Northwest Elf Industry: March 2010

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Another Troy Story (short)

Bill Curra is over right now and I am in the middle of grilling skirt steak in the backyard.

Troy's best friend is over (forgot his name) at Troy's house and I am eavesdropping on their conversation. Sort of. Its not easy understanding all of their words.

Anyway, Troy's buddy was heard to say "I can't wait until my court date. I need to get this bracelet off."

Gotta get back to the grill....

Sunday, March 14, 2010

First Spirits Review

Mary Ellen is in town for SxSW and she called me yesterday. She had the whole day open, so I agreed to swing by and pick her up for some old fashioned drinking.

First stop was the liquor store, however. We ended up at Wiggy's on Lamar. Mary Ellen needed to buy vodka and I was along for the ride. Wiggy's is a tiny store. I remarked how one would never mistake the store for a Spec's. No one seemed to like that remark.

While there, I noticed a bottle of Texas Bourbon. I had read about this in the paper and was under the impression that the product was sold out until 2011.

I expressed a keen interest in the bourbon and engaged the clerk in conversation regarding the use of the word bourbon for a liquor not actually distilled in Bourbon county Kentucky. He assured me that this was the proper use of the term and I later ascertained that he was right.

My exuberance for the bourbon prompted Mary Ellen to buy the bottle as a gift for me. We left the store and I stowed the bottles she purchased in the back of my Element and we headed off to Gueros for margaritas prior to a stop at High Ball for dinner.

After much fun, I dropped Mary Ellen off and headed home (sadly with her vodka). I opted for a tasting of the Texas Bourbon and took some notes. It is now the next day and my handwriting is difficult to read now, but I am able to make sense of it, nonetheless.

Here are my three comments about the bourbon:

"Nose reminds me of tequila, not bourbon"
"Whiskey tastes hot. Seems high in alcohol, obscuring some of the more delicate notes one might fine in a finely crafted bourbon."
"Distinctive corn taste". Makes sense as it is corn whisky.

Well, there you go. My amateurish review of the first Texas Bourbon (Balcones Baby Blue.) I am not sure I would buy this again, but I do think there are a lot of people out there who would really enjoy this. It is lighter and smoother than Maker's Mark, even though has a slightly higher proof (46% to 45% for Makers.)

Note the difference in colors between the two. (That is Maker's Mark in the second bottle.)

I am eager to try out the batch they are releasing next year to see what changes have been made.