Harris Gin, Harris Tweed, and the promise of a new economy…

Although I had mostly recovered from Thursday morning’s seasickness, I woke up Friday with terrible back pain again. I’m not exactly sure what causes this pain, which strikes occasionally and makes standing in one place torture. I just know it hurts. It helps when Bill steps on my back, but as we were in a tiny cabin, it wasn’t really possible for him to do that. Consequently, I started the morning with ibuprofen before breakfast. It helped somewhat before we visited Harris Distillery, a new player in Scotland’s whisky market. Harris Distillery currently sells gin, and we first tried it during our Spirit of Scotland cruise in March 2016. At that time, we were told that they were making whisky, but it would not be ready for three years. In Scotland, whisky must be aged for at least three years before it can legally be called whisky. Harris Distillery’s earliest whisky is now barely old enough to be marketed as whisky and they are focusing on quality. So, for now, there’s still just gin. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we had to have breakfast.

Incidentally, our steward, Sergej, from Latvia, was outstanding. He joined our cruise a couple of days in. Prior to his arrival, his Latvian colleague, Piotjr took care of us. I had seen Piotjr before. He’s hard to miss, because he’s probably about 6’5″ and he’s a total pro at what he does. Actually, almost everyone on the ship is a total pro… with only a couple of exceptions, which I’ll get to later. For now, I want to focus on the positive as much as possible.

Sergej and Piotjr quickly learned our likes and dislikes. For instance, I don’t remember ever specifically telling Sergej how much I hate mushrooms, but somehow he knew. He also knew I prefer sparkling water and, at breakfast, I drink hot tea instead of coffee. Actually, I rarely drink hot tea off the ship, unless I’m in the United Kingdom. I really only drink tea on the ship because they use French presses and sometimes grounds escape into the cup. I have a very sensitive gag reflex and coffee grounds accidentally swallowed have a habit of making me vomit. Since I’m already drinking booze on occasionally rough seas, I figure it’s better to avoid coffee grounds. Also, the Brits just do an excellent job with their teas. I can have good coffee anywhere, but it’s a treat to have tea in Britain.

We docked in Tarbert, very close to Harris Distillery and Harris Tweed, which allowed us to walk to our destinations. Harris Distillery had a very inviting interior, with a fireplace as its centerpiece. The fireplace is an unusual sight at a distillery, since alcohol is so highly flammable. But the founder of the distillery wanted it that way… just as he wanted to create jobs for people on the Isle of Harris. This was not the only new distillery we encountered during our tour. It seems a lot of people want to bring more business to Scotland’s majestic islands so more young people might stay and keep the population going.

Our guide, Kate, was a trained chef who, I think, came from South Africa. She liked the Isle of Harris and stayed, where she pitches Harris Gin. When the whisky is available, I suspect she’ll pitch that, too. I thought her presentation was very professional. After a few distillery tours, you start to compare guides. Kate was one of the best, if only because I could easily hear and understand her. She was confident, friendly, and competent. She sold us a bottle of gin, along with sea kelp botanicals, hand soap, balm, and hand cream.

Harris Gin has limited availability at this time. I can get it in Germany, but I have to order it from one of the few distributors in Germany. It’s not something one can find in just any liquor store at this point. Kate was quick to tell us that Queen Elizabeth II regularly orders Harris Gin for her private collection. She likes her gin and tonics.

Really, though Harris will eventually have its own whisky, this was a gin tasting… Here are some photos.

My back was really hurting during our Harris Distillery tour, so I decided to walk back to the ship. Bill attended the Harris Tweed weaving demonstration, and did a little shopping. He picked up some Harris Tweed cufflinks and little booties for his new granddaughter, Clara, who was born July 4th.

For lunch, we opted for sandwiches, which are offered every day for those who don’t want three courses.

As we left Tarbert, the seas got a bit rough again. I was glad to have food in my stomach this time, as I took more seasickness pills. We cruised the Minch, but I was napping the whole time. Bill opted to listen to whisky expert Jim Allan give his talk called “Islay– Queen of the Hebrides”. Bill said it was a very good talk, even as he fought off drowsiness from the meds.

Jim Allan was a last minute addition to the cruise. We were supposed to have Charles MacLean aboard. He was on our Spirit of Scotland cruise in March 2016 and is considered one of the world’s foremost whisky experts. To be honest, though, I wasn’t all that impressed with Charles MacLean. I found him pompous and snooty. I wasn’t at all sad that he wasn’t on our cruise this time, even though I know at least one other passenger who had also been on our first whisky cruise was sad that Mr. MacLean hadn’t joined us.

I didn’t actually attend any of Mr. Allan’s talks, since they were given in the afternoons instead of during cocktail time as MacLean’s talks were. The fact that Allan gave his talks during the afternoon immediately made me like him a lot more. That, and he and his wife just seemed like much nicer and more approachable people. They were down to earth and relatable, rather than cliquish. I managed to get some pretty photos during our cruise through the Minch.

I got a kick out of the way this napkin was folded.

After dinner, we hung out in the Tiree Lounge, where I got rather friendly with the bartenders, John and Louis. They had very different styles, but both were equally charming. John hails from Glasgow and has a thick Glaswegian accent. He has sort of a cuddly quality to him, like a big teddy bear. He’s very friendly and kind and I really enjoyed getting to know him.

