You know what is a fun game to play? ‘Vatting.’ Vatting is a term for blending together whiskeys. It came from Scotland. “Vatted Malt Whisky” used to be the legal category name for what was changed to “Blended Malt Whisky” with Scotland’s passage of the Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009. Today, people use it to…
I enlisted the help of my girlfriend, Hillary, for the review of Absente Absinthe. The following is the transcript of our recorded tasting notes. Aaron: So what does it smell like? Hillary: Licorice. A: That’s it. Just straight licorice. Aniseed, whatever it’s called. Star anise. We both sip. A: It also tastes like licorice. H:…
Pittsburgh’s Wigle Whiskey recently released a pair of straight whiskey expressions. Wigle Straight Rye Whiskey and Wigle Straight Wheat Whiskey are each sold in 750 ML size bottles, come with a 3-year age statement and were matured in standard 55-gallon sized barrels. By law, “Straight” whiskies are made from at least 51% of the predominant…
I made a cork board out of old wine corks. It was pretty easy and self-explanatory. First, I bought a frame. I popped out the glass and turned the matting in the back around. Then I drew lines on the inside of the matting with a pencil to represent where the front of the frame…
Ok – first things first. No, you use your actual bathtub. That’s gross. Bathtub Gin is a term that sprung out of prohibition. The term came about when unscrupulous moonshiners used botanicals to hide the terrible flavors found in their poorly-made hootch. In reality, the product is a type of Compound Gin (regardless of its legality)….
Havana Club Rum has a long history. The facility where it is made was built by the Bacardi family in the 19th century in Cuba. When the Castro Army took over control of the island nation, the country’s spirits industry was nationalized. Castro took control of the Bacardi compound and its stills. But it’s important what…
Man, they love this whisky in Japan, especially served in a tall highball. And I don’t blame them – Suntory Japanese Whisky is f*cking delicious! Called “Kakubin” in Japan, which roughly translates to “tortoise bottle,” Suntory Whisky is bottled at 80 proof. The bottle I used for this tasting was purchased at a 7-11 near Tokyo…
I licked a drop off of my thumb I had spilled while pouring my first dram. Tastes… somehow Canadian… I hesitate to say this because it’s ludicrous. But it somehow jogs a memory of a stolen CC from a buddy’s father’s stash sometime in the 1990s. (Note: Bodacious Booze only encourages the consumption of beverages…
Let’s just take a moment to speak about Irish Pure Pot Whiskey. Before the rise of Premium Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the 1980s, before Japan had developed her first still, before Prohibition ruined American Rye for nearly a century, it was Irish Pure Pot that was on top of the world. In fact, it…
Travel is a double-edge sword. On the one hand, I have not had the ability to update this blog. My sincerest apologies. On the other hand, I’ve been able to bring back some world-class whiskies that are not available in the U.S. So, if you can bear with me for a couple more weeks, I’ll have some…