In honor of Scottish musician Whisky David, here are our picks for what we think he’d happily suck down.
It’s rumored that in 1966, Scottish rock musician Whisky David got on a tour bus with the Yardbirds on their way to Spain. Whisky Dave was so down with the siestas and cocaine-laced cigarettes that he kissed his home goodbye and restarted his career in Madrid. Whisky Dave only put out one killer album, 1975’s Rusty Rock, and on it is a song called “Whisky,” which happens to be the best blues rock to drink bourbon to. In honor of the anniversary of Whisky Dave’s death, in 2011, we rounded up a selection of the latest in his favorite brown juice.
1. Few Spirits B on Whiskey — $52
This bourbon has won a bazillion awards since it hit the market and, duh, it’s delicious. Sure, we’d be perfectly happy drinking Jim Beam for the rest of our lives, but sometimes you want a shrimp cocktail, not a po’ boy. FEW Bourbon is handcrafted and distilled in small batches with a three-grain recipe, adding a bit of malt to smooth out the edges. The nose carries sweet flavors like cherries, caramel, and what we can only describe as soldered wood, but the finish is almost sour, resting just right and providing that calm you craved when you picked up the glass.
2. Few Spirits Rye Whiskey — $70
This one’s is a winner from the first sip. It’s bottled younger, at four years, so it’s spicy with a swift kick. It’s 70 percent rye, 20 percent corn, and 10 percent malted barley. The aroma is pretty sophisticated, with hints of brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon, and going down you can taste all its buttery goodness. Each swig carries a whole cabinet of varied spices and sugars while balancing out with a rustic luxury. But who cares about that shit, because after a few shots you’ll feel like one of those inflatable tube men in a used car lot. And we consider that a good thing.
3. Barrell Bourbon Batch 014 — $85
Distilled in Tennessee and Kentucky, this classic bourbon is aged at least nine years and is so bold we don’t even care that we used a lame word like “bold” to describe it. We have yet to meet a whiskey lover who isn’t impressed by this batch, with its delicious notes of honey, raisin, and creamy citrus curd. It’s a spicy, oaky bourbon that’s just begging to be poured neatly into a rocks glass with a rim rubbed with orange peel. But don’t just take our word for it…
4. Bulleit 95 Rye Frontier Whiskey — $40
Bulleit is always a safe bet when you want to get a bang for your buck, but this 95 percent rye-mash whiskey is one of the best bottles you can get for the price. Round, rich, and fruity, this powerful and delicious poison is distilled in white-oak barrels that have been charred to the max. Even the biggest Scotch snobs will agree that this is a complex, flavorful bourbon that bursts with notes of apples, citrus, and warm spices. Though it may not hit the mark as a top-shelf sipping whiskey for certain cigar-smoking, velvet-robe-wearing connoisseurs, it’ll do the trick when mixing up cocktails for your dinner guests.