Louis is also friendly, but has his own unique charm. He’s originally from southwestern France, but was raised in Scotland. If I hadn’t noticed his lapel pin that had the French and Scottish flags on it, I wouldn’t have known. He has a Scottish accent, but is yet very, very French. Like the rest of the staff, he quickly learned my likes and dislikes and he surprised me by knowing my name almost immediately after we boarded. I must admit, it was a thrill having a dashing young Frenchman with a Scottish brogue bringing me my favorite champagne on demand. He also introduced me to the wonders of Janneau Armagnac. Just what I need! Another brandy to add to my favorites!

If you like to try different alcohols, Hebridean Island Cruises is a great place for taste testing. I sampled several different gins, as well as brandy and Calvados. I’ve had Calvados before, but Louis kind of reacquainted me with it.

Next up, Isle of Raasay.

Hebridean Island Cruises

Highland Park Distillery and Scapa Distillery…

On Wednesday, August 7th, we landed in Kirkwall, Orkney, with visits planned for two distilleries. Alternatively, guests could choose to visit the Italian Chapel and the Churchill Barriers. I would have liked to have seen the Italian Chapel, which was a Catholic church built by Italian prisoners of war during World War II. However, since we booked the cruise for whisky and Bill wanted to visit Scapa Distillery, I opted to go with him. Besides the fact that there was whisky being offered, the visit to the distillery also involved a shorter bus ride, which I preferred. I don’t really like riding in coaches, even when they are attached to luxury cruise ships.

Highland Park Distillery was first on the itinerary. Those who didn’t want to go to the distillery could explore Kirkwall independently. Kirkwall appeared to be a pretty cool little town. It even has a Wireless Museum, which didn’t interest me, but intrigued at least one person on the ship. Actually, reading up on it today, I think I might have found it interesting if we’d stopped in.

Highland Park Distillery has an interesting history that dates back over 200 years. We had two guides, Harry and William– no relation to the princes– who gave us the scoop on how the distillery came to be, back when Orkney was still part of Norway. Naturally, the tour included a few drams of Highland Park’s whiskys, as well as souvenir glasses. They have a nice shop, where I picked up a t-shirt and a book about whisky. They packed my goodies in a cotton bag, which was a nice touch. It will make a handy shopping tote. Here are some photos from our tour. Silversea was also in port, as was Oceania, and we ran into Silversea cruisers on our way back to the bus. Silversea is also a luxury cruise line, but has much bigger ships. Like Old Pulteney, Highland Park was also having its “silent season”, which means no whisky was produced during our visit.

After we visited Highland Park, we visited St. Magnus Cathedral, which is a magnificent church in the center of town. It was founded in 1137 and is considered a fine example of Romanesque architecture. Today, it’s part of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and is, therefore, technically no longer a cathedral.

*These guys were making the rounds. For a minute, I thought I was back in Williamsburg, VA.*

We went back to the ship for lunch, had a brief rest, then made our way to Scapa Distillery. This was the first place we got a look at actual equipment used to make whisky. That wasn’t a huge deal to me, since I’ve seen a lot of it before, and truth be told, I’m less interested in the whisky making process than the end result. Still, Scapa Distillery has an interesting history. For eleven years, it was owned by Highland Park and was effectively shuttered. It’s now owned by Chivas Regal. Our guide, Ilona, did a good job teaching us all about how Scapa is made… and where it got its name. Believe it or not, the name Scapa originates from Cockney folks, who had come to Orkney for military service.

*This grinder has never broken and, in fact, Porteus machines were so well made that the company went out of business.*

We left Kirkwall at 5:30pm. Little did I know, the next morning would be hellish… More on that in the next post.

Hebridean Island Cruises

Old Pulteney whisky in Wick and the first “gala”.

On Tuesday, August 6th 2019, we arrived in Wick, Scotland for our very first port of call. Wick does not appear to be the most exciting place to the uninitiated. I noticed the waters around the port were brown and kind of sludgy looking. But we stopped there, not because it’s a beautiful town, but because the Old Pulteney distillery is there.

This cruise was called Westering Home and Whisky Galore. It focused mostly on whisky distilleries, but there were alternatives for those who didn’t want to try whisky. I had not heard of Old Pulteney before we visited the distillery. Truth be told, Bill is more of a whisky fan than I am. I’d rather drink beer and wine. And thanks to our Spirit of Scotland cruise in 2016, I know very well how whisky is made. Still, it’s interesting to visit the distilleries because each one seems to have slightly different methods to their madness.

Our visit to Old Pulteney’s distillery required a brief ride on the tender and a short walk. I was really happy to see that this year Hebridean Princess has new life jackets. On previous cruises, we were forced to wear these huge, uncomfortable monstrosities that were kind of suffocating. This year, they had devices that were much smaller and easier to wear. Basically, they were like little inflatable stoles rather than jackets. The only thing I didn’t like about them was the crotch strap, which was kind of awkward. However, it was much easier to get in and out of them and they’re way more comfortable.

