This may be the first time that I have ever agreed with Senator Patty Murray on anything. She, along with some other senators, are promoting a bill that would significantly reduce federal taxes imposed against wineries, craft breweries, and small local distilleries.  Way to go Patty!  Let’s give these smaller companies a chance to flourish (promoting economic prosperity for them, their employees, and the areas in which they are located) rather than beat them down with ridiculous tax burdens. Check out the link.

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2016/04/13/bill-could-cut-craft-brewery-distillery-winery.html

Bob

Apparently its all the rage in France – Grapefruit Wine.  Actually sounds pretty good to me.  I need to hunt some of this down and give it a test run on a hot summer day.

http://www.eater.com/2016/4/19/11456746/wine-rose-cocktail-grapefruit-france

Bob

Today I am reviewing Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon.  First, this bourbon is inexpensive.  A 750ml bottle goes for about 16 bucks.  It has a plastic screw top – that should be a pretty strong indicator of the quality of the liquid within.

The nose on this smells like nail polish remover – no joke.  After letting it breathe for a bit, the nose developed a sweet brown sugar scent in addition to the remover smell.  Unbelievably, this bourbon tastes exactly the way it smells. It has a sweet brown sugarish taste on the front that developes into a nail polish remover burn. The finish on this is also real hot, although its only 86 proof.

Overall, not that bad.  But, not good by any means.  I give this a 70 rating.

Bob

Tried some Gilbert Cellars Left Bank with dinner this evening.  Nice wine out of Yakima, WA.  Fruity nose – raspberry and blackberry.  Jammy and full bodied, nice fruit (cranberries) finishing with tannin bite.  Its a blend of cabaret sauvignon, merlot, carmenere, cabarnet franc, and pertit verdot.  The blend smooths it out well.  I rate it at 85.

Rouge, known for their beers, has ventured into making whiskey.   They offer Dead Guy Whiskey, which has the same grain makeup in its mash as their Dead Guy Ale.  The unique aspect ot their offering is that they let the whiskey age in barrels that are put out to sea or are stored in close proximity to the ocean. Believe it or not, this actually inparts unique flavor qualities into the whiskey.  The nose is course almost smelling of dirt, but not unpleasant.  The whiskey tastes young and oaky.  It could use more aging.  Its finish is unique and this is where you can taste the ocean – its actually salty almost seaweedy in characteristic.  Overall not bad, but not great either.  Very unique.  I give it a 78.

Anyone who has trained for a marathon understands how demanding, time consuming, and physically punishing it can be.  It may be just me, but bourbon plays an important role on my recovery (rest) days when I train.  I have it in moderation and it helps me get ready for the next round of training.  Now it seems that I am not in bad company.  Desiree Linden, an elite runner whom I admire very much, recently spoke about her affinity for bourbon and her whiskey collection. By the way – she recently qualified for the Olympics in the marathon.  Is there a connection?  Yeah, I know, its a stretch.

Bob

http://www.outsideonline.com/1979556/desiree-linden-loves-bourbon?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tweet

Had a nice dinner at the Taj Indian restaurant in Yakima.  If you haven’t tried it, Taj is the best Indian food in central Washington – hands down.  You can also bring your own bottles of wine with a corkage fee.  Our friends with whom we were dining brought a bottle of J. Bookwalter 2012 Protagonist.  J. Bookwalter is located in Richland, WA.  The Protagonist is 91 percent cabarnet sauvignon and 9 percent syrah.

And 100 percent delicious.  Nice nose of cherry and plum.  Sharp fruity flavor; cranberry and blackberry, were my initial impression, then it mellows into a deeper full body flavor with just the right amount of tannins.  Its finishes by tapering off to a peppery flavor.  I am told that Wine Enthusiast rated this wine at 91.  I agree; a great wine and it complements spicy food very well.

We bought some dried kiwis and dried chile mangos (mangos with chile powder) the other day.  I wish I had never tried them – they are addicting, especially the chile mango.  I can’t stop eating them.  So far no ill effects, but eating this must dried fruit can’t be good.

Bob

This review is going to be very biased because Lagavulin is my favorite scotch of all time.

I wasn’t a huge scotch fan until I had my first sip of Lagavulin.  The nose on this elixir is potent – earthy, smoky, and massively peaty.  When it hits your tongue the first sensation you have is sweet like honey, it then develops into earthy peaty flavors, and ends tasting like candy corn and smoke.  And the flavor lasts – the finish on this just keeps going.  I give this a 94 because I like it so much.  Try some if you dare – its not for the faint of heart and will definitely put hair on your chest, if you didn’t have it there before.

I was pleasantly surprised by Elijah Craig’s Small Batch in the price range at which it is available.  It has a very pleasant, sweet and oaky nose to it.  The flavor exhibit hints of toffee and oak.  It has a hot finish giving it a spicy hot finish.  I rate this at an 80.

Bob