Eileen and I presented the classic Speyside scotches, Balvenie Doublewood 12, Glenfiddich 12, The Glenlivet 12, and Macallan 12. Bagpipes leading the opening. It is good to revisit the old war horses and see why is it that they are so popular.
Balvenie Doublewood 12 - Nose: fruit, rich, sweet. Taste: floral, dried fruit sweetness, full bodied. Finish: long sweet finish.
Glenfiddich 12 - Nose: dried fruit, figs, plum. Taste: vanilla, sweet. Finish: nice lingering finish.
The Glenlivet 12 - Nose: fresh fruit, apples, vanilla. Taste: Light, fresh apples, vanilla, toffe. Finish: medium finish, toffish.
Macallan 12 - Nose: Sweet, woody, apple, vanilla, fruity, winey, raisin. Taste: bite in the back, burnt toffee. Finish: Long, pleasant finish, taste of wood, wine.
Next month 4 Irish whiskeys and a Welsh one.
Showing posts with label bagpipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bagpipes. Show all posts
Friday, February 19, 2010
Monday, May 4, 2009
May first things
It has been 8 years since my wife Ann died from cancer. I miss her very much and think about her everyday. The grandchildren are growing and Nic and DeDe are older. Nic and Angie have a wonderful family. DeDe is doing well as a wine sales person. I am doing well. I thank the Lord everyday for having known Ann and having two wonderful childrfen with her.
Arborfest was lots of fun. Thom and I played bagpipes and I had an awful lot of Surly Smoke to drink. I think I need to stay away from that beer. Both times I have had it, I have drank way too much of it. It was a good fest. Saw some people I knew, James, Martha, Adam, Carol, Cathie, Jeff, Brian, Bob & Big Frank from Fitgers, Andre, Jeremy, and Brenda from Barley John's, Damian, Bob McKenzie, Mike from Schell's (he's a sales rep). Next day I was feeling a wee bit rough.
I gamed (Guns of Liberty) at Brent's with Mike, Ron (John's dad) & John. It was loads of fun. Especially rolling so well against Brent. My Jaegers chased his rifleman battalion out of the woods. We saw the backsides of those boys a couple of times. We loaded up our left and crushed his right. He called it a draw at the end of the game, however, in any regular set of rules a brigade with most of the regiments at under 50% would be gone from the field. He had one regt. still at full strength and 3 at 25%. The flank was crushed and it was all over except for the crying.
I then went to Townhall and Thom and I played for the blessing of the Maibock. They had a regular blessing service and we piped in the padre. Afterwards, we ate and drank at the expense of the Townhall. It was a good time. Good beer, good conversation and good food all of it made for a very memorable evening.
Sunday, I worked in the yard and then K and I went to the Living Green Expo. We stayed for two hours and left. We madesome contacts and got some ideas. We bought a few plants. I bailed on the piping at the May Day parade with Doug and his group but there is only so much I can do in a day.
We went over to DeDe's where she had made a beautiful dinner for us. We had artichoke dip, crudites, another dip, bread, gnocchi, salad, lovely cucumber infused water, and tomatoes. For dessert, she made us a cheese cake with cherries in Chambord liquer, and drizzled with strawberries liquified. It was so good. Before this lovely dinner, we all pitched in to help DeDe on her yard. Usually, it is me and Damian and Ava helping DeDe but this time we enlisted everyone Nic, Angie, Katherine, Ted, and me. We did a lot of work. Some plants were damaged but the yard is in good shape.
Arborfest was lots of fun. Thom and I played bagpipes and I had an awful lot of Surly Smoke to drink. I think I need to stay away from that beer. Both times I have had it, I have drank way too much of it. It was a good fest. Saw some people I knew, James, Martha, Adam, Carol, Cathie, Jeff, Brian, Bob & Big Frank from Fitgers, Andre, Jeremy, and Brenda from Barley John's, Damian, Bob McKenzie, Mike from Schell's (he's a sales rep). Next day I was feeling a wee bit rough.
