I don’t know about you, but my wife has been very good about my blogging. She has put up with the time it takes to do it, she has put up with the expense associated with it, and she has put up with the…well drinking. See she isn’t much of a drinker herself. Oh she enjoys an occasional highball and she loves a Baileys Irish Cream on the rocks every now and then, but she isn’t a regular drinker. If it wasn’t for this blog she may have not had more than a highball on Christmas Eve annually.
Of course I’m not that way. I love my drink and for the most part my wife has been understanding and supportive. So how did I get into such trouble with my better half?…
Well it was a matter of timing really, and some really great whiskey! Jim and I were both sent some really great artisnal whiskey from the master distiller at New Holland in Michigan. So we scheduled a podcast where we drank some and talked about it. The podcast went well and we discussed two different whiskeys and a couple of barrel aged beers. Well it was really the “after the cast” discussion with my brother Jim where things began to go wrong. See the Brewers Whiskey that New Holland sent was perhaps one of the most flavorful whiskeys I have ever had. It is made in a completely artisnal way with a “Beer Wash”. I’m not sure what that is, but you can taste a distinctively Beery flavor. My guess is that there is beer involved in the fermentation process with the mash.
This was a 90 proof whiskey and was a real treat. I highly encourage you all to find it and drink it! I don’t encourage you all to do what I did. While my brother and I were talking I just conversationally drank this whiskey. I began to notice that it was getting low, so I switched to the other whiskey to extend this one. There came a point where I just decided to go for it and drink the really good whiskey. Well, I drank it until the entire 375 ml bottle was gone!
That was bad enough, and that probably would have gotten me a stern talking to, however I mentioned it was a timing issue that really screwed the pooch on this one. See the very next day at 12:30 in the afternoon I had a Twitter blast about three different scotch whiskys. So not only did I drink (lets be honest here) almost a whole fifth of whiskey the night before, but I did so before a twitter blast that I took the day off of work to be able to participate in. When they are located in Scotland, they are drinking at 7:30 pm and I’m drinking at 12:30 pm.
This was the tipping point for my wife, and led to several very icy days and several arguments about unrelated things that normally are overlooked, but were considered teaching moments for me this weekend. So no beers this weekend, and no whiskeys. I was demonstrating my ability to restrain myself, but clearly the only thing that will work is time and track record. It should be pretty easy to do. Just don’t drink a bottle of whiskey at a sitting. I think I can remember that.
How about you? Ever drink to excess and live to regret it long after the physical effects have righted themselves? Let us know in the comments. Fortunately my dog house has electricity and wifi.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Down in the comments to this post I mention that the Brewers Whiskey is $50. That is, in fact, incorrect. We told you we were Idiots, and I got it confused with another artisnal whiskey that my brother Jim had purchased. In fact the correct price for the 375 ml bottle of the New Holland Brewers Whiskey is a very affordable $28-$35. So if you have access and an ATM card, I say go buy some now!
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Oh boy have I been there. I almost felt like I was reading my own blog entry. More than once. Without going into a lot of detail, suffice it to say that my wife is a saint for putting up with some of my shenanigans exhibited in the name of writing or blogging.
Cheers, and bless our wives.
Maybe it’s the fact that you did the EXACT SAME THING when we did an online tasting with Wild Turkey. It seems you have a problem with tasty whiskey you didn’t have to pay for.
That said, I agree about the New Holland Brewer’s Whiskey. It’s awesome, and even my wife likes it, and she’s a booze drinker. I can’t believe it’s only aged six months!
Good point Jim, I should have mentioned that it is only aged 6 months, but is aged in small 5 gallon barrels which gets more wood and char flavor into the whiskey quicker because more of the whiskey touches the wood by volume.
Glad to hear i am in such good company Sean! She puts up with alot and occasionally she has to put up with too much…
Well then. I guess mentioning that Three Philosophers is on tap at Brewforia in a prior post just moments ago was poor timing, too!
Regret the amount of drink I’ve had on occasion. But can’t say that I’ve been in the doghouse for it. Now, I do get raised eyebrow lately when I come home with even more beer to add to what is already quite a full bunker. So, I’ve been trying to draw down the reserves. Always a fun thing to do!
Oh, Ive had my share of hairy eyeball (and not the excellent brew by Lagunitas) based on beer and whiskey purchases, but this is different. This is trouble, not just annoyance. I’ve been in deeper, and what I need is for one of the kids to do something so stupid that she forgets about my latest transgression. Hopefully they will screw up soon!
LOL! That was too funny!
This past Saturday night got a wee bit out of hand. Two of the boys stopped by around 10PM for our weekend whisky session. 13 whiskies and 1 rum on hand for tasting (this is not unusual by the way). Though I amazingly didn’t get trashed, I was up until 2:30AM. Thankfully, the wife got up with the kids on Sunday morning and let me sleep until 9:45AM. She wasn’t annoyed till 6PM last night when I entertained the notion of hitting The Pourhouse for a couple beers. After getting the “hairy eyeball” and reading texts from a friend that said he was getting “the look” as well, we decided on a raincheck. I guess my survival instincts kick in every once in awhile. 🙂
Way to go G-Lo! 😉
Good choice to forgo the Pourhouse. I thought my survival instincts were intact because she was out shopping when the Twitter blast began. What I didn’t expect was she would be home before it ended! If I could have had it all cleaned up before she got back, probably would have been better, but it just didn’t happen!
