Grave marker of St. Patrick's nephew Lugna on the island of Inchagoill in Lough Corrib, County Galway.

As one of my favorite days of the year approaches, I’d like to turn an eye to some unheralded whiskey options for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Each are a bit off the beaten track that revelers are used to and most likely won’t be found in bars and pubs that will freely pour Jameson and Bushmills all day and night. However, I think in their own way they offer a taste of Ireland that you can slowly savor rather than chugging until it makes you green — which seems to be what a lot of young Americans think is the purpose of St. Patrick’s Day.

The first is, in fact, from Bushmills. The whiskey is their latest to hit the American market: Bushmills Irish Honey. I am unsure as to why the company wanted to produce this whiskey, but my guess is that at 35% alcohol and infused with honey the aim is to attract drinkers who prefer the sweet drinks that vodka and fruit juice provides. If you’d like to try the tipple neat, you’ll be surprised at a kind of muskiness and malt aroma that hits the nose. You also definitely pick up the fresh apples that are typical of Bushmills spirit.

The palate is less surprising and more perplexing. Honey, honey, honey bouncing its way around fruit (apples, pears and cherries) and cereal notes. The mouth feel is coating and thin at the same time with the ever-present honey. Kind of like a thin syrup, kind of like watered down honey. Treacle to the core.

Busmills Irish Honey is the drink to serve to someone who wants to experience a touch of the Irish, but is not ready to dive into a full-bodied whiskey. Personally, I wouldn’t drink it neat, but I think it could work nicely in some cocktails, perhaps mixed with ginger ale.

My surprising second choice is indeed a full-bodied Irish whiskey and is not available outside of the beloved American grocery store chain Trader Joe’s. In general, Trader Joe’s-named whiskies are very affordable but very hit and miss in quality, with miss being more prevalent. In the case of their four-year-old Irish single malt it’s a hit all the way. And at $20 you won’t miss the money you spend on this delightful dram.

The nose is subtly complex for an Irish whiskey: slight aroma of burning leaves, pineapple cake, apples and cereals. Really, a delightful aroma. The palate is chewy as hints of malt, candied fruit, leather and charcoal make their way around the tongue. A wonderful combination of flavors. The finish is long and warming like drinking a bit of hot apple cider in front of a peat fire. Having spent time at Cooley Distillery sampling all their different bottlings under various marketing names, I’d have to guess this is from their casks. The fruitiness and the slight peat give it away.

Plenty of Guinness and Jameson will flow tomorrow, but if you’d like to take a mental and palatal break from the cacophony of loud pub-goers and bands covering “Whiskey in the Jar” for the 20th time that night, ease back with one of the lesser known whiskies I’ve mentioned. Sláinte!

Why am I writing about Tom Waits in a whisky blog? For starters, his music screams to be listened to with a whisky in hand. And indeed I do have a whisky in hand, well near hand, as it’s hard to type and hold a dram at the same time. It too is new and also claims to be the baddest expression of a well-known, well-worn and well-loved legend. However, just as Mr. Waits’ new claim of badass-ness is startled away by beautiful subtlety, so too is the posturing of this whisky: Johnnie Walker’s Double Black.

Double Black is allegedly a bigger, bolder and badder version of the venerable Johnnie Walker Black Label. And, at first whiff, with the sparks-flying-in-your-face smokiness of a campfire, it does indeed seem like heavyweight boxer version of Walker Black’s barroom brawler. But, don’t let that chest-puffing stride into the ring fool you. For beneath the double punching fists of smoke are hypnotically feathery feet of fruit, spice and vanilla that dance elegantly throughout the ring, weaving gracefully above the canvas, propelling the action.

(Yes, I believe using Tom Waits and boxing to describe this whisky is a double metaphor, but hey, it’s Double Black; it deserves two metaphors).

I think I am something of a Walker Black (or Black Label, or 12-year old) expert. It is my default drink of choice, on the rocks. Years ago, there was a bartender at The Magic Castle here in Los Angeles who upon seeing me walk through the secret door entrance would always shout out, “Good evening, Walker Black!” as he reached down to start pouring for me. I like how ice doesn’t take away from the smoked wood, chocolate, honey, heather and juniper that I pick up in the blended Scotch. It’s a drink that doesn’t challenge you to think, but you still are aware of its complexities.

