Things Showcase ⇒ Monkey Shoulder

[Matt Quinn]

A perfect end to a perfect day. Matt

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Your my kind of man. An old Vietnam habit of mine is scotch with milk.

[Matt Quinn]

Your my kind of man. An old Vietnam habit of mine is scotch with milk.

My younger son and I have been drinking single malt for more than 15 years; he has kept a log of each and our comments. We have a bit of a ritual. Our current favorite, when we can find it, is Glenfarclas 21. In a pinch, the 12 or 17 will do; the 25 is a loser. Our local store had a private label treasure; The Exclusive Malts, 2008, distilled at Glentauchers, cask strength, first fill ex-sherry butt. Normally used for blending, this distilling had an excess so they did a bottling as a single and sold it under a different label. At our next door neighbor's Christmas party a week ago, I got into a conversation with another guest about scotch. He said he drank only bourbon and never had had a scotch he liked. Since we live next door, I trooped back and forth and brought it, along with the Monkey Shoulder which is a great first experience of scotch. He sampled the Glentauchers and sampled and sampled and the next day went out to get his own bottle. A grateful convert.

A story; that son spent 3 years in Vermont while his wife pursued her Ph.D. at Dartmouth. They would treat themselves to Sunday breakfast at a coffee shop in Hanover. Over time they got into conversation with another couple that had the same schedule. Turned out, the fellow was the head designer for Simon Pearce glass which has its factory across the river at Quechee, VT. One thing lead to another, and the fellow designed and hand made 6 scotch glasses, gave them to our son for me, then broke the mold. I gave two to our son, kept two at our MD home and two at our MA home. (Broke one of the MA pair last summer--when washing it.) That's the surviving glass in the photo.

I'll have to try the milk.

When I lived in the PI, we would drink Dewars, all we could get. We had to check the bottom of the bottle; too often, someone had cut a hole, drained the hooch, and filled it with caramel colored water. You could usually spot the seal, but every now and then, it was too good to see. Gawd-awful surprise. Matt

[Psjunkie]

I like the image Matt....and the story even better.

[minniev]

Though you'd have to pay me a bunch of money to take a swallow of the stuff (not a fan of Scotch), I do like the image. It's well composed, conveys a peaceful but wintery mood with delicate details and colors. I like how you've overlapped the glass and the bottle. And I do like the name of the brand, in spite of my dis-affinity for the contents. I'd have preferred the caramel colored water.

[Matt Quinn]

Though you'd have to pay me a bunch of money to take a swallow of the stuff (not a fan of Scotch), I do like the image. It's well composed, conveys a peaceful but wintery mood with delicate details and colors. I like how you've overlapped the glass and the bottle. And I do like the name of the brand, in spite of my dis-affinity for the contents. I'd have preferred the caramel colored water.

Our older son echoes your views. I am told the name comes from the effect on one of the arms of the fellows who spent the entire day flipping the malt. Eventually, one arm hung down lower than the other. Or so they say. Thanks for the comments. Matt

[Matt Quinn]

I like the image Matt....and the story even better.

Thanks Frank. Just posted in 52 and would appreciate your reaction. Matt

[St3v3M]

A perfect end to a perfect day. Matt

A beautiful memory on a beautiful night. Save a little for us! S-

[Matt Quinn]

A perfect end to a perfect day. Matt

A beautiful memory on a beautiful night. Save a little for us! S-

Deal!