Savoring the sweet stuff
During our recent trip to Colorado, I made it a point to visit a couple of the abundant state owned liquor stores to see if they had any special whiskey's our bourbons that I might not find back in Michigan. In fact, there were three such stores within walking distance of the house that we rented.
I found that kind of odd given the fact that most state controlled liquor stores are more evenly spaced out. At least that's how it is in Ohio. Michigan stores a independently owned, so we get a bit of density too assuming they have the proper licenses.
There were quite a few options to choose from, but ultimately, I decided on this bottle of Deerhammer. It's based out of Buena Vista Colorado and it had a very interesting flavor that caught my attention right away.
Which makes it the perfect bottle to include in this weeks #threetunetuesday post sponsored by @ablaze since I feel the artist I am going to share has that same unique appeal. I really like the bottle on this one. The fact they add that it was handmade at several thousand feet on the label makes it kind of cool.
The whiskey itself has a quite similar taste to some of the scotches I have sampled in the past. It's a bit floral and the white oak definitely comes through. I've actually found several whiskeys from Colorado in the past that have that distinct "scotchiness" to them. It's a big contrast to the bourbons I usually drink which are smokier and have a bit more harshness to them. I'd almost go so far as to say Deerhammer has an almost "fresh" taste to it.
I remember when Hozier first came on the music scene in the US with the song "Take me to church". It was a really good jam and it was making the rounds on all the singing competition shows for a while there. It seemed like everyone wanted to cover it to try and snag their ticket to Hollywood or whatever.
As a good Christian boy, I was a bit on the fence about it. There was no doubt Hozier had an amazing voice and the tune and lyrics were haunting and driving all at the same time. It's one of those songs that kind of builds like a wave as the chorus crashes against the rocky shore.
Yet deep down I wondered if there was something sacreligious about it.
For whatever reason, I have since moved past those misgivings and I really enjoy this song for what it is. It's not always necessary to dissect or try to infer meaning from something, sometimes a song just slaps.
Which is definitely the case with this next song and as you will see was the real inspiration for this whiskey themed #threetunetuesday.
"Too Sweet" is just a really good song that kind of gets stuck in your head. I actually had the chorus stuck in my head last night when I was trying to get some much needed sleep. I wasn't too mad about it though because it's a good song. If it was a bad song then I might have been a little more annoyed.
Unlike Hozier though, I usually prefer my whiskey on the rocks and I am not a fan of coffee at all.
Let's talk about that bass line too. Pretty heavy and driving right? I love it. Based on the video Hozier seems like he would be pretty cool to see live.
Finally, I'm going to close out this tribute to Hozier and whiskey with "Work Song" since I am writing this post from work after all... Don't start throwing stones (or potatoes) at me, but I honestly didn't know Hozier was from Ireland when I first heard him sing. It wasn't until just a little bit ago that I heard an interview with him on Sirius/XM radio and his accent was quite obvious.
That's one of those things that I always find fascinating about singers: how you can't really tell where they are from just from hearing them sing. It's interesting how accents just seem to disappear and the song and lyrics take center stage. The world could learn a lot if the focused on that I think.
It appears there is a Tiny Desk concert with Hozier available to watch on YouTube. I think I am going to have to dig into that sometime soon.
I definitely think that Hozier's music is the type that you should listen to slowly and savor every moment of it. Which is what I plan to do with this bottle of Deerhammer. I don't know when I might get to Colorado again, and I haven't bothered to look into the companies distribution network, so I will likely just make this bottle last as long as I can.
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Wow, a perfect music and a perfect drink, that can make a beautiful moment, I know that feeling of everlasting, we doesn't want it to go away, I am developing a lot of love for colorado 😊
It's a beautiful place!
In the future, I will visit and enjoy everything there, especially the delicious meals and drinks 🥰🙏
Looks and sounds like a good drink. Glad you found it. Take Me To Church is a good song. Haven't heard it in a while and glad you shared it.
Thanks! It was quite tasty! It's up on my shelf with my other bottles now just waiting for the right evening!
Having never lived in a state where the state owns the liquor stores, i was kind of surprised to hear it work like that. State owned stores... now where have I heard that before?
It's pretty crazy. I was surprised too the first time I visited Ohio. Here in Michigan you just head down to the party store and get what you want. In Ohio grocery stores will carry beer, wine, and some watered down liquor, but if you want the good stuff you have to hit a state store. They do have the state stores inside of some Kroger's.
It's crazy to me that Ohio still has state run liquor stores but you can buy beer/wine/cider in grocery stores. Minnesota is even more stringent. You have to go to a dedicated (independently owned) liquor store to get everything. It's such a luxury when we're traveling and can buy beer/wine in a grocery store without an extra trip.
I totally agree with you. Like I said to someone else, here in Michigan you just walk into any party store and you will likely be able to find what you want!
Oh this tickled me... I love Americans talking about Scotch whisky. If you do, drop the e as there ain't no e in Scotch whisky hehe.
Cool band though, and yes Deerhammer looks good, although I would skip the ice.
If I leave out the ice I can't drink as much!
lol fair enough
That bottle looks really good! There are quite a few distillers that are producing single malts that have that Scotch feel and taste to them. Most tend to be a bit expensive but really good! That sounds like one I would like to try.
State run liquor stores shouldn't exist anymore but they states will never let go of the extra revenue. In Pennsylvania they have state stores too, but at least they were well stocked with even expensive brands. Not all do that. I prefer it where you can go anywhere and pickup something good to sip on.
I've heard Hozier before, but I guess I never really paid that much attention to him. At the time had a seven year old kid that took up most of my free time!
I've learned that most stores both in controlled states and ones like Michigan get their shipments in on Thursdays and most the time if you are not there right when they open you don't get those special bottles. I have a guy who runs a store that holds stuff for me, but his footprint is so small he doesn't get the bottles that some of the bigger chains get. This one reminded me a bit of Stranahan if you have heard of that one.
I only knew the first song, but the others are not bad. I just don't listen to much mainstream radio, so I have no idea what is in the charts.
Enjoy your whiskey.
Yeah, I don't pay too much attention to that either, but if the algorithm picks it for me on Spotify or they play it on Sirius/XM, then I am going to dig deeper.
Spotify may give me something completely different. It is mostly fairly good, but it keeps giving me Nintendo game music for some reason.
Haha, that is too funny!
Nothing wrong at all with a really good whiskey! Yum.
Take Me to Church is definitely always a fun listen.
Yes, they are both really good! :)