What I do is write contracts, work on documents, give advice, and basically do whatever it takes to get a deal. Once in a while, a deal goes bad and everybody lawyers up. I mean even the lawyers. Finger pointing and well, so much for an honorable profession and all that. This is when litigators enter the scene and they thrive on adversarial situations. Me, I don't like the conflict. I used to deal with it better than I do now. As I get older, I just want to simplify life, so no litigation for me. No drawing lines in the sand, grand standing, bullshitting and all the double talk. I am not moral or more ethical that some other ambulance chaser, I'm just weary of all the bullshit and just call it the way it is. Anyway, enough said.
I knew that I had to snap myself out of this blackest of moods. So, I retreated to the basement, collased into my lazy-boy and reached for some comfort: an over the top, super ridiculous, James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, and my favorite (if I was ever sentenced to a desert island) single malt scotch: Cragganmore 12 years.
The wafer light theme music to "You Only Live Twice" is just the beginning. The absurd plot, with plenty of politically incorrect depictions of women clad in bras and panties fetching James Bond drinks and pouring baths, just demands the viewer to suspend judgment and belief and enjoy the ride! Follow that with some classic lines: "Kill Bond now!" or how about "Goodbye Mr. Bond" as the maniacal evil doer Ernst Stavro Blofeld, a white Persian cat strokin' bad guy, sentences Bond to death, and you gotta recipe for laughter.
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| James Bond villain: Ernst Stavro Blofeld |
Well, I am happy to report that my spirits are lifted. I hadn't had a drink of Cragganmore in a long time but it didn't disappoint! I loved it when I was a novice scotch nut, and am happy to report that I still do. A teaspoon of water to a double pour delivers up a classic Speyside malt of honey, heather, smoke and something ethereal that just makes you smile regardless of your situation!
Just remember, all in moderation, and I am certainly not advocaing drinking alone in the basement to deal with a bad mood . . . although I think that is what I just did. Hmm, I guess I am about as politically incorrect as Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice delivering the following opening line: click here. Ok, maybe that crosses the line of poltically correctness and veers head-on into the oncoming traffic of sexism, racism and through the guard rail and off the cliff into the abyss of bad cinema! But hey, just try and laugh anyway and appreciate how far Bond films have come since then.
Thanks for dropping in! Next week, I will review the Tennessee Whiskey, Gentleman Jack.
Cheers!
Jason Debly
Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2013. All rights reserved. Any and all use is prohibited without permission except for images above taken from the film "You Only Live Twice" as they belong to United Artists. I do not own any rights to "You Only Live Twice" which is posted for the purposes of nostalgia, education and entertainment.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteJT here. Great write-up... I've been there a time or two myself. It's been awhile since I've caught your page.
I picked up a new bottle recently - Lagavulin 1994 Distiller's Edition. Have you ever had any of their DE offerings? I am waiting to open this bottle for a special occasion but am very interested to see how this compares to Lagavulin 16 which is, most certainly, my favorite single malt.
Hi JT!
ReplyDeleteDistiller's Editions (DE) are strange creatures. Typically, they are a special treatment of a well regarded scotch by the distillery. Aged in a certain type of wood or casks that previously held an unusual spirit (ie. cognac). Sometimes these DEs achieve greatness while other disappoint.
Lagavulin 16 for me is perfection of the Islay malts. My favorite. I find it hard to believe that the distillery can improve on perfection. What I suspect you will taste is an interesting twist on a great classic.
Keep us posted on what you think.
Cheers!
Great site Jason...your honest reviews are much appreciated! I just picked up my first bottle of Cragganmore last week based on it being one of the "six classic malts". Maybe I was expecting too much, but I have not been impressed thus far. I have read good reviews in other years, maybe the 2011 is off the mark?
ReplyDeleteHello Flynn,
ReplyDeleteThe bottle of Cragganmore that I just opened is actually two years old. There certainly can be variation from batch to batch, particulaly in the case of single malts. Blended scotch is more consistent year to year because the master blender can work from many (ie. 40, etc) grain and malt whiskies to capture the same flavor. However, the malt master of a single malt distillery has to play the cards he is dealt. If the barley is a little different or some process during distillation is different, it can reflect in the flavor.
That being said, keep sippin Cragganmore, and maybe your first impression may change.
Cheers!
Hi Jason,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know that I did really enjoy the last 3/4 of the bottle of Cragganmore. I don't know if the exposure to air and the passage of time was the reason for the improvement, but the last 5-6 drams I poured were super smooth! I guess you really do have to sample a bottle over a period of time before you can judge it. Cheers!
Hello Flynn!
DeleteAgain this is the very reason why I buy a bottle and drink it over time before posting a review. The spirit can evolve or devolve in the bottle once exposed to air.
Sample bottles from distilleries do not account for such variations. Instead, with sample bottles you get a one-off, point in time, taste of a malt. Hence, you will not read any reviews on here based on sample bottles.
Cheers!
Jason
Jason, Witnessing the first period of holiday season price jumps (as opposed to typical reductions) this month. There's a strong whiskey market growth surge over the past year. I'm seeing a second retail price jump in a year for Cragganmore 12y (and others). The Cragg has jumped 10% since Sept 2011, well short of the Caol Ila 12y 40% price increase in the same period in two big box outlets. The return of Laphroaig 10y to SoCal markets includes a 20% higher shelf price. Yowee ! If you are a lover of these malts and others, consider hunting now for old prices if you can. JK
ReplyDeleteCragganmore is one of my favorites as you probably know. I will pick up some bottles and put them away. It just continues to climb in price.
DeleteJason,
ReplyDeleteMy second bottle of scotch. This was hard to stay away from. Awesome scotch. I now see why it is a crowd pleaser and one of your favorites.
I am so pleased and thankful. I think I am enjoying the scotch too much, lol.
Russell
Glad you are enjoying the Cragganmore recommendation!
DeleteJason, Maybe Diageo's got an early Fall sales program afoot. There's a purveyor in SoCal selling Cragg 12y for $43.98 US, which is pretty much $10 less per bottle (at least) than anywhere else in this big old town. Let's see, hmmm ... how many cases would it take a guy to cross-finance a West coast visit to The Wine Club. Cheers ...
ReplyDeleteGreat price! Another reason I should visit southern California!
Delete