Highlander

Perhaps the finest single malt that Whisky Break! has yet sampled in all of our days: Highland Park 15, slipped o'er tongue with such subtle silk and fullness of mouth that several became faint with admiration and gratitude. The full and lemony flavour strikes one first, and then the always-sought sternal burn would make its presence known. Indeed, it did, but also with a subtlety likely lost on those not keenly attuned to the ways and kinds of thoracic warmth the WB! has come to know and crave.

Well, so as fine a scotch as the Highlander turned out to be (having heard the rumour aplenty), it seemed damn appropriate to send a tip 'o the dram to the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, an auspicious event if ever there was one.

And so it goes, folks! A salute to HST with a fine Highland Park. Now, we just have to find some salute excuses to test out all the other Highland Park beauties, of which there are several: the 18, 25, 30, and 40 year old varietals, which form the "core expressions" of the Highland Park.

Readers of this humble outlet will note that the WB! like to salute things a lot, because the symbolic act of salute inevitably spells toast!

Fire and Iceland

What with being ground-wise bound, the Whisky Break! crowd was treated to a fine stash of Glen Garioch "Founder's Reserve," which, of course, indicates a grand and special brew that an otherwise 12 year old declarative statement simply could not pull off. With air travel slammed shut, WB! salutes our own fine Scottish agent who, under special auspices granted Whisky Break! agents by the international community -- otherwise by known as "customs" in less self-congratulatory settings -- managed to delivers the goods. And good they were.

Naturally, the crew had to pay offerings to the gods of thunder and fire, which meant a colourful sojourn to Iceland, where we could enjoy a fine thoracic warming brought on by "the Glen" amidst the land of aurora, fire, and ice. Of course, we salute Iceland for its plucky revenge against glowering economic forces of Europe, and, in part, for the clear and uncomplicated demonstration of just how easily modern society can be unwound by primordial natural forces. Always like that.