Whisky LIVE NYC!

The Guys made a nice an appearance at the Whisky LIVE event at Chelsea Pier 60 in NYC this evening, reconvening with old friends and making new ones.  We very much enjoyed getting a chance to hang out with our friends from Four Roses Distillery in KY, and made some new great friends at thatgirlattheparty.com - y'all should definitely go and check those gals out!

pixelation?  Or too many whiskies?

Our good friends at Four Roses distillery definitely hooked us up.  Goodness, what wonderful bourbon!

  With Hollis Bulleit (of Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye) at Whisky LIVE.  I'm the one without the headdress.  Not that I'm against headdresses, it just didn't fit in my suitcase.

The Lost Coast and Jimmy on the Celtics...

Hello again Homies... Jeff here, from California.  Since I've been out here I'd been wanting to try something from Lost Coast Brewery up North in Eureka.  So I'm digging right now on an Alley Cat Amber Ale while watching the Clippers (Also known as the Los Angeles Not-the-LAKERS) failing miserably on the road to a suddenly-strong Oklahoma City Thunder.  (As opposed to the Clips, consistently-terrible.  Sorry Del Negro.)  The announcers just mentioned that one of the reasons the Thunder could make serious noise in the playoffs this year is because of the acquisition of new Center Kendrick Perkins from the Boston Celtics via trade.  The announcer also mentioned that trading Perk was a huge gamble by the Celtics, because now they are relying on a 39 year old Shaquille O'Neal to remain healthy in their playoff run.  I had to agree on both points, and it also got me thinking.  With Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Shaq in the starting line-up, the Celtics are trotting out four of the top thirty scorers in NBA History.  That's 95,485 combined points!!!  Wow.  Even if Jimmy was their fifth starter, those five guys would average 19,097 points a-piece all time.  That's more than Scottie Pippen!  

Now, I'm not saying that Jimmy is a better NBA player than Scottie Pippen necessarily, BUT the numbers don't lie.  BTW, We caught those Celtics in Boston last season... and Jimmy didn't shoot the ball once!  I was secretly disappointed.  (But at least he out-played Scalabrine, right? :)  Plus we got to drink some beer at the ole Boston Garden... But this AlleyCat Ale is better.  You don't have to Fear the Beer!  Stat Guy Out!          

Summertime, and the Oberon's pouring

Hello out there , beautiful people. Joe here, the Michigan Guy-at-large. I was in Cleary's Pub in Howell on Monday night, and the first sign of spring was there -- Bell's Oberon. Now, if the snow would just stop falling, I can get down to some serious snoozing-on-the-patio chill'axin'.

By the way -- Cleary's (on Grand River, east of Mich Ave) has half-off on pizzas on Monday nights. That's $7 for a large pepperoni. And it may be the best pie in the L.C.

-Joe

Bulleit Rye release event!

Yup, I made it.  And here's the proof:

Safe to say, there was a lot of mixology going on.  More to come soon.  Mmmmmm, Rye.

So after hanging out with Tom Bulleit at this event,  I must say that Bulleit's Rye is quite surprising: It's actually very mellow, like it was intended to be mixed in a cocktail.  One would expect that rye to come charging across the palate like a 'high rye' bourbon, but it doesn't.  Ironically, I would place Bulleit Rye in a softer arena than Bulleit Bourbon!  Sampled neat, I found it to be very easy going and with a little (very little) water it came alive with some spice - but this is not a spirit that's going to stand up to a lot of water or ice.  Interesting choice, Tom.  Very cool.

Tony's Darts Away - A California Craft Beer Haven

Greetings Craft Beer Crazies! It's Jeff chiming in, from out here on the Left Coast, because I just gotta fill you in on this spot. If you find yourself out this way, you have to head up to Burbank (for at least a few hours :) to check out Tony's Darts Away.  

If you live nearby then you already know this place and probably hit it up on the regular, but I went for the first time (sure to be the first of many) a few nights back... and Wow! It's like paradise. It's divey and comfy, with a certain homie-style charm that just screams "chill." My girl Kisha said it's like being in somebody's super cool basement in the early '90s. If you don't feel like doing the mingling thing, you can shoot Pool, play Connect Four, or read Chaucer from one of the bookshelves. Oh, and then there's the BEER! Hailed as California's first "bottle-less" bar, they have 30 different types of Craft beer on tap, from the Golden State alone. The brilliant BrewMenu is broken down into West Coast IPAs and Non-IPAs, and absolutely has something for everyone. (Try the Union Jack! From Firestone.) Man, I love this place! They also have a yummy (and Vegan friendly - I told you this is California :) Menu on the food side, and I have to say, the Sweet Potato Fries are not to be missed! So if you find yourself out west for some reason, take a trip on over to Tony's Darts Away on Magnolia. They've got a great thing happening and it's sure to just get better. Thanks for reading. Stat Guy OUT!

DELAYED.

I'm supposed to be in the air right now. No, seriously; in an alternate universe, I'm on a plane from PHF to LGA, winging it to the Bulleit Rye rollout event in NYC. I'll make it (I think): but the sign at the gate simply reads: DELAYED. No other info; just that horrible D word that has been responsible for so many extra points of raised blood pressure over the years. However, here at PHF, just 20 steps from the gate is the Blue Sky Cafe, where there is craft on draft! For a mere $6 per (cheap for airport beer) Legends Brewing Brown Ale, Harpoon IPA, Widmer Hefe and RedHook Winter Hook. Deep breath, folks. Where there is craft, all is well. Now what's my seat assignment....?