3 Drunken Celts

Yes, this is a re-run of content from 2007, but it still holds true today. It happens every year around this time, we are all asked about our suggestions for good whiskies as gifts. To that end, we've written up some suggestions at the links below.

Take a gander at our previous two posts on Christmas gifting for the whiskies aficionado:

• Seamus' Opinionated Guide to buying Whiskies as Gifts
  
• Raz' non-Whisky Whiskies Gifts
  

Of course these are just suggestions.... we welcome you to register, login, and comment with your own suggestions as we move closer into the season of gifts and parties alike!

Zane goes to New Zealand and samples some locally distilled and bottled whiskies: http://www.fancast.com/tv/Three-Sheets/96540/1339974453/Kiwi-Scotch-Whisky/videos

Some interesting tidbits include an historic recreation of a copper home still (Oh, if only the 3DC can setup our own!). It is a short 3 minute clip, but fun none-the-less.

The full 24 minute episode (original air date 7/20/09)can be found here: http://www.fancast.com/tv/Three-Sheets/96540/1194652684/New-Zealand/videos

-Seamus/Jason

OK… So we’ve made some rather lofty claims on our web site. Chief amongst these is "The 3 Drunken Celts are set to change all that you know about whiskies..." Well here’s the start of that:

The 3 Drunken Celts Whiskey Tasting Notebook!

sample page

You've seen us using them at Whiskies of the World in San Francisco, and other tasting events we attend, now get your own so you won't forget what you've tasted and more importantly, what you thought of the taste! Simply said, these are essentially blank notebooks designed to guide tasters through their own note-taking while tasting various whiskies. The notebooks include free-text sections as well as basic rating scales to capture your own reactions to the whiskies you are tasting.

There is more information about this new offering below... I’ve a personal beef with tasting notes and ratings as are currently done by the whiskey world at large; eg: Would I like a given "98" rated whiskey? Would it be good on a hot summer afternoon? Is it thick and warm or thin and refreshing? Is it complex or curt in its story? The “98” really doesn’t mean anything to you unless you were the one who tasted the dram or at least know what scores in each of the individual categories the reviewer has used that then where added up to the 98. I’m pretty sure we, the 3DC, can do a damn site better than that. I find that some whiskies that rate highly I don’t like while others that do not rate so highly, by the experts at least, are rather enjoyable and visa versa on both these statements.On the most rudimentary level what I’d like to know about a bottle of whiskey I’ve never had is how thick the dram is, how strong the taste is, how long the story is. I find that I prefer a stronger, thicker dram in the winter and a lighter more complex one in the summer so knowing the viscosity, boldness and length of story goes a long way towards picking out a dram I’m not familiar with. Additionally, these are categories that can be reviewed with far less subjectively. We’ll use a 1-5 scale. For example, if it drinks like a 10W40 motor oil, as far as viscosity is concerned, you’d give it a 5 and if it was thin as water you’d give it a 1. The same scale will be used for Boldness and length of story.

From there, more traditional tasting notes regarding descriptive verbiage of the nose, flavor and finish can come into play when deciding between drams I already know to be appropriate to my mood’s general requirements at the time. I should be noted that the evaluations, 1-5, in the categories above are not indicative of quality or approval. A 1 is no better than a 5, just an empirical take on the dram’s properties. This is what makes our system drastically different from the status quo as well as makes the future database a much more useful tool.

The last category, and notably the least important, is an indication of how much we liked the dram based on own personal taste with an A-F scale. This is simply intended to be a reference or reminder of our overall impression of the dram as time passes and also a means for others to get to know our individual preferences while reviewing the database. For example, Seamus really likes the Balvenie 21, and so does Fergus, so Fergus looking over Seamus’ favorable review of the Edradour 10 cask strength would lend Fergus to think he may well want to try it too. Simple huh?

To this end we have introduced a 3DC tasting notepad on our Café Press shop page.

We are also, in time, going to be able to start logging these tasting notes onto our web site for others to reference. The idea here is that you can try things that others have tried and get to know each other’s tastes and preferences. Once you get to know the others preferences you may be inclined to try something you’d not normally have tried simply because someone with similar tastes as your own rated it favorably regardless of what the late M. Jackson or J. Murray has said about the dram. Not that they don’t know their business. As Fergus and Seamus will tell you, I’ve nothing but the highest admiration for Jim but his tastes have developed far beyond my own and his sophistication of pallet is also well out of my current personal reach. He has highly rated things I don’t care for and has panned some of my favorite drams as well so as much as I like the man, I can’t rely on his ratings to determine whether or not I’m going to like what’s in the bottle in front of me. I just know if Jim liked it.

