and withdrew when the wind picked up significantly and the first spitting rain drops hit us.  But that's all we've had, so far: spitting.  It was very good to sit outside and feel the storm coming on... when the heat of the day is ameliorated by coolish and damp southern winds containing the scent of moisture.  The coolness was wonderful, to say the very least.

We were less than pleased with our newest whiskey acquisition, however.  We took the first round neat, as is our habit, and the whiskey isn't all I thought it would be.  The Quinta Ruban reminds me of The Second Mrs. Pennington in a lot o' ways:  the nose is very pleasant and is something that promises much whereas the actual tasting delivers less.  The initial taste is altogether pleasant and pleases your mouth with complex flavors, with a certain sweetness that overrides all the other sensations.  But like TSMP, it's the finish that bothers... which is to say it's harsh and biting, leaving a stinging sensation in the mouth and on the palate that supersedes any pleasure one initially experienced.  

I don't like my whiskeys to hurt me; this bottle will be a "one and done" and Quinta Ruban will never darken my doorstep again.  As a matter of fact, I'll prolly use it to make a lot o' Rusty Nails as drinking it neat is way too close to masochism for me.  Either that or I'll drink it over lotsa ice, as I did with the second and subsequent rounds this evening.  Water cuts the harshness a lot... kinda like the effect time has on a bad love affair.

But leave us not digress or delve deeper into waters where we don't belong.  Metaphors just ain't my thang.

The Best Laid Plans...

... come to naught.  Sorta.  I woke up waaay too early but decided to catch the Early Bus and run out to Cannon Airplane Patch for the UCR re-supply mission, which is to say beer, whiskey, and food.  Well, two out o' three ain't bad, according to Mr. Loaf (I HATE that fuckin' song.  Just want ya to know.).  

So, back to our story, such as it is.  I pulled into the commissary parking lot at 1000 hrs after finishing my bid'niz at the Class VI store (more about that below) and wondered why there were only four cars in the lot, counting The Green Hornet.  A quick inspection of the commissary front revealed a large sign sayin' sumthin' to the effect of  "New Hours on Thursdays for the month of July!", said new hours bein' the place didn't open until 1100 hrs.

Well, damn.

So.  We... bein' the impatient sort we ARE... hopped back in the car and motored on back to ECMdP, deferring our food shopping for another day.  But we did manage to get the important stuff, part o' which is this:

That's a bottle o' Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, about which I find this out there on these inter-tubes:

Taste: It was a nice balance of sweetness and nirvana with a little bit of that whack behind the head that makes it Scotch and not wine in my opinion. From the reviews I read I wasn't so sure I was going to like this Scotch but I think I have found my replacement to the Old Port Wood Finish. it is different because it is unchill filtered but it is so smooth and nice and the taste buds it has been one of the easiest Scotch's I have had in a long time.

Finish: The finish was very smooth and subtle so you haven't forgotten what you just drank and it didn't overpower the rest of the dram.

Comments: I have found my replacement to the Old Port Wood Finish, it's amazing.

You Gentle Readers may remember we killed a bottle o' Glenmorangie Lasanta before we went off on that three-bottle run o' Johnnie Walker Gold.  I was gonna buy a fourth bottle o' Gold but the Glenmorangie caught my eye and we're ALL about broadening our horizons, dontchaknow.   I'm also VERY gratified to see the Class VI store has expanded its single-malt offerings by an order of magnitude (only a slight exaggeration).  Up until about a month ago we had a choice between Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and Balvenie... all ten year olds... and that was IT.  Now we have four different varieties of Glenmorangie alone, including a pretty pricey 16 year old variant.  They've also added Oban and a couple o' different brands I'm not familiar with.

Things are definitely looking up in the whiskey department.

What? Another One?

Yup... another one bites the dust.

ZOMG.  They're fallin' like flies...

Tonight's After Dinner Whiskey Hour Soundtrack:

Keep our lamps trimmed and burning
Keep our lamps trimmed and burning
Keep our lamps trimmed and burning
For our race is almost run

We're doin' just that: the lamp is trimmed and burnin' bright.  Hot Tuna is/was the best thing to come outta Jefferson Airplane/Starship.  Slick wasn't after awhile... but Jorma and Jack kept on rockin' long after Grace fell from.  You WILL forgive me my lame attempts at puns... right, Gentle Reader?  Please?

