A true American hero - this #whistlepig devoured a yellow jacket nest in our backyard. #groundhog #natureismetal

The Boozebuddy Update Today - WhistlePig's Holy Grail, 15 Rare Beers worth Hunting, and a 55+ Party for Hard Mtn Dew? https://youtu.be/qyGDU96uSgY #hardmtndew #whistlepig #craftbeer #beerhunter

Acquisitions from Friday and today - WhistlePig Boss Hog IV The Black Prince, VI The Samurai Scientist, and VIII Lapulapu's Pacific. Now I'm only missing II The Spirit of Mortimer. (I already had all the odd numbered releases.)

Yes, VIII was already opened this weekend.

#Whiskey #Whisky #Rye #WhistlePig #BossHog

We had just a couple of good friends over for an un-themed, let's just play it by ear tasting, and it was a great night.

We started off strong by cracking the Glenmorangie Pride 1981 & 1974. Both fantastic, of course. It might be sacrilege, but I think the 1981 benefits from a couple of drops of water.

We continued on with the Glenmo with the 30 year Malaga finish. This suffered from the classic Glenmo problem of weak corks. It snapped in half with the lightest pull. Fortunately, after past experiences, I acquired a few tools and was able to extract the other half without it crumbling.

We stayed with Glenmo for the next dram as well, with the Tuiga 25 year. Very nice and light.

Switching it up we moved to a a North British Distillery Clan Denny 50 year Single Grain. Not complex, but elegant in its simplicity. Very enjoyable.

Jumping the pond we next enjoyed a Parkers Heritage 10 year Bourbon from heavy char barrels. This definitely benefits from a little water. Lots of flavor here. This beats Pappy any day of the weak, IMHO.

The conversation had turned back to grain whiskies and one of my friends mentioned he noticed the bottle of Haig Club in my cabinet. I picked this up many years ago for like $25 and never got around to opening it, so we did tonight. It is not at all complex, but pleasant and an easy drinker. I could see it being nice with a rock on a warm day, or in a highball. I sent it home with friends since they liked it, and the blue glass bottle.

Jumping around the globe we cracked a bottle of Amrut Greedy Angels 8 year, from India. It was quite nice, with layers of flavor. But the two of us who have had the 10 year agreed the 10 has more depth and complexity.

We crossed the pond again to crack the WhistlePig Boss Hog VIII Lapulapu's Pacific that I picked up last night, breaking my streak of only owning the odd numbers. (I also won IV & VI in an auction yesterday, so that leaves only II.) I had this on a cruise last fall and it is as good as I remember, with the rum cask notes coming through. But we all still felt VII was still the favorite Boss Hog.

The rum cask switched to conversation to rum, and one of my friends ran home to grab the rum they brought home from their recent honeymoon (they're literally two houses over), Leyenda. Low proof, but very easy to drink. I could see this being very dangerous as it would be easy to put away a lot. Which they did on their honeymoon.

I kept us on rum after that by pulling out the Kō Hana Rum I'd brought home from Hawaii last year. It was even better than I remembered. We ran through all five that I have. The Koho is very pleasant to sip, just a nice rum. But the Koa really adds some layers and depth, so good. The Kea white rum has a very, very vegetal nose, but is surprisingly mild on the palate. We all agreed it would be dangerous in a cocktail, or just with a splash of pineapple juice. The Kila does not drink like a 61% ABV rum, it is so easy to sip. But it does open up more with a little water. The Kokoleka, rum with cacao & honey, oh, damn, that's dessert in a glass. We poured the most of that one, and I wish I'd bought more since they can't ship to MA. Very good.

Then we leapt back to Scotland with a Springbank 15 that was a big change in pace. Lots a flavor, and nice depth.

And then it was time for something completely different from down under. I was recently given a bottle of Mr Black Amaro finish coffee liqueur, with the only request being to try it and report back. So I poured both the standard Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur and the Amaro for side-by-side. Mr Black is my favorite coffee liqueur, very nice to sip straight but it also makes a hell of a Caucasian (White Russian, some of you get the reference). The Amaro is also great. I was concerned it might be too bitter, but it absolutely wasn't. I got a lot of citrus, and the nose was pure Terry Chocolate Orange to me. Just a bit different, and still an enjoyable dram.

We wrapped things up with another major shift. At some point my friends had said they liked having a good sipping tequila on hand, and I remembered I screwed up a while ago and bought a second Clase Azul Gold, and opened it before I caught my mistake. So we pulled that down and gave that a try to wrap up the night. They liked it, so I sent the bottle home with them as I don't really need two open bottles.

