REDBREAST Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey - 12

© June '12    photo by sm

REDBREAST Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (note the 'e') from Middleton Distillery - aged 12 years in oaken casks and bottled at 40% Alc/vol.

No peat and fire here - just deep smoothness - so if you don't particularly want to try another fiery draught then read on and take heart that yes there are smooth Gaelic unblended whiskeys that are utterly delightful.  And I must note here that smooth does not imply bland - not at all.  This is a great easy to sip whiskey, yet there is still a depth and complexity of background flavors as in the best of Scotch single malts. I just finished at least two or three fingers of Redbreast, which is my third sampling in as many nights.  Once again it was so pleasant to drink that I quickly lost track of all the great things about it that I was going to put to paper for this posting - so for the time being let me borrow a few quotes from other devotees.  


"Scotland and Kentucky get the glory, but Ireland is no slouch when it comes to crafting fine, sippable whiskey. For potent proof, try an unblended whiskey like the oh-so-smooth Redbreast 12 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey ($45). Like single-malt Scotch, this Irish whiskey is aged — 12 years, in this case — in a single batch, not blended. But that's where the similarities with smoky Scotch end, because the flavor leans much closer to caramely bourbon" - YUMSUGAR blog

"Single Pot Still Whiskey:

It is unique to Ireland in general and to the Midleton Distillery, Co Cork, in particular, and is regarded as the quintessential style of Irish whiskey. Made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley and then triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills. Pot Still whiskeys are characterized by full, complex flavors and a wonderful creamy mouthfeel." -  WEINQUELLE .com 

"Color   Amber lager

 Nose   Ethanol, vanilla, maple sugar

 Body   Mildly syrupy

 Palate  Scotch followed by a wonderful praline, vanilla, maple syrup, gingerbread cookies

 Finish   Sweet, maple syrup, vanilla, bug spray

This is my favorite Irish whiskey. It has a Scotch-like complexity followed by a wonderful maple syrup-like sweetness. Not cloying like a bourbon, but sweet like a gingerbread cookie. A great dessert whiskey. Highly Recommended!   95"       MISTERBORK on FORPEATSAKE.com

I'm not sure where the 'bug spray' came from in this last one but everyone has there take, eh?  All in all a really fine (and award winning)  poteen - which Himself would give at least an 89.

Fall Maple

© September '08    photo by smck

When every thing is green and brown, red draws the eye - like this maple on the old MacKay property.

Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

© August '10   photo by smck

Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

 

The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.

As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull

The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be--
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.

They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?

Robert Frost

this poem first appeared in the Yale Review in the year of my birth

...poem presents a notion common to Frost's poetry: a “recognition of the essential limitations of man, without denial or protest or rhetoric or palliation."

NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH - ✯✯✯✯✯

A great read - definitely five stars - ✯✯✯✯✯ 

Recently Emily White, an intern at NPR All Songs Considered, and GM of what appears to be her college radio station, wrote a post on the NPR blog in which she acknowledged that while she had 11,000 songs in her music library, she’s only paid for 15 CDs in her life. Our intention is not to embarrass or shame her. We believe young people like Emily White who are fully engaged in the music scene are the artist’s biggest allies. We also believe–for reasons we’ll get into–that she has been been badly misinformed by the Free Culture movement. We only ask the opportunity to present a countervailing viewpoint.

Emily:

My intention here is not to shame you or embarrass you. I believe you are already on the side of musicians and artists and you are just grappling with how to do the right thing. I applaud your courage in admitting you do not pay for music, and that you do not want to but you are grappling with the moral implications. I just think that you have been presented with some false choices by what sounds a lot like what we hear from the “Free Culture” adherents.

I must disagree with the underlying premise of what you have written. Fairly compensating musicians is not a problem that is up to governments and large corporations to solve. It is not up to them to make it “convenient” so you don’t behave unethically. (Besides–is it really that inconvenient to download a song from iTunes into your iPhone? Is it that hard to type in your password? I think millions would disagree.)

Rather, fairness for musicians is a problem that requires each of us to individually look at our own actions, values and choices and try to anticipate the consequences of our choices. I would suggest to you that, like so many other policies in our society, it is up to us individually to put pressure on our governments and private corporations to act ethically and fairly when it comes to artists rights. Not the other way around. We cannot wait for these entities to act in the myriad little transactions that make up an ethical life. I’d suggest to you that, as a 21-year old adult who wants to work in the music business, it is especially important for you to come to grips with these very personal ethical issues.

I’ve been teaching college students about the economics of the music business at the University of Georgia for the last two years. Unfortunately for artists, most of them share your attitude about purchasing music. There is a disconnect between their personal behavior and a greater social injustice that is occurring. You seem to have internalized that ripping 11,000 tracks in your iPod compared to your purchase of 15 CDs in your lifetime feels pretty disproportionate. You also seem to recognize that you are not just ripping off the record labels but you are directly ripping off the artist and songwriters whose music you “don’t buy”. It doesn’t really matter that you didn’t take these tracks from a file-sharing site. That may seem like a neat dodge, but I’d suggest to you that from the artist’s point of view, it’s kind of irrelevant.

To continue reading David Lowery's excellent exposition, check out this great link:  http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/letter-to-emily-white-at-npr-all-songs-considered/    where this and other ethical problems are covered - it is a farther great read.

Anas Platyrhynchos Cogitatione

© November '10   photo by smck