Scotch Whisky Flight

Sometimes you need a session of day drinking with J-Bomb; particularly when your head has been wrapped around trying to create the puzzle for Potter Day.

Look, you try crafting a puzzle designed to keep 400 geeks busy for 6 hours - even when they're working together - and tell me you won't need a day of bacchanalian unwinding.

See the shirt she's wearing? It once enabled us to skip the line for Space Mountain. This was ages ago, before my girlfriend had gotten me into Doctor Who, before the first thing you saw when you stepped into Hot Topic was Tardis-themed merchandise, when Whovians could still be all hipster about it. A sympathetic Cast Member saw her shirt and said "Alons-y" and handed her a pass that enabled us to skip the Space Mountain queue.

Today I checked off the Scotch Whisky Flight. J-Bomb happened to know that if it's Scotch you don't put the letter 'e' in whisky; and she doesn't even drink it.

The word whisky comes from the gaelic "uisce beatha" which means "water of life."

Carthay's Scotch Whisky flight consists of the following:

1. Johnnie Walker Green Blended Malt.

2. Oban 14 Yr Old Single Malt.

3. The Glenlivet 19 Yr Old Single Malt.

Whisky flights come with a glass of water. Our host on this day was under the impression it merely acts as a palette cleanser. A previous host - the one who served me my first flight ages ago - suggested that if one adds drops of water to the whisky it "opens it up" and broadens the flavor. In sampling this flight I acted upon the assumption that adding dihydrogen monoxide drops after the first sip adds texture to the experience.

I scribbled things in an attempt to create what passes, in my imagination, for tasting notes. Transcribed in all their horrific verbatim they read:

1. Peaty. Not too much burn. Gentle heat. Drops: take the edge off the peatiness. 

2. This one immediately makes me smile. Balance and smoothness.

3. Very smooth, nothing to complain about, but not as much luster and spirit as the Oban.

Carthay Club Mojito

My friend Darcy had just finished her shift. I was at the Park doing recon and solicited her company for post-work libations.

This is what Darcy looks like when she doesn't know I'm taking her picture.

But she likes having her picture taken, so here's what she looks like when she notices I'm trying to take candid photos.

Sharing our table (owing to crowded conditions) was a woman from Utah who invited us to join her and swore she wouldn't make a peep or bother us. She then proceeded to interrupt each and every statement that escaped from our mouths and would not shut up until I politely elected we change venues. Per my notes she suggested that if ever we're in Utah we should visit something called the Red Iguana.

But anyway... Darcy had a Carthay Martini. She commented that she wonders if the reason why she enjoys martinis is not as much for the gin as for the fancy olives.

I decided to cross the Carthay Club Mojito off the list: Bacardi Superior Rum, Organic Mint from nearby farms, fresh Lime Juice, and Organic Agave Nectar topped with locally sourced Purified Sparkling Water served over Crushed Ice.

I'm usually not fond of mojitos; I find that they taste immature. They taste viscous and tawdry and cheap. Not this one, though, and I assume that's due to a higher than average integrity of ingredients. The Carthay Mojito doesn't taste like it's made of silly syrups, it is crisp and refreshing. On a warm summer day I might be tempted to revisit it; and I don't even like mint, generally.

Darcy ordered a snack I wouldn't normally be drawn to, a roll. I failed to take note of which it was, and I'm not sure it's even still on the current menu. I could be wrong about that. The one thing I really liked about this snack - its one highlight in my mind - is the coating of roe. I love roe. I love all kinds of roe. In the case of this roll it adds a wonderful pungency.

Next time you're at your favorite sushi place, step outside your comfort zone and try some flying fish roe.