If so, do tell. What is it?
And if you haven’t thought about it yet, now’s the time. It’s less than a week away. When you figure it out, let us know.
November 18th, 2010
Whisky Advocate Blog
News and views from Editor & Publisher John Hansell and the Whisky Advocate Writers
An american holiday calls for an american whiskey. Other than that, I have yet to decide!
I’m going on Tuesday to get a bottle of Corsair’s Triple Smoke Tennessee Whiskey. I haven’t heard much about it, but I look forward to giving it a shot!
Glenfarclas 40 yr.
Not sure yet. Either some Michter’s (From Schaefferstown, PA of course!), or maybe some Booker’s, or possibly some Elijah Craig 18. Or maybe all 3!
Will be trying both the new Balvenies:
Caribbean Rum Cask and the Peated Cask
My order (2 Bottles of George T Stagg) just came in. One will be opened at Thanksgiving. Also planning on a Sazerac Rye 18 (2009) and I will also open a bottle of Lagavulin for the Scotch drinkers.
Last year Van Winkle Lot B was very enjoyable. I might repeat that or try Zacapa 23 or Barbancourt 15 rums.
Parkers Heritage 2010… while tending the cooking turkey out on the driveway.
Just tasted PLOWED Society Benriach Heavily Peated 1986 Vintage 23 Year Old Private Cask, thanks to a colleague. Amazing…
Got a bottle of Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit single barrel, selected by Astor Wines, while in NYC for WFNY. Could there be a more appropriate selection for Thanksgiving? Not at my table. God bless America!
Amen Sam. Enjoy in good health.
Pappy Van Winkle 15. Just got some in our area so was able to score a bottle and found another one that’s on the way. A little Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch sauce and a two-finger pour of Pappy. Happy Turkey Day!
I love sticky toffee pudding.
You should have *stuck* around for the Scotch dinner at St. Andrews last week. Sticky toffee pudding was one of the dessert choices, and it was good. Probably a little on the sweet side after sampling a bunch of Scotch, but still very very good.
Meeee to. Making a great homemade recipe with a touch of ginger and cinnamon punch. Of course the sauce really is what sets it off. I love Thanksgiving!
Does anyone have a good recipe?
Woodford Reserve and Makers Mark 94 for dinner at my in-laws. Then I’ll finish the night with Wild Turkey American Spirit. Since the temperature is supposed to plunge going to the weekend, I’ll break out my newly acquired Big Peat and Laphroaig 18.
Up to my mother’s house next week where I believe I have stashed a Lagavulin 16 and a Glenmorangie Astar. Maybe one more. But in any event, that’s what I’ll be drinking. I think we’re hosting dinner this year, so I may be sharing some as well!
You go there Jon..love that Lagavulin!!!
Small correction…I must have finished off the Lagavulin on the last trip and replaced it with a Peat Monster (2010 version). Still a top notch pair!
I’m with Louis – I’ll be drinking WT American Spirit. As sam k put it, what’s more appropriate than WT on Thanksgiving?
gonna crack open my old forester birthday bourbon 2010. been sitting on it for about a month unopened….can’t wait!
The 2010 is great! Enjoy!
Lion’s Pride Dark Rye, Two Brothers Brewing Heavier Handed (in the convenient 3-liter jeroboam), North Shore Distiller’s No.6. It’s a loca-swilling holiday this year to celebrate all of the bounty of home-grown libations we have to choose here in the windy city.
I just located some new Stagg , and I have a bottle Ardbeg Corryvreckan. Along my responsibilty of preparing a little barbecue and banana pudding …..could be dangerous
I will be having the Parkers Heritage Golden Anniversary and perhaps a little Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old. I like the Wild Turkey concept too. Maybe some Kentucky Spirit will make its way to the table!
I’ve got a Pappy Van Winkle 15 to polish off.
Is PVW better than Knob Creek or Evan Williams Single Barrel?
Friends of mine just brought over some Smokehead Extra Rare from London for me, so I will enjoy that as the night cap. I am thinking some Maker’s Mark 46 with Turkey Dinner & a Pumpkin Chai Cocktail(Pumkin Spice Liquor, French Vanilla Kahula, Half & Half and Pumpkin Spice Mix) to start things off.
