I’m going to trudge my way into town later on to do my Christmas shoplifting. I’ve made a list and I’ve checked it twice.
Jimmy the Bollix – he is still distraught over the death of Leslie Nielsen so an Adam Sandler box set should make him feel worse.
Dirty Dave – a Blue Statos gift-pack.
Stinking Pete -two Blue Stratos gift-packs.
Lucky Luciano – nothing, the fucking cunt.
Ron – he’s looking for a new bat.
I thinking of getting myself something too. A little treat to reward myself for getting through this most trying of years. The inner-geek in me is thinking of products prefixed with ‘i’ but the chilled-by-the-weather, fucked up fireplace person is thinking of a trip to the Whiskey shop for something drinkable.
A bottle of this would do.
A snip at €1,500.00 inc VAT.
As I said, I’m off to do my Christmas shoplifting.
Whiskey that expensive is immoral, in my judgemental opinon.
A friend once ordered some whiskey that was worth €3,000 a bottle – it came in a glass the size of a thimble.
He said it really wasn’t worth it.
Men and their Christmas shopping. My husband is going in to town to do it today as well.
If I could spend that much money on a bottle of whiskey I would because anyone who has that much money to spend on a bottle of whiskey has more money than they know what to do with.
Cheap date, huh?
That’s not the one you want. You want this one – http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/-z-product-product-21-context-brand-page-1.htm
Oh, and if you ever really want to try top end whiskeys for a bargain price, drop into the Irish Whiskey Society, who have tastings in Dublin every month.
http://www.irishwhiskeysociety.com
And with prices actually going UP to be “best buys” in the sales (judging by your pic the other day), those shoplifted presents can be considered more valuable & you more generous than ever
Don’t feel guilty Twenty. It’s going to cost a certain prince a hell of a lot more to be able to suck on a 28 year old Middleton.
I can only imagine how good that must be.
Might check that society out though
heh, Lung
clever :)
Irish whiskey society iz good people …think they organise tastings and distillery vsits and so on …
Bit of a single malt fan meself and remember my collection of malts which I regret to say I gave to a friend before going abroad with work …
Ouch ouch ouch … near enough 30-35 bottles with examples from nearly every distillery still functioning in Scotland.
That was one lucky bastard flatmate.
I regret to say I gave to a friend before going abroad with work…
So thats what happened to Michael Barrymore!
1500?? No way Twenty, unless its a specialist malt, years old it is in its hole that much. If you really want a bottle, there is a wine merchant in D.12 that will do you a good deal. Look it up in the yellow pages you’ll find it easy enough. You have to pay in cash. Good luck with your shopping.
The ‘specialist malts’ (presume you meant single malt?) aren’t worth that price either.
Some Scotches go up to 50K a bottle and beyond.
I’ve had a whiskey priced at 5 grand once. It was easily the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had hundreds. But it certainly wasn’t 100 times better than, say, Redbreast.
These things are status symbols for millionaires, just like Bugatti Veyrons and private yachts and jets.
You can usually get almost as good for a tiny fraction of the price. This Midleton I’ve actually tasted. It’s splendid. But it’s no better than, for example, the Dungourney 64, which is a third of the price, or even the CWS’s single cask Midleton from a couple of years ago for a tenth of the price.
And as a 13 or 14 yo pot still whiskey, even that is little better than the Redbreast 15 yo for 65 quid. Which is only slightly older than the standard Redbreast for 38.
I guess I’ve made my point.
I agree JC Skinner … its about perceived value more than anything else. Lots of people assume whisky distills over time in the bottle or improves with age in the bottle like wine in a cask but thats wrong.
Once its out of the tuns and into the bottle thats the way she be …
I like the way the distillers refer to the small amount that evaporates in the barrelling/aging process … they call it ‘the angel’s share’.
I’ve paid up to £45.00 quid for a glorious single malt in short supply but I’d never bother going over £50.
