Regular readers will know of my reverence for a good whiskey. NOT, the so called good whiskey blend as preferred by our tenderpreneur buddies and politicians with quarter million rand watches (“My good friends gave dis watch to me expecting no favours” – Yea right!).
In fact it has been exactly a year today since I received a bottle of Springbank (whisky of the millennium in 2000) from my in-laws. This was a birthday present and I still have a quarter of a bottle left (with one more waiting in the wings).
The slow drop in the level of Springbank is because it is only rolled out for a special occasion, splashed into a crystal glass and sipped slowly for maximum enjoyment. Pulling the cork on the chunky bottle and hearing the clink of glass on crystal evokes a really satisfying feeling – kinda like the first time you get given a quarter million rand watch hey Julius?
These ‘Springbank’ occasions in the last year have mostly included great performances by the Chevrolet Warriors and EP Kings who, by the way, have just launched their new web site. With the somewhat erratic play by the Chevrolet Warriors this season it has been a while since I have taken my bottle out for a bit of action, though. But, I still have high hopes for the upcoming Pro20 Series and expect the EP Kings to do exceptionally well this year – maybe, just maybe, I will get to pour 25 tots over the course of this year.
Along with good whiskey one must have an excellent hip flask to decant a wee dram into. My hip flask and I have had some good times over the years – sipping slowly whilst watching a star filled night on the briny with the Longhair close by, fortifying a cold shivering body on a springbok stakeout in the middle of winter, surreptitiously sipped whilst on a school camp with the Apprentice Longhair and even offering succor in the Baviaanskloof on safari with the Kangaroo.
And now, along comes something to burst my bubble – Whiskey in a can!
Sies man – ek kan dit net nie glo nie!
A Panama-based company, Scottish Spirits believes drinkers would prefer to crack open a tin rather than lug round a bottle of their favourite tipple.
Scottish Spirits, which has an office in Glasgow, is testing out the ‘whiskey in a can’ on its Caribbean and South American markets.
Scottish Spirits launched the 330 ml tins last week, the first time straight whisky has been sold in a can. Elsewhere in the world whiskey has been sold as draught and in plastic sachets so one can suppose that aluminium cans is a step up.
I have one thing to say though; “Okay, the joke is over, you have received your 15 minutes of fame, now please go back and offer a free hip flask with each bottle sold.”
The term ‘whiskey’ derives originally from the Gaelic ‘uisge beatha’, or ‘usquebaugh’, meaning ‘water of life’.
Alan Straton
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mmmm!! The term Whiskey donates distillers from around the world, While Whisky (sans E) is exclusive to Scottish distillers only . Some trivial info.
And what do you do for someone like Scottish Spirits who are the Gaelic version of a SOUTPIEL with one leg in Scotland, the other in Panama and a long sporran type thingy in the SALTY Atlantic?
And what do you do for someone like Scottish Spirits who are the Gaelic version of a SOUTPIEL with one leg in Scotland, the other in Panama and a long sporran type thingy in the SALTY Atlantic?
I believe Scotland has copyright to the name whisky.
And what do you do for someone like Scottish Spirits who are the Gaelic version of a SOUTPIEL with one leg in Scotland, the other in Panama and a long sporran type thingy in the SALTY Atlantic?
Presumably, being in a blik, you are expected to finish the contents in one sitting, neat. This should go down well with the ANCYoofLeague…
whiskey was first taxed in 1644. This caused a rise in the number of what we would today call “bootleggers” who made and sold Scotch whiskey illegally. Later in 1823, the Scottish Parliament made it easier for one to own a licensed distillery and harder for illegal whiskey stills to stay in business. This began the modern production of Scotch whiskey.