so, on...

national slaughter turkey day it was our annual ride. myself, randy, and edmund headed out. i really don't want to get into this ride too deep. the first half of the ride was great. sliding all over the trail. trying to brake going down hill. i think my sweet disc brakes were actually frozen. i knew that couldn't be good. there was a lot of slipping and sliding, not due to lack of skills, but the quantity of snow. it became a "livewrong" moment when we thought that it would be a good idea to "get miles in." i'll stop there. nothing good after that.

what i do want to speak to is the time of season that it is. as i sit here on my day off i contemplate the weather. and what a better way to warm up than baileys in your coffee. yes. tis the season to spice up your morning cup of joe, and it doesn't even need to be in the morning. right now i'm enjoying my normal cup of joe, but later i will make a new pot and top it off with bailyes irish cream. i only do this during this season. no other time do i have a taste for baileys and coffee. another possibility is to add some frangelico with your coffee, even with baileys. frangelico is a hazelnut liqueur from italy. what better way to bring three cultures together? frangelico-italians. baileys-irish. coffee-where ever your bean is from.

i also want to speak about the art of drinking. particularly hard liquor. i enjoy my scotch. my bourbon. my whiskey. but there is an art. first know what you are drinking and the difference.

whiskey: notice where your whiskey comes from. whisky is distilled in scotland, cananda, and japan. whiskey is from ireland and the u.s.; however kentucky spells it whisky. the words etymology comes from the welsh wysgi; which means "water of life." it is typically distilled three times from a mash of several grains.

scotch, or scotch whisky: to legally be called scotch whisky the spirit must conform to the standards of the scotch whisky act 1988:
one: Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
two: Must have an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavor of the raw materials used in its production,
three: Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for not less than three years, and
four: Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel colour.
typically distilled twice; either from barley malt alone (single malt whisky), or barley malts and other grains malts.

bourbon: distilled once.

the whiskey of the u.s. is often aged in charred oak barrels. your really good whiskey companies use these barrels once, and then get rid of them. often selling them to other companies that will use the barrels over and over again. there is a problem with reusing the barrels. you don't receive the "pure" taste of the whiskey. there are many types. all of which i will not get into here. but to mention one...blended whisky. i only mention this, because it is quite popular. it is part of the aboved mentioned mixed with a similar grain whiskey; which are much less expensive to produce. so then you are mixing good stuff with bad stuff to make less than good stuff.

so there is some knowledge for you. also, i mentioned the art of drinking. if you get a good whiskey, much time has been put in to the creation of it. enjoy that creation. don't just "slam" a shot. sip. taste. enjoy. really savor the flavor. i have had a four dollar shot of jameson, and a twenty-three dollar shot of jameson. the difference was dramatic. a good whiskey is like a good woman. if you get a good woman, and you know when you have a good woman, you just don't slam her down and have another. first, that is not how you treat a good woman. second, if you take your time and enjoy, she will enjoy you, and treat you good. this is the same with whiskey. sip her. enjoy her. savor her. take your time with her. your not going anywhere, and neither is she. i've often gone to bars and have gotten shots with friends. they slam theirs and they are done. i'm still sipping. people look at me like i'm nuts, but i appreciate the whiskey. the art. the flavor.

my father went to the woodford reserve distillery a while ago in kentucky. well the story goes that the distillery closed back in the 70's and left many barrels full. they reopened about ten years ago, i think. anyway he was able to bring home a couple of bottles of their whiskey that had been aged about twenty something years. the greatest whiskey that has ever passed my lips. even those barrels are long gone, it is still a favorite of mine.

so take the time to find a really good whiskey. know what you are buying. enjoy it. sip it. i can't stress this enough. sip. enjoy the taste. the flavor. the smell. don't add water. don't add ice. that's not the point. straight. neat. that is how you enjoy whiskey. enjoy. raise a glass. make a toast with friends. sip...smell...enjoy...the water of life.