02/02/08 12:10
About the blog:
“Spirited Places” author Curtis Robinson believes that
consuming spirited beverages is an alchemy involving
fluid mechanics, ancient wisdoms and certain aesthetic
considerations frequently involving the space-time
continuum as understood by Star Trek fans. This belief
has evolved into a deep desire to match the perfect
drink with the perfect place at the perfect time, thus
releasing insights while justifying reckless travel
expenses.
He is also Producer-At-Large for TheImbiber.net.
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Redbreast at the Chelsea
30/01/08 12:12 Filed in: Redbreast
| Chelsea
Hotel |
New York
City |
White
Horse Tavern | Sid
Vicious |
Shakespeare
The Place: Chelsea Hotel, New York City
Space/Time: 3 a.m.
Redbreast is clearly among the elite Irish whiskeys, but that’s not what makes it great for drinking at 3 a.m. with the ghosts of the Chelsea. What makes it perfect is the looong finish that allows you to contemplate the New York streets in ways unknown to those staying in hotels without huge open windows and a nice breeze fluttering the surprisingly stained curtains.
We’re here to talk about long finishes. The Chelsea is under new management, with resulting controversy, but it doesn’t take The Donald to see that a funky 12-story Bohemian hotel in this location (222 W23rd St.) with Manhattan real estate being what it is … hell, lot track of the sentence because an overwhelming stench of Doom floated up from the keyboard like landing-zone smoke in Vietnam movies. Read More...
Jim Beam in Manhattan
The spirit:
Jim Beam bourbon
The place: Manhattan
The space-time twist: With Fred Noe, great-grandson of Jim Beam
Start writing on the
Internet about “the perfect drink in the perfect
place,” and you get the sort of “ya think?” advice
usually reserved for freshly minted parolees: "maybe
you should focus on work that pays"; "don’t tell my
friends anything about what you did"; and, a personal
favorite, "do you even remember how you got into this
mess in the first place?"
But you also get some advice like this from the Imbiber: "What could be better than drinking Jim Beam with the great-grandson of the guy himself?" Read More...
The place: Manhattan
The space-time twist: With Fred Noe, great-grandson of Jim Beam
But you also get some advice like this from the Imbiber: "What could be better than drinking Jim Beam with the great-grandson of the guy himself?" Read More...
Johnnie Gold in SoHo
The drink: Johnnie Walker Gold
The place: Grand Bar & Lounge in New York
Space/time: Hard to Tell
Like pairing wine with food, whiskey is best when paired with “place.” And I’d challenge anyone sampling Johnny Walker’s Gold Label to find much finer digs than the Grand Bar & Lounge in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood – a smallish hotel bar with an impressive whiskey offering.
During a recent visit, Justin was behind the bar fielding questions ranging from “what’s a single malt” to “what’s in a Manhattan?” Himself a bourbon man (Knob Creek), Justin nonetheless recommended the Johnny Walker brands highly – noting that the Gold Label was “just under the Blue” in the brand pecking order.
Fair enough, especially if you think in terms of price and age and probably status. But there’s an argument that the Gold Label transcends marketing categories. It’s really an all-star team of single malts – more than a dozen of them, all at least 18 years old and some thought to be much older – that combine for something that becomes more than the sum of its parts. It has a strong aroma, more peat than you might expect, and more tastes than a TV makeover show. Gold’s biggest fans revel in its lingering finish, but they apparently have enough control not to hit another sip right away. They also say you should freeze it 24 hours before trying to release certain flavors – somebody tell us what that’s like, because I couldn’t bring myself to freeze good whiskey if it would release Jimmy Hoffa. Read More...