Guinness West Indies and Dublin Porter.

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One thing that can distinguish a gentleman is his taste in alcohol, whether it be wine, beer, or spirits. 

On the subject of beer, I would always have a pint of stout or ale over brand lager. They have an exceptional quality taste to them, much more complex than cheap, mass produced beers. Obviously one of the oldest stouts is Guinness which has a strong dark distinctive taste. A man in liquid form if you like.

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Guinness is an old company, born in Ireland, that makes exceptional beer and has done for many years. Recently Guinness produce two new products. Porters, 'West Indies' and 'Dublin' I tried both to see whether they where a patch on craft beers(craft beers meaning ales and stouts) and I have to say I was very impressed. 

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Firstly is 'West Indies Porter'.

The back of the bottle describes it as 'complex yet mellow, hoppy with notes of toffee and chocolates.' First thing I noticed was the smell of it, a slight hint of Guinness and surprisingly toffee, taste wise it was light and not too bitter with an undertone of chocolate. 

It was guinness without the force. A wonderful, enjoyable beer.

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Now the 'Dublin Porter'.

Described as, 'sweet and smooth with malt and dark caramel notes.'

The smell was oaky and strong, hint of Guinness(I know that is obvious as it is Guinness, but it is substantially less strong than you would think, before anyone rips my head off about it...haha)it was fresh smell which worked with the oak.

Taste wise, firstly I drank this much colder than the 'West Indies' i'm not sure if that would have had an effect. It was, unfortunately not quite as 'flavoursome' as the 'West Indies'. It tasted refreshing and clean, kinda' like the stout version of a nice lager? (maybe budvar?)

This is a beer I would enjoy on a hot day rather than enjoying it like a stout or Guinness.

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Check out the Guinness website to look at their other stuff.

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- Happy Drinking -

- Louis -

Old No.7's Big Brother.

Whether or not you like bourbon, Gentleman Jack is sure to change your mind. Jack Daniels Old No.7 has been a classic whiskey for years, mixing with coke or sipping on its own. But what if you want something more sophisticated?

No.7 boasts about being mellowed through sugar maple charcoal and how ever nice No.7 is to drink it cannot compare to the whiskey of gentlemen. Gentlemen Jack is made with a much higher quality of grain and cave spring water from the distilleries own caves. The Charcoal mellowing that gives Jack Daniels its distinctive taste is performed twice on Gentleman Jack. Once before it goes in the barrel like No.7 but it is then done again after the maturing process. This makes the whiskey much smoother and richer.

From the smell you get a mix of smells, Smoke, Caramel, Oak and a slight buttery hint to it. To taste there is a bit of warmth with a sweet honey taste followed by a storm smokey caramel before finishing with a strong pine kick.

This is a fine edition to any gentleman's whiskey collection especially for the winter months.

-Happy Drinking-

-Louis-

A Hearty Hip Flask.

One thing I have recently acquired is a hip flask. Now, I have wanted a hip flask for a very long time and i wanted to share some reasons as to why I feel it is important for a gentleman to own one.

Firstly owning a hip flask accounts for easy transportation of your favourite spirit should that be a fine Scotch, Bourbon, or maybe Brandy, which I believe were the traditional spirits put in hip flasks. However there is no reason it should be limited to those, Gin or Rum would not be unusual either, but I would imagine that now it doesn't matter what you put in one as it is personal preference and people have very different drinking choices.

Owning a hip flask doesn't just mean you can carry your spirits around with you, you could use them to smuggle alcohol into a place where you want to 'spice' you drink up for free. For example, order a ginger beer for half the price of an alcoholic drink, add some rum and you have a great little cocktail. Ask for some tonic water and throw some gin in. By having something as small and concealable as a hip flask you can easily do this. 

The practicality of owning one does mean that if your out at a public event and you need a bit of warmth it is subtle and easy to get the heat and kick that you need.

Interestingly in the Royal Air Force 'Hip Flask' was code for a Revolver. 

Be warned having a hip flask with alcohol in in many areas of the U.S is illegal because of the open container laws which prevents the possession of an unsealed container of alcohol in a public place.

-Happy Drinking-

-Louis-