McAuslan fait du whisky

 Ma mère m'a envoyé cet article de la grosse Presse. Une nouvelle dont j'avais fait l'annonce en 2021: la Brasserie McAuslan fait maintenant son whisky. Faudra que je l'essaie lors de mon retour au Québec. Je vais faire quand même une confession ici: lors de mon dernier séjour au pays natal, j'avais trouvé que leurs bières étaient rendues difficiles à trouver et sommes toutes décevantes. J'avais d'ailleurs blogué sur le sujet. Alors j'espère que leur aventure de distilleurs sera heureuse et que l'ensemble de leurs produits retrouveront leur lustre d'antan. Dans tous les cas, bien sûr que je vais goûter à leur whisky et deux fois plutôt qu'une.

Paddy for Saint Paddy's

 I went to a local pub today for a drink and more to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. There was only one pub somewhat decorated for the day, so I went in that one. I asked if they had any Irish whiskey to go with my pint of Guinness. They had one: Paddy. The barman was enthusiastic about giving me some, I mean he was surprisingly really happy about it, as if I was the one keeping tradition alive or something. So I had some. End of the story. But I have another anecdote about today: I did really well at work today. Like, really well. So my wife said: "Today you truly had the luck of the Irish." Which deserves to be a great unknown line.

Bushmills for Saint Paddy's?

 "McNulty: Can I get a Jameson?
Bartender: Bushmills OK?
McNulty: That’s Protestant whiskey.
Bartender: Price is right, ain’t it?
McNulty: Make it neat."

Well, first thing first: happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all. I will make time to drink today and, at some point, I might even accompany my usual pint with a shot of some Irish spirit. It might be Bushmills, even though it would be ironic to drink a Protestant whiskey on the day of a Catholic saint. But when we went to Belfast, we visited their distillery briefly. Could be a nice way to remember the trip. Oh and for those who don't know where the exchange above is from, it's from The Wire. You can watch the scene here. I've been wanting to say the reply next time they offer me some in a pub. Haven't had the chance since the local Irish pub shut down, but maybe today is my lucky day. Luck of the Irish, as they say.

Black & White Whisky

 Sometimes, I just receive flashes from the past and it gets stuck in my mind. For instance, I remember that in my parents' bars, when I was a kid, there was a bottle of Black&White whisky, with the very distinctive black and white dogs on the label, the black one a Scottish Terrier, the white one a West Highland White Terrier. Obviously, I was then too young to drink any, but the label caught my attention. I understand it's far from the best whisky to drink, but all the same, I am not a whisky connoisseur (I mostly drink beer) and since it appeared in a number of works, films and novels, some of which I love, I would not mind trying it. Plus, I have a bit of Scottish blood on me and the label just looks so Scottish. If anyone ever drank Black & White, tell me about your experience.

Buffaloes and Westerns

I took this picture at a Smith and Western restaurant last year during a family gathering on my wife's side. This is one of these many nice props that makes the chain a truly imaginative experience for a child. Going there reminded me of my old childhood games, when we played cowboys. Buffaloes are a staple of westerns, they are one of the animals one associates with the Wild West and all its dangers. I'd go to a Buffalo Gap Hotel just for a drink (a shot of bourbon?) in its saloon. You?

A Barrel of Bourbon

I took this picture during the family gathering on my wife's side at a Smith and Western restaurant. I enjoyed my time not so much for the food (although it was all right) than for the company and the ambiance, very much western themed. It was like stepping in a giant playground looking like a saloon. And there was this barrel at the entrance. Wolfie wondered what it was, so I had to explain what bourbon is. It's funny, I didn't notice untilrecently how bourbon was associated with westerns. I don't think I ever drank any, except maybe in cocktails. Some of you ever drank bourbon? How is it? Leave me a comment.

Microdistilleries

Mon frère Andrew a reçu en cadeau pour sa fête cette boîte de spiritueux de différentes distilleries du Québec. Enfin, de microdistilleries, comme dans "partez à la découverte des microdistilleries du Québec". Je crois que c'est un cadeau de mes parents, peut-être de sa femme. Dans tous les cas, c'est une excellente idée de cadeau et microdistillerie est le mot du jour.

Irish Whiskey (on the Titanic)

I took this picture on Titanic Belfast, the fancy museum about the Titanic. We went to Belfast because of the museum, as Wolfie has developed a keen interest about the Titanic, which borders on obsession. I have to say, I loved it too, I found it very fascinating. You might not be surprised to know that they served Irish whiskey on board. Well, of course. I was actually happily surprised to discover that Dunville's still exists. So I could drink the same whiskey they served on the Titanic. Kinda cool to think about it. I don't drink much whiskey of any kind, but I do like it with a beer from time to time. So I might try Dunville's one day.

