StabtheDragon

2023-06-12. This is the 2nd match up in the Semi-finals of the Texas Rye Whiskey Tournament. The winner here goes to the finals against Ft. Worth's Blackland Rye Whiskey 83 proof. Still Austin is distilled and aged in Austin, Texas but Cotton Hollow is distilled and aged in Indiana. How is this a Texas whiskey then? It is a wanna be Texas whiskey because the owner/producer wanted to build a distillery in The Woodlands but local government messed him over in some way. Cotton Hollow is now a ghost whiskey, no longer available.

2023-06-08 This book by adventurer Tim Severin from 1978 tells the story how he an his team tested the theory that St. Brendan's Voyage actually happened and that Brendan and other Irish explorer monks travelled the North Atlantic and may have visited America. This story of his research, construction of a medieval Irish curragh, and adventurous journey across the Atlantic is amazing. 269pp.

On patriotic holidays I usually drink whiskeys that are Veteran owned or have some kind of military or patriotic theme. For Memorial Day of 2023 I chose to drink and review this bourbon. Travis Barnes (a USMC Recon vet) and his wife Hillary are the owners/founders of Hotel-Tango in Indianapolis, the first distillery to open there since Prohibition. This bourbon is sourced from Middle West Spirits in Ohio, and is a pretty good pour. I love the bottle and the team that made it! $37.99 in Fort Worth at Goody Goody.

2023-05-27 Memorial Day weekend. This book will explain the origins and significance of the Memorial Day holiday in America. The authors do an amazing amount of research with over 400 footnotes in under 200 pages of text. This is the best book for learning how to do history well; it is well written, exciting to read and answers all the questions surrounding this hallowed day.

2023-05-24 This is the first match of the semifinals of my Texas Rye Whiskey Tournament. Tonight we have Blackland Rye, 83 proof, fighting out of Ft Worth going against Herman Marshall Texas Rye (Single Barrel Reserve for Total Wine) at 92 proof. This Herman Marshall is a ghost whiskey now with Herman Marshall changing owners to Dry County and their new Rye comes in at 102 proof. So we have an 83 proof going against a 92 proof... this should be an easy win for Herman Marshall...right....??? We shall see!

The Story behind the Shackleton Blended Malt Scotch is simply amazing! Sir Ernest Shackleton led a British expedition to the Antarctic 1914-1917 and they experienced a disaster where they all barely escaped with their lives. They left behind, buried in their base camp, several cases of a whisky Shackleton had blended for the expedition. A hundred years later archeologists found and dug up the camp and discovered the whisky. This present day whisky is a recreation of that famous blend. But Johnnie Walker Black is an iconic, world famous whisky that has been around for 150 years. Johnnie Walker is the world's best selling whisky brand. So which of these 80 proof Scotch whiskies do I like better?

This book of ancient history is also part detective story, literary criticism, adventure story, history of science...it is a 5 out of 5 for me! Pytheas was a Greek from Massalia (Marseilles, France) who undertook a voyage in the 4th century BC to find the sources of tin and amber, and to explore the far north. He likely saw Iceland, northern Norway, and the Baltic coast. Although I was a little bit familiar with Pytheas from studying ancient history in college, 40+ years ago, my recent studies of the Vikings kept bringing up Pytheas, so I read this book, which was published in 2001...over 20 years ago.

This is the final match of the Elite 8 and will determine the final four. Which of these 2 wonderful ryes will win? I am rooting for Blackland because it is distilled here in Ft. Worth, but Cotton Hollow is an MGP rye, bottled in Bardstown, Ky. How is this a Texas whiskey? It is a wanna be, Texas Whiskey and also a Ghost Whiskey now.

Evan Williams brand is one of my favorites, but which of the 4 expressions is my favorite? The Black Label is 86 proof while 1783 comes in at 90. Should be a no brainer, right? Right???

The man who murdered the 5 Hondurans in Cleveland, Texas was an illegal immigrant who had been deported 4 previous times. He worshiped Santa Muerte, a demon cult out of Mexico that glorifies death and drugs.

We are now in the Elite8 of the Texas Rye Whiskey Tournament and I am favoring Acre Texas Rye 100 proof Rum Cask Finished over the still Austin straight Rye "The artist" at 99.6 proof. Acre is aged longer and has a slight proof advantage. Both whiskeys are priced just under $50 but the Still Austin is widely available while the Acre is a distillery release and can only be purchased in Ft Worth at the Acre Distillery. Which whiskey will win and go on to the final 4?