The area where the distillery is in Wick appears to be solidly working class. I didn’t see a lot of industry there, save for a casino and bar and the distillery. There’s also a museum, which Bill visited on his own while I took a nap. Here are a few photos from the distillery tour. It didn’t amount to much, since August is part of the “silent season” for Old Pulteney. This is the time of year when the distillery takes a six week break for maintenance and staff vacations. This year, Old Pultaney’s silent season ends on August 19th.

Water is filtered before it turns into whisky.
We got to visit the warehouse, which smelled heavily of the “Angel’s Share”.

In every distillery tour I’ve ever been on, we’ve heard about the “Angel’s Share”, which is the 2% of alcohol that evaporates per year. Near every distillery, a black fungus grows on trees and buildings. It’s due to the evaporating alcohol. Old Pulteney is no exception. Looking around the distillery, I could see the blackness from the whisky production. I have to admit, though, the whisky is good… and they were generous with their pours. A lot of the ladies on the cruise particularly enjoyed Stroma, a sweet whisky based liqueur made by Old Pulteney. One passenger liked it so much that one of the guides went back to the distillery to purchase a couple of bottles for the bar. They were quickly consumed before the cruise ended!

On every tour, we also heard about how the distilleries in Scotland acquire casks from America and Spain to age their spirits.

After the tour ended, Bill and I walked back to the ship. I took a moment to take a few photos of the area. Again… Wick isn’t necessarily a city I’d visit on my own, but I’m glad we got to visit the distillery. I missed the museum, but Bill said it was very interesting, as Wick played a very important role in Britain’s defense during World War II. In 1940, it came under fire after the defeat of the Netherlands and Denmark and the occupation of Norway by German forces. Supposedly, 222 high intensity explosives were dropped on Caithness during that period. On July 1, 1940, the most serious bombing occurred during daylight hours. Children were outside playing. Fifteen people were killed; eight were children. Bill said that while he was in the museum, there was a lady there who was actually present when the bomb fell.

I kind of wish I’d made the effort to visit Wick’s museum, but after lunch, I was really needing a nap. I also didn’t feel like riding the tender again. I probably needed to rest up for the first “gala”, in which the captain welcomes everyone. While guests are encouraged to “come as they are” to dinner on the first night of each Hebridean cruise, the second night is for dressing up in your glad rags. On previous cruises, Bill has worn his dress blues. This time, he wore the beautiful kilt he had custom made in Glasgow in 2017. Bill always looks prettier on the cruises than I do…

Bill and his kilt.
He has an Irish surname, so he had it made in the County Donegal tartan.
The menu for the first gala.

Although guests are encouraged to dress up for the gala, and most do just that, officially it’s just the crew that absolutely must dress up. I’ve seen some guests dress as if they’re going to church, though most people choose formal wear. One man wore jeans and made a hasty retreat to change into a suit when he saw all of the ladies in their finery. I myself chose my trusty black dress, crystal statement necklace and earrings, and a bright red cashmere and wool wrap.

I think the kilt came off very well, although Bill needs a few more lessons on sitting properly while wearing a skirt. I have to admit to missing seeing him in his dress blues, although I think the kilt was more comfortable for him. Maybe it’s time to get a pair of matching trousers.

Here are some photos of the food from the first gala… which did not involve any dancing, just lots of food and after dinner cocktails.

Scallops and pancetta…
A lovely salad…
Lobster tail for me…
Beef tenderloin for Bill.
And a lemon tart for me.
Cheese course for Bill.

I mentioned before that Hebridean Island Cruises is an all inclusive experience, which means that virtually everything is included… including all the booze you want, excursions, Internet access, and entry fees. You don’t even have to present a credit card when you board, nor do they make you an ID card. Instead, you have a brass tag that you take with you when you’re off the ship. Slip it on the lanyard you’ll receive when you board. It’s refreshingly low tech.

Next post.

cruises, Hebridean Island Cruises, Scotland

Cruising Scotland for the fifth time! Hebridean Island Cruises does it again!

We’ve got spirit! Yes, we do!

It’s hard to believe that less than 24 hours ago, I was still aboard Hebridean Princess enjoying the last precious moments of coddling that keeps Bill and me coming back to Scotland again and again. We just spent eight glorious nights aboard the tiny luxury ship. The cruise, which originated in Invergordon and ended in Oban, was fully booked. That means there were 47 other passengers sharing this experience with Bill and me. I like to think of the Princess as the anti-mega ship. I’ve got no use for huge floating cities so popular these days. Give me a little vessel with lots of good food, flowing champagne, superb service, beautiful scenery, and like-minded guests.

Bill and I decided to book our cruise in April of this year. Because Hebridean Princess is an all inclusive luxury experience with matching luxury prices, we usually plan much further in advance. Because we booked just four months out, I got us a “cheap” room on the Hebridean deck, in the “bowels” of the ship. Each stateroom on Hebridean Princess is named after a special place in Scotland. I knew what to expect, since we always book the “cheap” rooms. To date, we’ve stayed in all three of the double sized “cheap” rooms: Loch Torridon (three cruises), Loch Crinan (one cruise), and Loch Harport (one cruise). I’m hoping to upgrade us to a higher deck the next time we cruise, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with the “cheap” rooms. They are very comfortable, even though they lack windows or portholes and require a steep climb up and down stairs. At age 47, I was still among the youngest of the passengers and, at least for now, my knees can take the abuse.

