I’ve been thinking recently how it’d be good to have a small stash of barter goods on hand in the event of an extended lawless situation (colloquially known as the SHTF situation), be it weather related, solar flare, societal issues, zombie uprising, the coming of the Great Green Arkleseziure and/or The Great White Handkerchief…
Having some small, tradable and desirable goods onhand would make sense, and for some reason I thought of whisk(e)y (which is it, BTW, whisky or whiskey?), it’s small, portable, desirable, and since I don’t drink all that much, I won’t be tempted to drink it myself… Basically stock a “vice” that I don’t partake of
Of course, being of a scientific mindset, research was in order, so I bought a couple of those single serve mini-bottles of Jack Daniels No. 7 and Jim Beam white label, and a 350 ml bottle of Makers Mark to be my barter brand (okay, so I liked the hand dipped wax seal, is that so wrong? )
I tried each one, a different day for each, at the end of the day, when I knew I wouldn’t have to drive anywhere… Here’s my palate impressions of them;
Jim Beam white label; dear OG is this garbage unpalatable, straight from the bottle it tastes like battery acid and burns my gut like I’m drinking liquid fire (hmm, the origin of the Native American term “firewater” I’m guessing…), diluted with water it becomes less harsh, but still like diluted battery acid, mixed into some lemonade Vitaminwater (all I had on hand at the time) the evil acidic taste is masked, revealing a slightly smoky chaser…
1 out of 10, won’t be buying any more of this rotgut
Jack Daniels No. 7; overall not too bad, still tastes like…burning, but not as bad, can’t really put a finger on the exact taste, but it’s pleasant enough straight, diluted with water opens up the bouquet a bit and numbs the tongue less, I feel no need to dillute the nastiness by mixing it with another beverage
7 out of 10, might be worth adding to the bartering stock, may also be good for cooking, marinated chicken perhaps, glazed salmon?
Makers Mark; very nice, flavorful mouthfeel, less burn than JD, a mellow smokiness almost, with a touch of honey and blackberry, less water was needed than JD to slake the burn, and adding that dangerous compound Dihydrous Monoxide really opened the flavor up, it had a depth and complexity that neither other two contenders could match
8.5 out of 10, if I was to become a regular enjoyer of whisky/bourbon, this’d be where I start, this would also work well for cooking as well, steak, salmon, maybe even a good tuna steak seared rare
…of course, since I opened my starter bottle of MM, I had to replace it in my barter closet, replaced with the bigger 750 ml bottle…
…hmm, what’s this Makers Mark 49, looks interesting, a tad pricey for barter, but it looks fascinating…