Another Dead Soldier... and Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Another dead soldier, which means it's time to bring up the reserves... and one can plainly see they're rarin' to go.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack:

This is an old-time fave whose meaning has radically altered over the years.  I've been a Dave Mason fan for years and bought "Alone Together" after Traffic's demise.  I thought about posting some Traffic today but felt ol' Dave just fit the program better.  Those of you who chase the links I provide will note Rita Coolidge sang back-up on this album, and there's gonna be some Rita in my... and by definition, your... future at some point in time.

And now it's back outside to continue as we've begun.

Just One More and Then We'll Go

(sigh)

That would be $16,120.70... for those of you who keep score.  Wanna read the tasting notes?  Go here.

Earlier This Evening

Cross-posted at Google+ earlier, via my Evo 4G (phone-cam).  It's a brilliant evening here on The High Plains o' New Mexico.  Cheers!

We Take Good Advice...

... when we get it, to wit:

Should buy the other three up. This is why I have been buying wines by the case. 

I hate to open something up and enjoy it so thoroughly as to be sorry when there is no more.  

Which is from Blog-Bud Darryl, in comments to this post.

We've been doin' some serious damage to that bottle of JW Gold of late and last evening it became apparent a re-supply mission was in order.  From an e-mail I sent out earlier today:

Subject: I Took Yr Advice...

... and bought two more bottles of that Gold stuff.  Interestingly, the Class VI will prolly be stocking this in future.  When I got to the check-out the girl rang me up at $61.50 per bottle, at which time I protested and mightily so: "But the price on the shelf said $54.75!!" sez I.  She ran off to check and came back with "That was last week's sale price.  But I'll give ya that price since that was what was posted on the shelf."  "Thank you," sez I.

So.  Free beer, in a manner of speaking, since the savings paid for my beer re-supply, and then some.

We're in no danger of running out of scotch in the near future:

For a couple o' weeks, anyhoo.

News of the Poor and Obscure

As opposed to the rich and famous, of course.  We're in from running the day's errands which consisted mostly of re-stocking our food supply.  Let me say this about that:

I LURVE these bagged meals.  I like the nukable steam bags even better, but Wally-World doesn't carry them.  If I had driven the extra 22 miles out to the Cannon Airplane Patch commissary I could have picked up some steamers, but we opted for convenience over selection.  And besides that, we're not in need of more scotch at the moment.  I'll drive those extra miles to save ten Yankee Dollars on a bottle o' scotch but I won't drive 'em for a wider selection in food.  Priorities, yanno?

That said... isn't it weird how a lot of food comes in bags these days?  I buy that bagged salad, too.  These Modern Times surely are a boon to bachelors... I remember the days of my first encounter with the single life all TOO damned well, the days when I subsisted mainly on Campbell's soup, PBJs, and Kraft macaroni & cheese.  Well that and the USAF dining hall, which option isn't available to me any longer and more's the pity.  Anyhoo... now it's reasonably easy to eat well (sorta) while not spending hours in the kitchen.  Shorter: cooking for one sucks.

Speakin' o' scotch... and we did, above...I succumbed.  That Johnnie Walker Gold now occupies a niche in my freezer door, as opposed to me freezing four fingers of the stuff at a time, which means my refills are just as chilled as the original pour.  I highly recommend this practice if you haven't tried the frozen booze trick.  I'm not sure if it works on run o' the mill booze but it sure makes this Gold stuff taste wonderful.  

The eagle-eyed among you will notice an object floating in the bottle and that's the remnants of a piss-poor cork.  The whiskey is excellent, the cork not so much.  It's a good thing I still had that bottle of Glenmorangie hangin' around when I broke the Gold's cork, coz that Glenmorangie cork fit the Gold bottle perfectly.  Sometimes ya live right... or get lucky.

