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Thoughts of Earl pounding across the East Coast have inspired the Tidal Wave (pictured) and Tropical Sour cocktails.

Ryan Beard of Boozeblogger.com serves as today’s guest blogger. “One last drink”  is a deep approach to get to the bottom of a very simple question.

Christopher Hitchens is dying. Whether you love him or hate him the man is now faced with a fate we will all meet by a method of departure most of us hope to avoid. He’s been diagnosed with late-stage esophageal cancer and if he’s very, very lucky he might make it another few years. People die every day and while there may be better men to mourn there might be no better man to answer the question concerning libations and departures we pose to you today.

These are Hitchens’ 10 Commandments for Drinking from his recently released memoir: Hitch 22

1.Don’t drink on an empty stomach: the main point of the refreshment is the enhancement of food.
2.Don’t drink if you have the blues: it’s a junk cure.
3.Drink when you are in a good mood.
4.Cheap booze is a false economy.
5.It’s not true that you shouldn’t drink alone: these can be the happiest glasses you ever drain.
6.Hangovers are another bad sign, and you should not expect to be believed if you take refuge in saying you can’t properly remember last night. (If you really don’t remember, that’s an even worse sign.)
7.Avoid all narcotics: these make you more boring rather than less and are not designed – as are the grape and the grain—to enliven company.
8.Be careful about up-grading too far to single malt Scotch: when you are voyaging in rough countries it won’t be easily available.
9.Never even think about driving a car if you have taken a drop.
10.It’s much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don’t know quite why this is true but it just is. Don’t ever be responsible for it.

So here’s the question. Imagine you are told the date and time of your death and, in that final hour, given access to one last dram of any whisk(e)y in existence or out of existence. One final drink before you shove off into the darkness. What would you choose? Would you choose the most expensive in the world? Maybe the oldest you can think of? Maybe that one that you never could find. Maybe the same one your father or grandfather drank, the scent of which you still remember wistfully when you think of Him. Would it be your old standard or a new favorite? Would you break into the Buffalo Trace distillery and crack open a barrel knowing that they’ll NEVER TAKE YOU ALIVE?! I might. 

Either way let us know your thoughts in the comments. And make it a good one; it’s your last.

Is your bar equipped with the proper tools, and do you know when to shake and when to stir?

The smooth flavor of the carambola (starfruit) can match a lot of other flavors.

Greg Davis is the new Master Distiller at Maker's Mark, succeeding Kevin Smith who is taking a new job with parent company Beam Global, as reported today by Maker's Mark President Bill Samuels in an email to Maker's Mark Ambassadors.

When Davis left Sazerac's Tom Moore Distillery ten weeks ago to take the job of Director of Distillery Operations at Maker's Mark, reporting to Smith, something about it didn't seem right. Davis is young (40) but he was Master Distiller at Barton/Tom Moore for almost ten years and I just couldn't see him being somebody's assistant for very long. For ten weeks, as it turns out.

Smith is mum about exactly what his new job will be at Beam's flagship distillery at Clermont, Kentucky, but I'm sure that shoe will drop soon.

Atomic Fireball Vodka? Frank Bruni talks about home infusing in The Tipsy Diaries

Porch Crawlers! A summery cocktail to get your Labor Day party started.

Today, I introduce Jason Cretacci, a Fine Spirits Consultant in Western New York as a guest blogger. Jason explores the flavor of things . . .

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My question to the What does John know? readers concerns flavored whisk(e)ys.  I have always enjoyed Compass Box Orangerie, Wild Turkey American Honey & Phillps Union Cherry Whisky.  I have also had the good fortune to try Bird Dog Blackberry Whiskey and Whitetail Caramel Flavored Whiskey.  Now, these are not something I would drink on a regular basis, but they have their place on whiskey rack, the store shelf, and on the back of bars.  These are great ways to introduce people to whiskeys, the same way I would introduce friends to wine with sweeter, more approachable ones before they move on to the dryer varietals.

What flavored whiskeys have you enjoyed? Did you get your start on whiskeys through flavored whiskeys? What other flavors would you like to see on store shelves? What bad experiences have you had from flavored whiskeys?

Good Drinks,

Jason Cretacci
Fine Spirits Consultant
Passport Wine & Spirits
http://www.passportwineandspirits.com

This is a story my father told me. It is about a father and son. The son lives in town, the father lives alone on a farm several miles outside of town. Every day, as is his custom, the father walks into town, purchases a pint of whiskey, and walks back to his farm. For years, the son has enjoyed this daily opportunity to at least observe his father from his office window, but recently he has noticed that time is catching up with the old man. His stride has shortened and his gait has slowed. The daily walk has become a trial for him.

The son, being a devoted son and not wanting to see his father suffer (and having failed for years to persuade his father to abandon the farm and move to town), decides there is at least one small way he can give his poor father some relief. He purchases a half-gallon bottle of his father’s favorite whiskey, drives out to the farm and gives his father the gift. The father, never a demonstrative man, accepts the gift and thanks his son, who returns to town.

The next day the son, still basking in the glow of his thoughtful deed, looks out the window to see his father once again walking into town. Moreover, his father seems to have aged ten years. His skin is pallid, his clothing is disheveled and he is walking with even move difficulty than usual. The son immediately rushes to his father’s side. “Dad,” he cries, “what are you doing? I brought you that bottle of whiskey so you wouldn’t have to make this walk every day.” The father slowly raises his head and looking directly into his sons eyes, whispers in a quiet voice, “son, whiskey don’t keep.”

