The content of this video is completely safe for work. However your yearning for scotch will be immense and may inspire a “Mad Men” style lunch break.
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whiskey
Video: A Quick History of Johnnie Walker
Stocking a Small Liquor Bar
7×7 has written an article about stocking a small liquor bar in an apartment. Of course, if you’re the sort to have a selection of liquor sitting out at your tailgate, the same rules apply. The goal for each type of liquor is to find a brand that is tasty and all purpose for cocktails. Check out the article to see the runner-ups.
Vodka: Ketel One
Tequila: Siete Leguas Reposado
Rum: Rhum Barbancourt White
Bourbon: Buffalo Trace
Gin: Plymouth
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Personalize Your Cornhole Board
If you don’t have the artistic skills to paint a design on your cornhole board by hand, there’s another option for you. You can head over to Kinko’s or another print shop and get a poster printed and laminated. Then nail or glue the laminated poster to your cornhole board and cut out the hole. You end up with a sharp looking board that can have mud, water, or spilled beer wiped off of it much easier than wood.
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I’m currently reading , which is just a magnificent book covering all aspects of alcohol. I suggest you pick it up tomorrow… like before noon. His recipe for a Whiskey Manhattan tickled my bourbon soaked fancy. For those who don’t usually drink bourbon straight it serves as a change up to using Coke or Ginger Ale as a mixer. For those who normally drink straight bourbon, it works a little sugary taste into a long day of tailgating. And luckily it’s not a hassle to make at a tailgate, especially if you have a traveling bar. I’ve modified Kingley’s take slightly to work in this context:
The (Whiskey) Manhattan
Ingredients:
2oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
0.5oz Noilly Prat Sweet Vermouth
1 dash of Angostura bitters
1 maraschino cherry
Ice Cubes
Stir the fluid together very hard before adding the ice and fruit. Whatever the pundits may say, this in practice the not very energetic man’s Old-Fashioned, and is an excellent drink, though never, I think, as good as a properly made Old-Fashioned. And you really have to use bourbon (instead of the traditional rye whiskey).
Drunken Tailgate thoughts:
– Sweet Vermouth comes in bottles with red labels. Dry Vermouth comes in green labels. Sometimes they are not marked very well. That being said, it’s good to keep a bottle of dry and sweet vermouth in your bar.
– Angostura bitters is one of those things that looks ridiculous on a drink recipe, but you can get a bottle for a couple of bucks and it will last you a decade.
– Same goes for Maraschino cherries. Just keep them in the fridge and you should be able to use them over the course of a year if you enjoy cocktails
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Tailgating Vacation: Kentucky Bourbon Trail
If you’re attending a road football game at the University of Kentucky (Lexington) or Louisville you should definitely work a bourbon distillery tour into your plans for the weekend. It’s also possible that you could work this into Cincinnati, Western Kentucky, or Bowling Green games. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail includes Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Woodford Reserve, and Wild Turkey in the general Lexington area. Tom Moore, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, and Heaven Hill would be closer to Louisville. Hitting up a Friday tour is the perfect way to kick off a football weekend. Even if you’re not a big fan of drinking bourbon, the distillery tours are interesting because of the complexities and magnitude of the process.
I just visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. It’s about 30 minutes from Lexington and an hour from Louisville. This is the longest continuously operating distillery in the US. They were one of four distilleries that were allowed to continue producing bourbon during prohibition for medicinal purposes. The distillery has had several owners and has been previously known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. In 1999 it was renamed Buffalo Trace and they started producing bourbon under their own name. Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon is 90 proof (more than most) and is aged for 9 years. Theoretically it’s on the same basic level as Wild Turkey, Maker’s Mark, etc. Buffalo Trace has won a variety of awards like the Double Gold at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In the last couple of years I’ve been more of a Scotch drinker, but I drank Buffalo Trace for three straight days and would never turn it down. It seems to have a smoother taste than the bourbons I’ve had recently like Wild Turkey and Jim Beam. At the normal prices, it’s also an amazing value.
In addition to Buffalo Trace, the distillery creates, ages, and bottles an insane number of other bourbon brands. The list includes Van Winkle, Blanton’s, W.L. Weller, Elmer T. Lee, George T. Stagg, Rock Hill Farms, Eagle Rare, and more. These run the gamut of spending amounts. Buffalo Trace is in the $20 range, Blanton’s is in the $50’s, and Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old Family Reserve is upwards of $200. If you get the chance look for these at your local liquor store. And by all means, if you get the chance, visit Buffalo Trace or another bourbon distillery during your weekend tailgating vacation.
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