When I heard Johnnie Walker was making a Double Black, I was apprehensive. It seems like two-thirds of the time a company tries to market a new whisky the emphasis is on marketing, not on whisky. When I took my first nose of Double Black I was expecting to be punched loudly. Instead, I was hugged and taken back to living in Scotland. Breakfast, to be exact: smoked kippers, orange marmalade on toast, thick cream on oats, fresh apples, and the cracked pepper snappiness found in sausages. It is a fully satisfying, smile-on-the-face, surprise of a blended Scotch. I don’t even want to put it on the rocks, as I think it is lovely as is. Even adding a touch of water, for me, takes away the peat-coated lemon drop finish that I get with it neat.

Double Black isn’t a direct descendent, so to speak, of Black Label, but is inspired by the latter’s flavor profile. The added smokiness comes from whiskies that are naturally smoky (including some lesser-known single malts from the West Coast of Scotland) and whiskies that are matured in deep charred oak barrels. Still, the fruitiness and softness of the collected whiskies manages to shine through.

“I will have satisfaction. I will be satisfied,” Tom Waits sings on his new CD – a record that is wrought with intense imagery, but softened with nuances. I have wonderful satisfaction while listening to it. Sipping a dram of the equally nuanced Double Black also leaves me more than satisfied: it makes me want a double.

Double Black recently became available as a limited release in the U.S. (and is available at Duty Free shops at several airports around the world.) Its price point is less than $10 more than the regular Black Label. The added cost is well worth the added complexity of Double Black. Look for it at your local retailer in the coming weeks if it hasn’t already hit the shelves.

Whisky tins can be reused in creative ways if you use some imagination.

Whisky is transported all around the world in these tins, keeping bottles somewhat safe and sound while crammed in suitcases or car trunks. But what becomes of these tins once the whisky is removed? I’ve seen people toss them away. I know people who keep them as mementos of whiskies that hold fond memories. Personally, I think they’re best used as intended: to package items.

Airlines have made luggage space a premium in recent years, charging for even the most basic of checked bags. Rather than help an airline make money, I help myself save space by stuffing clothes and any other items I can fit into my whisky tins. You’d be amazed by how tightly things pack into the tins and, unlike folded or rolled clothes that may expand when placed freely in luggage, the tins keep them compacted. I’d guess I can take 15-20 percent more luggage in my carry-on baggage using whisky tins this way than without using them.

Security personnel are, shall we say, befuddled by the use. I’d say half the time I travel they pull me aside to take a look inside my bag. However, even that slight delay more than makes up for the cost of checking a bag before take off and then waiting 20 minutes at baggage claim upon arrival.

And just think: if you come across a dusty bottle of long-forgotten whisky on some random store shelf at your destination, you already have a way to safely transport it home in your  checked baggage once you remove the clothing from your tin. The only drawback is you may have to end up wearing six pairs of socks on that return flight.

When I was a newspaper editor in Los Angeles I received invites to all kinds of events from the Academy Awards to parties at the Playboy Mansion. One day, I received an invite for a whisky expo in San Francisco. Though I knew nothing about whisky, the event and location sounded intriguing. I soon discovered what a great choice I’d made.

During the press preview day I was able to have a personal whisky lesson from Bowmore’s former Global Sales director. An hour later, he had me hooked on the magical world of whisky. Over the next two days, I sampled some 60 whiskies (tasting, not gulping) and realized I had an aptitude for picking up the nuances of aroma and taste. I then went down some personal and professional paths I would have otherwise never imagined.

Whisky events allow visitors to sample whiskies from around the world.

At the time, there were only a handful of big whisky events like this in the world. Now, there seems to be one or more happening every weekend. These whisky events give distillers the chance to talk about their craft and expose their elixirs to new people. The events also allow new whisky drinkers and connoisseurs alike to sample dozens of whiskies that would otherwise cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars if they paid for them at a good whisky bar.