Ah ginger ale... Makes a comforting cocktail both in the air and on the ground. In this case, the Cloudy Sky, along with sloe gin and lime.

Nearly all liquor websites are terrible for those of us looking for product information, brand history, or recipes. These things, you would think, would be their prime focus. As I spend a lot of time looking for product information, I have to deal with these sites all the time. Without realizing it, I have switched to an operating mode where I won't go to the website but will hunt down the PR contacts for the brand to send me information....

[Visit Alcademics.com for the full post.]

CaJohn's Frostbite is a hot sauce specifically made for cocktails. It's white and it's suuuper hot.

In which I overcome my resistance to stone fruit and mix a fresh sour with the season's last apricots. - When the fat lady sings!

Coconut, raspberry, and lime are the perfect flavor combination to keep cocktail fans in the Summer State of Mind.

Lemon Drop Jello Shots get wedged for a fun and sophisticated look.

Nate Nicoll, blogger at www.whiskywall.wordpress.com, joins “What Do You Know” as today’s guest blogger and opens the whisky war chest.

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While drinking does not always need to be a battle, and hopefully most of the time it is not, of fundamental importance to the savvy and seasoned imbiber of spirits is how one stocks the war chest.  And this isn’t just any war chest, this is the cache of whiskies that must have a proper balance of bottles to fortify one’s abode against any unprecedented or decidedly welcome peril.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way.  One must stock a celebratory-grade whisky.  This is something you tend to ignore, perhaps dusting it off occasionally and admiring it, pondering when the day will arrive when you will be justified in cracking the seal.  This object of your fawning, this grail of sorts imparts to you a sense of purpose.  The mere idea of trying to justify savoring such a pour will inspire you to set the bar higher, to clearly state goals in your mind, the achievement of which will permit you to raise a chalice of this superlative spirit.  Simply possessing the celebratory-grade whisky can make you a better person.  And if you torture yourself for long enough, holding out till the moment when you feel you’ve earned your reward, you will probably be so deranged that the whisky will taste as nectar and in the manner of self-fulfilling prophecies, you will love it no matter what.  Depending on the depths of one’s wealth this prized bottle can be astronomically expensive.  Thoughts of bottles from now long gone distilleries like Port Ellen or Brora come to mind.

Then there is your guest whisky.  This term may be bifurcated depending on your relationship with your guests.  If your guests are limited to solid friends and family, this should be something a cut above.  More importantly, it should be an expression of you.  This whisky is an opportunity to let those you invite into a private setting to get to experience an aspect of yourself that you have come to terms with and that you entrust to those around you.  It is easy to impress a guest with something rare or fine, but to share a whisky with them that reflects something of your own tastes and personality give them insight into who you are, brings them into your inner-circle.  An expression that might surprise them or that you think to yourself “you have to try this.”  As you can see this is a highly personalized choice and will vary from drammer to drammer.  For my purposes I like to have an independent bottling of an Islay or Lowland malt.  

Then there is the other guest whisky.  If you have occasion to suffer guests that aren’t particularly welcome but seem to occasionally wash up on your shore, you might need something to make them feel special while you hide any whisky of real value.  A decent blend serves this purpose well.  Something you can use on your own when you need to inject several ounces of medicinal booze into the system and you don’t have time for sipping. And when you need to serve it you start out with the old, “I stumbled upon a surprisingly decent blend, you’ve got to try it…”  They won’t question you. They are a guest.  Such bottles are not difficult to think of or find as there are many at your local supermarket.

Perhaps the most important component of the war chest, one that is overlooked or under stocked at your own peril, is the table whisky.  The table whisky, like it’s name implies, is your daily dram.  Of supreme importance is to not be lulled in by the somewhat proletariat common-sounding term “table whisky”.  The whisky is easily the most difficult to settle upon and requires far more research then any of the previously mentioned bottles.  This whisky has to be eminently sip-able but also able to be gulped without a tinge of wasteful regret.  This is the whisky you will spend most of your time drinking.  And if you value your time, your quality of life, you will make sure you really like this whisky.  It serves as both comfort and medicine depending on the situation.  It can precede a meal and/or round a meal out.  And unless you are rolling in it, it can be inexpensive.  For a whisky to satisfy all of these things, you usually have to move on to a new table whisky every 3-to-6 months, or so.  Otherwise the familiarity takes away from the overall experience.

Solid table whiskies can be found in the $40-$60 price range, and when you find one you need to keep it well stocked.  The table whisky is the last line of defense.  Failure to properly stock a good supply of table whisky and keep that supply well tended will result in you coming through the door one night and decimating every more rarified, special occasion whisky in your collection in a misevaluated need to get further lit.  Even a few beers can trigger a run on your whisky stash, and to avoid any next-day recriminations over your rare moment of rashness, you need the table whisky to stand up against your temporary lack of judgment. 

Just like a balanced financial portfolio you must maintain a nicely diversified whisky war chest.  One that will be able to competently ride the waves of a fluctuating market of guests and fend off an unexpected run on resources. 

What is your strategy to keeping a diverse whisky war chest and what is currently in it?

George Lee's "A Date with Wine" is a wine stopper with twist-able date rings to help you remember when you opened a bottle.

The Dirty Mojito

Can't get enough watermelon? Margarita de Sandia from Coastal Living to the rescue!

Celery and cilantro cocktails. Fresh, fun and has the most amazing green color.