Water and whiskey

I went to the local sweet shop today, after running some other errands. As I chit chatted with the shop owner, he said something that deserves to be mentioned here as a new great unknown line. He said: "I drank everything. In the end, I only love water. And whiskey." I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It made me laugh anyway.

McAuslan, la distillerie

Je viens d'apprendre quelque chose de cool à propos de la Brasserie McAuslan: elle ne sera plus seulement une brasserie (et une terrasse, et une marque de moutarde, et une marque de miel, alouette),mais aussi une distillerie. Elle est donc en train de développer du whisky canadien, qu'elle devrait mettre en marché dans pas long. Va falloir que j'essaie. C'est ma microbrasserie québécoise préférée (à cause de la Griffon rousse), je ne sais pas s'ils vont faire mon whisky préféré, mais comme je n'ai pas encore pour le moment de marque de whisky préférée... Et puis une petite shot de whisky avec une bière, surtout une rousse, ben c'est pas mal bon.

A pint of milk and a shot of bourbon

I have recently watched action/crime thriller The Big Ugly. It is not a great film, maybe not even a good one and certainly not a very original one, but I enjoyed it tremendously. Probably more than it deserves. There are many reasons for this, each one of them worth a blog post, but let's start with one for today: the anti-hero protagonists grows fond of a rather unique drink: a pint of milk with a shot of bourbon in it.  He calls it "a pint of a milk and a shot of bourbon". There are probably more sophisticated cocktails, but I find it very cool and very badass.Milk is never a good sign in fiction, see my old post about barbaric milk. Even spiked with a shot of bourbon. Not sure if I'd dare to try it myself, but be warned if you see someone ordering that in a bar: he's up to no good.

Cadenhead's whisky

As I mentioned yesterday, we are back from a stay with the oldest friend of my wife and her family. They live in Derbyshire, where my wife and her friend grew up. On our first night, as our wives were putting the kids to bed, the husband offered me Candenhead's whisky as night cap. I hesitated at first: we had been through a long journey and I had already had taken alcohol at suppertime. Then it was a fourteen years old single malt whisky and, while I am no expert in spirits, I know it could only mean that it is good stuff, so I had a glass. Straight. And it was indeed very tasty, although pure fire. I believe it is 54.9% alcohol, just to give you an idea. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I regret it? No, even though it did gave me a headache and a dry mouth afterwards.

The Famous Grouse

Here is a funny story that will hopefully brighten up your day. So a couple of days ago, a colleague was going to the corner shop and asked if we wanted anything. I said: "A bottle of Scotch would be nice." He got back with this. A shot of The Famous Grouse. Now I have often seen this brand of whisky before, but I never tried it. And, I must confess, I didn't even drink this bottle yet. I need to be in the right state of mind to drink Scotch, or any spirits: having had a pint or two of beer before, in a late evening as a night cap, or simply because I need a strong spirit right then and there. But I will try to drink that shot of Famous Grouse this weekend and see why it's so famous. I might even make a new tradition of trying new spirits, particularly whisky, in small bottles like this one.

When I need a Scotch

Yesterday, we invited the family of my godson for dinner so they could meet Wolfie. I had not seen them in nearly two years, my wife for even longer. There was their parents, friends I know from college where they met and fell in love, their daughter of 16 and their son of 12 who is also my godson. The big sister is a beautiful young woman now, tall and blonde and just a bit moody like all teenagers are, but she is still quite warm with my wife and I. For me, she will always be a sweet little girl who loves rabbits. We learned right after the meal from that she has a boyfriend. She simply mentioned it then and there. And I also learned that he has the same name as me and she told me on that of that that this Guillaume (16 as well. wears a cap all the time apparently) has the same eyes as me. I asked my brother Andrew for a Scotch. Thankfully there was some Johnnie Walker Red Label. I never felt like I needed a drink like that. Don't know why. I was expecting that she'd had a boyfriend by now, but learning about it is still a shock. Oh and she had one before but the one before "was not serious". Moral of the story: wouldn't it be nice if children remained children for a little while longer?