Certainly wouldn’t pay big money for a blend. Sheer bloody communism.
What are you getting me ?
I feel sorry for people who make a face when whisky is mentioned and say they don’t like it.
It invariably means they’ve tried a cheap whisky and the gulf between a chap whisky and a good quality is almost immeasurable….
Bastards. I have to go and treat myself to a good bottle now this evening I have the semi goo for it.
We’ll see how a nice warm flat, comfy chair, blessed silence and a glass of the liquid gold along with perhaps a touch of an, erm, specialist tobacco will suit this christmas day I feel.
‘Tis a rough life being a Captain and we all need our little safe harbours against the wrath of Poseidon.
Watch out for that Poseidon. He’s some cunt.
Some blends are as good if not better than some Single Malts. The Antiquary is superb, I’d certainly drink it rather than Glenfiddich. Low Cost – Black Bottle is tremendous.
My favourite – The Macallan – fingers crossed that is what Twenty is getting me.
Top whiskey tips for Xmas 2010 –
1. Locke’s Premier Crew – chosen by the Whiskey Society. Only 300 bottles in existence, many drunk already. Only 60 euro.
2. Redbreast 15 yo – this was going for 150 quid only a year or so ago. Now it’s more widely available, the price is down to 70 or so. But it’s just as awesome.
3. Dun Leire 8 yo. A supermarket whiskey from Sainsbury’s for those doing the Newry run. Voted top Irish whiskey in a spirits competition, and it’s less than 30 quid.
Also, look out for supermarket deals on Black Bush, Locke’s 8 yo and Powers 12 yo. All great whiskeys at best ever prices if you shop around at the moment.
Captain Con O’Sullivan
December 22nd, 2010 @ 12:37 pm
I feel sorry for people who make a face when whisky is mentioned and say they don’t like it.
It invariably means they’ve tried a cheap whisky and the gulf between a chap whisky and a good quality is almost immeasurable….
whiskey makes me puke. it makes me feel a bit like that dude in southpark who pukes when his girlfriend kisses him, inadequate. same with reggae. two of my many character flaws
Hey itchy, do it the Japanese way.
Get a good bottle (but cheap, say Black Bush or Powers 12 yo) pour a measure (two fingers) into a slim jim glass instead of a whiskey tumbler.
Give it a good sniff and enjoy. Then top up to near the brim with water.
Now your whiskey is about the strength of weak wine or strong beer. You should be able to enjoy it without being overpowered by the strength of the alcohol.
Over time, reduce the amount of water you’re adding until it’s just a little dribble.
Congratulations. Now you’re drinking whiskey, boy!
cut, pasted and emailed to myself JC. Thanks. I will let you know how I get on over xmas.
I know some people refuse to add any water to cask strength whiskeys of 60 proof and higher.
And I know others who ‘drown’ their whiskey with water like the Japanese do.
It’s a matter of personal taste. Distillers will tell you the optimum is a dribble of water to ‘open up’ the whiskey. (You’ll see the oils come out of solution if you look at the whiskey in the light after adding a few drops.)
But I reckon the optimum is whatever you personally enjoy.
“Dun Leire 8″ – I happen to know that that’s a bus JC, ye spoofing cunt.
Congratulations. Now you’re drinking whiskey, boy,and you’ll be living out of a dumpster by February!
Fixed…
Two for two, Lung!
Ye’re on a roll today.
this sums it up for me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIrX5MfNedM
I’ll see that and raise you this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TehFZ38kt6o
Dunnes doing Bushmills for €15 a bottle, can’t go wrong.
Skinner, that website you linked refers to “Scottish” whisky – any particular reason?
Pick us up a decent port while you’re at it, Twenty. I take it you have the big coat with the cut pockets?
Hi Pooka. I dunno. I suppose because there is also whisky from Japan and other places. Like us, Americans refer to theirs as whiskEy.