We began our trip on the second of August, flying from Frankfurt to Edinburgh. This was the first time I’ve ever managed to score direct flights to and from Scotland. Although Frankfurt is an incredibly obnoxious airport, living close to it does have its advantages. We could have flown to Inverness, but that would have required a layover. I had never been to Inverness before this trip, but I’d heard it wasn’t all that exciting. I also wanted a “do-over” of Edinburgh, which we last visited in 2012 after our first Hebridean experience– two back to back five night cruises in November, during which we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.

We loved Edinburgh when we visited for four nights in 2012, but our time there was shrouded in sadness. On our last night of the second cruise, we learned that our sweet dog, MacGregor, had collapsed at the dog hotel. Unbeknownst to us, he had a highly aggressive malignant tumor invading his spinal column. Before we left for Scotland, we had been led to believe that he’d had a much less serious condition. We’d had him on prednisone and he was being weaned off, when the tumor suddenly got worse.

The hotel staff took MacGregor to see his vet, who suspected he had a malignant tumor and had recommended euthanasia. We were thousands of miles away and there was nothing we could do but worry. However, the situation was not so dire that we needed to rush back to North Carolina, where we lived at the time. The vet loaded MacGregor up with painkillers and the dog hotel staff took excellent care of him. We finished our vacation, came home, and took MacGregor to North Carolina State University, where he eventually had a MRI that confirmed the vet’s diagnosis. We said goodbye to him on December 18, 2012.

Anyway, because our first visit to Edinburgh was marred by personal tragedy, we decided to go back this year. I’ll go more into detail in the next post, but let me just comment that next time, I’m going to check the calendar more closely before I decide on pre-cruise cities. Edinburgh was teeming with people who had come to to the annual Fringe Festival. It started on the day of our arrival and made the city even crazier than usual! I’m surprised we managed to get a hotel room! I’m glad we were able to experience the festival, but I think I prefer Edinburgh in November, when the city is not so crowded.

We took ScotRail to Inverness on August 4th and spent one night at the lovely Rocpool Reserve Hotel. In retrospect, I wish we’d come directly to Inverness. It’s a very charming city and I would have liked to have spent more time there. If we ever do another cruise out of Invergordon, we’ll suffer the layover required to get to Inverness. It deserves to be explored.

Our cruise began on August fifth and ended yesterday morning. As I finish this post, I realize that it’s still been less than 24 hours! How am I going to get used to life without my daily dose of champagne? Writing helps me prolong the joy. I hope you’ll join me as I digest our latest spectacular trip to Scotland!

Part two

Baden-Württemberg, booze tourism

Whisky tasting at Best Whisky in Stuttgart…

My friend, Rick, has just accepted a new job in Rota, Spain. He will be leaving soon, so he decided to host a whisky tasting at Best Whisky in Stuttgart. I’m not sure if Rick has hosted these gatherings before. I get the feeling he’s been a regular at this little whisky shop near the Schwabstrasse metro stop. All I know is that he invited me and Bill to attend, and we’re almost always game for a tasting. That is, unless it’s snowing, which it did all day yesterday in Unterjettingen.

To be honest, Bill and I did think briefly about whether or not we really wanted to go out in the weather. But then I realized that I almost never regret attending social activities, even if I can be slow to get dressed most days, especially when the weather sucks. Winter weather can especially make me want to hole up in a cave and hibernate. I think what settled the decision in favor of attending was that we were out of whisky. Thanks to last night’s festivities, we are now flush with the stuff… along with a new bottle of rum from Barbados.

First thing’s first. Remember that whisky, with no “e” in the name, comes from Scotland. Whiskey with an “e” comes from Ireland or elsewhere. What we had last night were whiskys from Scotland and, boy, were they “heavenly”– if you like scotch, that is, which I do… Speaking of heaven, our whisky expert also talked about the “angel’s share”, which is the part of the whisky that evaporates as it ages. The whiskys we tried last night were all aged.

We paid 55 euros at the door for six whiskys plus an seventh of our choosing up to five euros. That covered most of the whiskys in the shop, with the exception of a few. Our host explained that if we wanted to try one that was more than five euros, we would have to pay a surcharge.

The cover charge we paid also included light food and all the water we needed, as well as use of the WC. I should mention there’s also a public WC right across the street from the shop. We’ve passed it many times on the way into and out of Stuttgart Mitte. I’ve always been morbidly curious about it and now I can go to my grave with my curiosity about that particular public toilet satisfied.

Because of the obvious dangers of driving after a whisky tasting, Bill and I took the train from Herrenberg to Schwabstrasse. In the course of getting to the event, I also learned that Herrenberg has a public WC– one that I hope to never need to use again. Still, it’s good to know that they have one and that it’s even free of charge to use.

Below are some pictures from our event. There were twelve of us in attendance. Rick said he’d needed at least ten people, so I’m especially glad we didn’t bail.

The outside of the shop, right on the main drag as you come into downtown Stuttgart from A81. It’s probably best to take public transportation there, especially if you plan to do any tasting. The Schwabstrasse metro stop is about a ten minute walk.

The inside of the shop. We were seated in an area obviously set up for tastings, with tables and a large bar full of open bottles of whisky.

