Fellow Wine Lovers,
Is there anything much happening out there? From where we sit it’s beginning to look like a locksmith and security might be required at the White House. Captain Comb-over has moved on from lawyers leaking hair dye to pardoning his mates. There even appears to be some idle chat that he may pardon himself and family for past and future indiscretions. It struck me that pre-meditation was more apt phrasing than pardon in that instance but then I have to get somebody to correct my punctuation, so what would I know?
American comedians have bought www.donaldjtrump2024.com and offered it to the President if he tweets ‘My name is Donald Trump and I lost the 2020 election by A LOT. I am a loser. SAD!’ So far we’ve not seen it, but were amused to discover the website www.loser.com redirects you to Donald Trump’s Wikipedia page.
More locally, lockdown draws to a close and we enter Tier 2 which is exactly where we were to start with. One wonders what four weeks of lockdown have achieved with infection rates in the area remaining broadly similar with where we started. Countrywide it looks as if in some areas the numbers went in the wrong direction.
We have been out and about in the Volvo again this week and couldn’t help but notice that some of you have put some lights up to brighten the evening and bring a bit of visual cheer to the area and that the tree man is open in the park already. We always wait till the week of our birthday, and given that we opened in the first week of December, we’re not far off. But we will leave that till next week, when we’ll be 10!
First though, we need to discuss St Andrew and St Andrew’s Day. We’ve mentioned in past years about it being a bank holiday in Scotland where the banks aren’t obliged to close, and how surprised we were to discover The Waterboys were Scottish as a result of a St Andrews Day playlist. Well, everyday is indeed a schoolday and we discovered that despite being a celebrated Saint for a thousand years or more, the celebrations for his day only really began with the creation of the ‘St Andrew’s Society of Charleston’ in South Carolina, which was founded in 1729 by a group of wealthy Scottish immigrants. I can’t be the only person who raised an eyebrow with the South Carolina part can I? We seem to have come a long way since then (certainly across the Atlantic!) and under normal circumstances the day is usually marked with a celebration of Scottish culture, including dancing, music, food and drink, with parties going on long into the cold winter night. This year perhaps a wee dram may suffice.
A convoluted link perhaps, but whilst we’re talking of wee drams did we mention our whisky selection?
Scotland
Benromach 10yo (£39.99)
Tomatin 12yo (£41.75)
Benromach Sassicaia Wood Finish 2011 (£50)
Bunnahabhain 11yo – Discovery (£50)
Caol Ila 13yo – Discovery (£50)
Connoisseurs Choice Strathmill 2002 (£50)
The Glenrothes Whisky Makers Cut Speyside Single Malt (£54)
Benromach 15yo (£60)
Macallan Double Cask 12yo (£61)
Ardmore 1998 (£70.00)
Longmorn 2005 – Distiller Label (£70.00)
Japan
Kaiyo Mizunara Oak Whisky (£90)
Hibiki Harmony Blended Whisky (£75)
Yamazaki 12yo (£120)
Hakusha 12yo (£140)
USA
Blanton Single Barrel Bourbon (£57.99)
Interestingly, in parts of Eastern Europe, St Andrews Eve was believed to be the start of the most popular time for vampire activity, which would last until Saint George’s Eve (22 April). So now its wallet, door key, mask and garlic for the departure check at the front door!
St Andrews Day is also celebrated in Barbados as the day of Independence. Should you prefer to celebrate this we’d suggest perhaps a dram of Doorly’s 12 year old (£49) , a stunning Bajan rum that is complex, smooth and elegant with notes of butter, cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg and maybe a hint of orange too. It’s not just us that likes it either, the Distillery, Foursquare Rum Distillery in St Philip, has been the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) Rum Producer of the Year four time (2016-2019) as well as the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) Rum Producer of the Year in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
It looks as if Christmas might be a bit of a rum do. You can meet but probably better not to give them a hug!
Cheers!