They probably could’ve just said Scotch and be done with it (since Scotch refers to whisky anyway), but being an IRISH whiskey society, I suppose they like to remind people that Scotch is just another form of the water of life, and not even the longest established since whiskey was invented here.
never knew gerry ryan was in thin lizzy (0:30 or so in jc’s clip). still looked wasted even back then.
since most of my drinking is of the “let’s get drunk(ish/er)” variety, all this whiskey talk reminds me of the up their own arse bullshit wine buffs go on with. the more you drink, the less you taste, and don’t think anyone here would stick to “just the one”, so the single malt 18 year old is a bit wasted (pun intended) on you
The Scots always use ‘whiskey’ with the ‘e’ whereas Irish is ‘whisky’ … not sure if it has something to do with provenance a bit like the rule that no whiskey can be called ‘scotch’ unless it has spent three years in the cask in Scotland.
Never, ever, ever, ever try Indian whiskey. Thye keep trying to imitate scotch but they must be putting bloody linament in it because one sniff of the open bottle was enough for me … er, no thanks.
Other way round, Con.
Is it? Fuck. Obviously losing the malt collection a few years ago has upset me.
It used to be engraved on the soul but I suppose these things fade … having worked for the drinks industry at one time I would never have made that mistake but I suppose info degrades …
apologies for the confusion.
The ‘E’ is an interesting wee thing, actually. In the Nineteenth century, an Irish customs official invented a new form of still, which made cheap nasty grain whiskey all round the clock. The Scots loved it, and began pumping this stuff out.
As a result, Irish whiskey, made in pot stills, was considered way better and tastier. To distinguish their good stuff from the crap Scotch muck, the Irish added an ‘e’ to the word whiskey.
Ah- thanks JC I never heard that but then the place I worked for had primarily scotch distilleries and such talk would have been anathema…. verboten …. raus! Raus! Get on the wagon.
Wish I knew German people then I could write that in German. Why must life be so cruel?
How fucking bourgeois
Great link in the IT today – itchy ,they even have your burd Janelle @ 8 in.
( or am I the last to see good stuff – as usual ? )
http://www.muzu.tv/videowidget/view?vwid=354&autoShow=true&videoIdentity=789649&artistIdentity=21572
OTD – aboydakid
“Get on the wagon.” One not too polite version would be verpiss dich!
A mate kindly offered me a hot whiskey a couple of weeks ago, before producing a bottle of Isle of Jura from the cabinet. Had to stop him. That would’ve been sacrilege. As much or as little water as you like perhaps, but not cloves and sugar FFS. There’s Paddy for that. Or Glenfiddich.
I heard on radio recently that Irish Whiskey got a bad name in America because of really dodgy stuff being sent over there that caused deaths(it could have been during prohibition)
But Irish Whiskey sales have alsways suffered as a result,also explains why yanks ask for Scotch..
The War mongering tastebud dodging cunts..
great bit of singing sniffle
if you can get your hands on asian snake whiskey great stuff’is it near time yet
“But Irish Whiskey sales have alsways suffered as a result,also explains why yanks ask for Scotch..”
A Jamie or a Paddy always taste nice in the morning..
More people died from alcohol poisoning during prohibition than the years before and after alcohol was legal to sell.
Mainly because all sorts of charlatans were distilling hooch in old car radiators and giving people a nice dose of lead poisoning as a billy bonus.
I’d say a lot of the booze that entered the states courtesy of Joe Kennedy and his mafia pals was most likely to have come through Canada and as Canada was a dominion within the commonwealth the proper stuff would have been more likely to have been from Scotland.
And of course there would have been the usual monoplist’s trick of saying the competitor’s whisky was dangerous …
Yo Johnnie, apparently there is a technical term ‘breakfast whiskey’ used in the whiskey industry to describe very light, youthful drams.
Or at least that’s what they told me.
I suspect it may also mean something similar to ‘park beer’, which is the industry term for high alcohol cans that are favoured by ‘outdoor drinkers.’