Bill enjoys the first dram, Glen Garoich 16 years Renaissance Chapter 2. This was a Highland whisky at 51.4% ABV and normally retails for 99 euros. We were given a 10 percent discount last night, so it was offered for 89,10 euros. This shop also accepts the VAT form, which we used for our purchases last night.

Some snacks. It was light fare, but appetizing and tasty… and basically healthy.

Another shot of the whisky tasting room. I really should have taken a picture of the table with snacks, which included butter pretzels, smoked salmon wraps, small Greek salads, curry chicken sandwiches, and some type of pork/bread thing that I couldn’t identify (but did nevertheless enjoy). The snacks helped absorb the whisky, which is always a good thing.

Bill checks out the color on another dram we tried. I will name them all at the bottom of this post. They were all interesting and unusual whiskys we hadn’t had before.

The bar with all of the whiskys available for tasting.

The man of the hour, teaching us about what we were trying in his shop. I found him to be very knowledgable, engaging, interesting, and even funny… And I probably would have felt that way even if I weren’t drinking whisky. Bill said more than once that we’ll have to go back.

Hanging on to the last shred of sobriety…

Actually, I’m kidding. The evening was paced in such a way that most of us were still standing straight and tall as we called it a night. Bill and I left at 8:30pm. Since the event started at 5:00pm, we enjoyed a very substantial night’s entertainment.

Best Whisky specializes in whisky, but they do also have a few other bottles there. As I mentioned before, we bought a bottle of rum from Barbados. I also noticed gin for sale, which makes sense since at least one of the whisky distilleries whose wares are sold at that shop also makes gin.

One thing I noticed and liked about last night’s festivities was that I got to meet people I’d never met before. When the event first started, most folks talked to the people they knew. In our case, it was Rick. But alcohol has a way of loosening tongues and lowering inhibitions (not that mine need much lowering). Before we knew it, we were chatting with new people, all of whom were interesting and pleasant company. It was just the right sized group for mingling, too. I even got to talk up the whisky cruise we took in 2016 on Hebridean Princess.

Here’s a picture of last night’s program… One of the whiskys we tried was 45 years old and absolutely heavenly.

I wish I could remember the two whiskys we tried that were our choice. I told Bill to pick them and by the time he did, my attention span was wandering a bit.

We really had a good time at Best Whisky last night. Special thanks to Rick for arranging it and to all of the other participants who made it such a good time! I’ll be adding Best Whisky to my list of go to places for good spirits in Stuttgart!

Uncategorized

Celebrating 14 years in Ireland! Part five

Bill and I were still laughing about the boys on the train as we walked into Kilkenny, a town that appears to have recently exploded in population. I was reminded of towns like Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which was once a rural place and eventually became very popular. Kilkenny appeared to be the kind of place that was very small for a very long time and then became busy. As we headed for the the Smithwick’s Experience, I was surprised by how many people were there, trying to get around us and/or otherwise in a rush. On the way to the beer museum, we decided to stop for lunch. We ended up at a place called Petronella, which I spotted as we were passing an alcove.

One of my favorite bits of travel advice is to pay attention to alcoves. It’s easy to find stuff if you’re on a main drag. But I have found the best places are often tucked away, and Petronella turned out to be one of those places. It was a bit of a hole in a wall, tucked away off the main road. We arrived just in time for lunch. Indeed, I think we were the first customers of the day.

Bill checks out the menu.

Kilkenny beer.

The first version of my lunch. I tried to make it work by switching with Bill.

Our waitress directed us to the second floor and I took a seat by the window. Right as I was noticing the piped in music on the sound system– mostly music from the 70s and 80s– a busker was warming up outside. The busker was quite a talented guy who played guitar and sang, sounding a bit like Bob Dylan if Bob Dylan could actually sing (and this is no disrespect to Mr. Dylan’s overall talents as a musician. He writes wonderful songs and plays guitar, but he is not a singer).

So, we came in and sat down… and I ordered a steak sandwich and Bill ordered the special of the day, which was a chili flavored tagliatelle. I ordered a Kilkenny beer to go with my lunch, while Bill had a glass of cabernet.

The food came… and unfortunately, my steak sandwich, which was served open faced with fries and a fried egg on top, also came with mushrooms and onions. No problem, Bill and I thought… We switched plates and I tried his dish… It, too, was loaded with mushrooms. So the waitress came up and I had to tell yet another person about my ridiculous mushroom hatred/phobia.

Bill called her over and said, “My wife can’t eat mushrooms.”

Bill’s lunch. I tried to eat that instead, but the mushrooms were awful. Otherwise, this was almost like a really nice chili mac. It was quite good and I would have loved it minus the fungus.

Rebooted steak sandwich. The potato salad was surprisingly good.

The waitress was wonderful. She quickly took the food away and had the chef make me another sandwich without ‘shrooms. She brought me a clean sandwich sans egg, onions, and mushrooms. Instead, it came with a surprisingly good potato salad. I got to tell the waitress about why I hate mushrooms so much. To make a long story short, I have a bit of a phobia. Even as I told her how I knew how ridiculous this story sounded, she was patient and understanding. And she also confessed feeling the same way about baked beans. I like to think she appreciated that I told the truth, rather than tried to tell her I’m allergic. The truth is, I am not allergic to mushrooms. They just really freak me out in a bad way.

