[Off Topic But in the Right SPIRIT] The Proper Liquid Companion for Hogs and Hoglets

J

joshiecole

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Apr 29, 2012
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There's been several mentions on this forum of Johnny Walker Blue. Now while I love a bit of JW (and Black was after all Churchill's favourite whisky), I think the perfect scotch for the Busse-owner is ARDBEG.

Ardbeg is the peatiest and smokiest of them all, like sipping a bonfire, or quaffing bacon! :p

Here's INFI content plus the dregs of my last bottle...

utf-8BSU1HLTIwMTIwNzE2LTAwMTc0LmpwZw.jpg
 
joshiecole said:
There's been several mentions on this forum of Johnny Walker Blue. Now while I love a bit of JW (and Black was after all Churchill's favourite whisky), I think the perfect scotch for the Busse-owner is ARDBEG.

Ardbeg is the peatiest and smokiest of them all, like sipping a bonfire, or quaffing bacon! :p

Here's INFI content plus the dregs of my last bottle...
Click to expand...

122_patron_bottles_1169923850.jpg
 
Haha, there is a time and place for Tequila -- but it doesn't quite have the same Busse-like finesse! :p
 
Ask Garth about this.
Click to expand...

If Garth can build classics like the Sarge 7 on Tequila, God only knows what he could do on a tank full of Ardbeg.... it would indeed be 'fearfully and wonderfully made'!
 
Honestly I think that 1800 is just as good as patron. Especially at roughly half the cost.

But I will definitely check out the ardbeg. If I can get out of my makers mark rut.
 
I like Ardbeg a lot. The smokier and peatier the better!

My favorite, though, is Laphroaig.
 
Jim Murray author of the Whisky Bible says 'To me Ardbeg is - and always has been - the most complex malt on earth'....

ps. I want to ust be clear that I neither work for nor have any affiliation with Ardbeg! Just a fan, and thought that there might be some fellow fans on here
 
Alcohol. I don't think delivery beverage matters much, there's just too many good ones.
 
Alcohol. I don't think delivery beverage matters much
Click to expand...

While the alcohol component is vital, not all alcohols are equal. There's more magic to a good drink than that -- An evening spent drinking extra strong rum (160 proof) will in not end in the same way as one drinking Absinthe of a near-identical proof!
 
Just to put a few further thoughts here ... it was Red Label that was Churchill's preferred Whisky ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Walker

And Johnnie Walker is now no longer being made in Kilmarnock Scotland ... after 200 years of history there ...

Information on what is happening to the JW Brand is set out in the wikipedia link ... given that JW is a blended whisky ... where they blend and bottle it is'nt as critical as where the whisky is made ... as in if you move a Speyside distillery to anywhere else the water will radically alter and so will the whisky ... but you can bottle it and bend it without the local water being an issue ( hopefully ) ...

It is a shame though that the whole history of the company has been overturned by profit seeking multi national owners ... not to mention the town of Kilmarnock and it's local workers ... JW was the biggest employer in the town ...

Same old story as you get in America I bet ...

Editted to add - I thought I would google the best single malt whisky ... just to see which was best ... Ardbeg won in 2010 ... but guess what ? Japanese "malt whiskies" won in 2011 and 2012 ... and back in 2008 ... how the hell do you have Japanese Malt Whiskies ? Sometimes the injustice being done to people whose lives build a product and reputation seems crazy to me ... no doubt it won't be long before jobs are being created in Scotland by Japanese Whisky giants who end up dominating the market like they have with cars ...

Lol ... now if a Japanese Whisky firm offered to take over the bottling plant in Kilmarnock ... well ... at least it would be "jobs" for the locals ...

What with the Banks and Multi National "Directors" ... why the hell are we chasing terrorists when these guys are getting away with "mayhem" ... and I have'nt even been drinking to feel this "maudlin" either ... lol ... if you did'nt laugh you'd cry ...
 
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Just to put a few further thoughts here ... it was Red Label that was Churchill's preferred Whisky ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Walker

And Johnnie Walker is now no longer being made in Kilmarnock Scotland ... after 200 years of history there ...

Information on what is happening to the JW Brand is set out in the wikipedia link ... given that JW is a blended whisky ... where they blend and bottle it is'nt as critical as where the whisky is made ... as in if you move a Speyside distillery to anywhere else the water will radically alter and so will the whisky ... but you can bottle it and bend it without the local water being an issue ( hopefully ) ...

It is a shame though that the whole history of the company has been overturned by profit seeking multi national owners ... not to mention the town of Kilmarnock and it's local workers ... JW was the biggest employer in the town ...

Same old story as you get in America I bet ...
Click to expand...

Ah, there seems to be some mixed messages regarding Winston's favourite whisky. Several websites seem to say Black... http://www.whisky-pages.com/notes/distillery.php?id=johnnie

You're right about the change of location not making a radical difference to the quality of the blend, however, in terms of the 'soul' of the brand I think that it's sad. I suspect that Diageo's market research chaps have told them that the vast majority of drinkers will neither know nor care about the history of JW, and a short C-B-Analysis later theyve worked out that the potential impact on their customer base is offset by the decline in costs....

Sad :(
 
See the editted bit above in my first post ... totally agree with you ...the whole thing is pretty sad :(
 
Completely agree re Japanese whisky. I don't doubt that a considerable craft and care goes into the best Japanese whisky (you don't win the awards without a lot of tlc going into your product) but again it comes back to that intangible, 'soul'. It matters and should matter, because the stuff we buy is more than just a 'bundle' of certain goods with a price (spring water plus grains etc) theyre also a way of life. More and more it seems that all these 'ways of living' are being ironed out of in favour of their homogenised replacements. Milton Freidman-type economists will tell us that the 'sacred' market forces are just taking their effect, and that enough people really wanted JW to stay in Kilmarnock then they would be willing to payy more for that product -- but in real life 'optimum outcomes' are not necessarily produced by market forces.... in the same way that the public doesnt always choose the best presidents/prime ministers.... we need to stop thinking of democracy and free markets as sacred cows and rather as 'the best of a bad lot' (to paraphrase Winston)

Sorry for getting slightly economicsy, but I did just graduate last Thursday and its nice to use the nonsense I've been taught :p


completely understand your feeling maudlin -- it's this bloody weather and the fact that we're in a global depression.
 
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Nice little collection John :) I'll admit that I don't know enough about US Whiskeys.... Still I love a bit of ejucashun

EDIT. ps impressed by the '63, although I struggle to get into Port, just aways find it a bit too sweet
 
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