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Higgins was not native to the South, despite his love of bourbon. That's because it's a delicious spirit. It's whiskey after all, the essence of beer. Speakin
by js2 9y ago
Higgins was not native to the South, despite his love of bourbon.
That's because it's a delicious spirit. It's whiskey after all, the essence of beer.
Speaking of which, I recently had a Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged "Islay Fog". I happen to have found it delicous, but regardless, its manufacture is quite interesting if you think about it.
In case you aren't aware, American whiskey is aged in new oak barrels whose insides have been charred. Those barrels are then sent to Scotland, where they are used to age Scotch whisky. In the case of Scotch from the island of Islay, the malted barley is toasted over a peat fire, which is what gives Islay Scotches their distinctive smokey flavor.
So here we have an American beer that was aged in a barrel formerly used to age Islay Scotch, formerly used to age Bourbon, imparting a peat flavor. A barrel traveled twice across the Atlantic, and is probably at least a dozen years old, and held three different alcohols, just so I could have a delicous drink.
- throwaway7645 9y agoI love Islay Scotch & Bourbon...will have to find this beer.
- js2 9y agoI'm not sure where to find it. I grabbed it at the Sierra Nevada brewery outside of Asheville, NC. I wish I'd gotten more than one bottle. Here's the label - http://imgur.com/a/KnIBN http://imgur.com/a/KnIBN
- throwaway7645 9y agoThanks! It's probably a special limited edition I'd bet (can't load imgur on my phone at the moment). I shall find it though :)
- sbuttgereit 9y agoHear, hear. I'm a bit of a Scotch anorak and I do love my beer & bourbon as well. The importance of the casks cannot be understated I believe; American Oak/Bourbon casks are a wonderful, core part of the whisky experience, though there are other types of casks that are used (sherry casks have been in vogue of late, for example). Your final point, which I construe ultimately to be about the nature of trade that made the Bourbon, the Scotch, and the Beer, is well taken and is a true wonder of trade's relationship to the enhancement of humanity (qua man). It naturally also reminds me of George Thorogood and leaves me to ponder that his song could all have been sourced from the same barrel. Hmm.....
- js2 9y agoThank you for the Thorogood reference. The original version of the song is actually a bit older: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Bourbon,_One_Scotch,_One_Beer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Bourbon,_One_Scotch,_One_B...
- thunderbong 9y agoI had never heard the word 'anorak' used that way before. Thank you for enlightening me. Anorak 1. A kind of heavy jacket 2. Someone considered boring because of their obsessive hobby or narrow solitary interests
- sbuttgereit 9y agoMy understanding is that the second meaning (which my wife agrees with in full) comes from train spotters in the UK who would wear their anoraks whilst in the field. Of course, Scotch being an obsessive hobby could also just be called alcoholism... but that's a entirely different comment thread :-)
- javiramos 9y agoLately, my favorite beer is the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. The smooth bourbon flavor works amazingly well with beer.
- dunham 9y agoYou might also like "Bluegrass Soy Sauce".