What will they think of next?

[Kirbstone]

There's currently a lot of Titanic Centenary ballyhoo going on in Belfast, but I was way down the other end on our 52nd parallel for a few days and yesterday I spotted this in an off-licence window.

Kerry trip May 2012 028.jpg

'Built in Belfast', but brewed (distilled) by Bushmills, I suspect. As a ten year-old tincture I'm sure that after sinking a few drams of the stuff even the Biker from Bucks (who doesn't like Irish Whiskey) might agree that it went down rather well!!

Tom K.

[Mugs-n-such]

I love Irish whiskey, but it's a bit dear...I just bought a 750 ml bottle of Scotch, haven't opened it...yet. Besides water and/or soda, is there anything else that would blend well with Scotch whiskey?

[Kirbstone]

Gary,
Let's get the spelling right. 'Whiskey' is Irish. Scotch is spelt 'Whisky' and they would tell you 'et's a defferrnt dhrrenk'. Blended Scotch is generally what we regard as a mixer drink, that is, it is usually taken diluted in something else, e.g. soda if you are old fashioned, but anything from ginger ale to coke or lemonade is frequently used.
Malt Whisky is a different animal altogether. The Scots usually drink it with a finger or two of clear water. I and lots of my friends prefer it as it comes out of the bottle. Neat.

T.

[Since1982]

Then there's about 15 different brands of spirits in the USA that all call themselves "Whiskey" as in http://www.jackdaniels.com/age.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f Mostly distilled in the center American South like Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia, North and South Carolina etc. etc.

[Milfmog]

...I'm sure that after sinking a few drams of the stuff even the Biker from Bucks (who doesn't like Irish Whiskey) might agree that it went down rather well!!

Going down seems appropriate for anything with a Titanic brand on it.

If Bushmills had anything to do with it though, I'll stick to the stuff from a few miles north east of Belfast.

Have fun,


Ian.

[Kirbstone]

Truth is, I was being chauffeured round by my MM and we were on a whistle-stop shopping expedition to the local megalopolis....Cahirsiveen, Pop. about 1500, and I just spied the bottle in a window. A closer inspection would no doubt reveal who had the pleasure of distilling the stuff.

I was due to go up to Belfast next Sat. for a bit of aquatic head-bashing, but the event was cancelled, apparently due to lack of entries. Sad.

T.

[straightfairy]

There's currently a lot of Titanic Centenary ballyhoo going on in Belfast, but I was way down the other end on our 52nd parallel for a few days and yesterday I spotted this in an off-licence window.

'Built in Belfast', but brewed (distilled) by Bushmills, I suspect. As a ten year-old tincture I'm sure that after sinking a few drams of the stuff even the Biker from Bucks (who doesn't like Irish Whiskey) might agree that it went down rather well!!

Tom K.

One to have without ice....

[Kirbstone]

Yes, apparently they added too much ice to the original!

Meanwhile, on that trip I had a couple of hours to spare in Killarney between State-run freebie conveyances and I popped into the local God Box to oggle at their use of rough-cut sandstone, oak and a serious lump of organ in the loft.

Rs Nave, Killarney Cathedral.jpg

Had tea in this overly-pretty little gem at the entrance to their National Park, &

Rs Pretty tea-room Killarney.jpg

Eventually got a view of the 'Bull Rock', one of the Wesernmost lighthouses, visible of course' from Boston!....where they still drink tea, I believe.

Kerry trip May 2012 033.jpg

Reminds me....I've booked myself off to the Sun & warm sailing waters on the 35th parallel, South of Turkey for a June-July week. I expect thousands of my fellow countrymen are doing the same!

T.

[Mugs-n-such]

Well I hope you have a nice vacation off the coast of Turkey. Sounds like fun but I'm such a "landlubber" that I wouldn't know, ha ha.
It seems like every time I try drinking anything that's about 80 proof (rum, vodka, etc.) straight out of the bottle it burns my throat too much. Then I watch old episodes of "Bonanza" where they drink it (rum, whisky or whiskey etc.) straight out of a glass, and I think, "how in the world can they DO that?"

[Kirbstone]

No, the sort of whisk(e)ys that I drink straight out of the bottle are in the main only 40-43% proof. I have partaken of Scots Malt tastings where some of the offerings were over 50% proof, but frankly they're too strong for me, although they smell and taste wonderful.
Way back when I was in Germany an old sea-dog who was teaching us weekly to pass our Yachtmasters' Cert. took a shine to me and invited me back to his house twice. He produced a Bourbon 'Wild Turkey', 57% proof, which he poured neat into a little schnapps glass and tossed it off like that! The technique of sipping it slowly over a long period of time during conversation didn't get as far as the Germans, who say 'Zum Wohle' (to your good health), or 'flu-ten!' (down the hatch) and gulp it down.
Needless to say I couldn't emulate him and frankly the stuff was like strong medicine. Not really pleasant at all.

T.

[sapphire]

Next time you have a bad cough combine some Wild Turkey and hot water, as hot as you can stand, and toss it down the old gullet. You cough will stop for about 10 minutes. After a few rounds of this, you won't care about the cough, but your head will ache later on.

[Kirbstone]

I've just returned from Cobh, Co. Cork, last port of call for he Titanic and needless to say there are no fewer than two competing museums there to the memory of that vessel.

Cork trip June 2012 014.jpg

One is the White Star Line offices which they were charging old lags like me Eur 7.50 to get in to look again at a lot of contemporary photographs which I had just spent an hour goggling at in the Heritage Centre, which is what the old railway station & embarkation quay now is. They've kept it to look like it did 100 years ago for the most part, and the scale is small and cosy, which is to my liking. In the Heritage Centre there is a lot of stuff about the Lusitania too, which left a big mark on that part of our south coast just 3 years after the Titanic loss.

Cork trip June 2012 011.jpg

Cork trip June 2012 012.jpg

The place was called Queenstown then, of course.

T.

[crfriend]

Ah, and that's when ships looked like ships rather than top-heavy floating hotel/casino complexes, and looked like they could actually make trans-Atlantic voyages on a proper schedule year-'round (and, for the most part, did!).

I wonder if the replica of the Titanic that's being built (in China, foo! They should be building her in Belfast -- if Belfast is still capable, that is.) will ever sail or if it'll become a floating hotel or tourist-trap someplace.

That shot of RMS Titanic off Cork Harbour is just magical. Thanks for it.

[skirted_in_SF]

Ah, and that's when ships looked like ships rather than top-heavy floating hotel/casino complexes, and looked like they could actually make trans-Atlantic voyages on a proper schedule year-'round (and, for the most part, did!).

I've seen several cruise ships that have called on SF in the last couple of months. Ugliest things I think I've ever seen. They look like a Las Vegas casino on a raft.

[Big and Bashful]

Yep, most of them look like a car carrier, with windows. The new Queens have been slightly better to look at. The Titanic has always looked a bit flat to me, apart from those huge funnels. Not to my taste either.
While on the Solent last week I was lucky enough to have a camcorder, on a square rigger, while three beautiful gaffers raced around us. I think they where J class but I need to look into it. Pure beauty sailing in good strong winds. I must watch then post what I recorded. We were in just the right place as they tacked to windward.