A work in progress.
My bar is coming along, but there’s so much I want to do and I don’t have the time, know-how or money to get it done. The first challenge is how to hang a curtain behind the shelves to make it more cozy. I think I found some hooks I can hang from the ceiling, so I might try that route.
But the good news is, the bar is open and ready for some company!
Welcome to the second Tasteless Tastings installment, which is exactly what it sounds like: tasting notes from the riffraff. If you follow the liquor industry to any capacity, you probably have come across snooty tasting notes from classy people who make the new spirit sound more like a science experiment than something you consume for fun or to forget the world around you. I want to shoot gayly forward from the hip and tell you how it really tastes. So each time the nice mailman brings me a sample to try, I’ll gather up some friends and we’ll have a candid, lively and unpolitically correct discussion about said sample. So let’s do it …
Sagamore Spirit is from Baltimore.
What are we drinking today?: Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye Whiskey
What the hell is it?: Sagamore Spirit is a new Baltimore-based distillery that specializes in rye whiskeys. They’ve released a Rye American Whiskey at 83 proof and now the Cask Strength Rye Whiskey at anywhere from 111-113 proof. It is now available in Kentucky.
Why do we care?: Baltimore has a storied history in distilling, and Sagamore uses an interesting method to produce its whiskeys. According to the press release:
“Sagamore Spirit ages two different rye mash bills – a high rye and a low rye – and then blends them to make their proprietary recipe. A ladle of Sagamore Farm spring-fed water is added for a touch of smoothness. Sagamore drives this water 22 miles from the limestone spring at Sagamore Farm to their bottling facility at City Garage in Port Covington. 100 percent of both Sagamore’s 83-proof rye and Cask Strength Rye uses this distinct water.”
Give me the nerdy numbers: The regular Sagamore Rye is 83 proof, while the Cask Strength is 111-113 proof. The whiskey is aged at just under four years old, and the Cask Strength retails for $73.99 for a 750mL bottle.
What do we think?: First, let me start by saying what other people have thought about the whiskey. According to the press release, since hitting the market in May of this year, Sagamore has won five national awards and will continue to enter its products in competitions.
Cask is whack.
So what did my panel of primarily bourbon drinkers think of this Baltimore whiskey? It wasn’t good, but that’s not to say it’s bad. Remember: These people just came off a tasting of Woodford Reserve’s Master Collection and a couple other semi-sweet bourbons. It was probably my fault for placing the rye whiskey at the end of the session.
For lovers of high-rye bourbons and rye whiskeys, you must try Sagamore for its complex spiciness and peppery undertones. And the Cask Strength is strong. Very strong. So strong, some of my panelists were complaining of a sinus infection induced by whiskey consumption.
Here’s a snippet of the conversation:
Tracy: It’s smooth, but there’s an underlying metallic taste. Oh wait … here comes that warm afterglow.
Britany: Whoa! I feel like it’s doing something to my sinuses!
Me: It kinda tastes like Grandpa’s attic. Or how I imagine George Washington’s breath to smell like.
Erik: I don’t love this at all. It feels rushed.
Britany: My mouth won’t stop making saliva. Make it stop!
Tracy: It’s not bad, but I don’t think I’d buy it.
Britany: I don’t want this anymore. Goodbye!
Next time on Tasteless Tastings … we’ll tackle Michter’s new 10-Year Rye Whiskey and two products just hitting the Kentucky market called Best Damn Sweet Tea and Best Damn Cream Soda. That should be interesting. Stay tuned …
I want you to want me.
I want this Woodford Reserve Derby bottle to want me.
I need this Woodford Reserve Derby bottle to need me.
I’d love this Woodford Reserve Derby bottle to love me.
I’m beggin’ this Woodford Reserve Derby bottle to beg me.
I’ll even shine up my old brown shoes and put on a brand new shirt.
I’ll get home early from work if it says that it loves me.
Respect the mint julep.
A report recently leaked out that journalist and satirist H.L. Mencken said he preferred rye whiskey to bourbon in his mint juleps.
To which Kentucky author and humorist Irvin S. Cobb said: “Any man who would put rye in a mint julep would put scorpions in a baby’s bed.”
I agree. A mint julep should be as sweet and sappy as if you were licking that wallpaper in “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.” It’s one of my favorite drinks, and it absolutely has to be made right in order to properly enjoy it — including the snowcone-like ice.
Anyone who turns their nose up at the drink because of what they tasted in the Derby infield has not had a proper mint julep. I beg you to go to Proof, Silver Dollar, Jack’s or any other decent cocktail bar and try it again, Sam. In fact, go ahead and order two — I’ll meet you there.
Go Cats!
Well, sadly our Cardinals are out of the NCAA Tournament just like that. But, as a good Kentuckian (and in case Ashley Judd is reading), I will root for UK now.
In other news, I talked to a friend who has psychic abilities, and she believes I’m going to meet someone this spring. So now I feel added pressure to wear nice clothes, do my hair and generally behave myself in public.
If you see me out, please remind me to sit up straight. Thanks.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The city looks like we’re celebrating Christmas — half of you all are wearing green, and the other half Cardinal red. Go Cards! Go Cats! Go Guinness!
Hopefully you’ll find a little leprechaun to snuggle up with later tonight. I’ve got my eye on the one who watches over the bourbon rick houses throughout the state. She said she’d show me her pot of gold.
And now we’ve come to the TMI portion of the day.
Period cramps. Why?
Let’s all come together for the sanity of our sisters and cure these damn cramps! Sadly, even bourbon doesn’t cure cramps … I’ve tried.
Any hope I had of taking a far-away vacation this year was slashed by my tax man, who said I owe money this year. It doesn’t make sense why I owe this year and have never owed in the past (except for when I do lots of freelance work — which I didn’t do this year), but there you have it.
So I guess Ireland and Italy will have to wait another year, as will Austin, Key West and New Orleans. I do have a weekend trip to Destin, Fla., booked, mostly because we drive down and do it on the cheap. And I’d love to do Nashville again — maybe for Pride? — and check out St. Louis, which I’ve never been to.
2017 will be the year of the road trip.
While my name has been on several bathroom walls around town — from The Back Door to The Pearl — it’s never been on the wall of a distillery! Today, that changed.
Thanks to the kind folks at Bulleit Distilling Co., who included me among the many who attended their distillery’s official opening today.
I thought it was a kind gesture to include the names of friends and family who came to the event, but when I got out there and saw my own name included, I just about split a bung. These bricks will be placed somewhere in the new distillery in Shelby County.
Here are my story and photos on the amazing 300-acre facility.
So I can get my name on a distillery, but I still can’t get a date? #life
3 Amigos
Despite the weather, it was a successful parade. Despite my reckless abandon for choosing what to imbibe, it was a successful parade.
One of these years I’ll know better.