What was that phrase I heard … ‘vertical drinking’ which is the drinks industry’s polite euphemism for removing chairs from pubs and packing people in so every piece of floor space is covered by a drinker.
time for stout
Just saw Miriam O’Callaghan in Kehoe’s.
“Where’s Itchy”, I overheard her say. I think.
Not a great uisce man myself, prefer the Belgian stuff – http://www.duvel.be/
The bottle with read label is the smasher. Good stuff to take just before going over the trenches…
read = red. Duvel = devil in Flemish.
Sacrilege it might be but day to day I prefer bourbon to Irish whiskey
Too much talk about fine whiskies and fine whiskeys here. What about the fouler brands?
I highly recommend the Spanish DYC whisky if you want your throat to feel like a urinal drain.
http://www.toniface.es/el-whisky-dyc-cumple-50-anos/
You don’t know what rotgut is until you’ve swallowed some DYC.
When Mr Silla and I were really broke one time, we bought a big bottle of cheap whisky called “Glen Miller”, and it was one of the worst drinking experiences of my life.
We drank most of it in one sitting, he went to bed and I never even noticed he was gone, and I spent the rest of the night hallucinating.
We kept the dregs in a cupboard for ages, and Mr Silla swore that every time the press was opened, he could hear “Chatanooga Choo Choo”. No matter how desperate we got for a drink after that, neither of us would finish the bottle.
In cowboy movies, when they talk of giving Firewater to the Indians, they must be talking about this stuff.
Silla,
“In cowboy movies…” You use this yankee word for films??
Dear me.
Picky, picky, picky…
Sainbury’s have three single malts (Speyside, Islay, Highland) in their Taste the Difference range for less than £20. I can vouch for the Islay – it doesn’t have the oomph of a Laphroaig but has all the right peaty, smoky notes.
No, I utilise correct, Edwardian English.
I hate Scottish.
Laphroig tastes like burnt vomit. Truly disgusting.
“..but has all the right peaty, smoky notes.”
So does paki black.
Peaty Islay whiskies aren’t for everyone. I’m at the other end of the taste scale myself. A nice sherried Irish or a Macallan or Aberlour, and I’m happy.
Seems you like your whiskey nice and simple, 20. Nothing wrong with bourbon. It’s young, tasty and lively. I find it a little simplistic – too much vanilla and not a lot else going on, but some of the older ryes are up there with the best of Scotch and Irish.
If you’re liking the likes of Knob Creek, you should maybe have a go at some of the Cooley whiskeys.
They’re also good value pricewise, sweet, youthful and have a similar taste profile to a lot of bourbons, while being both Irish and more complex and floral.
Tyrconnell is a good place to start, or the Lockes 8 yo.
Powers with a dash of Magners – bliss.
http://www.thailandunique.com/store/asian-snake-whiskey-c-11.html
I remember drinking that Glen Miller whisky when a dog died. We were sad and didn’t give a fuck. Dog rough it was.
I have to say though, I’m amazed at the amount of whisk(e)y knowledge displayed here. Is there nothing the ‘Twenties’ don’t know?
Powers with a dash of Magners – bliss.
it’s bulmers ya nordy cunt
From the commonest (Twenty) to the poshest, (JC Skinner) all human life is here, Crank.
Blind folded whiskey snobs in Scotland couldn`t tell the difference between the range of tipples presented to them.
Bulmers my arse Peadar.
LOL, I’m as posh as a fish finger sandwich with extra red sauce!
I’d be interested to hear more from Fintan’s Confirmation Money, though.
While blind wine tastings have thrown up all sorts of interesting results, to my knowledge you’d need to have been gargling bleach first not to be able to tell the difference between any sort of range of Scotches, given some of them taste of smokey peat and others taste of vanilla and still others taste of sweet red wine.
Twenty Major
December 22nd, 2010 @ 4:14 pm
Just saw Miriam O’Callaghan in Kehoe’s.
