scotch | THE ARMY OF DRUNKS PODCAST

THE WHISKEY SPECIAL – with Alex MacKay

September 9, 2017 By Eric

THE WHISKEY SPECIAL
with Alex MacKay
The Whiskey Genius

Summer is over, and it’s time to go back to school. This is Whiskey 101, where our good friend and not-self-described “Whiskey Genius” Alex MacKay takes you on a tour of some of the major whiskies of the world.

It’s one of our longer shows, but by the time it’s done, you’ll have a better understanding of where the golden brown ambrosia* comes from, what’s the difference between scotch and bourbon, why you don’t want to drink Costco Canadian, and just which Batman is that whiskey you’re drinking.

Joining us also is comedy writer and friend of the show Aydrea Walden. She’s good people.

Also, we cut a very long segment about how whiskey is made, but if you’d like to hear that, please join our Patreon campaign, and we’ll give you access to our Back Room of bonus material!

* Please remind us never to use the term “brown ambrosia” ever again.

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DRINK ALONG AT HOME!

Since there’s no cocktail this week, we thought we’d provide a list of all the whiskeys Alex brought for us to sample. Note that most of these are available at your local BevMo, and you can even buy those tiny airplane bottles of some of them. So keeping up with the drunks doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.

Here’s a helpful chart to help you follow along on our journey up Whiskey Mountain. Rather than using the usual descriptors of “taste” and “aroma,” we decided to describe the various boozes in terms of actors. This quickly devolved into describing them in terms of Batmans. (Yes, “Batmans” is the plural of “Batman.” Look it up.)

WHISKEY NAME	COUNTRY	WHICH ACTOR IS IT?	WHICH BATMAN IS IT?
Costco Canadian	Canada	Steven Segal	George Clooney
Nikka Coffey	Japan	Michelle Yeoh	Adam West
Redbreast 12 Year	Ireland	Kenneth Branagh	Michael Keaton
Johnny Walker Green Label	Scotland	David Tennant	Kevin Conroy (The Animated Series)
Knob Creek Single Barrel	America	We forgot to name one, but say Steve McQueen	Will Arnett (Lego Batman)
Ardbeg 10 Year	Scotland	Christian Bale	Christian Bale

BONUS ROUND
Alex suggested a few other whiskies if you’re feeling adventurous. Or even if you’re not.

Brook Laddie Scotch
Octomore Scotch
Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength
Seven Stills Chcoolate Oatmeal Stout & I.P.A.
Midelton Dair Ghaelach Irish
Jameson Unblended 13-Year

OUR DRUNKEN GUESTS
Check out Aydrea’s web series Black Girl in a Big Dress right here!

WANNA SEE SOME WHISKEY?

Short: 1960s – THE RUSTY NAIL

May 9, 2015 By Eric

Short: 1960s – The Rusty Nail
with Katie Massa and Björk*

*The Icelandic bark liqueur Björk, not the Icelandic elfin singer Björk.

“Drink-a-Decade” enters the 60s with the Rusty Nail, a drink popularized by the Rat Pack and the best use of Drambuie since getting your grandmother to pass out at Christmas. We explore the history of a cocktail with its roots in British Industry, but which never caught on until — surprise, surprise — a big-time liquor company got behind it.

Is it too sweet or just sweet enough? Fortunately MixMa$ter Therm ran extensive experiments to find the optimal Rusty Nail scotch-to-Drambuie ratio, and we pass that hard-won information on to you.

We also sample Björk, the Icelandic bark-based liqueur that has nothing to do with the singer, honestly, but comes with a stick in every bottle, and play “Name That Sex Act” with Rusty Nails. (NSFW as always.)

Subsribe on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-army-of-drunks/id936560275

Or listen directly here!
http://traffic.libsyn.com/armyofdrunks/AOD_1950s_Black_Russian_Show.mp3

DRINK ALONG AT HOME!
The Rusty Nail – MixMa$ter Therm Ratio

5 parts scotch
2 parts Drambuie liqueur

There seems to be no clear consensus on the ratio of scotch to Drambuie in a Rusty Nail, with some recipes calling for as high as 1-to-1. (And damn, is that disgustingly sweet.) Our experience is that 5 parts scotch to 2 parts Drambuie yields a cocktail that’s got enough of the sweet “delicious” factor without going too far over the line. However, if that’s still too sweet for you, a 4-to-1 mix might suit you better.

And as will all cocktails of the period, just mix everything in a glass with ice. It’s not that complicated.

THE RUSTY RATIOS ALL LAID OUT

AND A BOTTLE OF BJÖRK!