I gamed (Guns of Liberty) at Brent's with Mike, Ron (John's dad) & John. It was loads of fun. Especially rolling so well against Brent. My Jaegers chased his rifleman battalion out of the woods. We saw the backsides of those boys a couple of times. We loaded up our left and crushed his right. He called it a draw at the end of the game, however, in any regular set of rules a brigade with most of the regiments at under 50% would be gone from the field. He had one regt. still at full strength and 3 at 25%. The flank was crushed and it was all over except for the crying.
I then went to Townhall and Thom and I played for the blessing of the Maibock. They had a regular blessing service and we piped in the padre. Afterwards, we ate and drank at the expense of the Townhall. It was a good time. Good beer, good conversation and good food all of it made for a very memorable evening.
Sunday, I worked in the yard and then K and I went to the Living Green Expo. We stayed for two hours and left. We madesome contacts and got some ideas. We bought a few plants. I bailed on the piping at the May Day parade with Doug and his group but there is only so much I can do in a day.
We went over to DeDe's where she had made a beautiful dinner for us. We had artichoke dip, crudites, another dip, bread, gnocchi, salad, lovely cucumber infused water, and tomatoes. For dessert, she made us a cheese cake with cherries in Chambord liquer, and drizzled with strawberries liquified. It was so good. Before this lovely dinner, we all pitched in to help DeDe on her yard. Usually, it is me and Damian and Ava helping DeDe but this time we enlisted everyone Nic, Angie, Katherine, Ted, and me. We did a lot of work. Some plants were damaged but the yard is in good shape.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March things
I haven't posted on the blog for awhile. For those of you who are following me, I am sorry. In the intervening time, I had been busy preparing for St. patrick's Day and playing with band on all of their gigs.We did Emmetsburg which was really good but a long, long day. I even curtailed my day by 5 hours, stopping around 9pm. Some of the lads continued on till 2-3am. I was quite good as I did not drink anything till our next to last bar, the Corner Bar. Their we were able to score some Sam Adams Winter lager and Michelob Amber Bock. Okay beers, but better than all the varations of light beer you could swill and some even light green beer. YUM YUM YUM!!! I drank a whisky and some beer. At the last gig, we ate and had some more normal beer, Fat Tire, Guinness, and something else. It was a lot of time spent doing this gig, however, the people of Emmetsburg love us. We can do no wrong. The weekend was shot.
On Monday, Thom and I played at Barley John's Brewpub for their 9th anniversary. We had food and beer. I drank the Anniversary Ale (red ale with lots of hops), Wild Brunette, and a couple of the Double Oat stout (excellent). A good time was had by all and we played really well. Damian, Molly, and Doug were there as well.
St. Patrick's Day, I came to work to do time cards and left around 9:30 to catch a bus to O'Gara's. The band always meets at O'Gara's and has for years. I guess always. There we tuned up and took a band picture jumped onto the bus and went to Summit. Bill Gilchrist joined us as well to hitch a ride to the parade. At Summit Brewing, we played for the employees and their yearly St. Pat's feast provided by Rahr Maltings. We played and then went onto the bus to the St. Paul parade. We were no. 29th in line. We played a lot. It felt like it was no stop. The weather was nice not as nice as Monday but really nice. We played through the landmark center for their IMDA event hosted by Phil. After the play through, we walked to the Liffey and played there as well as having some beers. We then got on the bus and went to the Bulldog in Lowertown, St. Paul. Played in and then had some world class beers, Maredsous 8 and the Duchess de Bourgonine. We made some converts to those beers. We then went back to O'Gara's for the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade. We had a couple of beers. I actually shared one with Mary.
For Mary, this was her first parade and first St. Patrick's day. She was a good sport. A woman asked her what was under her kilt and she said, "running shorts". So we instructed her on clever retorts to the silly request. In O'Gara's, I was playing behind her, when we walked through a fetching brunette slapped her on the bum as she marched through. I related this to her and other band members and we had a laugh. But Mary did not want to be fetching to anyone especially another woman so she let her hair down. In her kilt though, I could see where someone think she amy be a guy. She has an androgynous look about her. I think she looks feminine but I am one person.