At one point, the piped in music was a song by Bruce Springsteen circa 1985. The busker outside was playing a 90s Springsteen song. Synchronicity! (truthfully, it was a bit weird)

Petronella… in case you ever find yourself in Kilkenny.

After we had lunch, Bill and I went to the Smithwick’s Experience, which was very entertaining from the get go. We entered the beer museum and were immediately greeted by a good hearted lady who said we could use the kiosks to pick up our tickets or just talk to her. She immediately recognized my name, since I had just ordered tickets and got engraved glasses in honor of our anniversary. The lady who did the engraving personally wrapped our glasses for us and wished us a good time in Ireland.

At 2:00, we had our tour, along with several other folks. There were a couple of Irish folks on the tour, but the majority of us were Americans. An adorable lady named Ide (pronounced Eee-dah) guided us through the museum, gave us the long history of the brewery, explained the process of beer making (which Bill and I know very well), and led our tasting. Bill and I had a paddle tasting, which included several beers by Smithwick’s. We ended up chatting with a couple from Ireland who were really friendly and wanted to talk about politics!

After the tour, we walked around the town, then headed to a bar. We had to kill some time before our train, due to leave at around 7:00pm. The first bar we went to seemed geared toward hen parties. There were a couple of groups of younger women who were cackling over brews. I finally got annoyed enough to tell Bill we needed to move on to the next place, a pub affiliated with a hotel.

We stopped into the pub, which had the soccer game between Austria and Ireland playing. We sat down and started drinking local brews. A bald guy working the bar came over to talk to us. He was obviously a local and very cool. After a couple of hours, I think we became friends. And yes… there was more talk about Donald Trump.

Shots of Smithwick’s, which has a surprisingly long and interesting history in Kilkenny. This tour was absolutely worth doing. It was very personal and informative.

Shots of Kilkenny…

He told us to come back if we ever made it back to Kilkenny. Somehow, I have the feeling he’ll still be there if we ever do make it back to Kilkenny. He might even remember us!

We got to the train station about fifteen minutes before we left Kilkenny for Dublin. More on that in part six.

Baden-Württemberg

For our next road trip…

This past Sunday morning, I was on Facebook doing some last minute planning before our day trip to Rheinfall when I noticed an ad. It’s kind of unusual for me to notice Facebook ads, but this one really caught my attention. It was from a company called Lazenne.com and the product they were hawking was a wheeled wine suitcase. This is the perfect product for people who travel abroad and want to check some wine for the flight home. I might use it for that purpose myself someday. Actually, what I was thinking when I saw the wine luggage was a great way to transport wine during the road trips Bill and I take.

It’s no secret that Bill and I enjoy our booze. I especially love finding new wines and beers in the many countries easily accessed from Germany. Though I had seen the styrofoam inserts included with the wine suitcase that was advertised, I had not seen a bag specifically made for carrying wine. Intrigued by the ad, I decided to pull the trigger. I purchased a black wine suitcase that could carry twelve regular sized bottles of wine and three large bottles. I also bought two wine cradles. The Wine Check bag is also available in red.

I paid $158. Yes, though the Wine Check bag comes from a warehouse in France and I think the Lazenne company is in Poland, I paid for my order in U.S. Dollars. That’s because the company’s payment gateway partner is an American company. My total included the cost of the bag, the wine cradles, the value added tax, and shipping.

I placed my order Sunday night after we returned from Switzerland. My parcel arrived this morning. Here are some photos.

The box my new Wine Check bag arrived in.

Wine Cradles. These are inflatable sleeves for wine.

The bag unwrapped.

Nice wheels for easy towing.

Two handles.

The boxes for the wine bottles.

The blue one is for large wine bottles.

Styrofoam inserts. Take the top off and tuck your bottle safely inside.

The bag with no inserts.

The red box carries up to twelve regular sized bottles.

Top off so you can see how that works.

The styrofoam inserts are nothing new. When I lived in the States, I used to order wine all the time and it would often be packed with these inserts that kept the bottles from breaking in transit. What makes this package unique is that the bag is specifically designed for making it easy to transport bottles. The wheels on the bag makes it a lot simpler to move the booze once it’s securely packed. I may have to bring this case with me the next time we go wine shopping locally. I’d love to use this bag in Tübingen next time we visit Vinum. It’s a real bummer schlepping wine from the store to the parking garage, but this bag would make it much easier to splurge!

Once we have a chance to actually try out this new luggage, I will be sure to post how it went!

booze tourism

Part 9… Sunday morning at Kilchoman Distillery…

I mentioned in a previous post that Bill and I aren’t church people. But we sure felt the spirit on Sunday morning, March 20th, when we visited Kilchoman Distillery on Islay. After a hearty breakfast at the Columba restaurant, many intrepid whisky enthusiasts clambered off the Hebridean Princess and back on the old schoolbus with the busted seatbelts and boogers for a trip for one of Scotland’s newest distilleries. The drive to Kilchoman was breathtakingly beautiful as we passed many fields of grazing sheep, lightning fast hares, wandering partridges, and majestic herds of deer.

