MetaFilter posts tagged with whiskey

December 5, 1933: The Good Old Days are Back Again

churl — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:14:38 -0800

He was elected at the nadir of the worst depression in history; 25% of the workforce was unemployed, two million were homeless. Yet in the face of this, he made us an optimistic and far-reaching New Deal, creating among other programs a federal minimum wage, social security, and the FDIC. He pulled us out of dire financial straits and, when our country was called upon to fight in World War II, he brought us to the cusp of victory. In his unprecedented thirteen years in office, he cemented his undisputed legacy as one of the greatest presidents in American history. But before he could achieve any of this, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a promise to keep — a promise to the "wet vote," whose indispensable support he had called upon in 1932 during his first presidential campaign when he promised to repeal the 18th Amendment and end Prohibition. And thus, as legend has it, immediately after his first fireside chat from the White House in March 1933, Roosevelt turned to his two top aides and said, "I think it's time for a beer." And yes, indeed, it was. Of course, legalizing beer was only the beginning. As Roosevelt was a man of his word, it quickly came to pass that on this very date, December 5th, in 1933, Congress ratified the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, ended Prohibition, and our patron saint FDR made the toast heard 'round the world: "What America needs now," he said, "is a drink." Today, on the 77th anniversary of that momentous event, let us all raise a glass to that wise and forward-looking man, whose decision ultimately did more than just create 500,000 new jobs: "You saved the very foundation of our Government. No man can tell where we would have gone, or to what we would have fallen, had not this repeal been brought about." In 1933, we celebrated by raising a glass of Miller High Life, Stag, Pabst Blue Ribbon [Previously], Hamms [2] [3], National Bohemian, Old Falstaff, Schmidt's, Blatz, or Budweiser. Of course, today we have a cornucopia of choices, in both our selection of booze and our enjoyment of its oft-sublime advertisements. Please enjoy these carefully selected and hand-distilled ads for Johnnie Walker [2] [3], Jameson, Bushmills, Glenfiddich, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Bailey's [2], Absolut [2] [3], Smirnoff [2], Stolichnaya [2], or, if you'd like, you can stick to beer with Guinness [2] [3] [4], Red Stripe, Carlton Draught, or Stella Artois [2]. Cheers and happy repeal day to you, in loving memory of Franklin Delano mother fucking Roosevelt. Please imbibe responsibly.

A wee dram

Joe Beese — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:38:20 -0800

Malt Madness. Malt Maniacs. Whisky Fun.

Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wild, Wild Women

homunculus — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:45:16 -0800

A preachment dear friends, you're about to receive, on John Barleycorn, nicotine, and the temptations of Eve, from the Good Reverend Peter Sellers and his Muppet friends.

Delicious Pregnant Crickets!

jonson — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:47:08 -0800

The whiskey containing the scorpion is left for several months, which then imparts a unique flavour into the whiskey; it is quite an acquired taste. Tasty pregnant small crickets in salt water brine. Real Cobra Snake whiskey is infused with a real farm raised Cobra snake, ginseng roots and seed pods. All these and more, sold here.

This post is for MiguelCardoso

kenko — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 15:34:00 -0800

What poetry should I read while drinking what whiskey?

Historic Spirits

Daddio — Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:35:41 -0800

The real Spirit of 1776. Spurred by a Christmas gift of 18th century-style rye whiskey, I found this fascinating exposition on the history of beer and the history of San Francisco. I've signed up for a tour!

It's A Small World

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 10 Mar 2004 21:32:50 -0800

Nice Whisk(e)y: Shame About The Size! Behold a wonderful, almost infinitely explorable repository of miniature bottles of whisk(e)y; a Japanese one-guy Smithsonian that's quite probably the only resort for those looking for labels of ancient and/or abandoned delights. American straight whiskey fanatics (like me) will be specially surprised. Worth exploring, though exploration isn't easy: it's full of unexpected riches, but never easily had. [Previously offered in the course of a classic languagehat post.]

It canna be!

languagehat — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 14:13:29 -0800

Scotland shamed: Japan wins whisky challenge. The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre hosted a tasting in Toronto, and a 20-year-old Nikka Yoichi, distilled in Hokkaido, beat out a 16-year-old Lagavulin (my own favorite) and 12-year-old whiskies from Cragganmore and Balvenie (also excellent). This is reminiscent of the 1976 tasting in which California wines beat out French ones and put California on the map; can America someday produce a world-class scotch-type whisky (the preferred spelling in Scotland), or shall we simply continue to take pride in our bourbon and rye?

Amaizing waistlines

condour75 — Sat, 11 Oct 2003 10:09:04 -0800

You are fat because there is too much corn. [NYT, forfeit of first-born son required] I love good old-fashioned materialism, and Michael Pollan (author of The Botany of Desire) scores one for the team with this article on the economics of corn production. Are we fat because New Deal agricultural policy was overturned in the 70s by Rusty Butz? Now there's a trailing question we can all enjoy.

George Washington's whiskey distillery

homunculus — Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:14:01 -0800

George Washington made his own whiskey, and at its peak his distillery produced 11,000 gallons a year. America's first president was also a successful entrepreneur. Now some scholars want to reconstruct the distillery and start making whiskey again. The reconstruction might be done by 2006. If they chose to sample their handiwork, I hope they remember the 98th and 99th rules of decent behavior.

phonetic ABCs for many languages

iconomy — Fri, 14 Feb 2003 08:44:03 -0800

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee and Zulu. Now I know my NATO phonetic ABCs, next time won't you sing with me?

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 03 Jul 2002 04:00:55 -0800

The Inexplicable Mystery Of American Rye Whiskey: Almost nobody drinks it! It's arguably the best American spirit there is. It's great straight and indispensable in such classic American cocktails such as the Manhattan, the Whiskey Sour, the Old-Fashioned and the Sazerac[Chuq's MeFi recipe is my favourite.] Thanks to the dedication of a few master distillers, it's currently being revived. And yet...[More inside]

Steven Den Beste — Wed, 10 May 2000 11:23:32 -0800

I'm not quite sure which is more notable: all that whiskey going up in flames, or the whiskey which is going into the community water system.