This fall, there are quite a few such events that are popping up all over the U.S., including a series of tastings sponsored by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America (SMWSA), Whisky Magazine and others. Each event feature similar set-ups of distillery tables, speaker presentations and grand dinner buffets. Two of the events to be held in Los Angeles offer their own unique twist on the standard whisky tasting excursion.

Whisky Live LA rolls into town on October 21 and will feature more than 120 whiskies. Sponsored by Whisky Magazine, the event really is about the sum of the whisky lifestyle more than the individual whisky parts. The event employs a voucher system that starts with a limited number of drink tickets (more are available for $2 each). Organizers want attendees to focus on the whiskies being poured, not on how empty their dram glass is. People may end up only sampling a handful of whiskies by the evening’s end, but they’ll better be able to interact with distillery representatives to learn more about the spirit they’re enjoying. The system also mitigates the tendency of people to rush to vendors and beg for a taste of the oldest or most expensive whisky, simply because it is the oldest or most expensive. In other words, if you want to end your evening with a nice 25-year-old Scotch, there will still be some left to pour.

In addition, Whisky Live LA will feature a “Seven Grand” lounge – which will be a mini-version of the venerable downtown Los Angeles whisky bar. Live jazz music and an “Iron Bartender” cocktail contest also add to the whisky lifestyle experience.

Less than a month later, on November 11, the SMWSA will hold their Extravaganza in Santa Monica. The Extravaganza is one of eight being put on in the next two months around the country. The SMWSA is a private organization that offers members the opportunity to purchase single bottlings of distillery expressions not found elsewhere (for which they’ve been recognized by Whisky Magazine with an Independent Bottling Award). The expressions avoid naming the distillery from where the whisky comes, though with 120 different distilleries being bottled, they seem to cover all the bases. While there will be more than 100 expressions available from known distilleries at the Extravaganza, I’m especially intrigued by having the chance to sample some of the rare Society bottlings they’ll be sharing at the event. You simply cannot find these whiskies elsewhere. The Society event will also have an atmosphere of elegance at their event, through choice of location (Loews at the Beach) and dress code.

Both Whisky Live and Scotch Extravaganza are offering Whisky Guy Rob readers discounts on tickets.  For Whisky Live LA the discount code is whiskyguy and for the Extravaganza the discount code is WGR2011. I’ll be tweeting details of specific events as they near. Hopefully, one of them will roll into a town near you and you’ll be able to expand your knowledge of and taste for whisky and whiskey.

My homemade Bulleit Rye Perfect Manhattan in a Bulleit Bourbon glass.

Diageo owns the Bulleit name and apparently also loves the name of “Lawrenceburg,” as the Bulleit bourbon is distilled in Lawrenceburg, KY and the new rye in Lawrenceburg, IN (check out Chuck Cowdery’s piece on this). The location names are coincidence, but the adherence to pulling interesting flavors from rye isn’t; it’s a Bulleit trademark. I’ve always loved the bourbon, though many people I know find it too intense or blunt for their palates. I think it’s just a darn good American whiskey.

Bulleit’s rye is really unexpected with its nuances. I expected granary aromas on the nose, and rye and yeast on the palate. However, the subtle aromas of lilac, lavender, rose petals and honey came as a complete surprise on my initial nosing. The aforementioned granary allusion brings depth to those sweet aromas and there is an underlying muskiness which gives the nose some heft.

The palate has a very nice, medium feel punctuated by milk chocolate, vanilla (both imparted by the new oak used to age the rye) with an unexpected wallop of cayenne pepper, as well as the rye and yeast I mentioned before.

The finish picks up a lot of notes from the newly charred casks. Sweet notes ride pounding waves of bbq smoke, charcoal and ash that coat the throat on the way to warming the cockles and the rest of one’s body.

Bulleit rye is best enjoyed neat to take full advantage of its complexities. However, I have experimented with it in cocktails. For me, it works best in a Perfect Manhattan. The sweet vermouth of a regular Manhattan seems to attach itself to the floral notes of the spirit and chases away the heavier notes of the rye. Adding the dry vermouth needed for a Perfect Manhattan allows the spirit’s bolder smoke and wood flavors to come through and complement the entire cocktail.