I suppose a Wild Turkey expression would be the obvious choice, but as I don’t have any at the moment, I’m thinking Pappy Van Winkle 15. Looks like there are a few of us going with that one.
I might throw a little Parker’s Heritage Golden Anniversary in there, too.
i know, all this talk about pappy and wild turkey has me thinking i’ve got to make a liquor run this weekend!
I will probably stick with American whiskey too – I’m thinking some Hudson Four Grain or Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. If my Pappy 15 comes in, that may trump all (or add to).
As I am in the Netherlands and I want to participate in a pure US fest, I think I will pour myself a dram of a recently aquired bottle of Noah’s Mill.
And may I say, this one is one of the best US whiskies I ever tasted.
I also bought the cousin, Rowans Creek.
Nice additions to our scope of US expressions.
I’m torn between the new George T Stagg, William Larue Weller and an Old Portrero. Maybe I’ll have a little of each.
These are always the sort of subjects that I love! I love being in the company of friends. You
might call me a social junkie. Being together with friends over a couple of cocktails is one of the
most enjoyable experinces..whether around the firepit in the woods behind the house or during the
holiday season, gathering around the table. Each year, I always like to concoct some sort of unusual
“hot” beverage. Most times, I experiment with wassail recipes, but this year. I am going to make a
“toddy” that at received from Jake Sher at Whisky Fest. If you Google Jake, he’s a mixologist in the NYC area that is an evangelist of sorts for cause of mixed drinks (and a lot of fun at Whiskey Fest)
I must admit, I’ve never been for mixed drinks, the idea off all those cordials and sugar just turned me
off, but I think it’s an area I need to experiment in. Anyway, here’s the recipe…..maybe some of you will
experiment as well. It uses Four Roses Bourbon.
see next post
A Toddy By Any Other Name”
2 Apples Sliced
2 Oranges Pealed (no pith)
10 1/2 stick of cinnamon
1/2 bg (3 or 4 oz) fresh cranberries
3/4 oz allspice
2 tablespoons cloves
1 cup honey
Slowcook in a 6 qt crockpot (add ingrediants
and fill with filtered water.
For each glass you first pour
2 oz of Four Roses Bourbon
1/4 oz of Merlet creme de peche
and then add the balance from the slowcooker….
William Larue Weller and some Old Rip Van Winlke 23 Family Reserve for desert.
I will have some Old Potrero 18th century style Rye whiskey as it is probably the closest thing we have to whisky the pilgrims would have drank. Then I will move onto some GTS, WLW, PVW 15, and WT Kentucky Spirit. But with the Turkey itself I will go with some California Chardonnay and Oregon Pinot Noir (either Panther Creek 2007 or Bethel Heights 2007).
Well I have a new bottle of The Glenrothes Select Reserve that I’ll be taking out to the lake house with the family. Will probably enjoy a few nice cigars and a few nice drinks around a fire.
I always bring the bourbon to my cousins house for Thanksgiving. This year it is Pappy 12. I had the 10, 15, 20 and 24 (at WhiskeyFest). Never had the 12. I might also bring my Wild Turkey American Honey. What do you guys think….Serve it over fruit? Ice Cream? I need suggestions.
Guy,
My wife loves the WT American Honey over vanilla ice cream. Have to admit I agree with her. I haven’t tried it over fruit yet but since that sounds like a good idea I think I will tonight. Also try mixing one part WT AH with two or three parts Kahlua and shake with lots of ice. Strain and enjoy.
Hi Steve:
You were correct. It was good over ice cream. I tried it over fruit and used just a drop. Then I tried a bit more and let it sit for a bit. That added more flavor.
George T Stagg bourbon as has been a tradition for me the last five or so years.
What better way to celebrate and give thanks for the bountiful harvest than enjoying a bountiful bourbon.
I have two bourbons I am bringing to drink on Thanksgiving. The last half of a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 18 and, as a dessert drink, a bottle of Wild Turkey 12.
Will be celebrating with my parents, my dad’s college roommate and his family, my college roommate and his wife. Looking forward to bringing some Pappy 15 back to TX as well as some Noah’s Mill.
