Turn Around Bright Eyes

Well - we are back from Colorado. The day we got there it was 70 degrees - the day we left it was 17 - that's Denver weather for ya...

The wedding was great - and the reception was a lot of fun. Ron and I even danced together to Total Eclipse of the Heart. Here is a video of part of our dance:



I'm only 4 weeks away from being done with school - I can't wait.

Denver Day II

So Denver Day II has come and gone.  Yesterday we got up and had a fantastic breakfast that Sandy prepared.  I then did homework as I am in two classes right now and its a royal pain.  

After homework we headed out to pick up Jeff's tux and hit up Luka's Liquors.  Though they did not have any of the Pappy bottlings besides the 23 yr ($200) and the 10 yr which I already have, I did pick up a bottle of Thomas H. Handy Rye from the 2008 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.  Looking forward to trying that.  The search for the Pappy will continue today at Parker Wine & Spirits.

In other Whiskey news, Jeff has put together a VERY nice whiskey collection - about 40 bottles worth, featuring a large number of Irish Whiskeys, a handful of Scotches and quite a few American Whiskeys. 

After getting back to the Forgey's Jeff's sister, Sandra, and her husband Rick showed up with their little dog and so we all hung out for a while and then the girls went to tea.  The guys just stayed at home watching TV and talking about the crumbling economy.  Once the girls got back we headed to the hotel and Jeff and Sandy went to pick up Ron and Cate.  Once everyone was in town, we all headed to Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner.  Attendees were (from back to front): Kevin & Shannon, Ron & Cate, Nick & Heather, Rochelle & Jay, Rick & Sandra, Jeff & Sandy.  

It was a great time.  After dinner we went back to the Hotel and crashed.   Day III has begun so its time for the rehearsal dinner, rehearsal party and more.

Denver Day 1

Well our Wednesday started off early, waking up at 5:15 to get ready to catch the plane.  Charles and his mustache picked us up at 6:45 and we headed to the airport.  Our flight left at 9:25 and though scheduled to arrive at 1:00pm Denver time, we arrived a half hour early (thanks wind!) which was nice.  

Jeff and Sandy picked us up and we headed back to their place to unpack.  When we arrived, Nick & Heather were at the house.  It was good to see the whole Forgey crew, and we quickly unpacked and headed out to a late lunch.  After lunch we came back to the house and hung out for a while, then hit the road to see the Littleton Safeway (where I set up the Spirits dept.), a new HUGE liquor store named Tipsy's, and to see Nick & Heather's new apartment, awesome place and dirt cheap (rent is half of what a one bedroom would go for in our apt. complex).  We then headed back to the house and caught the first hour of the new Lost season.  

Today Ron and Cate (or RC Cola as I like to call them... just kidding) get into town and we are going to hit up Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner - mmmm... burgers...  other than that - not sure what we are doing (maybe hitting up Luka's to pick up some Pappy Van Winkle).

Sad Songs II

So a while back I had a post about sad songs... today listening to my iPod I came across a song that I had forgotten about, though it certainly belongs at the top of the list. The song is Hayden's "When This Is Over" and is about... well I'll let you figure it out, its more heartbreaking that way.

This song will break you DOWN. I'm getting chills just writing this...

I suggest you download it, do a couple shots, and then cry your eyes out listening to it, but here are the lyrics to get you started.


When This is Over by Hayden

I wake up
Beside you, in mom's car
I try to get you out,
You're strapped to the backseat
I am too.

The car is rolling down to water.
Why are we
Strapped to our seats,
Trapped,
What did we do?
I cleaned my room just as she asked me to.

Filling up, dirty water,
My chin's up, going under.
You're still asleep, baby brother.
I'll wake you up when this is over.

The car is rolling down to water.
Why are we
Strapped to our seats,
Trapped,
What did we do?
I brushed my teeth just as she asked me to.

This is it, baby brother,
One more breath togther
We're almost underwater
Where is mom?
I miss her.

The car has rolled into the water.
Why are we dying in this way,
What did we do?

I was nice to him,
Her boyfriend, this is stupid
When people come to search the lake
We'll be found in our pajamas
They will see
A big mistake is all that this must be

Whisky Instead of Water

Random thoughts today...

So I'm making whiskey related items to sell online... it should be fun, but some glue I got to use sucks - so the projects are on hold for a while...

School is slowly ticking down - I can't wait for it to be over. Come March I think a lot of things will be different.

Sierra Nevada recently bottled the first batch of their Torpedo IPA, and we got samples dropped off today - I'm a pretty big fan of it.

Headed to Denver next week - I'm looking forward to it - it will be good to see the Forgey's (all four) as well as checking out the latest Liquor stores ;)

That's all for today.

