Road Trip!

April 4-7 (yeah, I know its been a while) was the last group outing this spring. Things have been moving along at such a pace, that I am only now getting the picture here.

The View from St. Paul's

On a recent outing with the Culture by Design class, we visited St. Paul's Cathedral. Of course the inside of the church is wonderful to behold, but alas, photos are not allowed there. Outside is another matter.

The Big Event - London

Near the Kilburn Tube station is a small green space that is maintained by volunteers. On Friday, we joined the ranks of these volunteers and spend our Big Event helping to improve the park. Our students built "dead hedges" (a fence of dead limbs to guide the foot traffic), edged some walkways, policed rubbish, and pulled weeds. See photos of the even below the fold.

Glenrothes 1988

This is the oldest of the Glenrothes selections I bought in Scotland. I lacks the silkiness on the tongue but is easy to drink nonetheless. It has a nice flavor and along finish. Seems like there is caramel. If there is vanilla in there, it is subtle. The character of the whisky settles down after 12 years or so and takes on a kind of burnished patina in the flavor. Yeah, that sounds kinds weird, but you try to find language to describe a taste.

Lots of good whisky to be had in Scotland.

The Group Photo

Here are a collection of photos taken over the semester, one of which may be the "official" group photo.

Tomatin Legacy

Another very fine scotch. This one has a sweet after state and is silky smooth. There's a bit of caramel and vanilla in there too, I think.

The web site says it is aged in a combination of bourbon barrels and virgin oak. It sure works very nicely. Definitely one worth another try.

Observations on being FMIR

We've survived the last trip out of London with the students and last night we attended the last play of the semester. Things are winding down. I hope to have posts with photos for recent events soon. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a few observations about being the FMIR and what's been going on.

Auchentoshan 18 year

This is a very fine whisky. excellent after taste. A darker, perhaps woodier taste than the 3 wood. Their web site claims a tobacco flavor but I don't get it. Perhaps that the "woodier" flavor.

I think, however, I prefer the 3 wood a bit more. Both are nice, but for my money, I'll take the 3 wood.