And that was it for the night. Damn good times.

Oh, and we started with dinner from Fugakyu Cafe and desserts from Harvard Sweet Boutique, which you may notice in some of the photos. Both are highly recommended.

This is how I like to enjoy a few drams, with good friends.

#Whiskey #Whisky #Glenmorangie #NorthBritish #ClanDenny #ParkersHeritage #HaigClub #Amrut #WhistlePig #Rum #Leyenda #KoHana #Springbank #MrBlack #Scotch #Rye #Bourbon #ClaseAzul #Tequila

Tonight's Whisk(e)y Wednesday pickups. I had planned to grab the WhistlePig PiggyBack Bourbon to try. But then I spotted the Single Cask Nation Westport 16 on the shelf and had to grab it too. Westport is Glenmorangie in a clever disguise, and I'm a fiend for all things Glenmorangie.

#Whiskey #Whisky #Glenmorangie #WhistlePig #Westport #SingleCaskNation

Last night's Midwest A Midwinter Night's Dram party was fantastic - great food, great drink, and, most of all, great company.

For starters we tried the full run of High West Distillery's A Midwinter Night's Dram. That was fantastic. (Thanks to Frank for bringing the Act 2.2.)

But that was just the start. We continued with more High West. Ryan had sent along a bottle of the Loch & K(e)y Double Rye! Panache Grenache, which was next in line. Then I pulled the rest of the High West I had on hand, which was another eight unique bottles. (I'm always looking to expand that lineup - still hunting for The Prisoner's Share.)

Having exhausted the High West offerings on hand, we took a little detour to try a couple of special Glenmorangie bottlings. We tried the Truffle Oak at the last gathering, and agreed it still really holds up - though the Sonoma-Cutrer was quite good.

Then we returned to ryes. Last time we tried WhistlePig Whiskey The Boss Hog VII, and since then I'd acquired The Boss Hog IX, so that was the first cracked. Of course, we had to compare, so we went back and tried I, III, V, and VII again. VII was the overall favorite, but you can't go wrong. (Yes, somehow I've only picked up the odd numbered releases. I'm looking to fill in the gaps.)

There was some conversation about small, local distilleries and that reminded me that I'd picked up a couple of bottles while visiting family in upstate NY last summer. So we wrapped up with a Bourbon and a Rye from 36 Locks, from The Schenectady Distilling Company, Inc./ 36 Locks Tasting Room.

There was also a bottle of Rittenhouse 100 proof Bottled-In-Bond Rye in play as a few people enjoyed a Moxie & Rye. Don't knock it until you've tried it. 😉

A great evening. Can't wait to do it again.

This is the full list of the evening:
High West:
A Midwinter Night's Dram
- Act 1 Scene 902
- Act 2.1 Scene 8
- Act 2.2 Scene ?
- Act 3 Scene 2
- Act 4 Scene 1
- Act 5 Scene 8
- Act 6 Scene 4
- Act 7 Scene 6
- Act 8 Scene 4
- Act 9 Scene 3
- Act 10 Scene 1
- The Encore Act 1 Scene 1

Double Rye! Limited Release Barrel 20086 Bottle 215 The Loch & K(e)y Society "The Panache Grenache"

Rendezvous Rye Limited Release Barrel 1803 Bottle 150 The Loch & K(e)y Society Quady Port

Double Rye! Limited Release Barrel 10505 Bottle 5 The Loch & K(e)y Society

Yippee Ki-Yay Batch 7

Campfire Batch 22F30

Bourye Batch 17A12

American Prairie Bourbon Barrel 7811 Bottle 94 The Loch & K(e)y Society French Oak Port

American Prairie Bourbon Barrel 2683 Bottle 9 The Loch & K(e)y Society Quady Black Muscat

High Country American Single Malt Batch 21J21

Glenmorangie:
Glenmorangie Sonoma-Cutrer Reserve Aged 25 Years

Glenmorangie Truffle Oak Reserve Aged 26 Years

WhistlePig:
WhistlePig The Boss Hog IX Siren's Song

WhistlePig The Boss Hog I

WhistlePig The Boss Hog III The Independent

WhistlePig The Boss Hog V The Spirit Of Mauve

WhistlePig The Boss Hog VII Magellan's Atlantic

36 Locks:
Schenectady Distilling Co. 36 Locks Black Rock Bourbon

Schenectady Distilling Co. 36 Locks Canal Rye Whiskey

Rittenhouse:
Rittenhouse 100 proof Bottled-In-Bond Rye

#Whiskey #Whisky #Glenmorangie #HighWest #WhistlePig #Rye #Scotch #Rittenhouse #36Locks #Moxie #Bourbon

We started there - and kept going.

