Thank you for responding. I, too, have been victom of an author’s bad judgement, and understand where you’re coming from. The author never should have published that article without fact-checking it with you or someone else.

Pretentious is something we don’t want to come across as being, that’s for sure. –John

I write to inform you and those reading your blog that many of my verbal comments were not represented accurately in the text of the article in question, and I informed the author of several of these mistakes as soon as I read the column. I take pride in product knowledge and am passionate about the craft, folklore and ritual of fermentation. As the bar manager, I represent Brocach and want to set the record straight for myself, and for the excellent and extremely high functioning Irish Pub to which I am fiercely loyal. I take an academic approach to our products, and lead trainings and tastings for a staff of 40. While I can appreciate and share the enthusiasm some of your readers have for Scotch and Irish Whiskey, I think that several of those contributing this blog show poor judgment in casting smug insults which serve only to support the misconception that high quality products belong solely in the realm of pretentious aesthetes. If their goal is to alienate people who might otherwise appreciate these things, they have succeeded.

As for Malt Advocate – a great publication. I read it regularly at the local cigar bar.

David Drake

I tried to find the author on the newspaper’s website to offer some comments, but I was not able to find him. He might have been a freelancer.

When my parents took me to church when I was a kid, I heard the stories of turning water into wine. But, I’ve never before knew that Cooley (or anyone else for that matter) could turn scotch into Irish whiskey. I was at Cooley last year and they didn’t even mention it to me. Amazing!

“The fiercely independent Cooley Distillery does its most interesting work with Murray McDavid 1992 Single Malt Irish Whiskey ($12). Murray McDavid is perhaps better known as a scotch distiller that maintains an unusual relationship with Cooley, whom they allow to take a preferred stock every so often and convert it to Irish whiskey. Cooley took a particular interest in the scotch distilled in 1992 — note the vintage date and not the age — and converted it to their usual one-of-a-kind product.”