Bulleit Rye is retailing here in Los Angeles and around the U.S. for between $22-$28 a bottle at a number of outlets. Pick up a bottle when you have the chance. You’ll be happy you did.

Monica and I enjoy one of Balvenie's many excellent expressions.

Balvenie has always been one of my favorites. In fact, I feel somewhat responsible for the price of Balvenie 21-year-old port wood pushing the $200 mark. Several years ago, I actively promoted it as one of my “best buys” when it was hovering around the $100 mark. Demand rose as did price. Ultimately, I don’t blame myself for the increase. I blame Balvenie for making a spirit that is so solid (leading into spectacular) that people will fork out the extra dough for such a fantastic whisky.

Independence is at the heart of Balvenie, and by independence I mean they rely on no one but the in-house team to do everything from grow their own barley to malt it, distill it, cooper the casks where it ages…about the only thing Malt Master David Stewart allows others to do is drink it. And thank goodness for that.

Rare craft is what Balvenie calls their method, and in today’s spirits industry the level of control and independence and they retain is indeed rare. This rare business approach allows Stewart and his team to have fun with their expressions, as evidenced by the 17-year-old peated, a relatively recent release where Balvenie used their own increased peat phenol malt to season casks which were used to finish its more traditional spirit.

Two Balvenie Brand Ambassadors, Andrew Weir and Nicholas Pollacchi are in the midst of traveling the United States to seek out and honor artisans who share Balvenie’s devotion to handcrafted innovation, including producers of cheese, stained glass, golf bags and surfboards, to name but a few. The lads have been undertaking this “difficult” task of meeting interesting people and sharing interesting tastings by making their way from town to town in a hand-made Morgan convertible. I still have some pull in the State and Homeland Security Departments, so if one of the guys “happens” to run into visa issues, I’m more than happy and available to jump behind the wheel and help out the cause.

The Balvenie 40-year-old retails for just under $4,000. There are only 150 bottles, chosen from seven casks.

Their recent stop in Hollywood at Bar Marmont featured a tasting of nearly the entire Balvenie range, including the rare, amazing, succulent and exquisite 40-year-old. Retailing at just a shade under $4,000, I probably won’t be enjoying that again anytime soon. Then again, I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it than with Andrew and Nicholas telling great stories during the Balvenie-range tasting.

I’ve no idea how many tastings I’ve been to in my life, but it’s tough for the distributor/maker to balance information between novices (the majority of people there), experienced whisky people (a few) and experts (a handful). I found the Balvenie’s approach at Bar Marmont to suit my interests and inquisitiveness, as well as those of my companion, Monica, who basically doesn’t drink whiskey. That speaks well of the people behind the event in LA and of those handful of handcrafting artisans half a world away in Dufftown.

You can follow the journey of Andrew and Nicholas here and make sure to peruse the site for details about the interesting people they are meeting along the way.

“Old Crow” is the name emblazoned on the oldest whiskey bottle I own. The name was stamped there more than 100 years ago by a Chicago wholesale liquor dealer. Sadly, it is a 100-year-old whiskey bottle I own, not a 100-year-old bottle of whiskey. The sour mash in the bottle was probably finished off between the time the Wright Brothers went up and the Titanic went down.

“Thirsty Crow” is the name of one of the newest bourbon bars in L.A., barely a year old. Despite its youth, the name is derived from the same antiquated source as my battered bottle. The bar’s youth is also erased the second you walk in the door. The feel of the Silver Lake establishment is akin to the kind of pub that liquor-drinking Capone loved and law-enforcing cops hated during that bleak American era known as prohibition. Dark corners, wooden ceiling beams, a communal oval bar and, on some nights, a swinging jazz band breathe life into this 21^st Century version of a 20^th Century memory.

