Celebs Selling Snake Oil?  I am always a wee-bit suspicious when a celebrity endorses a brand of drink.   Why? I am wondering if it's all about the bags of money exchanged for their endorsement.  So many celebs have lately hopped on a spirits money train.  There's Sammy Hagar (tequila), George Clooney (more tequila!), David Beckham (whisky) and even Bob Dylan (more whisky!).  So much for the hippie ethos of Blowin' in the Wind!  Just send some bucks Bob's way and he will be comfortably tangled up in greenbacks.So, as I stare at a bottle of D'Ussé VSO ..read more

Today is a heatwave.  The air shimmers above the highway pavement, dogs with their tongues hanging, and not a cotton swab in the grampy's baby blue, Crown Victoria sky. Walk outside and it's like walking into a gym sauna.  You know, furnace like air temperature.  Maybe this weather foreshadows what I can expect in the afterlife.  Oh well, I banish that thought as I enter the heavenly chill of my local air-conditioned liquor store. I am on a mission to find a tonic to provide comfort from the fiery sun ablaze above.  My studies in alchemy tell me that Scotch and rum ..read more

  I saw this on the shelf, at my local liquor store, and thought it was time to revisit it.  Fifteen years ago, I was a big fan of this single malt.  It was a nuanced honey, barley, golden cereal type of flavor profile that exhibited impressive complexity.  It was totally in my wheelhouse: a classic Speysider on the lighter honey based flavor map.  Back then, Glenfiddich 15 Solera had a place on my shelf alongside other malts with similar flavor profiles like Cragganmore 12 and Glenmorangie 12 Nectar d'Or. So, while the security cameras watched my every move ..read more

Part 2: Cheers! Jason Debly ..read more

Blue Hanger 11th Release (Berry Bros. & Rudd) Berry Bros. & Rudd are the oldest wine and spirits merchant in the United Kingdom.  Established in 1698, initially selling coffee, the firm gradually expanded into and wine and spirits.  It's the latter that draws our attention.  This independent bottler can be visited today at their retail shop at 63 Pall Mall, which they moved into in 2017.  The previous retail premises, located at 3 St. James', that has been occupied by the firm dating back to 1698, now serves as their corporate offices in London. This independent bo ..read more

  In the Scottish village of Cawdor you will find the Royal Brackla distillery that was established in 1812. Royal Brackla is an obscure distillery that has generally made rare and largely unnoticed appearances in releases by independent bottlers. In 2015, the distillery started to release its single malt.  While you are probably not familiar with this distillery, you have tasted it a bit if you ever tried any Dewar's whiskies, as it is an ingredient malt in their blended Scotch releases. Category Single malt Scotch whisky. Region Speyside. Closure Cork stopper. Age Statement 1 ..read more

Most people know I am an eccentric with a wide variety of eclectic interests and fixations, none of which are lucrative.  Life coaches say: make millions following your passion in life!  If I did that I would have a closet full of Saville Row bespoke clothes, every New Yorker magazine cover framed, all coffee table books devoted to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, and a bank account far in the red. Like the eyes of a cat fixed upon a bird chirping in a tree, my focus is often upon the weighty matter of good whisky.  And so, at whisky festivals, line-ups at the bank, grocery ..read more

On the inside cover of the packaging, the pictured above tale is told of how a young man, son of a wine and spirits merchant, ended up in Bermuda, instead of America.  Mr. Gosling explored the island, and finding no one selling wine and spirits, decided to set up shop.  He astutely recognized that sailors do like a drink now and then.  His descendants expanded into rum, which is now the principal offering of the company bearing his surname. A word should be said about the Goslings rum of Bermuda.  It is not actually distilled on the island.  This company imports rum ..read more

COVID-19 has forced so many of us into a sequestered existence.  For me, it's a challenge because I'm like a dog: I run in packs.  Usually a couple mutts come over on Friday nights, and we have a few laughs watching bad hair minstrels like Mötley Crüe, Dio and Ratt on YouTube, accompanied by old college era hounds: Teacher's and Chivas.  As the bottle levels recede, tiffs and even arguments erupt over who is the better axeman: Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads?  That's Friday night. Saturday night, I and my Significant Other might entertain her friends.  I do my b ..read more

Generally, I am not a huge rum drinker because I find it a little too sweet for my liking.  Nevertheless, as you know, there are always exceptions to every rule.  Mount Gay XO is such an exception. This rum is drier than most.  The master blender and his team have really produced a rum here that is different.  So, with that being said, let's delve into the basic stats of this spirit and then check it out in the glass. Region Barbados Age Statement None.  The website tells us Mount Gay XO is a blend of aged rums ranging from 8 to 15 years.  The 'XO' means 'extr ..read more