BourbonEnthusiast.com

Thanks for sharing Gayle. Looks like all had a great time.
Joe

I'm fortunate to know numerous folks in Kentucky and environs who share my interest in fine whiskey and its history and some have become friends.

It was great to spend time with some people I don't see that often or am getting to know better.

Thanks Gayle and Martha for a great party. The whiskeys were tops.

Whiskey treats included a late 60's-early 70's Old Crow, mellow and sweet; a number of S-W whiskeys e.g., an 1843 Nicholson I think it was (white label, decanter-style bottle), a faux strip stamp Old Fitzgerald, an Old Charter which atypically used S-W whiskey for a specific European market and a W.L. Weller (the 19 year old); an impressive 1985 cask strength Bushmills single malt (which appeared to use lightly peated malt at the time, as Michael Jackson wrote in his 1987 World Guide); a late 60's Maker's Mark which tasted like a fine XO cognac and was quite different from today's I thought; JD Silver Select, which many people admired and thought was rather removed from regular Jack; and Stagg '06.

I must not forget a 1960's-era Olde Heaven Hill, it was a privilege to taste a whiskey made by Parker Beam's father and it was a dry, elegant-tasting whiskey certainly connected to today's HH whiskey but not quite the same.

My rum blend appealed to most, which was nice. It is part of a larger group of similar bottlings I have, so I'll bring more when I next visit Kentucky.

Thanks to Mike for giving me a vehicular tour of the Shively distilleries and to John (ellenjaye) for a visual and tasting tour of his incomparable historical whiskey collection. When you see so many great names from so many great eras, you become kind of paralysed. I decided with John to focus just on certain areas, straight rye and Canadian. Of these, his pre-Pro Old Overholt (so-labelled) shone with its deep grainy and spearmint taste, so did the amazing circa-1900 Melvale, which proved that Baltimore rye really was fruity. I only had two bourbons and they were rich, complex and maple sugar-like, a Beam's Choice and Bellows bourbon, both from the 50's-60's. I can't forget either the cognac-like (again) "powder horn" Dickel from the early 1960's.


Gary

Scorpiofest was a great time. Besides all of the food, bourbon, rye and other spirits (includung on of Gary's blends), there was cigars, music and telephone calls to Michael Hack and Linn Spencer. Linn's call was cut off somehow and Brenda's cell phone was locked up somehow and would not let her call him back. John proved himself a man of many talents. I always knew he was a great scholar of whiskey lore and an artist of the finest quality with his website design, but damn, that boy can sing as well. When he broke into "Sugar Mountain" I think Neil Young would have been proud.

Scorpiofest was concieved as a big birthday party for the scorpio's in the Bourbon Society (there are 5 or 6 of us). We also had a meeting during the party and actually accomplished some business. We are having the January meeting at the Blackacre farm and Julian is going to dig something out of his garage for us to taste. The February meeting is planned to be held at Four Roses. We are looking to put together a calendar to sell as a fund raising effort for 2008.

It was a great day. Thanks Gayle and Martha for having us.

It was a lot of fun tasting bourbon over the telephone, and it was great to hear everyone's voice again. I think it was the Pappy 20 that killed off Brendaj's cell phone!

Linn

Gayle (and Martha),
The photos are great! Thanks so much for the wonderful evening. Its hard to pick a high point. Getting to see John & Linda and Gary, all the wonderful food and great company, incredible Bourbons, good music...I especially enjoyed 'guess the Bourbon'... just all around one of those evenings you remember for years.

I apologize for my cellphone, it really was misbehaving. My son tells me it remained on for several minutes after his call. He got to listen to the music and laughter. He said he could tell we were having a ball...

And thanks for not posting any of the photos of me with that look on my face (I know you got 'em... )
Your new camera does a beautiful job!
Bj

Who's the potter? It appears to be stoneware (reduction firing?).

Martha is the very talented potter. She is working on a line of whiskey jugs and cigar/pipe ashtrays.