I first heard of the Thirsty Crow a year ago when I came across Caroline on Crack’s blog about the bar. It had been on my places to visit since then, but it wasn’t until last month’s one-year-anniversary that I was finally able to walk in and find a bourbon selection that rivaled mine. The crowd was savvy, hip and friendly. The bartenders, slammed by anniversary drink specials, still managed to shake, stir and shoot drinks to customers with alacrity. It was the kind of neighborhood bar one would expect in Silver Lake: trendy and self-aware of its hipness, but not to the point of annoyance.

Cooper Gillepsie is the general manager of the Thirsty Crow. And can you possibly have a better whiskey name than Cooper? Barley? Mash? Or, god-forbid, Yeast? I don’t think so. Like many people in LA, Cooper has another life – that of a musician – but when it comes time to her bar, she lives and breathes bourbon. Thirsty Crow’s signature drinks are devised by Cooper. The bar’s namesake cocktail is a refreshing mix of Jim Beam Rye, ginger beer, citrus juice and bitters – just what I needed on a warm Saturday evening.

Cocktails, a 19^th Century invention, really took off during the 1920s as a way to mask poor quality alcohol. I sometimes shudder when I see really good stand-alone whiskies drowned with other liquids that strip away the very nuances that make whiskies so fascinating. But, I suppose there are those hot days when a cold drink is needed, plus cocktails are a way to introduce new whiskey drinkers to the spirit.

Another way the Thirsty Crow reaches out to tentative whiskey drinkers is through Sunday night whiskey tasting flights, and on Whiskey Wednesdays, when a single spirit is available as a $5 special.

“We have a whiskey for everyone and awesome bartenders who will make sure you have a great time,” Cooper told me, when I asked her why people should check out the Thirsty Crow.

In the words of Ira Gershwin, written in 1930 at the height of the secret whiskey speakeasy, who could ask for anything more?

Thirsty Crow, 2939 W. Sunset Blvd., LA. 323-661-6007.

When I worked at a distillery in Scotland, I was fully aware of, and completely embraced, the role I was playing in creating this thing called, “The Water of Life.” I knew that people around the world would one day be enjoying the fruits of my labor to celebrate friends, fuel romances, mourn loved ones and live in the moment. I was living a dream.

Not everyone can work at a whisky distillery, but an interesting concept by Glenfiddich has people in the U.S. at least touching their whisky dreams, and potentially their life dreams.

Crowds express their hopes on Glenfiddich's Cask of Dreams.

Several “Cask of Dreams” are making their way around the U.S. at special events, like one held recently at the Viceroy in Santa Monica and other places throughout Los Angeles. The casks are empty, but people are encouraged to write their dreams on the casks at these Glenfiddich gatherings. The casks will be sent back to Scotland where they will be used to finish a spirit for a special Cask of Dreams bottling, set for U.S. release in 2012.

Glenfiddich has also designed a special Cask of Dreams website (www.caskofdreams.com) where people can post their life ambitions. For every dream posted, Glenfiddich will donate $1 to the National Geographic Explorer program, which funds scientists, adventurers and others seeking to fulfill their dreams. In addition, a few lucky dreamers who post on the site will win trips to help fulfill their dreams of adventure.

I’m curious to see what spirit Glenfiddich will dream up for the Cask of Dreams bottling. Early indications are that it will be similar to a 14-year-old special bottling that came out last year aged in virgin oak casks. That spirit is rich with bursts of fruit, vanilla overtones and wood spice peaks. I enjoy that much better than the 12-year-old, which is too bouncy for my palate.

If Glenfiddich can match the right spirit with the words of hope written on the outside of these special casks, they will have indeed created a dream whisky.

Somewhere in the remote recesses of the American West, a team of highly specialized alchemists went to work on a secret project that would forever change the course of history: I will call it the Manhattan Project. No, not THAT Manhattan Project! The only way to get bombed with the product of this Manhattan Project is to say, “Bartender, can I have another?” too many times.

The historic US Grant Hotel in San Diego recently teamed with High West Distillery in Utah to create a signature aged Manhattan cocktail. The drink, devised by the hotel’s mixologist and sommelier Jeff Josenhands, is made of Utah Rye Whiskey, Alpine French Vermouth and premium old-fashioned bitters. It was married and aged in a cask for exactly 100 days and then bottled with custom labels and served at the US Grant Hotel as part of their 100^th anniversary celebrations.