Been there. Done that. However, my issues always seem to happen on holidays (Xmas, Thanksgiving, etc.). At some point, I disappear and often pass out on the couch…Or, in the case of Xmas Eve, I climbed onto our snow-covered roof to clear the TV dish so that we could watch TV. Not the best drunken idea I’ve ever had.
That said, my wife actually bought me this very whisky for Xmas (along with New Holland’s extra delicious gin). I totally agree with your assessment and it’s all I can do to keep from drinking it.
All, you mean keep from drinking it all! It is an amazing whiskey and one that I would keep a running supply of were it available to me on a regular basis.
You’re right. All. Luckily, I don’t hang out in the liquor cabinet all the time the way I do my beer cellar. Otherwise, there were would be no whisky left. The other issue is that it’s expensive for that little bottle. I have beer to buy. Doesn’t New Holland realize this? Why make such delicious whisky when I have other priorities?
I really think that is their tactic with Jim and I, They really don’t care too much about the review, they just want us to pay the $50 for that 375ml bottle on a regular basis!
Oh man, this past Saturday I had off, and that never happens. So earlier in the week I tell my girl we’re gonna go fishing, let the dog run, and relax with a nice conversation. Instead, my buddy hits me up out of the blue Friday night, and naturally, we go down to the bar and have a few. Well needless to say a few turns into a few too many and she has to pick us up and deal with us acting like asbsolute jackass’s. The fishing trip flew out the window on the way home. She’s fine now but yes, a trip to the make up for me and my wallet is coming soon….
Glad to hear I’m not alone in this situation. You bring up a good point about using the wallet to try to get out of it! I hadn’t thought of that, but now that you mention it Flowers always go over well!
Ah yes….the HAIRY EYEBALL! My wife, like many here, puts up with my dorkiness. Just recently she made a couple comments about “when is it enough?” …. speaking of my recently acquired Parkers Heritage, 3 different 17 year Willett, a 6 and 7 year old Willett, Indiana and Illinois bourbon from the 70’s (found in an old Pharmacy in AZ), 15 year ETL, etc. etc. etc. The tipping point when I got the “we need to talk” was a short discussion about my crazy beer purchasing. I’ve never indulged to excess so that’s not a problem but the amount of beer and booze needs to be stretched out over a longer period of time. I’m wondering if I should mention that I’m driving to MD this week sometime to pick up three bottles of Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye.
Greg, your wife is a saint. I think you have a problem (a problem we all have to some degree).
Builder – she is truly a saint. My problem extends to actually traveling to KY and picking out barrels for bottling and she puts up with that. I tell her I don’t play golf (well, not that much), I don’t have a boat, I have a Corvette but I don’t count that since she bought it for me and it’s in her name. There are other pursuits that could be a whole lot more expensive and I think she realizes that.
No, I think all of our significant others get that argument. “Honey, at least I don’t manufacture meth.” “Baby, I’m on beer discussion boards, not child porn sites.” The lesser of two evils is the easy rhetorical device in these situations. I feel these hobbies of ours make us interesting and keep us out of trouble. What’s wrong with that?
LOL…you have a point.
Mmmmm Van Winkles Family Reserve Rye….Just one note of caution beers can turn with too much age on them. Not like Bourbon that stays good…forever! But the art of the dusty hunt must get in your blood. For you Greg I think it is like the kind of rush a hunter gets stalking his prey. You should mention that you could take up other less desiriable hobbies and see what her reaction is, like collecting antlers or vintage beaver pelts, or perhaps ladies undergarments. I’m just saying it could be worse…
Don – mission accomplished! 3 VWFRR plus 5 Wild Turkey American Spirit and 2 Paddy Old Irish. I stopped at a complete dive that was combo motel/liquor store out in the middle of nowhere. I walk in and they have the WTAS sitting on the shelf covered in dust and priced at $65. Gotta love it.
Not familiar with American Spirit. What is that? Is it still in production?
Don – American Spirit was released late 2007 and was a 15 year bonded Wild Turkey. There were only 12,000 bottles released in the US and retailed for about $100 at the time. To find them for $65 was a shock. This is an exceptional whiskey of older Wild Turkey and to find them still on the shelf caught me by surprise.
Awesome find Greg. It wasn’t around these parts when it was released, which isn’t a big surprise. I wonder if you couldn’t have talked the guy down a little more, since it has been on the shelf for the better part of 5 years! But glad you found such a great supply of what is undoubtedly a very rare whiskey by this time.
Makes two of us my friend.
Poor Don. You’re the man of the house so you shouldn’t have to worry about such silliness. I think you should do that every day if possible!
Yeah, right! I am the man of my house…whenever my wife says its ok! I think you should try it too. See what it feels like to be master of your domain! 😉
I do. I have my wife hold my beer glass for me and its gotten to the point where I don’t have to even prompt her to give me another sip. You can do it Don!
Is that sip…hmmm…rather splashy?
It was, but I just had her do it again and again until she got it right. Two or three times is all it took. She’s a quick learner. She’s gotten so good that now she can make me a sandwitch at the same time without missing a beat.
Wow, now if you could just flatten her head and get her teeth extracted, you’d be a returning guest on “the Man Show”.
No doubt the hunting aspect is almost as much fun as the imbibing. I love going all over NYC to find what’s hard-to-find at New Beer Dist, Whole Foods, Park Ave Liquor, etc. My wife just accepts it, I mean its a proven fact that hunting is in our DNA, am I right?
Mark, I agree hunting is in our DNA, but it has been redirected in ways that don’t get all shooty and stuff.