Great night.

Apologies for no alt text, I'm intoxicated and exhausted. They're all pictures of the whiskies we poured tonight.

#Whiskey #Whisky #Glenmorangie #HighWest #WhistlePig #Rye #Scotch

A brief history of Groundhog Day - Optimist Daily

It's Groundhog Day and the most important question of the day is: will Phil the groundhog see his shadow? For centuries, Americans have observed this tradition at Gobbler’s Knob, the famous hill in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And all eyes are on the groundhog – the “rodent meteor...

#PhilTheGroundhog #GroundhogDay2023 #WhistlePig #GobblerKnob #Groundhog #GoodNews #Weltverbesserer #WorldImprover #DoGood #SocialCologne

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2023/02/a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day

A brief history of Groundhog Day - Optimist Daily

It's Groundhog Day and the most important question of the day is: will Phil the groundhog see his shadow? For centuries, Americans have observed this tradition at Gobbler’s Knob, the famous hill in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And all eyes are on the groundhog – the “rodent meteor...

#PhilTheGroundhog #GroundhogDay2023 #WhistlePig #GobblerKnob #Groundhog #GoodNews #Weltverbesserer #WorldImprover #DoGood #NRWSocial

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2023/02/a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day

A brief history of Groundhog Day - Optimist Daily

It's Groundhog Day and the most important question of the day is: will Phil the groundhog see his shadow? For centuries, Americans have observed this tradition at Gobbler’s Knob, the famous hill in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And all eyes are on the groundhog – the “rodent meteor...

#PhilTheGroundhog #GroundhogDay2023 #WhistlePig #GobblerKnob #Groundhog #GoodNews #Weltverbesserer #WorldImprover #DoGood #HomeSocial

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2023/02/a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day

A brief history of Groundhog Day - Optimist Daily

It's Groundhog Day and the most important question of the day is: will Phil the groundhog see his shadow? For centuries, Americans have observed this tradition at Gobbler’s Knob, the famous hill in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And all eyes are on the groundhog – the “rodent meteor...

#PhilTheGroundhog #GroundhogDay2023 #WhistlePig #GobblerKnob #Groundhog #GoodNews #Weltverbesserer #WorldImprover #DoGood #TroetCafe

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2023/02/a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day

A brief history of Groundhog Day - Optimist Daily

It's Groundhog Day and the most important question of the day is: will Phil the groundhog see his shadow? For centuries, Americans have observed this tradition at Gobbler’s Knob, the famous hill in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And all eyes are on the groundhog – the “rodent meteor...

#PhilTheGroundhog #GroundhogDay2023 #WhistlePig #GobblerKnob #Groundhog #GoodNews #Weltverbesserer #WorldImprover #DoGood #MastodonSocial

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2023/02/a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-brief-history-of-groundhog-day

A close encounter.
https://vimeo.com/705157758
#GroundHogDay #Groundhog #Imbolc #Video #WhistlePig #Mammals

A very happy Boxing Day to you and yours!
#Whiskey
#Rye
#WhistlePig
#BossHog
#SirensSong
#BoxingDay

@ryanhodnett
Likely the best #groundhog encounter I will ever have.
https://vimeo.com/705157758
#Marmota #WhistlePig #Rodents #GreenWoodCemetery #Brooklyn #NYC #cemeterytoot

I did a thing. #bourbon #whistlepig #bosshog

This is George. George enjoys hanging out in my yard when not hibernating.

#george #GroundHog #WIP #MastoArt #graphite #drawing #WhistlePig #watercolour #painting #aquarelle #WetPaint

On the subject matter of #WhistlePigs #Marmots #Woodchucks #GroundHogs

I wish I could download from my 🧠 the memory of watch a #WhistlePig rambling across a field clear from harvest. Not in a hurry, but probably cognizant of the occasional Bald Eagles 🦅 in the area. She was of good size, black & tan underneath with lots of highlights on top.

In theory you could paint with coffee water but do not drink paint water.
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.
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#george #GroundHog #WIP #MastoArt #graphite #drawing #WhistlePig #watercolour #aquarelle #painting

A groundhog gathering leaves. Possibly for nest building? #groundhog #groundhogs #whistlepig #woodchuck #woodchucks #marmot #marmota #mammals #nature #NaturePhotography #WildlifePhotography