I urge you to give our little experiment in changing the whiskey world a try. We’ve put a PDF copy of one of the pages up in the downloads page if you’d like to "try before you buy".

Please let us know what you think and feel free to post a version of your tasting notes to the list for a while so we can see what you think of the drams you are trying.

Yis, Raz/Randy

With a nod to the Bard:

This day is called the Reverence of Friar John:
He that outlives this day, and comes drunk home,
Will stumble a-tiptoe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Friar John.
He that shall see this day and drink t'old age,
Will yearly on the vigil toast his neighbours,
And say "To-morrow is Friar John's Reverence Revel":
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars
And say "These wounds I had on Friar John's day."
Drunk men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What drinks he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Raz the Reaver, Seamus and Fergus,
Fair Siobhan and Sean, Odran and Gulliver,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good Celts teach their sons;
And Jon John shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we inebriated happy few, we band of drunken brothers;
For he today that sheds his whiskey with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in Ireland now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That drank with us upon Friar John's Reverence Revel day.

Eoin

Well wonder no more... now you can read up on the 3DC at the Caid Wiki:

http://wiki.caid-commons.org/index.php/3_Drunken_Celts

An excerpt:

What's in a Name?

Much discussion went on around the naming of this group. The logic of the three founding members went something like this: "We all have Celtic based personas so there should be some reference to that. There are three of us so that needs to be in there too. Some reference to drinking and the like should be in there as well." Pretty simple really. It only seems complicated now that the membership roles have grown well beyond 100 so the logic, or lack there of, goes something like this: "We don't want to keep changing the name do we? Nope" There you go. It should be noted that the 3DC never really were "3". Without the indulgence and kind assistance of Siobhan and Magraig (Seamus' and Raz' kind ladies) none of this would have come to pass.

Raz - Hmmm, Whisky Sugar cookies are good. I'm starting with the Edradour series we are here to kill and proceeding on to the Edradour 16 for good measure. No tasting notes here sorry but it's good to see so much good stuff on the table just on the fly.Meliko - Going though the Edradour series was very interesting; they're all quite different.  Least fave was the port, most fave was the burgundy, with the chardonnay and sauterne also both relatively pleasant.  The 12 year had the most readable story: sweet and caramel to the nose, initially mellow then gently smoky on the tongue. Fergus- The 14 year Balvenie is sweeter then the 12 and is improved when you try a rum before tasting the 14. Trying it with a 72% dark chocolate does not seem to improve the taste and if you try  it with chocolate the whiskey seems to avoid the areas the chocolate cover. The Balvenie 12 signature being better then the 12 double wood has the opposite  effect from the 14 balvenie  the whiskey is improved by the chocolate and the whiskey layers itself on to the chocolate flavor. Raz - The flaming heart (Compass Box) is like being bum rushed by a dorm full of exchange student co-ed fetishists. Jean  - I concur with Fergus' opinions on the Rumwood with the chocolate.  The Rumwood on it's own is complex, but adding water eliminates the complexity and makes it flat.  I really enjoyed the Balvenie Signature with the chocolate - very smooth and buttery.Overheard: 'Oh, dude - uh, oi'   G - The Balvenie signature 12 starts without the bite of so many others. It rolls smoothly through the mouth and departs with a gentle kiss; a definite favorite. The add of the dark chocolate broadens the flavor. With this start, sampling the nose of the Edradours was all that I could contribute to that particular effort. A sip of the Dos Maderas (yes, rum) was a great post-food flavor. The additional 'sweet' made for a good dessert, so the sip fit very well. And the Welsh Penderyn seems to simply be a glass of water that happened to be in the room when some poor sot opened a Laphroaig.  

Seamus suggested that I write up a review of the three different types of absinthe that we have had the pleasure of trying thus far. This subject came up as we were discussing our most recent purchase from the local liquor emporium of a locally distilled absinthe. Since I seem to have such strong opinions on the subject (Opinionated? Moi?), it was suggested that I share my experience with the 3DC at large.