Thom and I then off to Barley John's to play for the crowd there. By this time our reeds were really wet so we needed to air dry them so we could actually play them. We met John's mother in law and children Rose and Nick. We couldn't play for them because our reeds were so wet. We did get them dried out enough to play a couple of tunes. We had drinks and food here as well. I should say really good food and really, really good beer. We met Katherine, Damian, Jen, and Jen's friend Terry who took to perry cider as a duck to water. I think she drank 3 glasses full which is a lot considering the perry is at wine strength. Katherine and I shared a Pizza Laura (named after John's lovely wife Laura), a vegetarian pizza which is to die for.
Next day, I was so shagged. I hurt everywhere. I went to the Historical Society for a CALCO meeting and learned more about Twitter. We also saw an exhibit on maps curated by Pat Coleman. the map exhibition was excellent.
On Monday, Thom and I played at Barley John's Brewpub for their 9th anniversary. We had food and beer. I drank the Anniversary Ale (red ale with lots of hops), Wild Brunette, and a couple of the Double Oat stout (excellent). A good time was had by all and we played really well. Damian, Molly, and Doug were there as well.
St. Patrick's Day, I came to work to do time cards and left around 9:30 to catch a bus to O'Gara's. The band always meets at O'Gara's and has for years. I guess always. There we tuned up and took a band picture jumped onto the bus and went to Summit. Bill Gilchrist joined us as well to hitch a ride to the parade. At Summit Brewing, we played for the employees and their yearly St. Pat's feast provided by Rahr Maltings. We played and then went onto the bus to the St. Paul parade. We were no. 29th in line. We played a lot. It felt like it was no stop. The weather was nice not as nice as Monday but really nice. We played through the landmark center for their IMDA event hosted by Phil. After the play through, we walked to the Liffey and played there as well as having some beers. We then got on the bus and went to the Bulldog in Lowertown, St. Paul. Played in and then had some world class beers, Maredsous 8 and the Duchess de Bourgonine. We made some converts to those beers. We then went back to O'Gara's for the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade. We had a couple of beers. I actually shared one with Mary.
For Mary, this was her first parade and first St. Patrick's day. She was a good sport. A woman asked her what was under her kilt and she said, "running shorts". So we instructed her on clever retorts to the silly request. In O'Gara's, I was playing behind her, when we walked through a fetching brunette slapped her on the bum as she marched through. I related this to her and other band members and we had a laugh. But Mary did not want to be fetching to anyone especially another woman so she let her hair down. In her kilt though, I could see where someone think she amy be a guy. She has an androgynous look about her. I think she looks feminine but I am one person.
Thom and I then off to Barley John's to play for the crowd there. By this time our reeds were really wet so we needed to air dry them so we could actually play them. We met John's mother in law and children Rose and Nick. We couldn't play for them because our reeds were so wet. We did get them dried out enough to play a couple of tunes. We had drinks and food here as well. I should say really good food and really, really good beer. We met Katherine, Damian, Jen, and Jen's friend Terry who took to perry cider as a duck to water. I think she drank 3 glasses full which is a lot considering the perry is at wine strength. Katherine and I shared a Pizza Laura (named after John's lovely wife Laura), a vegetarian pizza which is to die for.
Next day, I was so shagged. I hurt everywhere. I went to the Historical Society for a CALCO meeting and learned more about Twitter. We also saw an exhibit on maps curated by Pat Coleman. the map exhibition was excellent.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Burns Nite Things
The 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns (25th January) was celebrated in Orval at Chez Skrade. A good time was had by everyone, at least that is what they said. Katherine and I provided haggis, veggie haggis, tatties, cheese, scotch, and soda bread . Our guests Colleen, Doug, Molly, Jeff, Cathy, John, Steve, Damian, Jenn, Bob, Michele brought goodies to share as well. We started off the night with a social hour and then at 7:15 pm CST. I piped in the haggis, Bob recited the customary Ode to a Haggis by Burns and we sat down to eat. We had clapshot, Guinness stew, more cheese, more scotch, beer from Flat Earth, salad, and lots of fun. Around 8:30 pm we had the customary toasts to the President, the Queen, laddies, lassies, departed friends, and whatever else we could think of in the way of toasts. All in all it was a good evening of friendship and warmth. Perhaps we will do it again next year.