The Texas Rye Whiskey Tournament is a double elimination tournament designed to see which Texas Rye has the best rye flavor, and which one I like the most. Leadslingers Fighting Spirit Rye is coming our of Moore, Oklahoma at Scissortail Distillery. It is owned by Mat Best, a Texan, and it is close to me so I count it in this Texas Rye Tournament. This is now the Elite8, or the second round in the tournament. I have favored Leadslingers for the win, but we shall see....

2023-04-15 The Texas Rye Whiskey Tournament continues with the Elite8. Blackland Rye 83 proof vs. Lockwood Straight Rye 90 proof. These two Ft Worth whiskeys start the 2nd round of the tournament.

2023-04-01 While this book may give the appearance of a coffee table book, with high gloss paper and lots of colorful photos, this is an excellent piece of scholarship that is pretty demanding. The authors are the team that discovered the L'anse Aux Meadows site of the Vikings in Newfoundland in the early 1960's. This is an adventure story, a history, a literary critique of the Icelandic Sagas, and a record of the archeological dig.

Happy International Whisky Day 2023 as StabtheDragon does another Whisky Comparison. Which whisky is associated with George Orwell? Which is the mystery whisky? Which is my favorite?

2022-03-20 This episode concludes the "Sweet 16" bracket in the Texas Rye Whiskey Tournament with Cotton Hollow Straight Rye vs. Tahwahkaro Texas Rye Malt Whiskey. Cotton Hollow is a mystery whiskey in that its story is a bit confusing and complicated. Started by a Texas down by Houston, but denied permission to build a distillery, he moved the operation to Bardstown, Kentucky and sources whiskey under his label. This is Indiana whiskey, aged for 4 years. To add insult to injury, I can no longer find this whiskey on the major websites in Ft Worth??? Tahwahkaro Rye is favored to win as I have previously reviewed this on my channel (youtube) and it scored an A+. However, in this competition I am looking specifically for a good, strong, rye flavor. Which whiskey will win?

A St. Patrick's Day Irish Whiskey Competition: Bushmills Black Bush vs. Red Bush. Black Bush is aged for 8 yrs vs Red Bush being in the cask for only 4. Which 80 proof Irish Whiskey will win? The Black Bush is about $4 a bottle more expensive. Will I even be able to tell which is which in this blind trial?

2023-03-11 This is an outstanding introduction to the Vikings with plenty of maps, charts and illustrations. The author packs a lot into these 144 pages, but he does not dumb down anything, it is well written, it flows easily from topic to topic, and is very understandable. I highly recommend this to students taking a class on the Vikings, Medieval Europe or the history of Britain.

The Texas Whiskey Tournament Rye Division is on with our 7th match. From Waco we have Balcones Texas Rye 100 proof, my personal favorite Rye Whiskey, my pick to win it all! And from Ft Worth is the Blackland Rye 100 proof. The Blackland little brother, 83 proof, won its matchup against Acre Texas Rye 80 proof a couple of months ago. Will big brother have a chance against StabtheDragon's personal favorite?

This is a discussion of the 2023 Asbury Revival in light of 2Chronicles 34-35 by StabtheDragon.

The Texas Whiskey Tournament, Rye Division, continues with match#6 between Acre Texas Rye 100 proof, Rum Finished vs. the Giant Texas Straight Rye 100 proof. Acre is from Ft Worth and Giant is a Houston product. Acre is my pick to win it but both whiskeys are amazing. The Acre is aged for 4 years while the Giant only 2; the Acre was finished aging for 1 year in an Acre Rum cask.

This is a book review of Martyn Whittock's and Hannah Whittock's book, The Vikings from Odin to Christ. This book is now on my all-time favorite's list! The chapter on "The First American Christians" (ch.12) is worth the price of the book.

Milam&Greene Port Finished Rye is my favorite for this match up, but Still Austin has a slight proof advantage. Who will win??? In the video I say this is episode 97 but it is really 96.

Devils River Rye weighs in at 90 proof and is the underdog against Herman Marshall Rye weighing in at 92 proof. Devils River is a 2 yr old rye fighting out of San Antonio while Herman Marshall fights out of Garland or Wylie Texas and is aged 4-6 years.

Texas Whiskey Tournament, Rye Division, Episode#3 has Leadslingers Fighting Spirit Rye (90 proof) from Scissortail Distillery in Moore Oklahoma facing off with Oak&Eden Rye and Rahr IPA from Fort Worth. Leadslingers was founded by Mat Best, a Texan, and the bottle has a Texas "Come And Take It" flag inside, and I am closer to Moore, Oklahoma than I am to San Antonio or Houston... Leadslingers is my favored to win choice in this match. Leadslingers comes in at just over $30 a bottle while the Oak&Eden comes in over $47 a bottle. But, the Oak&Eden has that wonderful Rahr Dadgum IPA flavor from the spire...this will be a tough battle!