11:56 a.m. - 2011-01-23
'kay...
List Form!

1. Brilliant Burns Night!

2. Lasted until 3 am! Yikes!

3. Haggis was absolutely delicious, like how I always have in Oban. I'll have to get more, I think!

4. Earl and the New Woman seemed to get on well. He has an awfy lot on his plate though...I swore not to Border Collie him, and to let him manage his own life. Which he does, and brilliantly so at that.

5. SO many wonderful friends showed up. One of whom I have a crush on---a healthy, married person's crush. And you would as well!

6. The children had a lovely time, and all get on so well.

7. I was a lot more sociable, instead of hangin' in the kitchen for the most part. You know, because I am dreadfully shy...

8. That was noticed. Commented on as a big plus.

9. Really we had so much fun.

10. Oh, cats, the line-up! Let me see if I can find the handout...

Burns Night 2011 � Tasting Lineup
(subject to change based on whim or recent arrivals)

Single malt Scotch, blah blah blah, centuries-old tradition, blah blah blah, distinctive differences, journey of discovery, blah blah blah, stops along the way, blah blah blah.

0. The Welcome � Powers (no age statement)
Not single malt Scotch at all, it�s an Irish blend. Made with both malted and unmalted barley in pot stills, blended with whiskey made from other grains in column stills. More power(s) to your elbow.

1. The Breakthrough � Tobermory 10 year old
�Hey, this stuff is good!� When we first found it more than a decade ago, Tobermory was still being bottled as a blended or vatted malt � all malt Scotch whisky but from multiple distilleries. Now it�s entirely the product of the Tobermory distillery on the inner Hebridean island of Mull, and therefore a proper single malt.

2. The Favorite � An Cnoc 12 and An Cnoc 16
An means The, Cnoc means Hill, and the C is silent. From the Knockdhu distillery in the Highlands, the name was changed ostensibly to be more Gaelic but also to avoid confusion with Knockando. An Cnoc has only recently been made available in the U.S.

3. The Gift � Dalwhinnie 1992 Distiller�s Edition
According to Joe Foley, the Dublin luthier who made a couple of my musical instruments, �The best whiskeys are those you get from good friends.� This one is for sharing. (Powers above was also a gift.) Dalwhinnie�s standard 15 year old single malt, with additional maturation in Oloroso sherry casks.

4. The Unknown � The Singleton of Glendullan 12
We�ve never tried this one. It�s easy to see why they spiffed up a name that includes the word dull...

5. The Rarity � Dumbarton/Inverleven 1969
Not long after we discovered our shared interest in single malt Scotch, we purchased the book by drinks writer Michael Jackson and resolved to try as many examples as we could find from Scotland�s approximately 120 distilleries. We found this bottle a few years ago at Canal�s in Burlington, and have never seen another before or since.
It�s cask strength (around 51% ABV) so a few drops of water would not be amiss.

6. The End � Finlaggan
Again no age statement, but any whisky/whiskey from Scotland or Ireland must be aged at least 3 years in wooden casks. From an undisclosed distillery on the island of Islay (say �eye-luh�) but from the taste profile and geographical clue in the name, likely Caol Ila.

Sl�n abhaile � safe home.

Ned wrote it, but I gave him the idea of the titles. Breakthrough and Favourite refer to me, Gift was from Earl, Unknown sort of was...eh, Rarity was brilliant, especially for a 31-year-old, and the End was not quite the end as we had some of the Laddie to compare. And yes, the blah blah blah was aye left in! Silly!

11. Biba and I are meant to go up to the efftown seisiun, because we have not had any fun lately. Huh huh huh. Actually I missed it the last time and I really wan to go today. (Ned needs some sleep!) Also I have to pick up a prize that I have won. Apparently I have won (think this in italics, if you please) Over USD600 Worth of Gift Certificates!!!! I'll wager that it is 600 one dollar off coupons...that would be funny. If they are lovely, then I can share them. I do actually remember entering into the drawing.

12. I will most likely write more on this all later. But one never knows, do one?

Ecks Oh!

Pee Ess Say An Cnoc like " a NOCK"...

Cavalry - Apache