On the First of May, well actually the evening before, my brother and I set off on a road trip to New Jersey. It was the second consecutive weekend wedding for me to attend.      
     I must admit that sixteen hours in the car crushes mind, body and spirit. Dinner and a nap became the plan upon arrival. We set foot in the driveway of my brother's friend in the early afternoon. So lunch and short naps were in order. At least that is what I did. My brother ran off for wedding clothing fitting, etc.
     Drinking ensued throughout the afternoon. Vacation is good. Early evening coffee came next. Can't go to bed at 7 o'clock! Late dinner. Food coma. Bed calling me. Pajamas.... sleepy time.....Pub. What? It's 10:30 at night. We are going to a pub now?
     Just down the road we were shuttled to this must-see pub run by a guy named John. He had whisky there too. In fact there were four that I tried. 
Here they are:

*Glen Garioch 1797 Founders Reserve   48% ABV
     -smelled light wood with honey and raisin (1 st time ever!)
     -tasted light peppery oak with raisin
     -trailed bitter oak
     -with water smelled sweet raisin
     -tasted raisin bread/bitter oak
     First time I have ever tasted raisin in a whisky.

*Ardmore Traditional Cask  46% ABV
     -smelled mossy/leathery with light sweetness
     -tasted amazingly sweet on the tongue
     -slight peppermint
     -trailed wood
     -with water smelled like leather-less sweet
     -tasted slightly bitter oak
     Water ruined this!

*Auchentoshan Springwood   40% ABV
     -smelled light bourbon
     -tasted sweet at first
     -went quickly to oak, peppery finish
     -with water smelled lighter oak and bourbon
     -tasted chalky, bitter wood - quickly went to sour
     Water ruined this as well.

*Usquaebach   15 yr   43% ABV
     -smelled peppery cinnamon bun
     -tasted chalky, peppery, sweet oak
     -with water - flattened sweetness, light oak
     -tasted lighter, sweet oak
     Water made this easier to drink without killing the flavor and sweetness. 

     I know what you are thinking about the Lesstrees Pub. "Yeah. So what? Clean bathrooms, uncrowded bar. Late night drink with the owner. Why all the fuss?" I will tell you.
     THIS PUB IS 100% INSIDE JOHN'S BASEMENT! YEP. THE ENTIRE THING IS IN PART (yes his basement is bigger than this) OF THE BASEMENT OF HIS HOUSE. You can go back and look at the pictures again now...............It now makes sense why I took a picture of a urinal in a pub bathroom. 
     That was a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you, John. Thank you Chad. Thanks for bringing me along, Sean. 

The April meeting at Myra's house had delicious food, interesting whiskies and no Myra. Unfortunately Myra was in the hospital with some issues and was gracious enough to let the meeting continue as planned. We all missed her. It was strange without the lady of the house of whisky.
Pertaining to club business, we unanimously voted to include a provision in our bylaws for lifetime membership in IMWC. The due for this will be $1250.00 henceforth.
Also Todd donated a bit of Bruichladdich and what was left of the pictured Ardbeg for the living cask. 

This is what I tasted that evening:

*The Six Isles Blend      43% ABV
     -smelled lightly peated - tanned leather
     -tasted light oak with slight peat and green onion/caper
     -with water smelled slight oak and floral
     -tasted very slight oaky bitter
     -trailed wood
     Water turned this sour/bitter.

*Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve Cask Strength   59.6% ABV
     -smelled sweet dessert - bubblegum/ cinnamon bun
     -tasted peppery! with dough
     -trailed wood
     -with water smelled floral, almost orange
     -tasted doughy with oak
     -trailed peppery
     -with more water - smelled slight floral/oak
     -tasted lighter peppery
     -trailed bitter wood
     I was very disappointed with this whisky. It was a lot of burn with little flavor. 

Aly and I went to North Carolina for our friends' wedding, rode our bikes a little and visited a couple distilleries. The weather was perfect for travelling and we got to spend time with friends.
The planning department, Aly, plotted a course that took us through Charleston, SC, with a stop at Striped Pig 
Distillery. We then continued on to Chapel Hill, NC, and visited with two of my friends from college. TOPO Distillery happens to be right in Chapel Hill, as luck would have it. 

Striped Pig Distillery 4/23/2014

The quality of the whisky at this place is evident! Actually the whisky, vodka and rum we tasted were nice. They use corn at this place and, of course, molasses for the rum. Todd Weiss (Distiller/Partner) was kind enough to give us a quick tour with tasting straight from still as well as at the bar, which was one of the coolest looking bars I have ever seen. 
Apparently one of the owners, the one who owns the pig, actually stripes him, like the logo,  for events. So there really is a striped pig involved. 
Here are my tasting notes:

*Striped Vodka  40% ABV   (corn-same mash bill as whisky) Not Filtered
     -smelled corn
     -tasted corn, chalky, little burn
     -with water - sweet corn
     -trailed something like wood
     This is the first corn vodka I have ever had. I have a history with vodka from college and have just begun to be able to taste it again. 

*Striped Shine   60% ABV   Unaged whisky
     -smelled strong corn
     -tasted corn with almost plastic - overpowering
     -with water - lightened the corn smell
     -tasted corn - not as sweet, not chalky
     This is a light, sweet whisky that's easy to drink. 

* Striped Rum   40% ABV
     -smelled slightly butterscotch, tinge of rubber
     -tasted sweet dessert, trailed caramel
     -with water - more rubber
     -tasted slightly sweet
 

The TOPO Distillery in Chapel Hill, NC , was literally right downtown. They use city water for production and have an interesting system for reclaiming and reusing it throughout the process. Wheat is the grain of choice for their expressions with a vodka, gin  and unaged whiskey. Corn, I believe, makes up the rest of the mash bill. I did get to taste an aged whiskey which has not been released yet. 
Here is what I tasted:

*TOPO Vodka   40% ABV   Wheat
     -smelled sweet caramel with cereal
     -tasted a grain cereal
     -with water smelled licorice
     -tasted sweet cereal
     -trailed slightly metallic

*TOPO Piedmont Gin  46% ABV   Wheat
     -smelled juniper berries with a little grass
     -tasted juniper with almost pine flavor
     -there was a tinge of cooked meat?
     -with water smelled more pine
     -tasted sweet juniper/spices
     This is a dangerous gin as it is waaaaay too easy to sip like mojitos. It does not have the sharp flavor of other gins.

* TOPO Carolina Whiskey  (Moonshine)  42% ABV
     -smelled sweet caramel wheat
     -tasted wheat
     -with water - sweeter grain
     There was not a lot to this as it is unaged spirit. Bottling at 42% ABV makes it more than drinkable. There is less alcohol burn and more flavor than the mason jar variety. Also the wheat gives it more than just a touch of sweetness (corn-which seems to be the common "moonshine" grain). There is an actual flavor. 

* TOPO Aged Whiskey   Not Released Yet  No Age Statement
     -smelled oak with a light caramel - new char barrel
     -tasted oak with cereal grain- tanins
     -with water - not as sweet wheat
     There was definitely more going on with this whiskey after it sat in a barrel. Being a newly charred oak cask, the bitterness came through. I am guessing this whiskey is still less than a year old, by far.