Saturday, January 28, 2012

Women Who Whiskey: Birthday Edition!

This event was a WWW first!

It was a Whiskey Tasting to celebrate my 28th birthday.

The lovely hostesses: Maggie, Barbara, Amanda, and Julia (me)
My roommates Maggie, Amanda, and Barbara--all Women Who Whiskey members--and I hosted the event at our upper west side apartment.

Amanda and Maggie

I had decided on an original line up of five bottles--a bourbon, two ryes, and two scotches--but a few guests brought bottles of whiskey as birthday gifts and we decided it was only appropriate to include them in the line up, bringing the up the total to eight bottles, and expanding the selection internationally. 


Some smiling guests

The original line up before the addition of Yamazaki, Bushmills and Glenfiddich

The final line up was served in the following order:


1) Rowan's Creek Bourbon - John Rowan was a statesman and judge who dabbled in Bourbon makin' on the side. A light, spicy flavor. 

2) Templeton Rye - A small-batch Prohibition era recipe, and Al Capone'swhiskey of choice (and my personal favorite). Smooth and sweet, with a slightly spiced finish. 

3) Redemption Rye - An excellent bargain. Retails between $25-30, but tastes like $60 rye. 

4) Yamazaki 12 Year Single Malt Japanese Whiskey - Would be a scotch if it weren't from Japan

5) Bushmills 10 Year Single Malt Irish Whiskey - A marriage of the new world and old world whiskies, with a hint of the sweetness of Bourbon and Rye.

6) Glenfiddich 12 Year Single Malt Scotch - A lighter, less potent but still delicious scotch

7) Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year Single Malt Scotch - A smoother, more vanilla flavor

8) Lagavulin 16 Year Islay Single Malt Scotch - A robust, smokey, peaty deep flavor 


Paige, Kim and Maura, WWW members

The ladies of Women Who Whiskey, smiling! 

Andrea, Julia, and a very enthusiastic William

All in all it was a wonderful evening--both as a birthday celebration and as a Women Who Whiskey event. 


Friday, January 20, 2012

Manhattan Bars With Fireplaces



On those chilly winter nights, warm up at one of these bars with a fireplace!


Monday, January 16, 2012

20 Things You Didn't Know About Alcohol


4  According to the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis, our zest for alcoholic beverages derives from our distant ancestors’ impulse to seek the ripest, most energy-intensive fruits.
 That process can also happen in your digestive system, spiking every 100 ml of blood with 0.01 to 0.03 mg of alcohol.
9  Seriously, officer! Japanese doctors have observed patients with “auto-brewery syndrome,” in which high levels of candida yeast in the intestines churn out so much alcohol that they can cause drunkenness.
11  A lean, muscular person will be less affected by drink than someone with more body fat: Water-rich muscle tissues absorb alcohol effectively, preventing it from reaching the brain.
13  The times they are a-changin’. In 1895 Anheuser-Busch launched Malt-Nutrine, a 1.9 percent-alcohol-content beer prescribed by physicians as a tonic for pregnant women and a nutritional beverage for children.
14  Until 1916 whiskey and brandy were listed as scientifically approved medicines in the United States Pharmacopeia.
15  Drinking and driving: Surplus wine in Sweden is distilled into ethanol, mixed with gasoline, and sold to service stations.
Read the rest here


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Wednesday, January 4, 2012