Une shot de Jameson

Parce que je suis sur les antibiotiques (lire mon dernier billet), je ne peux pas fêter la Saint-Patrick en buvant. C'est tragique. Enfin ça m'emmerde profondément: depuis l'âge de 21 ans je crois je célèbre la Saint-Patrick, enfin je la souligne avec au moins un verre. Je ne peux pas fêter autant la semaine, mais je compte quand même fêter un peu. Mais là, antibiotiques... Cela dit, je me demande si je ne devrais pas faire une exception et me permettre une shot de Jameson. Je ne suis pas très whiskey d'habitude, mais j'en bois parfois avec ma bière, pour accompagner, je trouve que ça rehausse le goût et l'expérience. Et puis pour le rhume, ça tuerait les microbes que j'ai au fond de la gorge. Alors je me demande si je ne devrais pas faire un saut au pub irlandais local...

Dublin wisdom

Maybe I am just a puppet here, easily and stupidly used, played if you will, by the dark and cynical forces of the Great Capital. Because I am shamelessly posting on social medias for free advertisement from a spirits company, but I saw a while ago in the local Irish pub this mat from Jameson and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. "In Dublin three is never a crowd, it's a start." It makes me want to go to Dublin. A visit is long overdue. Oh and have a shot of Jameson. I am that easily manipulated. I have been wanting to share this on Vraie Fiction and thought that since March is the month of Saint-Patrick's Day, it was a good time to finally upload the picture here.

A haunted whiskey bottle

I blogged yesterday about the Golden Fleece Inn, allegedly the most haunted pub in York. I mentioned that I would blog more about it and its ghostly visitors and residents. Tonight here is one, this bottle of whiskey. As you see on the picture, there is a word claiming it is haunted. In brackets and small print, it tells us to ask the staff about it. So curious, I asked one of the barmaids, what was haunting it and she answered: "It's full of spirit." Which I thought was very funny. Enough to make it a great unknown line. I have been wanting to share it for a while. Anyway, so there is at least one true spirit haunting the pub.

The outsider in the art gallery

I thought about replying to the comments on this post, but then considered that writing a new post would be more suitable to speak of the whole story. Because I came back to the art exhibition of the new collection of Fabian Perez. I just walked in, avoided for a while the employees ready to give me a drink or sell me something. I just walked around through the crowd (which was not as big as I thought) and looked at the paintings. Lovely, lovely paintings. I could even take a picture of a few of them and, gasp, say a few words to the maestro himself. As he was about to be pictured with one of the woman who had bought something and the photographer was getting ready, I kind of bumped into him, said hello, he said hello, we shook hands, he thanked me for coming and I thanked him for showing up in this little town. And that was my meeting with Fabian Perez.

A bit later, the saleswoman who had tried to sell me something in my first visit earlier in the evening came back to me and told me that my favourite (it was a version of this one) had been sold already (and very quickly). I said that I couldn't win them all. Which is not a lie, technically. I did not even feel like a fraud playing the art connoisseur. She did try to make me buy the one you see here, I think it is one of the Whiskey at Las Brujas, which I admitted I loved quite a lot. It was one of the cheapest ones, incidentally. So it was not an original. I love when Perez depicts archetypical character, the hard man smoking and drinking hard liquor, all squared jaw and everything. The man one would sometimes want to be. I guess this goes with the female characters too. But anyway, I escaped without buying anything, although I wish I could afford a few of them, and I managed to talk to the artist. So it was a pleasant evening.

That's Protestant Whiskey

"McNulty: Can I get a Jameson?
Bartender: Bushmills OK?
McNulty: That’s Protestant whiskey.
Bartender: Price is right, ain’t it?
McNulty: Make it neat."

I blogged before about the urban legend regarding Bushmills. I learned about it because of this scene in The Wire. This anecdotal exchange between McNulty and the barman is one of many scenes in the series, scenes that are seemingly unimportant, but give character to the show. One of many reasons why I love it so much. I took this picture in the duty free boutiques of Southampton Airport. Looking at the bottles, I could only think of the scene in my favorite TV drama. Next time I go out for a drink, I want to order a whiskey just for the sake of being offered Bushmills. So I can say the immortal line. Not that I know much about whiskey, to be honest. I enjoy it from time to time, but cannot make the difference between a decent one and a great one. Or even a bad one, come to think of it. But I do want to say this once in my lifetime.

The Bushmills controversy

I blogged about it before. I discovered this controversy in The Wire. My favorite TV series. Apparently, Bushmills is Protestant whiskey, according to Jimmy McNulty. Who, as a good Irish-American Catholic, has Jameson as his poison of choice. Apparently, the association between Jameson and Catholics and Bushmills and Protestants is more or less a urban legend. You can find out more about it here. For all its urbane legendary nature, it still makes for a great scene that reveals a lot about McNulty. He is outside his element, he stands out in this crowd, even when it comes to drinks.