―:☺:―

Random notes... I finally got off the dime and paid the bills today.  The holiday kinda-sorta screwed me up as the USPS wasn't on the job Monday.  I'm almost never this late in getting the checks in the mail, but I'm not late-late.  Nothing's due until the 15th.

Speaking of mail... various and sundry organizations keep sending me return address labels (I'm pretty sure I have a lifetime supply now) which I cheerfully use, albeit with a twinge of guilt. That's because these people always ask for a small donation and I always decline but I continue to use their labels.  What a miserable freeloader I am, eh?

I coulda swore I had sumthin' else, but it escapes me now.  You're welcome.

In Which We Combine Happy and After Dinner Whiskey Hours

I got back from a day trip up to Tucumcari... slightly under 200 miles, round-trip... earlier this evening and immediately adjourned to the verandah to savor a few fingers of that loverly JW Gold and burn a small cigar.  I took a page out of the reviewer's comments I linked (above) and put three fingers of the Gold in the freezer yesterday afternoon, the object bein' to freeze the spirit as suggested by the Johnnie Walker folks on their web site.  Well, sorta.  Mr. Walker's heirs and descendents... or the Diageo folks, acting on their behalf... recommend freezing the entire bottle for 24 hours before drinking.  I'm not willing to go THAT far but I'm all for tryin' new stuff, so we froze a small amount of the Gold before imbibing.  Here's what it looked like after coming out of the freezer:

The results?  Not too shabby!  Freezing seems to enhance the pepper/spice flavors in the drink while not taking a thing away from that wonderful nose.  Freezing also reduces the spirit to a syrupy sorta texture and increases the intensity of the flavors on the palate.  I really liked the latter effect and I might have to do this again in the near future.  The drink stayed pretty danged cold for a rather longish time, all the more surprising considerin' it was 90 degrees out when I took to the verandah.

About that day trip... the object of said trip was to mosey on up to Tucumcari and have a late lunch with DIL Alisa; grand-daughters Anastasia (and husband Alex), Amanda, Ava, and Angelina; and great-grand-offspring Taurean and Aria.  The trip was a great success: we got to spend some quality time (however brief) with all involved and I got to sharpen up my grand-parenting skills, which aren't as rusty as I might think... mainly because I succeeded in making the grandbabies laugh a lot, and that's no mean feat.  DIL Alisa and grand-daughter Amanda took photos of the event and I have it on good authority those should appear in my e-mail box sometime in the near future.  We shall post a couple o' same upon receipt.

So: a fun day.  I only wish I lived closer to the kids... ALL the kids... so this sorta thang could happen more often.  (sigh)

Broadening Our Horizons XXVI

Heresy!  I'm an apostate!  By that I mean I bought my first bottle of blended scotch in at least 30 years today... this:

That's a bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold... a blend of 18-year-old single malts (no grain spirits added... it's ALL single malts).  I saw this on the shelf of the Class VI store yesterday but wasn't prepared to pay the considerable freight on this blend (a blend, fer gawd's sakes!) until I got home and did some basic research, which is to say: read some reviews.  I read, I was impressed, I made the return trip to Cannon today and picked up a bottle.  I'm glad I did... let's quote one review:

So, the question that arises: Is Gold Label that good? And the answer is . . . yes, it is. Very good indeed.

The reviewer waxes eloquent about the nose of this scotch and I'm with him there... the nose is magnificent.  But really: it's all about the taste, innit?  And the taste is superb; slightly sweet, peaty, and smooooth.  Exceptionally smooth.  I like this scotch a LOT.

A couple o' notes...  (1)  There were six bottles of JW Gold on the shelf at the Class VI yesterday; there were three when I returned today.  The stuff moves pretty fast for as pricey as it is.  (2)  I included that bottle of Glenmorangie in the pic simply to show how much of it has been consumed since I brought it home.  A bottle o' scotch will normally last me about six weeks; this bottle has been in my likker locker for less than two.  Which is testimony on how much I like this stuff:  it, too, is that good.  But the Glenmorangie has some serious competition now.  (3)  The sun was over the yardarm... albeit just barely... when I poured the wee dram you see above.  That's just because I AM an American, and I'm ALL about instant gratification.  And because I CAN.