The scotches on deck for sampling were Lagavulin (16), Highland Park (18), Glen Moray (10 sherry cask), Glen Farclas (12), Bunnahabhain (18), Jura, Bowmore, and a couple of others I forget.
The scotches on deck for sampling were Lagavulin (16), Highland Park (18), Glen Moray (10 sherry cask), Glen Farclas (12), Bunnahabhain (18), Jura, Bowmore, and a couple of others I forget.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bagpipe things
I was in Kansas City, MO for the Winter Storm 2009 events and concert. This event is about bagpipes and drumming, Scottish drumming. The best pipers and drummers from around the world come to the bleak cold Midwest every year to give lessons, compete for prizes and money, participate in a concert, and connect with fans, friends, and colleagues from around the world. This event is sponsored by MHAF - Midwest Highland Arts Fund, a non-profit group dedicated to the promotion and support of piping and drumming. I flew down on Thursday and flew back home on Sunday. It was an incredibly amazing event. Here are the best pipers and drummers in the world playing.
Thursday, I volunteered to help sign in pipers and drummers. It was colder in that hotel than it was my garage in Minnesota. For a Marriott not to keep the lobby and 2d floor heated is just beyond belief considering what you pay for a room there. Thom and I stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street. I turned in around 2 am and Thom came in around 3am and went to sleep around 5am. We got up at 6:30 am.
Friday, I was dressed in my Highland outfit and I spent the day running the timing lights. The timing lights were timed so when the piper came out to play for the judges, he had 4 minutes to tune his pipes and then start his competition set of tunes. So I manned the lights from 8 am to 5 pm and by the end of that shift I was completely shagged. The piping was remarkably outstanding. You look at the lineup of contestants and judges and they are the top namesin North America and Scotland. At 11 pm they had the awards ceremony for all the different competitions from the whole day. I was able to figure out some and completely lost it on others. I went to bed early in the morning, 3 am.
Saturday, I helped set up the community Church for the evening's concert and then went for a wee walk. The church was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it was a real gem. built to FLW's height requirements. The space is charming, intimate, and wonderful acoustically. I also had some Gate's BBQ brought in by the sponsors. YUM YUM!! I am glad I do not live in KC. I stumbled on the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. What a lucky break for me! I wandered in and saw the various galleries. They have a gorgeous Caravaggio - St John the Baptist in the Wilderness, a painting of such beauty and depth. They also had two Lucas Cranach the Elder paintings - Three Graces and the Last Judgment. The Three Graces was just beautiful and invoked memories of the past. I walked around and watched people looking at the art as I myself looked at the art. People watching is great fun and two great places are museums and airports.
The concert that night was so cool. The piping was world class as was the drumming. The cd will be out next year. I picked up the cd from last year and it is a real show stopper. There was an old grandma sitting in front of me. She had been brought to the concert by her grandson. She must have been in her nineties but she loved the piping and drumming. After the concert was the party - Winter Steam. Newcastle Brown Ale sponsored the event and provided a prodigious amount of beer for the festivities.The party lasted all night. I finally went to bed at 4 am so I could get up for my 8:30am shuttle to the airport.
Would I go again? Hell, yes! It was very exciting to be part of this event. A major world event in the piping and drumming world right here in the Midwest. Thank you MHAF for all your work at making this a truly great event.
Thursday, I volunteered to help sign in pipers and drummers. It was colder in that hotel than it was my garage in Minnesota. For a Marriott not to keep the lobby and 2d floor heated is just beyond belief considering what you pay for a room there. Thom and I stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street. I turned in around 2 am and Thom came in around 3am and went to sleep around 5am. We got up at 6:30 am.