New Year's Eve Recap

New Year's Eve was quite fun this year... the night started off with Ron, Cate & Melanie coming over around 6pm. Ron and I had a few beers and played Fallout 3 on the 360 while the girls played a Mad Libs board game. We had reservations at Eddie Papa's at 8:15 so we headed out there... I had a crab and artichoke sandwich, and sipped on a Old Fashioned. As we finished dinner, we asked for the owner to come over (He and I have talked a few times about whiskey, and he even let me try a little Hirsch 28yr once) and recommend a few after dinner drinks. I got a Hot Buttered Rum (made with rum & bourbon) and Ron got a Hot Toddy. I asked about a couple of bottles of Old Portrero from Anchor Brewing I had noticed on the back bar when we walked in (he had mentioned on a previous trip, that he had some special bottles coming in), and he ended up letting us taste them for free! The first was their rye - which was really good, but the second bottle was just called 18th Century Spirit - it was like a whiskey but sweeter, not sugary - but almost like honey. It was yummy - can't wait to try it in a Manhattan...

After dinner we came back to the Apartment - Ron and I opened up a bottle of Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Rum and enjoyed it with some cigars out on the patio. After finishing we headed back inside and proceeded to sing karaoke for about a half hour which ruled. About 11:50 we flipped on the TV to see Dick Clark sadly mumble and the ball drop.

A very fun night indeed.

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Thanks!

Whiskey

So I decided to take all the whiskey I had and count up the bottles and see how much they are worth... I counted the full retail value, even for open bottles, and and found the prices on http://www.bevmo.com/, http://www.hitimewine.com/ or other retail sites. For the items that are no longer available I used ebay as a guide (those items are marked with an *). Including all of the signed bottles, it is around $4000 worth of whiskey (mostly bourbon).

If anyone is interested in partaking just let me know and come on over!

Here is the list with the pricing.

OPENED BOTTLES

Bourbon
Eagle Rare 17yr 2007 $80
Four Roses 120th Anniversary $80
George T. Stagg 141.2 pf $150*
Makers Mark 1.75-liter $36
Pappy Van Winkle 20yr $100
Very Old Barton 6yr 100 pf $12
Wild Turkey American Spirit $100
Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit $50
Willett Single Barrel 25yr $200

Rye
Jim Beam Rye $17
Old Overholt Rye $14
Rittenhouse Rye 23yr $160
Templeton Rye Single Barrel $35

Other American Whiskies
Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Zinfandel Finish $90*
Charbay Series I $300
Charbay Series II 50ml $23
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey $60

Scotch
Ardbeg Uigeadail $100
Bowmore 18yr $100
Bowmore Darkest $76
Bowmore Legend $30
Compass Box Hedonism $100
Glenrothes Select Reserve $50
Kirkland Macallan 19yr $70

Other Whiskies
Canadian Club Classic 12yr (Canada) $23
Crown Royal Reserve (Canada) $37
Penderyn Single Malt (England) $70
Yamazaki 12yr (Japan) $40

Whiskey Liqueurs
Cutty Black 100pr $??
Makers Mark Mint Julep $35
Wild Turkey American Honey 375-ml $15

SEALED BOTTLES

Bourbon
Ancient Ancient Age 10yr 100pr $15
Eagle Rare 17yr 2006 $100*
Eagle Rare 17yr 2008 $60
Eagle Rare Single Barrel $30
Elijah Craig 18yr $44
Four Roses 120th Anniversary $80
Four Roses Single Barrel $46
Four Roses Small Batch $40
George T. Stagg 140.6 $170*
George T. Stagg 144.8 $100*
Jim Beam $14
Jim Beam Black $20
Jim Beam Choice 1-liter $21
Old Grand Dad 100pr $20
Old Rip Van Winkle 10yr 107pr $36
Parker’s Heritage Cask Strength 122.6pr $80
Parker’s Heritage Cask Strength 127.9pr $180
Willett Single Barrel $43
William Larue Weller 2008 $60

Other Whiskies
Michter’s American Whiskey $45
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey $60

Whiskey Liqueurs
Celtic Crossing $23
Jeremiah Weed $15
Wild Turkey American Honey $23
Yukon Jack 100pr $19

SIGNED / SPECIAL BOTTLES

Evan Williams Master Distiller’s Select 375-ml
(bottled special for Shannon and I @ Heaven Hill)
Maker’s Mark 375-ml
(hand dipped by Shannon at the Maker’s Mark Distillery)
Maker’s Mark 375-ml
(hand dipped by me at the Maker’s Mark Distillery)
Bulliet Bourbon 1.75 signed by Tom Bulliet
Evan Williams Single Barrel 1997 signed by Craig Beam
Glenfarclas 21yr signed by George Grant
Knob Creek signed by Fred Noe
Parker’s Heritage Cask Strength 122.6pr signed by Parker Beam
Wild Turkey Rare Breed signed by Jimmy Russell and Eddie Russell