Wine, Scotch, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, and the like

[Pavel Bure]

Ended up getting Widow Jane aged 10 years.

[Shyster]

I haven't had that before. Let us know if it's any good.

[Pavel Bure]

I haven't had that before. Let us know if it's any good.

Will do, I read one review that seemed like they liked it but then only gave a 5/10 because it didn’t have enough punch for them. They did say the flavor was good. I think this is the first New York bourbon I’ll try.

[MWB]

My girlfriend recently got me a bourbon from the finger lakes region of New York called McKenzie. Really like it.

[Pavel Bure]

Oh if anyone ends up near the West Newton area, check out Crooked Creek Distillery. They make a small batch bourbon that I really like. They also have a store in Irwin PA. They’ll let you try samples before you buy as well.

[Dickie Dunn]

Happy DD's official start of eggnog* season. Today's breakfast:

* Lots of cocktail controversy over what constitutes a nog versus a flip. Hot versus cold. Dairy versus non. Shaken versus stirred. If its got dairy and/or a whole egg in it, its a nog and if you disagree you're a pretentious ass who deserves to be poked with a toddy iron.

[Dickie Dunn]

**** hell that's a tasty beverage.

[willeyeam]

Yeah imma be making that this season

[LeopardLetang]

Had my mix of local egg nog, peated scotch (usually laphroaig but had Port Charlotte around) and luxardo cherries again and to my surprise it still hasn't disappointed.

[Dickie Dunn]

Couldn't recall ever having cognac before so I bought a bottle yesterday. Meh.

[Pavel Bure]

FYI mix Jameson with sweet tea.

[MWB]

Made a tangerine whiskey sour today… muddled tangerines, lemon, bitters, bourbon, a little honey. Good stuff!

[Pavel Bure]

Okay,

Whistlepig, 6 year aged rye: 96 proof, actually really good. Not a ton of burn. Very good sippage. Good corn liquor taste.

Widow Jane 10 year. The aroma kinda hit me hard and I was worried. Drinking it though. Similar to many other smooth bourbons.

I want to try them again when I’m not half in the bag.

[Dickie Dunn]

I've been feeling pretty happily lubricated all day but my Gregnog nightcap was apparently the tipping point. Nite nite <3.

[RonnieFranchise]

Polished most of a bottle of beaujolais nouveau myself at Thanksgiving dinner today. Good times.

[Shyster]

I did the cocktail menu for my family on Thanksgiving. It went over quite well. I made somewhere around 15-20 cocktails.

Thanksgiving, like last year, was at my cousin's house in Chicago. Like last year, we hit Binny's Beverage Depot on the drive back. I didn't buy as much as last year, but I did pick up barrel picks of George Remus bourbon and Old Potrero and Starlight rye, as well as a Binny's exclusive for Laird's straight applejack (not the blended version that's the only one carried in PA's FWGS stores).

I also bought a small bottle of the infamous Jeppson's Malört, which I can now confirm is indeed unrelentingly bitter. It starts off with a sort of hoppy bitterness that has a little bit of citrus to it, but then it finishes into a pure bone-dry bitterness. There's no sweetness to it whatsoever. It's just layers of bitterness on top of bitterness. Still, I don't think it's quite as horrible as it's made out to be.

[Pavel Bure]

Okay,

Whistlepig, 6 year aged rye: 96 proof, actually really good. Not a ton of burn. Very good sippage. Good corn liquor taste.

Widow Jane 10 year. The aroma kinda hit me hard and I was worried. Drinking it though. Similar to many other smooth bourbons.

I want to try them again when I’m not half in the bag.

Giving Widow Jane a real go. It has a nice typical bourbon smell and taste. When you get a few sips with some ice you notice a real sweet taste on the tongue and an almost earthy type “ahhhh” after taste. IMO it’s pretty interesting and a nice change of pace from a Kentucky bourbon.

[LeopardLetang]

Tamnavulin doesn't get enough credit. Went way up in price like all scotch the last few years but still can get it for $41 on sale pretty often. Has to be the best daily drinker around that price available in state stores. To me it has one of the strongest flavors of fruit (pear and pineapple are noted on the back) of any scotch I've had.

I usually make my own blends (forever bottles) by buying monkey shoulder or something mid $30 range (on sale) and some 50-70 range stuff to top it off to up the quality. But Tamnavulin is good enough by itself.

More expensive favorites...Deanston, Cardhu, Benriach.

[Dickie Dunn]

I did the cocktail menu for my family on Thanksgiving. It went over quite well. I made somewhere around 15-20 cocktails.

Thanksgiving, like last year, was at my cousin's house in Chicago. Like last year, we hit Binny's Beverage Depot on the drive back. I didn't buy as much as last year, but I did pick up barrel picks of George Remus bourbon and Old Potrero and Starlight rye, as well as a Binny's exclusive for Laird's straight applejack (not the blended version that's the only one carried in PA's FWGS stores).

I also bought a small bottle of the infamous Jeppson's Malört, which I can now confirm is indeed unrelentingly bitter. It starts off with a sort of hoppy bitterness that has a little bit of citrus to it, but then it finishes into a pure bone-dry bitterness. There's no sweetness to it whatsoever. It's just layers of bitterness on top of bitterness. Still, I don't think it's quite as horrible as it's made out to be.

Sounds like Malort Nog is in your future.

[Shyster]

Sounds like Malort Nog is in your future.

I've used it as a sort of bitters in other cocktails, and it's not too bad in that function.

[Dickie Dunn]

Porto Flip might be just about the best thing I've ever tasted. God damn this is good.

[genoscoif]

I'm hopefully in the tail end of a head cold that ruined/ cancelled a night out last night with friends in from out of town. Decided tonight was going to be a Christmas movie night at home with the wife. Buffalo Trace old fashioneds and Christmas Vacation, with a bit of head congestion. Probably not going to feel great tomorrow, but...

[Ad@m]

The founder of the Ponfeigh Distillery says that there is a strong history of whiskey in Somerset County, and he plans to bring that back with this distillery.

For the past 15 years, Maximilian Merrill focused on not only crafting whiskey, but opening his own distillery in Somerset County.

“I just sort of learned all the whiskey heritage that we lost in Somerset County, and it’s always been a dream for about 15 years to bring back that heritage that the county lost.”

Merrill says he searched all over Somerset for the perfect location for his distillery.

“We came upon this old 84 Lumber site, and we figured it was a pivotal place to bring back and start a distillery to pay tribute to all those distillers that we lost.”

Merrill and his crew say this location is now home to the largest distillery in Pennsylvania.

“Right now, this is by far the biggest distillery in Pennsylvania. There’s a lot of people coming online though so I don’t know how long well hold that title,” says Master Distiller Brendon Rawlings.

“We can produce over 3,000 barrels a year. We have fermentation tanks that are over 16 thousand gallons of fermentation so we can produce whiskey 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if we need to.”

Currently, they are bottling their 95-percent rye, 5 percent malted barley whiskey, which is available for tasting and sale Wednesday through Sunday.

“It’s very smooth. It has a lot of notes of honey, maple syrup, but also a little bit of ‘oakiness’ at the end.”

“Coming next year, in 2024, we will also have a couple other spirits including a Maryland style rye which has a larger corn content, and we will also a rye aged rum and a rye aged gin.”

Merrill says besides other spirits, they plan to bring more to the distillery.

[dodint]

Neat.

My dog got me a bottle of Russell's Reserve for my birthday.

[Pavel Bure]

My one brother lived in Chicago for a time and we have this for New Years.