Friday, I was dressed in my Highland outfit and I spent the day running the timing lights. The timing lights were timed so when the piper came out to play for the judges, he had 4 minutes to tune his pipes and then start his competition set of tunes. So I manned the lights from 8 am to 5 pm and by the end of that shift I was completely shagged. The piping was remarkably outstanding. You look at the lineup of contestants and judges and they are the top namesin North America and Scotland. At 11 pm they had the awards ceremony for all the different competitions from the whole day. I was able to figure out some and completely lost it on others. I went to bed early in the morning, 3 am.
Saturday, I helped set up the community Church for the evening's concert and then went for a wee walk. The church was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it was a real gem. built to FLW's height requirements. The space is charming, intimate, and wonderful acoustically. I also had some Gate's BBQ brought in by the sponsors. YUM YUM!! I am glad I do not live in KC. I stumbled on the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. What a lucky break for me! I wandered in and saw the various galleries. They have a gorgeous Caravaggio - St John the Baptist in the Wilderness, a painting of such beauty and depth. They also had two Lucas Cranach the Elder paintings - Three Graces and the Last Judgment. The Three Graces was just beautiful and invoked memories of the past. I walked around and watched people looking at the art as I myself looked at the art. People watching is great fun and two great places are museums and airports.
The concert that night was so cool. The piping was world class as was the drumming. The cd will be out next year. I picked up the cd from last year and it is a real show stopper. There was an old grandma sitting in front of me. She had been brought to the concert by her grandson. She must have been in her nineties but she loved the piping and drumming. After the concert was the party - Winter Steam. Newcastle Brown Ale sponsored the event and provided a prodigious amount of beer for the festivities.The party lasted all night. I finally went to bed at 4 am so I could get up for my 8:30am shuttle to the airport.
Would I go again? Hell, yes! It was very exciting to be part of this event. A major world event in the piping and drumming world right here in the Midwest. Thank you MHAF for all your work at making this a truly great event.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
More things Fall
It has been awhile since my last post. I am spending far too much time on watching the election polls and all the superfluous news articles related and sort of related. I want the election over with and done and Obama as president.
On a lighter note, I played bagpipes at the Darkness release at Surly and had loads of fun. Nic, my son designed the labels, t-shirt, poster for the Darkness this year.Josh Krage and I piped up and down the waiting line and at the gate. Just before the gate opened I played Darth Vader's March. We played some more tunes and then I drank just a bit too much. I need to stop that and rein in my consumption on that. The smoked Baltic porter was amazingly delicious and big. The oak-aged Bender was very delicious as well. Way too much fun for an old guy. In the evening, we had some friends over to try some of the West Coast beers. Brent, Karen, Doug, Phil, and Tina. We drank some very good ones Roots oragnic IPA Woody, Laurelwood organic IPA Green Elephant, Peak organic Pale Ale (not very good, very bland tasting), Ninkasi Double Believer Red Ale, Pelican Brewery Doryman's Dark Ale (my favorite), Fitger's Black Eye lager (not West Coast but very tasty), Lost Abbey Judgment Day (Belgian style quaddruple, cloyingly sweet, should have been laid down for at least a year), Lost Abbey ? Belgian style saison, very good tasting, delicious but big, and Surly Furious ( this beer is not nearly so hoppy in the can as it is on draft. This weekend at the Blue Nile will be Dark Ale Days featuring a host of dark beers. I will be getting a ride to and from this event. I have been lobbying my comrades as to sharing these big dark beers so we can try several of them. I hope it works. I do want to hang out with Katje after.
The garden is ready to put away for the winter. I was able to score some lavender from the grounds people, very kind of them. Now I have to protect them and bed them down well for the long winter. I will be digging up the parsley and oregano and bring it inside so we can have some fresh herbs. Lots to do yet before the snow flies. The election is six days away. I can't wait.
