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You know what you never hear people say? “I really love the taste of whiskey, but I sure wish it didn’t get me drunk.” Yet, from the annals of incredibly stupid ideas comes ArKay, the O’Douls of whiskey.
Link Via Geekosystem
Ah, the good ol' days. Actually, they're probably called that because the whiskey (or "whisky" for all you purists) made you forget all the bad parts ... The Whisky Vending Machine, which mixes whiskey and soda, above was shown at the Second Automatic Vending Exhibition in London, 1960.
See also: Strange and Wonderful Vending Machines
People look at you funny if you raise a whole bottle of whisky to your lips. That’s why this canned whisky is a more discreet and thus superior option:
A Panama-based company believes outdoor drinkers would prefer to crack open a tin rather than lug round a bottle of their favourite tipple.
Now bosses at Scottish Spirits – which retains an office in Glasgow – is testing out the novelty on its Caribbean and South American markets.[...]
Scottish Spirits launched the tins last week, the first time straight whisky has been sold in a can.
Chief executive Manish Panshal said: ‘We are really thrilled with the idea – it’s going to be a part of every lifestyle and occasion.
Link via Geekosystem | Photo: Daily Mail
Distilling whisky results in waste products, namely pot ale left in the copper stills and spent grains. Scottish scientists have now developed a means to convert this waste matter into a useful biofuel:
It can be used in conventional cars without adapting their engines. The team also said it could be used to fuel planes and as the basis for chemicals such as acetone, an important solvent.
The new method developed by the team produces butanol, which gives 30% more power output than the traditional biofuel ethanol. It is based on a 100-year-old process that was originally developed to produce butanol and acetone by fermenting sugar. The team has adapted this to use whiskey by-products as a starting point and has filed for a patent to cover the new method. It plans to create a spin-out company to commercialise the invention.
Link via TigerHawk | Photo by Flickr user mnem used under Creative Commons license
This Lalique decanter holds 1.5 liters of Macallan whisky. This rare combination recently sold at auction for about $460,000:
The Macallan, founded in 1824, is produced at a distillery near Easter Elchies House in north east Scotland’s Speyside whisky region.
The Lalique decanter was created using the “cire perdue” or “lost wax” method.
Before the auction, the whisky was taken on a 12-city “tour du monde” to build up interest and raise funds for charity: water, an organisation that provides access to clean, safe drinking water for people in developing nations.
Link via Born Rich | Photo: BBC
Previously: The Most Expensive Whiskeys in the World
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Forbes magazine has a slideshow of the 15 most expensive whiskeys in the world. Coming in at #3 is a batch of 50 year old Chivas Royal Salute, which costs about $10,000 a bottle.
Released in 2003 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, its lead malt is the superb Strathisla, which accounts for the exceptionally rich and creamy character. Only 255 bottles of the Scottish whisky were released worldwide, which helps account for the high price.
Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo: Forbes
Previously on Neatorama: World’s Largest Bottle of Whiskey
A group of explorers from New Zealand are traveling to a campsite of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1909 Antarctic expedition in the hopes of finding whiskey left behind beneath the floorboards of a shelter:
Among the supplies British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton abandoned on his unsuccessful 1909 expedition to the pole were two crates of the now extinct rare old brand of McKinlay and Co whisky.
Now Whyte & Mackay, the drinks giant that owns McKinlay and Co, has asked for a sample of the drink for a series of experiments, the Telegraph newspaper reported in London.
The New Zealanders will use special drills to free the trapped crates and rescue a bottle from the crates, discarded near the Cape Royds hut used by the Nimrod expedition, or at least draw off a sample using a syringe.
The crates were discovered in January 2006, but the bottle couldn’t be removed as they were too deeply embedded.
Link via Discover | Image: NASA
The world’s largest bottle of whiskey was unveiled yesterday in Britain:
Dru McPherson and Mike Drury made the monster malt to put the village of Tomintoul, Banffshire, on the map.
The giant 1½metre bottle holds 105.3 litres of 14-year-old Tomintoul single malt.
A German glassmaker created the 7mm thick pyrex bottle, and a massive cork was specially made to fit.
Image via flickr user Kyle May used under creative commons license. Because of very strict copyright restrictions at The Sun, I can’t show the picture of the bottle itself. But it’s at the link, and it’s huge.
Link via J-Walk Blog
You don’t need a lot of special effect magic to make a brilliant ad. As this short commercial for Johnny Walker whiskey from ad agency BBH London shows, sometimes all you need is a good narrative. That, and Robert Carlyle:
AdFreak suggests that this commercial might be the best of the year so far. It’s for Johnnie Walker brand whiskey, and traces the history of that brand in one long, continuous take for six minutes. Unless there clever and hidden special effects, actor Robert Carlyle had to have, and did, flawless timing.
Check out the clip: Link | Interview with director Jamie Rafn