We were originally scheduled to visit the Bowmore Distillery, but for some reason, that plan was changed in favor of Kilchoman. I am mostly glad we went there. I say mostly because I suspect that I picked up a nasty stomach bug at the Kilchoman Distillery. I will explain more about that later. For now, I will just say that I forgot my education at this lovely place as a very friendly staffer hopped on our bus near the distillery and guided us in.

The Kilchoman Distillery was founded in 2005. It was the first distillery to be built on Islay in 124 years. It is one of six Scottish distilleries still doing floor maltings (and I guess we must have seen two of the others during our cruise) and is unique in that all steps of the whisky making process are done on Islay. Our guide, Leha, explained that the owners had just purchased the adjacent farm, giving them plenty of room to grow their own barley and feed whatever’s leftover from the whisky making process to the farm’s own livestock.

More barley malting…

Another kiln…

We were a little delayed waiting for people to use the restroom, which wasn’t such a good thing. The staff at the distillery had made fresh scones for us. One group enjoyed the scones while the rest of us toured the facility. We were supposed to flip flop, but ran short of time. I managed to grab a scone to go, anyway.

Spirit safe.

Here’s where things get a bit sketchy, though. At one point, Leha pulled a metal tubelike container out of one of the tanks. It was full of wort. She passed it around and invited people to try it. Though I had tried the wort at Laphroaig (whose staffers were kind enough to put it in little plastic communion cups for us), Leha simply passed the metal tube around. And I was dumb enough to try it. I think this is where I ended up picking up the stomach bug that made things go so awry on the last day. I don’t know for certain, but my guess is that I am not the only one who paid for that mistake.

I’m mostly pretty good about hygiene, especially on cruise ships. I wash my hands and use the alcohol cleansers, although those are not effective against Norovirus. I usually only share glasses with Bill. But I forgot myself while I was on this distillery tour and I think that’s what caused me to get so sick; not coming from the UK, I was not used to the bug that invaded my body so quickly. It didn’t even have to be someone from our cruise that spread the germ. Norovirus can survive a long time without a host. I hasten to add, I don’t even know that I definitely had Norovirus, but I sure had all the symptoms of it. And based on how long it took for me to get sick, then Bill, I have a feeling I got it at Kilchoman and then spread it to him and perhaps a few other unlucky people.

I thought the bottling machine was pretty cool. Also, I was surprisingly interested in how they came to choose their distinctive bottles.

Apparently, it’s hard to break those suckers, even when you drop them.

Sample time. Besides whisky, Kilchoman makes a liqueur that I immediately dubbed a “lady’s drink”.

It is possible that I got sick on the ship or somewhere else, but remembering what I did during the cruise, I really think I got the bug when I tasted the wort at Kilchoman. It takes a minute amount of the virus to infect someone and that seems like the most obvious time it would have happened.

But just because I got a stomach bug, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the tour and Kilchoman’s products immensely. In fact, Bill was very excited to pick up a bottle of Kilchoman to take home with us. It may be awhile before I want to drink any whisky, but I bet he’ll be opening it soon. And, if anyone from Kilchoman reads this, I loved visiting your facility. I just hope you’ll follow Laphroaig’s lead and provide little individual cups for people who want to taste the wort. And, I also hope I learned my lesson in hygiene. Fat lot of good that master’s degree in public health did me! The wort isn’t even that tasty, though on the bright side, at least my immune system got some practice.

Unfortunately, we were a bit rushed out of Kilchoman. We had to get back to the ship because we were headed for the Jura Distillery that afternoon. Jura is another island. But, at least until I started hurling a couple of days later, I had a glowing impression of Kilchoman and my experience there taught me to remember not to drink from communal containers.

Bill’s butternut squash soup.

More seafood for me…

I had a smoked salmon sandwich.

Bill had Irish stew.

Rice pudding for Bill.

Ice cream for me. I was blissfully oblivious about what was coming.

anecdotes

Great booze tourism spots…

While there’s no denying that some people shouldn’t drink alcohol and over imbibing can lead to health problems, there’s also no denying that booze tourism is a trend that’s been growing in popularity. Bill and I have definitely enjoyed some fun booze touristy spots in our travels. Here’s a list of some of the places we enjoyed the most.

Vinopolis– London, England (ETA: Sadly, Vinopolis is now closed!)

Bill and I visited Vinopolis in January 2009 over Martin Luther King weekend. We were living in Germany at the time, so it wasn’t too hard to get to London. I had heard about Vinopolis by watching Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe. Knowing how much we enjoy tasting booze, we knew we had to make a point of stopping there. We tasted everything from Slovenian wine to Czech absinthe. Afterwards, we staggered to the Clink Museum next door and looked at all the prison memorabilia.

Bill tries out the moped through Italy’s wine regions…

Weee!

Waiting for a Bombay Sapphire gin cocktail.

Chodovar– Chodova Plana, Czech Republic

I never thought I’d take a bath in beer, but I sure did when we visited Chodovar. I first heard about Chodovar when I saw it featured on Zane Lamprey’s drinking show, Three Sheets. In February 2009, I decided we needed to pay the place a visit. I neglected to bring my camera on that trip, but if you click the link, you can see plenty of photos of the pewter tubs where you soak in hops and sip beer. Afterwards, we relaxed in a dark room, then enjoyed massages. The whole experience was very reasonably priced. I think for the entire weekend, which included meals, parking, and three nights in the hotel, cost us less than $500.

