“By cracking this seal of The Knot you accept that drinking is never to be taken lightly and promise to act in a responsible fashion — not like some blithering idiot. You promise to drink The Knot straight up in a proper shot glass, rather than mixing it in some sort of novelty, tiny umbrella, fruit fiasco. And finally, you vow that you will never drink to anything that you are not prepared to go through with. If, in any way, you are not willing to abide by these conditions, by all means, please refrain from opening this bottle.”

Springbank 10 yo
(46%, OB 2009, batch 09/434)

Nose: a classic Springbank profile with a wide range of aromas. Starts on tangerine, with added notes of lemon peel, green apples and pears. Dry oak. Maritime notes with a bit of ‘wet dog’. Hints of sharp, earthy peat as well. After a while, the fruitiness becomes bigger and rounder. Mouth: very oily and extremely coating. Very peaty as well, much more peat than I expected. Rather spicy, with mostly pepper and nutmeg coming out. Roasted nuts in the background. A faint hint of sour notes (vinegar?) in the aftertaste. Becomes a bit perfumed with water, so I recommend it straight. Finish: long, peaty and briney.

This is a surprisingly complex dram. A very consistent opener of the range!

Nose:  Oaky from its 18 years in barrels. Slight smokiness but not to harsh. Hints of pears and a slight creaminess.

Palate: A light smokiness, slight taste of the sea. Very enjoyable and easy drinking Island malt. Its not got the power of some of the Islay Malts but when you want a whisky that’s there for you after a hard day, I would say this is your man.

Finish: Bitter, oaky and a little dry.

Highland Park 18 is always going to be compared to Macallan 18. Both owned by the Edrington Group, both premium products for their distilleries and both huge worldwide brands.

George Stranahan, artist, rebel and founder of Flying Dog Brewery has now ventured into the tasty world of whiskey. When his barn burnt down over seven years ago one of the firefighters helping douse the flames was Jess Aspen, a fellow lover of spirits. As the two discovered their shared passion for alcoholic beverages the idea was born to create a whiskey distilled in the beautiful landscape of Colorado. Now available, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey is a small batch distillery located in Denver. Availability is limited, but sure to be coming to your area soon.

Blanton’s
Blanton Distilling (Buffalo Trace Distillery) – (Frankfort , Kentucky)
Grain – Corn (at least 51%) Rye, Barley

PROOF: 93 (48%)
AGE: No Age Statement (Best Guess 12-14 Years)
TYPE: Single Barrel

Notes: This whiskey is produced at the scenic Buffalo Trace Distillery in
Frankfort (close to Woodford Reserve Distillery if you are touring) home
of numerous other whiskies such as Ancient Age, Eagle Rare 10 year-old, Eagle Rare 17 year-old, Rock Hill Farms, Hancock Reserve, George T. Stagg, Old Charter, W.L.Weller Special Reserve, W.L.Weller 12, and Elmer T. Lee.

Taste: Sweet start, then going dry quickly,creamy roundness to it ,corn and rye.Touch of persimmon perhaps, char and rye at the end. Smooth whisper of a finish. Dry, almost amontillado-like bouquet, leather, and on
more warming: char, toffee, some spicyness, and a faint trace of marzipan.

Google 1-5 Jan. 3, 2010

Pending Service Mark

Copyright 2010 DL Thomas

SIMPLE CHALLENGE: Build the best web 2.0 widget/app in seven days. Team can be any size 1-n developers, programmers, designers.

FORMAT: Ski * Snowboard design, Rocky Mt. resort data and audience.

Can a cross OS Widget application be constructed, tested and proven to be cool in seven days? The 16Eight seeks to find out what are the creative possibilities of developing within 7 days.

• should a widget combine flash, ajax and/or ruby?
• or use an Apple widget or Yahoo konfabulator widget code base?
• is flex or apollo the best way to go?

The Boulder Cup Challenge

Develop a widget that provides ski & snow conditions that can run as a browser widget, posted in the sidebar of a blog or sitting on a desktop.

To win the 16eight challenge the entry must run on Mac & PC and:

• create an engaging UI &UX
• provide access to ski conditions or ski webcam web resources
• socialize part of the experience
• access an image database of ski and snowboard items
• display an ad inventory

Bonus Options:

• logic matching weather conditions to appropriate items
• Web 2.0 without the Web

Prizes

• 1st Prize
  • The 16Eight Boulder Cup
  • Magnum 2000 Magnificat Meritage Franciscan Oakville Estate

Honorable Mention

• Best combination of UI & UX
• Best code based on fewest number of lines and maximum number of functions
• Best overall experience