The first that we tried was Lucid, which we purchased online from DrinkUp NY. Incidentally, they probably sent us the bottle in error since they really shouldn't be sending spirits to Or.; but I digress... this is one of the first true absinthes to be produced after the US ban was lifted, so how could I say no?

There was a fair amount of experimentation on Seamus' part. What is the proper amount of water? Sugar or no sugar? You definitely shouldn't drink this stuff straight - I imagine it would taste something like battery acid. Seamus settled on a 3:1 ratio of water to absinthe, over one sugar cube. The predominant flavor of the Lucid is strong anise. I normally do not like anise (at all), but there was enough herbal character in the bottle of Lucid to keep it interesting.

After about 10 minutes of sipping, WHAM! Suddenly my vision was extremely clear, and I felt alert. There was no gradual progression, it was just THERE. Not an unpleasant feeling by any stretch, but very unusual if you aren't used to it. There were no negative after effects, and no standard feeling of intoxication, just a little buzz. I think that bottle of Lucid lasted us two weeks, tops.

The second that we attempted was an absinthe distilled in Switzerland named Kubler. After my positive experience with Lucid, I had high expectations. Sadly, I was disappointed. The anise flavor was harsh, and there was no discernible wormwood content to speak of, so I ended up with a nasty taste in my mouth and drunk to boot. I have not had any since the first taste, but Seamus has been picking at it a little, since he is partial to anise in any form. I think we still have at least 1/3 of the bottle left.

The third is a bottle that I was going to keep my eye open for, because it is distilled in good ol' Portland, OR. Seamus and I went to the local liquor store in a strip mall by the house to pick up some gin and bourbon/scotch for mixing.

{tangent} OMG, this liquor store has the most amazing selection of scotch that I've seen in a little podunk liquor store. I almost fell over. And the prices! Did I mention there's no sales tax?{/tangent}

They had FIVE different kinds of absinthe, including the Lucid. And a few bottles of the local version - Trillium.

Of course we had to grab a bottle. After my previous experience, I was careful not to expect too much. But I was not disappointed this time. The taste was pleasant and more nuanced without being too overpowering. The "effect" was definitely there, but more subtle than the Lucid - I realized I was holding the Aran sweater I was knitting close to my face because I could see every little fiber of the wool. All in all, a very nice bottle.

If I were to compare all the bottles, and toss in a wine analogy, it would go something like this:

• Lucid     = a bold, punch-you-in-the-face Syrah.
• Trillium = a complex Pinot Noir. (Support the local economies!!!)
• Kubler   = like going on a date, drinking some Mad-dog 20/20, expecting to get laid, and just coming home drunk and disappointed.

-Jean/Siobhan

I'm in...

The fine folks over at Guinness have come up with another "BRILLIANT!" marketing stunt. According to their official brew master (he was interviewed on KROQ's morning show Friday last) they are getting 1,000,000 electronic signatures together by the 17th to present to the US congress petitioning to have St. Pat's day made an official holiday. Well, anyone who's dealt with a governmental employee lately knows they all could use a good booze day off. Hell, the rest of us could use an official day for "chosen family" to share a dram or five together.

I've signed on, if you'd like to as well the addy is: http://www.proposition317.com/. Seems like an effort right down our alley so to speak, so it looks like the 3DC is officially throwing our inconsiderable weight behind this one. Power to the people! Right?

-Raz

Raz's Whisky Barley Stew

Ingredients:

1 lbs cow meat (1/2"-3/4" cubed)

1 onion (I used a yellow one, chopped course)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 turnip (1/2" cubed)

2 good sized red potatoes (1/2" cubed)

1 Can Beef Broth

1 Can Tomato Paste

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Salt

3 1/2 cups Water

1/2 cup whisky (should most likely be a full cup)

1 good splash Olive Oil

1 cup Pearled Barley

Directions:

Place Olive-Oil, Salt, Pepper and Garlic into a large stock pot and heat up a bit.

Add the Onion and Meat. Brown until onion begins to caramelize (5 min for me)

Deglaze the pot with the whisky, being careful to not expose the liquor to open flame.

Add the water, beef broth, turnip, potato, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer (covered) for 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Check the moisture level. If the stew has thickened considerably, add water at this point to ensure the barley will cook properly and to get the consistency you prefer in a soup or stew.