Pilsner Urquell Museum– Plzen, Czech Republic

We saw this museum on the same trip in February 2009 and it, too, was featured on Three Sheets. This museum offers a great history of Pilsner Urquell brewing and beer making in general. After you’re finished looking at the extensive museum, you can stop by the restaurant and sample the beer. We also had a nice lunch there.

This show is worth watching if you are curious about the Czech Republic and all the boozing you can do there. On a side note, I sat in the same tub at Chodovar Zane Lamprey is in.

Asheville, North Carolina

We went to Asheville to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary and were delighted to find a great beer culture there. There are a number of craft beers made in Asheville, many of which offer tours. If you prefer wine, you can stop by the Biltmore Estate, which offers tours of its winery and tastings. Bill and I took the tour and were very impressed by the quality of the wines sold there.

Dinner at a brewpub…

The Biltmore on a cloudy day!

Beautiful Asheville!

Texas Wine Country!

Living near San Antonio, Bill and I aren’t too far from Texas Wine Country, which is in the hills northwest of San Antonio. There, you will find a string of wineries offering surprisingly good products. One of my favorite stops is Comfort, Texas, which is where you’ll find Bending Branch Winery and Singing Water Vineyards… I’m sure there are more I’d love, but we haven’t visited them yet. In all seriousness, Texas Wine Country boasts 37 wineries. With San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels, and Fredericksburg all in the vicinity, there’s plenty of opportunity for non booze related fun, too. Of course, there are craft breweries in Texas too… and excellent tequila.

Museum of Creveja– Lisbon, Portugal

Okay, so the Museum of Beer in Lisbon isn’t all that exciting in terms of beer tourism. I mean, you wouldn’t go to Lisbon just to see the beer museum unless you were extremely hardcore. But if you happen to be in Lisbon, it’s not a bad idea to stop by the beer museum to learn about Portugal’s influence in brewing. It’s three euros a person to see the exhibit, which includes a sample. Then you can head to the bar where you can imbibe to your heart’s content.

Bill drinks with a fake monk.

Scotland

Bill and I went to Scotland and visited two whisky distilleries. We also visited the Scotch Whisky Experience, which is pretty cool if you can’t go to the distilleries. Granted, the distilleries may be more authentic, but the Scotch Whisky Experience is right there in Edinburgh. On the other hand, we learned much about the scotch making process at Arran and Springbank distilleries. And the Springbank distillery was especially cool, since it offers one of the few examples of Campbeltown style scotch whisky. Campbeltown used to be a big whisky hub, but sadly a lot of the distilleries are gone now.

The Scotch Whisky Experience has an enormous collection of scotches…

JailHouse Brewing Company, Hampton, GA (now closed)

Okay, so Hampton, Georgia isn’t exactly on most peoples’ tourism hotspots, but if you’re willing to get there, you may be in for a treat. Bill and I used to live in a town close to Hampton, which is where a local entrepreneur purchased the old jailhouse and made it into a craft brewing facility. You can take a tour and taste their excellent brews, which have really caught on in the Atlanta area. Bill and I can’t get JailHouse beers in Texas, but luckily we have friends who can send it to us. If you’re in the Atlanta area and don’t mind taking a trip south of the city, I recommend a trip to JailHouse Brewing Company!

As you can see, Bill enjoyed his taste of the Breakout Stout!

I’m sure there will be more posts on this subject as we keep traveling!

Uncategorized

Guatemalan rum… and other boozy delights…

One of the perks of my husband’s job is that he gets to travel a lot. So do his colleagues. Bill’s co-workers tend to be pretty liberal with sharing things they pick up when they go TDY. Yesterday, one guy brought a bottle of 23 year old Guatemalan rum. He was going to give it to a friend, but the friend wasn’t at work. He had another bottle at home, so he offered to sell it to Bill.

This bottle was full yesterday. We enjoyed some of it on the porch last night. It was actually pretty nice outside. There was a lovely breeze.

The label…

23 years old!

This rum was very smooth. In fact, it was probably the smoothest rum I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, it also wasn’t very interesting. It had kind of a minty flavor, but not a lot of body of depth. It doesn’t quite hold a candle to El Dorado, which is my favorite rum. I discovered Guyanese El Dorado rum in Bequia during my second SeaDream cruise.

Bill has another former co-worker who used to bring us brandy from Moldova, because that is where his wife was born and raised. I was interested because I lived in Armenia and Armenia has some outstanding brandies. I found the Moldovan brandy less impressive than Armenian brandy, but it was still pretty good.

We have also visited a beer spa in the Czech Republic, followed by a trip through the Pilsner Urquell brewery museum. And we had a very enjoyable trip through Vinopolis in London… Last year, we went to Scotland and learned all about Scotch, including tours of a couple of distilleries and the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.

Hmmph… we probably ought to take up some sports, lest we pickle ourselves. Anyway, we liked the rum from Guatemala. Makes me think we should take a trip there, though in all honesty, I am even more interested in Costa Rica. Bill’s job may have him visiting there this year.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: booze tourism