Probably a couple bottles of beer – definitely a Trader Joe’s 2009 Vintage Ale, and maybe a Chimay Grande Reserve. I could see drinking some bourbon, but it won’t go over with the crowd.
Just picked up a single cask bottling of Arran 11 YO aged in a bourbon cask – Think I will try that one
Well changed it up and had The Dalmore MacKenzie (17 YO – 11 in American Oak, 6 in Port Pipes) – It is very good!
Thanks Richard!
Keeping the tradition alive with my father in law where we usually polish off a bottle of bourbon on Thanksgiving. So I’ll be raiding my collection and we will be drinking the 2008 17 Yr Eagle Rare from the Antique Collection. Last year it was Rowan’s Creek which we must have enjoyed since the bottle was pretty much gone by the time supper was done!
I’m thinkin’ about going for some Virgil’s Root Beer this Thanks Giving. Then probably Makers Mark 46 towards the end of the meal.
I have some champagne and such for guests; however, after diner I am sure I will sit down with a Longrow as my drink of choice–man can’t live on Ardbeg alone.
My father-in-law picked up a bottle of JW Double Black from DutyFree, even though he didn’t know what the difference was. I’m not a JW fanboy but it will be interesting to taste the Black & Double Black side by side.
I’ve been holding off on the last inch or so of a bottle of Four Roses Singel Barrel, specifically for Thanksgiving. Everyone’s fancy talk here has reminded me that I have an open bottle of Parker’s 27 hidden away; that’ll be my nightcap. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Smokehead 18yr, a gift from a friend.
Tough decision. Compounded by the fact that my wife is making me clean up my scotch shelf, and by clean up I mean box most of it away until (a) I get a better cabinet/shelf for it than in the “office” where we need space, and (b) my sons are out of high school. So much to choose from, lots of bottles tucked away toward the back that I have pretty much ignored for a long time (so that I wouldnt drink them…). Arran Grand Cru Champagne Cask? Rare Malts Hillside 25? Laphroaig 30? Glenmorangie Claret? The pair of “Heavily Peated” Signatory bottlings (Bunnahabhain, Benriach)? Glenmorangie Cote d’Or? Maybe a little of each (at least the ones that are opened…)
Happy thanksgiving all.
If it was me, I’d do a little of each. But be sure to save enough to share with anyone who happens to drop by your house in a few weeks, perhaps for a poker game (hypothetically speaking), and may happen to bring by a few equally cool bottles to sample.
I think I will use the holiday season as a chance to finish off those close to empty bottles…
Thanksgiving I will probably be bringing Paker’s Heritage Cask Strength 126.2 & William LaRue Weller 2007 over to my parents house to polish off…
I’m glad I saw this list before deciding. I think I’ll mimic some others and open my new bottle of Maker’s 46 to share with the in-laws and then crack open my new bottle of Henry McKenna BIB later tomorrow night. I’ll also open a bottle of malmsey for guests to have with the pumpkin pie.
Happy Thanksgiving to all wherever you are in the whiskey drinking world.
Wow, in Boston today with family for Turkey Day and came across a bottle of William Larue Weller at Kappy’s in Medford, so now the family can enjoy 2 bottles of the greatest wheated bourbon tomorrow. Happy Turkey Day everyone and enjoy your time with your families, it’s priceless.
Which Weller, John?
2010 Antique Collection, they had one more bottle I left for someone else to enjoy.
What a stand-up thing to do, John! I salute you.
All they had at my parents place was a bottle of The Speyside 12 with about an ounce and a half left in it– Excellent stuff, in spite of not making for an Exciting thanksgiving-day-dram report.
Perhaps when I get home I’ll tip a little bit of Talisker 30.
Wild turkey rye garnished/cooled with frozen cranberries. It doesn’t add flavor, but at the end the cranberries are delicious.
Thanksgiving: Rittenhouse 100; Cooper’s Hawk White (IL winery table wine); George T. Stagg (2010)
Yesterday: Caol Ila, 1998 cask bottled for Binny’s in 2005 by Gordon and Macphail – good stuff.
We had a redbreast 15 and macallan 18 1989.