According to Josenhans, the product is more integrated and smooth than a newly-made Manhattan. Hotel officials wanted a cocktail that harkened back to the pre-prohibition days when the hotel was the toast of the young city. Patrons at the hotel can enjoy the new cocktail at dinner, in the lounge or even through room service to help wind down after a day of exploring the city or hitting the surf.

The US Grant Manhattan continues a pattern in mixology the past few years of thinking outside the box, or in this case, inside the barrel, to enhance the cocktail experience. I know I’m eager to try this concoction and may have to make the drive to San Diego at some point this summer.

I spent the latter weeks of the summer far away from the Internet, both in the physical and historical sense when I joined an archaeology project in Southern Italy. For several weeks, I was on a project excavating a Roman site near the town of Rionero in the Basilicata region. We excavated everything from tombs that were nearly 2,000-years-old to the remains of a potential villa. Among the latter we found many pottery pieces, some of which may have once upon a time held the very wine the region is known for: Aglianico.

The Aglianico grape produces wines with overtones of dark fruit, sharp spices and rich chocolates. The vines have grown strong and healthily in the region thanks to soil that was made rich by the eruption of the Vulture volcano some 40,000 years ago. The ancients found the area perfect for vineyards, and even today, many families have their own small vineyards where the patriarchs produce house wines that are minimally aged and enthusiastically imbibed.

In the Middle Ages, the passion of Rionero’s residents for this wine was so great that they dug cellars out of the limestone beneath their homes, and often ran into their neighbors digging tunnels of their own. Every household had their own wine making and storage facility right at their feet…or at least a few feet beneath their feet. The town today sits upon miles of these artificial grottos. Lord forbid that any kind of earthquake hit the region. The entire town would sink about 30 feet if that happened.

Rionero has miles of underground grottos used for winemaking and storage throughout the centuries.

Today, the award-winning Cantine del Notaio (http://www.cantinedelnotaio.it/) winery is headquartered above a series of grottos once used by Franciscan monks in the late Renaissance period. The winery is named after the notary who owned the buildings a couple of hundred years ago, and their wines reflect this history. The wines are named after such notary terms as La Firma (the signature at the end of a contract) or La Stipula (the stipulation of a contract).

A tour of Cantine del Notaio takes visitors through a subterranean maze of limestone grottos and where the French Oak barrels used to mature the wine are stored. The grottos are cool, moist and the ideal places to age wine at a constant temperature, especially during the hot, dry summer season. The grottos sit just a few feet above the water table, so there is the constant drip of moisture from the walls, and if you listen carefully, the quiet gurgle of water from the cavities beneath the carved out caves. Like in all of these wine grottos, Cantine del Notaio’s storage facilities include a cross-topped shrine to bring God’s blessings from above to the wine workings below.

The winery produces some 200,000 bottles a year. My personal favorites are the L’Autentica moscato and the Il Rogito. The L’Autentica moscato brings delightful dances of honey, apricot, and lemon to the nose. The palate is thick and syrupy with flavors of peach compote and watermelon. Overall, the sweet white wine evokes the thrill you have smelling an amazing perfume on a woman Saturday night hoping you can still bask in its lingering effects Sunday morning.

Il Rogito is a still rose, with an amazing ruby red body. You almost get as much joy looking at its color as you do drinking it. The nose is a rich floral bouquet of high priced flowers, the palate fruity, and the finish like a cherry turnover. This is the kind of wine you would want to raise in toast at a fairytale wedding. It’s simply fantastic.

The thing I really like about Cantine del Notaio, and wine making in the Rionero region in general, is you don’t feel like you’re drinking something that is, ultimately, a commercial product. Many wine regions in the world are wonderful and the wineries have rich family histories. Yet, there is a marriage between the art and the commerce of winemaking. In Rionero, you feel the people are making wine because they need something good to drink with Sunday lunch, and if outsiders want to buy it, well…that’s nice, too.