“Where’s Itchy”, I overheard her say. I think
Wearing a woolly jumper. Peadar, get your ass up to Kehoes on….South Anne Street isn’t it?
Anyone got a good xmas beer recommendation?
Now I finally understand everyone who writes on Twenty’s comments page. You all pour lotsa booze and alcohol into yourselves and alcohol destroys brain cells, especially those on the left side of the brain. Seventy comments today, seventy cells functioning.(Prior to this of course.) After the celebrations of the new year the damage will be total. No brain cells left in working order, no more comments. All Quite on the Irish Front.
It is an excellent post, I congratulate you, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
for otd
http://i54.tinypic.com/zsn9k6.jpg
“Sacrilege it might be but day to day I prefer bourbon to Irish whiskey”
A big girls blouse after me own heart, have to say I agree. My late night tiple will always be a Jameson wih ice but bourbon is divine. JD is fine but not so much, me lurves Jim Beam with coke and lemon and lime. Partcial to an aul rum as well, it seems to have gained popularity at the moment.
I have to admit, the free Captain Morgan and Coke at the blog awards this year was shamefully, nostalgically delicious.
Jameson, Jameson. I can even still drink it since the time I drank too much too fast (drinking with Boys, dangerous) and puked All Night Long. I had to get on a bus the next day to go see my mother, and my friend asked me what I’d been drinking when I said I was hungover. You know that moment when you know if you say the word ‘whisky’ or whatver, that just the word out loud will make you puke again? I had to say I’d tell her another time.
There’s a nice anecdotal antidote to the whisky-expert pretentiousness in the air today :)
“There’s a nice anecdotal antidote to the whisky-expert pretentiousness in the air today :)”
not just me then
on the way home, i had a lovely meat confection made from 1.8 year old single cow with a hint of chef’s finest, some fresh seasonal vegetables and a hint of faintly caramelized sesame flavoured buns. and chips
i used to have no respect for lly allen, i have changed my mind and now admire her. i’m sure she;ll be delighted to hear that fact.
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=street_of_shame&
The likes of Lily Allen play ball with the same journos when it suits them, they are partially responsible for the shit standard of journalism by the way they exploit the media to promote themselves, and then the journos exploit them.
What a mutual little jerk off circle they have going on.
The same Lily Allen is a ruthless self publicist, and look at the publicity they have both gotten over this little tiff.
Case prove, I think.
WILL YOU ‘WHISKEY AFFCIONADOS’ GET OVER YOURSELVES – YOU’D DRINK PORTER OFF YOUR MA’S SEPTIC LEG IF THERE WASN’T ANY ALTERNATIVE.
Silla,
” The same Lily Allen is a ruthless self publicist, and look at the publicity they have both gotten over this little tiff.
Case prove, I think.”
But they all are.
These “stars” in gentler times would have worked in the factories, been out in the fields gathering in the harvest or worked as domestics.
All part of that vile yankee plastic-non-culture rot.
Pop music for me ended at the start of the 80′s. Prefer classic music, quality and timeless.
Can’t afford the good stuff, eh, Gluestain?
Gluestain?
as that cunt martin cullen is wont to say silla “I don’t accept that” and as the guy who worked for waterford crystal said back to him “I know you don’t accept it but it’s still fucking true”
point taken
As a Scot living in Ireland I am impressed
by Redbreast.But my favourite drop of the
hard stuff is an Orcadian delight SCAPA you
will be lucky to find.
A good spliff,glass in hand and DVD/video of
The Vital Spark is a pleasant way to pass the
evening.
Wonder how Itchy got on with his experiment.
Is it time to check the A+Es yet?
It might sound a bit stupid. But isn’t Jimmy the Bollicks (spelled that way) also a character in Roddy Doyle’s the Commitments? (Being named Jimmy Rabbite) in the other two books of the Barrytown trilogy.
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