Events

Whisky Advocate finally lays out something I've wondered about: which single malts go into which blends? “Cardhu’s at the heart of Johnnie Walker,” says Emma Walker, one of 12 master blenders that work on Johnnie Walker. “Cardhu was always a blender’s favorite,” she adds. “It was essential to Johnnie Walker. They always created high-quality spirit and it became a partnership even before Cardhu joined the Johnnie Walker family.” Owned by Diageo, Cardhu Distillery is just one of the global corporation’s...

Tonight the Apollo Chorus of Chicago has its first in-person rehearsal since 12 March 2020, almost exactly 18 months ago. We're in a new rehearsal space with lots of new people and new challenges (like mandatory mask-wearing while singing). Poor Cassie won't see me for several more hours. Tomorrow I expect a little more breathing room. Today, though...yikes.

Lloyds of Australia has an auction lot available for a couple of weeks that could seriously shake up your neighborhood: Title: High Octane Offers - Expressions of Madness Invited Description: Available for expressions of Madness is a Museum of Modern Masterpieces, these vehicles are survivors of the apocalypse that was the filming of FURY ROAD. Blown, super-turbo charged and armed to the teeth with weaponry and War Boys, the machines that outran the end of civilisation have been unearthed in the...

Welcome to stop #55 on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Greenstar Brewing, 3800 N. Clark St., ChicagoTrain line: CTA Red Line, Addison Time from Chicago: 18 minutesDistance from station: 800 m The local organic restaurant pair Uncommon Ground brews organic beer at its Wrigleyville location just a block from Wrigley Field. Since 2011 they've brewed good beer and served it alongside decent food, offering a grown-up alternative to the Kindergarten bars around the ball park. A couple of friends joined...

Elections have consequences. The events of 20 years ago transformed the world in ways I can't imagine happening had the Supreme Court not thrown the 2000 election. Of course, had Al Gore won, the terrorists probably would not have attacked; they wanted the rage and violence that followed as part of their plan to drag the world back to the 12th Century. But because the president was a draft-dodging chickenhawk, and because his vice-president was a power-hungry paranoid, the terrorists won: The terms of...

It's another beautiful September afternoon, upon which I will capitalize when Cassie and I go to a new stop on the Brews & Choos Project after work. At the moment, however, I am refactoring a large collection of classes that for unfortunate reasons don't support automated testing, and looking forward to a day of debugging my refactoring Monday. Meanwhile: Melody Schreiber praises the "radical honesty" of President Biden's new mask mandate, while Josh Marshall praises its good politics. Andrew Sullivan...

Well, one of us is working, anyway...

Even though no one ever utters the phrase "just when you thought he couldn't stoop lower" about the XPOTUS, this might come close to making you say it: Former President Donald Trump has signed a contract to provide commentary on a "gamecast" of Saturday's boxing event headlined by Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort, Triller told ESPN on Tuesday. His son Donald Trump Jr. will join him at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Talk about going back to his roots. But after all, who's really...

If anyone forgot to get me a birthday present last week, Whisky Advocate has a suggestion for you: Many of us consider an 18 year old scotch a treat, and regard a well-aged 25 or 30 year old expression as an indulgent luxury. These are mere youngsters compared to the new Gordon & MacPhail Generations 80 year old distilled at Glenlivet Distillery. Matured for eight decades, this whisky spans the term of office of 15 U.S. presidents. It was approaching 50 years old when President George H.W. Bush took the...