Add Pearled Barley and simmer (covered) for an additional 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring regularly. It's done when the barley is soft all the way through.

Eat. Enjoy. Blog about it...

Raz’ Notes:

1. Adding some highland whisky in at the browning section would probably be really good. If you try the whisky addition let me know how it comes out.
2. This is based on a Scotts recipe I found on the web. I changed a few things, most notably adding the spuds because spuds are good.
3. Towards the last 15 minutes the broth had become quite thick so I added a half cup of water and stirred it in. The original recipe called for 1 ½ cups of water.

Seamus’ Notes:

1. I added 1 tsp dried Thyme, 1/2 cup Caol Ila 18yr. Scotch, an additional 1 1/2 cups water
2. Use the Scotch to deglaze after caramelizing the onions and meat. Add the water/broth/etc. only after deglazing with the whiskey. 1/2 cup of scotch may be too little. Next time I will add a full cup and see how that fares.
3. A bay leaf should probably be added next time. If this is done, put it in when the initial water is added.
4. Following the directions, I added 2 1/2 cups of water at the beginning, and then found it necessary to add another cup of water when the barley went in to ensure proper saturation. This is a full 2 cups more than the original recipe.
5. I added an Islay Scotch (Caol Ila 18yr.), not a highland. After cooking off the iodine nose, the end result was a fairly mild smokiness without any sweetness added by the whisky. Next time round, I think I will try adding a Balvenie to try and capture the sweetness too.
6. I'd recommend using only potato OR only turnips. Using both increased the amount of food substantially and tended to make the dish a bit more complex. Next time, I think I will remove the potato and use only turnips for a more accurate representation and to simplify the dish.

Pictures of the process...

So you need a gift for that picky whisky lover in your life but don’t know enough about their tastes to buy them an actual bottle eh? Well we (3DC) have got you covered. The following is Raz’ top 10 non whisky-whisky gifts to give for the holidays.

Please note that, excepting the #1 pick, there is no particular order to them, nor are the links necessarily to the only and or best value sites to get these gifts from. Buyer beware is the rule of the day. These are just ideas for you to use as your own (with our blessings) and to get the job done.

1. Give the gift of knowledge - Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2008: $18.12 http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=9267045883&qwork=-184442991&title=whisky+bible&qsort=&page=1
2. More Whisky smarts can be given in the form of a Subscription to Whisky Magazine: $44.95 http://www.whiskymag.com/subscribe/
3. If fine stemware is your preference then the Reidel Vinum Whiskey Glass would suit your needs: $17.00 http://www.hitimewine.net/istar.asp?a=6&id=703770!1107
4. OK, so there is SOME whisky in this “no-whiskey” gift list but as Seamus says, you can’t go wrong with the Balvenie, he’s wrong-but he says it anyway, so with that in mind; the Balvenie Gift Basket from Hi Time Wine Cellars would make someone very happy: $114.95 http://www.hitimewine.net/istar.asp?a=6&id=810534!0
5. An outstanding fallback gift for any whisky lover is simply a good Flask: $12-$85 http://www.hitimewine.net/istar.asp?a=3&dept=06&class=13
6. For the more eclectic and interior decorationally minded, an obscure Whisky Distillery Sign from ages long past: $37.01 http://beerinnprint.co.uk/category_list.php?list=67
7. Got someone that is so into whiskey that they’ve been considering making their own? Give them a Whiskey Barrel: $40-$272 http://thebarrelsource.com/combos.html
8. If you are a cheap bastard, I mean “Scottish Frugal” a Whiskey Bar Towel is a cool gift to get: under $10 http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=whiskey+bar+towel&category0
9. For those living on the West Coast, where prohibition has been reinstated at all the beaches, a pair of Reef Dram sandals would be of great use: $29-$50 http://www.reef.com/guys/productdetail/guys/footwear/sandals/2597
10. Because you really can’t do much better than giving knowledge as a gift, Tickets to WOW 2008 in San Francisco would be great. Remember, we’re staying at the Hotel Des Arts in case you want to send them by to say hello as well: $110.00 and up http://www.whiskiesoftheworld.com
    
    

Happy shopping and if you are reading this, I wouldn’t mind being on your list…