On a lighter note, I played bagpipes at the Darkness release at Surly and had loads of fun. Nic, my son designed the labels, t-shirt, poster for the Darkness this year.Josh Krage and I piped up and down the waiting line and at the gate. Just before the gate opened I played Darth Vader's March. We played some more tunes and then I drank just a bit too much. I need to stop that and rein in my consumption on that. The smoked Baltic porter was amazingly delicious and big. The oak-aged Bender was very delicious as well. Way too much fun for an old guy. In the evening, we had some friends over to try some of the West Coast beers. Brent, Karen, Doug, Phil, and Tina. We drank some very good ones Roots oragnic IPA Woody, Laurelwood organic IPA Green Elephant, Peak organic Pale Ale (not very good, very bland tasting), Ninkasi Double Believer Red Ale, Pelican Brewery Doryman's Dark Ale (my favorite), Fitger's Black Eye lager (not West Coast but very tasty), Lost Abbey Judgment Day (Belgian style quaddruple, cloyingly sweet, should have been laid down for at least a year), Lost Abbey ? Belgian style saison, very good tasting, delicious but big, and Surly Furious ( this beer is not nearly so hoppy in the can as it is on draft. This weekend at the Blue Nile will be Dark Ale Days featuring a host of dark beers. I will be getting a ride to and from this event. I have been lobbying my comrades as to sharing these big dark beers so we can try several of them. I hope it works. I do want to hang out with Katje after.
The garden is ready to put away for the winter. I was able to score some lavender from the grounds people, very kind of them. Now I have to protect them and bed them down well for the long winter. I will be digging up the parsley and oregano and bring it inside so we can have some fresh herbs. Lots to do yet before the snow flies. The election is six days away. I can't wait.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
RenFest things
Pouring beer for Flat Earth at the RenFest on Sunday is always amusing. I always enjoy the RenFest. There are the costumes people wear which are crazy and outrageous. There are some very fetching women very sexy in costumes. There are cool costumes. I especially saw one of articulated leather armour this man made for himself. All the tooling and articulation handled by himself. It was a true work of art. Getting hit on by women at my age is flattering. I think anyone would be flattered. It is nice to know that women still have an attraction to me. I cannot think why as I am chubby, greying, and short. The beers we poured were Black Helicopter, Bermuda Triangle, Belgian Pale, and Angry Planet. Lots of kilts all around and bagpipes by Twin Cities Metro. The best thing however was the ratcatcher. I was talking to his understudy a young man who ahs been doing the routine for a several years. He told me the original ratcatcher came to the fest once in awhile to do some comedy for the fun of it. Phil and I saw him in his old form.He was doing everthing adlib, extemporaneously with the crowd and the crowd loved it. I loved it as I hadn't laughed that hard in awhile.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pipeband Championships things
Scottish Pipeband Championships
This is a link to the Scottish 2008 championships held in May 2008. This last weekend was the World Championships in Glasgow on Glasgow Green, Simon Fraser University won the Championship.
This is a link to the Scottish 2008 championships held in May 2008. This last weekend was the World Championships in Glasgow on Glasgow Green, Simon Fraser University won the Championship.
Friday, July 25, 2008
RSS Things
Adding these RSS links was rather difficult and yet easy once I actually did it. I probably spent more time than I should have, however, I've read a number of articles and saw explanations of what RSS is on YouTube. Learning all this new material is mind blowing. I hope to spend part of the weekend working on my RSS links, feeds, and sharing it all with friends and colleagues.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Playing with things in my and for my blog
I have had a long and interesting morning setting up this blog. It has been fun and with some timely questions to staff that have more experience and expertise I have finally started my blog. Now I am adding content and things i.e. avatar, rss, and favorite things.I may actually get something going here.
On Tuesday evening, after band practice and needing some neck oil to relieve a parched throat and a dry tongue. My friend Thom and I went to the Muddy Pig and we had a couple of glasses. Thom had a beer called Rogue Latona and Cain & Ebel. I had a Domain du page and a Matilda from Goose Island . It was a nice, pleasant way to finish off a Tuesday of bagpipes and drums.
On Tuesday evening, after band practice and needing some neck oil to relieve a parched throat and a dry tongue. My friend Thom and I went to the Muddy Pig and we had a couple of glasses. Thom had a beer called Rogue Latona and Cain & Ebel. I had a Domain du page and a Matilda from Goose Island . It was a nice, pleasant way to finish off a Tuesday of bagpipes and drums.
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