We had our first big storm of the season this past weekend. Some might argue it came on Tuesday when we received about two or three inches of snow. I don't really consider that a storm, so my sights were set on the coming weekend.
The forecast was calling for totals in the twelve inch range as I mentioned in some of my posts last week. I didn't take a final measurement, but I think our totals were somewhere closer to six to eight inches which honestly was a little disappointing. @mrsbozz and I work with a lady who has some property about two hours north of us and they got over two feet of snow when you factor in the lake effect stuff that came through on Sunday.
I took the opening photo on Friday evening when the storm was just starting to ramp up. @mrsbozz and I got very lucky that we never lost power through the storm. There was a period on Saturday where we didn't have Internet, but I had my hotspot from work, so that was really a non issue. Many people across our region lost power during the storm with many of them not expected to have service back until sometime today (Monday).
Needless to say, Friday night we made ourselves cozy and just waited to see what the storm was going to bring us.
When we took our trip to Vermont this past Autumn, my wife and I stopped at a state liquor store one afternoon to grab a couple of things for our hotel room. I was looking for something special that I might only find in Vermont to take home from our trip.
I eventually settled on this bourbon whiskey from Smugglers' Notch Distillery. There's two reasons why it stood out to me. First was the fact that we had just driven through a portion of Smugglers' Notch earlier that day.
Second was the fact that some of their other spirits had been ranked pretty highly. I figured if they did that well with their other liquors, then they probably put a lot of time and effort into their whiskey as well.
The miraculous part of this bottle is the fact that I was able to get it back home without it breaking inside my suitcase on the jet and getting all over my clothes. This is part of the reason I would probably drive the next time I go back to Vermont. It makes it much easier to transport things like this back home.
The only time you would really need to worry about it is if you were hauling cases of it and a cop decided to search your car.
I thought the collar on the bottle was interesting. The bottle itself feels more like a wine bottle than your traditional whiskey bottle. It's tall and thin. Most of my whiskey bottles are shorter and fatter. I only have a couple that fit the same profile as this one.
Here you can see that they have won a number of awards at the San Francisco World Spirits competition. As far back as 2011 even. I think that is pretty impressive. If I recall correctly, they had their own spiced rum as well. I kind of wish I had gotten a bottle of that, but maybe next time.
The back label of the bottle gives you a little bit of a history behind the bourbon that is in the bottle. It's important to note that this is a blended bourbon. Which isn't that uncommon for distilleries that haven't been around very long. It's going to be hard for a distillery that just opened in the past five years to offer a 12 year (anything), so places like this usually source some of their bourbon from more established places and blend the whiskeys until they get a flavor profile they are happy with.
At right around 45% alcohol by volume, this was a very drinkable bourbon both on the rocks and neat. I always try the first sip of a new bottle from my Glencairn glass with nothing added except maybe a splash of water. Compared to some of the higher proof bottles I have, this went down extremely smooth.
The flavor profile was quite nice too. I found it very pleasing. I can't always pick out flavors the way other people can, so I am going to spare you the in depth analysis of this except to say it was extremely good.
My only regret with this bottle is that I didn't buy another one. I'm going to have to look into their distribution map and see how close to Michigan they come. It's possible I might be able to get my hands on a bottle without having to go all the way back to Vermont.
If I do though, you better believe I will be picking up a bottle or two.
I only had a glass or two of this bourbon before I moved along to one of my more generic bottles. I like to be sure I can make special bottles like this last as long as possible.
If you ever find yourself in an area that carries Smugglers' Notch bourbon, or you actually find yourself in Smugglers' Notch and you get a chance to visit the distillery, I highly recommend it. Had I known how good it was, I likely would have tried to visit the place myself.
Maybe next time...
This was the perfect drink to enjoy as we watched the snow fall down and cover the landscape. It was warm enough in our house, but this gave the body that extra boost to brush away any chill that might be looking to settle in.
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